[Content warning: eating ill-advised]
Lia turned seven today.
She was on a journey.
A journey to the continent over. It was her birthday present. "Blerughh!" But who'd have thought she'd get motion sickness on the very first day?
Face pale, maybe a little blue, she barely kept things within. It wasn't supposed to be like this, she thought.
In her imagination, she was going to soar through the seas, enjoy the breeze, maybe make a tease (at the mermaids)… but reality was hardly so.
Lia started her journey from the woods. Last year she heard things from Mack about this 'templar knight' searching for Sol. She quickly told her mother and her mother spread the news in their group. Most of Lin's friends stayed away from the woods till the knight left. Afterwards, they sent a letter to Den informing them of the knight.
Den spread false information about Sol and made it so that the knight would be easily led astray, and it worked.
Lia had to wait patiently for any updates and after eight or so months, she finally got the news that Sol had somehow become a Baron and was okay now! So, she demanded as a birthday present, she would go see Sol.
Surprisingly her mother agreed. So, with her mother and Xena, they headed straight for Xant port. Someone else was also traveling with them, just in the shadows. But Lia had a hunch it was Serec.
The first few hours started off well enough. She felt a bit sick but everything was fine. However… as the waves started growing larger, gradually her stomach churned more and more.
…
"Agh!" She started crying.
"Relax, it's not that hard," said the cool guy next to her, who was also standing by the rails.
Tall southerner with white hair, and rather thin… no, he might have gained a bit of weight.
"Like you're one to talk," Lia managed. It was hard to breathe, even with all this breeze. The sea was relatively calm and things were fine. But then came a big wave and the ship tilted ever so tightly…
Ble-
They proceeded to throw up again….
Apparently, it wasn't Serec who'd been following them. It was Aluc who'd just gotten back from his pilgrimage. The man had been away from the village for so long, Lia had really forgotten about him altogether.
"Have you gained some weight?" Lyra said. She and Xena were just behind them, enjoying the afternoon sun in their hammocks.
Lyra'd come with her daughter. Her newborn had turned One a few weeks ago. Normally she'd be with the baby but she didn't want to bring the little thing and just left it with his brothers. Xena had done the same and left her youngest in the care of her husband and other kids.
"Yeah, he does look fatter," Xena said.
"Not funny guys," Aluc managed. "Wof-" and threw up some more.
At this point, there wasn't anything left in his stomach, so only bile was coming up. The disgustingly bitter taste forced him to throw up even more.
"Have some water gentlemen," one of the sailors offered.
"It's salty," Lia said.
"Well, blame the oceans," he chuckled.
Drinking water was a precious commodity on a ship. Just because someone was throwing up, didn't mean they would give that person such precious stuff. Instead, why not ocean water which was super abundant?
Lia would have preferred regular water but given the circumstances, she couldn't really complain.
And although it was hard, really hard, she bore with it and as the days passed, her sea sickness got much better.
The same couldn't be said about Aluc, however. He never got better and during these few days, he lost more weight than he gained for the whole of the last two years.
***
Lia reached Xant port just in time to witness the sizzling meat season.
Every spring, hundreds if not thousands of wild buffalos migrated to the green fields near the port. These mildly hostile creatures were excellent sources of high-quality protein and perfect for hunting. So, hunters from all over the continent gathered and hunted away.
Meat became abundant and almost everyone across the city enjoyed the sizzling delights with a slab of butter and parsley.
"Smells wonderful," Lia said. "But it's so cold," she shivered.
Lyra draped a shawl over Lia. "Feel free to browse around," she said. "It's really cheap this time around, so we can afford it."
Sigh… Aluc sighed aloud. He wasn't even looking at the meat.
"You still haven't given up, have you?" Xena asked.
"No," Aluc shook his head. "I will never eat a living organism."
"They're dead though."
"They died for us."
Xena rolled her eyes and ordered some steaks from a street vendor. "Sure, just don't get jealous when your stomach aches."
"Hmph!" Aluc grumbled but didn't quite say anything. Not worth it. However, he did order some skewers from a different vendor. Skewers without any meat….
After a hearty meal, they took a carriage and were on their way to Scalion Academy.
Took them a few hours and they reached the academy by midnight. Ordinarily it would take a bit longer but Sizzling meat season meant better transportation across the continent.
"We'll stay in a hotel tonight," Lyra said, reminding her eccentric daughter that they were not going to march straight to the academy.
"Okay," Lia said, dejectedly.
She was so close…. Finally, she could see her first friend again.
***
Lia's excitement came a sudden halt as the guard informed her and the rest- Sol had left just last week.
"When is he coming back?"
Students all around, the day had just begun. Among the robed uniform-wearing students, the four of them looked utterly out of place. Almost like cosplayers visiting a school….
"We're not sure. Maybe a month, maybe a year. Possibly two."
"He never even told me…" Lia mumbled.
When Sol left the woods, Lia thought he was just busy and so he didn't send her letters. But was he busy every day, every week, every month? Was he always busy?
"Maybe something happened," Lyra said," Where is Sol headed?"
"I'm not allowed to-"
"Who are you?" A girl said.
Blonde, almost white hair, beautiful dress; possibly a noble.
"Lyra Bright. We're friends of Sol's," Lyra said.
"Friends? Southerners…" The girl mumbled, somewhat suspicious.
"Come with me," she said, motioning them to follow her inside.
"How about you, who are you?"
"Nisa Alzania," she said. "3rd daughter of Duke Alzania. Sol's Fiancé."
"Fiancé?" Lia mumbled. "He didn't have time to send letters but-" she mumbled as her eyes teared up.
She sniffled and took a step back, attempting to run back out.
But Lyra caught her and dragged her into the building. "Let's hear her our first."