"Hot in the Desert-1"

The following day, it was announced that Ivory and her Servant had been sent away for a week for an Educator's errand as a punishment for breaking three Master's weapons. The two of them sat beside each other in a polished dark brown wooden carriage led by four horses, and with them were the coachman and a helper who sat in the front, and the siblings Educator Alphonse and Educator Alexandra who sat across them.

Ivory kept on leaning her head towards the window since she couldn't see the outside view very well. "Sigmund, switch places with me, I want to see the view," she requested her Servant, who was sitting beside the carriage door.

"No, I need to be on this side so that I can protect you. What if there's an incoming arrow to kill you or something?" Sigmund explained as he raised his arm to block her way.

"Sigmund! Why would anyone kill me, I am just a nobody-"

"You're not a nobody-"

"Why do you think so?"

"It's because you summoned the most handsome and strongest Servant-"

Ivory jokingly placed her hands on her ears, "I'm not listening to you boasting…"

He held her wrists and pulled them from her ears, "I am just stating the facts, stupid woman. Listen, I am-"

"What kind of Servant calls her Master a 'stupid woman'?" Educator Alexandra crossed her arms, and the two of them quickly sat properly. He seemed alright when he helped his Master in the warm-ups before, "Care to explain, Servant? Why are you acting like this especially now that a Contract Ritual has been done?"

Sigmund furrowed his eyebrows and turned his head outside. The two of them were used to acting like themselves, and because it would be their first time to travel together, they were a bit excited.

"Uhm… Educator Alexandra," Ivory looked at the Educator, "I'm sorry. I still haven't tamed him yet… It is my fault."

"This is weird. It is my first time hearing a Servant acting so cocky. It's already weird enough that you summoned a Vampire, but-"

"Now, now," Educator Alphonse chimed in. "Aren't they under the Principal's protection? It means there's a reason for this, and as Educators, we should guide them to the right path. So calm down."

They took a full four hours traveling out of the Land of Olivea, making the horses rest every hour. They entered the Land of Sandria and the change in temperature was evident; it had become warmer. After spending some minutes in Empirica City, the Military City in that land, they left their horses with the coachman and the helper in a friend's house and borrowed camels to pass the Golden Desert safely.

Each of them had a camel, and Ivory's camel was attached to Sigmund's because he was afraid it would run away with his Master. It was a forty-minute trip and finally, they arrived at Hunter Town.

Like any town far from cities, Hunter Town had no electricity, thus having only fire to light the whole city. Torches were scattered, hung outside houses, and were lit before the sun set. Nights were very cold, so each house had fireplaces and fire pits to keep them warm. Even though the front of the town was a desert, the back part was accessible to the ocean. Fish was their main source of protein, and they harvest fruits from edible cactuses.

The group directed to the Iceburgh residence. After leading the camels to rest in a shelter, they went inside the house and were welcomed by the Educators' parents and cousins. They were led to the dining area and were served with sliced prickly pear cactus and freshly grilled tuna.

After dinner, Ivory and Sigmund were shown where their family relic was. In the middle of the first floor was a small dark room, but as if enchanted by magic, the relic glowed bright blue when they entered inside, responding to Educator Alphonse's presence. The room had become bright, showing the vivid shade of the yellow painted wall. There was nothing else in the room except the three-tiered brown wooden sideboard where the relic was placed.

The relic, which was placed on the second shelf of the sideboard, was a medium-sized golden jar with handles on both sides and a lid. The neck of the jar was designed with leaves, while the shoulder had fish-like drawings. Two swans and a bull's head in between could be seen on the body of the jar. Every time someone from the Iceburgh clan was born with a birthmark of Destinia, a drip of their blood would be dropped into the jar. According to elders, that ritual was to let the ancestors protect their clan's future generation. There were several thieves who had attempted to steal it, but they would always fail because it was always guarded.

After the relic had been shown, they were brought to the guest room on the second floor. The room had marble walls and floors, and it had two separate beds, with pillows of different sizes, placed against the wall. The fireplace, which was mounted at the center part of the wall, with sconces on each side of it, served as their only light inside the room.

"Take a good rest," Educator Alphonse told them. "My family and I will leave tomorrow morning. If the progress of our clan assembly will not be finished early, we might come back the following day."

"Alright, sir," Ivory nodded. "We shall wake up early tomorrow and see you off."

They greeted each other goodnight, and Ivory turned to Sigmund, who was sitting on the bed on the right side of the room and was staring at his Master.

Ivory, feeling tired from the trip, yawned as she laid down the bed on the left. "Goodnight, Sigmund," she murmured before facing the wall.

But before she could even close her eyes, Sigmund already positioned himself behind her. He turned his head to her before speaking, "Give me some of your blood," and with little force, he held her shoulder to make her face him.

Ivory's light blue irises gazed at her Servant's crimson red irises, and she widened her eyes when she realized something - that she needed to give him some blood again and recalling how he would graze his lips on her skin made her blush. She wasn't able to speak, and her heart was beating like crazy, especially that they're alone in the room.

She shook her head, disappointed in herself. 'No, Ivory… He's your Servant… Don't think of having any romantic feelings towards him because according to what was taught in class… Servants cannot fall in love!' she thought.

"Hey, are you listening?" Sigmund shook her body a little.

"Nothing… Just thinking."

"Of?"

"It's... nothing!"

The annoyed Sigmund didn't want his Master to keep secrets from him. His eyes glowed, and he lifted her back to make her sit. He held the back of her head and leaned his face closer to hers. "I am asking you a question, stupid woman, so you better answer me. You know I don't want you keeping any secrets from me," he said in a domineering tone, but Ivory still kept quiet and avoided his gaze.

"Ivory... I asked, what the hell are you thinking of."