Terms and Conditions

Chapter 12

He's the help. Oh no, that means...

Quickly, I turned to face the woman. "Me and him, uh—" I pointed at the two of us. "—we're on this quest together. Wouldn't it make sense to give us the same disguises?"

She looked confused. "They assigned these outfits to you. I simply made them as ordered."

I turned back towards Luis. "Why? Why would we have to take separate routes? Like, we're partners, right? We should have the same clothes and stuff. Don't you think?"

I was panicking. Not because I wanted to play with him. But because this meant I would have to do our first big quest alone. Not that I couldn't do it. I could. Eventually.

I just hate parties.

"Chari." As if Luis sensed my inner struggles, he stood and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It makes sense."

"How?" I pressed my brows together. "I don't see how this makes sense."

"I do." Luis gave me a small smile. "Every quest we've had so far, we take separate paths, don't we?"

I slumped my shoulders. Inside, my stomach flipped. And I felt sick. Oh no.

"When we had to make our second map, or even when we gathered items to craft our first weapons—how did we do them? Separate. Love or Nothing must have figured out that this style is our best strategy. We get a lot done this way."

My dress hung at my side. Luis was being so nice, and yet, he was so naive.

The reason we'd done all of our last few quests separate from each other was because I didn't want to be near him. I figured if I accepted the mission, did my part, then all would be good in the end. And so far, it had been. He went one way, I went mine. All dandy.

But a big party? All fancy-dancy with high-up magic-wielding dangerous folk? Hellooooo.

I couldn't do this alone. I'd shit myself.

"Chari." Luis patted my shoulder.

I looked up into his eyes.

"We can do it this way," he said, smiling.

No, I can't. I can't even do real parties. Without Manny, I'm a sitting duck in a bog haunted by killer banshees.

"I'll protect you every step of the way," he added.

I frowned. Then pouted. "How? How, Luis?" I shook my head. "If you're in the back back with all the workers, and I'm out front with all the party people, how am I supposed to be safe? Hm? What if Nhyx figures me out?"

The woman stepped away from us, nervous. I'd almost forgotten she'd been standing there the whole time.

"And what if Nhyx has some huge guards, sends them out to kill me?"

Oh, anxiety.

Luis, as if I'd said nothing wrong, shrugged. "You will kill them, too, won't you?" he asked, cocking a brow. "You're a mage, no?"

I mean, I was a mage. A fire mage, with a staff enchanted by the magic of Erm. This would've been my time to shine. "I am."

"Claro," Luis said. "You'll be fine." He came around and stood by my side. Looking down at me, into my eyes, he said, "You can trust me, right?"

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I felt like royalty. The gown was more beautiful than the robes I'd selected for my Mage role. Its sides clung to my waist, sitting on my hips before draping over my legs. White and gold strands were intricately laced together, created diamond shapes down my chest. It was mesmerizing. And I couldn't help but count the number of gems around my neck.