'This is really tiring,' Mera thought while tightly grasping at the reins, struggling to remain firmly seated in her saddle.
For a saintess like her, Mera was no stranger to long and exhausting travel. But due to her status, she never really had to rush as much as she was rushing right now!
"Just a little bit more!" Sarah called out, most likely noticing how hard the journey was on her friend.
'It's because of my desire to find him that we are rushing like that,' Mera thought while gulping her saliva down and tightening her grasp over her reins. 'So I'm not really in a position to complain here!'
Their unit consisted of Mera, Sarah, and three elite scouts of Sarah's personal unit. Yet, even though there were only five of them, they ended up bringing three horses each, raising the number of mounts in their group to fifteen.
Their horses weren't of the normal breed either but belonged to the category of mounts that only the imperial army and imperial family could use.
It wasn't the breed that the cavalry would be ever interested in. Their horses were small, relatively slow, and lacked the innate aggression necessary for a war mount to become a viable partner to a warrior.
No.
Their horses were of the imperial scouts breed. They were small, appeared to be extremely thick if not fat, and were hardly any bigger than a pony.
But when it came to running at a speed between trot and a canter, no other horse breed in the known world could compare.
"There it is!" one of the lightly-dressed scouts climbed up on his saddle, somehow managing to keep a balance on top of it, even with his horse still in the middle of its endurance run.
With a bigger elevation, the scout confirmed what he already saw before. So, without further ado, he simply allowed his legs to slide to the sides, plopping back into the saddle only to twist his body and turn to face the princess.
"The relay station is just over that small hill!"
In any other situation, it would be extremely rude for a mere soldier, even of an elite unit, to not only address the princess without any honorifics but also in such a direct way. And to top it all off, he even dared to shout!
Something like that, when done in the chambers of a palace, would suffice to put one on death row.
But while on horseback, with the air rushing past everyone's ears, shouting was the only viable way to verbally communicate.
"Jump, canter!" Sarah followed up with a simple order on her own. And as her voice was a tad weaker than that of her male scouts, she opted to just use the keywords instead of trying to convey a proper sentence.
Their unit speed up. And after a mere two minutes, they started to slow down, grinding to a complete halt right at the doorstep of the relay station's compound.
"Go check inside," Sarah ordered one of the scouts, this time free to use a normal voice.
The very same man who proved his athletic ability before now jumped from his saddle before rushing into the biggest building in the area. And in less than three minutes, he returned from the stable only to lower himself down on one knee by the side of Sarah's horse.
"My princess! The keeper claims they left for the east. And their pursuers moved south instead!"
Sarah squinted her eyes. She then closed them fully before leaning back on her saddle as she took a moment to think.
"He would have to be an idiot to move south. That, or he intentionally went south because that's a way worse option, thus making it less likely for people to follow…"
The more Sarah spoke, the less confidence appeared in her voice.
Sarah then turned her face to her friend.
"A little help, please?"
Mera heaved a deep sigh.
"Bring me something that he used. Kitchen utensils, broken saddle, even bedsheets will do," she requested before carefully raising her left leg over her mount's back before gracefully jumping down.
"On it!"
Before Mera could even pat the dust off her rider's outfit, the scout already vanished back into the stable. And this time, he returned even faster while carrying a simple blanket… And accompanied by an old man, likely the caretaker of the relay station.
"Oh my," the old man's eyes widened when he saw who were his current guests. Then, without any hesitation, he fell down on one knee and bowed. "This humble servant welcomes you, your highness!"
Sarah smiled lightly while pushing her horse to step a bit forward, using the thick frame of her mount to shield Mera from the old man's eyes.
'I wonder if his testimony will match what Mera will find out?' she thought with a small smile before leaning down a little.
"You may rise," Sarah ordered before greeting the old man with a smile. "I will keep things short. We know there were two parties that stumbled through your station recently. We also know that the bigger of the two groups are chasing after the smaller one," Sarah recited the general outline of the situation.
"We are currently doing our best to catch up with the smaller group, so that I can use my authority to shield them from the bandits pursuing them," Sarah, as promised, kept her explanations short.
'Even though they are named imperial express…' she thought, forcefully keeping a smile on her face as the wave of annoyance raised in her soul. 'But if someone pays well enough, they will go even against the emperor's will… So, if I want him to talk, I need to make it beneficial for their customer for us to catch up with him!'
"Your Highness, all I can tell is that they spent the night in here and left for the east right on the sunrise," the old man replied with the same, politely submissive face as before. "As for whether they stayed on the course or not…"
"Sarah," Mera's quick call made the princess glance to the other side of her horse. Then, after noticing the tense look in the saintess's eyes, Sarah turned her head back before nodding it in the old man's direction.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Sarah thanked, ignoring the massive chasm of social status that separated the two of them. Then, with a pull of her reins, she made her horse turn around while giving Mera some time to climb back on her own saddle. "We will be going, then!"
Sarah snapped with her reins, just strong enough to instruct her horse rather than to force its obedience with pain.
They rode out of the station, ready to jump into chase along the eastern strand of the imperial highway… Only to stop mere few hundred meters into the road.
"Mera?" Sarah called out, pulling on her reins to slow the step of her horse and make it easier to talk properly.
"He actually went east, but…" Mera hesitated
"But?" Sarah pulled on her reins even harder, grinding her horse to a complete halt. 'What is she worried about?' the princess then thought, baffled by the unnatural expression on her friend's face.
"He is going east. And I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not but…" the saintess hesitated again, only to move closer to her friend before leaning in her saddle to bring her mouth to Sarah's ear. "I can sense a slight aura of divinity in the east too."