William shouted through the coachman's window, "Stop the carriage!"
Without question, the butler proceeded to do as asked, "Is something the matter, Sir Jaeger?"
"Please remove the Sir part. Give me a second!"
He held the knowledge of what would happen throughout the day. What was he supposed to do about it?
"Master, is something wrong?"
Sebastian opened the carriage door, "What is this about? It seems very out of character."
"I-I need to think for a second."
"Think? We need to be in the serpent's path before the end of the day."
"I know that! It's just—"
"—Boy, can you leave us for a moment? I would like to have a private chat with your master."
The concerned Nicolas looked at William for approval.
"It's okay Nicolas. We'll be done in a bit."
"Alright. I'll keep watch outside."
The moment the young man stepped outside, a sudden dread filled the air. William could feel drops of his nervous sweat rolling down his forehead.
"What's all this about? You were fine a few seconds ago."
"Listen, it's hard to explain, okay?!"
Sebastian crossed his arms, "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I will say this: you need to get yourself together. We don't have time for this."
"Sebastian, we can't do this. We can't step in there. It's too much!"
"What are you even saying? Don't you see that it's too late now to get cold feet?!"
"I know that but—wait, that's it!"
The blacksmith stopped and realized he didn't need to beat around the bush, "I can just tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"How should I put this?" William twiddled his thumbs, "It's possible that we may find trouble along the way."
"Is that what all this is about? With all due respect, Mr Jaeger, I feel disrespected by this. If we were to stumble across any trouble, you best believe I will save the day. Wasn't this our agreement?"
"Yes, you're right."
"--Is there perhaps something else on your mind?"
The blacksmith cleared his throat, "Well... there is." He took a deep breath, "What if I told you we would all be dead by the end of the day?"
The butler looked straight at the blacksmith's eyes. He stood silent for a few seconds before he burst out laughing.
William had no words for Sebastian's reaction. The butler teared up and even slapped his knee, exaggerated gestures that made the blacksmith get annoyed.
"What's so funny?"
The butler wiped his tears of laughter, "I apologize, but the fact that you think something could kill me tickled my funny bone."
"You may never know. It could happen."
Sebastian shook his head, "There's only one person who can kill me, but he's already six feet under. There's no need to worry."
William kept pressing on the matter, "I do worry! I don't mean to take away your pride. As a matter of fact, I believe you're a very capable person."
"Why, thank you."
"Is it possible to change our course?"
"Tell me, Mr Jaeger, didn't we discuss that this was the fastest route to get out of the forest?"
"In theory, yes, but—"
The butler narrowed his eyes, "Do you know of any other quick route that can get us through the forest?"
"Well, I don't."
"As I thought." He stepped closer to William, "I'm here on a mission. A very important person's life is at stake. I don't have the luxury of time to take a longer route just because you were daydreaming of some nonsense."
"Hey! It wasn't some nonsense. I felt it! The pain, I—"
The butler scoffed, "—Do you actually believe what you saw? Because to me, it looks like you're doubting the words that are coming out of your mouth."
"How can you say that?! You little—"
"—Hey! This area seems safe. Why don't we stop here to eat?" At some point the young man came back. How much he heard from the conversation was unknown. Although the two men didn't even try to keep their voices down.
"Let's skip the food and head directly to the Serpent's path."
""What?""
"Let's arrive early. Maybe then you'll see there's nothing to worry about."
William gritted his teeth. There was no way to convince the butler, "Fine, let's go."
"What? But I'm starving!"
***
Nicolas held his stomach as it grumbled loudly, "Hey, are we there yet?"
One of the butler's eyebrows twitched. He had switched places with William and was resting inside the carriage with the young man.
"For the millionth time, no."
Although Sebastian was also famished, he managed to hide his irritation and desperation for food better than the young man.
"Take it easy boy. We're almost there." He pointed his finger at him, "If you ask again, I will make sure to have you forcefully sleep for the rest of the ride."
"Hah, I would like to see you try! A legend like myself won't go down that easily."
"Care for me to try then?"
Nicolas instinctively picked up his dagger, "Just so you know four-eyes, my master gave me a dagger, and I'm not afraid to use it."
The butler chuckled, "As if that's going to help you."
"What do you mean, I wonder? Because I made this myself. This is nothing but perfect! It even got the master's approval."
"Your master said it out of pity. Besides, do you have any fighting experience?" The butler asked with a smirk.
The young man gritted his teeth, "Master, let's ditch four-eyes! He would make a nice meal for the wolves."
"After they feast upon my flesh, how are you going to fend against those wolves when they see you as their next meal? With your silly dagger or with your non-existent fighting experience?"
"Why you—"
"Besides, there are more dangerous things than just wolves."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we are inside the lost forest, there are many ferocious beasts or, even worse, humans."
The young man snorts, "Aren't you a human yourself?"
"Yes, I am."
At the coachman's seat, William paid no mind to the duo. His focus was solely on the road ahead of him.
—We're getting awfully close.
He kept tapping his foot uncontrollably. The insides of his cheeks were cut from all the nervous biting. William knew at any second, they would be attacked and yet nothing happened when they passed the site where it all began.
William took a look at the butler.
"What is it this time, Sir Jaeger?"
"Say, do you perhaps sense anything near us?"
"No. As a matter of fact, I don't sense anything at all. It's rather tranquil."
If the butler didn't get anything at that point, then, what could have caused the appearance of the beasts? The forest is most dangerous at night. Perhaps their end was met because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
William parked the carriage at the tunnel entrance. Their growling stomachs begged for them to make a stop to digest some food.
The carriage door was slammed open, "Yes! We've arrived!" Nicolas looked at the tunnel's entrance with a gleam in his eyes. "So, this is where we must cross?"
"That's right. Hey, are you feeling alright?"
Nicolas furrowed his eyebrows, "Yeah, why do you ask?"
"It's nothing. Just checking."
—Everything is different now.
William couldn't find answers to any of his questions. He stayed vigilant of his surroundings and waited to see how everything would play out.
"Slow down. It's not like you've spent the whole day without food."
Nicolas scoffed at Sebastian, "It is the fact that I went the whole day without food!"
The butler covered his mouth with one hand, "My, such awful manners. Do you not have any proper etiquette?"
"Proper etiquette? Have you no soul for letting a legend like myself almost starve to death?!"
"Please, cavemen spent weeks hunting down their food. I highly doubt a 'legend' such as yourself going without food for a few hours would do any harm. Am I right?"
The young man twitched, "I…"
Sebastian raised an eyebrow, "Was I mistaken?"
"Well, of course not! I was only joking around... haha." The young man wryly laughed as he scratched his nose.
"Aye! Would you two care to help me finish setting up the—huh?"
It was brief, but William thought he saw something or someone. It looked small, and it almost sounded like it was humming. Sebastian didn't make any moves, so he didn't take whatever he saw as a threat.
—Just what the hell was that?
***
William and Sebastian had finished their feast, while Nicolas was going for seconds.
—They say that at that age they need to eat more to grow. I'll let him have it. Besides, he was the one who cooked.
"Where did you learn to cook like this? This is an unusual plate."
"Is it? I learned it from a book. It was always cooked for me too. It tastes just like hers."
"Where exactly did you read this book?"
Nicolas shrugged his shoulders, "I can't remember."
"You can't? Then who's the person you're referring to?"
"I don't know…"
"That's absurd, how can you not know yet make that face when you think of that person?"
"I ask the same question myself."
"Alright, that's enough, Sebastian."
"Right on cue."
It was clear it pained the young man to speak of this subject. Sebastian isn't a person who respects boundaries. It was up to William to intervene or who knows what unnecessary things would've come out of the butler's mouth.
"What about you? Has arriving early calmed your worries?"
"Not really."
William looked at the tunnel's entrance. To his surprise, it was different from the first time he saw it. There were no signs of damage.
—The dragon is playing tricks on me.
Everything had changed. There was no attack, the carriage was intact, the butler was with them, he didn't have to run away from a threat.
—Was I really just daydreaming?
The butler quickly stood up, "Something's coming. At fast speed at that!"
The man gritted his teeth, "Is it happening?! Nicolas, get the weapons!"
The young man rushed towards the carriage to fetch William a bow. The butler always had his katana with him on command, so what left the blacksmith was to aid his back.
"Here you go, master."
"Thank you, Nicola— Hey!" The man noticed Nicolas picked up a sword instead of his dagger.
The young man cocked his head, "What?"
"Don't "What?" me! I told you that you couldn't use a sword."
"It's here!" the butler interrupted.
Whatever came their way rushed towards them. Its speed lifted the sand, making smoke around the men.
The three men could not see, but they held their weapons tight facing opposite of each other, covering every angle as they waited for the first attack.
From a distance they heard a sigh, "Lay down your weapons."
"Wait, I know that voice!"
From within the smoke she stepped forward, "I've arrived, intruder."