Hostages

This was the first time Donald had ridden in such a luxurious carriage. Needless to say, even the four-wheeled carriage Victor had hired when he first took Donald back to the Magic Academy seemed shabby compared with this one, let alone Uncle Mira's battered wagon.

The two sturdy red horses in front of the carriage were tall and majestic, their coats gleaming. Even standing still, they carried themselves with such poise and pride that Donald couldn't help thinking of Roger's stance. The axles must have had shock-absorbing springs; he no longer felt the soreness in his backside that always came from riding in Uncle Mira's carriage. And the chair beneath him must have helped, too—it was wrapped in fine leather and stuffed with soft fabric. It seemed more fitting to call it a sofa, though sofas didn't exist in this world.

"How do you usually get here? Hire a carriage?" Lucia, seated across from him, was pulling aside the silk curtain that blocked the light and gazing at the same old countryside outside.

"I ride in Uncle Mira's wagon. Oh, Uncle Mira hauls supplies for the academy. He makes two round trips between the Magic Academy and Dorn City every day. You wouldn't believe how many supplies the Magic Academy goes through unless you saw it for yourself."

"What's so surprising about that? I'd guess ten carriages haul supplies for my family every day."

"Then your family's business must be huge."

The girl burst into giggles. She knew Donald was joking; when he joked, he looked even more serious than usual.

The girl hesitated, then asked, "Aren't you curious what my family does?"

"I can't get curious about things that are too far removed from me. Besides, it's better not to know. Knowing would put pressure on me. I'm already uncomfortable sitting in a carriage like this." Having grown accustomed to the hard life on the island, Donald really wasn't used to such extravagance.

"Pressure? Do you also think people are born into different stations?" The girl's expression grew a little more serious.

"If a pauper says there's no distinction between people, wouldn't that sound strange? It's like a poor person saying money doesn't matter. Even if he really means it, it doesn't sound very convincing."

"You're avoiding my question."

Donald glanced up at Lucia, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "I'm afraid my answer will shock you."

"You're no fun."

About five minutes of silence passed.

"Kelly likes you a lot."

"Mm."

"I like you, too."

"...You don't know me well enough."

"Are you even a man? Are you really that afraid of me?"

"I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of trouble. There'd be a lot less trouble with Kelly."

Neither of them looked at the other. It was as if they were each talking to the floor or the air.

"Because she isn't a noble?"

"Not entirely. It's because I know what she wants, and I can give it to her."

"You don't know what I want, either. What makes you think you can't give it to me?"

"Because I don't know what you want. Not knowing is what makes things troublesome."

As it happened, the trouble neither of them knew about soon came knocking.

The carriage gradually came to a stop without them noticing. Lucia opened the door and saw the coachman slumped over in his seat, an arrow stuck in him. Blood had already spread across the seat.

"Everyone inside, come out quietly! I know you're from the Magic Academy. Unless you're confident you can move faster than dozens of arrows, I suggest you cooperate."

Outside the carriage, dozens of gleaming arrowheads pointed at them from both sides of the mountain road. Neither Donald nor Lucia thought they could move faster than the other side, so they had no choice but to surrender.

They stuffed cloth in their mouths, pulled black hoods over their heads, tied their hands and feet, and tossed them into another carriage. After who knew how long of a bumpy ride, their hoods were pulled off, and they found themselves in a dilapidated little cabin.

"Stay put and don't try anything!" The broken door slammed shut.

His legs were bound in three places—at the ankles, below the knees, and around the thighs—and his hands were tied behind his back. Every knot was tight and firm, without the slightest give. Donald couldn't help admiring the knot-tying skills of the person who had bound them.

Lucia looked over at him with frightened eyes. Their mouths were still stuffed with cloth, secured tightly behind their heads with straps, so they couldn't make a sound. It seemed these people knew that Magic Apprentices couldn't cast spells without reciting incantations. They just hadn't realized that one of the two captives was different.

Donald shifted around until he found a comfortable position, then lay down against the wall. He shook his head at Lucia and, without waiting to see how she reacted, closed his eyes and rested. Lucia couldn't figure out what he meant by the gesture, but there was nothing she could do. After struggling in vain for a while, she could only lie down and leave her fate to chance.

When the sky outside the window had darkened, the same man came in again and hastily fed them some dry rations and water. He said only one word—"Eat"—and didn't speak at all otherwise.

As dusk fell, Lucia finally fell asleep, still frightened and uneasy. After an unknown length of time, she felt someone gently shaking her.

Faint starlight shone through the window. In the gloom, it took Lucia a while to realize Donald was nudging her.

Donald held a finger to his lips, signaling Lucia to keep quiet. Then he untied her and pulled the cloth from her mouth. Her jaw had been stretched open for so long that her cheeks ached and had nearly gone numb.

"That guy just came to check on us. He probably won't be back for a while," Donald whispered in her ear.

His breath stirred the girl's ear, and she felt her whole body grow even weaker.

"How did you get free?" Lucia whispered.

"That doesn't matter. Have you figured out who these people are?"

"What do you mean? Aren't they bandits?"

"They're not bandits. They didn't even take the gold coins I had on me." Donald didn't mention the pouch of magic crystals hidden in his inner pocket.

"Then it's a kidnapping."

"Have you noticed? They're dressed in shabby, dirty clothes, but their skin and hair are clean. Their leather armor and weapons are uniform, they speak briefly, and their camp isn't rowdy. If I'm not mistaken, they're soldiers disguised as bandits."

"Soldiers? What should we do?"

"They don't want us to know who they really are, which means they don't plan to kill us just yet. But I can't guess what their objective is. Does Carl's family have ties to the military?" Donald kept his eyes fixed on the door.

"I don't know."

"Then we can't afford to worry about that. We can't count on them showing mercy. We have to try to escape."

"Okay." Lucia agreed with Donald. They couldn't hope the other side would show them mercy.

"Wait here." After saying this, Donald crouched and edged over to the window to look outside. Then he carefully made his way back.

"I can't see what's happening outside or where the horses are tied. We'll have to take a risk. Do you have any Magic Scrolls?" Donald remembered Lucia had carried Magic Scrolls with her in the Whispering Forest.

"Yes." Lucia reached into her clothes to check.

"Are they powerful?"

"Very."

"How powerful?" Only after Donald asked did he notice her hand was still inside her clothes, near her chest. He suddenly felt his question had sounded a bit lewd, but fortunately, she didn't seem to take it that way.

"One of them is a Third-level Ice Storm."

Donald stared at Lucia. He hadn't expected her to carry a scroll of that level with her.

"Once we get out, stay hidden as much as possible. It'd be best if we can find horses and escape. If we're spotted, we'll have to force our way through. Remember, that leader is probably a Formal Knight. We can't take him on. If you have to use the scroll, make sure you use it on him. Can you do that?"

Lucia remembered the bandits they had encountered in the Whispering Forest. Back then, she had thrown a First-level Frost Scroll instead of casting it, and Donald must have been worried she'd do the same again. After a moment's thought, she nodded solemnly. "I can."

"Stay close to me. Don't get separated." The boy's dark eyes gleamed as he looked Lucia straight in the eye. Then the corners of his mouth slowly lifted in a handsome smile. "I'm pretty nervous, too. But even if we get surrounded like we did today, we can always surrender again."

Donald knew that if their escape failed and they were caught, that would be one thing. But if they got into a fight, the outcome would be hard to predict. He said they could always surrender again just to keep Lucia from getting too nervous.

Beneath a sky full of stars, in a deserted wilderness, the wooden door of an abandoned hunter's cabin opened soundlessly. Donald slowly leaned half his face out and looked around. A dozen or so tents stood outside. A man sat not far away, turned sideways to the cabin. He seemed to be asleep. In the woods several dozen meters to the left, dozens of horses were tied up, along with two carriages. One of them was the luxurious carriage they had ridden in that day.

Lucia saw Donald pull back inside and take a deep breath, as if steadying himself or making some important decision.

When Donald leaned out again, a sharp, palm-length Ice Spear had formed in his right hand.

The Ice Spear shot through the air with a faint hiss, followed by a short, muffled groan. Donald listened carefully. When he heard nothing else, he pulled Lucia up and headed toward the horses. He controlled the muscles in his legs, moving quickly but trying to land as lightly as possible without making a sound. Before they had covered half the distance, his calves had already begun to tremble. The closer they got to the horses, the faster his heart beat.

"Keep an eye on those tents. Get the scroll ready, and use it if anything goes wrong." As he spoke, Donald carefully untied two horses. When he handed the reins to the girl, he felt her hand trembling, too.

There was still no movement from the cabin. The two of them mounted their horses and kept them at a walk until they felt they were far enough away. Then they galloped off.

Under the starry night sky, the two riders raced north toward Iris Twelve Stars. About two hours later, the horses began to tire.

They had already passed through countless woods and crossed countless slopes, but hadn't come across a single obvious road. Donald decided they couldn't keep riding aimlessly. They found a secluded patch of woods, tied up the horses, and stopped to rest.