Page 71 of I Ran Away to Evil
I had learned a lot about him during our afternoon tea breaks, including a bit of his history. While nobody knew who Keith’s father was, he’d been born with only partial demon and human traits. One horn, strong magic, but no wings. He was a demi, someone who maintained both sides of their heritage. This was a rarity, as the System usually only kept one of the parents’ titles topass on. If you had a catkin mom and an elf dad, then you were born a catkinoran elf.
Keith’s mother being a nephilim was also a rarity.
Speaking of Keith, I searched the outpost for my erstwhile raven companion but didn’t see Hubert anywhere. If I was going to have time to stop at Gerda’s place for breakfast, I would need to leave soon. I wanted to give her the present I’d bought her last night.
“Corporal Nova,” I said.
“Yes, Princess?” she grumbled. She had gotten up to escort me out of town. I got the feeling her husband was a morning person, while Corporal Nova was not.
“Thank you for showing me around. I have to leave now. Could you let Keith’s raven know I’ve left for Gerda’s bridge?”
“I thought you were going to Gren’s Keep?” the dwarfess all but accused. I had a feeling she didn’t like me, but I enjoyed her company, so I wouldn’t hold it against her.
“I am,” I told her.
When I didn’t say more, she sighed and replied, “Whatever. Have a safe trip.”
I waved goodbye and took one last look for Hubert before starting down the trail.
I cost you nothing, and only you know the cost.
I am worth more than gold or silver, but hold no value after I’m lost.
I can be traded, and I can be difficult made,
By king or peasant, I can be easily gave,
And while I cannot hurt your flesh or bone,
When broken I destroy your heart, your name and home.
I actually sat down on the bridge for some thirty minutes to think of this one; Gerda hadn’t pulled any punches for her riddle this time. “Argh.” I flopped onto my back and looked up at the sky while my friend stood patiently by. Honestly, I was lucky that I had found the bridge exactly where I’d left it last night and didn’t need to go searching, so a little extra time solving the riddle wasn’t too much of a hassle. I thought aloud. “It’s not … maybe friendship? Reputation? Hmm.”
Eventually, Gerda got tired of waiting and leaned over to stare at my face. I opened one eye to see her fawn-brown eyes staring back. She had a few white freckles on her nose that made me think of deer. If deer were pale-green.
“You aren’t napping on my bridge, are you?” Gerda teased.
“No!” I countered. “But I think I’m ready. Based on thebrokenbit, I’m going to guess … a promise?”
“Well done, Princess.” Gerda reached out a hand to help me up. She patted me on the shoulder. “If I’m going to have to wait so long every time, maybe I’ll just stick to the beginner-level riddles?”
“Don’t you dare!” I shot back. The two of us climbed under the bridge and into her kitchen. “I love your riddles!”
“But will you love it if I can’t let you cross the bridge?” Gerda set the table with some of her own freshly baked gingerbread cookies and a snack tray of nuts and fruit. “You’d have to defeat me to get past, and I’m warning you that troll magic is no joke.”
“What’s a little combat between friends?” I said, happily munching away on nuts.
“As long as you are alright with having to trek a mile off the path to cross the river, it should be fine …” Gerda pulled out a beautiful oak box with little jars of assorted dried tea leaves. “Now, which tea would you like?”
“Ohh! This is new!” I admired the tea and the cute labels scrawled with each flavor. “I’ll have some rasp-elder berry, please.”
“Thank you, I took a walk to Glendale in North Sumbria to buy some supplies after we spoke yesterday.” Gerda chuckled. “I don’t think I mentioned this part, but Countess Julia couldn’t figure out my riddle. She also couldn’t defeat me … so to save time, she offered me money and a favor to jump off the bridge myself. I,of course,would never stand in the way of true love.”
“Does someone just need to get you off the bridge to ‘defeat’ you?”
“For the lower level riddles, yes.” Gerda smiled a very big and self-satisfying smile. “I’ve never been defeated.”
“I thought you just said—”
