Damian left the inn room alone. Lila needed some proper rest after their long journey, so she stayed behind. Shareva stayed too, to watch over their belongings and the carriage they had rented. Damian also wanted them to keep an eye on Natasha's sister, who was still in a coma and defenseless.
Damian had a clear mission: to find Natasha, who had told them to meet her in this fishing village. It wasn't a big place, so he thought it would be easy to locate her. But he was wrong. Natasha was nowhere to be found, despite his many inquiries.
"Uh, yeah, I remember seeing a blue-haired lady like you described," a man with a thick beard said, raising Damian's hopes only to dash them. "But she left two days ago. I haven't seen her since."
Damian kicked a stone on the dusty road, feeling frustrated and hopeless. "Damn it. Why does everything have to be so complicated?"
The bearded man said, "Don't be so glum, lad. I told you she left two days ago, but I also know where she went!"
"W-what? Why didn't you say that sooner?"
"You didn't ask. Now, she got a boat over there," the man pointed at the harbor area, "and went with that old fellow to an island not far from here."
"An island? Why did she go there?"
"There's another village on that island, one that hardly anyone knows about. I reckon she doesn't want to be found there," the man said.
It made sense. Natasha was on the run from Miller. She thought she was a wanted woman, but she didn't know Miller was dead!
No one in the castle had time to spread the word about her escape, and now everyone there was dead too! She was free to take care of her sister.
"Thank you," Damian said.
He headed to the harbor area, where a few boats were docked, mostly for fishing. On one of them, an old man sat in a wooden chair, fishing in the fading light of the afternoon.
'That must be the one who took Natasha to the island,' Damian guessed.
"Excuse me," Damian said.
The old man didn't look up from his fishing rod, but smiled faintly.
"Yes?"
"Did you take a blue-haired woman to a nearby island two days ago?"
The old man chuckled and said, "If you're asking me this, then you already know. Want to go there too? It'll cost you 30 silver coins."
Damian wasn't rich by any means, but he could afford that price without much hesitation.
"Fine. Let's go."
"Not today. The seas are treacherous at night, young man. Come back tomorrow morning."
If Damian knew where the island was or what to expect there, he would go by himself, but he didn't. Using his telekinesis to force answers out of the old man would only make him look bad in front of the villagers, and Damian had enough problems already.
He nodded, turned around, and walked back to the inn. As he was about to enter, his ring vibrated.
'Frederic?'
Damian moved to the back of the inn where no one could see him, hiding in a dark corner. He pressed the ring and listened to the message Frederic had sent him.
'Hello! The shop is doing great, all set up with workers for us! But there is a problem, so please send me a message when you get this. So apparently a powerful demon emerged from the underworld and attacked a few places including a castle belonging to a noble family. Lemoria is safe for now and I don't think the demon can destroy the city's defenses but if he somehow creates an army or destroys the new human settlements then that's a problem… Anyway I hope you're fine.'
The news about the demon had spread fast in places where information was valuable. A small fishing village like this one didn't have that luxury.
After carefully listened to every word, Damian sent a message of his own, sharing his situation and what he knew about the demon. One of the things Damian made clear was that he would soon return to Lemoria to meet with them again.
'If Frederic did not say in the message, he does not have any news about my friends…'
Damian returned to his inn room right afterward.
"So how did it go?" Lila asked, rushing toward him.
"I will have to go to a village in the morning, so you two will have to take care of her for me," Damian said, finding a place to sit.
"Will Natasha be there?"
Damian wasn't certain, but said, "Yes. I'll go down there to grab us something to eat."
Damian went downstairs to the inn's common room, where a few patrons were eating and drinking. Some bread and cheese for himself and his companions, and a mug of ale to wash it down, were his order. He sat at a corner table, away from the noise and the curious glances.
In silence, he ate, thinking about Natasha and the demon. He wondered if they were somehow connected, if Natasha had anything to do with the demon's emergence. He hoped not, but he couldn't rule out the possibility.
His meal was finished and he paid the innkeeper, then went back to his room, bringing some food to Lila and Shareva, but they were already asleep on their beds, and Natasha's sister still unconscious on a cot. Her condition was checked by him, but there was no change. He sighed and lay down on his own bed, closing his eyes.
Sleep was hard to come by, as his mind was restless. He had too many questions and worries. He wished he could talk to Frederic or his other friends, but they were too far away. Alone and helpless, he felt.
A fitful sleep eventually claimed him, plagued by nightmares of fire and blood.
He woke up early the next morning, before dawn. He got dressed and packed his belongings, leaving a note for Lila and Shareva. He told them to stay at the inn until he returned, and to be careful.
The room was left by him and he went outside, where the air was cold and crisp. He walked to the harbor area, where he found the old man waiting for him on his boat.
"Good morning, young man," the old man greeted him with a smile. "Ready to go?"
"Yes," Damian said, climbing on board.
The boat was untied from the dock by the old man and pushed away with a pole. Then he took out a pair of oars and started rowing.
Damian sat on a wooden bench, holding his bag. He looked at the horizon, where the sun was rising slowly.
"How long will it take to get to the island?" he asked.
"Not long," the old man said. "About an hour or so."
"What's the name of the island?"
"It doesn't have a name. It's just a small piece of land in the middle of the sea. No one lives there except for a few fishermen and their families."
"Then why did Natasha go there?"
The old man shrugged. "I don't know. She didn't tell me anything. She just paid me to take her there and back."
"Did she say when she would come back?"
"Nope. She said she would send me a message when she was ready."
Damian frowned. He hoped Natasha was still on the island, and that she was safe. The journey was not pleasant with the small wooden boat they had to use, but it could be worse.
It was supposed to last only an hour, but the sea was particularly agitated during that morning, and for safe measures, the older man went slower with more care, so it took them two hours instead!
Damian was anxious, afraid something could have happened to Natasha, so the extra time he had to wait made it even worse, even with the constant saying of the older man sailing the small fishing boat.
"Don't worry. She's fine. Everyday I am in the harbor, and no one went to that island, only she did. How could a few fishermen harm her?"
The words calmed Damian, slightly, but they did. It was better than nothing, and as they got closer to the island, he saw it!
A gorgeous woman with blue hair, fishing! Natasha was so focused she did not see the boat coming her way, and when she did, the person was unknown to her!
'Who's that?' Natasha wondered.
The appearance Damian had when speaking to her was not his real self. Natasha had never seen him before, so she returned to fishing, ignoring the boat.
Damian arrived on the island, waving at the older man who returned with the boat.
The island was bigger than Damian expected, but most of it was forest, hills, and a few caves. Only a small portion near the coast had people living in it.
Damian followed the path, climbing up a hill, arriving in the fishermen island. The people living there were few, 30 at most.
They all wondered who that person was. The only person who was not like that was Natasha.
"Hello," Damian said.
Natasha did not answer, acting as if she did not listen.
"Helloo?"
"Look, I know I am beautiful, but I don't want to be your girlfriend or marry you, okay?" Natasha said.
"I am Damian, the one you met in the castle? We escaped together, and I even saw you shit in a bucket…"
Natasha dropped the road, putting her hand on Damian's mouth, "Shut up! Now, what did you say?"
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶