'Ah, old habits surely die hard,' she thought bitterly.
"Busted?" she laughed.
"Let's go back to the Imperial City before discussing this, for now calm down," Hunter gave her head a pat before he gestured for all of them to return.
"Let me ride with you," Saphira told him just as they stepped out.
Since they didn't want this to become big, they could only use a different path to the forest in order not to rose the attention of those in the border.
A royalty from a kingdom under their Empire making such a move.
It is surely a state affair.
He glanced at her before nodding his head.
After that she went silent, this is her way of calming down, not doing anything.
Or to be more precise, to simply sleep it away.
Though her anger will not dissipate but she will be able to rein in her emotions and control them better.
This is where her laziness truly sprouted.
Since she might end up falling asleep, Hunter made her sit in front of him.
They all rode back with Saphira's horse in Nixon's care, guiding it together with his.
On the other hand, Willow was already asleep as well.
Nixon already helped her with her injuries that it seems like there was none of it anymore.
Still fighting since yesterday took up her energy that knowing she is safe, she can finally rest.
"How do you think she found her so fast?" Ridge asked the question playing in his mind since they saw them.
Seeing how battered Willow was, if Saphira was just a bit late then the worst may have come.
Hunter shook his head, "I don't know. Stormie said she went to a different way and simply said she needs to do something then she would go for Willow."
All of them were searching at the closests of forests because Esther really hated riding horses instead of carriage when going to the borders.
Yet she was actually in there and not a carriage was brought, seeing no marks of it around the forest.
She could do what she hated just so she can get what she had wanted.
"Drake," Hunter called.
Drake looked back at him.
"I think you will do it but I will still say it, guard Willow from now on until this case is over. Because for sure they will look for other ways just to get their hands on her."
Drake nodded his head but there was still hesitation in his eyes.
Hunter knew he might protect Willow secretly but how about in the mass?
Willow will be out in the open for those predator and so him tasking Drake to protect Willow, will give Drake the reason to protect her openly.
Drake understood this very well, because even if it was only Willow whom he stays longer than the rest, there was still a wall between them.
A wall he created because he was still unsure just how he will deal with the person he currently is.
Someone who was filled with hatred and anger.
If he was blinded by these things then he will lose sight of those around him.
And what if they are in a difficult situation? When he lost control and because of it, he'll lose sight and the person he wanted to protect would end up getting hurt.
Won't that only give him more heartache than he already has?
But if he don't hate how will he go on with his life?
He was already filled with it, if it suddenly disappears then he will be left with nothing but a shell.
Until the day he could let go of his hatred without becoming an empty shell, he didn't want to have someone beside him.
"Our group is seriously a very complicated one," Nixon couldn't help but to mutter while being the one at the back.
He watched his friends from the back and could only sigh.
"What are you sighing there on your own? Trying to make the already heavy atmosphere even heavier?"
He looked at Stormie and scoffed.
"Says the one who really couldn't read the atmosphere when we saw those two. Jumping at an injured person," he rebuked.
"Well at the very least I was stopped, how about you? Instead of lightening the mood, you have to make it gloomier."
"I can't always make the mood light. What am I a clown?" he retorted.
"Shhhh."
Stormie wants to answer back but Ridge approached them with his horse and hushed the two of them.
They both shivered and very slowly looked back in front.
Both Drake and Hunter are glaring at them.
They covered their mouths instantly and shook their heads.
They won't speak anymore.
*****
Upon passing through the gate, people are whispering with one another.
Saphira and Willow are already awake.
Saphira was riding her own horse while Willow rode with Stormie.
They didn't have any change of clothes so Willow's clothes were in a mess while Saphira was still colored with blood.
She scratched her cheek, "I should have gone on the other side."
"We already have something in mind to cover it up," Hunter told her.
That's when she shrugged, "Oh well, might as well enjoy the attention."
She grinned and waved at the people whispering to one another while looking at her.
They stopped and backed away.
Well, they couldn't say that they subdued some demonic beasts because the blood was that of the color red.
The beasts have violet blood.
So the only option was that they subdued some rebels.
But since Saphira was the only one with blood on her clothes and Willow was in a mess, the people were gossiping about the two of them.
They went straight for the castle and reported to the Emperor.
Of course Reginald was in complete confusion on the report Saphira was giving.
"Since you have sent us to check on the rebels, we were able to find them but we went on different directions and all of us met different number of them," she started.