Piper told Ethel her tale about falling ill, spending time in the hospital, and finally dying. The woman nodded along politely, but she could tell from her expression that she didn’t understand everything. As Piper told her about waking up in the tomb, Alfred settled down at his wife’s side.

  Piper was glad to see he no longer held the axe, but he still had a sour look on his face. When she started to tell them about the rooms with the paintings, Ethel held up her hand to stop her from talking.

  The woman turned to her husband. “It might be worth trying to find this place. There might be something to sell in there.”

  At the mention of selling something, Piper remembered the glowing gem she’d stashed in her pocket. For some reason, it had stopped glowing when she left the tunnel. However, it might be worth something. Maybe she could trade it for some food and a place to sleep.

  Reaching down, she fished the fist-sized gem out of her pocket. Ethel’s mouth dropped open as the stone began to pulse with light. “Is that an aetherstone?” The blond-haired woman leaned in closer. “I’ve only ever seen a blood lord wearing one that size.”

  Alfred leaned in as well, his mouth gaping open like a fish. “That thing is worth enough to buy the entire village…”

  “I—I need somewhere to stay for a while,” Piper said, haltingly. With the way they were reacting, she was afraid they were going to take the gem from her. It was clearly worth way more than she thought. “What if I give you the gem and I get to stay here for a while? Does… that sound fair?”

  Ethel reached across the table and closed Piper’s fingers around the gem. She then gave her a warm smile. “That’s yours, and I won’t hear about you paying for your stay here. Especially not after breaking bread with you.”

  “My wife’s right,” Alfred boomed. “We don’t take things that don’t belong to us. We follow the teachings of Infernus here. Maybe someday you’ll let me hold it, though?” He sounded almost painfully hopeful at the end of his sentence.

  Piper reached out and placed the gem in the man’s meaty hands. He took it from her reverently and held it up to his eye to examine it.

  “I can feel an ocean of mana inside of this thing,” Alfred said wistfully. “The things I could do on the farm…”

  As Piper opened her mouth to continue her story, something thudded down behind her and nearly made her jump out of her skin. Her head snapped around, her tail lashing around defensively, only to see the girl from before pointing a stick in her direction. She must have leapt from the loft above the table.

  “Die, foul demon scum!” the girl shouted, charging at Piper.

  Piper lurched to her feet, the chair she was sitting in toppling to the floor. But before the girl could reach her, Alfred sprang up and intercepted the young woman. He scooped her up into his arms, her legs thrashing wildly, as she tried to break free.

  “Let me go!” the girl shouted. “Just think of the deeds I’ll get if I slay a demon! I’ll get a warrior class for sure!”

  “Enough,” Alfred snapped, using his other hand to grab hold of her arms. “She’s our guest, and you will not break the ancient law of hospitality. Understood?”

  The girl puckered her lips as if she’d eaten a lemon, then dropped the stick. “Fine. I’ll get her later.”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Ethel said sharply. “As your father said, she’s our guest.” Turning back to Piper, she gave her a pained look. “This is our daughter Ophelia. She’s a little… spirited.”

  “I’m going to be a warrior!” Ophelia shouted, her voice far too loud for the confined space.

  “You’re going to be a farmer, and that’s that,” Alfred growled. He placed his daughter down gently on the floor but kept an eye on the young girl as she retrieved her stick. Ophelia slashed her makeshift weapon through the air a few times before retreating from the table. As she did, she stuck her tongue out at Piper.

  When Piper was sure she wasn’t going to be attacked a second time, she leaned down to pick up her chair. Sitting down slowly, she kept her gaze on Ophelia, who hovered nearby with a murderous look on her face.

  “Please.” Ethel motioned at Piper. “Continue with your story.”

  Piper continued to fill the woman in on her journey, and her encounter with the mammoths. Which then led to the part where she stumbled across their farm. No one spoke for a minute after she’d finished, as they all seemed to be digesting her story. The only sounds were the grunting of the pigs and the whinnying of the horse.

  Alfred leaned back, most of the sourness leaving his face. “Why do you think she was called here?”

  Ethel shrugged. “There are stories of a fallen demon in the mountains. Maybe it corrupted her somehow?”

  “Wait.” Piper furrowed her brow. “There’s a story about a fallen demon? What does it say?”

  The big man chuckled. “All we know is that it supposedly happened during the Thronefall. Some say the demon was a massive black dragon and the mountains you see are the spines of its back. That’s why they're called the Dragonspine Mountains.”

  A memory returned of the black dragon painted onto the walls of the tomb. Was that the demon they were talking about? “Those are its spines?” Piper asked incredulously. “The thing must have been the size of a country.”

  “It was according to the legend,” Alfred continued. “However, none but Infernus knows if it’s true.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “What else does it say?” Piper asked, intrigued. Would she become a giant, mountain-sized demon someday? She really didn’t want to, since she liked her current size.

  “That’s pretty much all I remember.” Alfred folded his big arms. “Might not have anything to do with your situation anyway. Now, on to more important topics. If I take you back tomorrow, do you think you could lead me to the tomb?”

  “I… think so?” She gave him an apologetic look. “I’m not great with directions. When I was a kid, I didn’t leave the house much.”

  Ethel gave her a quizzical look but didn’t say anything. She hadn’t told them all the details of her disease, and to be honest, she didn’t want to talk about it. The blond-haired woman placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully. “Have you awakened yet?”

  “Awakened?”

  “Yes,” the slender woman said. “Have you chosen your class yet?”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  Ethel frowned. “Did people not have classes where you’re from?”

  She shook her head in response.

  “How interesting,” Ethel said. “Let’s try a different tack. How many winters have you known?”

  “If you’re asking my age, I’m 12,” she said before adding, “and a half.”

  “Everyone in this world awakens on their 13th birthday. So, you have a little while yet."

  “Do you think I’ll get a class?” Piper asked excitedly. The idea of throwing fireballs around or fighting with a sword almost made her want to squeal with girlish delight. Not that she would do that, since she was way too old for that sort of behavior.

  “I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” Ethel replied. “However, I don’t know how demons work. It could come sooner or later for you.”

  The idea of having to wait for half a year already seemed like an eternity to her, but the thought of waiting even longer was sheer torture. She decided to believe that she would get it when she turned 13 and no later. Any other option was unthinkable.

  Before she could ask any follow-up questions, she felt something poke her back.

  “Haha!” Ophelia shouted, pulling her stick back. “I have slain you, demon!”

  Alfred rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. “Just for that, you get to muck out the animal pen before bed.”

  “That’s not fair!” Ophelia whined. “I was only protecting our farm.”

  “She’s our guest,” Alfred said firmly. “Now go get the shovel.”

  Ophelia grumbled, shooting Piper a look of pure death, before stomping out of the house. She slammed the door behind her, which made her mother sigh.

  Ethel tugged on her braid. “You’ll have to forgive my daughter. She’s having trouble learning to be a proper young woman.”

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Alfred muttered. He withered under his wife’s glare and decided it was time for him to be somewhere else. A second later, he tromped out of the door after his daughter.

  The blond-haired woman turned back to Piper. “Would you like to stay here with us until you awaken?”

  “Do you really mean it?” At best, she had hoped they would give her a place to sleep for a night. She hadn’t expected them to let her stay here. But after her sheltered upbringing, she felt immense gratitude for the offer. She had no idea how to survive on her own. Heck, she didn’t even know how to cook or wash her own clothing.

  Ethel nodded.

  “Why?” Piper blurted out, realizing after the fact she might have sounded rude. But why would they want a complete stranger who looked like a demon to live with them?

  At her question, Ethel’s face crumpled. “I… recently lost my daughter, Olive. She died of the plague last spring. As hard as it is to believe, you remind me of her. And you breaking bread proves you mean us no harm. I also believe you need somewhere safe to live while you find yourself in this world.”

  “I’d love to stay here.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” Ethel said. “But you’re going to have to do work. There’s a lot to do on a farm, and we can’t afford to feed a mouth who doesn’t pitch in.”

  “I’d love to do farm work!” She cried out before blushing and clamping a hand over her mouth.

  “You would?” Ethel looked surprised at Piper’s outburst. “I wish my daughter had your attitude.”

  Piper gave her an embarrassed smile. She couldn’t tell the woman it had been years since she’d done anything normal. Most of her time had been spent trapped in a hospital bed or in her wheelchair. The thought of helping around a farm filled her with unbridled joy.

  But as she sniffed the air, she realized she would need to find somewhere else to sleep. There was no way she would ever get used to the smell in here. Maybe they’d let her sleep in one of the outbuildings. If worse came to worst, she could always sleep under the stars.

  As the silence stretched out between them, she twirled a strand of silver hair around her finger. Finally, Ethel stood up and motioned at the nearby fire. A metal tripod was set up over it while an iron cauldron sat off to the side.

  “Would you like to help me start dinner, Piper?”

  She nodded her head.

  “Come with me.” Ethel walked over and gathered up a pile of buckets and handed two to her.

  Piper took the buckets, placing one in each hand, and then walked out of the front door. As soon as she stepped outside, she felt something sharp poke her side. When she looked over, she saw Ophelia with a smug look on her face and wielding her stick once more.

  “I got you again, demon!” Ophelia crowed, darting away. A second later, the lumbering form of Alfred chased after the young woman.

  Piper couldn’t help but giggle at the girl’s antics, even while Ethel was shaking her head. The two of them continued on to a nearby spring, where they filled up the buckets. On the way back to the house, Alfred appeared from the brush with a bow and arrow.

  “Do you mind if I borrow her for a bit?”

  Ethel pursed her lips. “She was going to help me with dinner…”

  “This is her first day as our guest,” Alfred said. “Don’t put her to work yet.”

  “I don’t mind,” Piper protested. “Really.”

  “I’m going to hunt some game for dinner,” Alfred said. “I imagine you’ll have a better time with me. Also, maybe you can point me in the direction of the tomb.”

  With a look over at Ethel, who nodded, she handed back the full buckets and followed Alfred into the woods. They walked for a while, heading deeper and deeper into the dense forest. The ground slowly transitioned from soft soil to clumps of rocks carpeted with moss. The trees became straggly and short, with twisted limbs and limp leaves.

  Without warning, Alfred stopped and spun around. He nocked an arrow and pointed the bow at Piper.

  Alarmed, she tried to stumble away, but her foot caught on a fallen branch. Her arms windmilled as she fell, her back slamming into the hard ground. The air whooshed out of her lungs and she was left gasping on the ground like a fish out of water. She tried to draw in a breath as Alfred watched her with cold eyes.

  “While my wife trusts you, I don’t,” he said flatly. “The only reason she believes your ridiculous story is that, for some reason, she sees our daughter in you. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re a demon and that demons lie.”

  “But the bread,” Piper whispered, finally finding her voice, “she said it proved I didn’t mean you any harm.”

  “That’s an old wives’ tale, nothing more.”

  Alfred sucked in a deep breath. “I’m not going to kill you, demon. However, it also doesn’t mean that I trust you. Know that I’ll be watching you every minute of every day. And you won’t be sleeping with my family. Also, I wouldn’t recommend you try anything at night because our house is warded. If you try to get in after sundown, bad things will happen to you.”

  The big man lowered his bow. “Know that if you harm a single hair on my daughter’s head, I’ll make you suffer in ways you can’t imagine.” He pulled the arrow off the string and stuffed it back in the quiver on his belt. “Now, let's find some game for dinner.”

  Piper could only nod her head at his words. Scrambling back to her feet, she followed Alfred further into the woods. But this time, she kept a healthy distance between them.