The first fare.

The sun was sneaking up in the horizon, promising to chase the night's chill away. But it wasn't soon enough for Rose's taste.

Helena had woke Rose up before the sun itself so the two of them could get going. But they'd only been on the road till the sun peaked out, then Helena had found a grove close to a small spring. Telling Rose they had to do one thing before they continued.

Rose wasn't enjoying the situation she found herself in. Kneeling beside the spring, nude, as Helena both kept an eye at her and their surrounding. Making sure none interrupted them as Rose was washing herself off.

"Doesn't it feel wonderful washing off that blood and grim, Rose?"

"I don't know if it'll feel better, Helena. I so only do it because you've promised me that you'll give me some clothes." It was only partly truthful. Rose was washing herself of because of the new clothes. But it was also because Helena had said they would reach a village, where they would spend the night, and it meant she couldn't be that blood stained.

"I see..." Helena looked down at Rose, "Then I hop that the clothes will be to your satisfaction , Rose." Helena made it sound as if Rose would demand good clothes, but honestly so couldn't Rose care less about it as long as the clothes were better than the rags she's worn earlier. And it wasn't difficult in any way.

Thanks to the cold air so did Rose making sure to get done as soon as possible, chilled to the very bone from her thin body.

And as soon she was done so did Helena hand the girl the new clothes. A plain shirt, an undershirt and a blouse. All made out of a thicker textile, which Helena explained was to keep the cold out and the warmth in.

"By the way, Rose. How are you arm doing?" Did Helena even have to ask?

"I think it's fine with my arm, Helena. You did saw the arm earlier and said that it looked surprisingly good." To be honest, so couldn't Rose say how her arm was supposed to look. Sure, she'd got injured during her time back in the hellhole. But neither she or the other Demon lords had been bitten, so it was impossible to tell what was in or out.

But neither way so did Rose started to dress, "It did look good, but I feel as if it's healing too fast. So, may I ask what skill you posses which let you recover that fast?" Helena continued to talk while Rose slipped into the clothes. Which she already could feel really did keep the cold out.

"May I ask you what you mean with skills?" Rose couldn't remember she ever had heard about it, "Or rather, what are the skills you're talking about?" Suddenly thinking that it maybe was best to take it from the beginning.

Helena eyes shot wide before throwing them into explaining about skills, which continued even after they were done and sat in the waggon, heading further down the road.

And as Rose understand it so was it a horrible simplified version of the magic she'd learned about back in the hellhole. The only difference was that skills only were small throwaway parts of the whole magic part.

"May I interrupt you a little, Helena? But doesn't you need to reach adulthood before being able to learn those skills?" As Rose had heard about magic, so wasn't it possible to truly learn it until the Demon lord reach adulthood. But if it would turn out that HUMANS could learn it before adulthood, so shouldn't it be difficult for her to learn magic before she was an adult.

"Most people starts to learn it before they're considered adults. But there's still a difference, from person to person, when they start learning skills."

Rose meant that it meant she surely could learn magic before she was an adult, which simply meant that she needed to start training soon. The only question was where she should start, but at least so shouldn't it be during the time she was on the waggon.

Rose looked at the greyish sky, keeping an eye at the sun as it got closer to the horizon.

Her small rear felt sore after sitting in the waggon the whole day, only with a few short brakes when either of them needed to take a piss. Still, she couldn't say that she minded it too much. Spending the whole time listening to Helena, not only about skills but also about the places she'd been visiting.

"You can see the village, over there, Rose." The woman was only holding the reins with one hand, using the other to point out the city.

"I see." Rose followed Helena s pointing. Caring less as she tried to scout out any possible threats.

She was sure the biddy still wanted to bring her back to the hellhole, so she had to keep her senses on high alerts, in case some of her people were nearby.

"I think you might need relax, Rose. Villagers will notice if you're too jumpy and suspect you for things, which might lead to even further problems." As Helena expressed it, so did it almost sound as if Rose was wanted for a crime, but it maybe was to be expected when considering that Rose still hadn't explained why she was blood stained and alone in the middle of the forest.

Rose was sure she should've told Helena already about the situation, but she was still uncertain how well she could trust her. Sure, she hadn't seen anything other than kindness, but it didn't make a human more trustworthy.

"I'll keep that in mind, Helena. But is it really a good idea to be too relaxed where there can be possible thieves and murderers?" She'd been taught humans couldn't be trusted, and was sure there existed an explanation to why she was taught that.

"You're right on that you can't trust everyone, but there'll be tons of indications to why some can't be trusted." Helena maybe could see things like that after all the time she spent traveling. But this was the very first time Rose left the hellhole, so she didn't have the luxury to learned that .

The houses looked shabby, making Rose relax slightly more. Sure none of the biddy's people willingly would set their feet in a wrecked place like this.

Helena had stopped the waggon in front of one of the largest buildings, close to the road, which had a stable beside it. "We'll be staying here for the night, Rose. So I hope you likes it."

No, Rose didn't like it. The building was looking just as bad as the other buildings, and she wouldn't be surprised if wild animals could enter through the possible cracks in the walls. But, once again, so might it be a good way to avoid those people.

"I see. But as I indicated earlier, Helena. Are you sure we're safe sleeping here?" It was probably not only wild animals coming in through the cracks, there might be humans too.

"You doesn't have to sweat it, Rose. It's safer than it looks, and to be honest, so doesn't we've the luxury to be picky." Helena jump off the waggon as she spoke and lead the horses toward the stable, kindly talking with a boy standing outside the entrance. Telling him they would leave in the morning, again, and giving him a couple of coins before gesturing to Rose to follow her.

The inside of the building only looked slightly better than the outside.

The tables, floor, wall and even the roof was dirty. The tables were lined up tightly and who ever had set them out seemed to have tried to fit in as many as possible. Even more impressive was that over the half amount of tables were filled by men drinking their time away.

Rose stood with Helena by the bar, as she listened to Helena booking them a cheap room and paying for using the stable.

Rose was even less impressed by the situation than when she'd looked at it from the outside. Not only was the room filled with a strong and off-putting scent, but the bartender had the very same scent. Which Rose suspected meant that the man behind the bar counter had been drinking just as much as the rest.

"I would like to see you leave as soon as possible in the morning, Lassie." The man handed Helena the key to the room as he called her something strange. But it didn't seem to be bothering Helena the slightest, so she could suspect it wasn't something too bad.

Helena turned to face Rose, "Shall we get going, Rose?" Passing her before she even answered.

The room they would be sharing was barely large enough to fit the two beds. Or, rather than beds so was it simply two heaps of hay on the floor, covered with two blankets.

"I know it isn't much, but it's about what we need for a good night's sleep." Helena hadn't even seen Rose disliking glare at the so-called beds, yet so could she already figure out how she felt.

"So it's just to be glad with what we can get, Helena?" Even the bed Rose had back in the hellhole had been better than this, and it had been a board on the floor, a thin madrass and a thin blanket. And honestly so shouldn't she'd minded that instead of this.

"But on the bright side, since we've picked this kind of room, so does we've some money for booze." Helena turned around as she spoke and, again, passes Rose as she spoke.

The surrounding noises, down in the bar, was growing louder as the night arrived. More people had arrived and none of them seemed to understand that they could talk in a low tone, instead screaming out what they wished to have said.

Still so had Rose found out one good thing with being there, Helena had ordered food for them. A kind of filling soup and some dry and dark bread.

Rose had't been expecting much, but was gladly surprised by the luxury food they got. Far, FAR, finer food than she ever had eaten before.

"You must have been starving, Rose." Helena could say that again.

Rose had been wolfing down the first bowl of soup so fast that Helena had decided to order another one for her. Helena didn't know it, but she shouldn't be able to judge Rose for being hungry. To be honest, so had Rose only eaten a slight piece of dried meat, Helena had offered during their travel, since Rose escaped that place.

After finish her second bowl so did Rose looking curious at the drink Helena had bought her, sure she'd called it wine, and felt an uncomfortable and lingering strong scent of it. Unsure if it was fine to drink something like that. Even though Helena, in front of her, drank it with gusto.

"Shouldn't you at least try the wine, Rose? And if you doesn't like it, so maybe we can get you something else." Helena's eyes were looking kindly at her as she asked, and sure Rose could consider at least trying it. A horrible decision she couldn't remember the result of.

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