Britina stood beside her chestnut horse, double-checking her bags. She ran through a mental list of her items: a few dresses, her journal, her favorite soap, soap for Prunhiline (who always "forgot" hers), the mission document, and some rations. She was proud of her organizational skills. She was ready for their week's journey into the mountains. Thankfully, their planned route had many small villages with inns. She hated to "rough it."

Prunhiline stood beside her large black Percheron, who looked as wild as its owner. But it was a reliable horse and was fearless, brave, and as foolhardy as the warrior. Prunhiline was running down a mental list of what she had packed. She had her sword, daggers, war hammer, fork, and spoon (reserved for “special occasions”). She also had hidden several spicy romance novels in a secret pocket in her saddlebags. She never needed rations because she was an excellent hunter like everyone in her tribe.

"Hey, Bri," Prunhiline called over her large horse, "How many weapons did you bring?"

Britina thought for a moment. "None," she finally answered. The roads weren’t known to be dangerous, and her magic was often more effective than any weapon.

"What?" The warrior exclaimed, "Why? You need a weapon."

Britina sighed. This was an argument they often had. "No, dear love, I don't. I have my magic."

"Yeah, and you are great at it, but you know as well as I do that a good weapon can be useful." Prunhiline lectured the mage, her concern touching Britina.

"Well, then I have you to protect me," Britina said with a smile. She knew that Prunhiline, for all her chaos and brashness, would protect her. She had proved that often and recently.

Prunhiline rummaged in her saddlebag, causing her weapons to clank loudly. She finally found what she wanted and walked over to Britina, handing her a dagger. Compared to her other daggers, this was the smallest one, but for Britina, it was a good size dagger. Prunhiline's other "daggers" were short swords for average warriors.

"This is for you," Prunhiline said. "It's my favorite. I trust both you with it and it with you." Prunhiline smiled as Britina inspected the dagger.

"Why is this your favorite?" Britina asked. The dagger was plain yet very sharp due to the warrior's skill in tending to her weapons. The sheath was black with no markings, and the hilt was wrapped in a simple black leather band. Britina pulled the dagger from its sheath and saw no markings on it.

"It's the dagger I bought the day I met you," Prunhiline said as she returned to her horse. She was ready to ride!

This statement made Britina gasp. This six-foot-seven loud, obnoxious plains-woman could be the kindest, most considerate person. Britina always found herself caught off guard by the strange warrior. Maybe being accidentally married to her best friend wasn't so bad.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The two women mounted their horses and began their journey out of the city. Many citizens knew the two women; they waved and cheered as they passed. A few of the guards were happy to see them go, just for them to have a break from the chaos that followed the tall warrior.

"Britina!" Yelled Madam Tealie from the door of her tea shop. Britina loved going to her cafe and having a nice cup of tea while she read or discussed various literature with the well-read shop owner. Britina and Prunhiline stopped as the woman walked out into the street. She carried a box. "Here, dear," she said, handing it to Britina. "I hope this tea will bring you comfort on your journey."

"Thank you, Madam Tealie," Britina said with a big smile. She wondered what kinds of tea she’d find on the journey, but having an old favorite along was comforting.

"Don't drink it all in one night, dear," Madam Tealie advised. "You'll want to save some for the entire journey."

Britina laughed, "I'll make sure to save some. It'll remind me of here. I'm excited to try all the new kinds of tea while we travel."

"I heard you were going to the dwarven capital?" Madam Tealie said, "You'll not have any tea there." It was Britina's turn to be confused. "Dear, dwarves hate tea. You'll likely not find any there or at any inn." The confusion on Britina's face turned to shock. "Sorry, dear. It's a capital drink. The outlying lands only drink ale and beer."

Prunhiline heard beer and ale. She whooped with excitement. "That's my kinda place!"

Britina shot Prunhiline a dirty look and then looked back at Madam Tealie with a thankful smile. "Thank you very much!"

"Good luck, you two!" Madam Tealie called, waving as she returned to her shop.

The two adventurers made their way out of the city gates. The last of the guards cheered and waved goodbye. The two would be missed, but a break from them was welcomed.

Britina pondered what the Dwarven capital would be like while Prunhiline daydreamed of ale, food, and the thrill of killing things.

"Dear love," Britina said, getting Prunhiline's attention. "We need to discuss our living arrangements when we get back."

"Oh yeah, I've been thinking about that," Prunhiline said excitedly. Britina was impressed that the warrior had given it some thought. "We could get a big tent and camp out."

"No," Britina said firmly. "I was thinking something homier."

"Well, I grew up in a tent," Prunhiline said gloomily.

"I was thinking we should build ourselves a house," Britina said.

"A house? Why?" Prunhiline didn't like the dorms and wasn't thrilled with a house.

"Well, no one in the city will rent to us," Britina paused, "for... reasons." Prunhiline looked up at the sky, knowing she was the reason. "If we built a house, we could decide how it’s designed and wouldn’t have to worry about incidents." Again, Prunhiline knew what incidents were being alluded to. (Yes, dear reader, more stories for another time.)

"Ah, Bri, I'm not big on being inside," Prunhiline said.

"I know, dear love, but we could have a large yard for you to play in, I mean, practice in." Britina smiled. "I could have a library, a study, and a large, marvelous bath."

The word bath made Prunhiline shudder. "Yeah, bath, great."

"Just give it some thought, dear love." Britina smiled at the tall warrior riding her giant horse. She knew she had time for her to convince the outdoorsy warrior.

"Hey, Bri?" Prunhline asked.

"Yes, Prunhline." Britina sighed.

"Did we forget something?" Prunhline asked, looking back at the shrinking city.

"No, we have our clothes, food, books, weapons, um, and, um…." Britina stopped.

"The demon!" both shouted in unison.

Prunhiline glanced at Britina, who finally shrugged. "I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’ll deal with it when we get back."

Britina felt the craziness was behind them. They would be at the first inn by nightfall, and Britina looked forward to a pleasant, quiet journey. The universe chuckled.