Packing up their supplies to leave for the next morning, Arrius was getting ready, his belongings saddled on his horse when a familiar voice appeared behind him.
"Hello, my lord. How was your sleep last night? You're up bright and early."
"Hi, Lyara. Thank you for asking. I had a very good sleep last night, just a slight headache. I think I'll be all good for my travels heading forward, though."
"While you wait for the others, is there anything I can get you before you're off on the road again?" Lyara asked with a pretty tone, Arrius thought.
"A small cup of coffee couldn't hurt. Do you have any? If not, water will do just fine for me. And maybe some bread and butter. I might need something in my stomach; gods know when we'll stop again."
"I'll get right on that, my lord," Lyara said while walking away.
Arrius had never noticed it, but Lyara filled her outfit quite well. He couldn't help but pay attention to her walking away; he knew he shouldn't. I need to learn some restraint, he thought. But she was a very pretty girl with her long, wavy black hair and deep blue eyes. Even though she was older than him, he didn't care much about that. All he could think about was how nice she had been to him and how beautiful she was.
Finishing up his packing, Arrius was about to go wake up the knights but decided against it. They can sleep for another hour, he thought. He'd chat with Lyara for a while and wait to wake them up so he could enjoy his breakfast in peace.
Walking back inside the northern mountain, he saw the owner, Garmic, who was an old gentleman with a groggy face but he was very nice to everyone.
Finding a seat and relaxing in the chair after dragging all that equipment was nice. He had been up for quite some time, so he was happy to finally be able to sit. In the corner of his eye, he saw the beautiful Lyara coming over.
"My mistake, my lord. I forgot to ask how exactly you like your coffee."
"I'm so sorry. I should have said, with quite a bit of milk and a lot of sugar, please." For some reason, Arrius didn't like when she called him "my lord." He felt as if they were friends and she should be able to speak to him that way.
"By the way, Lyara, you don't always have to call me 'my lord.' You do know that, right?"
"Oh, I had no idea! But the thing is, I don't think you have ever given me your name."
In an instant, Arrius's mind went completely blank. How could I have been so stupid and forgotten one of the most important things—my name? Wait, can he even tell her who he is? That was never something said to him. He had truly no idea, most of the people he knew close to him called him Ars as did the knights last night. But it may be best to not say he is the prince of the North. After all, he had only said he was from a wealthy family yesterday. At least tipsy him hadn't already said something.
"My name is Ars. You can call me Ars all you like instead of 'my Lord,'" Arrius finally said with a warming smile.
"I like that name quite a lot, Ars. I'll make sure to call you that from now on."
With that, Lyara went back to the kitchen to finish preparing Arrius's coffee. With the extra time waiting, he decided to estimate how much time they would have on the road before stopping next or making it to Mardon.
It had only been a few days since leaving, so Arrius anticipated at least a few more weeks, which was okay with him since he had been enjoying his time on this trip. If there are more people like Lyara, I would be more than fine for however long the trip was going to take.
After some time had passed, Lyara came back over to his table with a tray of bread and butter, the coffee Arrius had asked for, and even some bacon on the side.
"Here, Ars. I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope you're still quite hungry. I even added something special on the side for you," Lyara said with a pretty smile, showing off her singular dimple.
"Thank you so much Lyara" after looking around for a second Arrius silently passed over a small sack and hinted at her to take it quickly without anyone seeing it.
"What is this?"
"A small sack with some gold. I promise to help with some more, but this will help you and your family for quite a while, I hope."
"My—Lo—Ars, I can't. I'm sorry, that's too much. This is Six moon passes of wage for me."
"Please don't question it. Don't say anything. This is for you. Use all of it, and don't think otherwise. I'll be back soon enough, and I'll help your family, that I can promise, my lady." With a calm nod, Lyara stashed the coin purse in her pocket.
After quite some time of talking, there was a loud thumping coming from the stairs. As Arrius turned around, he spotted his knight, Ser Ferick.
"I hope you're all well after last night, Ser?" Arrius said while casting a smirk his way.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm all okay. Just my eyes are hurting, but I was gonna ask, where are all my things?"
"I took the liberty of packing everything away on our horses so we could leave as soon as everyone was awake. And if I do recall correctly, you were the one who told me to 'hold my liquor' last night, am I right?"
"I've known you since your fourth name day, and you can still be quite the smart-ass to even your elders."
This made Lyara giggle quite a bit. Arrius enjoyed seeing her laugh; it was something he didn't want to miss hearing again, but sadly, he knew it would be a long time until that happened.
"I see you two have gotten along quite well. is something maybe happening here, or was it just a one-night thing?"
"No, no, none of that. Ars is quite a nice man and seems to be quite a lovely person, even handsom—" Instantly, Lyara's cheeks were completely red, rising to her face.
"Me and Lyara have been chatting for a while while you all slept away. Now, if you would please go wake everyone else up" Arrius said with a glare.
"I'm going now, but you know it never hurts meeting a nice and pretty girl," said Ser Ferick, walking back upstairs to retrieve the rest of the knights.
"I'm sorry, Lyara; he can be quite the trouble."
"It's okay, Ars, don't be sorry," Lyara said with a relaxed smile. Ars could fully see into her eyes now; the beautiful shade of blue looked just like the blueberries mixed into the pies he had been given as a kid.
After some time, everyone had been woken, and they had all said their goodbyes, saddling up on their horses to make their leave on the way to Mardon.
"One last thing before you go, Ars, from me."
"Yes, what is it, my la—" Before Ars could even finish the sentence, a quick kiss was laid on his cheek.
"Please don't forget me Ars and make it back safely. I'm expecting you now." Finally giving Arrius a big hug, she left and waved goodbye, vowing that he would not forget her.
With that, Arrius and the rest of the men were on their way, returning to their journey down to Mardon.