By noon that same day, Marco and Reina had already left Sunheight and were heading east on Princess Julia's errand.
This time around, they had access to several amenities that should have made the journey more pleasant. For one, they were riding in a horse-drawn carriage that shielded them from the intense summer sun. They also brought much more than one bag each, meaning Reina had several changes of clothes ready and Marco didn't have to wear defective hand-me-down armor.
Yet despite traveling in style, neither were particularly happy with the arrangement.
"I mean it Marco," Reina said as she kicked him to make sure he was listening. "We go to this village, we get the package, and we get out. Not a single second of dallying."
He looked away from the carriage's window. "I'm in full agreement."
"Really? Because you seem quite captivated with the scenery. I don't need you all wide-eyed and wondering. If what Julia says is true, we will need to be quick and discreet."
Sighing and turning his attention back to the window, he replied, "She was probably just being dramatic. There's no way fetching some beauty cream needs to be a top-secret stealth mission."
"Ssh!"
She kicked him again.
"What did I just tell you? Be discreet! The driver of this carriage could report back to father for all we know. And if father finds out Julia's having us smuggle in foreign beauty products, we'll all be in trouble."
"Even worse," Marco said with a pointed look, "you won't get the information on your brother she promised."
She wasn't bothered. "Precisely. So be a good boy and do as I say."
"I'm older than you," he grumbled.
"Excuse me?"
She waited until he met her gaze. Then she slowly began a word.
"Yiel-"
"Yes! Your highness! As you wish."
"That's better."
The rest of the ride went by silently, with Marco watching the countryside of Irelios pass by through the window, and Reina reading a book.
****
Despite how absolutely livid he was with Reina, Marco knew things couldn't continue this way.
Even with the benefit of horses, they were traversing almost the entire length of Irelios. Sunheight, their home city, was closer to the west. Their destination was a tiny fishing village in the northeastern part of the kingdom, meaning they had to cross many miles of rolling hills, then the central valley where the largest collection of towns and military bases were, and finally up through the green farmlands. It would be nearly a five days' ride on the swiftest of horses. In their leisurely carriage, it would be about a week.
A week of traveling with someone you hate is probably one of the most stressful things one can experience. Marco could barely handle three days with an angry Reina last time. And as they rolled along barely saying a few words to one another, history seemed to be repeating itself. Unfortunately, unlike in their trial, there wasn't much common ground to unite them this time.
For his part, Marco just didn't have any interest in the job. Princess Julia used a special beauty cream that came from another country, but the king forbid her from getting any more because it was too expensive. So now, Reina was to make a secret purchase in her sister's stead. It wasn't technically smuggling because the product was legally sellable in Irelios, but it was still going against the king's wishes. But he didn't care about that.
What really made Marco apathetic was that the job wasn't heroic in any way.
His battle with Leo made him accept some hard truths about what he had become. In the years since they had last seen one another, Leo's unyielding righteousness remained intact. Meanwhile, all the time spent as the kingdom's coward left Marco more cynical and desperate. If he wanted to be a true Hero, he needed to get back to the way he was in Monument Tower. He needed to be the type of man who saved people with no regard for his own selfish desires.
Not exactly the kind of thing one could do while buying beautification products.
By the time the sky was darkening, the carriage pulled up to a small town at the bottom of a hill. The lush hill was next to a huge lake, making it the ideal resting place for both horse and human alike.
Without needing to be told, the carriage driver took them to the largest inn in town. There, people came immediately to take the horses to the stable and them to their rooms.
As soon as she debarked, Reina spouted commands and acted like she owned the place as usual. But Marco could detect a hint of shortness in her tone, as if everything about the trip was an annoyance. It made sense. She had actually tried to send Marco on his own and get the information from Julia immediately, but Julia insisted that her seller wouldn't do business with a commoner. With no choice, Reina rushed their departure and was now trying to rush the whole journey.
He was fine with that. The sooner they were done, the sooner he could try to sell her on the idea of him going on an actual quest. But if they were going to survive this trip, quick or not, they needed to be on speaking terms at least. That's what ran through Marco's mind when he approached Reina in the common area of the inn.
"This place is certainly luxurious! Can we afford it?"
He made a show of looking around at the common area, an open garden in the middle of the inn. Reina sat in a cushioned chair by a fire pit, looking up at the stars and sipping tea. When he spoke to her, she gave him a quizzical look.
"You showed them your Hero Seal and they gave us a free stay. You were there, you know this."
"Oh, right." An awkward moment passed before he gestured to the chair next to her. "Do you mind if I sit?"
"I can't tell you where to sit."
"But you can tell me where to kneel."
The sarcasm escaped his lips before he could really think about it. He sat gently, facing her, only to find her smirking.
"It is a fun perk of being a Patron."
He wanted so badly to say something snarky in return. But he held his tongue. She had him. With her newfound power, she had the advantage in their relationship and she knew it.
She went back to looking up at the sky and enjoying her tea. A light breeze brushed past, rustling the surrounding plants ever so slightly. It reminded Marco of their time together in the Elder Tree. Particularly when it rained, and they shared a rather deep conversation amidst the calm of nature.
Where was that Reina now? Marco knew she was never his greatest friend, but for a brief time in that tree they seemed to reach an understanding. The shunned wannabe Hero and the neglected youngest Princess. Two outcasts in worlds they desperately wanted to belong to. Lately, however, Reina seemed to return to seeing him as a tool and nothing more.
"I just thought of something…" he ventured. She gave him her attention. "Back in the Elder Tree...I told you all about what happened in Monument Tower and why I want to be a Hero. But I never heard your story."
"That's because I didn't offer it," she said dryly.
"Well I want to hear it."
He gave his best attempt at a sincere, friendly smile.
She didn't even give him the courtesy of a sarcastic put-down. She simply took a long sip of her tea and looked away.
For some reason, this made Marco sad more than anything else. He gave Reina a long, hard look. She must've felt his gaze, because she eventually faced him once more.
"What?" she snapped.
"Is this us?"
"Pardon me?"
He sighed. "This back-and-forth. We hate each other, then we have a moment. Then one of us does something to piss the other one off. Then we get into trouble and get closer. Then we hate each other again. Is that what our entire future looks like? Because it's...exhausting."
She opened her mouth as if to fire another comeback, but looking into his eyes gave her pause. Finally, she sighed as well.
"It is."
"Your tried to warn me," he said with a bitter chuckle. "At the fort a few nights ago. You told me being a Hero wasn't what I thought it would be."
"I did."
He looked at her with anticipant, vulnerable eyes. "What is it?"
"From what I see...The Heroes of Irelios serve their Patrons in their quest for the crown. You do what we tell you."
By averting his gaze, he told her that wasn't the answer he was looking for.
"You took a vow, Marco. You wanted to be a Hero so badly that you pledged yourself to my service. I won't pity you because you're realizing the meaning of that decision only now."
"What's your plan?"
Suddenly, his head snapped back to face her. The flame from the fire pit reflected in his eyes as though it was his own.
"I told you: Find out what my brother is doing. Stop it–"
"No, after that," he cut in. "You say you don't want the crown, so what is your goal in life?"
She got very incredulous at that, like he asked the most ridiculous of questions. "I don't know! To enjoy it. Who has their whole life mapped out?"
"Your siblings do!" Marco said. Then, realizing it as he said it: "Julia was waiting the moment we finished with the Arbiter, and she even looked like she expected we would get an unsatisfactory answer. She thought about what you wanted, what answer the gods would give you, and how determined you would be to seek information from another source. All that over some stupid cream! What would she do for the crown? And if Bartholomew is really as conniving as you say, who knows what he has planned? Do you really think we'll be able to just lock him up and go back to a peaceful life? This is war, Reina, and you came into it losing."
"And whose fault do you think that is?" she slammed her teacup down, splashing its contents on her chair. "I wouldn't be in the battle for the crown if I didn't have a Hero!"
"You know that's a lie," he pointed at her. "Those thugs were trying to kidnap you when I met you. You were poisoned and needed Shaping Potion before that. You were a target long before I came around."
Their eyes locked. There were other guests of the inn also sitting around the fire pit. During this heated moment, they took the chance to shuffle away.
"I don't want to fight anymore Reina. It doesn't get either of us anywhere. So what if...we worked together to actually win the crown?"
Her jaw dropped in pure shock, and honestly, he surprised himself.
But he nodded, convincing himself even as he was trying to convince her.
"Yeah...that might actually be the best thing for both of us. I could be the great Hero I always wanted to be by putting the dark horse on the throne. And what better way for you to enjoy everything the royal life has to offer than being the queen? We could make the kingdom a great place for everyone, and achieve our dreams."
She was still in shock as she shook her head and backed away.
"You...are a colossal idiot. Win the throne? Why would I–No! Go to bed, Marco. We leave first thing tomorrow morning. Goodnight!"
She stormed off, leaving spilled tea and the pleasant night behind.