Night, the cold winds of the outskirts of the Arcadian forest signaled the vast desert of Windravt was approaching, a few days of travel had already cost them some supplies along with the wear and tear of their equipment.
"We should camp around here for the night."
Krieg stopped their steed and dismounted.
"Princess, here."
He offered his hand as she stepped on the stirrup to get down.
"Thank you."
"Ser Krieg, I found a suitable place between the trees up ahead."
"Good work Phoebe."
He looked at her before turning towards Leona once again.
"Princess, are you cold?"
Her slender hands were clutching the sides of her now slightly shorter blue cloak.
"Ah, no this is nothing I- achoo!"
He removed a white folded, but slightly wet, handkerchief from his belt satchel and handed it over to her.
"Thank you Krieg."
"I'll work on getting a campfire for us, Phoebe, mind taking the first watch?"
The elf nodded while strolling towards the thicker parts of the woods.
Leona accompanied the knight to the clearing. He had hitched the horse to a nearby tree, then proceeded to lay down some previously gathered firewood on the ground.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
She asked as he put the tinderbox on the ground.
"If you want to try lighting the fire."
He removed a c shaped piece of steel from the tinderbox and handed it over to her along with a somewhat jagged black rock.
"How do I use these?"
"Hold the flint on an angle and strike it with the steel."
She put her fingers through the loop while resting the thumb against the top of the steel and with the other hand she held the flint diagonally right on top of the plume-like wood kindling he had prepared.
"Like this?"
"Yes."
She struck the flint but nothing happened.
"With more speed Princess."
"Right."
It took her a few tries until a spark flung out of the flint and a few more before it hit a spot on the plumed kindling.
"Now gently blow the ember, it'll catch fire if you do it right."
She lowered and started to gently puff a continuous yet steady breath. The ember slowly turned more bright as the kindle started to smoke.
"Steady now, just a little more."
Not very surprising, she was almost out of breath when the twigs lit up ablaze. She took a few deep breaths before speaking to him.
"Must you do this every time you wish to light a campfire?"
"Unless you know fire magic. But yes it's normally how we do it."
"I wish it was easier."
He chuckled lightly.
"It's quite alright Princess. Let me get you something warmer for you to sleep on."
Krieg untied the bear pelt from the horse saddle and put it on the ground somewhat near the campfire.
"Thank you Krieg."
He nodded before sitting down near the root of a nearby tree and folding his arms. Leona couldn't tell if he was trying to fall asleep or just resting.
"Krieg."
"Yes, Princess?"
"Do you think my father is okay?"
She asked whilst putting the somewhat pungent smelling bear pelt around herself for warmth.
"They wouldn't dare to do anything to lord Jean. If anything was to happen to the head of the Crossford family that would be inviting half of the nation for a civil war."
"I just can't help it but feel uneasy about all of this. Why would they go after Father and me now? It just doesn't make sense."
He adjusted his posture against the tree and took a few glances around them before continuing.
"Mayhaps the end of the war has something to do with it. The other families may be plotting to start another conflict for profit."
"For profit? How so? War seems so pointless."
She peeked out of the pelt that enveloped her, it was akin to a sleeping bag, but with fur.
"Soldiers need weapons, armor, supplies… Most of these things are provided by the noble families for the war effort, but the kingdom pays for them with the people's money."
"But something's off… if it's profit they seek, why would they want anything to do with us?"
"That is what I don't know Princess. It is safe to say that they are trying to increase their influence by taking the Crossford family out. From what I understand, only Phoebe and a few others know about Eleonora's whereabouts."
"So the reason why they would attack us would be to ascend to the throne?"
"That's one of the possibilities."
Krieg clenched his hands. His frustration was visible with the deep sigh.
"If only I had blade energy, this would've been different."
Leona's aquamarine eyes showed concern for her knight, but she couldn't find the right words to comfort him. It was the first time he had shown such emotions.
"It's... not your fault Krieg."
Silence. She could imagine how frustrated he was, being driven out of their home, the shame of running away, the powerlessness. All those feelings made Leona want to cry, but she knew it wouldn't help her. She clutched her pendant tightly, it was a present from her late mother for her fifteenth birthday, also known as 'Prism Star', symbolizing infinite possibilities.
But ever since then, it has only been hardships. Leona knew the burdens of nobility, however she could never have expected to fear for the lives of the people around her.
"Krieg. It's not your… fault."
Leona muttered as she slowly fell asleep.
"I'm sorry. I failed you Princess."
He slammed his hand against the rock beside the tree. The force of the impact made cracks appear from where he had hit it. His frustrations were nothing like what he had felt before, powerlessness wasn't uncommon in the war, but everything had means for an end, he was a soldier, not a strategist. Thinking back on the possibilities made his head hurt in anger, anger for not being able to protect what was important to him.
"Ser Krieg."
He looked to his left and through the corner of his helmet he saw Phoebe bring more firewood near the campfire before sitting down beside him.
"Did you see anything?"
He asked while returning to look at Leona.
"No, nothing of interest at least, just a few night critters."
"I see, good work."
Phoebe leaned forward trying to see features of his face but it was mostly covered by his helmet.
"You can sleep if you wish to, I'll stay up for a few hours."
"I'll rest soon."
The elf nodded before taking a stroll around the camp again. Krieg on the other hand lifted his head to pull a small bronze locket from a pedant around his neck, the now quite faded painted picture was of a couple. A black haired man holding a baby in his arms wearing a dark crimson robe and beside him a silver haired woman with two thin horns coming out of her forehead, she wore a black robe with gold trimmings by the edges of the clothing.
He sighed slightly as he closed the locket to put it back inside his armor. His crimson red eyes slowly found purchase in the depths of his subconscious as he fell asleep.
The forest was filled with the sounds of the night-time critters, the sky was clear and plenty of moonlight penetrated through the forest foliage. Phoebe quietly moved through the brush around the campsite doing a few irregular rounds around it to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. However, as attentive as she was, nothing other than the usual stray animal would come across her path.
"Quiet… too quiet…"
She muttered to herself as she inspected both of her daggers, the gleam of steel served to see some of the dents on the blade, most likely caused from the previous fight against the mercenaries.
Phoebe felt tense in that situation. Killing a target and escaping was one thing, watching over the safety of others wasn't her strong suit, even less so when it came to nobility.
She stayed up for a couple of hours before watching through the corner of her eye, Princess Leona getting up from her pelt sleeping bag. She lifted her arms to stretch and after doing so she started to look around as if searching for something.
The elf decided to walk out of the bushes she was hiding in, making her presence known to the noble girl.
"Oh, there you are. Come by the fire, warm yourself up."
She motioned with her hand to approach.
"I'm keeping watch."
"You can keep watch here, you don't need to be out there in the cold."
Phoebe was troubled, in her mind nobles were nothing but a nuisance, looking down on the poor, flaunting about their own possession and riches, but this girl right in front of her with tattered clothing, dirty skin and a mess of a blonde hair was offering her to stay by her side even though she knew nothing of her.
"...Alright."
Reluctantly, Phoebe sat down with her back against a mound of hardened dirt. The fire crackled gently as Leona put more firewood into the fire.
"Say, Phoebe was it?"
"Yes, that's my name."
"How do you know about Krieg? Are you a friend of his?"
"No, I was assigned to keep watch over him. Queen Eleonora seemed worried about him for some reason."
Leona seemed puzzled. She knew about the relationship between them, but why would the queen herself assign someone to watch over him after all that time?
"Then, are you some sort of bodyguard?"
"I was trained as an assassin. I know how to kill, not to protect."
There was a slight discomfort visible in her expression as Phoebe finished her sentence. Questions raised even more questions in her mind.
"Let me show you something that might appeal to your worries."
Phoebe fiddled through her pockets to find a small wooden carved box that roughly fit on her hand. It was a very well made container to whatever it was inside, finely carved drawings of stars with platinum trimmings on the edges and a small lock made the box as a whole. The elf pulled a weirdly looking jagged key and proceeded to unlock the case.
"I can't believe… it."
Leona was shocked when she saw the same carved prism star pendant she wore inside the box. However some pieces of the puzzle didn't quite fit together, Leona was racking her mind to find the answers, but that stone made even less sense when it was shown to her.
"Who… who gave this to you?"
"The queen herself, she said to show to whoever was with lord Krieg."
"I… see."
She held her jaw in confusion. It would have made more sense if it was some sort of symbol to Krieg or any other person, but that stone specifically held a much greater importance to her.
Hesitant but determined, Leona was about to speak when a light snap of a stick in the bushes behind them caught the elf's attention.
"Shh."
Phoebe quickly tucked the small box away. Raising her left hand as the other went for an arrow in her quiver.
"I heard something behind us, I'll go check it out. Meanwhile, wake up ser Krieg."
Leona nodded then proceeded to slowly move towards the knight while crouching. With her left hand, the elf readied her longbow as she took cover behind a tree that overlooked the bushes where she heard the sound from. Her eyes zig-zagged through the foliage trying to find the source of the noise, but nothing seemed to catch her attention.
"What was it that you heard?"
Krieg's voice discreetly asked her from behind, he clutched what seemed to be a sizable stone.
"A snap of a twig, the animals around here normally don't weigh much to be able to break something that would make that much noise."
He leaned to the side of the elf, but also didn't see anything suspicious.
"Princess stay behind me. Phoebe, mind taking a closer look around the place you heard the noise from?"
"On it."
She held the dagger on her right hand as she nocked an arrow on the string with her index and middle finger. Treading lightly through the grass and taking each step carefully so as to not make unnecessary noise, Phoebe circled to the left of the group towards where she heard the sound.
Krieg on the other hand kept an eye to the right side while using a tree as cover, and right behind him, Leona looked around for anything that moved.
"Krieg, what do you think it was?"
"Hopefully just a stray wolf, if not, me and Phoebe will handle accordingly."
She glanced to the ground and found a sizable wooden branch, it had a crooked tip as if it was a walking cane but much thicker. Without much thought she grabbed it and held it as a club.
"Hopefully I won't have to use this…"
She muttered under her breath before hearing Phoebe's voice.
"Lord Krieg, I caught someone snooping around."
Both the knight's and the princess' attention turned towards her voice. Heading over behind a thick patch of bushes they found the elf holding a cloaked figure, lightly clothed, dirty ruined boots and a short sword sheathed on the side of his belt. His cloak fell off as he tried to fight against Phoebe's grasp.
"Please let me go, I was just looking for a place to stay."
His voice was of a young man in his early twenties, his brown hair and dark colored eyes were plain enough that he could be mistaken for a simple farmer were it not for the tattered cloak and short sword on his hip.
"If you wish to keep your throat intact then start talking."
She held the dagger's blade dangerously close to his throat.
"I- I- I just escaped from some bandits in the desert, I'm just looking for a place to stay."
Krieg reached for the elf's hand and lowered the blade from his throat, but not before removing the short sword from his belt.
"I'll keep this. Just search him for other belongings, see if he isn't a lure or anything."
"Leave it to me."
Leona curiously peeked around the knight to see whoever that person was.
"Wait… Luke? Is that you?"
Hearing his name the young man looked towards where her voice came from. His eyes sparkled the moment he saw her.
"Leo?! But if you're here… oh gods no I'm too late!"
His frenetic voice startled the elf and made her loosen her grip. In turn, he tried to approach the princess but Krieg drew the short sword and pointed it at him.
"Not a step further."
"It's alright Krieg."
Leona said while gently lowering his weapon.
"He's an old friend of mine."
She stepped forward beside the knight, allowing the young man to take a better look at her face.
"Leo, I'm… I'm sorry."
He fell on his knees crying. Teary eyes, trembling arms and a serious case of hiccups, those were what defined Luke.
"It's alright now. Krieg, take him with us near the campfire, call Phoebe there too, I think he has information that we'll need."
"Understood princess."
It took a few minutes to calm him down, between Leona gently patting him on the back to giving him some of the water Phoebe carried. Eventually finding some solace in the presence of his friend, Luke started to talk.
"I heard news that my older brother was readying a small army of mercenaries to assault the Crossford household. I was on my way to warn you but he had put guards to prevent me from leaving the city."
Leona's expression suddenly darkened, Luke's brother was…
"Alexander Lorraine…"
She muttered under her breath as her teeth clenched in anger.
"I cannot believe this. To go so far for something so petty..."
"I'm ashamed to have him as a brother. Though the Lorraine household is at its place because of him."
Luke was hugging his legs close to his chest. His gaze was affixed to the fire crackling in front of him.
"If I've tried harder, maybe I could have prevented this from happening. I'm so sorry Leo."
"It's not your fault. If anything, this serves to confirm my suspicions."
Phoebe was standing with her back against the same tree as Krieg, but looking out towards the desert beyond the treeline.
"Ser Krieg, do you happen to know more about this Lorraine family?"
"Just that they are a competitor of sorts. They specialize in making heavy weaponry, but unlike the Crossfords, they are seeking to purge the demons from the continent."
"Rare to see a noble altruistic family in the capital."
The small talk between Luke and Leona continued. Krieg kept a watchful eye on the two of them, resting his hand by the handle of the blade and without looking at her he replied.
"It's because of that I'm still alive."
Phoebe took one last glance towards the two nobles by the campfire before returning to her patrol around the camp.
"I'll be out if you need me."
"Be careful."
She nodded before disappearing into the bushes.
Luke rubbed his weary eyes trying to stay awake through the conversation. Leona had her arms folded tugged inside the bear pelt, she had a puzzled expression on her face.
"So how exactly did you come to know about your brother attacking my father's place?"
"My cousin used some sort of clairvoyance magic to keep tabs on Alex and he discovered in the past week he was hiring those mercenaries."
"And the only reason he would hire them would be to attack us."
"I beg of you Leo whatever you do, do not go back there. He's up to no good."
"I have to Luke, my father is still there. I can't just let him take control of my life."
"He has the entire Lorraine household under his command, not counting the mercenaries. It would be suicide to go there!"
"My father is the only family I have left. I won't stay twiddling my thumbs while he's imprisoned somewhere out there."
Luke couldn't hide his nervousness from his expression. Sweat built up on his forehead and slowly wetted his eyebrows.
"Then… at least take me and my cousin with you. We'll help however we can."
Leona's head perked up to look at him, her aquamarine stare narrowed when she heard his statement.
"If anything, wouldn't you be in danger if you went with us?"
"I'll have to face him eventually. Me and… Las."
"That's your cousin?"
"Yeah. Laslow Lorraine."
"I see…"
She closed her eyes deep in thought before looking at him again, now with a more determined expression.
"Very well. Let's head to Windia in the morning, Phoebe told me we could get more help there."
He nodded.
"Great, Las still there, probably keeping tabs on Alex."
She sighed lightly.
"Alright, you can head to sleep. I'll keep watch for now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I got some sleep before you came sneaking around."
"Sorry."
She brushed off with a motion of her hand.
"It's fine. Now rest, we'll head off early in the morning."
"Okay, thanks Leo."
He folded a part of his cloak and put it under his head.
"Good night."
"Rest well."
Leona got up while still covered with the bear pelt and sat beside Krieg leaning on his left arm. She shared half of the pelt with him.
"You don't need to do that princess."
"It's too hot so you can keep half of it."
"...Thank you princess."
"Krieg, you should start calling me Leona instead of princess."
"...Alright, Leona."
She glanced up to his face and smiled before putting the hood of the cloak against his shoulder to make a soft spot on the metal armor.
"I'm the one who needs to thank you. Who knows what would happen to me were you not there to save me."
"Your praises are wasted on me prin- I mean, Leona. If I were stronger you wouldn't have to sleep out here in the cold of the night."
"Under a very beautiful sky with the warmth of a somewhat comfortable beast skin."
She looked towards the bear pelt.
"I… after I talked with Luke, I've come to realize my father may not be in any immediate danger for now so I should shift my focus towards getting this small army together and head there instead of pondering too much on things outside of my control."
"It'll keep your mind clear when you need it the most, princess."
"Mhm…"
She nudged against his shoulder and kept still, listening to the quiet sounds of fire crackling and critters in the dark. It was calming, many ways off how her life usually was. While danger was an ever present possibility, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of life it would have been had she chosen the path of an adventurer like her mother's.
"Krieg, did you have many nights like these back when you travelled with Eleonora?"
He lifted his head up to the sky. Many stars filled the dark infinite horizon before him, such as it was back in the war.
"Yes."
"Was it… fun?"
"...Yes."
A small tear formed on the side of her right eye.
"I think when this is finally over I'll go on an adventure, if you come with me."
Her voice, gentle yet pained, made his resolve even stronger.
"I'll gladly accompany you."
"Thank you… Krieg…"
She slowly fell back to sleep on her own.
"I won't let harm come to you princess. This is my vow as your knight."
Hours passed, the night slowly giving its place to the early morning sun basking its glow across all of the Arcadian great forest. Chirps of the birds announced the coming of a new day and the start of yet another arduous journey through the desert.
"Mmmmmgh…"
Leona had woken up with some sunlight coming through the trees. Krieg wasn't by her side, however the bear pelt was arranged to cover her entire body, which was only covering her chest previously when she fell asleep.
She got up, her back feeling a little sore but nevertheless ready to continue forward.
"Krieg. Where are you?"
"Ser Krieg is by the river washing his face."
Phoebe's voice came from behind but she couldn't find the elf anywhere.
"Up, princess."
Her eyes darted up to find Phoebe sitting on the tree branch, the longbow resting on her thighs but with an arrow loosely ready on the string.
"I'm keeping watch for him. You can go ahead and wash your face too, he's not too far from here."
"Okay, thank you Phoebe."
"It ain't nothin'."
Leona wandered slowly through the previously walked trail, eventually finding the river stream. Krieg had his helmet lying on the ground beside him while he used the familiar piece of blue cloth to clean his face. His wet grey hair was slicked back and crimson red eyes were focused on the flowing water before glancing to Leona once she approached.
"Good morning pr- Leona."
She chuckled lightly. Her blonde hair was somewhat messy but it still had its beautiful glow.
"Good morning Krieg. Did you get any sleep?"
"Yes I got enough. How about you?"
She nodded.
"I need to thank you for keeping watch, it made me feel more secure."
"It was nothing."
He grabbed the helmet and put it under his left arm when he stood up. Leona proceeded to kneel beside the river and scoop some of the water to wash her face, some of the dirt came off as she changed her focus towards her hair. Her fingers ran across the golden strings to remove the built up dust from last night's sleep.
After she finished cleaning herself Krieg handed the short sword to her. Its sheath was strapped with a makeshift belt made out of braided dry grass. Leona took the weapon but had a puzzled look on her face.
"Wouldn't it be better for you to hold on this Krieg?"
"I'd prefer if you had some way to defend yourself."
She grasped the handle with her right hand while holding the sheath with the other. Pulling the weapon out, the iron blade was simple yet sturdy, it reflected her eyes on the metal.
"Okay, I'll keep it then. Thank you."
He nodded and walked to the side of the trail, motioning for her to go in front of him, which she did while tying the belt to her hip.
"Phoebe."
Krieg called out to her as they reached the camp.
"Prepare to head out, I believe we can reach halfway towards Windia if we hurry."
"Krieg, sir, if I may?"
Luke approached him, his scrawny body hunched forward slightly as he spoke.
"I have a spell that may help traverse the scorching heat of the desert."
The knight turned to Leona as she looked back at him. With a firm nod she confirmed what her childhood friend said.
"Very well. How do you apply this 'spell' of yours?"
"It'll just take a second."
His bony hand touched the silver chestplate as an orange glow started to emanate from his hand enveloping the knight whole.
"Here you go. You'll be resistant to heat for a day."
Krieg looked at his hands, while not feeling any immediate difference to his being, the armor did feel less hot.
"Leo, I can apply it to you if you want."
"I would like to. I have never been to the desert but it sounds like a harsh environment."
He placed her hands between his and cast the spell. A faint orange glow gently poured out of her like a ward to prevent heat from rising her body's temperature.
"Would you like it as well miss Phoebe?"
She leaped down from the tree, landing right beside Leona. Her longbow previously drawn was now strapped with its string across her chest with the top of it sticking out of the left side of her back.
"I'd prefer if you could apply it to our steed."
Luke looked over his shoulder as she motioned with her chin past him.
"Oh I can only cast it one more time if that's ok with you."
"No problem, I'm used to traversing the desert."
She pulled some extra light colored cloth out of her satchel and lightly wrapped around her face, covering most of her hair and ears, only leaving the dark eyes exposed.
"Understood."
He went over to the horse to apply the magical ward. Meanwhile Leona witnessed Phoebe pick some of the cool charcoal from the side of the previous campfire and grind it on her fingers before smudging some under her eyes.
"Krieg, what is she doing?"
He glanced towards the elf then returned to arranging the bear pelt on the horse's saddle.
"She's protecting her eyes from the sun. I don't know about the details but I know it works."
"I see…"
Approaching slowly, Leona stood beside the elf before asking.
"How does that work?"
Just after finishing applying the charcoal dust she turned to answer her.
"The desert sand reflects the glare of the sun, it could potentially damage your vision so I prefer to keep it safe."
Phoebe reached her hand towards her face and applied some of the black dust under her eyes.
"Cover your head with the hood and you'll be alright."
"Okay. Thanks Phoebe."
She gave her a bow before heading out to scout. The princess walked back to the knight, showing the smudges on her face.
"Are you going to do the same Krieg?"
"Yes."
He had removed most of his armor and was in the process of removing one of the remaining greaves.
"I just need to remove this armor and I'll be ready."
A few minutes later, after preparing the armor on the backside of the horse and acquiring a few rocks to put in the knight's pockets. They headed out to the vast desert of Windravt.
The sun wasn't exactly high which made it easier to determine the direction to go, but the heat could be felt on everyone's back as they traversed the dunes of the desert. Leona was sitting on top of the horse, guided by Krieg while Luke and Phoebe walked on the left and right side of it accordingly.
Previously fully armored, the knight had now removed most of his defenses, saving for the chest plate and chainmail. His clothing was a simple white long sleeved shirt and brown thick pants while his feet were wrapped with plenty of cloth.
"Doesn't it feel hot with that armor?"
Leona was wobbling back and forth with each step of the horse, her hood almost falling at times.
"Not much, I believe sir Luke's spell really did make a difference."
"I'm glad it helped sir Krieg."
Luke sounded proud of his spell as his thin body straightened up, a rare sight from him.
"It took me a while to create a fire spell that would work as a ward, the concept behind its creation was the offensive spell known as Hellfire Wall that-"
"Luke, Krieg isn't familiar with magic."
Leona gently interrupted him.
"Oh, but it's okay you don't need to actually know magic to understand the principles of the inner workings of such spells. Imagination is, after all, the most powerful weapon of humanity."
Krieg chuckled lightly.
"Well I can certainly see the similarities."
"Krieg!"
Leona's face became flustered.
"I know I used to be a bookworm back then but you don't need to tell that to everyone."
"Now everyone knows, princess."
Phoebe smirked under the cloth mask, her eyes squinting as she chuckled to herself. Princess was beet red from embarrassment.
"Funny story, Leo here used to be the most studious of the class back in the capital, I remember her coming up with some crazy ideas with wind aspected magic."
Luke seemed very excited by the conversation but quickly stopped after Krieg reached his shoulder while shaking his head.
"You should save your breath sir Luke, we might be travelling as a group but we cannot afford tiring ourselves before reaching our destination."
"Ah yes, I'll do exactly that."
The knight then turned to the princess. She had a faint smile on her face. While Luke was her friend, she wasn't really appreciative of attention.
Continuing on, the midday sun heat made the sand dunes sparkle with each step they took. The sharp green shards of glass stuck in the dunes reflected the rays of light. At that point, the haze from the shimmering air near the sand started to distort the distant imagery. Dunes and more dunes were still between them and the city of Windia.
Large glass domes, structures looming above the sand ocean beckoned the small group towards it. Windia, about a day of travelling away from them.
"I have never been to Windia. But I can see it's a beautiful place."
"Best of the land, well, the only one there is."
Phoebe commented. She carried her longbow with her left hand while the other swinged back and forth while she walked.
"Hard to believe it stood for a few hundred years in the middle of the desert."
Luke agreed with her before saying.
"If magic wasn't so prevalent in people's lives, maybe it wouldn't exist."
"People are more tenacious than you imagine."
The knight said while kicking a piece of glass shard out of the horse's way.
"They won't give up on their homes without fighting for it."
Leona had a serious look on her face.
"That is indeed the truth."
The sun reflected off the glass domes on the horizon. One more day of travel and one day closer exact retribution from those who wronged her. Princess' eyes narrowed with determination towards the wondrous jewel of the desert.