"So no, you can't ride Nightshade. I promise I didn't tell him to do that." Darius said to Kristina, now lying flat on the floor when she attempted to ride on Nightshade alongside Darius. "I don't think he likes you."
"He'll warm up to me, just give him some time. I'm absolutely irresistible."
With their market trip done, Darius and Kristina made their way back to Amelia's home with two new companions. Even after only half an hour of knowing one another, Darius already determined that Nightshade was a fine mount, with the exception of his short temper. Though he didn't seem to mind the extra weight of Fierce sleeping on Darius's lap.
Nightshade responded with a snort, a sentiment that Darius shared. "Ignoring that, we can leave by tomorrow, correct? Seems like we both have some urgent business to attend to in New Dawn."
"If you want to, I'm ready to leave right now. We just need to grab my nymph, Terra, and I need to say a few goodbyes."
Darius knew the feeling, he had to do the same not too long ago. "I'm in a rush, sure, but take the time you need. You'll regret not doing so."
"Thanks, but me staying here was always a temporary thing. I have my reasons why I need to go, but the main one is that I promised myself that first chance I got to leave, I'd take it and never look back. I'll think about my regrets after I'm dead, that way, they won't matter."
"That so? I don't think I could live that way; I hate having regrets. I'd probably go out of my way to fix the feeling, even when that would make things worse. Sometimes I really think I'm not right in the head."
Kristina punched him in the shoulder. "That makes two of us and thanks. Look, Amelia's house is just up ahead! Amelia we're back!" Kristina took Fierce and ran to the door, but it opened just before she could touch it. She backed up as the door opened revealed someone who was not Amelia.
"Krista?" the woman asked.
"Madam Heart! You're home early!" she shouted. Immediately, Kristina stood completely straight before curtseying, perfectly, like a proper lady.
"I feel like I've seen something I've never should have seen."
Darius's words shifted Madam Heart's attention. Her eyes were piercing, a long glare that seemed be gaging his very soul. She was a tall, older woman, possibly in her late 40's, and only a little shorter than Darius. She was incredibly thin, had light pale skin, light brown eyes, and was completely bald. She wore a long flower dress similar to what Amelia wore, yet unlike her, Madam Heart wore no jewelry.
Madam Heart made her way to Darius who hopped off Nightshade. She began to inspect him the same way Darius had inspected the nymphs from before. "Boy, who are you, and what are you doing with my Krista?"
Darius had felt the stare of people wanting to kill him and felt nothing, but her stares gave him chills. "My name is Darius, and I assisted Kristina with her griffin hunt. We were successful and now she's going to show me the way to New Dawn… Did I say something wrong?"
Kristina was already a nervous wreck, but the mention of the griffin nearly caused her to buckle on her own weight. She only caught herself due to freezing in fear of Madam Heart's crushing glare.
"You fought with the griffin?!" That's when Madam Heart noticed a small fuzzy bundle in Kristina's arms. "Krista, inside. You, boy-"
"Darius" he interjected.
"Boy. You may bring your nymph to the stable, near Kristina's Terra and Amelia's Breeze, once you do that, remain seated in our study with my apprentice." Madam Heart quickly spun around to return to the house. "Come along Kristina, we need to talk."
With no other options she followed closely behind, but not without giving Darius one last pleading look. Unfortunately, Darius had no power here, so all he could offer was a less than reassuring, "Good luck."
Free from the invisible pull of that woman's glare, Darius set out to find where they kept the other nymphs. It wasn't that hard to find, he just needed to follow the smell of horse manure.
Near the stables were three other nymphs. One was a completely white horse with no irises that made the air grow cold when he passed by, Darius assumed this one's was Breeze, a dark blue horse that was standing in a pool of water, and a chestnut-colored horse that was eating some rocks off the ground, definitely Terra. On closer inspection, Darius noticed that the white and brown nymphs were mares, and the blue was a stallion.
"What do ya say Nightshade, see anything you like?"
He responded by blowing a raspberry and walking towards one of the stables before going to sleep. The dark blue nymph and Breeze both distanced themselves from Nightshade as he moved passed, but Terra hardly seemed to care. Maybe she was already used to people like him.
"Not the friendly type, are you? Take all the time you need big guy, looks like we'll be spending the night." Darius went to rub him a bit, which got a gentle sigh from Nightshade. "See ya soon bud."
Darius made his way towards the chestnut horse. "So, you're Terra?"
A bit bigger than Nightshade, she was powerfully built. Just like Conmin said, this horse looks like she is built to travel long distance. She also looked like she was getting on in years, Kristina may have to retire her soon.
When Darius got very close to Terra, she stopped eating her rocks and looked towards him. Darius found a particularly smooth stone and held it up, holding it in his open palm. Without hesitation, she walked towards him and bit it right out of his hand.
"Well, you seem pretty friendly."
Darius started to rub her mane for a bit until he felt a bump from behind himself… Nightshade. "What's up, need something?"
Nightshade was staring at Terra, specifically my hand on her. He stepped in between them and lightly pushed at her. This caused Terra to whinny and walk away. Once she was far enough, Nightshade returned to his stable and went back to sleep.
"Jealous much!" Darius couldn't help but laugh to himself. "We're going to have a talk about this later, alright? I need to go make sure Kristina isn't grounded."
Darius entered the house through a backdoor, poorly navigating his way to what he thought should have been the kitchen he was in before. Madam Heart had failed to give him directions as to where this study of hers was, and the house was deceptively bigger than what he thought from the outside. He thought to start calling out to Amelia but was stopped by a door opening. Of which revealed Madam Heart's appearance.
"So… is that the study?" Darius gingerly asked.
Madam Heart didn't respond, she merely gestured for Darius to walk in. Inside were Amelia and Kristina, both of whom were doing their best to hold back tears; though Amelia wasn't nearly as successful as Kristina.
Madam heart took a seat in a small chair, sitting up completely straight and crossed her legs. "Krista here is a strong one, so she hasn't spoken on who you are. I was able to get tidbits of information from Amelia, enough to get the gist of your… companionship with Kristina, but I'd like to hear more from you."
"Blunt. Sorry, there really isn't much to tell, I've already given you my name, and I've already told you that I helped Kristina hunt the griffin."
Madam Hearts eyes darted towards Kristina once again which causing her to stiffen up. "Yes, yes, all that I understand. However, what I don't understand is where you're from? Just who are you? How do I know I can trust you with my Krista?"
Darius almost broke from that. Stifling a bit of laughter before it could come out. Just from those words, he could get a sense of Madam Hearts true intentions were. She acted like a hardass, but all she wants to do is protect the girls she cared about. To her, He was a stranger, and she just wanted to make sure her girl wasn't in trouble. That he could understand.
"Madam Heart, for reasons that I cannot tell you, I need to get to New Dawn. I've traveled long and far to get here, and Kristina is like a light in the darkness I used to be in. She saved my life, and I've saved hers. I care about her; I like to think we'll become good friends. I promise you, so long as I'm near, no harm will befall her, so please, let her help me!"
The words came right from Darius's heart. Everything he said was the complete truth, and Kristina could feel it. "He's telling the truth auntie, and I trust him!" It seemed that Kristina has gotten her legs back and was able to confront Madam Heart, who is apparently her aunt. "You already know that you can't stop me from becoming who I want to be, and you know I want to be a person who always repays her debts. I owe him, and I will help him."
Amelia, who was still shuddering also spoke up, "She's right mother. I believe this is something that you should give up on trying to stop."
Madam Heart pulled out a long smoke pipe from a nearby drawer. "Krista, dear, you know just how much I hate to see you go out and do dangerous things." Krista stood tall and defiant, leaving Madam Heart to heave a heavy sigh while taking a long puff. "But I was never going to stop you."