The Demon King And The Hero (Part One)

Chapter Twenty Three: The Hero's Delight

Chapter Twenty Three: The Hero's Delight

They accompanied Fyra to her temple, and then stayed for a few days to help her plant and clean up. All except Nemis, who would not enter the goddess' domain. Shion was relieved in a way she hadn't thought possible. She'd been so afraid that Nemis would continue to fight with the priestess that she didn't want either of them near each other. So he spent his nights sleeping under the stars instead of a warm wooden roof.

Felli would take him his food, sometimes with Gaitis, and both reported that he was constantly irritated. Like something was bothering him, and he'd gone a deathly shade of white. Shion had wanted to see for herself, but she knew that she wouldn't have been able to tolerate his insolent and disrespectful attitude for long. Each time she thought of him, all she could remember was the cruel glare meant for her.

So, Shion spent the majority of her time helping the priestess chop wood and clean.

The old man's body, the one who had died, was nowhere to be found. Fyra pointed out that it was custom to wander off and die for the mountain folks.

Fyra explained to them that the people that once lived in a village less than a league away were far removed from both Ellithian and Aros, and that they were more barbarian than civilized. That didn't mean they were bad people, she said, it just meant they had a skewed outlook on things.

Like the fact that those who were about to die were sent out into the wilderness. The old and the young alike.

She only learned this because the old man was the sole survivor of the small village. He told her the vast majority of what she knew about them. When she came to be the new priestess of the temple, he was already living there, but it hadn't mattered to her. She was content to stay with him. He was a kind man.

Fyra mentioned it with such a forlorn tone that even a half brained dolt would have noticed. She was much more sad about the old man's passing than she was letting on.

Fyra herself was a kind woman, if not a little too sweet. She wasn't like Chris, who was so pure and innocent, but rather she wished fervently that everyone was well because she knew it would look good in the eyes of her goddess.

Shion couldn't really fault her for it, it just meant she didn't care to be around the woman all the time.

And Fyra was a woman, albeit she didn't look like one. She claimed to be as old as Gaitis, and when he learned such, he stopped being able to speak with her as easily as he'd done so before.

"You really aren't good with women, are you?" Felli snickered. Shion hid her own giggles and silently applauded Felli for noticing.

When Gaitis was young, there had been a time when he and his brother were in the care of some women of ill repute. He never told her himself about the time, but Shion had learned from Guil that the woman absolutely tortured his brother. Not in malice, but because they felt sorry for him. They doted upon him and did many other things that were best left unsaid.

Gaitis glared ferociously. "I have no problem with you." He suddenly said slyly. "Wait, you're not a woman, you're a little girl." This pissed Felli off to no ends, and she sent fireball after fireball in his direction. Unfortunately for her, Gaitis had learned to evade them, and was throwing clumps of dirt at her. Felli shrieked in terror, her body trembling.

The two continued to fight for so long that Shion grew tired of watching them and decided to take a small walk.