Violet got up before the sun the next day. The excitement of the upcoming trip made it nearly impossible for her to sleep. She woke up several times worried that she would be late getting to the palace. They would meet their fourth team member at the royal stables.

Regina was picking on her by withholding information about their fourth member. All Violet knew was that his name was Rick, and he trained Zane while he was growing up. It seemed the Queen was not taking any chances with the safety of this mission. An elite guard was the equivalent of ten regular fighters. She wouldn't be surprised if Zane was worth more because he had ancient magic on his side.

Rather than roll over and attempt to get back to sleep, Violet decided it was time to get up and get dressed for her trip. While dresses were what most women wore, it thankfully wasn’t taboo for them to wear pants. It was expected for women traveling to be wearing pants simply for practicality.

The clothes she picked for this trip were something you would see any traveler wearing throughout the queendom. They wanted to blend in as much as possible, so she put on a pair of brown leather pants, knee-high black boots, and a tan loose-fitting cotton-like shirt. It was still warm out, but she made sure to pack clothing for the colder weather. She would decide if she wanted a cloak on when she went outside.

No matter how much Violet ate and worked out, she could not gain weight. Looking in the mirror, she hoped she was just a late bloomer. Her chest was small enough not to require a breast band which Violet loved and hated at the same time. She styled her long blonde hair in a french braid that reached her lower back. Rubber bands had not been invented on Zogara yet, so she tied it off with a small leather strap.

She grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Based on the weight of her backpack, she wouldn't be surprised if she ended up tossing more items in her Void Storage. Hopefully, the crown had come up with a solution for transporting their things. Based on where they were meeting, she was hopeful that they would at least have one amberclaw to help them carry items.

Last night before bed, she had said goodbye to her parents because she was leaving so early. She was going to miss the comforts of having an actual bed to sleep in at night. Regina promised to bring a map with her that they could bring for reference. From what Violet understood, they would be sleeping on the road quite a bit during their trip.

It was about a half-hour before the sun would rise, and the landscape was saturated with bluish light. She was thankful for the light because it helped her navigate the cobblestone road leading up to the palace. The castle was the largest structure in all of Crown City, but it was still only about half the size of the largest ancient building in the Dominion.

She was not the first member of their party to reach the stables, to her surprise. Zane was standing outside the stables talking to the largest beastkin she had ever seen. Regina had introduced her to Zane yesterday when she had dropped by to receive another aspect.

Zane was easy to talk to and had a smile that could light up a room. His wavy blond hair and ice-blue eyes made her heart melt. It was clear he did not skimp on training by his physique. He had a toned body with well-defined muscles that were not over-the-top. She was reserving her judgment until she knew him a little better, but she may have just found her first crush on Zogara.

Zane waved at her and introduced his companion when she approached the pair. “Hi Violet, I’d like you to meet my mentor and our traveling companion, Rick. Rick, this is Violet. She is one of the reasons the Queen made us sign secrecy contracts.”

“Hello! It’s nice to meet you, Rick.” She said and nodded at him. Handshakes were a thing from Earth that did not translate over to Zogara. It was considered polite to nod in greeting or when introduced to someone. Violet found it interesting that Alexandra did not have her sign a contract. Perhaps the main secret was her uniqueness, and the Queen felt it wasn’t required.

Rick was a poster child for how she pictured a beefcake. He was at least seven feet tall with a muscular body. His legs, arms, and upper chest were large, but it was clear they would not hinder him if he needed to move quickly. His face was primarily human, with a larger than average nose and rounded bear ears on the sides of his head. There was also black fur covering what she could see of his entire body.

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He grunted at her in greeting.

“Don't mind Rick. He can speak, but we usually have to drag the words out of him,” Zane said good-naturedly.

Regina chose that moment to arrive, leading a procession of servants carrying several bags. “Oh good, we are all here. Mom was able to procure a merchant cart with an amberclaw team for us.”

They all followed Regina to a large wagon. There was a covered seat for the driver and a passenger to sit in the front. Behind the seat was a wooden window that could be opened to speak to those riding in the back. The only entrance to the eleven-foot area in the back was from the wagon’s rear. There was a door that opened down to form a ramp.

When she looked inside, it was a large open box. Rick would need to duck every time he entered because it was a little over six feet tall and seven feet wide. Along both sides, several shelves could fold out. During the day, some shelves could be used as a bench to sit on with access to a table. Two larger shelves would hold a bedroll for people to sleep on at night.

The majority of their supplies were packed under a net on top of the wagon. After Regina’s workers were finished, the carriage had gained two extra feet in height. Violet hoped they did not plan on going through any heavily forested areas. There was nothing small about their home away from home.

“Carriages this big aren’t often made. It requires two amberclaws to pull, and the only way you can get an amberclaw close to another of their kind is to have a mated pair.” Regina said once the grooms went to retrieve their animals.

The two beasts that were led out to the wagon were beautiful. Tamed amberclaws were intelligent creatures that loved to be near people. Their wild cousins would gladly eat someone for a meal, but those tamed were an asset to any journey. Depending on the level of training, they doubled as another guard and could help with defense.

The large cats were introduced to each member of their party. They were a mated pair named Raya and Hunter. Both animals had a black fur coats. Reya had electric blue and green lines along her legs and a few lines along her back. In contrast, Hunter had white spots on his chest and brown marks along his legs.

Regina had started to cry when the animals were brought out of the stable. She tried to hide it, but nobody was fooled. When Violet asked what was wrong, Regina said, “Those are the mated pair Louis tamed with his Nature magic. He is the only one of us kids that took after mom and started with Nature magic. We still don't know what Rex will get for his second school of magic.”

“We will get justice by finding a way to neutralize their new weapon and destroy them on the battlefield,” Zane said while Rick nodded along with a hard look in his eye.

“Ok, let us get moving. We will have two days roughing it on the road before reaching a town along our route. I was able to procure a map of our destinations.” Regina said to distract herself.

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“Each dot represents around three to four hours of travel time. If we keep that pace, our travel alone will take us 112 days. How long we stop at each site will depend on what we find. My mom expects our journey to last around six months or 240 days.”

That reminded Violet that Zogara had 480 day years instead of the 365 from Earth. She was sixteen on Zogara, but she would be twenty-one on Earth. It seemed that Zogarans aged slower than people from Earth because Violet was still experiencing her teenaged growth spurts.

After looking at the map, Violet added the aviary and the ancient site located there to her mental map. For some reason, Regina’s map did not have them marked. If Violet had to guess, that was Avery’s doing. That bird valued her secrecy.

Thinking of Avery somehow caused Rio to appear. After making his introductions, he had found ways to entertain himself away from Violet. She was happy to see he was still around if she needed help. He flew down and perched himself on top of their carriage, ready for the adventure to begin.

Rick stepped up into the driver’s seat when they were ready to leave. This, of course, caused Zane and Regina to argue over who got to ride in the passenger seat. Violet stood off to the side to watch the duo butt heads.

It only took a few minutes before Rick said in a gruff voice, “Zane front, Regina too noticeable.”

Regina joined Violet in the back of the vehicle with a pout while the boys drove them out of the city, heading southeast across the river.