Divine Contract

Chapter 3 - For the Journey Ahead

It has been an hour since I formed my contract with Highlander. I was busy sorting through my things, deciding what I should take with me and what I was willing to leave behind. There was no way that I would be able to stay here now, after all.

Highlander, on the other hand, was fast asleep. Apparently, she was exhausted, due to a mix of the time taken searching for me and the power required for the contract ritual. There were still several questions I had regarding the contract, but those would have to wait until after she woke up.

While searching through my things, I looked down at the marking on my ring finger, the proof of my contract with Highlander. I began wondering why I accepted it so readily. I don’t normally act on something as impulsive as I did with this.

There were several reasons which could have added up to me doing this;

1.       The Glass Globe displayed a vision of Highlander meaning that she was a part of my future. That might have just meant that she would show up and save me, but I felt like there was something more to it.

2.       The fact that she said I would be given power which would enable me to fight the Demons, who I hold a strong hatred for, head on. I didn’t currently feel any more powerful than I did, so maybe it takes a while to kick in.

3.       The fact that could feel the conviction behind Highlander’s words. I am usually able to tell when someone is lying to me, so I could tell that Highlander was telling the truth, or, at least, that she believed what she was saying to be the truth.

4.       The fact that I no longer had anywhere to go. Alicia was likely to be put under surveillance, if the Demons hadn’t already killed her, to ensure that I don’t try to make contact, or so that they can capture, or kill, me if I do. Meaning that I no longer have anyone I can turn to, so it would be better for me to move on from here.

With these reasons added together, I decided to accept the contract, even without knowing every last detail. I should probably be reprimanded for being so rash, but, for some reason, I didn’t regret my decision.

I continued sorting through my things, placing those that I would take into my satchel. My satchel has a special enchantment, which allows me to place as many things inside as I want, and it will never become full. All I have to do to get a specific item out of it is to think of that item when I open the satchel.

It was a very handy tool for a thief, but I didn’t actually believe that it could hold an infinite number of items, so I was very selective about what I put in it. The things that I steal, to be more precise. I prefer quality over quantity, so I only steal the things that I believe I will be able to sell for a price that was worth the risk in getting it.

After gathering all of the things that I wanted to take; tools, clothing, treasures that I had decided not to sell, etc. I decided that I should follow Highlander’s example and get some sleep. After all, my life was going to get a lot more hectic from this point onwards.

Since I had allowed Highlander to use my bed, I decided to sleep on the sofa. Only after I lay down did I realise exactly how tired I was. It had been a busy last few days and I didn’t have much time to rest during that time, so it didn’t take long for my exhaustion to win and drag me into a deep sleep.

***

I awoke to the sound of someone singing. It was a beautiful song, sung by someone with a beautiful voice. It was coming from the kitchenette. I looked over and saw Highlander cooking. Normally, I would enjoy not having to put in any effort myself to get a meal, but the smell that was coming from the kitchenette did not inspire any confidence.

I got up and walked over to Highlander. She must have heard me because she turned around to greet me.

“Good morning, Ross,” she said. “Did you sleep well?”

“Well enough, I guess,” I responded. “By the way, what are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Highlander tilted her head in confusion. “I’m cooking.”

“I can see that, but why are you cooking? Also, what are you cooking and why is it producing that smell?”

“I thought I would make you a nice breakfast with whatever I could find,” Highlander said with a smile. “But there wasn’t much in there, so I just threw it all together. The ingredients looked like enough to make a curry, so I thought we could have that for breakfast. The smell is a bit stronger than I was expecting, but it’s not that bad, so I’m not worried.”

I felt my face growing pale after hearing that. There were several things I had laying around that look edible, but could also be used in brewing poisons. They could be eaten, but only if prepared and cooked in a specific way. I had spent years learning this stuff, so hearing Highlander say that she just ‘threw it all together’ worried me greatly.

However, seeing her cooking so happily made it difficult to tell her the truth about the ingredients. That said, we would both be in danger if we ate that food, so I couldn’t keep quiet about it.

“Listen, Highlander,” I started. “Some of the ingredients that were lying around contain deadly poisons that, if they aren’t prepared properly, can easily kill someone.”

“Eh?” Highlander looked dumbfounded. She turned to look back at the pot she was cooking, clearly unsure about what to say next.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but it would probably be better if you stuck to using ingredients that you’re familiar with,” I tried to cheer her up.

“...ny,” I heard Highlander mumble something.

“I didn’t quite catch that. What did you just say?”

Highlander turned to look me in the eyes. I could see that she was on the verge of tears. “I’m not familiar with any!” She shouted. “No one lets me cook back home, so I’ve never had the chance to familiarise myself with any ingredients!”

After her outburst, Highlander crouched down into a ball and started sobbing.

I realised that her lack of experience was to blame for all of this. The use of unfamiliar ingredients, the thought of making curry for breakfast, and the fact that she didn’t realise that the smell proved exactly how bad the result was turning out to be.

I have never been good in this kind of situation, but I figured that it would be a bad idea to leave her like this.

“If you want to learn how to cook that badly, I wouldn’t mind teaching you, when we have the time,” I said in an effort to calm her down.

Hearing that, Highlander stopped crying and looked up at me with tears staining her face. “Really? You would do that for me?”

I knelt down in front of her and wiped her tears away. “Of course. If you want to learn, I am more than willing to teach you what I know.”

A smile returned Highlander’s face. “Ok. Thank you, Ross.”

We both stood up and looked at the “curry” that Highlander had been making. “So,” started Highlander. “What are we going to do with this?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have anything that we can use to salvage this,” I answered. “I guess we’ll just have to grab something from a street vendor on our way.”

“Yeah. We should probably be heading for the hidden city soon. It will take us a while to get there on foot, after all.” Highlander commented.

We left my hideout and started making our way to our objective, with Highlander leading the way.