It was still light when Noelia finished cutting the last twigs from the trees. They were quite persistent, especially during the flowering period and had to be cut back before the season began, or they would damage some windows of the tavern; it was a tiring work, but she had learned to do it, so as not to tire her father, too old to take care of everything...

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and tossed her red hair in the air to remove any remaining leaves. Although her life went on as usual, nothing was the same, not after her best friend had left town days earlier.

«Great job with that, Noelia.» The voice of her old father called her to the door and she let go of her worries for now «I haven't seen the black warrior in a while, do you know where he ended up?»

«You know how he is, dad, he always patrols the streets till late and sometimes, I have the impression he's looking for someone...»

When the girl said that thoughtfully, the father remembered a very important past event and felt the need to tell it.

«Maybe he's going to look for that girl. I should have told you before, my dear, but Y/n asked me not to for your own good...has she ever told you about her important matters?»

Noelia just chuckled, everyone here had business and secrets to hide and she had to keep the two worlds connected, so as not to cause them to sink into misunderstanding. She gave her father a caress before going inside, she didn't want to worry him unnecessarily and as far as Guts was concerned, his absence showed complete indifference towards your plight.

«Y/n was right...he doesn't deserve to know the truth.»

When night came, Noelia stayed up late and went to clean the stables. She had been doing this for weeks, as couldn't sleep well and work helped keep her mind busy.

But seeing your horse's empty seat made her think of that farewell day and every moment, she hoped you were fine and that the baby was still growing in your womb.

«Who's there?»

Noelia asked aloud, when thought she heard a rustling in the straw. A tall, black figure was advancing menacingly and she was about to swing the broom when recognized the man in time.

«You shouldn't be out at this time, it's not safe.» Guts said with a serious tone and his cloak hiding the armor and that dark charm of him, no way he often managed to enchant her too... but things were different now and Noelia no longer showed herself smiling like she used to.

«I'm working as always...you finished early tonight.» She held the rake upright, staring at the warrior and noticing the dirt on his worn boots, caused by walking through the forest «Any trace of Y/n and where she went?»

«You should tell me.» There, Noelia's breathing quickened and Guts slowly walked forward, appearing under the moonlight with an inquiring look «Because I'm sure you know where she is...you're hiding something from me, Noelia.»

After being discovered, the red-haired girl didn't waver, staying composed in her position and under the promise she had with you.

«I'm protecting and it's very different, Guts.» It was her turn to walk and stopped a few steps from the man, looking up with furious eyes «Have you ever wondered why, or you think it's all her fault for leaving like that? You have your responsibility and the fact you deny it, is really terrible.»

Guts remained impassive in front of those harsh words, as if nothing affected him, but inside his blood was boiling at feeling misled.

«What terrible thing I've done–»

«You still can't understand it?!» Suddenly, Guts covered himself with an arm when Noelia attacked him with a pile of straw «After what you did with Y/n...for heaven's sake Guts, she's expecting a baby from you!»

There was a brief silence where Noelia realized she had made a mistake, but she could no longer hide the truth. Guts didn't know what she was talking about, he perfectly knew his seed was incapable of conceiving so, that was certainly a stupid joke...

«How do you expect me to believe this story if she never told me anything herself?»

«How she could, if you are never with her? She also tried to get rid of the baby, because of this!» Noelia shed tears down her face, as she thought about the past and the dagger pointing at your belly «That's why she left, to solve this thing on her own...please Guts, you have to bring her back!»

The man remained silent again, staring at the girl as she grabbed his cloak to convince him. The truth was, Guts had never stopped looking for you after you suddenly disappeared, but he still couldn't believe the reason...

And now, he wanted to see it with his one eye.

«Did she tell you where she was going?» He asked finally, trying to calm her down but Noelia shook her head regretfully.

«She didn't tell me, I just watched her get the horse ready with lots of supplies.»

After that information, Guts guessed that your journey must be quite long and knowing you, you hadn't left unprepared or without arming yourself; maybe, there was a possibility you were still around Falconia and if he wanted to reach you, he had to hurry.

But that's when he felt something and reached into his pocket, pulling out his own personal gray stone. It was making vibrations that had never made before and though the reason was unknown, something told him that a bad omen was coming...

And you were involved in it.

Guts gripped the Beherit tightly, ignoring the silent cry it was showing...he would have done worse to anyone who would have dared lay a finger on every inch of you.

«...I will find you, Y/n.»

• • •

Wind was acting very strange. You didn't know what the hell was wrong, but your horse had been acting nervous all day and every time you pulled on the reins, it neighed repeatedly, interrupting its walk.

«Don't tell me you're still hungry.» You sighed and patted his back to reassure him «Just a little more and I'll give it to you.»

Wind seemed to calm down at the sound of your voice, as it had done throughout the rest of the journey; when it rode faster, your posture and weight were tilted forward and so, you preferred to hold on its long and black mane, almost forgetting what the goal was to reach...it had never happened, but also the armor on your stomach was becoming uncomfortable and pressing.

«What if it could harm...»

There, you deleted the thought and kept on your way, having certain worries would just make you suspicious and distance yourself from your goal. But that's when the horse stopped and started neighing again, abruptly this time, as if something was making him nervous.

You took out your sword and looked around, maybe a hidden presence in the forest had attracted its attention, but you didn't hear any disturbing noise.

«What's wrong with this animal??»

At that point, you thought hunger was distracting him and went to reach for the bag under your feet, when the horse suddenly resumed its ride in an uncontrolled manner.

«D-dammit!» You pulled the reins harder, but it was useless, the horse seemed to have gone crazy and for no reason, running quickly through the trees without giving you time to understand where you were going; you thought that horse was too faithful to its old master and was taking you back to Falconia, but your eyes widened when saw the road in front of you become a large and endless void.

It wasn't stopping. You had no choice but to jump off its back, hurling yourself against the ledge of that high precipice. You didn't turn your head, but you heard the hard thud which came when the animal hit the distant bottom...you tightened your fingers on the dangerously crumbly rock and dug deep with your feet to find a useful hold, but the more you moved, the more the earth collapsed.

«Fuck! Why does this always happen to me? And why now?»

Your strength was waning and it was obvious why, but you didn't give up and you stretched your arm beyond the surface to find a firmer grip. But what you had grabbed, caused a pure expression of horror on your face...it was impossible that stone was there and with the eyes wide open, it stared at you hypnotically, as the crooked mouth formed a sort of grin.

«W-what the hell you want from me!»

You tried to throw it away again, but as you did so, the rock collapsed and you started to fall, injuring yourself during the fall in an attempt to slow it down. There was nothing below, not even a pool of water to break your fall, and you slipped until you hit the ground.

You were in a cloud of dust and had no idea where your horse was lying, however your body couldn't move and your senses began to lose, until you completely passed out...you were still a long way from your destination, but at this rate, you might never reach it, the presence of the damn stone had brought bad luck to you.

Still, you thought about Guts before closing your eyes indefinitely.

It wasn't long before two figures found you in that condition and one of them knelt next to you, looking at your helpless and dirty body.

«...is the animal still alive?» The man with the bow spoke aloud, asking the young girl what she was seeing. Whatever living thing fell off the cliff, it couldn't have survived in his opinion.

«Not anymore, but she is.» The archer gripped his weapon when realized there was another person, but the blonde put a hand in front of him, as if to reassure him «We need to take her to the fort, she needs to heal her wounds.»

«I don't think it's the right thing to do.» The other wasn't sure about bringing a stranger back with them, but if that was his friend's will, then he could trust her eyes «Don't tell me you had another one of your visions...»

Sonia smiled genuinely, before picking up what she had found next to you. Now that it had found its owner, Beherit had returned to its natural form within your palm.

«I already knew we would find this woman here.» She replied calmly as she stood up, keeping your stone with her «Destiny has already been written and I just read through it. She has to meet him.»

Irvine didn't need to see to know the expression she was making now, so innocent and clever at the same time and without another word, he lifted her and your unconscious body on his hairy and giant rump to retrace the previous path.

They could be harmless, but you would soon discover that nothing was as it seemed and that meeting wasn't entirely coincidental...and as the young prophetess had predicted, your sudden arrival would be decisive for them, but also a problematic storm to tame.

Except that, with them was the admirable Falcon of Light, who you would meet soon.