The first thing Bastian noticed was the smell. It smelled awful in the stables how could the owner stand it. The floors were filthy and covered with straw and mud.
The second thing was the windows. They were all boarded up and covered with metal bars.
The only escape route was the entrance or the back door that he'd spotted while they had spoken to Joe.
"Could you stay in the other stall and watch her?" He heard the flower ask. She was hunched over, with a hoof in between her knees as she was filing it.
"No please for me?" He asked because she had been so polite to the maid who was now brushing the horse's mane.
"No." He heard her say and he made his exit.
The other horse that had already been groomed was a dappled grey. It's dark brown eyes watched him warily.
Bastian put his hand on his sword hilt and then covered it with his coat.
After another hour or two the horses were clean and had new shoes on.
The three of them, along with the horses which had now been named; Dahlia and Hellebore, or Helle for short by the flower and the maid, all headed back to the square.
As they neared the square he heard shouts and put his hand up to signal them to stop.
The two women's chattering ceased and he moved quietly along the side of the buildings and soon saw the cause of the shouts.
The Mathubans along with some of his soldiers were asking people if they had seen them.
He saw that they had posters, most likely with illustrations of him and the flower.
"Damn." He muttered under his breath as his hand squeezed the hilt of his sword.
Turning back down the street he approached the two women who were looking at him perplexed.
Clearing his throat he spoke, "The Mathubans along with a few Cadaraman soldiers are searching the square. We'll need to escape another way."
"What way? How?" The flower asked, her eyes were frightened.
He looked back over his shoulder then back down the street, "We'll go down this street and somehow make it out of the town."
Her eyes looked at the horses, "We could ride." She said.
He licked his lips as blood rushed to his face and he began to search for an excuse.
"No, we'll be fine. Besides they're already carrying heavy loads." He said, wincing a little.
Both women looked at him with confusion written on their faces, "And since when have you cared for them?"
"I care that they're alive to carry our supplies and that's it." Walking past them he began to move down the street away from the Mathubans.
He soon heard the two women following him. They followed the twisting and narrow paths and soon came to stop at a crossroads.
The buildings still stood tall above them which meant they were not near the edge of town.
The street they were on opened up to what looked like a main thoroughfare. Above the end was an arch overtop of it and what seemed like a continuation of the house next to it.
Bastian shook his head. Waxingville was an overcrowded state and they used every space to the fullest.
"Have you seen these people?" He heard a firm voice ask and he slowly moved to hide in the shadows, signalling the girls to stop.
He heard quiet steps towards him.
"Sovereign." She whispered, "We must use the horses, we can run right past them across the road. It will work. They are very strong mares, and they are feeling much better now that they've been-"
"Fine." He said and stood quietly while watching the crossroads.
"Come on." He heard her whisper urgently.
He turned and saw both of them sitting atop the horses, the maid on the black one and the flower on the grey one.
Deciding to go with the flower he placed his foot in the stirrup and got on.
He could ride. Just not well, at all. Sailing was his ability and if he ever had to go somewhere he would sail down a river then ride a horse to his destination inland. But he was not skilled and frankly, the animals seemed to hate him.
He sat behind the flower and could feel the warmth from her body same as he had last night. Blinking he grabbed the reigns and clicked the horse into action. The two of them began to move out, under the arch, and into the thoroughfare.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye while he kept his head down and saw a group of men distinctly Mathuban, compared to the fairer complexion of the Cadaramans.
They had pieces of parchment in their hands, "Have you see this woman?"
The horse continued to move across the wider street and they had nearly made it across when he heard a shout. He pulled the reigns and the horse stopped.
"Hey! You there!" The voice called, one of his men, he would surely recognize him.
The maid was stopped next to him, her head covered by a cloak. 'Ah! A cloak, I need one of those.'
"What are you doing? Go." He heard the flower whisper urgently to him.
He began to panic his heart beating too fast. He was not a good horseman, and he knew for sure he could not ride faster than a steady trot.
The soldier was coming closer, "You there!"
"Brigitte, can you…?" He heard her ask. He squinted his eyes but didn't have time to think before the reigns were snatched from him and the horse was spurred into a fast gallop.
He held the horses saddle but it wasn't working too well. Rolling his eyes and grumbling to himself he held the flower's waist. Her black hair was blowing in his face and he turned his head to the side.
The maid kept pace with them as they sped through the town.
Soon the buildings surrounding them began to dwindle in height and he could see the green fields and beyond them, the jungles of Waxingville.
As they left the town behind he could hear laughter and he looked down to see it was the small woman in his arms who was making the happy sound.
His eyebrows drew together at the sound, was she happy that they had escaped the town and soldiers? Shaking his head he looked to his right.
The land sloped down until it reached the Agustín Channel that stretched between Waxingville and his island. All throughout the channel were small islands, some of them inhabited, some not.
He could live on one of those islands, have a boat, a small house…
Shaking his head of the warm thoughts he looked at his island, it's outline could be seen in the distance.
What are the Lords doing now? He wondered as he pictured Lord Stone on his throne.