As I sat upright on my bed, awake after a long night, I somehow managed to sleep soundly, the pale blue moon's soft glow filtering through the window. My gaze wandered aimlessly, lost in thought, as I replayed the events of the previous evening in my mind. The memories like dewdrops, glistening and clear, still fresh in my mind despite the passage of time.
Reflecting back on the events of the previous evening, a wry grin crept across my face. Obeying my mother's every command was certainly not something that came naturally to me, and in fact, perhaps I relished in the thrill of bending the rules a bit.
But let's be honest, if I were to comply with her wishes all the time, I would be nothing more than a prisoner in my own room. So, getting away with things had become somewhat of a specialty for me - a skill that I had honed over the years. I’d say that I was caught less than a handful of times… as of recently. Following my discovery last night, even befuddled, I searched the remainder of the bag and swiftly left the room empty handed.
What had left me in a rather thoughtful state was something else. I considered myself a logical thinker. Meaning I prefer to think about all possibilities and the weight they would carry instead of completely deciding on one. It was the primary reason why I chose not to run away ‘yet’, from a monster that would leave most grown knights shaking within their armour.
“Women's underwear and clothing, huh?” Although shocked at first, I quickly came to three possible reasons as to why my uncle had women's clothing amongst his belongings.
One, he held onto the clothing and underwear for somebody else. This would probably be the most acceptable answer. Sadly, this explanation becomes less believable considering that the colours of the clothing matched the ones he typically wears, which are a combination of red and black and seemed to match his general height and body type, as I observed during our previous encounters.
Two, he stole the clothing from somebody. I was currently leaning on this particular reason the most right now. After all, it was just one more quality detail to add to my uncle's expanding list of ‘charming’ traits.
Finally, he wore the clothing himself. Couldn't really comment on this one, if there was one redeeming quality to his dreary, rude behaviour, it was his feminine almost irresistible beauty. Maybe he was actually a girl? Not an impossible idea, perhaps the duke needed a son and not a daughter. Therefore, maybe he requested he hide his true gender… not exactly impossible, but the fallout of people finding this out amongst high society would be terrible. I doubt the duke would tarnish his reputation for something like this. Also, the only real evidence to hold up this logic was just his feminine appearance. Though anybody that glanced at him would take this as extremely solid evidence.
Really… I was leaning more towards the second reason. It genuinely fell into place with his current character and attitude towards m– others. It was always the quiet reserved ones that were the most, perverted. Looks like I'll have to be far more on guard during this journey than I initially anticipated.
Getting up I began my usual morning routine, getting ready for my departure. Well, I'll take this trip as an opportunity to learn the truth. Whether he likes it or not.
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Standing casually in front of the large mansion gates, It was now close to midday. light snow fell gently to cover the thin layers of white on the ground. Now at the end of suncrest, the sun was now at its highest and brightest point for the year. Relatively lush vegetation beginning to sprout softly under the snow. The imperious looking mountains that surrounded the mansion, were now losing their white lustre as streams of shimmering blue began to flow down into the once icy rivers at their base. The formerly silent environment was now filled with the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves as animals used the rare daylight to scamper about.
Our castle-like mansion, although surrounded by open snowy fields, had mountains and forestry stretching through its east and west. These were called the axle mountains and stretched on through the country, splitting it in two. I know, I had attempted flying to its end a while back.
Basically, unless you travelled over the axle mountains, you would never reach the other side, unless you passed through our mansion. I had always thought to myself why our family had chosen such a stronghold type location for our household. If a war were to occur, enemies would target such a vantage point straight away.
My mother and Lita stood before me, both dressed in light snow gear, though Lita’s gear included a scarf, a thicker coat and thicker boots similar to mine.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
My mother looked at us both worriedly as she spoke. “Remember children, make sure to never put yourself in unnecessary danger. Especially you Tene, I know what you're like. Lita and Urila are both your seniors so make sure to listen to what they tell you. Don't run towards dangerous places or talk to strange people just because they look interesting, There are many evil people in this world Tene so you have to be careful. Don't eat strange things either, Just because it looks different, you'll end up sick! No fighting without being watched over by Urila or Lita. Also, Remember to make sure to always watch yo–”
“I-I know mother” Cutting her off, I gave her a short, but tight squeeze and quickly ran off towards Urila. God knows how long I would be standing there if I didn't cut her short. I'll see her again soon anyways.
Now at Urila’s side, looking up at him, as usual he seemed unconcerned by any of our exchanges, his gaze looking absentmindedly into the distance. Wait a second, how were we even going to get there? Snowpeak Cape is at the very least a five day journey on horseback? We would also need to avoid bandits and monsters along the path. For a journey like this most people would hire professional guards or adventurers. I couldn't transform either, so I would find it difficult to defeat even a tier two monster currently. Looks like I'll be under the protection of Lita and…
Looking towards Urila, I couldn't help but get curious. Analysis.
[ANALYSIS BLOCKED]
“Enough poking, child“ Urila looked down at me coldly, looking at me for what felt like the first time today. child? I was older than him by far. At least he was somewhat competent if his analysis skill contained a blocker over mine, well my mother had said he was some genius. I wouldn't fully believe it until I saw it myself though.
Poking was a popular saying in our country for people caught looking at another's status without permission. It was actually one of Lita and Lizette's catchphrases. Though for Lizette, it never ended with just those words, that's for sure. Speaking of Lizette, she had said her farewells to us earlier this morning before disappearing back into her lab. The complete opposite of my mother. I would garner that if it wasn't for her duties towards our family she would never show her face.
Looking back at my mother, she had finally finished talking to Lita. They had been discussing something for a while now. Standing on her tiptoes, my mother gave Lita one final kiss on her forehead to bid her farewell.
I noticed a teardrop at the corner of Lita's eyes. Well she did really love my mother, just as much as she respected my father. My mother had practically raised her after all. However, Lita quickly composed herself and wiped her cheek before briskly walking towards us. Her expression reverted back to its usual icy state.
Looking down at us from afar, my mother smiled brightly as she waved at us one final time… It was a smile I used to see all the time when my father was around. When did she stop smiling like that? I thought to myself. Discomfort began to build up within my chest.
Ok, now I'm definitely worried. Maybe I'll–?
“Lets go” Lita said, cutting me off and signalling for our departure.
No, she'll be fine, she's far stronger than she looks. Lizette was also around too, although I've never seen her status or true strength, she was at least as strong as my father. Although she might be a bit lonely, we'll be back in only a couple of weeks. safe, and reunited as a family again.
Tearing my gaze away from my waving mother, I turned around. ready to begin my first journey.
…
…
…
My first journey is boring as hell right now. We had been following the same straight path blindly for a while now, long losing sight of trees, mountains or anything for that matter. It was wearing me down mentally. All that surrounded us was a harsh white. Hardly any different to the darkness from my imprisonment.
Looking towards my left, Lita's icy gaze continued aimlessly down our snow covered path, not a single word escaping her mouth for what felt like nearly two hours now. To my front Urila was nearly the exact same, except he acted almost as if we didn't exist. He seemed to be striding forward at his own pace, ignoring us and making it difficult for me to catch up. I had already begun counting his slights towards me one by one. Currently on twenty two.
Why were these the only options for travel companions? “Ahem” clearing my throat, I pulled lightly at Lita's sleeves, her cold gaze turning down towards me.
“Big Sis, where are we going?” I asked inquisitively. We had been walking for almost two hours, and if I didn't know any better, I would assume we were walking nowhere.
“...”
Well that's not good.
She was just following Urila aimlessly without any idea as to where we were going huh. Honestly not too surprising, Lita wasn't one to really make her own decisions, why, I honestly didn't know. It felt like she almost couldn't make her own decisions at times.
“Hey. Where exactly are we going? Should we not have some type of transport?” Picking up the pace, I ran over to Urila, tugging at his coat to gain his attention.
“...”
D-don't tell me. He didn't know where he was going either?! What mess did I get myself into?
“We will be getting mounts at Icewind Village” my uncle's bleak voice responded.
I couldn't help but breathe in a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't completely incompetent. Still, you should really lay out the plan first, as the leader of the group.
Icewind village was a small village, located close to our mansion. Lita would often come down there to purchase general goods like ingredients for the household. I was told it was rather small though? Where would they find the funding for a flying mount rental service? A local business perhaps?
“Hey, w-”
“Don't speak to me again until we get there.”
Twenty three.