Soft glows of warm orange shined behind them. Rising sunlight creeper over the forests that looks so distant and far away. Home looked to be nothing but a spect in the distance as the morning sun began to loom over the valley. Her great walls jutted out of the ground and towered to build the rich earth that Shir was so used to. Here, the grass felt so dry, the open fields and uneven ground felt forren despite still being her kingdom. For the first time, the Princess looked over her land and felt a distant but yet stinging feeling that this this was not hers. That this land felt wrong to be called her kingdom.
With a soft sigh, Shir turned away from the rising sun, looking over the makeshift camp. They were supposed to be at the volcano by now but instead they had camped the night under the few trees the river supported. If Shir listened closely, she could hear the distant sounds of sheep and cattle. Maybe a dog barking as it contained its flock. Most workers were still asleep, their horses grazing by the river as they feeded and drank. "What is this feeling?" Shir asked herself, thinking to herself. As the more she looked over these fields, the more wrong they looked. They didn't feel to belong to her nor her kingdom, it felt out of place.
"Surely I'm just tired? These hills have been apart of my kingdom since it was first built, why would the be wrong to own now?" She argued with herself. No matter how hard she tried to persuade the feeling, it never altered. Never once as she sat, sipping her water did it change. Something just felt off, a feeling deep within her gut. With a frown she then thought, "this isn't your doing, now is it?" She asked. Hearing no reply from her mystery voice.
With a soft sigh, Shir looked over to her tent. She didn't set all of it up, designed to last months, she sloppily put it together. Stretching, the Princess began to take it down and pack her belongings, setting them in their boxes. Hauling them back on the cart that had been holding up surprisingly well. "Isn't it a bit early to be packing up?" Mumbled a complaint from Toney.
"What else am I supposed to do? We still have a good few hours on the road before we get there" Shir muttered, more focused into getting everything set up.
She also had a bit of a hard time falling asleep the night before. Not that something was on her mind but riding bare back was not the most comfortable thing in the world. And leaving an ache on her legs made laying down a little uncomfortable. Now tired and unable to sleep well, she saw better use of her time. "I can't deny" the Princess giggled internally, "the volcano is so close! I'm itching to get on the road again".
A sigh was heard from the mage, he did not sound too pleased. "You're struggling to hold in that grin" Toney accused, if she didn't know Toney, she would assume he was genuinely disappointed. "You just want to finally see the volcano, don't you?" He to couldn't help a small laugh.
"Ruins, unknown ancient language, conveniently have a translation" Shir listed, "what is there not to be excited about?! There's a whole history here for us to discover". A joyful laugh came from the mage in response.
"I know, I know" he sat down next to the Princesses, holding out a small snack. "We get to investigate it, who knows what the future will bring" Shir could see that sparkle in the mages eyes. There's nothing that Toney loves more than to investigate and learn on new expeditions. Shir found that study can be fun when she's the one who does the exciting more such as expeditions. Which is exactly how Toney feels to, the two of them did help the old court mage in study from time to time.
"Damn, imagine what Ray would think" Shir thought to herself, remembering the older mage. "He would all over the volcano, top to bottom before me and Toney even gets a chance to lay eyes on it" she concluded. A mixture of nostalgia and grief flashed within her. It was fun to think of the what ifs and remember the past but, deep down, she missed old Ray. Even if his time had come long ago, she will always remember him.
Taking the last bite of her snack, Shir stood up. "I should get ready, by time I get my armour on right everyone should be awake" she announced, brushing off her hands. Toney nodded, quickly finishing his before going around and awaking everyone.
"Come on now! The sooner we get up! The sooner we leave!" Toney called out with a lot of energy for the morning. With a slight chuckle, Shir got up to put on the armour plates. Hearing the many grumbled of complaints of their sleep being interrupted but soon the camp was taken down. Many were now tacking up their horses and preparing for the last stretch of the trip.
Autumn was grazing just a bit away, closer to where her tent once stood. "Eoviet may still need to ride him, even I struggle to steer a shire. Though I am just used to Autumn who is more so trianed with audio cues?" Shir shrugged to herself. Whistling to call her horse over to get him all tacked up anyway. Quickly brushing over his coat before tacking him back up, for the ride. "Oh thank you" Eoviet called softly behind her. Yawning as he rubbed one of his eyes, "I was gonna do that but thank you".
"He is my horse" Shir grinned playfully, chuckling a little as his bedhead. "Why is that cute?-" She stopped her own thoughts. No mater how cute she may find someone, she's already tied to someone else. With a soft smile she handed the rains to him, leaving quietly. Shir could tell he was giving her a questionable look as she did, the Princess was not someone who can easily be upset. "Why should I care so much?" She thought to herself bitterly.
"It wasn't like I was looking for someone before. Sure maybe I had a few people who caught my eyes but it wasn't like I was looking to be with them. Besides I'm a Princess, I can't just go around and kiss whoever I wanted" she tried convincing herself. Reminding herself of her duties, even if it hurt to now know she couldn't go around and look at whoever she thought stood out anymore. Back then she didn't care to worry about the bigger picture because that was none of her concern back then. Now with the realisation that she would be with Rknom indefinitely, all for a backstabbing plan.
A lot of mixed emotions flowed through Shir as she groomed the shire she would be riding. But after shaking her head, she put on a soft smile to wait until they could get a move on. The volcano expedition would be a nice distraction to that nightmare, at least it would be a nice brake. "That's foolish thinking, Princess" the voice whispered though his words were more clearer. "You can not escape destiny, remember that. For you have a long road ahead and I wish you well just always remember that you are not alone" his tone grew softer but the end.
"You some kind of guardian angel now?" Shir thought back with a more bitter tone. She was not in the mood to deal with him this morning, she couldn't be bothered right now. A deep chuckle came from him.
"Not me" he corrected, "though I technically will stay- besides the point, you have a life long alley here". Shir sighed, growing more agitated then fearful of him.
"Why so cryptic?" She snapped back, careful to keep a calm and neutral expression. "Just tell me, who, out of everyone here, will be a life long alley?".
". . ."
Shir began to feel more foolish the longer the pause went. His lack of response and silence was deafening. "Of course" she thought sarcastically, "why would you have to answer?". The Princess kicked a rock by her and watched it roll down the hill, just stopping by the river. "Did he speak?" Toney asked in a whisper, standing beside her. Shir nodded, though her irritation soon grew more clear.
"Just told me I can't escape destiny when I felt bad for Rknom" Shir sighed again. Having worded it like that made it sound weird. Prince Rknom was a respectable Knight, one with decent looks to but he was also so irritating in her eyes.
"I feel you" Toney nodded but then a smirk suddenly shot on his face. A realisation flashed within his eyes, "but feeling bad for him? Hm? I would never would have guessed that" he teased.
"Shut up- let's just get a move on" Shir huffed, mounting the shire again. She was ready to gallop all the way to the volcano if she had to.
"Alright, alright!" Toney called out to the group. "Time to get going! Mount up and let's go!" He announced, everyone began to follow his lead. The seconed carriage just behind them, the smaller cart being lead by Toney again.
Shir tried to click her tongue to get the shire to trot on but he layed his ears back at the sound. "Come on" she patted his shoulder, "get". The shire reluctantly huffed, whining when she added a little pressure to her legs. The shire still refused to walk any faster, "ugh, who trianed you?". Shir complained and continued to try and get him to move faster, now falling behind in the group. With a sigh, Shir tapped his back, trying to mimic the rains of the carriage. With a hum, Shir relaxed when the shire began to trot, now catching up with Eoviet.
"Not listening to you?" Eoviet asked, looking up as he rode Autumn.
"More like not used to riding commands" Shir complained openly, looking down. She chocked an eyebrow when she fully took note of how much larger this stallion is compared to hers. The only sound on the ride was the trotting hooves of the herd. Each one trotting along the road as the volcano began to look closer and closer with each passing minute. Each step the horses made soon turned more muffled and softer. With a slight hum, Shir looked down to see that the gravel had began to slowly turn more and more ashey.
Even if it was flatterned and already had marks where the wheels of carts had gone in and out. The gravel had been covered with ashe and cooled lavar, the aftermath of the volcano laid on the road. The heat grew stronger but with the dry air and constant breeze, the heat felt nice on her skin. The volcano so close yet still a good trip away. "It's a lot bigger than I expected" Eoviet commented beside her. His hazel eyes shined as he looked over the volcano, then at the distant sight of workers still digging up the old ashe.
Shir couldn't help but agree, the volcano was still a distance away but from atop this hill they can see the old tower. The looming volcano sat dormant, her larva cooler and had created new earth. At her base, a large watch tower sat atop a small hill. The old stones still showed carvings and engravings of letters and even drawings.
Most of which showed wings or a fire breathing beast. Which reminded Shir of the monster that recently attacked. "Now thinking about it, we had that thing crawl out of the earth. Attacked a village and our patrol and last seen flying here. Then we had that other weird creature attack on our way here" Shir analysed. Something about the volcano felt to have awakened something. The Princess doesn't know what but she is excited to to find it out