The arrangement Deserik and Jerimiah made was working out well. In return for his stay, Deserik acted as a sort of bouncer for the Lady of the Wood; kicking out or killing anyone who caused trouble.
Jerimiah thought it was a little unfair; criminals unknowingly crossing the threshold of his inn to be met by Deserik, so he put up a sign on the road to the Lady of the Wood that read:
Beware those of Tainted Hearts
To give them a chance.
He doubted anyone would heed those words, but at least it was a nice gesture.
Soon rumours spread; bad-hearted souls who entered the Lady of the Wood were never seen again. Was the inn possessed? Was the tortured soul of the tavern-keepers father seeking revenge on those who murdered him?
Some thought it was the name of the inn that repelled evil; that Lady Azalea's power was so great even places named in her honour were protected from harm.
Some began speaking tales of the resurfacing of the disgraced 5th Guardian. That he had stopped fruitlessly wandering and had settled to protect a lonely inn on the border of the Faerie and Mortal realms like he once did for Lady Azalea herself. This was the most poetic of the rumours. Coupled with the ominous sign and recurring sightings of a shadowy cloaked figure, it became the most popular.
But nah, it was totally the ghost dad.
ﾟ+*:;;:* *:;;:*+ﾟ
Sabrina rode in a direction she assumed was south. She didn't have a compass, but her queendom's territory was in the north, and she rode until she couldn't see the castle over the horizon. Thus, she concluded this direction was south.
At dawn, she was riding towards the rising sun, which burnt her eyes. She turned to ride with the sun at her back. By midday, she could see the castle again.
God fucking dammit.
She made a wide circle around the castle and headed north (apparently). By the afternoon, she had eaten two and a half loaves of bread, leaving one half for the rest of her journey. Her legs were cramped and her back was sore. Her face was crisping; she should've brought a hat.
Both her and Snowstep were panting heavily; exhausted and dehydrated. As the sun slipped away beneath the black horizon, Sabrina's sweat went cold and her limbs became stiff like a puppet. She realised she should've set up camp by now (not that she had any camping gear). She didn't see any trace of society nearby, so she dismounted her horse and tethered him to a young oak tree. Her boots crunched on the rusty leaves. She needed to piss really bad, so she did so under the tree. She did not want to sleep beside her piss, so she led Snowstep to another tree and fell to her knees. Snowstep looked down at her in disgust.
"Look, I'm trying my best, okay?"
Snowstep whinnied sardonically.
Sabrina pulled the last half loaf from her pack and gnawed on it shakily. Snowstep sniffed it.
"Fuck off and graze, you scab!"
Snowstep flicked his silky mane and nibbled discontentedly on the spindly yellow grass blades. They scraped on his pearly teeth.
Sabrina lay back on the sickly tree and let out a pained sigh.
I could die here. She thought although she couldn't quite feel the weight of that idea yet.
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
Sabrina couldn't sleep.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she had to open them again to make sure she wasn't being watched. It was like fear was crouching next to her, prodding her with a stick whenever she was close to being comfortable.
Snowstep wasn't helping; he kept pacing around the tree, agitated. His head darting back and forth. Sabrina was sure she was about to be ambushed.
At a point past midnight, Sabrina was attacked by a slobbering monster with rancid breath that clamped it's yellowed maw around her neck and decapitated her.
Seems like it was only a night vision, though, since when she woke up late in the morning, her severed head was re-attached to her body, and Snowstep was lying beside her.
"Up, boy." Sabrina commanded.
Snowstep sighed, irritated and arose. Sabrina got up herself. It was a difficult task; her muscles begged her to stay on the dewy grass. She ignored them and embraced their wrath. Piling her things into her pack, she threw it over Snowstep's back. He reared in surprise.
"Woah, woah, easy!"
Snowstep gave her a look that said; "easy my horse ass"
Sabrina didn't want to argue, so she just prepared to mount.
She realised for the first time how alone she was; out in the middle of nowhere. She was afraid; she had never done anything like this before.
I'm not alone. I have Snowstep.
She got distracted and missed the stirrup, hitting her petite nose on that beautiful polished saddle.
She cursed. Snowstep snorted in amusement.
"Fuck you, horse."
｡･ﾟﾟ･ ･ﾟﾟ･｡
Sabrina continued riding, her back to the sun. She didn't go any faster than a walk, because anything else would be too painful. They lumbered through field after field of dry, yellowed grass. Heat bled down on them. Sabrina tore the sleeves of her shirt, but that only made her arms go red from sun exposure.
She was pissed at herself for being such a poor planner.
She had a headache and was beginning to feel quite dizzy. She sucked in a sharp breath when she saw a small village in the distance.
No, I'm hallucinating. She shook her head. However, she started to feel some hope when she heard the jostling of the townsfolk and the babbling of a stream.
The villagers gawked at her. She wasn't sure if they recognised her as a princess, or if they were astounded by her fancy horse.
She didn't want to stay here in case she was wanted. Besides, these people were giving her the creeps.
She trotted downstream, where it was safe to take a drink. She needed to take a drink.