‘’Hey!’’

They were galloping down the road in the direction of the next city, talking about everything and nothing, when someone called out to them from far away.

Viviane stopped her horse to get a better look, noticing Misha doing the same.

‘’wait!’’

Squinting her eyes, she noticed a blur running toward them coming from behind. She decided to get off her horse. If it was friendly, then she would be able to talk to them, if not, it would be easier to use her sword. The prince stayed on his, probably to be able to get help if necessary.

Now that it was closer, Viviane could see that it was human-shaped at least. Finally, the person stopped in front of the mage, taking a minute to compose himself after running for who knows how long.

‘’Hi!’’ After regaining his breath, the young man looked Viviane stray in the eye before greeting her. She couldn't help but notice his gold eye, matching the blond of his hair. He was a bit shorter than her, but not enough that she needed to look down to speak with him.

He glanced briefly at Misha before going back to her ‘’Are you two royal knights? I saw the royal crest on your clothes…’’ The blond man questioned them.

Viviane was surprised he was able to see the crest on their clothes from where he was earlier. Nonetheless, she answered ‘’Yes we are, my name is Viviane and this is Misha. How can we help you?’’She introduced them following the knight protocol when dealing with citizens.

The man grinned, destabilizing the mage ‘’Great! I would really like some help! My name is Limel, by the way.’’ he seemed very excited for someone who needed help.

’’I’m an adventurer’’ he pulled his adventurer card as proof, waving it ‘’And I got separated from my party this morning. Last night everything was fine, but when I got up ‘poof!’ I was alone!’’ He mimed an explosion with his hand. ’’Like, not even the tent was there, only my bag. can you believe it?’’ And now he was waiting for some sort of response.

‘’mmm...no?’’ Viviane said, still not sure of where he was going. God this man has energy.

‘’Me neither! There has to be a reason; they probably got taken by monsters!’’ he said after a dramatic gasp. Why did Viviane get to feeling she was being told a ghost story next to a campfire? The tone of voice was the same.

‘’So, I’m trying to go to the next city.’’ Wait what, the mage was starting to get whiplash, where is he coming from?

‘’Here my problem: where is it? Also, I really don’t like being alone’’ having said that he took Viviane's hands in his and looked up ‘’ Can I travel with you to the next city?’’ Viviane had to tear her gaze away from Limel's puppy eye. She needed to clear her head before making a decision, this conversation destabilized the mage for a reason and she will not continue before knowing it.

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dislodging her hands from Limel she started, opting for her knight-in-duty voice. ‘’Nice to meet you Limel. I understand your request, it is very unfortunate that you lost your companions. Let me consult with my colleague to know if we will be able to help you. You can stay here and we will be just there, ok?’’ pointing to the forest border not far.

‘’oh! Yeah, no problem. Take your time, I will be here’’ he said right before plopping down, sitting with his leg crossed.

Taking a deep breath she led her horse to the forest border, Misha being not far. He dismounted his horse to more easily talk with her.

‘’I..I...what was that??’’ she said with feeling. She could see in his gray eye that Misha was very close to laughing at her.

He shook it off, wanting to be serious ‘’ In summary, He need help getting to the next city. We can definitely do that, but there is too much inconsistency in his story.’’ The prince raised his hand counting along ’’first, he didn't look sad about losing his party, I only saw excitement in his body language. Second, he dressed more like a city outing than an adventurer journey’’ Now that he said it, the knee-long short, short-sleeve shirt and vest were not adapted to outdoor life. ’’Third, from my point of view, he seemed like he was pressuring you into agreeing, omitting details.’’

‘’That's it! That's what’s been bugging me! No sadness and giving me no time to think. Now I feel better’’ she said letting out a sigh of relief.’’What do you think we should do?’’

Misha looked at the young man sitting in the grass passing the time by humming a song. ’’I think he doesn't want us harm, he is just very eager to get to know new people. We don’t know what his party is like so we can't judge him on his reaction yet. I say we ask him why he wants to go to the next city and then we make a decision.’’

‘’ok, do you mind doing it?’’ She was not used to happy-go-lucky guys like Limel, all her friends were the serious type.

He gave her a nod, agreeing easily.

They got back to the blond man who got up the moment he saw them moving. Misha asked him the question. Limel was confused before lighting up ‘’I did not say? Right! I believe I will find some clues about my party's disappearance in the next city. Maybe I will even find them!’’ He said bouncing in place.

The prince looked at her wanting confirmation. After thinking it over this wasn’t a hard choice. Her duty as a knight alone could make it for her. She gave him a nod.

‘’Ok, you can join us on our path to the city, and we will help you find your companions. You don’t have a horse, so if you don't mind you can mount with me. we will ask you more detail tonight regarding their disappearance.’’

‘’Really? Yes! thank you for accepting me into your party, you don’t how much it’s mean to me!’’ Limel said, a big grin on his face, he took his bag still on the floor, and approached Misha. This was an odd way to phrase it, Viviane thought.

They set off to continue their journey, Viviane on one horse, Limel and Misha on the other. It was only mid-day which means they could travel for at least 4 hours before setting camp. Surprisingly the time passed rapidly, Limel making conversation with the others, never running out of a subject. He was good at storytelling, making the right pause to build suspense.

Viviane found herself warming up to him, even if she was still on guard. They didn't have all the information necessary to trust Limel fully, plus, she only knew him for less than a day; you never know.