I awoke with the rooster's crow, stretching my limbs and yawning beneath the Glaring cloak I used as a blanket. Look out Danesti. Your local Guardian angel's on the job. I stepped out of bed and prepared for the day, brushing my hair and teeth, washing my face, and clothing myself. When I looked into the mirror with the cloak draped around my shoulders, the eyes of a confident young woman stared back at me. "Let's see how you can make this world a better place, shall we?" I took my staff. I was ready to do everything I could to protect these people.
Taking my step out the door I nearly tripped over the threshold. "What the heck are you doing down there!?" "You're awake!"
The refugee boy scrambled to his feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to trip you. I was keeping watch in case any them beasties tried breaking in."
"Them beasties would've had an appetizing snack before getting the main course." I put my hand on my hip. "You were sleeping on the job."
" I stayed awake most the night." The boy answered sheepishly. " That's why they're called night creatures, they always attack at night."
"Not always, they can attack at any time but they're most active during night." I yawned. "You've wouldn't have done much asides getting mauled. Even if those fiends breached the ward around the village, my staff would alert me. It glows in the presence of night creatures."
The boy frowned downtrodden. " I didn't know."
"It's all right. I appreciate you looking out for me." I said kindly. "It's nice having someone watch your back."
"It is my. honor." The boy smiled. "I'm Aiden." I introduced myself and asked where the village headwoman was. "That a way. I'll take you to her."
I wrapped cloak over my shoulders from the chill of the morning autumn air. People began to emerge from their homes. Those I passed by murmured a quick good morning or gave me a wide berth. They still didn't know what to make of me, perhaps more time among them will change that. "What happened to the rest of your caravan?" I asked Aiden.
"They were slain, ma'am. Vampires ambushed us on the road three days ago, we escaped while they were distracted with feeding." He gulped. "The village you sent us to was burned to the ground a week after we arrived, and we had to flee again."
"I'm so sorry." I said mournfully. "Perhaps you'll finally find safety here."
"I know we will, you'll protect us." The boy kept close.
"I'll try." I ruffled his hair, eyes drifting along the surrounding trees. "Did anyone else come in last night?"
"No. Just us and the other refugees you saw."
I nodded, digging my nails into the staff.
"Aiden you better not be mucking about over there!! Where the hell have you been!?Get over here before I box your ears!" Aiden jumped at the shrill voice and ran to the woman with ragged straw hair who seemed older than she truly was. "Keep away from that witch, boy. She'll draw you in under her spell."
"She's not a witch, Maggie! She's good, and her magic's good too!" Aiden defended. "She's a magician, and they are not to be trusted. Especially one who beds a vampire." Maggie warned before sharply glaring at me. I clawed into my staff and gave her a quick glare of my own before moving on.
I found Greta at the village entrance talking with a group of workers and a few of her swordsmen from last night. Her scrutinizing gaze pinned on the splintered gate the crab-men busted through. "You're awake. Good. I was about to bang on your door and stir you out of bed myself." The headwoman addressed terse, and I feared she was mad at me for sleeping in. "Relax." She quickly assured. "I jest, mostly." A chuckle murmured among her swordsmen. "I presume you're well rested."
"I am." I nodded befuddled. "Did I miss anything?"
"No. Our night went undisturbed for the first time in days. I would have woken you otherwise." Greta noted, dismissing her meeting and turning to me. "I have an important task for you."
"Whatever you need, I'll assist in any way I can." I bowed my head with my palm on my heart.
"Good. I want you to go around and see if any of my villagers need help." Greta instructed. "If they do, you are to aid them in whatever they request of you."
"Sure thing." I answered confused but optimistic. "Is there anything else you need afterwards? I thought maybe you could use some help getting everyone settled in."
"I'm okay for now, thank you." Greta declined. "Help me by helping them, that's what is needed of you. You'll do a good deal on my part while I'm busy with my tasks at hand." She winked at me, leaving me more confused.
"Okay, this should be easy." I murmured to myself walking through the village. "Just go about and ask people if they need any help, and help them. You can do that." Why did I feel more nervous about this than fighting night creatures? My eyes passed forlornly on the woods behind the gate. I know I'm capable of doing this alone, I wish I didn't have to. "He's not coming." I told myself, steeling my heart. "He'd be at your bedside if he were. The sooner you realize it, the easier it'll be. You're on your own."
Without the urgency of fighting, I got a good look at Danesti for the first time beneath the dawning light. One could barely call it a village, a dozen of thatched huts nestled between high rocks and surrounded by a sparse woodland. It gave the sense of a temporary encampment, not a village that's existed since the days of Aurelius's time.
It's a miracle this place wasn't wiped out entirely I thought to myself as my gaze drifted over the village, noting its sheer vulnerability. Settled on flat spot of land where one could see it for miles, and no natural fortification save for the few sloping rocks, the village was practically an open target for roving packs of hellbeasts and bloodthirsty vampires.
"Hello." I walked up a woman struggling to carry two buckets from the well.
"What do you want, mage, can't you see I'm busy?"
I winced from the harshness of her voice. "Looked like you were struggling. Would you like me to carry the other bucket for you?"
The woman set down the sloshing water. "I'd appreciate that." I picked up the other bucket in my free hand and followed her home, introducing myself. "What's your name?"
"Laura." The women responded.
"Nice to meet you Laura." I set the bucket down at the side of her house. "Thank you." She nodded. "I'm having to do extra work since my husband injured his foot in a night creature attack."
"Oof. I know that pain. I twisted my ankle a while ago and it took me forever to heal." Laura only nodded. "But um, he's lucky to have you taking care of him." I added.
"Thank you." Laura sighed. "I worry he won't recover by the next attack. Luckily we've got a mage now, and they'll think twice about raiding us again. Least I hope." She closed the door to presumably tend to her injured husband.
The next person I found struggled to feed his demanding livestock. "I've been toiling to feed these hungry beasts since my stable-boy was killed." Argyle grunted. "I'd appreciate the help." I switched my staff for a pitchfork and stabbed the piles of hay, dropping them into the troughs for the hungry animals. The two cows mooed in delight and the herd of goats happily bounded to a trough and feasted as if they hadn't eaten days.
"They haven't." Argyle revealed after I commented my thoughts. "The night beasts' constant presence has scared the appetite out of them. I actually lost two goats from stress."
"I'm glad they're eating now." I happily watched the animals fill their bellies. "Maybe they finally feel safe." Argyle observed. "We've got a magician protecting us now, perhaps the beasts know it." He gave a curious look. "Or they're hungry enough they'll eat." One of the cows ambled to the fence.
"Back up ." Argyle warned. "Bayla's a nasty temper and she'll knock anyone down who's not me." Argyle appeared shocked out of his mind when Bayla happily nudged my arm and lowered her head for me to scratch between her horns. " What's gotten into ya Bay? Finally had a change of heart about people? Now let me tell you something mage, Bayla's never let anyone touch her except me, I hand raised her since she was a calf and she never let anyone get up close to her. She'll trample you flat if you even look her the wrong way!"
Argyle gawked when the rest of the animals clustered to the fence, watching me unblinking and pawing for my attention. "My God, now isn't that something? Never seen them gravitate toward someone who didn't have food."
"I did feed them." I pet the goats nibbling at my cloak. "Hey don't eat that!"
Argyle laughed. " I can rest easier knowing our protector is a good soul. Animals can sense it in people, and they've taken a shining to you! Thanks a million, mage! Feel free to come help out whenever you can!"
I walked on when I heard a lady cursing out a flock of retreating crows. "Bad enough with hellbeasts pilfering my garden, now I have to contend with these little beasties?" She turned my way. "Mage! Do me a favor and burn these cawing little shits out of the sky!"
"My magic doesn't hurt innocents." I said reluctant. And Morae won't be keen on me roasting her favorite birds.
"Nothing innocent about those little bastards." Teresa glared at the trees. "They know exactly what they're doing. Flying about stealing my seed when I'm not looking. Surely you have some magic that'll take care of them!"
"In fact I do." I raised my staff and set reflective orbs around and above Teresa's garden. "Crows hate reflective light, their shimmering will keep them at bay."
Teresa hugged me. "Thank you mage. You have no idea how much trouble I've gone through trying to protect this garden. It might not seem much, and it isn't, but it's the only thing of mine keeping us fed." She held back tears. "And its all that's left of my husband after demons carried him off."
"I'm so sorry." I lowered my head. "You don't have to do anything about the orbs. Just leave them be and they'll keep the crows at bay."
"That I will." Teresa listened kindly. "Mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?" I said amiably.
"Is it true you've kept company with a vampire?"
I paused for a moment and answered honest. "Yes." Teresa looked on me with pity instead of disgust. "I'm so sorry. Thankfully you've escaped."
"I didn't escape, I left on my own will."
"You're joking." Teresa said disbelieved. "You just got up and walked away? You must be a powerful mage shoving off a vampire's curse."
"I wasn't cursed." I explained . "Alucard never kept me captive and he certainly didn't curse me to stick with him . I'd kill him if he ever tried that! He took me in and cared for me when I was lost and injured, and as time passed we grew close with each other. There were no curses of vampiric entrancements to keep me by his side. Just genuine affection."
"I see what you mean." Teresa crossed her arms. "Never heard of someone falling in love with a vampire, but I believe you. I hear it in the way you talk about him. I guess it's false what they say about Dracula and his wife. Most believe he tranced her to fall in love with him, but obviously it wasn't the case, with her or with you."
"It's not." I confirmed.
"I'm glad things worked out." Teresa said. "At least I hope so, because you're here and he's not."
A pang hit my heart. "My partner doesn't trust humans. He was betrayed by them and refuses to get close again. I tried convincing him to come with me, but when he made his decision clear, I struck out on my own to aide your village."
"That must've been hard."
"It was." I sighed, absentmindedly scratching my shoulder.
"That's a very brave thing you did." Teresa empathized. "Sticking to your morals and riding out to our aid even when your loved one's stuck with mistrust. Thank you for taking that chance, most of us would be dead if you hadn't arrived last night."
"You're welcome. Thank you for listening and understanding me." I responded heartfelt, looking out past the gate. "I hope he forgives me and he's not too angry with me when I return home."
"If he truly loves you, he shouldn't be angry at you for doing what feels right in your heart." Teresa said. With her garden protected I set off meandering through the village, checking to see if anyone needed assistance.
"Looks like everyone's good." I spoke to myself. " Doing their own thing without a mage's magic." A subdued quiet lingered over Danesti, even with people out. It was as if the village itself took a relieved breath after days of constant attacks.
"Rather, anticipating another attack." I murmured under my breath. Could I really protect everyone?
I approached Greta again when I saw her in the main square. "All is well?" The headwoman inquired. "Yes." I replied enthusiastic. "I helped Laura carry water back to her home, Argyle feed his livestock, and Teresa protect her garden from crows."
"Good." Greta noted. "There's plenty more people to check. Carry on." A group of men and women passed us carrying large axes. One gave Greta a quick nod, in which she replied the same "Where are they going?" I watched them pass through the gate, thankfully stepping over the protection circle.
"They're going to fell trees for wood to rebuild our gate." Greta explained. "I trust your spells, but if a night creature is desperate enough to bellow on through." She shook her head. "Might as well hang a welcome sign over the broken gate."
"I get that." I blinked. "You're letting them go alone? They'll be beyond the ward's borders and at risk of predation. I can act as an escort and keep guard."
"You're needed here." Greta dismissed. "They're equipped with silver weapons and pouches of salt to their belts. I'm not keen on letting anyone beyond the village walls, but these refugees volunteered, and we need to rebuild our defenses. No telling when the next strike will be."
A sour knot twisted in my gut. "Greta, how long have you been under attack?"
"Four days." Greta answered severely. "First it was just one of those bastards. More every night. We barely made it through the night before your arrival. We're lucky only a third of us are dead." I curled my fists, the glyphs prickling up my forearm. I should be doing more than just carrying water from wells and feeding livestock. "The bordering ward will keep them at bay, and if I muster my strength, I could give your village extra defenses by setting up Glowering Eyes on those rocks."
Greta touched my knuckled fist. "Save your energy for when it's truly necessary. We'll have need of your magic and combat skills yet." She ordered me to continue my task, heading off to complete her ever-long to do list of responsibilities for the village headwoman.
" Mage! Can you help us?" A man called from his home, standing next to a pile of hay. "Fire drakes burned a hole in our roof. I tried fixing it, but I nearly snapped my back after toppling right through. Luckily my fat ass broke the fall." He laughed heartily.
"It's no laughing matter." His wife snapped severely. "We can't have you hurt when there's night creatures about. You know they go after the injured first." She carried a baby, trying to soothe him as he whimpered.
"Don't worry, I've got this. You might wanna stand back." I twirled my staff summoning a gust that lifted the hay to its intended spot. I ran up the side of house and stepped gently on the roof, patching the hole in before climbing down. The man, a stout blacksmith named Magnus, nodded in approval. "Now I shall not worry about us shivering in the rain. Thank you."
"Yes, thank you so much." His wife, Amara said, still rocking her child. The baby fussed in her arms, and his whimpers became cries. "Shh. It's all right little one." She rocked him in her arms. "Magnus, can you grab his biting toy?"
"Of course." Magnus went inside. "His teeth are growing in." Amara explained. "Doesn't help these demon attacks are keeping him up at night. Poor little thing." The baby stopped crying when he saw me, his huge blue eyes locked onto me and he reached his tiny hands out cooing. "Oh! Is that a new friend?" Amara smiled. The baby vocalized reaching his whole body over. "Are you comfortable holding him?" Amara asked.
I nodded. "Yes."
The moment Amara handed her child to me was the moment my maternal instincts snapped awake after being dormant for hundreds of years. "Hey little guy." I held him firmly and close, bouncing my feet smiling as the child laughed. He touched his little hands to my face and clutched my hair in his fingers. His big blue eyes glimmered in adoration. "You know what I am don't you?" I spoke in a soft whisper. As if to answer without the knowledge of speech, he grabbed the cloak by my breast where my glyphs prickled unseen.
"Mind your manners little one! I'm sorry." Amara apologized embarrassed. "I'm still nursing him and he must be getting hungry." "It's all right." I chuckled, holding him close as if he were my own. "Does he have a name?"
"No." Amara sighed guilty. "I'm afraid to give him one, it would hurt worse if we were to lose him. I feel guilty enough bringing him into a world where humans are preyed on like animals." She shook her head. "I understand." I clutched the baby as if to protect him. Memories of Valerius trickled to the surface, and it felt the same holding this stranger's child as I held an infant of my own body.
"You're familiar with babies." Amara observed.
" I am." I brushed the boy's hair. "I had a child a long time ago."
"I'm so sorry." Amara said kindly as I handed him back.
"It's all right. Like I said, it was a long time ago." I looked at her trusting. "And I am much older than I look." I wonder if I said too much when Amara gave me a curious eye. She didn't even notice her husband approach with a teething toy.
I awkwardly moved on, giving them a kindly farewell. "I shouldn't have said that." I muttered to myself, kicking pebbles across the ground. "Revealing too much about yourself will scare them. Maybe in time you can tell them, but not now, when they're just starting to trust you." Checking on the rest of the village (which wasn't very large) most didn't need anything from me, and those who did had me tend to menial tasks. Rake up straw, fetch bags of grain to store, corral chickens back into their coop (That was interesting, lucky the miniature dinosaurs obeyed with a wave of my staff and followed like ducklings).
I should be really putting my skills to work; setting up protective wards, guarding the volunteers in the wood, even helping repair the gate. Danesti's an open target to every conceivable hellbeast and here I am putting a Band-Aid over a gaping wound it when it needed full stitching. It's nice giving these people a helping hand and all, especially after the hell they've endured, but it still seems I'm doing the smallest amount when I could be doing much more.
Did I really leave the love of my life behind to herd a few chickens?
"Hallooo! Lady Mage! Might you spare a moment?" I gripped my staff ignoring the alchemist waving at me until he decided to stroll up like a savvy salesman. "What do you want?"
"A quiet word, your grace. What wonderful work you're doing, aiding the poor and downtrodden through simple acts of kindness. Truly God's work. I wouldn't have expected any less from..." He clicked his throat. "Someone of your nature. "
I debated on hitting him in the legs. "Will you shut it?" I hissed . "You've a worse memory than me if your forgot our conversation last night."
"How could I ever forget?" Saint Germain replied humbly. "I need help. Since you're seeing to the needs of the common people I thought you could spare a moment of your precious time to assist a fellow magician."
"I'm here for the villagers." I struck my staff in the dirt. "And you are not a villager. Besides, I doubt whatever your problems are I could help with." My stomach roiled at the stench simmering off of him. Sulfurous.It kept nagging me why the scent clicked familiar, then I remembered.
Shit....I've been so focused on keeping away the dangers outside the village, I didn't stop to think there may be worse creeping inside.
"On the contrary my dear. You are the only one in this world who can." I stopped and glared at him. "What do yo mean?"
"Be at peace, honorable Mal'ahk" Saint Germain eased when we were at the ward's edge out of earshot. "The task I seek your aid will benefit us both." His eyes darted around, and once he realized nobody was around to listen in, he lowered his voice and spoke urgently. "I wish to gain access to the Infinite Corridor."
I dug my nails into my palm. "What the hell is the Infinite Corridor?"
"My dear, surely you jest." Saint Germain chuckled before giving desperate stare. "You truly don't know?"
"Does it look like I know?" I cocked my brow. I was partly lying. I really didn't know what he was talking about, but I had a hunch, and I hoped I was wrong.
"My God I didn't expect to come to such an impasse." Saint Germain ruffled his beard. "I'm so damned close!" He huffed and calmly explained. "The Infinite Corridor, dear Messenger, is a system of doorways to other worlds separated by our own through space and time. It is reachable only to those who are masters in the Arcane, and are willing to make immeasurable sacrifices. Many believe the Infinite Corridor to be mere folklore, but I know better. I've seen it with my own eyes and traversed its endless paths."
He tugged at a concealed amulet beneath his collar. "And it is there I lost someone I loved dearly. We were separated many years ago, and I've spent much of my life trying to find a way back inside to reach her. I finally discovered an opening in recent history, but it came at the cost of countless human lives at the summoning of a great Night Beast." He mistook my rattled expression for confusion. "Ah, but that's another story! My point is, openings into the Corridor are inaccessible without immense magical aptitude and sacrifice, but there is another way. One I never believed I would find it until last night."
"And what way is that?" I gripped the staff hackles raised.
"You, my grace." Saint Germain beamed. "Angels possess the innate ability to open the Infinite Corridor on a mere whim. They are the only creatures in existence who can fully control it and use it as a crossroads to navigate other worlds and times. Surely you know of this."
"I don't." I presented myself calmly.
Saint Germain stood hesitant before taking a long breath. "I suppose it is my rotten luck finding the one celestial in the world unaware of her inborn gift." Hope shimmered in his eyes. "Yet there's still a chance you could succeed. I sense a deep wellspring of power within you you've yet to tap into, but it leaks to the surface. Tell me, have you ever encountered anything strange? Like things perceivable to only your eyes?"
"I have." I answered guarded. " The air shimmers in a particular spot and goes away, but that's probably from the visual migraines I get every so often." I thought Saint Germain would break down and cry from sheer joy that instant. "You can see them."
"See what!?"
"The doors your grace! The openings to the Infinite Corridor! Portals into the Corridor drift in and out of existence, and cannot normally be perceived by the naked eye. I've seen such anomalies with the aid of a lithomancy stone I've regrettably lost. They appeared as distortions of the air, shimmering colors of pinks and blues, does the description fit?"
"Yes." I froze in my spot. "To a T."
"I knew it!" Saint Germain clapped his hands together joyously. "Angels can naturally detect and see openings into the Infinite Corridor. You may have been unaware of your innate abilities but are but they are surfacing within you." He took my hand in both of his own. "Please." Saint Germain begged. "Help me find her. She is my heart and soul, and I would give anything to be with her again. To tell her how much I love her."
"I can't." I stepped back and drew my hand away. "I've never heard of this Infinite Corridor until now, let alone know how to control it." It was the truth, though I didn't want to delve deeper . The adventurer's warning rang clear in my mind. Do not trust the alchemist. It had to be him.
"Even if I did, this is beyond my capability. Setting demons on holy fire is one thing, you're asking to to open up an interdimensional portal into a crossroads between time and space. I've never done something of that magnitude and I don't plan to. I'm sorry, I cannot help you. I'm not as powerful as I once was."
Saint Germain sunk. "I see. Well it was worth asking, and you still are a formidable mage. Very much so, your grace. If only the headwoman saw you for the miracle that you truly are instead of sending you off as her errand girl fixing roofs and feeding livestock. Shame you're wasting your true potential when you could be doing much greater things. She has no idea who she has in front of her." An optimistic smirk flickered across his face. " Perhaps we can change that. I may not know much in the ways of holy magic, but I have a few alchemist tricks up my sleeve that can help enhance your abilities to their former magnitude." He offered his hand. "You only need to ask."
I politely declined. "I'd rather grow stronger on my own, thank you."
"Yes. Of course." Saint Germain replied quietly. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."
"In the village outhouse?" I quipped.
The alchemist laughed. "You really do have a sense of humor! I'll be around, Angel. Good day!"
"Good day to you too, sir." I responded quietly while walking away.
The unicorn perked his ears to me when I met him at the ward's edge . He stayed to his nature and kept away from people, choosing to rest in the sun by a pine tree. "Thanks for sticking with me, pal." I patted his shoulder. The unicorn nickered, nuzzling my cheek.
I sat with my back against the palm tree, stroking his mane while he lay down beside me. " I thought I was done with discovering secrets about myself." I recounted my conversation with the alchemist before shaking my head. "What else is there about me I still don't know?" The unicorn abruptly stood, flaring his nostrils towards the village.
"Good day mage." A bearded man with graying hair approached. He had a kindness to his brown eyes and his wrinkled smile set me at ease. "Hello." I responded friendly. "Need something?" "No, I just wanted to see if you were all right."
"I'm all right, thanks for checking on me. What's your name?"
"My name is Gaius." The man introduced. "I've lived in Danesti since the day I was born." He cautiously stepped towards the unicorn, who cocked his ears intrigued. "You can come close, just don't touch him." I advised. "You really came over to check on me?"
"I did." Gaius said. "You appeared troubled, and I saw you walking away with a hard scowl. Are you truly all right?"
"I've been better." I sighed. "A lot of things are going through my mind. The vulnerable state of your village, secrets about myself I'm still discovering, and the fact I'm not doing as much as I should be."
"Why do you believe that?"
"Because I haven't done anything to protect Danesti since last night. I've been carrying menial errands all day. Not that I'm complaining, I love helping people, but when you consider everything that's going on and the threat at hand, my tasks seem.....insignificant. I should be doing more to help your people and your home. I have the potential to really make a difference but....." I hesitated.
"You feel you've been set aside." Gaius scratched his beard.
"Exactly." I admitted. "Between you, me, and my friend here, I fear your leader doesn't trust or believe in me, so she's sent me off to act as the village errand girl to keep me out of her way."
"I can understand your thought." Gaius laughed. "And I can assure you that's the furthest from the truth. Greta believes in you immensely, and she trusts you. Else she wouldn't have let you mingle among our people so freely."
Gaius smiled lowering his voice. "Let me tell you something, Arcane Mage. You haven't realized it, but she's been watching you while you're about your tasks. She likes what she's sees and more of what she hears from those who's lives you've improved."
"Really?" I asked surprised. "Good to know. I was worried she didn't like me. She's really brusque around me, I feared I ticked her off. "
"Don't worry." Gaius assured. "That's just Greta, she's been that way since she was a girl. She's just honest and to the point. You haven't gotten off the wrong foot with her at all. Your efforts in our village today have shown her that."
"They have?"
"Yes." Gaius nodded. "The reason she sent you to help us was to test you. Instructing you to aid the townspeople was her way of gauging your personality and how you interacted with her people. She wanted to ensure you were in this because you genuinely cared about us, and not for silly pride or gallantry. You made quite the entrance last night, we weren't sure what to make of you, but seeing you among us as a friend with a caring heart, well, it wouldn't shock me if you're called to assist her more directly."
Gaius patted my shoulder. "Be at peace, you're doing great and we are all very thankful for you. Don't worry about making a good impression, you've already done so."
"Thank you Gaius." I smiled almost wanting to cry.
"It's us who should be thanking you." Gaius's smile reminded me of the Speaker Elder. "You should check on old Mira when you have the chance. She doesn't have anyone left and she's been quite lonely. Marius always kept watch over her but since..........since he won't be coming back, it'd be nice for her to have some company."
"I will." I nodded. "I'll see you around."
I pet the unicorn heart filled with joy. "I knew it was worth it to come here." I said before my heart clenched. Once again looking out at the distant woods which we came. "I wish you could see how nice humans can actually be. Maybe I'll change your mind when I return, but I've a feeling I'll be here for while."
I held my staff firmly. "As long as it takes. I'll stay as long as they need me. This is what I'm meant to do."