I yawned as I walked out to the dining room. I was so comfortable that a big part of me didn't want to leave. Sorry, Elton, but I love comfort. I'm surprised I haven't run into him yet, though.
Knowing Elton, his priorities would be the same as mine in this situation. But now that weeks have passed without any sign of him, I'm getting worried and irritated. I looked around the room and saw everyone, including the extras. Harold caught my eye and smiled.
What did I expect when I told him to deal with them? I'll just play dumb for now.
"Cady, I heard about yesterday," Alvin said, and I turned to look at him.
"Will you tell me off for not saving your sister?" I asked.
"No. She wants to tell you something, but she's scared," he replied. I turned to look at her, but she flinched and sunk into her seat.
"What do you want to say?" I asked.
"Well… it's not that I'm… I am a princess of Cecia, and your attitude was disrespectful, but I…" she started to say before the man I assumed was her knight interrupted her.
"What her Highness is trying to say is that we're grateful," he said, and she looked down, crossing her hands over her chest.
"I guess you could say that," she mumbled.
I sat down quietly and focused on breakfast. I couldn't be bothered with them.
…
"What's your plan?" Harold asked, standing beside me as I put my things on Bean.
"For what?" I asked.
"You don't intend to leave the princess, right?" he asked.
"Can I?"
"We can't," he said, and I sighed. I don't want to be stuck with that princess.
"Whatever," I said and got on Bean.
We set out with new additions to the group, and I couldn't be more displeased. They'd just slow me down.
Should I leave them? Leaving this group would go a long way for me.
My hand reached for my sword when I saw the horde ahead of us. Turning around didn't seem possible—they were already approaching. They must have noticed us by the sound of the horses.
"I'll take care of that," Harold said.
I noticed something. Mages are people who awaken their magic powers and train to control whatever element is their affinity. Harold, having an affinity for fire, doesn't seem all that useful outside of destroying things. I'll have to make do with his other abilities, though I don't think I know all of them.
"Can you see if it's clear ahead? We don't want to attract more," I said, and he nodded. I'm glad he can fly, even though it's not that handy since the distance and time are limited.
"Cato, help us out," I said as I jumped down with the sisters. The knight joined us too and helped in getting rid of the undead approaching.
"There are too many," Julie said.
"Don't get too close; make them come to you," I instructed. Getting in the middle of that number would be suicide.
"Darren!" I heard from behind me. I glanced back and saw the princess being attacked by some undead.
"Your Highness!" he called and wanted to run to her but was held back by more undead.
Royalties are not my favorite people, and the fact that I have to keep her alive is irritating. Why did she get down from the horse?
I moved quickly and stabbed their heads with my dagger.
"We'll have to go around," Harold said before I could say anything to the princess.
"Let's go," I said, glaring at her.
We went around as Harold described, avoiding blocked paths. We managed to reach a clear path and decided to rest there for the night.
"Cady," Harold called as I unloaded Bean.
"What?" I asked, turning to look at him.
"I saw this and thought you'd be interested," he said, handing me a letter.
My weakness has caught up with me. I'm not sure it's a weakness, but I can't read. I spent most of my childhood locked up, so learning wasn't really a priority. I stared at Harold's hand, trying hard not to feel embarrassed.
This is all Elton's fault.
"What does it say?" I asked calmly.
"There's a camp. This letter was going to the borders, apparently, but it never got there," he said. He either didn't notice or just didn't say anything, which I find hard to believe. "The royal family might be there," he added.
"For the first time since I knew you, we agree on something," I said.
"It's safer for the princess," he said.
"Whatever the reason is isn't important. I just need her gone," I said.
"Very patriotic of you," he replied and turned to walk away.
I sat by the corner to rest my eyes but couldn't sleep. I removed my gloves and stared at the magic circle, tracing my fingers over it and sighing loudly. What could Elton be doing? Why haven't I found him? It's been more than a month since my journey started. If he was headed this way, we would have run into each other by now, right?
"Hey," Alvin said, sitting next to me. I looked at him and sighed.
"About Krysen…"
"I didn't know you two were close," I stated.
"We weren't," he replied, looking down.
"Perks of this whole damage," I mumbled.
"She's not good at saying what she really feels," he said.
"You guess?" I sighed, looking up. "And staying put, too?" He didn't respond. "I'm dropping her off at our next stop," I said.
"Okay."
We sat in silence, watching the others as they chatted.
"What do you want to do after you find your brother?" he asked.
"That's sudden," I said. "I don't know; finding him takes priority. I might want to return to the special forces, I might continue traveling with Harold, I might find that sorceress or whatever… I don't know what I want to do after finding Elton." He seemed to be contemplating.
"I want to get some experience, get stronger, and stop acting like a spoiled brat," he said, and I chuckled.
"Good thing you realized that on your own," I said.
"Watch out, I might oust the Hall siblings," he said, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"If that happens, I'll never hold a sword again."
"I don't know how to feel about that," he said.