Darin swallowed, but didn’t say anything while she thought. So, the Elf was looking for her. Not only that but she was a traitor. Darin wasn’t sure what to make of that. Apparently, the fact, that the Elf was looking for her was keeping her alive. She wasn’t sure what to make of that. The compassionate part of the human wanted to scream that she was right here. The practically part of her want to run as soon as they reached Greyrock. She wasn’t sure what part would win. The only part that made a lick of sense to Darin was that Ridahne appeared to regret oversharing. The human could relate to that.

In fact, she could relate right now, “I’m the bastard child of a farmer.” She shrugged her shoulder’s “Not that that makes you feel better, but I figured it would be less uncomfortable if I shared as well.” Darin continued, “I mean I’m a bastard, but that doesn’t really matter. Marriage isn’t really a thing in my village, so my parents weren’t wedded, but two people do make promises of devotion and fidelity to each other. That’s what my parents did. Then, when I was fourteen, my father just left. He didn’t give a reason. He didn’t say goodbye. He disappeared in the middle of the note. He took the farm horse, half the supplies, and both our hearts. Everyone in the village looked down on my mother for not being able to keep him happy enough to stay. They figured that she had done something to drive him away. So, no one was willing to help on the farm. That meant I had to step up. I taught myself though trial and error and have been doing it practically single handily ever since. My mother worries over me because you can’t work a plow in skirts, and I cut my hair on my sixteenth birthday. She’s worried I’ll never find someone to start a family with.” Darin sighed as she stared off in the distance, “There was no one else to do the job that needed doing to I kissed my mother goodbye, and started this journey knowing I was unprepared. But it’s got to be done. SO, I’m going to do the best I can.”

Not for the first time Darin wondered if that was true. Was she the only person for the job, or had The Gardener run out of time? Maybe she was just the first candidate he had found. He had died literally two seconds after giving her The Seed, and Thomas and Milla wouldn’t tell her what their conversation with The Gardener had been about. They said that she would know when she needed to know. Needless to say, the human felt woefully unprepared for the task she had been given. She didn’t feel like she would ever know why it had been given to her. She just knew that it was. So, she had to do it the best she knew how.

Darin gave her head a shake, “Enough about personal history.” She held up her knife, “This is my knife. I know it’s not meant for fighting, but I have stabbed a man with it.” She shrugged, “That was an experience.”

She didn’t think the man was dead. She had stabbed him in the chest, but she had stabbed him on the wrong side to get his heart. She wasn’t trying to kill a man. She just wanted to get herself and The Seed away from him and his group of ne’er-do-wells. Was that the right word, or was bandits better? Darin didn’t know and she didn’t want to know. She just wanted a few lessons on how to use her knife better.