Growl!
Elrod tensed resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. He was on edge, he had never been this far from home before and unguarded too! Though he had to be a skilled enough swordsman to earn the blade, he was not that good and he was very humble about it and against a monster like Gauberii, he did not stand a chance. His kingdom too was in danger and he longed to be by the side of his Queen, Jensari, a mighty warrior, a true hero. His only hope was that he could protect her daughter, Princess Dira.
There was no way to Delorel, and he could not risk it now, not after knowing the Baron, Lord Roland had set camp around it. Fander was not safe either and he had left shortly after sending a message to the Queen. He was heading for the sanctuary of Darth, an old hermit who had once sat on Jensari's first council. He had also learned that the Princess Orpha had been taken hostage but watching Rwen skip ahead he did not have the heart to tell her. She had enough on her mind already.
"GROWL!"
He rounded pulling on his sword.
There was nothing there.
"I think the monster you are looking for is right here". Rwen pointed down at her belly. "I'm just a little bit peckish, I can't remember the last time I ate!" she smiled apologetically.
He sighed, searching his sling pack for a bottle of water, it was all he had.
"Ahh!" Rwen suddenly gasped, up ahead was a small clearing littered with shrubs. Shrubs heavily laden with large, fleshy purple berries. Her mouth watered at the sight and she finally recalled her last meal, it was so long ago! "Are they eatable?" she asked faintly her stomach gnawing within her.
"Of course, but... Princess".
It was too late, her cheeks were already full, chomping away.
"It's ising berries, they are not normally eaten in large quantities". He muttered stumbling over to pop one into his mouth skeptically. Still he could not deny the delightful tangy taste of the fruit or the sudden warmth and lightness it brought over him. Perhaps he should have another but only one more!
The stars seemed kilometers closer and there was something shiny and new about the evening, something so pleasant that Rwen found herself singing along to a song she had never heard before but it was befitting for the coming night and it was perhaps the best song she had heard before.
"Pass a bottle to an old cankeys claw, the monster is in its den over at Gauberhodgy's end!" Elrod sang in a low bass tapping his feet to the lively beat. "Ho! There's no fear in the hearts of men. Where the river boasts and the ising berries bend".
The song was in her heart now and she longed to sing along with the critters chirping lightly and flounce along with the light bugs. And she knew she could. looping her arm through Elrod's, she lead him into a lively series of spins and twirls singing on top of her voice.
"No! there's no fear in the hearts of men! over at Gauberhodgy's end! For there is a Queen, we call, Her Royal Highness, Jensari and all enemies fall when she raises her scepter tall!"
Their song blended into the harmony of the eve, brightening the disco like lights of the fireflies and rising to the stars above.