To say that Lord Berne did not want us riding in the same carriage as he did was not a surprise.
And honestly? I preferred it that way and so did Mae.
The moment Lord Berne left our house last night, I immediately ran upstairs and started packing hastily.
Our travels were a bit delayed because I had to spend part of the morning arguing and persuading Lord Berne into letting Mae come with us.
He only agreed when I told him that Mae was a healer.
But soon enough, we started our journey. Mae and I rode our own horses since Lord Berne wanted the carriage all to himself.
So now, we were trotting along the trail path of the forest that would soon enough lead us out of Mornfal.
The carriage was infront of us along with the two guards riding up front as well while the rest, including Andriel, followed behind.
"Hey." I heard a whisper coming out of Andriel's mouth as he drew his horse close to mine, continuing to trot along the path nonetheless.
I stayed straight on the path, not wanting to cause any sort of incident as I spoke with him.
"Thanks for yesterday." I said, whispering back.
"It's no problem, you guys deserve a chance after all." He said, shrugging like it was no big deal.
Well it was, for me anyway.
I gave him a small smile yet evident enough to show my gratitude towards him while Mae side-eyed us.
Andriel noticed her and introduced himself,"Hello, I'm Andriel Knight, you are?"
"Gardner...Mae Gardner" She answered plainly with a straight face, no sign of welcome nor hostility evident.
"Nice to meet you. I assume you two are best friends?" He asks.
"Sisters." She corrected him.
Andriel stared at the both of us for a minute, looking at me then at her then back at me and so on.
"But you're..." He started, his voice trailing off as if realizing what he was going to say would most likely come off as offensive.
"Speak, I hate unfinished sentences." Mae commanded, rolling her eyes in irritation.
"I don't want to come off as rude but...you're black." He blurted out after a moment of hesitation.
Well...he wasn't wrong about that.
Mae was in fact dark skinned, with dark brown eyes and even darker hair that was currently styled with braids.
"I am adopted." She explained, and I will be honest I am glad she didn't take offense that much otherwise, things would have been ugly.
After all, Mae did have quite the temper which was mainly fueled by her hatred towards men.
The only man she didn't hate was my father.
And you can blame her father for that but let's not dwell on it...
Yet anyway.
"Oh...I'm sorry if I offended you in any way." Was all he could muster up to say at that moment.
Mae's eyes softened for a bit before saying, "At ease, soldier...I'm not gonna yell at you."
Andriel nodded before drawing his horse back to its original place as we all kept silent, trotting along down the path.
Eventually, we got out of the forest and by now, it was nearly sundown.
Fortunately, there was a town not so far away and Lord Berne decided we all stay there.
There was a crowd watching and staring at us in awe as we entered their home, there was a sign at the entrance that read.
Welcome to Aevarn! Norumann's biggest export and import hub!
They definitely seemed proud of that title.
The town was beautiful, it had ports where the biggest of boats docked as they export and import their goods.
Of course, there was a market where it sold freshly butchered meat, picked fruits, vegetables and baked goods that smelled heavenly.
We settled in an inn that was significantly bigger than the one in Mornfal and even more...fancy.
And to be honest, it makes me a bit jealous.
As I looked around, I noticed how plenty of men wore suits and women wearing the finest dresses and jewelry that were up to date with the fashion trends.
Of course, there were also the less fortunate, they wore much simpler clothes yet still had better fashion.
I got off my horse along with the others once we settled in on the conjoining stables of the inn.
Lord Berne had gone inside already, checking inn and ordering us our rooms, which honestly was quite generous of him.
Mae and I shared a room together and Andriel got a room all to himself while the rest of the guards had to share one together.
And of course, Lord Berne also had a room to himself, it was fairly obvious.
We were tired when we finally settled in for the night.
Fortunately for Mae, she dozed off quite fast.
While I stayed awake, unable to succumb to slumber and it was irritating.
There were so many things in my mind that kept me awake and yet when I did think about them...my mind goes blank.
It was quite a confusing predicament and I hated every minute of it.
Finally, I decided to take the initiative and clear my head by taking a late night walk.
I grabbed my coat and put it on and of course, I brought my knife with me, I wasn't stupid.
The streets were dark and quiet while the lights were dimly lit as I walked up the carved pathway that led to so many sights.
Houses, food shops, boutiques, jewelry stores.
There were a lot of jewelry stores, a thief would easily become one of the richest men in the kingdom if he were to have a chance to taking them all.
And as if on cue, I bumped into something...or rather, someone.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" He yelled, his voice was deep and bit hoarse as if he yelled a lot all the time which was not a surprise since he just yelled at me.
I could not see him, properly anyway. The dark masked his face perfectly but the dim lights were enough to cast a silhouette of his frame.
He was tall and built well too.
I didn't notice I was staring until he cleared his throat and spoke again, "What are you doing walking around this late at night?" He asked.
"That is none of your business." I proclaimed.
"Do you not know that there are dangerous people around?" He asks again, completely ignoring my proclamation from earlier.
Of course, I took that question to heart and took a step back from him cautiously.
That had only made him chuckle, "Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you." He says.
"We don't know what the future holds." I replied.
He chuckles again, "You're right, we don't." He agrees bluntly, something about what he had said left some sort of mystery in me, as if he was planning to do something.
"...What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
"Answer me."
"I don't who you are, I dont have to answer to you at all."
Before I could retort back to him, I heard a commotion from the part of the town where the docks were.
It was a...pirate ship?
Out of the ship came pouring out an entire pirate crew with swords and guns in their hands.
And boy, were they noisy...and apparently they were also pyromaniacs, they took a bunch on firewood and burned them to use as torches and spreaded the fire.
That alerted everyone and soon enough, people came out of their homes and upon seeing the pirates, the noises got even louder.
Children were screaming and crying out of fear while their mothers hastily escorted them back inside the safety of their houses, the fathers put on a brave face and took whatever they could use as a weapon to protect their family.
It was amazing to see how families immediately knew how to act in an emergency situation.
Just then I heard the sound of a blade whooshing in the air, I turned around and finally saw him.
The light from the burning flames were enough to let you see his features.
His hair was brown and slightly sun bleached, his skin tan and his eyes the color of hazel while a smug smirk was evident in his face.
My eyes trailed down and noticed his clothes, he wore a plain long sleeve white shirt and over it a leather belt that held a sword and gun on each side but was partly covered by his black coat.
"You're one of them..." I whispered, a bit startled by the revelation.
"That I am." He confirmed, his smirk growing bigger.
Adrenaline shot through my veins and before I knew it, my right hand was smeared with a bit of blood while the pirate man was stumbling backwards as he held his nose and groaned from the pain.
I had just punched a pirate in the nose.
Before he could retaliate, I had started running away from him.
I made a beeline towards the inn to ensure Mae's safety.
Like all others, Mae and the everyone else also got outside to view the commotion.
They were startled, frozen in place as they stared at the chaos being caused and the flames that were spreading fast around the town.
"Mae!" I called out her name as I slowed down my pace once reaching them, I instinctively looked back but saw no sign of the man. Thankfully.
I gave her a brief hug before running inside the inn to grab our things.
Lord Berne was inside, a bit shaken but nonetheless still watching before getting into his senses and started screaming orders at his men.
Once I made it to our room, I grabbed my bow and quiver of arrows, running to the nearest window and opening it.
The soldiers were now fighting off the pirates, Mae was no longer on sight and I had to make the assumption that she was inside with Lord Berne.
Arming my bow, I quickly took aim, fiding which target I should be shooting first.
I didn't want to kill anyone so I aimed for the non vital parts but if I see any pirate threatening the life of an innocent, he's dead on the spot.
So far, the civilians were inside their homes waiting for it all to end.
And then I saw him.
The man from my night walk, he held a sword in his hand and seemed to be waiting for the right time to join in on the fight.
I took a deep breath, aimed and shoot my shot.
Not that kind of shot, of course.
Another loud groan escaped from his lips and the sound of a fallen sword was faintly heard from where I was.
He was now on his knees, clenching his teeth as his hands clutched around his right leg that had been grazed by my arrow.
Not long after, the soldiers had managed to chase off the pirates back to their own ship as they hastily sailed away.
Andriel had approached the man and forcefully stood him up making the man wince and growl in pain.
I ran downstairs and met with Mae as we got outside of the inn to see the pirate up close.
He was now glaring at everyone and looks at me, his stare gets more intense as he notices the long ranged weapon in my hands.
"You." He growled, his eyes full of hatred and resentment.
I ignored him and just went over to the area where my arrow had landed and placed it back inside my quiver.
Mae and I watched as he was escorted by Andriel inside a wooden carriage and soon enough it drove away.
"Where is he being taken?" Mae asked.
"Alfar." Lord Berne answers as he watches the carriage get smaller and smaller within the distance.
"What's Alfar?" I asked.
"It's where criminals and outlaws end up in." One of the soldiers answered as the others started chiming in.
"Horrible place, its a desert where you have to fight to survive."
"They give you some sedative that makes you sleep and when you wake up...you're there."
"I heard rumours that the people being banished there had somehow found a way to live."
The others kept talking and sharing answers but they were all under the same theme.
"Well then, now that is all over I suggest we go back to sleep." Lord Berne said, calmly walking back inside the inn.
Yet one thing remained on my mind still.
How am I supposed to fall asleep now?