I smirked at Kovin's comment while thinking about what Richie had said. He was right - Kovin was the one who volunteered me to go through the trial. I raised an eyebrow as I asked, "So you WERE trying to kill me off, weren't you?"
Kovin cocked his head to the side and gave a small exasperated look, "Who else but you should lead the trial? You are the Champion after all - it's up to you on if we succeed to conquer new lands."
What he said made sense. I WAS supposed to be the one leading and making all the decisions . . . and I did agree to go through the trial myself. Although I wasn't left with much choice due to the fact that if I would have allowed a different soldier to take my place I would appear conceited and weak. In the future I'd need to watch my back a little closer - it was obvious Kovin saw me as expendable and perhaps he was leading me to fail. It would assist the Empire's claims that women were useless and shouldn't be used in the battlefield; perhaps they were trying to reinforce that idea?
While the guys started gathering to mount their steeds, I looked back at the fog guiltily. Another thought popped into my head from Richie's rambling - I killed their people needlessly. Before I thought it was self-defense, but now that I knew we could have avoided this little venture it began to weigh on my conscience.
Before heading out, I walked over to the territory line once more and met with the Silvantian leaders. Bowing my head I solemnly said, "I know that it was agreed there would be no retaliation for defending ourselves, but I wanted to show my condolences for the lives we took."
I knelt down and offered them my respect. They may have been cannibals, but they were living beings and deserved honor. The Silvantians looked at each other though I couldn't read their expressions with the hoods blacking out their faces, but they seemed to accept my small apology, "Your army hasss done nothing wrong - we are pleasssed to be assssociated with sssuch a ressspectable Empire. The livesss that were lossst have received a great honor and we'll be able to throw a gloriousss feassst upon their carcasssesss tonight!"
I raised my head, hoping against hope that they were joking, but they seemed totally serious so I just rose from the ground and coughed, "Well I'm glad we could be of assistance in that matter." I looked around eager to head out since I was a little creeped out again and bid them farewell. Walking back to the head company, I leapt up behind Richie on his horse and signaled for the army to follow. My horse was empty for the time being, but I wanted to make sure that Richie didn't fall off while he was unconscious. As we rode away I looked back once more at the misty land, thanking the heavens that we were able to leave without being eaten.
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We had been riding for a few hours with the army marching not far behind along with Rodair ever vigilant by my side when Richie began to stir in front of me. It was rather hard to see around him since he was much taller than me, but I was managing until he started fidgeting. His eyes fluttered open and he whipped his head back-and-forth trying to understand his surroundings.
"Where - where am I?" Richie whispered incredulous.
"We had to keep going Rich - I didn't want to stay by that horrible land any longer than necessary. Don't worry, I've got you." I said, trying to keep a hold on the reins.
Richie cocked his head to look up at the sky, "What happened Ez? All I remember is getting upset . . ."
"Yeah I told you to calm down Rich. You know how your blood pressure acts up when you go on a rant - you're lucky I was able to catch you before you passed out." I didn't feel too guilty about my statement since technically the nerve I hit causes the victim to experience a mistaken blood pressure spike which causes the body to attempt to lower it. Since the blood pressure isn't actually elevated, the victim will faint from the lowered pressure.
Richie rubbed his eyes and looked back at me, "I passed out again? It's been a while since the last time . . ."
I shook my head knowingly, "I know - it HAS been a while. Let's not do anything to stress you out for a little while hmm?"
Richie looked at me a little suspiciously and asked, "Why is it the only time I have these fainting spells is when you are around?"
I coughed a little, turning my head to the other side like I was trying to focus on the path before us, "I don't know Rich - maybe it's because you get so emotional when I'm involved?"
Richie seemed to ponder that thought for a moment, then smiled, "Well aren't we conceited, eh luv?"
I smiled back and decided to drop it. If he wasn't going to ask anymore questions, I sure as heck wasn't going to provide any information.
We rode along in silence for a little while, Richie now holding the reins while I was free to wrap my arms around him and relax. Richie finally brought up how he thought it was wrong about Kovin's stunt, but once I reminded him not to get too worked up he seemed to settle back down. I told him about the how the Silvantian's were going to eat their dead and it completely grossed him out. It felt nice to catch a moment with just Richie and me, even if we had Rodair as a silent backdrop. Rodair would look over occasionally when Richie got loud, but Rodair would remain quiet allowing Richie and I to have a brief moment to ourselves. It'd been a while since we could relax like this - like we used to do when we were younger. I guess knowing that the multiple battles ahead of us could cause us never to see each other again made the moment all the more precious.