Ron didn't want to stay back with the other cadets and he also didn't like Isanna going to meet Derek alone, since he was scared something dangerous might happen. But he also didn't know where it was that she was going exactly, and he definitely couldn't risk to ask her, she would sense what he was doing in an instant, if she had told Vanessa and had told her not to tell anyone impossible getting that out too.
"Did you read the letter?" he asked Rin who seemed too busy picking of berries from a nearby bush.
"No, but I was there when he was writing it, and I have a really good eyesight that people forget, so I think I got the jist of it," she said.
"Then you know the place he mentioned for the commander to meet alone in the west?" he asked.
"Yeah, I don't remember it clearly, it was more like a set of directions, a small map that he drew roughly, but I think I can figure it out," she said.
"Tell me!" he said.
"No, it was meant for the commander," she said.
"I am her son, it's fine," he said. She looked at him at that and sniffed the air around her and then looked again this time differently.
"I knew there was a reason I felt like following you," she said.
"What?" he asked.
"Nevermind, as I said, I don't remember it exactly, but I think I can find my way there and I anyways wanted to explore the place a bit more, I like going to new places, so I'll take you there myself how about it, we could have followed her directly but she is too good, she found me once already, so we'll have to give her a head start," she said.
"Okay, but I'll have to talk to Fiona first to bring her along," he said.
"Is that the girl you are always with, do you have to bring her?" she asked.
"Yes, she needs to meet Derek too," he said.
"Fine then, I'll meet you a little bit away from the west end of the camp tomorrow morning after your mother has left," Rin said and swirling her tail jumped high in the trees and vanished.
Ron hurried off to look for Fiona, he found her back at the camp, cleaning up in the kitchen camp with other cadets.
"Come on, I need to talk to you," he whispered near her and took her someplace alone and told her all that had happened so far.
"She is a half-breed? I have never seen one before, are you sure we can trust her," she asked.
"Yeah, she was sent by Derek, she works for someone he knows, I don't think we need to worry about her, he let her inside the human kingdom just like that, and she doesn't really look dangerous at all, once she opens her mouth," he said.
"Fine then, I definitely wouldn't have liked staying back, it would have been too boring," she said and agreed.
"So then let's go to sleep, knowing my mother she'll leave real early morning," he said and they left for their tents.
The sun was just about to rise when Ron woke up in his tent rubbing his eyes. There were very few people awake at that moment, he quickly started getting dressed when he heard his mother's voice coming near, he had forgotten that she wouldn't leave without meeting him, he quickly got into his bed and pulled the sheets up, and pretended to fall asleep. He heard his mom come in and felt her looking at him sleeping, she watched him for a while then kissed him on the cheek and left.
Ron waited for a while then got up, he sneakily went to his mother's tent and saw her leaving on her horse after some time. He then went back to his tent, they had to leave as soon as possible too, before the others started getting ready to leave, because once they knew that he and Fiona were gone, Vanessa would know where he was going and would come after them, so they will need a pretty good distance between them before she learned about them. So he hurried off to get Fiona.
Fiona was ready and packed to go, they sneaked out of the camp together and reached the west end where Rin had asked them to come meet her. They found her sleeping on a thin tree branch, her tail swaying in the air freely. Her ears perked up when she heard their horses coming.
"You bought a horse," she stated plainly.
She jumped down from the tree with a swirl and landed on her feet smoothly, she greeted the horses as if they could understand her, and to his surprise the horses bowed back a little.
"Hi I am Rin," she then jumped up in FIona's face and introduced herself.
"Hi, I am Fiona," Fiona seemed much less weirded out by her behavior and she even petted Rin on her head, Ron would have thought that rude, but Rin purred and enjoyed the pets.
"You are something else," Rin stated and jumped up again and sat behind Fiona on the horse.
"Let's go," she announced shouting like they were kids, playing some game. Ron rolled his eyes and they left towards the west.
Derek was standing at the edge of a small hill, he had his traveling cloak on, and the weather was pretty cold here, it was weird how quickly the weather changed just a little ways west from the south tower, and if you went further still it would soon start snowing, maybe it was because of the high terrain, mountain ranges were extending quite far from here, he wondered why they had chosen such a cold place to live. He was still pretty far from their castle, he wouldn't dare to go up to the castle gate without any prior information, it would be stupid. He was using a far-looking glass, it was a long tube of some metal, with strange combinations of glasses and mirrors inside, but it somehow let him look much farther than normal. Someone had gifted this to him, he hadn't seen one so well made and with such precision.
He was keeping an eye on the path leading to the mountains, if somebody had received his letter and had accepted the request, then they would most probably be coming from here, he wondered what rank they be, he hoped someone higher up would come, but honestly, even the most junior would be good, it had been a while since he had seen one in person. Many years ago he was almost going to become a part of them, he hadn't even heard about them but ever since he had risen in the ranks, he had started hearing their names thrown around in conversations here and there, he never understood what they were talking about, maybe it was because they didn't, until he had finally asked the old man about it. The old man had himself once wanted to be one, as he had told him his story, he had made up his mind then and there, he had thought that finally, he knew what he wanted to do with his life, but the next couple years, when he was so close to becoming one thing didn't work out, but somehow he wasn't that sad or devastated about it, he had got to know some of them, they were the best of the best and what had impressed him was not there power but how wise they were, just like the old man, now he knew where the old man had gotten inspired from. The Soul Knights were the strongest and noblest of orders on the continent. And Derek saw with a thump in his heart, two riders coming down the mountain, with large and powerful horses, and armour like he had never seen before.