"You don't have to go you know."

An exasperated sigh left her lips. "I've told you this is what I wish to do. You don't have to understand it, but at least try to be supportive."

"I delivered your letter Sage! I don't even know why I had too!"

Sage looked at her best friend with an incredibly serious look. Her hands stopped packing her knapsack for a moment. "You know I hate the Order. I didn't want to walk right up to their doorstep." There was no doubt in her mind that Hendrick always wondered why she hated the Order. She never told him much about her past before being here in the village. All he knew was that she was an orphan and Gramps adopted her when she was becoming an adolescent. If he knew the full truth, there was a chance he would've outed her. 

"Sage I've never asked questions about your past, what happened to your parents, why you hate the order. I've stayed loyally by your side and avoided those topics because I knew they caused you pain. I don't want you to leave and throw away your life. You could stay here..with me." The tan skin young man seemed frantic and a dread set in her chest. His brown eyes were scared and intense. 

Please don't say it. Please don't say it.

"You could marry me?"

Fuck. Queen Mother help her.

Sage's mouth opened and a loss for words and contemplation of what to say next graced her face. Unintentionally she wrinkled her face up in disbelief. Never had she thought of marrying him. Deep down she knew there was a chance he wanted something different between them but right now she truly believed he was just scared of her leaving and possibly dying outside the barrier. "Hendrick, I'm leaving, I wish you the best truly. It isn't with me though. Your life will never align with mine in that way. You know that and I know that. So please don't say things like that out of desperation." She walked over to her horse and adjusted the rest of her equipment to its saddle before turning to look at him. "Please take care of yourself, I hope our paths cross again."

With that she mounted her chestnut horse and left the defeated man standing in front of her home alone. The home that had been the only place she had ever felt comfortable in her own skin. The memories she shared with the old man that had taken her in as his own before passing of a sickness last spring. It was her hope that he knew on his death the difference he had made in her life by just showing compassion for a lost, scared child. Sage hoped she'd do him proud.

[hr]

It wasn't too long before she had made her way to the meeting spot. The heavily guarded area made her uncomfortable, but she knew as long as she remained calm and nonchalant it wouldn't raise questions. Sage felt a wave of nausea as she could see her old friend sleeping against a tree in front of the Forlorn Hope. Would he get enraged? Would he hug her? Was it too late to pretend she was a completely different person? The questions made Hendrick's crazy proposal sound better than she'd like to admit. The shame and guilt was eating her alive.

Stopping her horse nearby she dismounted and guided it towards the tree. Firmly tying the lead to the tree. Her sword hung on her leather clad hip. A quiver filled with arrows resting on her back with her bow. Her attire was comprised of leather dyed in hues of blue, gold, and browns. A few pieces of chainmail protecting her shoulders. In the week leading up to leaving she had worked hard to craft a elaborate table for the leather smith. He traded her the clothing and gave her the chainmail as a bonus wishing her luck on her journey. Everyone in the village wanted to believe this was all true and that they would succeed, but they were skeptical as they should be.

Kneeling down in front of the sleeping cleric she really didn't know what to do. Sage didn't want to wake him up, the road ahead would be long. May as well get a little rest now. So, she took to studying his face up close. He really had matured in the last few years without her. She'd changed a lot too. Her stature was taller, standing at roughly 5'5. The entirety of her silhouette was that of a woman now, not a child. The softness of her face had angled a little more. Would he even recognize her at first? 

A sigh left her lips to relieve tension as she waited for him to awaken from his slumber.