After about three hours, the rolling green hills leveled out into farmland and eventually became sprawling city streets paved with stone. It was the first time I ever actually saw a real city from that world.
The houses were all made from intricately carved wood, making each building a piece of art. Just past the first district, there were giant stone walls with great towers every so often, each one with its own guard on the post holding a giant war bow.
Once we passed through the walls, the city became even more alive and vibrant. I couldn’t help but poke my head out the window. ‘I can smell the ocean.’
The houses inside the walls were even more extravagant, almost magical. The wood was a brilliant mix of orange red and black, and white banners decorated the streets. Even though it was still cold outside, there was a tree blooming in the center of town, wrapping and winding around everything as its roots gave the town life, its pink petals seeming to fall endlessly.
Airsidh glanced over at me from his horse, smirking. I quickly closed my mouth, trying not to gawk.
“We’ll be spending the rest of the day here, it’s best to avoid traveling at night, even if it’s only a bit by the end of the journey. Also, I have some business to take care of for father. So you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the city.”
‘If the city is this beautiful without magic, I wonder what other cities look like farther south.’ A few more minutes passed and the carriage was parked inside a garage out by the docs. Lu and I put on our cloaks and we walked back to the inn where we would be staying.
It all felt normal, nothing unusual was happening, but I still felt uneasy for some reason. It took me a while to realize why. ‘I haven’t seen a face I didn’t recognize in over 15 years… I guess I never got over my social anxiety so much as I was just never around strangers…’
Thankfully, Lu was long over her embarrassment and confidently did all the talking… Once again taking on the role of big sister, almost like she was trying to show off.
We got our rooms in no time, which of course was the royal suite, seeing as how my family owned the place. It was a collection of 5 separate bedrooms all exiting out into the main room, consisting of a massive bay window overlooking the previously mentioned giant tree and the ocean.
‘Well… I certainly don’t feel like a rat crawling around the attic anymore…’ Everything around me was intricately detailed, embroidered, and embossed, even the floor, while not intricate carved, was made from wood with unique spiraling grains that interconnected and overlapped.
It was enough to make my head spin.
“You’re heading out already?”
I turned back to the door to see Lu saying goodbye to Air. “That’s right. I have quite a bit to take care of, so I might not be back till late. Why don’t you show Siya around while I’m gone.”
‘Now that he went and said he raised her… He really does sound like her dad.’
“If you’re so busy then hurry up and just leave already!” She yelled, slamming the door in his face.
‘That was a quick turnaround… Well, whatever. Even if she doesn’t want to go I can see enough of the city from this window. I’d rather not have to deal with so many new faces…’ Regardless, I did what I said and helped Lu get dressed again from scratch, teaching her how to do it properly.
Baffling me again, she wasn’t shy or anything, seeming to be embarrassed by only the things I wasn’t, and vice versa, at least to an extent. After that, we both agreed that wearing pants was better, so we put on our leather greaves under the dresses. Since it was still a bit cold out it wasn’t too much of an issue.
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I’d have rather changed entirely, but it seemed pretty important that we wore those garments specifically while traveling. Something about them having our family crest and clearly distinguishing who we were for the people who wouldn’t recognize our faces.
“That’s better.” I let out a puff of air as I sank down onto one of the cushioned chairs, letting my head cool off from my own embarrassment already exhausted from what didn’t even cover a third of the total journey. Even after sitting down for a while, I could still feel a faint heat in my cheeks, although, after checking in a mirror I could see at least the color was normal. Still, I tried to stay optimistic, it seemed likely we wouldn’t be talking about past traumas the whole way there, and with my sister's issues taken care of, I didn’t have much to be worried or embarrassed over anymore. ‘Finally, some peace and quiet…’ I sighed, looking out the window. ‘I want a bagel…. A blueberry bagel… Do they have those in this world? It’s just bread right, what makes a bagel different than bread?’
“Yeah. I’ll be a lot more comfortable fighting like this.”
I let my head roll backward on the chair until I found myself looking at her upside down. “Let’s hope we don’t have to do any of that, I’d rather just take another nap.” As I looked at her my eyes twisted and rotated inside my skull until I was looking at her right side up, even though my head hadn’t moved. The sensation gave my whole body chills and made me snap and sit up straight, but that only made them rotate again until I felt nauseous.
“You’re still tired? Haven’t you slept enough? Uh… Siya?”
“Sorry, I uh…” ‘How do I even explain what just happened…’ “My eyes are just a bit sore still…”
She paced back and forth a few times before ending up in front of me, bouncing up and down on her feet, her dress gently swaying as she pulled her hands up. “Every time we come here I beat up the barracks and go a few rounds with the guards.”
“I think you mean hit up the barracks…” I ground, rubbing my eyes. They didn’t actually hurt so much as just freak me out, but they seemed to be normal again, so I was ok.
She grabbed her sword and latched it onto her back. “So, you coming with?”
I paused, staring at her for a moment. I still hadn’t held a sword since I killed the demon that was haunting me… Even the thought of it still brought back memories. ‘I’ve had enough fighting for a lifetime… But, I’d be nervous if I was left all alone around so many new faces…’ “Maybe… Is it ok if I just watch?” ‘I’d be nervous letting her go off on her too if I’m being honest…’
She grinned. “I’ll finally get to show you what I can really do!”
‘Well, her confidence is as strong as ever.’ “Just try not to get carried away and hurt someone...”
In no time flat we had already wandered through the city enough for me to have a pretty good map of it in my head. ‘Given the layout of the streets we’ve walked so far, we’re actually headed back towards the inn right now…’ “Hey, Lu?”
She hesitantly turned around, nervous, and stiffening up at the sound of my voice. “Yeah?”
‘She already looks so sad… I guess she knows we're lost too… Maybe I won't ask then...’ “What does the barracks look like?” ‘If it’s anything like ours, then it would be attached to the stone walls, and probably made from stone as well.’
“Uhm… Well, it’s really big, and, oh, it’s surrounded by huge walls, it’s kind of like our home, but a bit smaller I guess? Like it’s got stables, and an archery range and stuff.”
‘So less of a barracks and more like a castle… Well, it shouldn’t be too hard to find then. Castles are considered the safest place in any given area, and so they are also most likely the most expensive to live near.’ “So it’s made of stone?”
“Yeah, it's pretty big too, and there's a river that runs right along next to it.”
‘Bingo.’ “Ok… does that mean that if we go towards the river we’d be able to see it?” ‘The river ran under the giant tree next to the inn, and it would only make sense that it would be near the place where we were staying.’
It was mostly just an educated guess, but as the area started to look more expensive my feelings grew stronger. ‘The castle would be the safest place, and thus the most expensive land would be near the castle, rather than the coast like in a more modern city.’
Before I knew it we arrived. Giant towering stone walls and imposing guards, each one bearing my family's coat of arms, ‘Yup, that’s a castle…’ They weren’t anything like the old mercenaries that I hung out with back at home. Suddenly it felt like I was a real noble. Although it was hard for it to set in that my family owned it, much less the whole town.
“Identify yourselves.” Two large men crossed their great swords on the ground in front of us.
‘I guess we should announce our full names then right? And probably our titles too.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Just speak clearly, and with confidence… It may seem like fiction, but it’s not a lie… It’s my real name…’ I felt a chill run through my whole body as I started to mutter, stopping myself. ‘No… This is my first time announcing my name. I have to do it right.’ I took another deep breath and stepped forward. “I am–”
Before I could get it out Lu had pulled her greatsword and knocked out both the guards, leaving me both speechless and dumbfounded, giving me another wave of chills. “What are you doing? You can’t just do that!”
She flipped her sword up on her shoulder and smiled brightly as she glanced back at me, resting a foot on one of the unconscious guards. “Huh? What do you mean, I just did though… Well, I guess if they were strong it might have been harder, but I could have probably still done it about like this, maybe thrown in a faint or something to take out the second one. Anyway, you coming? Grab one of there swords for defense just in case.”
“I–Uh—Huh?” I wasn’t sure what words I was trying to muster, but whatever they were, they certainly weren’t coming out.