Dragon Quest XI: Partners Until the End

[Chapter 4]

"...ke up, lazybones!"

Freya's eyebrow twitched as a familiar voice chimed in her ears. She could feel a hand gently poke and prod at her shoulder, causing her to groan in slight dismay under breath. The insisting shaking grew more harder the longer Freya laid there.

"Come on, up you get!" The voice called out once more. The brunette could hear the slight worry laced in the words, and she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyesight was immediately settled on a white wall with a beautiful stained-glass window. Blinking her bleary blue hues into focus, she turned her head to see a figure sitting in a wooden chair next to the fluffy bed she laid on.

"E-Erik...?" Freya murmured. The blue haired boy sat with a leg crossed over knee, with his arm resting on it. From her place, she could see the relief filling the boy's eyes as his tensed shoulders relaxed.

"Finally! I was worried we'd lost you for a minute there," Erik sighed out, a smile tugging on his mouth. He tilted his head as his softened eyes stared at the teen. "Happy to know you remembered my name after something like that, Freya,"

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened?" She asked, sitting up slowly. Erik instantly moved to help her up, but she raised a hand up, signaling that she was fine. After adjusting herself comfortably, Freya rubbed the back of her neck in a bashful manner. "To be honest, I remember leaping off with you, but I fell unconscious shortly afterwards,"

"You've been out cold since we jumped. Had to drag you all the way out here on my own," He replied. Freya could see a sparkle form in his wide eyes as a vast smile graced his features. He raised his hands slightly as he stared at the teen in excitement. "But what a jump it was!"

"Have you hit your head on the fall down?" The brunette deadpanned, a ghost of an amused smile curling at her lips. She leaned in towards her companion as he shook his head at her. "We just jumped off a cliff and you're talking all excitedly about it,"

"That's the thing! I closed my eyes, put my faith in the Luminary, and somehow didn't get smashed into a thousand pieces!" Erik exclaimed, snapping his fingers. He leaned back in the chair with an awestruck face. "In fact, I woke up on the forest floor at the bottom without a scratch on me. Amazing what a little faith can do,"

Releasing a content sigh, Erik slowly stood up from his chair and rested his hands on his hips. As he hovered over the bed, Freya looked up with wide, curious eyes. Sensing that the girl had forgotten something rather important, he gave a lopsided smirk.

"Anyway, I guess you and me must be at the King of Heliodor's Most Wanted list by now," The blue haired boy stated. He watched Freya's blue eyes widened and she turned to look at her lap. Erik could see the girl's hand grip the white sheets underneath her so tightly it caused her knuckles to whiten.

"I forgot about that for a moment..." The brunette whispered with a small purse on her lips. She heaved a sigh, moving to wiggle to the edge of the bed. With Erik right in front of her, she gazed up with him with serious eyes. "We can't hang around here for too long,"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Erik agreed, lending a hand out to Freya. She happily took it with a smile. He pulled her up, and once she settled on her feet, he continued on. "Let's go say thanks to the nun who looked after us and be on our way,"