The Scarlet Paladin

The rest of the trip was less chaotic, Elsie fell asleep. Her head resting on Ana's lap as Ana brushed her fingers through her hair. She silently hummed a lullaby from their childhood. Jasmine sat next to Claire in the driver seat. She leaned her head on Claire's shoulder. 

“Never in my life did I think it'd be like this. I imagined adventuring with you three since Ryley left, getting him back or earning him. Didn't think we’d have to stop and do what we just did.” Claire said.

Jasmine laughed,” Me neither…. But…. If it comes with your buffs and potential, then it's all worth it.” A slight pause befell the two before Jasmine added,” Feels fucking phenomenal as well.”

Claire giggled,” True… Now that I've experienced it, I don’t think I could live without it.”

Jasmine raised her head from Claire’s shoulder, “ Got to talk about something else…” Her legs crossed and she adjusted pants. “Can't stop again.”

“Then…what about…. us ?” Claire asked

Jasmine pursed her lips, staring forward.” Obviously I'm your lover…. But I… I’m unsure…. I feel the warmth and the burning heat of attraction and… love.” She stopped. Hesitating before continuing,” I want to grow these feelings with you. But I'm… uh, scared”

Scared? Claire was not expecting that. Her fearless teacher was scared to explore her feelings. She was curious now, but the sorrowful look on Jasmine’s face stopped her from asking. It would have to wait for her to open up.

With the mood now awkward, they sat in silence. Both stewing on the words.

Jasmine sighed and said,” I’ve got to think on it…. I just….”

Claire spoke up,” It's okay. Really, I've waited 2 years, I can wait a bit longer.”

Jasmine smiled,” Thank you for understanding… I want to embrace your feelings head on, with no hesitation. I just need time.”

“I understand, please don’t worry about it. Having you here is more than enough for me.” Claire responded. Her words were true, she could wait. Knowing the problem isn’t with Jasmine’s feelings towards her, but with pain from her past relationship is much easier for Claire’s own emotions. Her lover just needed to properly move on from whatever pained her in the past, not that she didn’t love Claire. 

Jasmine smiled at her former student. The girl she knew from 5 years ago had truly grown up into a wonderful person. The woman before her had a bright smile that made her forget her own pain. It reassured the assassin that her feelings were in good hands. 

 “I'm gonna go take a nap.” She gave Claire a kiss on the cheek and joined the twins. Claire rubbed the spot with her hand, that feeling of warmth resonating throughout her body. The smile she wore grew bigger as she resonated with happiness. 

They made it to their destination only 30 minutes late. Ana woke the sleeping duo as Claire spoke to their contact. An older lady, tanned like Jane but 20 years her senior.

“Slimes are just over that hill, demolishing my crops. Get them off my fields.” She commanded while pointing to a large hill. Claire nodded.

 “No problem ma'am, let us know of any other areas” She said and then whipped the horses forward. She parked the carriage before the hill and hopped inside. Her companions were gearing up as a feeling of excitement ran through her. Her first quest!

She grabbed her armor, getting as much as she could on by herself. Jasmine helped with the rest. Her armor was light, steel was covering her vitals but the rest was leather. Her buckler style shield on her left forearm, the sword Jane gave her on her hip, and her helmet in her right hand.

They were ready for a fight.

 

Jasmine stood back, she wanted to see how the three 3 fought together. Claire stood with her shield raised, slimes in front of her and the twins behind her. A triangular formation with the twins close enough to help each other. Claire used her new skill and let loose a battle cry. The slimes stopped eating the crops to swarm Claire. 

They bounced toward her, single mindedly chasing their target. The first one bouncing towards her was hit by a fireball. Claire flinched at the heat trail, a burning heat streaked across her left shoulder and arm. It was something she'd have to get used to. A second one was knocked away by her shield, then she swatted another with her sword.

She was able to eliminate the fourth slime by stabbing its core with her sword before deciding to test her combat skill. Her shield glowed red as she thrusted forward, able to hit a line of slime with it. Eliminating another 3 in the process. She checked her mana, only 1 point was used and the cooldown timer began.

Jasmine watched her student, her stance rock solid. No slime could knock her over as she marched. Her foot work was deliberate and methodical, not hesitation in the placements and no way of tripping. Her shield and sword movements matched her foot work, planned motion with little to no wasteful movements. Jasmine smiled, her former student had truly taken her lessons to heart.. 

The twins were mostly observing Claire just as Jasmine was. Their skills needed to be mindful of Claire’s movements, lest they hit her. Elsie did cast her fireballs when she could. Or trying to, as some hit the girl’s back or arms. Guessing wrong and nailing the poor paladin in the back or arms. Claire barely flinched, though the burning pain hurt, Jasmine would be mad if she lost track of her enemy. Thankfully, Ana was quick to heal the injuries.

She knew this was part of the learning process, Elsie was trying her best to be efficient with her magic and weave it in between Claire’s steps. It’d take time for them to truly get it down, but her resistance was high enough that Elsie barely damaged her health. She just needed to bear with it and be patient with the mage. 

This process repeated itself for several minutes. Claire would use her Defensive Strike, Elsie would use her fireball to clean up stragglers , and Ana would heal if Claire was hit. Each repeat lead to Claire being hit less, her movements learned by Elsie as she would correctly predict their tanks path. Adrenaline filled Claire as she continued her slow march into the swarm.

Now Elsie decided to add her firewall ability. After a defensive strike, a wall of flames appeared parallel to the girl’s path. A clear sign that Elsie was getting the hang of everything. Relief and confidence filled Claire as she took note of their progress. At this point, they had eliminated 27 slimes and needed to clear a handful more before they’d be done. Claire’s fatigue was evident as her breath became ragged, the twins were in similar spots. Elsie was more tired than Ana, currently leaning on her sister and covered in sweat.

So Jasmine decided to step in.

She knocked an arrow on her bow, drew, and released in rapid succession. Four arrows flew before the first hit its target, with deadly aim the remaining six slimes were eliminated. Claire looked to her former teacher as she killed with incredible speed, a face of amazement peeking through her helmet. Jasmine nodded to the girl and beckoned her to come over.

“It was rough, but you slowly got the hang of it.” She said to Elsie. Elsie nodded and thought back.

“You two moved differently, Claire would stay in one spot longer than you would. Was not expecting that.” Elsie responded.” Expected her to move quicker and more often.”

Jasmine nodded,” Wanted to see how you’d adjust, so I didn’t explain our differences. Sorry Claire, it was also a test in your physical and mental fortitude.”

Claire laughed breathlessly, she was used to Jasmine throwing in extra lessons.” No biggie, Ana’s taking care of the burns. It was nice when I wasn’t being hit though. Felt like a machine for a bit there.”

Ana was using her healing to rid Claire’s skin of burns and bruises. Ana added,” I threw in my ward when I could to protect you from Elsie”

“Thank you, Ana,” Claire said. “I’m sure Jaz was assessing your use of the healing and wards as well.”

“Indeed, Elizabeth taught you two well. Ana was able to predict Elsie’s trajectory and ward correctly and Elsie began to be able to read Claire’s movements. Good job Claire for not losing your cool. Seen many tanks blow up at their back line for being hit.”

“I’m so sorry Claire. I’ll make it up to you when we get back to Restol, I promise,” Elsie said. “And thank you for not blowing up at me. I know it would have been warranted.” 

Claire nodded and blushed at the praise. It felt incredible to receive. “No worries Elsie, truly. I knew you weren’t doing it on purpose and just needed time. Get me some of your mom’s cherry pie and we’re even.”

Elsie hugged Claire and nodded. “I promise”

 

With the fight over they checked their experience. Claire gained 30 points while Elsie and Ana gained 15. Jasmine gained 2 points in total, her level too high for slimes to matter. Claire was now only 20 points from another level up, her mind filled with possible skills she could acquire. 

They walked back to the farmer lady with the news. She thanked them and handed 10 gold pieces to the party. Their first reward! Followed by 4 homemade dishes, mashed potatoes and beef. Perfect for their tired bodies. 

The farmer waved to them as they got into the carriage, their next stop Bon Mountain range in the neighboring fief.