"I declare that I lack the knowledge of horseback riding."
Asher also shyly confesses, "I'm not familiar with it either."
Tyrion explains, "Since we don't have many horses to begin with, both of you will need to ride with a partner."
With hope in his eyes, Aluxio suggests, "Estoria can ride with me."
Asher interjects, "She can ride with Uncle Tyrion."
"Are you going to ride with me?" Aluxio chuckles.
"Alright, just this once, I'll let you have it," Asher for once concedes.
Tyrion finalizes the arrangements, saying, "Alright, it's decided then. Estoria will ride with Aluxio, and I will ride with Asher."
An hour after traveling on horses...
In agony, Estoria shouts, "I CAN'T GO ON ANYMORE, MY BACK!"
Tyrion attempts to reassure her, saying, "Estoria, it's just a little further until we reach the town. Try to hold on, and we'll take a day off once we get there."
Asher leans in and whispers something into Tyrion's ear.
Tyrion firmly rejects Asher's suggestion, stating, "No, absolutely not."
"Whatever I tried to help Estoria," Asher responds with a hint of frustration.
Curious, She asks, "What is it? Don't leave me out."
But not a single word escapes their lips.
Aluxio declares, "Make sure you remember how it feels right now, so you don't leave me out next time."
"I admit, it feels quite annoying," She acknowledges.
"Are we really not going to do something about my cramping back?" She asks, growing more concerned.
"We're rather limited in options here, Estoria. Please try to hold yourself together," Tyrion says, clearly feeling helpless.
"Do you want to sit in the back, Estoria? You can hug me from behind," Aluxio suggests, blushing with shyness.
"Let's give it a try; I can't sit like this any longer," She agrees, willing to test the new arrangement before passing judgment.
They make a quick stop to rearrange their position.
"This doesn't feel as bad as before. We should have sat like this earlier," She admits.
'The position is quite comfortable, even though I have to hug him rather tightly to avoid falling, which is a bit embarrassing. At least we're not facing each other..'
Estoria gently nuzzles her face against Aluxio's back, finding it remarkably comfortable, akin to a cat rubbing its head against its owner's feet. She maintains a secure hold around his waist.
"Estoria..." Aluxio finally speaks after a period of silence.
Estoria respond lazily with a noncommittal "Hmm."
Aluxio stammers, "Don't fall asleep; you might fall down."
"I know I won't fall asleep," She confidently replies. However, in the end, She dozed off and slept through the entire ride to the town.
***
Estoria hears Aluxio's voice, gently waking her up, "Estoria, wake up; we've arrived."
Estoria asks, rubbing her eyes and adjusting to the daylight, "Oh, did I fall asleep?"
"Yes, Tyrion got us rooms at the inn, so you can rest there," Aluxio informs her, providing more details.
She notices a coat tied around both of their waists and ask, "Hmm, is this to keep me from falling?"
Aluxio explains, "Tyrion tied it to keep you from falling; I'll untie it now." He seems eager to free her from the coat's restraint.
Asher, joining the conversation, says, "This idiot was holding you with one of his hands during the whole way here, so we tied it up at last." It seems like they were really concerned for her safety during the ride.
"Why didn't you just wake me up, Aluxio?" Estoria looks at his tired face, feeling guilty for making him endure the journey alone.
Asher worriedly insults Aluxio, saying, "He didn't even tell us until I noticed. He's just an idiot through and through," while providing an explanation.
"You shouldn't have done that, Aluxio, but it must have been pretty tiring. Thank you," She expresses her gratitude, feeling like she inadvertently put Aluxio through a lot during this trip.
Aluxio dismounts the horse and lifts her up by the arms to help her get down.
"I'm just glad you slept so soundly," Aluxio says with a relieved smile after he gently places her on the ground.
Estoria wrestles with her thoughts, trying to stay focused. 'I think it's working this time. No, get a hold of yourself; you can't fall for a playboy prince.'
Tyrion hands Aluxio the key to his room, saying, "Go ahead and rest, Aluxio. Here's your room key."
Once Aluxio had gone to rest, Estoria approached Tyrion and asked for more details.
She asks Tyrion, "What time is it right now, and how long was I asleep?"
Tyrion provides an explanation, saying, "I don't know when you fell asleep, so I'm not sure, but we traveled for 8 more hours after you switched positions. Asher noticed you were asleep just an hour ago, so Aluxio was probably holding you for at least 6-7 hours."
"Yeah, that's wonderful news, but didn't you tell me it was just a little bit more when I complained about my back pain?" She glares at Tyrion, a bit miffed by the extended travel.
Tyrion defends himself, saying, "Did you want me to tell you to endure it for 8 more hours? That might have provided you with some extra motivation!"
"To think I had to endure that for 8 more hours gives me chills. I'll be in Aluxio's debt forever for this," Estoria expresses her deep gratitude for Aluxio's sacrifice.
Tyrion offers, "Yeah, sure. I booked a room for you and Asher too. If you want to rest some more, here are the keys," as he hands to both of them the keys to their rooms.
Tyrion provides some instructions before leaving for his room to rest, "Everyone traveled all night and your all pretty tired, so we're going to take a day off from traveling. Do whatever you want, and we'll set out again tomorrow at this time." He then hurries back into the inn, likely exhausted as well.
Estoria realizes Tyrion didn't answer her question about the time before he rushed inside the inn.
Asher steps in to provide the answer, saying, "It's 6 am right now."
Estoria suggests to Asher, "It's quite early. Don't you want to get some sleep too?"
"I took a nap while we were traveling, so I'm not that tired. If you want to do something else, I'm up for it."
"I'm going to get some more rest before starting the day," She replies with a yawn.
"Alright, I'll catch some sleep as well," Asher agrees, following her into the inn.
Estoria takes a look around the inn and observes, "It's a pretty average-looking inn. I was expecting something fancier, but I suppose this is the town's best inn given its size."
After some observations they parted ways, each heading to their respective rooms to get some rest.
The feeling of a soft bed is a welcome change after what feels like an eternity of riding on horses.
***
"After a good rest, I'm feeling refreshed and ready to start the day."
Asher and Estoria woke up earlier, and since everyone else was still asleep, they decided to explore the town's local market for some food and perhaps find some new clothes.
"I can't believe all my gold coins turned to dust," Estoria complains to Asher, expressing her frustration.
"I did promise to share mine with you, so stop your complaining already," Asher says, likely a bit annoyed by her persistent grumbling.
"I should have handed you my coins too. The idea that your black cape is safer than a royal carriage with royal knights is just absurd," She lamented, feeling regretful about the turn of events.
Asher apologizes, saying, "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know you'd leave your precious gold coins in the carriage, or I would have tried to control my blast a little better."
Estoria shocked as she questions, "It was a blast?"
Asher explains, "Yeah, it was a mana blast, but I didn't think it would be that big. I wasn't even trying to use that much mana," in a serious tone.
She wonders, 'Does he not realize how abnormal that blast was?'
She questions again, "Why would you keep it a secret from me if you were that powerful?" wanting to understand his reasons.
Asher looks at her with a confused expression and says, "Didn't I tell you I'm strong enough to protect you?"
Estoria admits, "You did, but I didn't think you were this strong, Asher," still surprised by the extent of his abilities.
Asher says confidently, "That wasn't my full power. I'm even more powerful than that," leaving her even more astonished by his capabilities.
Estoria thinks to herself, 'I might have accidentally adopted the strongest kid in this world,' as she realizes the extent of Asher's powers.
She expresses her concern, asking Asher, "You're not going to abandon me and run off after a while, right?" wanting reassurance that he'll stay with her.
"Why would I do that?" Asher looks genuinely confused by the idea of leaving.
She quickly clarifies, "Nothing specific, just asking about your future plans," trying to understand his intentions.
Asher looks down and admits, "I don't know. I would rather just live in the present than think about the future or the past." He seemed to be focused on the moment.
"Is something bothering you, Asher?" Estoria asks, feeling concerned for his well-being.
Asher quickly changes the topic, saying, "It's nothing. Look at that, let's get that to eat," as he points to something in the market.
Deciding that Asher doesn't want to talk about it right now, Estoria makes a mental note to go with the flow and wait until he's willing to open up.
She smiles at Asher and agrees, "Sure, let's get that to eat." They shift their focus on enjoying a meal and savoring the moment.
***
They receive a scolding for their impromptu trip to the local market, "Where did you go without telling me about it? Do you have any idea how worried we were? We looked everywhere for you both. It's already challenging trying to babysit you both, so please tell me if you're going to go somewhere," Tyrion sternly lectures them.
Estoria tries to explain, "Well, you were all sleeping, and I didn't have anything else to do." She justifies their decision to explore the market without notifying Tyrion.
Tyrion glares at the items they purchased and sarcastically remarks, "So you went shopping and bought just about everything." It's clear he's not pleased with their impromptu shopping spree.
Estoria admits, "Maybe it's a little too much. We didn't hold back since we had plenty of money." They might have been a bit excessive in their purchases.
Asher attempts to sweet-talk Tyrion, saying, "We got new clothes for everyone, so please let us off the hook this time, Uncle Tyrion." He tries to ease the tension and justify the purchases.
Tyrion finally relents, sighing, "Okay, fine, I'll let you both off the hook this time." He grants them some leniency.
Asher's sugar coating seems to have worked, and they were let off the hook for our uncontrollable shopping spree.
Estoria expresses her gratitude to Asher, looking at him with a thankful expression, and he responds with a nod, acknowledging their teamwork.
Aluxio notices the new clothes and asks, "You got me clothes too?" surprised by the amount of new clothes.
Estoria sarcastically responds to Aluxio, "No, I'm giving it to Sebastian instead," with a playful tone.
Aluxio looks hurt as he questions, "Why didn't you buy anything for me? I needed new clothes too just because I had my suitcase with me..." Aluxio felt left out and disappointed.
Seeing how pitiful Aluxio looks, Estoria decides to give in and hand him the clothes, saying, "I was just joking. We got these for you." He receives the clothes with a relieved smile.
Asher explains, "I only bought it because you sacrificed your arm for Estoria." It's a gesture of appreciation for Aluxio's earlier help and support.
Aluxio looks at her and asks, "Didn't Estoria get this?" Unsure if the clothes were meant for him.
Estoria clarifies to Aluxio, "I did get that for you," as she shoots a glare in Asher's direction, emphasizing that the clothes were indeed intended for Aluxio.
She contemplates whether Asher is forgetting that they acquired all this money from selling Aluxio's handkerchief.
Asher advises Aluxio, "Just be grateful," before heading to his room with his newly acquired clothes.
***
After changing out of their soiled clothes, which they had to discard due to storage issues, they enjoyed dinner. Following that, everyone went their separate ways for the night.
Some of the knights and Aluxio decided to get more sleep, while others opted for training before eventually going back to sleep alongside Tyrion. Everyone spend their night differently.
Tyrion's trust in Asher is apparent since he left Estoria alone without any royal knights but asked her to stay with Asher. It's clear he recognizes Asher's formidable abilities, likely considering him to be stronger than all the royal knights combined.
"What are you thinking about?" Asher asks.
Asher's question breaks her reverie, and she responds, "I was just wondering what to do now. I'm not that tired to go back to sleep, and I don't want to train either." She considers her options for the evening.
"Let's go on a hike, then. I noticed a trail on the mountain behind the inn. I've heard you can see the stars from the top, and the view is stunning," Asher suggests hesitantly.
"That doesn't sound bad at all. Let's go!" Estoria agrees with enthusiasm.