Chapter 11: Underdogs With Money

“Lady Guevera, I heard that your group is looking for a map?”

Tori looked up from her desk, where she was re-organizing her notes, and met the smiling face of the protagonist, who was stopping her from her studies.

The tents and sleeping bags were done earlier than expected, so the last few days before the weekend prior to their excursion, she made her group go to her aunt’s house to practice setting up their campsite.

Practice made familiarity and familiarity made the process easier.

However, the half hour long wagon rides to and then from Auntie Lucia’s, coupled with the time it took to practice setting up and taking down their camp, drastically cut the time available for her to habitually review her notes. In order to try to make up for it, she took advantage of the morning and afternoon break hours.

Ilyana had run off to pick up their sandwiches for lunch, insisting that Tori go through her notes.

“We can take turns getting lunch,” Tori had told her, but Ilyana shook her head. There was pity in her eyes as she comforted Tori.

“You need to study.”

Tori pursed her lips, but stopped insisting on taking turns. At any rate, Ilyana spent the weekend studying while Tori stayed overnight at her aunt’s house, preparing the food rations. Sonia and JP had gone to drop off what food they could get and had only briefly seen Tori hacking away at something in the kitchen with what JP described as ‘obsessive determination’.

The first year students would leave for the excursion tonight. It was an overnight wagon train to Alpine Valley. By tomorrow morning, they would reach the starting point and be released into the woods, like confused bears that were too accustomed to being in captivity.

But before all that, immediately after class that day, her group would meet at the gates and take the wagon Ilyana rented back to her aunt’s, pick up their things, and then return to Lycée to join the wagon train.

Tori looked up at the beautiful young blonde protagonist standing beside her desk with a hint of suspicion. Why was she bringing up the map now, when they were scheduled to leave in a few hours?

“We struggled a bit, but eventually managed to get a copy,” Tori said. The map, like all their supplies, was a secret. It was more for defensive reasons that she asked her group not to mention how their preparation was going. She knew it would only invite scrutiny and no matter what they did, people would talk or laugh. She didn’t want anyone to deal with that. Tori put on a pleasant smile. “Why do you ask?”

Alessa smiled. “I heard many groups were lacking maps, so I copied the map from Gideon.”

Tori drew her head back. “The Imperial Cartographer’s map?” Each person in her group had a copy and she knew how detailed it was. “That’s impressive.” It wasn’t an empty compliment, either.

Alessa nodded. “I made a few copies and am giving them out to groups who need them. Do you want one?”

Okay, you know what, that’s very decent of you. That’s top shelf heroine behavior. Maybe I shouldn’t be too prejudiced towards you. Tori’s opinion of Alessa eased a bit. “Thank you, Miss Hart, that’s very kind of you, but my group is settled. We appreciate the offer and your hard work.”

She could see a slight disappointment in Alessa’s eyes, but the girl didn’t lose her smile. “All right, but if you need it, I have some!”

Tori smiled back and gave her a slight nod. Alessa moved on to another group and offered a map. Upon realizing it was a copy of the Imperial Cartographer’s map, her classmates accepted and gushed with thanks, praising Alessa for being so thoughtful. As Tori looked back towards her notes, she caught sight of the three love interests in her class looking at Alessa with thoughtful expressions.

Tori had no problem with this. She was not in competition with Alessa for their affections and their relationships were none of her business. As long as they didn’t bother her, she wished them the best.

“Lady Guevera, are you sure you don’t want a copy of the map?” Dimitri called over once Ilyana had returned. “It’s quite detailed and will be useful.”

Ilyana bit a piece of bread stuffed with meat and glanced at Tori. “Map?”

“Miss Hart made copies of the Imperial Cartographer’s map His Highness has and is distributing them to groups that need them,” Tori said quietly. She raised her voice to answer Dimitri, but still kept her eyes on her notes. “I’m sure. Thank you for the offer!”

“I thought you were against being willfully ignorant.” Gideon sounded snide. “Aren’t you the leader of your group? You should make sure that they have all the best resources at hand.”

Ilyana sat up straight. She lowered her meat pie and looked ready to tell him that they, too, had a copy of the Imperial Cartographer’s map and that it was a better version because they spent two hours reviewing it as a group. They had mapped out their trail and camping spots, as well as marked locations of useful medicinal plants, with one of the men who put together the map.

Tori held her arm out in front of her to stop her from speaking. She lifted her head and looked across the room.

“Your Highness, Miss Hart spent a painstaking amount of time preparing those maps for those who are in need. It would be remiss of us, who were able to get a decent map, to take one that could help another group.” Tori was calm as she spoke.

Gideon huffed and looked away. “I still can’t believe they made one of the lowest ranked students in the school their group leader....”

Tori was fairly certain at this point that Gideon disliked her because he thought she was stupid and undeserving of being a Lycée student. The school had a grand reputation; it essentially supplied the future elite of the empire. If there was one student in particular who was subpar and would likely bring down its reputation, she could see that there would be some bias against them.

Not that she agreed with it.

“They probably had no choice,” someone said. “Aside from Agafonova, the other four are commoners from ordinary backgrounds. She likely bullied them into it.”

“I know. Have you noticed that she always makes Agafonova get her lunch for her?”

Ilyana scoffed. Tori tapped her desk to distract her. “Ignore them. We have a busy day today.”

Ilyana did not look reconciled, but still finished eating and sorted through her notes. The rumor that Tori bullied a bunch of commoners into being her group mates, so someone would carry her things on the excursion, was the current popular rumor. After all, who’d willingly be part of her group?

“I’m telling you, a deck of cards is important.” Ewan was, as usual, the first one waiting by the gate. Now he sat in the wagon Ilyana rented, still dressed in his uniform like the rest of them. He held out a small packet of cards proudly. “What if it gets boring?”

“While we’re in the middle of a hike?” Sonia slumped back against the side of the wagon, legs crossed and eyebrows raised. Her hiking boots were broken-in well after a week of constant wear. It looked strange under her uniform skirt, but she didn’t seem to care. Besides, Tori and Ilyana did the same. “Are we going to hold them up as we walk through a forest?”

“No, when we stop for the night!” Ewan’s face reddened.

Henrik squinted. “How are we going to see the cards if it’s dark?” Ewan’s face fell and Tori felt a bit bad for him. Ilyana, playing the role of peacemaker, lifted her hands placating.

“It won’t be so bad if we play by the fire, right? The campfire Tori showed us is pretty bright.”

“Yeah, we can use the fire!” Ewan’s face lit up again.

JP sighed, sitting in the same position as his sister. “That’s if we’re not too tired. We’re trekking for a whole day with bags on our back and then have to set up when we do stop. I don’t doubt that we’ll be exhausted.”

“It doesn’t hurt to have something to occupy us. Besides, it’s not like the cards take up a lot of room.” When Tori spoke, the rest of her group listened. She didn’t know why such obedience happened, but was sure it developed when she was forcing them to do ‘excursion training’ after classes. She supposed having a villainess halo was useful at times.

“We don’t have to do another set-up and take down practice today, do we?” Sonia asked.

“No, we just have to double check our supplies and make sure our things are organized. We’ll change into our excursion clothes here and wear them back. Auntie Lucia said she’ll have our uniforms washed and I can come pick them up this weekend, when we get back.”

“Oh, nice.” JP nodded with satisfaction. “What should we do about dinner? Checking our supplies and changing clothes won’t take long.”

“Auntie’s having all of us for dinner,” Tori said with a wide smile. “She said we should eat well, as tomorrow, we’ll be burning a lot of energy hiking all day.”

“Your aunt’s the best, Tori.” Ilyana beamed.

Their rented wagon arrived in front of the di Biancci house and the butler let them in.

“Lady Tori, the parlor has been cleared for you and your group to go through your things,” the old man said.

“Thank you, Gustaf,” Tori said. The others followed her, thanking the butler on the way in. When they got to the parlor, all the big furniture was pushed to one side and their bags were laid out on the floor, along with a large wooden crate filled with supplies.

Piled on top of a coffee table against the wall were their food rations; each properly marked with cooking instructions or content. Tori sat by the wooden box and took out their supply list as the others sat in a semi-circle. They packed the items as Tori checked them off.

By the time they finished and secured the buckles on their bags, two new observers were kneeling on the rug with sad looks on their faces.

“What’s wrong?” Ilyana asked the two small observers. “Are you two going to miss your cousin?”

Marco and Mateo shook their heads in tandem. Tori raised a brow. “I told you two that when we’re done, we’ll bring the tents back and you two can sleep outside until it starts to snow.”

Mateo poked at the rug. “The sleeping bags, too?”

Tori squinted at the identical twins. Ever since they saw the tent being pitched the first time, they had fallen in love with it. Tori humored them and suggested to her aunt and uncle to let the two camp out in the yard. They had slept in the tent, under personal guard of course, for the last four nights.

“Marco, Mateo,” Tori said as she rested her rucksack against a chair. “How about this? If you two get into Lycée, I will personally provide you each with a set for your First Year Excursion. Tent, sleeping bag, clothes, rucksack and all the supplies it holds.” She lifted her hand and patted her bag. “Even the food.”

The twins gasped. They looked at her with eyes filled with idolization. “You promise?” they chorused.

“Yes.”

“And we’ll get matching belt buckles, too?” Marco asked, his hands shaking in front of him with excitement.

The teenagers seated on the floor next to their respective bags slowly turned to look at Ewan, their faces filled with judgment. Not only did their clothes match, but so did their boots and belt buckles. While in the yard at Daybreak Garden, Sonia and Ilyana picked up leather belts to secure their pants, prompting the three boys to do the same.

Then Ewan saw a bunch of metal belt buckles that had lions' heads on them.

“We should get these,” he said, with the utmost serious voice.

Henrik had looked over and shook his head. “We don’t need decorative belt buckles.”

“Yes, we do. We named our group Lion’s Gate. This has a lion.” He had lifted it up for the group to admire. “There are exactly six of them-”

“There’s an entire bin-”

“Six of them.” Ewan ignored JP. “It was meant to be.”

In the end, because Tori had secured most of their tools and cooking equipment for good prices, they had some coins left over and splurged on the lion’s head belt buckles.

Sonia had glared at her buckle. “These are the tackiest things I’ve ever seen.”

Marco and Mateo did not agree. Tori drew in her lips and conceded. “Sure...and matching belt buckles.” Gueveras did not yield, except to other Gueveras, apparently. “When you get into Lycée.”

“That’s a long way off.” Auntie Lucia appeared in the doorway and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at her sons. “Are you bothering your cousin and her friends?”

“No!” The boys were indignant, but were still ushered away to get ready for dinner. When they were out of the room, Auntie Lucia stepped in and opened one of the cabinets. She gathered a few items the length of her hand.

“All of you except for Tori, come here,” she said as she turned around. Tori leaned against the sofa she was seated in front of and watched as her group mates lined up in front of her aunt. Auntie Lucia began handing them leather sheaths with small knives. “It is always good to have at least a small knife on you when you are in the forest.”

“Thank you, Lady di Biancci,” Henrik said as he accepted his and lifted the strap to remove the knife. The blade was small; about the length across one’s palm, but it would do in a pinch. “We’ll return them after the excursion.”

“Ah, no.” Auntie Lucia lifted her hand and gave them a wave. “I have so many knives. Just take them.”

“Thank you, so much.” Sonia had a grin on her face as she tied it to her belt. “Like this?”

“Yes, just like that. It’s good for cutting small branches, peeling fruit, and gutting a fish,” the older woman said. “Very useful for camping.”

“Tori, you don’t get one?” JP asked as he mirrored his sister and tied it to his belt.

Tori tried not to smile and waved her hand. “No, I’m good.”

It was only after dinner that Tori changed into her outdoors clothing and they saw the dagger strapped to her right thigh. Ewan’s jaw dropped.

“What is that? Why do you get a dagger and a thigh holster?” he demanded.

“You don’t need anything fancy. You just need a small knife,” Henrik told him.

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that was an option!”

Tori patted his shoulder as she walked past to get to their wagon. “Next time.” Her aunt saw them off, kissing Tori’s cheeks and telling her to stay aware of her surroundings and not take any unnecessary risks.

The six teenagers, now in matching brown pants and chambray-colored shirts, headed back to Lycée. It was already dark, but the inside of the wagon had a few light crystals dangling overhead.

When they got to campus, the oval driveway in front of the school gate was lined with over a dozen covered wagons, each wider and twice as long as the one they rented. Ilyana had the driver drop them off at the end of the driveway. They disembarked and looked around as they put on their rucksacks and gripped their matching hiking poles.

It looked like most of the students were already there, checking in and finding a wagon to sit in.

“Instructor Rosemund told us today that each wagon can take up to two groups and they’re not assigned,” Tori said as she led them towards a crowd of teenagers lining up in front of two tables staffed by adults. “Ewan, Henrik, you two go look for a wagon for us. When you find one, stand by the curb and wave us down. We’ll follow after I check.”

“Got it.” The two boys veered to the right, to follow the curve of the driveway and check out the wagons. Each one was pulled by a set of horses and had a driver.

Tori took the others to check in at one of the tables. As they reached the front of the line, she found Librarian Hawthorne. “Oh, Miss Guevera! Are you prepared for the excursion?”

“Yes, sir. My group and I are ready.”

“What is your group name?”

“Lion’s Gate.” They were checked off and given a metal compact with a yellow-green stone; their transmission crystal to be used for emergencies and nightly check in. In addition, they were given six clear crystal pendants; a light crystal for each of them.

“Once you find a wagon, check in with the instructor assigned to it. That instructor and wagon will also take you back when the excursion is over,” Librarian Hawthorne told her. He gave her a big smile. “Have a good time!”

They thanked him and walked towards the driveway, searching the crowds under the streetlights for Ewan or Henrik. Groups of students were huddled by the back of wagons and Tori saw them look in their direction as they approached. She ignored them, keeping her eyes out for her group mates.

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“See them?” she asked.

“No....” The other three were also searching the crowds. Tori looked towards one of the wagons as they passed and craned her neck to see if Ewan or Henrik were among the students next to it.

“This wagon is full!” She almost jumped back as someone shouted.

“Okay....” She continued forward.

“We’re full!” Someone from another carriage said as they passed. The next handful of wagons also had similar shouts.

“Wagon’s full!”

“Sorry, we’re waiting for another group!”

“This wagon is taken.”

“Well...I see a pattern.” Tori took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. They were like the unpopular underdogs of the story. Granted, underdogs with money. “Sorry, guys. This is my fault.”

Ilyana frowned and shook her head. “No, it’s not.”

“Yeah....” JP said, squinting. “It kind of is.”

That’s fair. They continued to walk along the curb. One of the wagons in the center of the caravan had familiar faces. Alessa was standing by the back of the wagon, talking to several teenage boys. The conversation was lively. Along with Dimitri and Gideon, Tori recognized Constantine and narrowed her eyes. Ah...so she got to him already, too. I bet this excursion will have a ton of encounters for her.

A flash of unique dark blue hair glistened in the street light and Tori squinted. A young man with light brown skin, good build, and defined, angular features. Tori forced her eyes forward. No one else in the school had blue hair. Blue was a love interest hair color.

Was that Montan-something or other? She couldn’t remember the name, but knew he was the controversial son of a duke. Not him, per se, but his parents. His father was only a duke because of his first wife. She died and his father took over. He also immediately re-married a woman who already had a son. Except that son looked exactly like him.

Coincidence? Of course not. Montan was the bastard love child with a sad backstory. While his parents loved him and prepared him to be the next duke, the rest of noble society looked down on him. Not only was it because he was technically illegitimate at birth, but because he had no actual blood ties to the duchy. It belonged to his father’s dead first wife. As a result, he was introverted and harbored a lot of resentment for Soleil’s aristocracy.

He was, of course, drawn to the warm and kind Alessa, who didn’t see him as a bastard usurping a several century old hereditary line, but as himself.

And also he was a magical genius or something who used a paper charm to find Alessa when she was kidnapped, and track and trap Victoria so they could catch her and throw her to sex slavers.

He was not one of the people Tori wanted to see.

“Miss Guevera, have you found a wagon already?” Tori snapped her head towards the sound of a woman’s voice. She nodded as Instructor Rosemund stood by the wagon Alessa and her reverse-harem were near.

Both she and Ilyana greeted their homeroom instructor politely. “Yes, one of our group mates went ahead.”

“Good. Don’t forget that you’ll be taking that wagon back.” The two nodded and continued on. They neared the end of the caravan with no sign of Ewan or Henrik. Tori was starting to wonder if she passed them.

“I see them.” Sonia stretched her neck up. “Predictably, the last wagon.”

“Hey!” Ewan raised his arms and waved them. “Over here!” They reached the end of the wagon caravan and Ewan grinned. “Found one!”

“Good job,” Tori told him. “Where’s the instructor?”

“Right here!” A tall, slender man with shaggy dirty blond hair was coming towards them. He had a big, eager smile on his fair face. He was dressed in loose, drab clothing and looked even younger than when he was wearing his teaching robes.

“Instructor Ignatius?” Tori blinked.

“Yes! I’m in charge of this wagon! Our driver is Mr. Henninger and we’re all ready to go,” he said. He slapped the side of the wagon and immediately winced, bringing his hand close to him. “You...ow...you kids can go inside.”

The group glanced at each other, but silently climbed into the wagon in the same methodological way they had done while going to Auntie Lucia’s. Tori first. Whoever was behind her lifted her bag to be put inside. Then Tori would reach out to help the next person. That person would repeat until they got to Ewan, who’d hand his bag to whoever went ahead of him and then easily jump onto the wagon bed.

As they moved toward the front of the wagon, they heard Instructor Ignatius greet another student. “Yes! There’s room for one more group.”

“Great!” A teenage girl appeared at the back of the wagon. She put her hands on the wagon and was about to try to climb up when she looked inside and froze. Her broad smile disappeared as the first face she saw was Tori’s.

Tori raised a brow. She lifted one arm lazily. “Hey.”

The girl paused, released the wagon, and turned around. “Let’s go back to that other wagon with group Infinity!”

The six inside were quiet as the second group hastily abandoned them. Tori was sure she wasn’t the only one who expected that to happen. A few more minutes passed and Instructor Ignatius jumped on to the front of the wagon. He looked inside from the driver’s seat. “Looks like you're lucky and get the wagon all to yourselves!”

“Well, that’s not too bad,” Sonia said, somewhat satisfied. “At least we don’t have to worry about another team sabotaging our stuff while we sleep.”

“Haha....” Instructor Ignatius’ laughter faded awkwardly. “...what?”

The wagon jerked forward and Tori opened her rucksack at her feet. She pulled out a tightly rolled, sage-colored bundle. “We have a long ride ahead of us. Lay out your sleeping bags. We might as well get comfortable.”

Instructor Ignatius was seated on his side on the driver’s bench and leaned into the covered wagon, watching the group with interest. One by one, his students had awoken. Tori, who was closest to the front of the wagon, asked how much longer they had before they stopped.

“About an hour,” he said. The sun was rising and it would be mid-morning by the time they reached the southeastern most point of the valley, where they would start.

“All right.” Tori stretched her arms over her head as she sat up. “Everyone. Get up.” There was a series of groans of protest and Henrik remained curled in a ball. “I’ll give you a shot of cold brew,” Tori said. Henrik sat up at once and Tori took out a metal canister and poured some cool, dark liquid into a cup.

Next to her, Ilyana complained. “Tori, I want some, too.”

“Okay, okay, give me your cup. Anyone else?” Several metal mugs were pushed forward and Tori poured some in. “Instructor Ignatius? Mr. Henninger?”

“What is it?”

“Coffee steeped in cold water. It’s smoother; not as bitter.” She handed him a cup and he found he liked it. When the group finished their morning drink, they began to roll up their sleeping bags back into the tight cylinders, and put them in their bags.

Then they reviewed their maps. Instructor Ignatius was surprised to see that they had six identical ones, each detailed and marked. He craned his neck forward. “Where did you get that map?”

“Tori’s uncle,” JP said as he carefully folded it and put it into his satchel. “He helped make it.”

“Professor Biancci?”

“You know my uncle?” Tori turned around.

“I had him for a class at Université. Also....” Instructor Ignatius gave her a wry smile. “I’m a classmate of your brother, Kasen. Your eldest brother was also a senior.”

“Really? How were my brothers in school?” She watched her instructor freeze and a distant look appeared on his face.

“Monsters.”

“Huh?”

“I mean they were monsters academically,” he told her. He quickly took another drink from the cup. It was empty and he held it out to her. “Can I have another?”

Tori handed him the container. “You and Mr. Henninger can have the rest. We shouldn’t have too much.” She then began to hand out paper-wrapped packages the size of her hand to each of her group mates. She had a few extra and offered them once more to her instructor and driver.

Mr. Henninger, a forty-something year old man, chuckled as he ate his breakfast sandwich. “I’m being spoiled! Lucky me for getting such generous students.”

“You got us here safely,” JP told him from the wagon. “And drove through the night. We appreciate your hard work, sir.” The other five agreed aloud.

Mr. Henninger looked pleased. “You got good kids, Ignatius.”

Instructor Ignatius smiled. He just finished his sandwich when they reached the entrance of the valley.

“Okay, we’re here. Everyone get your things and come out. You need to listen to the Headmaster’s address before he lets you go. It’ll be quick,” he said as he crumpled up the paper.

“Instructor, I left a few packages in the wagon to eat when we get back. Is this all right?” Tori asked.

He laughed. “It’ll be there and waiting for you to return.”

Ewan hopped out of the wagon and the process of disembarking was just the reverse of when they got in. Tori handed them all their hiking poles before climbing out.

“The sun’s already bright.” Sonia frowned and lifted up her hand. “And it’s not yet midday.”

“It’ll be more shaded once we get into the forest, but it’s still good to wear the hat,” Tori said. The group put on their khaki-colored bucket hats and Tori led them forward.

They were the last wagon and parked at the very end of the arrival area. In order to reach the edge of the forest, where all the students and instructors were gathering, they needed to pass the other wagons and whatever students were climbing out of them.

As they walked, it became very obvious that their matching attire and gear attracted a lot of attention. Students even stopped to stare.

“I can’t believe I agreed to this.” Sonia pulled her hat down lower. To the side of them, a few people did a double take and then snickered amongst themselves. “Why did I think it would be a good idea to wear matching clothing?”

“Because the shirts are breathable, but will keep you warm and act as a top layer while the pants are durable and will keep your legs from being scratched up by low-hanging branches and leaves,” JP told his sister. “That Armando guy knows what he’s doing.”

“Just ignore the looks,” Tori said, her eyes fixed forward. “Everything we brought with us has a practical purpose.” She paused. “Except for the belt buckle.”

“It’s a symbol of our group!” Ewan insisted.

Tori sighed. “Anyway, who cares what we look like as long as we get to the end point safely and on time?”

“That’s a good attitude, Miss Guevera!” A voice boomed behind her and she almost raised her arms in defense. She turned around and saw Headmaster Laurent marching forward in light-colored clothes and boots, as if he was also going hiking instead of just waiting at the end point.

“Good morning, Headmaster.” Tori joined the low chorus of greetings as the old man walked through the crowd of students to get to the front.

“Good morning, First Years!” Headmaster Laurent beamed at the mass of students in pockets of little groups. “Welcome to your First Year Excursion here at Alpine Valley. Your task this year is to cross the valley from this southeastern-most point - here, at our starting point, to the northwestern pass; the end point.

“The hike will take roughtly three days to complete, bearing in mind that you will have to cross a section of the Daga River. You will camp for two nights and I recommend that you set up camp before the sun sets. The goal is to reach the end point by sunset on the third day. Now, while this is not a race - I repeat - not a race, we will reward the first three teams to reach the end point. The reward is not worth recklessly endangering yourselves to get to the end point as soon as possible. The goal is teamwork and strengthening bonds as you take on this journey.”

He lifted his hand high to show a metal compact with a yellow-green stone. “This is your transmission crystal. It was given to your group leader when you checked in last night. At sunset, each member of your group must press your finger on the crystal to check in. This means that you must stay with your groups.

“You may work with other groups, but a group of six must stay together. If someone is missing or gets lost and doesn’t check in, it will notify your instructors and the Université volunteers; your seniors, who are here with us to help oversee the excursion. They will follow you into the woods two hours after we release you. If there is an emergency, push down on the crystal and remain where you are. The staff and volunteers will find you.”

He lowered his arm and looked fondly at the students. “Lycée du Soleil’s First Year Excursion is a tradition of our school and the friendships you make in these next three days will stay with you. Do not be afraid to work together and aid other groups. That being said, I will see you all on the third day.”

He lifted a metal whistle to his lips and blew.

The shrill, piercing sound filled the area and almost at once, a herd of students descended into the forest behind him.

“Didn't the Headmaster just say it’s not a race?” Ilyana said as she remained standing with her group as Tori took out her map and compass.

“Yeah,” Henrik said. “But people are stupid.”

“Okay, my lions,” Tori said as she looked ahead. She tucked her compass back under her shirt. “Let’s go.”

The five grouped behind her like chicks, with Henrik a step behind Tori, walking in the path she cleared. He was in charge of double-checking the directions. The forest floor near the entrance of the valley had some vegetation, but it would become thicker and more difficult to get through the deeper they went. Alpine Valley was relatively pristine; there were no set hiking trails.

“I know I questioned you about tucking our pants into our boots,” Sonia said as she looked down. “But I get it now.”

“It keeps the bugs out,” Tori said. Ewan made a face and shuddered. Up ahead, they could see students racing through the forest for some reason. “I know it’s exciting to be outdoors, but they need to be careful. Pay attention to where you step. Remember the snakes Uncle Maurizo told us about.”

“Venomous, but not fatal to humans,” Henrik said. “Somewhat comforting.”

The group chuckled as they stayed in a small line. Little by little, the other students began to melt into the woods, disappearing from sight. The lively sounds of their shouting faded into the distance and Lion’s Gate settled into a comfortable silence, listening to the birds and rustle of trees.

Tori took a deep breath, inhaling that sweet, warm forest scent. If they didn’t have to cross the valley in three days, she would’ve taken time to sit and just take in the towering trees, the dancing spots of light, and relish the peaceful atmosphere for the forest.

She could get used to this if this is what the game had in store for her. A background character that wasn’t bothered by whatever drama was going on around the protagonist....

“Isn’t that Lady Guevera’s group?” A voice cut through her tranquil thoughts and she turned her head towards the sound.

The slight curve of her lips hinting at a smile immediately flattened as she saw a group of beautiful people catching up and walking in the same direction they were heading.

Alessa smiled and raised her arm. “Hi, Lady Guevera!”

Tori’s eye twitched. Aww...shit.

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