This journey has been quite boring, besides that little scuffle last week of course, but I'd rather be here than back home. Unfortunately, It's just a few more days until we reach Eramis and it's time to start thinking of what will come. Releasing a deep sigh I retrieve my notebook and pen before realizing that a moving carriage isn't the best place to write. "Should I have the men stop the carriages, Master Elios?"
Tsvetnov had his gaze on me, intense as always. "No, no point in doing so, But it is time to speak of my return to Eramis. I trust that you have sent no word to anyone yet?", I question.
"Yes, as you have asked I've sent neither raven nor courier, but it will take more than that to keep your return secret", his answer is as expected. The arrival of a noble carriage two weeks after the death of a lord could not simply be a coincidence, right? Fortunately, I've already thought about this and came up with a temporary solution, "Our return doesn't need to be secret. If the situation was a little different I'd even be tolerant of the traditional grand parades and parties that are customary of the crowning of a new lord. But things are delicate now. Someone had my father killed and it would be a safe bet that I'm their next target. There is certainly no shortage of enemies a lord has, no shortage of would-be assassins and madmen. But one did it. I want to know who"
"As much as I hate to say, I must agree. Your safety is of the highest priority and it would be best to gather as much information as we can. I'm certain the Crows are already gathering worms as we speak", He said.
"Hopefully. In the meantime, I have a plan for getting into the city as safely as possible", I say. He leans forward to listen more closely to my words, "As much as you and father tried, you could not stop me from exploring the tunnels underneath the estate. I know that place like the back of my hand, every entrance, and every exit. It will serve as a convenient entrance right into the mansion", Tsvetnov looked amused but kept quiet as I began to speak again, "While we do that, On the other side of the city a decoy carriage will arrive, attract a crowd, and hopefully lure some would-be assassins right into the light, where they will be dealt with swiftly. That is, of course, if they come out at all"
I look at Tsvetnov, who still had an amused grin, behind that there was a hint of pride in his eyes, "Well, you certainly inherited your mother's cunning, I'll give you that. Keep that up and you'll have the city in your hands in no time", he said with a chuckle. I couldn't help but roll my eyes as a grin appeared on my face as well, "We'll have to see. For now, we do what we can"
I look at Tsvetnov who had a resolute look on his face, "Whatever you choose to do, I'll be at your side, Master Elios"
"Your words reassure me, friend", I say as I yawn. I never would've thought sitting in a carriage would be so tiring, then again, I might still be experiencing side effects from that skirmish. "Wake me up when we make camp", I wearily say while slowly dozing off. My thoughts slowly start to drift as fatigue overtakes my mind.
...
"Brother?"
It's dark. Hazy. I hear a voice that sounds, small, worried, faded. I recognize it from somewhere.
"Yes, Elise? I'm busy right now"
I hear another voice. I recognize this one too. It's mine.
The moment I think that the world brightens slightly and before me, I see a familiar scene. A bedroom. Luxuriously furnished lit solely by one lamp placed on a desk next to the window. Rain steadily beating at it like a drum. Hunched over the desk is a young teenage boy, writing. His expression is one of annoyance but beneath that, it is obvious he is deeply saddened by something. His puffy eyes indicate he's been crying recently.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone then"
Behind him, There was a young little girl. She shared several features with her brother including the same black hair and golden eyes. It looks like she had just woken up from bed. Perhaps the stray thunder had disturbed her sleep. She turned around and prepared to leave but before she could a voice interrupted her.
"Wait! I'm sorry Elise I'm just not...feeling too well. You can stay for a little while"
The girl turned back around, the solemn look on her face replaced with one of childish glee and immediately she dove onto the soft bed, making herself comfortable.
"When I said a little while...agh forget it"
The brother's annoyed look had vanished. He closed what he was writing in and made his way to the bed, taking the lamp with him and placing it on one of the nearby tables. He sat down on the bed and looked at his sister questioningly.
"So, What are you doing?"
"Sleeping"
"Clearly. Why are you sleeping in my bed?"
"Felt like it...And...I wanted to ask something"
"Sure. go ahead"
"When do you think Mom is coming back?"
"..."
"It's been three days and no one has..."
"I...Don't know when she'll come back"
"Do you think she left because..."
"Elise, we've talked about this. She loved you. She loved us. Don't ever think she left because of you, alright?"
"Yeah. Alright"
...
I feel a thundering quake echo through my mind, jolting me awake. As my hand instinctively reaches for my head I notice I'm still in the same carriage as I was when I fell asleep. Looking out the window I can see the twin moons telling me I slept for some time. Through the constant racks of pain I notice Tsvetnov directly in front of me, his mouth is moving but I hear no words. All I can hear is a constant buzz in my head, loud and incessant. Though as quickly as it came, it left, and slowly I regained my lost sense. "Master Elios! Can You hear me! Master Elios!", Tsvetnov shouted.
"Quiet down, agh do you want to make it worse? I'm fine", I hissed through my gritted teeth. Quite a combo to endure, the dream and then this. Tsvetnov eyed me up and down before speaking, "They're getting worse"
"Hah, no shit", I laugh which causes another wave of pain to tremble through my skull. A moment passes. Then two. We sit in silence before I notice something, "The carriage isn't moving"
"Yes, we stopped and made camp not too long ago, I was just about to wake you when...", He said.
"Well, at least the universe has great timing", I mutter. Standing in the cramped carriage I move my hand to open the door but another grabs it before I can. "I've been stuck in here for days. You can't stop me", I Say to him. He held his hand there for a moment before sighing deeply, removing it without a word.
I open the door and step outside the carriage. Taking a deep breath I observe our surroundings. It seems we've stopped by a small grove of trees a little ways away from the main road. Good enough I suppose. I look around the camp, It's arranged in a C shape with the small forest to the right. At the bottom, where I am, there are the carriages and the horses tied to a nearby tree, They seem to be already fed and are relaxing as best as they can. At the top are the tents, Three with the bigger tent in the middle being mine. In the middle, there's a blazing campfire where most of the soldiers are gathered around, and the ones that aren't are either sleeping or sparring in a spacious area to the left. With this blazing ache it would be best to surrender to my bed and wait it out, but when have I ever done something beneficial to myself, instead I make my way to the fire. The soldiers there seem to have made makeshift benches out of some logs they'd found. Despite sitting directly next to one of the soldiers it took a grand total of six seconds before a single one of them noticed me.
"Lord Elios, Sir", Said one of them, a boy, well relatively speaking. He couldn't have been older than myself, perhaps three or four years younger. He sat directly in front of me but as soon as he noticed me he sprung to his feet and clumsily did an action resembling a salute. Immediately after every soldier within earshot stopped what they were doing and mimicked the speaker's actions. I gaze at the boy, still sitting, "Name and rank", I say blankly.
"P-Private Zach, Sir", He stuttered. He had a solemn look of dread on his face, like he had just been caught doing some grim and unspeakable thing. "Well Private Zach, You should know that your salute is wrong, Use the other arm, and unclasp your fist. Your stature needs work too", With every word he near visibly flinched.
"Yes SIr, I'm sorry Sir", He spoke in haste. I only sighed and waved my hand, signaling everyone to return to their places. As they did, the air turned less tense as the soldiers returned to their conversations and sparring. With a few exceptions of course, namely the soldier I'm sitting next to and Private Zach, who is staring into the small fire, probably rethinking his life choices.
With my head still aching my options are limited in what I can do. I would've liked to smooth out some details with Tsvetnov, but I fear that would only worsen my condition. Conversing with the soldiers isn't a good idea for multiple reasons. Sparring would be a good way to stretch my unused muscles, take my mind off things, then again my mind is trying to kill itself so maybe not. And after what happened I don't feel like sleeping. As I ponder my thoughts I gaze around the camp, looking at each soldier, while I am familiar with a few of them, a majority are unknown to me. Some I catch staring at me, though they quickly avert my gaze, all except one. This one, I am more familiar with than most. She is someone that doesn't belong here. I stare at her, while she does the same. After a few seconds, she stands and walks into the forest without a single word or motion.
I sigh lightly. Well now at least I have something to do. I stand and make it halfway to the forest before pulling the attention of one of the soldiers, "Lord Elios, Might I ask where you are going?"
Right. I almost forgot.
"The Forest", I say plainly.
Seemingly taken aback by the straightforward answer he took a second to ask, "Why my lord?"
"well, it's been such a long trip without any stops. Sometimes a man needs a moment of privacy, right?", I say to the soldier in an amusing tone.
The soldier simply nodded and said nothing more, returning to his seat. That'll hopefully buy me a few minutes, better make this quick. I continue into the dark forest following roughly in the same direction as that little bird. Hopefully, this won't be another headache.