After As'rya ate more of the bread and fruit, she pulled out one of her books and laid down to read it. Though still frustrated with Dagger, he sat with his back to her, all the way at the entrance to their camp, legs dangling over the precipice. Clearly not in the mood to talk, she decided to give up for today and try again tomorrow. After all, they would be heading into the mountains soon. Maybe a change in scenery would include a change in the grumpy man's attitude.
Tucking her pack under her head and laying down on her stolen coat, As'rya started reading the book. Soon, the letters jumbled and blurred together and she closed her eyes, letting sleep envelop her.
"Hey."
Something nudged As'rya and she opened her eyes groggily, blinking in the half darkness.
"Time to go," Dagger told her brusquely, silhouette outlined in the early twilight. It took the princess only a moment to remember where she was and orient herself. With a stretch, As'rya got up, dusting off the coat she'd been laying on and tidying up her things. The mercenary watched her silently, his own pack already on his back. Once everything was in its place, she came over to where he was standing.
"Alright, I'm ready," she said with a nod. Dagger cloaked them in shadows and in a blink they were at the top of the cliff, gazing down at the landscape. The wind tugged at As'rya's hair, chilly and sharp, and she squinted her eyes. Pulling her fur coat close around her, she followed as the vigilante turned and headed away, up towards the foreboding looking peaks, looming in the night above them. They looked close, as though it would take them only an hour or two to reach the bottom.
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Taking steady strides, they began towards the edge of Raizakar Kingdom, unaware of the eyes following them silently.
*****
Though it was dark, As'rya could see the scenery changing slowly around them as they travelled. The last of the leafy, deciduous trees were being left behind, with pines filling the space with their bristly branches. The temperature was a bit chillier and most of the dense underbrush was gone. Instead, a variety of different sparse plants grew in their place, very different from what As'rya had seen before.
The terrain was also much more difficult, the princess realized, despite not having to navigate the crowded forest path. For one thing, it felt like they had been walking uphill the whole time. And while there were far fewer tree roots to snag her feet and less tree branches slapping her, there were plenty of hard rocks to trip on and the merciless wind had already chapped her cheeks.
As if to punctuate her thoughts, the toe of her boot found a sturdy rock, causing her to stumble. As'rya glanced up to see Dagger walking ahead, not having any of the troubles she did. Gods, if only he'd slow down a little...
But she remembered the assassins, and she bit her lip. If she couldn't do this, there was no way she would make it over the mountains. Ignoring her protesting muscles, the princess stood again, squaring her shoulders and bracing herself against the biting wind.
Another thing that As'rya hadn't realized until they'd left the forest cover was how exposed she felt under the sky. Before, she would get glimpses of sunlight through the lush leaves, but now that the trees were farther apart, she felt too exposed. There were ferns on the ground, as well as bushes and shrubs of different varieties, there weren't nearly so many of them. As'rya mused that it would be much easier to see anyone approaching, be it for better or worse.
Almost smacking into Dagger, she realized that the man had stopped. Opening her mouth to ask why, As'rya stopped when he put his hand up, motioning for silence. Her stomach dropped at the serious look on his face. Were the assassins back?
A long moment of silence stretched out as the vigilante stood silently, his eyes closed and his hand raised. Finally, when the princess thought she wouldn't be able to stand it anymore, Dagger opened his eyes and looked at her.
"There's someone following us."