I rode into the forest on the horse that I had stolen. Though it was bright outside, the trees seemed to close out any and all sources of light. I simply pushed on, not wanting to let anything stop me. I didn't want to risk the chance of Oliver coming after me. I froze as something began to drip into my eye. Oh right...blood. I used the sleeve of my hoodie to wipe the blood from my eye. I needed to last at least until I made it to Kador but...I was getting dizzy. I shook my head a bit. No..I couldn't stop this early...it was too soon. Wait...I could heal, right? It's a skill that I've been training since the incident. It killed me not being able to help the ones who were alive after the killers left but extremely injured due to my lack of skill.
I got off of the horse for a moment and moved off the path, hiding behind a tree, just in case someone happened to pass by. I then allowed my original form to come out. Staying in my human form was like the equivalent of having to constantly suck in my stomach. I was pretty good at it but that didn't make it any less unbearable. It was surprisingly a lot easier to use my magic with shorter hair but...all magic came with a price, even with simple magic like this. A light shined brightly from my hand as I let my eyes close so that I could focus better. I only opened my eyes once I no longer felt the pain. I stumbled a bit, leaning against the tree for support. I felt...exhausted. The price that I had to pay for healing myself. Would I even be able hide my natural form in this state? No...I had to. At least until I made it to Kador. I ignored how tired I felt and returned to my human form, moving to get back on the horse. It didn't take long until I woke myself up enough to begin moving again.
After a long few hours straight without a break, I had finally made it. The city sounded like it was bustling and lively even though the day was slowly transitioning into night. Was there some kind of event? When I saw the gates, I got off of the horse, that I had decided to name 'dog', and walked across the bridge. The small town that I was in before was nothing compared to this. The guards wore heavy armor. It was honestly a bit intimidating. I groaned as I thought about having to wear something like that.
"What brings you here, Rouge? Here to sabatoge the events?" One of the guards asked aggressively, placing his hand on the handle of the sword. I internally panicked but I didn't let it show on my face. I assumed that he was asking this due to my unkept appearance and sword. How did men act with each other? Back in Eithcanta, Women were the dominant ones, not men, though they still worked hard to protect. We were always fighting to be the bigger 'man'. The most dominant. It seemed to be the opposite way here with the men being in control and the women not being appreciated. Maybe I should just act like myself?
"No you insufferable halfwit, I am here to train for the royal guard position." I responded as I glared at him. This was clearly a bad idea based off of the look that I had gotten. The man was noticeably taken aback by this before he quickly became angry.
"How dare you-" Before the man could pull out his sword and approach, another guard placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Relax Stein." He laughed out before looking over at me.
"What might your name be my dear?" He asked, as he approached a little. He had an undercut with dark brown hair messily slicked back with a few loose strands. His bright pale purple eyes stared at me with well meaning and interest, making me a bit nervous but I quickly pushed down the feeling. The other's eyebrows were bushy and unkept but with the slit in one of them and his sharp eyes, it pulled his face together nicely. I'd be lying if I said that he wasn't attractive. I decided to keep my distance, not wanting him to get close enough to notice the blood. I then thought about his question. It would be a bad idea to use my name right?
"I am...Le...Leroy Seamus from...Evelyn Island. I've come to offer my unwavering support and loyalty to the Prince of Kador. Him and no one else." I said, slightly shocked at how well I was able to keep my voice steady while lying. I didn't bother deepening my voice since it was already naturally in a pretty gender nonconforming tone and pitch. I raised an eyebrow at the other's hearty laugh. It slowly came to a halt when he saw how serious I seemed to be.
"O-Oh- You're serious.." He mumbled out, clearing his throat.
"Well Sir Seamus, the prince isn't the easiest to please so I wish you the best of luck. I am Sir Otto, the General Commander's right hand. You have a very uh...pretty face so I thought you were a woman for a moment. It makes sense now though. You are from Evelyn Island. I heard that everyone is 'pretty' there. Are the rumors that you are all mermaids and mermen true?" He joked with a laugh. I only laughed dryly in return, shaking my head a bit. I was just making things up, I didn't know that it was an actual place!
"By the way Seamus....Is that..blood by any chance?" He asked, causing me to flinch a little bit.
"Ah..yes I was attacked on my way here. I won quite easily though so don't worry. I just need to find a place to stay for the night. I have money for a inn." I mumbled out. He gave me a nod and hummed a bit.
"Then I'll escort you to one! I'll give you a tour and then I'll explain how the training is going to work and what you need to do." He said, something behind him swishing back and forth. I was confused for a moment before I looked at his head where two small, fluffy ears sat on top of his head. How had I not seen that before? A dog hybrid? Of course it would make sense for there to be wolf hybrid guards due to their skills, but a dog hybrid? This actually kind of excited me. To have a dog on the guard team proved that they were probably accepting anyone who was powerful. Then again though, I was a different case. Maybe he was as well.
"Do you need any medical care?" I heard him ask. I shook my head a little bit.
"The only thing that I need right now is sleep." I said with a light chuckle. I felt as if I'd pass out at any second.
"I understand. Come with me. We are in the middle of celebrating the prince's birthday so that's why everyone is out and about right now." He said as he signaled for the other guards to open the gates for us. He walked in and I followed closely behind him, tugging 'dog' along with me. I slipped on a cloak from my bag and pulled it over my head, not wanting to disturb others with my current appearance. It didn't take long for us to arrive at the inn. I tied Dog to a fence outside and walked inside with Otto. He was a few inches taller than me but I wasn't intimidated by it.
"Thank you for this Sir Otto. I'll remember your kindness." I said as I bowed to him, showing my respect.
"O-Oh! Don't thank me. Its only natural for a knight to be kind to guests. And don't bow to me..I'm not royalty or anything, someone would get the wrong idea." He laughed out nervously, scratching the back of his head. I stood straight and tilted my head in confusion.
"It's natural? That knight from earlier didn't seem very friendly."
"Ah, I apologize about him, he was just being cautious. There have been a lot of attacks lately..." He mumbled out as he glanced over at me. I knew that he was desperately hoping that I wasn't here to do anything bad. I simply gave him a reassuring smile.
"Well, you don't have to worry. I'm here to help with all of that." I hummed out to him. The other seemed pretty naive for a knight but I found it endearing in a way. I watched as he let out a relived sigh.
"Im glad. Hm...how about this. In order to repay me for being oh so kind to you, work hard to become a knight, okay?" He asked as he patted my head. I simply nodded in response before he turned to leave.
"Oh yeah! Come by the knight quarters and ask for me once you finish settling in!" He called out before leaving completely. I waved goodbye as he left before freezing. It felt like I was being stared at. I looked around to try to pin point who or what was looking at me but the feeling went away as soon as it appeared. I shook off the feeling and moved to pay for a room. I was going to take a much needed bath and nap. I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was too tired to move after all.