Atop the horse, Lucien noticed Lynn looking at him from afar before racing off in the other direction. She was definitely the one listening in on us. I wonder, what is she going to do?

He had recognised the spark in her eyes from the moment she opened the door. That passionate and burning desire to help people. He knew she would make a fine guard one day. He wanted to know what she would do to change everyone’s opinion of her.

But of course, this was just a passing curiosity. He knew what was important, and wouldn’t let himself get distracted by this small amount of interest. He rode off, quickly leaving Paul and the village behind.

He was worried about their safety as the closest village to Locham, but he knew that was out of his hands. In this state, he wouldn’t be much help to them in a fight. Or really with anything for that matter. Good luck everyone. May the Goddess bless you.

He left the village behind, the sun sitting high above in the clear sky. It was well into the season of change by this point, and Lucien could feel it in the air. It was warm, and pleasant. The flowers by the roadside were blooming and beautiful, and the grass was fresh and vibrant.

Looking up at the sun above, he guessed that he still had a chance to reach the next village today. It wasn’t a guaranteed thing. If he got caught up in anything he wouldn’t be able to make it before nightfall. Even if nothing came to stop him there would still be a chance that he wouldn’t make it.

He knew he would be spending a lot of time with this horse from now on. Almost every hour until he reached Whitmore Castle would be spent in the saddle or camping next to the horse. So he spent this time further familiarising himself with the horse’s mannerisms and personality, as did the horse with his.

“I just realised, they never told me your name.” He stroked his fingers through the horse’s mane gently. “I can’t just call you horse this entire time.” He was lost in thought, but ended up drawing a blank. “Well, I’ve still got plenty of time.”

He spent the next few hours on the road with little problem. His legs were feeling a bit sore and stiff by now, so he had to come to a stop. He wasn’t familiar with horse riding, so he expected that his body wouldn’t be up to the task. I’ll get used to it. Eventually.

Coming to a stop, he hopped off the saddle to stretch his legs. He heard his stomach grumble and looked around his surroundings. Time to eat.

He led the horse to the grass on the side of the road and reached for the satchel. Rummaging around for something quick to eat, he pulled out a loaf of bread and snapped it in half.

Munching away at the dry bread, he unplugged his waterskin and washed the bread down. He also pulled out a small packet of dried berries that the elves prepared for him. They were delicious. Far more palatable than the bland bread he was having. It was just a shame that he wouldn’t get much sustenance from them.

Hard bread was going to be his staple food while he was on the road, as well as some dried meat. Everything else would spoil quickly, so if he wanted something better he would have to scrounge around or hunt for it himself.

But for now, he would make do with his bread and water. Finishing up his meal, and just as he was about to climb up into the saddle to set off, he noticed the horse’s ears twitch, as if it heard something.

He dropped his hand to the hilt of his sword as his eyes darted around in search of whatever had disturbed the horse. At first he thought the horse had reacted to a nearby predator, but when he saw that it wasn’t showing any signs of being nervous or skittish, he relaxed a little.

But that still didn’t mean he would let down his guard. He waited patiently for a while longer and was soon rewarded for it.

Off in the distance, back the way he came, he saw a shape growing as something drew closer to him. As the thing got closer and started to become recognisable, the sound the horse had heard also reached his ears.

At first it was faint, but it soon became unmistakable. It was the sound of a horse’s hooves hitting the dirt road. Someone else had left the village, probably not too long after he did. It gave him the feeling that he was being followed.

He didn’t make it too obvious that he was looking at them, in case he needed to catch them off-guard . Instead, he was combing his fingers through the horse’s mane while keeping an eye out over his shoulder.

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He relaxed his grip on his sword and kept observing the oncoming horse. When he was finally able to make out who it was, he sighed. It was Lynn. The young girl who had been staring at him before he left and the daughter of the guard captain.

I should have known. He held his face as a chuckle escaped his lips. He had already pieced together everything that happened. After eavesdropping on their conversation, she took a horse and followed after him.

She was riding a chestnut-coloured horse, probably the one he saw at the stable earlier, so it was likely that she didn’t have a horse of her own and saw fit that she could take one of the village’s horses.

Figuring she was here for him, he pretended that he was still taking a break from riding. Not that either he or the horse were complaining.

“Lucien!” Lynn shouted from atop the horse, clearly a little out of sorts.

Lucien turned around to face her. “Well if it isn’t Lynn, were you looking for me?” he asked with a calm smile.

She came to a stop next to him and jumped off the horse. A lock of her hair was stuck to her forehead from the sweat as she looked at Lucien with a slightly nervous attempt at a smile. “Yeah, there was something my dad wanted to talk to you about.”

She was hiding it well, but Lucien could tell that she was a little flustered and had come up with this excuse while she was rushing after him. “Oh? What did he want to say?”

“He wanted me to go with you. Said it would be a good idea to send someone from our village since we’re the closest to Locham. And, he wants me to try and get support from Lord Whitmore in case we were to get attacked,” she said. The more she spoke, the more sure of herself she sounded.

“That’s a good idea. Who knows where does bandits will strike next.” Lucien offered her some water and a berry to calm her nerves, which she gladly accepted. After she finished gulping down the water, he continued the conversation. “But did he really tell you that?”

Lynn stumbled handing the water back to him and almost spat out the berry that was in her mouth. She forcefully gulped it down and looked at Lucien nervously. “Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he?”

Lucien just looked at her the same way he would look at his kids when he knew they were lying. It didn’t take long for her to crack under the pressure of his gaze.

“Maybe he didn’t want to send me specifically. But he did say it,” she said nervously. But Lucien continued to just look at her. “Okay, it was my idea, but I did talk to him about it... I left a note.” The last part barely came out at a whisper.

Lucien turned around, hiding a smile as he went to climb into the saddle. Lynn slumped to the ground the moment he stopped looking at her. She felt like she had withered away under his gaze. It was so intimidating, and just like something her father would do.

“Come on. Get back on your horse,” Lucien called down to her, seeing that she hadn’t moved.

She slowly moved, reluctantly getting back onto the saddle and turning her horse around. “Are you sending me back? Sorry for troubling you.” She started riding back, but quickly stopped when she realised he wasn’t moving. She turned to look at him with confusion.

“I feel like you’re just going to run off again after I send you back. And I can’t have that weighing on my conscience. I have no choice but to let you come with me,” Lucien sighed while setting off further down the road to the next village.

Lynn paused for a moment before smiling widely. She turned the horse around and caught up with him, settling in by his side. “Thank you, thank you.” She clenched her fists, feeling overwhelmed with happiness.

“No need to thank me. I just thought it would be a good idea to have a second person to keep watch for me while I slept,” Lucien said.

The two rode on in silence, with only the sound of the horse’s hooves accompanying them. Lynn began to calm down. She had to put her best foot forward and take this seriously. What she had done was very risky, and some would even say incredibly stupid.

She had runaway from the safety and comfort of her home, and was now on the start of a journey longer than anything she had done before. She wasn’t just going to the next village over, or patrolling the surrounding area with the guards. She was going to cross half of the province.

She was going to be gone for a very long time, and who knew what challenges she would face? What if she ran into the bandits that had destroyed Locham? Then everything would have been for naught.

She was even in the company of a complete stranger that she had only met that day. This was the dumbest and most dangerous thing she had ever done. But she didn’t regret it. This was her chance to prove herself to everyone, even if it was risky.

If she stayed at home, she would be stuck doing menial chores for the rest of her life. And that’s not what she wanted for herself.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why does nobody trust you to help?” Lucien said, cutting into her thoughts, breaking the silence and dragging her back to the real world.

She looked at him and considered if she should tell him. Ultimately, she decided it was for the best to let him know. “My father had put me onto night watch duty at one of the entrances. It was my first time doing it, and also my first job as part of the guard, so he had someone else there with me to show me the ropes.”

“This was before news of the bandits had started to spread, so we would usually only need one person on duty at each gate and a couple people patrolling the outskirts. The guard with me thought it would be fine to leave me alone for a bit while he went to the bathroom.”

“And then something happened?” Lucien asked.

Yep,” Lynn said with a hollow chuckle. “Something snuck in through the fence without me noticing and snuck up on that guy while he was pissing. It was nothing serious. He only got scratched up a little and knocked off his feet. He barely even bled, and I had chased off the creature and helped him up, but he was furious.”

“He took it up with my dad and with the mayor, and soon everyone had heard what happened. Nobody really trusted me with anything big after that.”