"Here's the plan," Dagger turned to As'rya. "We will shadow step into a house. Don't move, don't talk, don't so much as sniffle," he warned, looking sternly at the princess. As'rya suppressed rolling her eyes, instead nodding in agreement. "I will get the stuff and we will shadow step back out. It should be as simple as that."
She didn't like the thought of stealing clothes from people, especially villagers who likely had very little to start with, but they didn't have much of a choice. So As'rya stayed silent as shadows engulfed them, wrapping around them like a cold fog, before they reappeared in a dark room. Motioning noiselessly to her to stay put, the vigilante disappeared a moment later. Glancing around, the princess took in the room she stood in, which appeared to be a study. A large table sat on the other side, while books lined the shelves along the walls. It looked much nicer than she had expected from a simple village town.
Dagger reappeared, making As'rya startle a bit. He handed her a thick leather and wool coat before engulfing them again in shadows, leaving the unknown house to their slumber. When they reappeared in the forest, they took a moment to arrange what the vigilante had swiped. Eyeing some rolls and fresh fruit that he had also grabbed, her mouth watered.
"Go ahead," he gestured to the food as he packed a new knapsack, putting the stolen coat inside.
"Thank you," the princess replied, before choosing a pear and a fluffy roll and settling in to eat, legs crossed. It wasn't quite cold enough during the day to need to coat yet, so As'rya stowed in her own bag after finishing the food. It caused the lavish dress to crumple and she frowned, before pulling everything out the bag to rearrange. After putting the books in the bottom, extra clothes in the middle, and the dress carefully folded on top, she closed her pack, satisfied. Thankfully she hadn't overpacked, leaving enough room for everything comfortably. She noted that the coat added a bit of weight when she pulled the straps over her shoulders, but it seemed manageable still.
Dagger was also nearly done with his knapsack, putting the last of the items on top and pushing down firmly, before rising to his feet.
"We will make camp soon," he told As'rya, "But we need to travel a little farther, to a safe spot." The princess nodded, despite her drooping eyelids. The sun would be rising soon and she was fatigued from hiking, but she didn't argue, remembering waking from sleep to utter chaos. She wasn't sure she would be able to fall asleep anyways.
"How long do you think we will be walking?" she asked instead, following as they walked parallel to Baelan's little houses.
"It should only take us an hour or so to reach the spot," Dagger answered. They lapsed back into awkward silence again.
As'rya wanted to say something, but didn't know how to approach the foreboding chatting partner. Obviously used to being alone, the vigilante was content to walk in silence the entire time, it seemed, all the way to Lysima. As'rya, on the other hand, was nearly bursting at the seams. She had seen and experienced so many new things, so many different difficulties, things she never would have done back at the palace. For instance, she had never needed to wash off in a cold river. It had been shocking, taking her breath away from several moments. And when she had woken the other day to see a fox slinking through the grass, their red fur shimmering in the fading light.
She desperately needed someone to talk to. At this rate, the princess feared she might lose her mind.
But Dagger...every time they had conversed, it had ended in frustration and a cold reply. Even the best conversations were only a few sentences at best before the man picked up the pace, forcing As'rya to abandon her efforts.
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Plus, he clearly wasn't telling her everything. After the fight, he'd been forced to explain some things, but As'rya knew that he was still hiding others. The thought of being left in the dark, clueless and helpless, made her fume. She wasn't useless! She just needed to know what in God's Earth was going on!
Crossing her arms with a huff, As'rya once again resolved herself to silence. He didn't deserve the conversation anyways.
The worst part was...he wasn't a bad person.
It would be easy to hate him and be mistrustful if he was like the rumors said. But, despite his warnings and killing multiple people in front of her, the princess couldn't force herself to be scared of him. He had, after all, ended up dying to keep her out of danger. And even in his last moments, he had been trying to keep her safe. After it was revealed that everything had been fabricated, he didn't so much as bat an eye, merely shifting gears. It was almost like the thought of leaving her behind hadn't even crossed his mind.
How vexing. As'rya scowled, frustrated. All the better for them to get to Lysima, where they wouldn't have to see each other again. She didn't know if he planned to go back after escorting her, but she was certain if she asked he wouldn't tell her.
"We're almost there," the vigilante paused, turning back. They had stopped at the bottom of a craggy rock wall, several hundred feet tall. Nearly perfectly vertical, the layered stone looked unscalable.
"There's a cave up ahead," he told her, "I'm going to check it for wild animals. Stay here."
With a puff of shadow that was darker than the night around him, the man vanished. Every time she saw it, As'rya couldn't help but be a little amazed. How did it work? How far could he go? What else could he do? Was it something she would be able to do, if she learned?
Leaning against the cold stone, basking in the morning sunlight, As'rya once again lamented her situation.
*****
Dagger entered his hideout, the cave familiar and dark. He checked inside quickly, spooking off a snake and a couple mice with his presence before returning moments later to As'rya.
"Let's go," he said, using the shadows to once again move them into the cave. The deep hollow in the rock face was far enough off the ground that no one would be able to get to them easily. The rest of the cliff was nearly smooth, making it treacherous to scale from the top down as well. This was one of Dagger's favorite spots to camp out when he needed to get away. It was strange to have someone else enter the private area, even if it was just a dirty cave at the edge of the territory.
"We'll stay here today," he informed her, heading over to the small pile of rocks and ash that served as the campfire and setting down his pack. They wouldn't be lighting it up, but he automatically moved to it out of habit. "Eat a little more, get some sleep. We should reach the mountains sometime during the night."
Pulling out some food for himself, Dagger walked over to the entrance, bracing himself against the daylight. He sat, legs hanging over the edge, watching the surroundings. A few white puffy clouds scuttled across the sky, while a darker splotch of ominous gray clouds hung against the far horizon.
The girl arranged her things behind him, as was her habit whenever they set up camp. Listening to her sort her belongings and sigh occasionally, he kept his eyes on the forest outside the cave. Dagger snaked out his shadow sense, feeling for any presence of humans in the forest. As usual, he couldn't sense anyone.
Before, the thought had given him reassurance, but now, he only felt more agitated and antsy. Remembering the way the assassins had disappeared after the attack, there was clearly more at play here than he initially understood. It just meant he had to be on his toes, even more alert than before.
He would make sure the princess got to the Lysiman Empire safely.
And then...what? Dagger had been mulling over the question since the revelation of the assassin's origin. If the Queen was trying to get rid of both of them, there was very little chance that she would honor their agreement, one not even signed with a contract or verified with witnesses. The last thing he wanted was more lives lost because of her incessant hatred of him. If the spiteful old lady was set on attacking him, getting him out of the Capital...maybe he should go.
Dagger had never been to Lysima, and the treacherous Igoera Mountains made it almost impossible for any information to get through. The little he did hear about was just rumors, describing a land very different from Raizakar. Maybe it was time for him to find somewhere else to settle down. And, the vigilante hoped, maybe someone there would know how to stop his curse, how to curb his atrocious power.
With a sigh, Dagger pulled his hood up and took the maps from his pocket. Since they had nearly reached the edge of Raizakar Kingdom, his personal maps would become useless past this point. Carefully unrolling the fancy, ornate map from the Queen, he gently touched the delicate gold and blue markings along the edge before laying it out fully and finding their current location. Trying to estimate how long it would take them to travel over the mountains, he studied the markings carefully. Never having travelled over such terrain, he was a bit unsure, but his past experiences gave him confidence. They would try to travel as quickly as possible, avoiding the worst of the snow and the steepest of mountains. How hard could it be?
With his plan solidified, Dagger tucked away the paper again, eyes watching the scenery outside. Sitting at the mouth of the cave, he began brooding once more, readying himself for the next leg of the journey.