"I'm so happy to see you again!" Isla practically threw herself into Gwyneth's arms. Gwyneth was only too happy to see her friend whom she missed so much.

"Me too! I..." Gwyneth trailed off noticing the half-Fae practically throw herself at Aston who seemed to be debating whether to dodge, ultimately doing nothing and letting himself be tackled to the ground.

"I'm so happy to see you too! I feel like I haven't seen either of you in forever! What did you do? Did you eat? Well, you had to have eaten— or maybe you didn't? Did you meet the prince and princess?" Isla's questions never ended as she unintentionally kept Aston pinned to the ground, her body turned away to face the others.

"There will be time for that later." Elric helped her up before offering a hand to Aston who swiftly refused.

The Fae had found the horses that had been spooked in the forest and graciously returned them to their riders. Isla's unicorn that had been confiscated had also been returned. Now they would head for Cathrul. Though they hadn't intended to visit proper, Elric's new shield left them curious.

"If you're all ready, I will be accompanying you." A Fae with short blue hair approached the group, his hair styled upwards almost forming a triangle. His walk was nonchalant, and from his expression, he seemed to expect the group to already know who he was.

"And you are?" Elric asked.

"Notus. Did Florian not inform you that I am to accompany you to Cathrul?"

"We haven't exactly seen him since the match," Aston explained. "His ego is too sore for him to come out."

Gwyneth elbowed him.

"I see." Notus mounted his unicorn. "If you are ready, let us be off."

The group shared a few glances, silently communicating about their new partner before shrugging it off. The king had given them his blessing, after all. Extra help wouldn't be frowned upon.

---

Their journey through the forest was filled with conversation, Aston and Gwyneth catching up with Isla and Elric. Aston of course exaggerated his magic training. Notus on the other hand tried to tune the group out.

"Humans. Always so loud." The Fae huffed.

"Not much changes in your little village, right?" Isla asked. "I guess it makes sense that there wouldn't be much conversation." She thought back to her own time. Outside of barking instructions, the Fae didn't seem to interact with each other much. Isla and Elric on the other hand...

The conversation didn't die down at night either.

"I'm just saying the Aecerian barracks could learn a thing or two about private lodgings." Elric placed his hands up defensively.

"Yes, yes. I'll forward your request along." Gwyneth playfully rolled her eyes, elbowing her friend in the side.

"Don't you have your own room? Have you even stayed in the barracks before?" Aston asked.

"I stayed there for a couple of weeks once. Mostly by choice." Elric shrugged. "I understand I'm more privileged than the other trainees, and it is not something I take lightly."

"Hence your decision to continue using a private room." Isla giggled.

"Yes, well..." Elric coughed uncomfortably.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The others quietly laughed, taking in the view before them. Aston had already set up tents around the campfire they built. He felt extra generous and allowed the group to decide on food. The scene was almost picturesque — if you ignored the hunched-over Fae sulking away from the fire.

"What's wrong?" Isla approached Notus who somehow seemed to curl up even more. "Are you not enjoying the food?"

"It's meat." Notus huffed.

"R-Right..." Isla momentarily forgot the Fae didn't eat meat out of preference, not because of the lack thereof. "How about another Aecerian specialty? Aston's quite fond of pancakes-"

"It's fine. I have nutrient suppliers."

Isla shuddered at the name of the dreaded pill that she and Elric were forced to consume. The other Fae seemed to have time for meals and whatever vague hobbies they might pursue, but she and Elric were always kept on a strict schedule. Likely because of the lack of time they had to complete their training.

"I'll be in my tent. Try not to wake me before sunrise." Notus pushed himself up, making his way to the tiny green tent near the perimeter of their camp.

"Give it some time." Gwyneth smiled, patting the seat next to her.

"I want to hear more about the prince and princess." Isla eagerly sat beside her friend, eyes wide and ears listening.

"The prince I didn't speak with much. The princess..." Gwyneth trailed off.

"You stopped visiting her after a while and never told me why. What was that about?"

"She tricked me." Gwyneth clenched her fists. "She led me to where the Fae govern over the deceased. That's where I learned that the incantation Isla used to dispel the ghosts was forbidden among the Fae. They... They made me tell the truth. I'm not sure how, but they knew I was lying when I tried to take the blame."

"You really tried to cover for me?" Isla frowned.

"Of course! It was my mistake."

"Not really. You're not the one who used the incantation." Aston scratched his head, baffled by his friend's selflessness.

Isla on the other hand gave the princess a big hug. "Thank you. That means more to me than you know."

"B-But I was the one who incriminated you!" Gwyneth frowned.

"Not on purpose!"

"They sensed you were lying?" Elric interrupted. "Since when have they had that ability?"

"They don't. It was a bluff." Aston crossed his arms.

"And how would you know?"

"Because they never caught me when I lied-" Aston quickly covered his mouth. "Uh, not that I ever did, haha..."

Gwyneth blinked. "Was it really just a bluff? It seems risky to bluff something like that, especially if it could be useful in the future."

"Perhaps the prince and princess are special cases?" Isla offered.

"Dunno." Aston leaned back, lying on the ground. "The Princess seemed to buy the idea that her priceless silk had been stored in her closet."

"Aston, you didn't!" Gwyneth fumed. She knew how much that silk meant to Camellia. It came from Aeceria, after all. Oh well; perhaps she could get more when the Fae traded their isabells for metal.

"If it's not royalty that has this ability, what could it be?" Elric rested his chin on his hand.

"Does it matter? We've already left and we're never going back. I hope," Aston said.

"Guess not..." Gwyneth began to feel a little suspicious of their new closed-off Fae friend. Had the king really wanted an escort for them? He did want them to visit Cathrul for one reason or another. Gwyneth found herself believing there was a deeper meaning behind everything.

Two more days flew by as the group continued across the forest. The farther away from Losufea the more it appeared to be a regular forest. Trees became shorter, sunlight began to leak through, and flowers became less vibrant. It wasn't long before they reached the dry rocky cliffs near the border of Cathrul. However, what caught Aston's attention most was the view in the distance.

"Is that a desert directly next to a snowy tundra?" Aston blinked.

"Yes. Yes, it is," Notus answered directly.

"Now how did that happen?"

"Five hundred years ago, the war between Losufea and Cathrul. When our queen was killed mercilessly by the Cathruli we cast half their land into an eternal winter."

Aston began to understand the Acerians' fear of Fae. He was half surprised they hadn't cursed Aeceria similarly.

"I think the bigger question is how do we get down from here?" Isla asked, gazing down into the canyon below her.

"There's a path over this way. Come." Notus beckoned. Sure enough, a path to the left led down the canyon. From the looks of it, they would reemerge upwards on the other side. Or at least, that was the plan.

After walking for a bit, the path diverged into two. One seemed to wrap around the canyon hugging the walls, while the other seemed more direct, albeit, less stable. There were many cracks in the rocky ground, and it was far dustier than the other path.

"Are you certain the path is stable?" Elric questioned Notus.

"Last I checked, yes. You may test it if you're so concerned."

Elric sighed, sliding off his horse. He took a slow hesitant step forward. So far it seemed stable. Another step, seemingly fine. He turned to face his companions, satisfied with his findings.

And the ground crumbled beneath him.