After recovering a bit of energy, I brought Liam home with me. It was a small living space, provided for me by the village to live in. Like many main and side characters of fantasy stories, the priestess was an orphan. Her father had passed prior to her birth and her mother during childbirth. In the story this had only increased her dependence on K'llean, as they bonded over becoming a new "family," leaving her all the more alone when he betrayed and left her.

I wonder if her parents had still been alive if the story might have turned out differently.

I rested in bed, feeling exhausted still from using my life energy up so recklessly. I promised myself silently that i would take less next time. The shadow wolf sat on the floor next to the bed, staring at me, his dark eyes filled with concern. I forced a smile and petted his head, enjoying the soft feel of his fur.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'm just tired out." I paused as my stomach grumbled, loudly. "And hungry, I guess."

I stared over at the cooking utensils, too tired to get up and make something.

Well, let's try sleeping first, and then making food. My eyes fluttered shut and my exhaustion swept over me, but it felt like only a few moments had passed before I woke up to a warm wet feeling on my cheek. The first sight upon opening my eyes was of a happy dog licking my face.

"Eww, Liam, gross!" I gently pushed him away, immediately feeling guilty as his ears drooped, and his eyes looked at me with an injured expression. Giving up immediately, I crawled out of bed, reaching out and hugging his head. "I'm sorry. You're not gross. Just don't wake me up by licking, okay?" Despite him being a dog, I felt like he could understand me. He backed away slowly, pushing something on the floor toward my lap with his nose.

"This is... fruit?"

I was shocked. Had he figured out I was hungry and brought me something to eat? I recognized the pinkish fruit as something sweet and edible from the priestess' memories, and picked it up, biting into it with relish. I stroked Liam's furry back with my free hand as I ate, speaking in between bites. "Who's a smart boy?" He seemed both happy and embarrassed by my words of praise, leaning his head against my side with a sigh.

After I had eaten and cleaned up, I climbed back into bed, patting the empty space beside me. "Come on, Liam, you can sleep with me tonight."

The wolf creature's eyes went wide with shock as it froze in place. I laughed at its bashful appearance. "It's okay, it's just me here, you won't get in trouble for sleeping on the bed!" He was so fluffy and soft; I really wanted to hug him while I slept.

After a long pause, Liam slowly hopped onto the bed beside me, laying down and covering his face with both paws. I smiled, reaching out and hugging him, feeling relieved.

I had felt so alone.

The years of bitter battles and desperate fighting in the zombie world had numbed me to the sense of isolation and loneliness that had grown within me since starting this pattern of story world hopping. But when I left that world behind for this magical forest, I realized just how much I had hoped to find that foolish man in this world as well. My hopes had been raised after meeting that silent, dark haired boy, but that had resulted only in disappointment. Fusing with the memories of the betrayed and broken priestess and only made things worse. I hadn't realized until meeting a creature that seemed attached to me how truly desperate and alone I had started to feel.

Even naming this poor cute dog after him, I must be a little twisted. In a strange way, however, it made me feel better, as if part of that crazy guy whose goal had been to stay by my side was still with me.

I blinked back tears, one hand idly stroking the wolf's head. "Goodnight Liam." With that, I succumbed to the tiredness that still hung over me and slept.

Waking up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was that the wolf was gone. The bed beside me was still warm, so he must have left recently. Staring at the empty room, I felt a strange sense of loss.

I don't know why I expected him to stay. It's not like he's my pet or anything. I smiled slightly as I saw that there was some extra fruit sitting out, obviously left for me to eat. Grabbing a few, I got cleaned up and headed out to the village center for the start of lessons.

________________________________

I was there fairly early, only a few children had arrived ahead of me, all looking still half asleep, and therefore somewhat quieter than normal. A quick glance around helped me locate my dark haired friend and with a wide grin I sat down next to him.

"Good morning!" I called out happily.

His dark blue eyes stared at me for a moment, and then he nodded silently in reply.

"Here, I brought an extra, you want one?" I handed him one of the fruits. "I made a new friend yesterday, besides you, I mean!" I laughed between bites. "He's the cutest animal I've ever seen in the world! He even brought me breakfast!"

I normally wasn't so talkative. I wasn't sure if it was the novelty of being young, or just being unused to a quiet side character. (Most of the characters I had lived as were stuck around main characters, who simply talked non-stop). Either way, I was pleased that he seemed to be listening carefully as I spoke, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards as I continued to praise Liam. He finished the fruit I gave him quickly and cleaned his hands and then mine with a handkerchief.

"Thank you." The words were quiet, stilted, almost inaudible.

DID HE JUST SPEAK?!!! Forcing myself not to show my excitement on my face, I patted him on the shoulder.

"No problem. You're too skinny anyways. As your friend I need to fatten you up."

He didn't speak further, but a light shown in his eyes, a silent amusement that made me think that he might be laughing at me.

The elder arrived shortly after, and began teaching immediately on light magic.

"Light magic is the power of life itself, brought into a separate form by your own will." As he spoke, a gentle light materialized above his hand, flowing in a circle. "The effect of your magic depends on how you direct it. You can course it through a body's veins, and it will heal any injuries. Direct it along muscles and nerves and it will strengthen one's strength and speed. "

The light changed into a shield in front of the older elf. "Spread it out into a wall, and it can protect one from physical and magical attacks." The light condensed, becoming a brightly burning ball above his head. "And of course it can provide light and warmth, on the darkest and coldest of nights."

I looked around the area. Most of the children weren't paying close attention, drawing pictures in the dirt with sticks, watching bugs crawl over leaves and dirt. Besides me, the only one who seemed remotely interested in the lesson was K'llean, who stared at the elder elf with an intensity that was almost scary, as if trying to memorize every word he said.

Even the dark haired boy next to me seemed slightly bored, an almost silent sigh escaping him as he listened to the lecture, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Didn't the other children say he had dark magic? I guess this isn't all that helpful for him.

I raised my hand. "What about dark magic?"

The elder, who had just concluded his lecture, looked surprised. "Why do you want to know?"

Because it's your job to teach your students? "I think it would be helpful to know."

After a moment of silence, the elder shrugged. "Sure, why not. Dark magic works in a way similar to light magic but opposite as well. It can encase the skin, making it hard as stone, strengthening the wielder. It can blind opponents, cutting off their senses. It can also create barriers to protect from attacks. Light and dark magic repel each other, and cannot exist in the same space."

I looked over and the dark haired boy was now leaning forward, his eyes wide with interest, staring intently at the elder as he spoke. As the lecture finished he turned to me with a grateful look in his eyes.

"It's fine. It would be boring if he only ever talked about my magic and not my friend's." I smiled, ignoring the child's shocked expression.

"Everyone! It's time to practice manifesting your magic." The elder spoke up waving his hand, the globe of light appearing once more. "Find your magic just as you've been taught, and then will it to appear in front of you."

I focused inward; finding the light within me, happy to see that the growth I had managed yesterday in the cave had remained stable. After a moment's consideration, I decided to only bring out a grapefruit-sized amount of magic out. The original size of my magic.

It safer if no one knows I'm growing my magic. Some in the village purely viewed me as a tool to protect the forest, some viewed me as a helpless child. I wasn't sure what i was more worried about if they realized I was feeding my life force to grow my magic: that they might stop me... or that they might force me to try even harder, draining me beyond what i could bear.

Plus who knows if an idiot like K'llean might accidentally kill himself if he found out there was a cheat like this to get stronger.It was a very delicate balance between efficient growth and not shortening my own life span. I didn't want to accidentally fail the task if I gave up too much life energy, it might count it as sacrificing myself.

So being cautious, I pulled out the original sized magic ball, materializing it above my open palm.

"Wow!" One of the girls in the class called out, nearly breaking my concentration. Feeling irritated, I opened my eyes, only to realize that the whole class was staring at me in shock. The girl who called out pointed at me. "You have so much magic!"

At her words, I looked around. A few of the children had formed their own light balls, but the largest was the size of a marble.

I guess this is what they meant by the priestess being talented. Wait until I cheat my way into even greater abilities! Forcing myself to keep my villainous laugh silent, I closed my eyes, trying to keep my focus on my magic.

"You're really strong."

At the quiet words I sighed. "Go away K'llean."

"... I'm sorry." The apology caught be by surprise. I opened my eyes again to see his guilty expression, his eyes filled with longing as he stared at the magic above my palm.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

K'llean pouted. "But I don't like him."

"Because he's different?"

"... Because you like him more." K'llean's face was red, he stared at the ground, kicking the dust at his feet. "I'm the strongest. You should like me the best."

"Idiot."

K'llean and I both turned, shocked. The dark haired elf stared back at us, as if he wasn't the one who just spoke up.

K'llean bit his lip, "You're the idiot!"

I dispelled my magic, covering my face with my hands. "I'm surrounded by children."

"Belaire... you're a child too." Ignoring the elder's disconcerted mutterings, I patted K'llean on the shoulder.

"Look buddy. He called you an idiot because you keep making the same mistake. I don't like people because of how strong they are. If you want to be my friend you have to be nice. Not just to me but to my friends."

"But..."

"No buts. You don't have to be nice to anyone. No one can force you. But don't think I'll be friends with someone who's mean to others."

I glanced over at the dark haired boy who was smirking. "That goes for you too. You don't have to like him, he's bullied you after all. But don't think I'll help you bully others either."

His smile faded, but the amusement in his eyes didn't leave. He nodded solemnly, then focused on his own hand. After just a moment a ball of dark magic, the same size that mine had been, formed over his hand. It seemed more... physical than my light magic had been, as if it were pushing on the boundaries of the physical world, distorting it. Feeling curious, I reached up my right hand, extending a finger to touch it.

"BELAIRE NO!"

The elder's shout came too late; the tip of my finger touched the dark magic.

Oh crap.

A pain, worse than anything I had ever felt before, came over my own hand. It was like sticking my hand in burning coals and freezing ice at the same time, while being electrocuted.

As I fell backwards onto the ground, my consciousness barely hanging on as I held my finger which was slowly turning black. Isn't this amount of pain a little excessive?

Maybe a magic story isn't so great after all.

"BELAIRE!"

Nah, it's still better than being in high school again.I made myself laugh, surprised when dark blood spit out of my mouth as it turned into a painful cough.

My vision was spinning. I could see K'llean kneeling nearby, his mouth open in a scream. The dark haired elf had backed away, a look of terror on his face. I wanted to reassure them, but it suddenly was becoming difficult to breathe.

"Belaire!" It was the elder. "Channel your magic through your veins."

But we haven't covered how to do that in class yet? Complaining silently, I focused inwards, turning my magic into a stream, imagining it flowing through my blood vessels, moving throughout my whole body. The pain in my chest receded, the hand that been turning black resumed it's usual color. My heartbeat slowing down, I gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, at least light magic is useful."

The elder looked at me with a shocked expression, despite me simply having followed his instructions. "A true genius?"

I got up to my knees, taking a moment as the world spun around me. The dark haired boy was crying silently, staring at me with remorse. Reaching out to him, I pulled him into a tight hug, not surprised when he burst out into loud sobs.

"Sorry." The crying word broke my heart, as I hugged him tighter.

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have touched your magic. You didn't do anything wrong!" Pulling back, I looked directly into his tear filled eyes, making sure he understood. "You understand me? It's not your fault. I'm okay."

Before he could say anything more, two small hands pulled me away from him, as K'llean threw himself in between us with an angry glare.

"You hurt her!"

"K'llean!"

"She's all I have! You can't hurt her!"

"Sorry."

Now they both were crying. I rubbed my forehead, looking at the two sobbing boys with consternation. I'm all K'llean has? I guess it made sense, after all, his parents were gone, he must have clung to the priestess the same way she had to him, seeing her as his family. At least until the chosen one gets here.

I felt a pang of guilt as I stared at the crying elf. I had been so focused on what he had done wrong in the future, that I had forgotten that he was still just a child. Holding out my arms, I hugged both of them this time.

"I'm fine! I promise I won't go around touching dark magic recklessly in the future."

K'llean sniffed loudly. "When you marry me, I'll protect you, and make sure you never get hurt like this again."

"Idiot." A quiet word was spoken from the other side of me.

"You're the idiot! Is that the only word you know?"

"Imbecile."

"YOU...!"

The elder finally spoke up, interrupting K'llean before he could start shouting again. "Alright children. Stop arguing and get back to practicing. Belaire, come with me and we'll get you checked over to make sure you're healed.

I followed the elder, and after being declared healthy and dark magic free, I went back to the cave from earlier, preparing to practice.

________________________________

I sat down, focusing. A light formed in front of me and slowly fed it my life energy. The orb grew slowly, almost imperceptibly. I held on as long as I could, but as I felt myself grow cold, sweaty and tired, I cut off the flow. Falling to the ground on my back, I gasped for air, covering my eyes with my hand.

"This is hard. Why couldn't I have transported into a magical school novel instead and just waved a freaking wand?"

A cold touch on my face startled me. I moved my hand, my eyes staring directly into a pair of concerned dark blue ones.

"Liam?"

The shadow wolf watched me cautiously, then laid down on the ground, snuggling into my side. I reached out an arm, the movement slow from my lack of energy, hugged him.

"I'm so glad." I sighed. "I thought I might not see you again."

The wolf nudged my right hand, licking it.

I wonder if it can sense that I touched dark magic?

"It's okay. I had a little accident but it's all better now." I stretched out my hand to show him. "See? Good as new."

Liam watched my hand closely, and then nuzzled it again, before resting his furry head on my arm with a sigh.

________________________________

Three years passed.

In class, I stayed by the dark haired boy's side. I still hadn't learned his name. When I asked he just stared at me silently. Talking to the elder or other adults in the village hadn't helped. No one knew it. I didn't want to just make up a name for him like I had the wolf, in the end, I simply avoided the issue. We shared food each day, and although he never spoke, his quiet, satisfied smile every time I ate something he brought never failed to make me feel happy.

He was always careful to stay far away from me during practical lessons though.

At the end of class he would always run away, ignoring any invitations to spend time together after school. I would head to my cave alone and grow my magic with life energy. Once practice was over, Liam was always there, and would come home with me, guarding me as I rested through my exhausted state. He spend the night at my side, disappearing before I woke up, leaving food for me to eat in the morning behind. Between the two of them, I had pretty much every meal covered, no longer depending on the charity of the elder for my food.

I felt happy, the commonplace days healing my soul from the wounds I had gathered during my years on the battlefield in the zombie apocalypse.

There were just a few things that kept this world from being perfect:

First were the elder and the other adults in the village. Since discovering my talents the day I cleansed away dark magic poisoning, the way the treated me and spoke about me had slowly changed. Their initial concerns about my young age disappeared quickly, morphing into a strong desire to turn me into a perfect protector. Extra lessons, stricter teaching, constant reminders that I would need to choose a strong partner...

Their eyes showed their greed as they looked at me. Not as a person. Not as a child.

A shield. A tool.

No wonder they abandoned the priestess so easily in the story. I felt sick of their attitude, but my loud complaints had fallen on deaf ears. If it hadn't been for the dark haired boy and the other elf children, I might have abandoned the village all together. At the very least I didn't have to come in contact with them often, except for the elder they were all easily avoidable.

The other frustration was a little harder to escape from.

"BELAIRE!" K'llean shouted, waving a short sword with a proud grin. "WATCH ME!" He swung the weapon at a straw practice dummy, embedding it several inches deep. It was a strong attack, surprisingly good for his age and size.

It was during weapons training, which was given to us once a week as a break from magic training. I was sitting on the sideline, having been excused from weapons practice. The elder worried that it would distract me from my magic training, and was relieved when I told him I didn't need it. The dark haired boy was also sitting at my side, catching his breath after tiring himself out quickly. I had noticed he had looked exhausted some mornings when he showed up to school, as if he had just run a marathon prior to coming. I had asked him about it, concerned, but he simply shook his head, assuring me he was fine without further explanation.

"Did you see that, Belaire? Did you see how strong I was?" K'llean jumped up and down in front of me, excited.

I gave him a thumbs up, smiling weakly. "Good job."

K'llean had stuck by my side constantly, showing off, asking for compliments. I initially tried ignoring him, but then he looked like a kicked puppy, always leading me to giving in first. Fortunately he and the dark haired elf had seemed to reach some sort of agreement, and although you couldn't really call them friends, they were at least not openly antagonistic.

But unfortunately....

"So you should agree to marry me! I'll protect you much better than that..." he swallowed an insult after seeing my expression. "Than he can."

K'llean was still obsessed with the idea that the strongest elf would be my spouse, not helped by the fact that the majority of the village's elves had told him so.

I rolled my eyes, getting up to my feet. "I told you before, and I'll say it again." I reached out and took his sword, hefting it in my hand to feel the weight. "I won't marry someone just because they are strong."

"But..."

His words of complaint trailed off as I squared up in front of the practice dummy, taking a stance as familiar to me as breathing. My intense training in the assassin world, tempered by years of fighting in the zombie apocalypse, had perfected my sword skills. I pulled a tiny thread of magic along my muscles strengthening my weak childish arms to be able to support the blow, and casually swung the sword.

It smoothly moved, faster than the eye could follow, passing to the other side as if I had simply swung it through the air. Nothing seemed changed, until I reached out and touched the dummy, causing the top half to topple over, showing the clean cut I had made.

"I don't need you to protect me."

K'llean and the dark haired elf stared wide-eyed at the dummy as I walked away, heading to my cave to practice. Neither ever brought up sword fighting again, but more than once I caught them both secretly practicing before and after school, so perhaps it bothered them more than I had realized.

Over the three years I had adjusted to the priestess' memories, and although I still felt painful sometimes, especially around K'llean, my efforts to become powerful seemed to have calmed down the inherited emotions.

My magic had grown well, from the size of a grapefruit to a globe about my height. I worked steadily, getting stronger each day, reveling in the feeling.

I still have six years before my adult ceremony. No one even suspects how much stronger I've gotten. Everything is going as planned.

"Belaire?" K'llean's shocked voice as he walked into the cave, seeing my large magic with a shocked expression.

Crap.

________________________________

K'llean and I stared at each other from across the cave. His expression showed his hurt feelings, mine revealed my frustration.

"You were getting stronger without me?" His voice was much quieter than I was used to, the pain in it making me wince with guilt.

Toughen up. This is the cheating bastard you're supposed to beat to complete the task.I forced myself to ignore the sadness I saw. "Why should I have to help you get stronger?"

"..."

"No one is helping me. They just expect me to be strong, to protect the forest." I sneered. "To marry whoever they tell me to. So why should I have to waste my time helping you get stronger?"

K'llean stared at me, dumbfounded. "Belaire..."

"No. You don't get to make me feel guilty. You're not the one they treat like a tool. If I'm not strong enough by the time I'm an adult, I will die."

"What do you mean...?"

"There's a prophecy." Close enough."The forest will be attacked, and I will have to sacrifice my life to save everyone."

"NO!" He reached over and hugged me, his face filled with distress. "I won't let that happen! I'll do a life oath with you, give you my magic!"

I pushed him away gently. "No. You won't." Forcing a smile, I continued. "The prophecy shows your future too. You'll find your soul mate, K'llean. A chosen one from another world. A beautiful human girl. You will both love each other and be together forever."

K'llean sat back, shocked.

"So you can't help me. I can only depend on myself. I'm feeding small amounts of my life energy to my magic to grow it bit by bit. It's slow, but by the time the attack comes, I'll be strong enough to save us all."

"..."

"So you don't have to worry..."

"No." His voice was low, filled with an energy I couldn't recognize. When I looked up at him, his gaze was intense, his bright green eyes filled with anger, obsession... madness.

"K'llean..."

"No. I don't' want some mysterious chosen one. I don't want anyone else. I want you."

I sighed. "You're just a child, you don't understand..."

"I understand, Belaire." He stood up, and walked over, falling to his knees in front of my seated form. He had grown so much over the last three years, and even kneeling he towered over me in height. His hand reached out, the long fingers gently touching my hair. "You're the one who doesn't get it. You mean everything to me. You can't be replaced by something as simple as a 'soul mate'."

So genuine. If I didn't have the priestess' memories, I might even buy it. After all, she believed you... once. I kept myself calm, blocking his hand. "You'll change your mind once you find the true love of your life."

He leaned back slightly, a small smile on his face. "We'll see."

Grrr

A dark form pushed K'llean away, crouching in front of me to guard me.

Liam.

K'llean rolled to his feet, drawing a long dagger he kept on his belt, cursing. "What's a shadow wolf doing here?" He glanced at me, worried. "Belaire, slowly back away, I'll keep it distracted."

"K'llean..."

"GET TO SAFETY!" His voice was determined. "I'll protect..."

He froze as I leaned over and hugged the wolf, pulling it against my side.

"This is Liam. He's my friend."

"..."

"..."

"Umm... Belaire?"

"Yes?"

"You realize that that is a... shadow monster right?"

"I think he's adorable."

He stared at the wolf, who looked back at him proudly, snuggling up against me as if to show off. Liam had grown as well over the past few years, and even that gentle movement was almost enough to knock me over.

"Don't worry. He's safe." I grinned and hugged it closer.

K'llean frowned. "It's... irritating. Almost as irritating as..." he trailed off glaring.

"Well, I'm gonna be practicing, so you can head out."

I gave Liam a push, and the wolf reluctantly gave me some space, knowing that I was going to cast light magic.

"Nope." K'llean sat down nearby, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. A bright ball of light, about the size of a basketball, formed in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting stronger." He frowned, sweating. "Just a little life energy, huh?"

"Are you crazy? Don't do that! I might have to take these risks but you don't!"

"Didn't you say our destinies aren't connected?" He whispered, his face showing the strain of moving his life energy. "So you don't have a say in what risks I take."

"That..." He was right, in a way. At least he was no longer insisting we were going to get married. It was a step forward... in a way.

"Fine." I looked over at Liam. "Will you be okay if I practice magic here?"

"Why are you talking to a shadow wolf?"

"Shut up."

The wolf nodded, giving me plenty of space. I formed my magic, directing a thin thread of life energy towards it, watching Liam carefully to make sure he was safe. The shadow wolf seemed to pause, as if thinking something over, and then sat down, closing its eyes. To my shock a ball of dark magic formed in front of it, almost as large as my own.

"The wolf can do magic? Did you know that it could do that?" K'llean sounded angry, as he seemed to realize he was the weakest in terms of magical power, even compared to the animal.

"Of course I knew he could do that." I lied through my teeth.

It might have been my imagination but it seemed as if Liam was laughing, it's furry sides shaking as it stared at me with a look of amusement.

I stared at the magic in front of him, then stared at the familiar dark blue eyes, a realization coming over me, the blood draining from my face from shock rather than from the loss of life energy.

It can't be...

I looked at the shadow wolf, my mind racing, and then resolutely turned towards my magic globe in front of me.

I'm gonna pretend that this wasn't right in front of my face the whole time, and keep my mouth shut.

But I couldn't help a smile forming as I practiced magic side by side with Liam and K'llean.

This world... might be my favorite one yet.