A pair of soft hands stopped William from strumming his instrument.

"T-There's not enough time. We need to hide you right now!" warned the brunette elf he saved.

He let her lead him up the stairs to a room and she closed the door. Within minutes, metal bootsteps of knights entered the inn. Gasps of horror occupied the room from the grisly sight.

What followed next was the sound of vomiting from the bar owner. William and the elf kept quiet to hear their voices.

"Sir, is there anyone else who could have witnessed this?"

"No-No, sir. By the time I left, it was just them," the bar owner bluffed.

"What about your staff?"

"I told them to leave as soon as I left."

Will heard the pitter patter of something near the elf. She saw a mouse and covered her mouth from screaming. She leaned towards Will which made the wooden floor creak. She quickly got them through a hidden side door to hide in a small closet. They covered each other's mouths as they heard the clinking of metal rushing up the stairs. The wood of the next room broke open.

The bard's heart raced against his chest. The elf held him tight. If his heart was any louder, they would be found right away. The elf almost jumped as metal struck the floor.

"Damn rodent! Wasting our time. Let's round up the bodies," the captain of the knights expressed with urgency.

For the next hour, it was torture for Will and the elf. A layer of sweat formed on their faces in the crowded closet. The pairs of metal boots repeatedly entered and exited the bar downstairs.

"27 bodies in total," one of the officers said.

"This is madness. I wonder what made them want to take their lives."

"At least, no one else will be hurt by them. Get the cleaning tablets out."

The duo in the closet heard the sound of hissing from below them. Will's nostrils picked up a lavender scent that overpowered the iron smell.

After no longer hearing the horses, the bar maiden and Will got out of the closet. They could finally breathe. His body trembled from almost being caught. She kept embracing him to keep his heart rate steady. She had him sit on the bed to catch his breath.

"Are you alright?" the bar maiden asked while dabbing his head dry with a towel.

He broke down in tears from the emotional toll that was eating at him. "D-Did you see what I did?"

"I did."

He lowered his head. "I'm a monster."

She pulled in his head to listen to her heart. "You saved everyone from those monsters. You did the right thing", she reassured him. Hearing her hum a lullaby eventually calmed him down.

"Thank you."

"I'm the one who should say that too. You saved me down there."

He cracked a small grin before it disappeared. "I did this all for my parents. What would they think of me? Should I go to jail? Should-"

She silenced his lips with a finger. She then cupped his cheeks with her hands.

"Your secret is safe with me. Stay with me, handsome," she whispered into his ear with an alluring tone. She unbuttoned his stained shirt to let his skin breathe.

He used the back of his hand to softly touch her face. Plump lips, small nose, braided hair, pointed elf ears. He could feel her tremble from his touch.

"M-May I know your name?"

"How sweet. But this is just for comfort, nothing more. Our bodies will be doing the talking from now on."

"What color are your eyes?"

She smirked with amusement. "Brown."

"I bet they look like pots of honey when the sun dances on your face."

"Keep talking like that," she whispered into his ear.

She lifted his face and kissed him. Will allowed his urges to take over with hands tracing up and down her body......

Nibbles on her pointed ears made her shiver. As he felt her about to explode again, he gently blew into her ear which made the explosion memorable. Her Elven language came out in pleasurable screams that encouraged his every thrust.

The early sun rose as they finally finished. William peacefully laid his head on her chest with arms wrapped around her.

Numerous kisses on the cheek later woke him up. "That was a lot of fun we had," the elf softly said. The distance of her voice told him that she was standing near the bed.

"It sure was. Thanks for giving me some peace."

"Any time. Ow!"

"What's wrong?"

"I was stretching, but I'm still sore from last night."

"How about I take care of that?" he flirted.

"Nice try," she laughed. She handed him some clean linen clothes.  "I cleaned your clothes, but here's some new ones. Be safe, hero."

"You too, honey elf."

After getting dressed, she snuck him down to the side entrance. She opened the door to let him out. He couldn't stop himself from kissing her again.

"Stop or you won't be home," she jested.

"But I like your honeycomb eyes."

"You will make someone else happy, bard. Save it for her."

He gave her a final peck on the cheek. "Okay."

He walked away from the bittersweet place. As he got back to the inn, pairs of familiar feet raced towards him.

"Where were you?!" his mother asked.

"I was out with a woman," he bluntly put it.

His father smiled from ear to ear. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"It was a one-time thing."

"Did you at least wear protection?"

"I did, mom. Thank Claude that you won't be a grandma this soon."

"We have great news. The money we lost reappeared on our table! We can afford a new home now!" his father raved.

Will happily embraced them and didn't let go for a while.

His father felt something was amiss. "Are you alright?"

"I think I will be now. Let's go shopping."

As they shopped in the market, they came face to face with Phineas. Will's stomach flip flopped. He knew his master could tell if magic was used.

"Young William, I came by to check on you after what I heard."

His parents left them to talk.

"Thanks, Master Phineas. It's good that everything worked out for us. Our money came back."

"And I know you were the one responsible for that."

His white pupils shook from the weight of his words. "I-I'm sorry. I-"

He got cut off with a tight embrace. "It's alright. Just don't be foolish like that again. I would have lost my favorite student."

Tears streamed down the blind mage's face.

"I can't tell you what to do anymore. Only advice. Killing doesn't make you worse than your enemy if you will be saving lives. Keep that in mind."

"I'll try."

"At least they won't bother anyone else. I'm going to teach you more magic because some people may call on you-"

"You bastard!" That voice chased a shirtless Claude who put himself behind Phineas and Will. He's still buckling the belt to his loose brown pants.

A bulky man stops in front of Phineas. "Please forgive me, sir. This pervert slept with my sister!"

"What?! She said she lived alone."

"I will kill you, manwhore!"

"ENOUGH! Did he lie about having a relationship with her?" the experienced mage asked the man.

"He-He did, sir."

Phineas stared at Claude with daggers in his eyes.

"Don't you look at me like that! I told her it was just casual, just like the other women."

"I believe him," Will assured. In his experience, Claude doesn't lie about just having casual sex with them. Long-term relationships were never his thing.

"Thanks, Will," the bard appreciated while brushing back the black bangs of his hair.

The large man exhaled. "My sister does get attached easily. Just don't come around her."

"You are joking! Must I leave the market every time she shows up?!"

Phineas rubbed his temples. "Just stop it, Claude."

"Fine," he exhaled.

The brother left the trio. Will's parents came over to him because of the commotion.

"I knew your actions will catch up with you!" Mrs. Bennett smirked.

"Just a minor inconvenience. I won't see her again."

Mr. Bennett gave him a shirt to wear and he puts it on.

"Claude, I have something to tell you.....I had a great night with an elf," Will whispered.

His eyes widened with a roguish smile on his face. He couldn't help but boast of his pupil.

"Well done! Remember to keep the details to yourself. Don't want another woman to overhear that."

"Yes, teacher."

"You're lucky you told him about protection," Dorothea grumbled.

"Of course. I would never lead him astray. I'm going back to bed......Oh, Will. If you need money, there are some guilds hiring bards for various quests at the city center. Just listen to the chatter and go for the task you want to do."

"Thanks for letting me know."

As things settled down, he would hear people talk about the gruesome group suicide of the Black Iron Gang wherever he went.

"There's no way that they would all take their lives. Magic has to be at play."

He kept walking to avoid being suspected.

"I don't care how. The kingdom is a lot safer with them gone. I heard from a coworker that the rival gangs are afraid to pull anything. Good news that I can drink to!"

William decided to join a guild to help him and his family out. He went on missions that ranged from recovering relics to restoring health of villages. He would always use defensive spells from the far back when he did group missions. And made plenty of lovers along the way.

When he and Hastrabena were recovering a stolen treasure chest, thieves came their way.

He shook with fright from the nightmares in his head, but he refused to let her get hurt because of him. He sang songs to disorient the band while expanding her dwarven strength to that of 10 men. After she disposed of them, they comforted each other that night. Her broken heart from her cheating ex and his mind from the past.

Despite the waves of praise he received, they didn't budge the mountain of nightmares in his head.

----

Will stops playing for a bit and lowers his head. His fingers tired from reliving that tragic night.

"You should never feel bad about what you did. They were horrible and deserved justice for all the crimes they committed."

"If what I did was right, why do I have those terrible dreams?" he argues. "The Cosmos of magic won't let me get rid of them."

He then feels cold, boney hands from the Queen placed on top of his gloves. His heart slows down to a turtle's pace.

"I'm...sorry you have to deal with this. I know what that is like," she expresses with regret.

He goes to touch her hands, but she withdraws them. "Thanks. Despite the cold, you are warm as a summer's sun."

"Still as witty as ever. Maybe your tongue would have to go first," she threatens.

"Then I will kiss you with my lips," he shoots back.

"I will rip them out."

"Then I will use my long lashes to deliver butterfly kisses."

The Skeleton Queen stops as the bard is quick. Going back and forth isn't helping with her racing heart. From their exchange and his motivation, he finds the strength to strum his instrument.

"How about I show you another lover?"

"Disgusting bard, I'm not a pervert like yourself! Aren't you supposed to have me fall in love with you?"

"Yes, but this woman is special. Between you two, I can't choose. Because I love you both. If your servants want to dance, let them."

He strums gentle, romantic notes from his instrument. The noble looks at her people and begrudgingly waves her hand.

The skeleton couples in the throne room hold each other and dance. The bard hears their flat-footed steps on the floor. Groans coming out of their mouths as skulls laid on shoulders.

"Her name is Bumva the Brutal. To me, she is an orc goddess."