Chapter 4: Of Lions and Goblins
After a short walk through the castle and through a courtyard, Elhaym and Tomoko met up with Fenix waiting by a large castle gate, two large travel packs at his feet.
“Hail Brother Elhaym!” Fenix called out as they approached, “Got your travel pack ready, a fortnight worth of food each, some gear, and camping supplies.”
“Fantastic job Fenix~” Elhaym picked up the heavy-looking pack with ease, Tomoko imagined she would've been crushed by its weight if she had tried. “We have a small detour on our way by-the-by.”
“Oh? A request from your father?” Fenix fixed his own pack on his back.
“Oho~ yes! Some silly bandits up north by the trade roads, should only be a day's journey out of the way really.” The duo (trio?) left through the gate and began walking to two magnificent horses tied to a post on the side of the road.
“Ah you brought Rosewater and Heartstring!” Elhaym reached over and gave one of the horses a scratch under its chin. The horse Elhaym was petting had a cream coat with what Tomoko swore were pink tinges on the end of its mane. The other horse was a dark gray, with stormy eyes. Both had impressive saddles, and armored barding on their flanks. Tomoko had never ridden a horse before, and was excited to experience this.
“They're the only ones I trust completely,” Fenix hopped up on Heartstring with incredible dexterity. Tomoko couldn't help but admire him as he settled himself on his saddle, then she began to wonder, can she only look at what Elhaym was looking at or was she able to see independently?
“I think you're able to look at what you want Tomoko, 'cause I was looking at Rosewater oho~” Elhaym chuckled as she just as deftly mounted her own horse. Elhaym gave Fenix a sly wink while he looked back confused.
“S-s-s-s-s-stop that!” Tomoko stammered, embarrassed. “He's going to think I'm so weird!”
“Nfufufu~ I'm just being what you might call a wingman~” Elhaym chuckled as she clicked her heels into Rosewater's sides. The horse began walking down the road, following after Fenix and Heartstring.
“I don't need a wingman just yet! Can we wait until I have a body?” Tomoko turned her attention to how it felt riding a horse. She liked how the rhythmic rocking back and forth felt, it washed over her like a soothing wave. But was that how she actually felt or was it how Elhaym felt she wondered.
“I think we both 'feel' the same things differently,” Elhaym chimed in, “We both physically feel the same thing, but how we 'feel' about it seems to be different nfufu~”
It took a second for Tomoko to wrap her head around it, but it made sense. Sure she could physically feel what Elhaym was touching, but that didn't take away her own emotions about things.
“So how do you feel about horse riding?” Tomoko was curious.
“Oh I love it, I've been riding since I could walk, Papa made sure to teach me everything on being a Knight of Crescentia, and the first thing you learn aside from swordplay is how to care for and ride a horse!” Elhaym reached down and pet Rosewater's muscly neck, “I raised Rosewater from a foal~”
“Oh wow that's amazing! I never had any animals growing up, I always wanted a dog or a cat!” Tomoko always lived in small cramped apartments that didn't allow pets.
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“Oh wait till you meet Cornflower! Nfufu~ She should be with Edgar!” Elhaym grinned mischievously.
“Cornflower? Is that another horse?” Tomoko had a feeling Cornflower was indeed, not a horse at all.
“Oh you'll see nfufu~” Elly chuckled as she picked up the pace to catch up to Fenix who was riding a good length ahead of them.
The group rode along the road, taking a pathway along a fork that led north. They slowed as they passed through the large town that surrounded the castle. Elhaym called it the town of Crescens, as they trotted along. She pointed out various landmarks to Tomoko as they made their way along a large paved road. Many people stopped and waved at the duo, many even cheering out Elhaym's name as they passed. Tomoko had the feeling she was a very beloved figure to the people, which comforted her. She remembered a lot of things she read about medieval history talked about how the royals were generally hated by the commoners and there was a large disparity between the living conditions between the two. But the people of Crescens seemed to live in very good conditions. The roads were clean, the people looked happy and lively. The buildings were a picturesque vision of what Tomoko imagined a fantasy town to be.
After some time the trio finished riding through town, and began following a large dirt road that went North. The sun was high in the air, but there was a nice refreshing breeze that washed over the group.
“What season is it in your world right now?” Tomoko loved the beautiful weather she was experiencing. There were colorful birds chirping along the grass on the sides of the road, big beautiful flowers that she had never seen before. The sky was a crystal blue without a cloud in sight.
“Oh, springtime! It's the best season for riding~” Elhaym took a deep breath, the scent of those flowers filled her nose, even from on top of her horse.
“Oh those smell so lovely! Nothing like I've ever seen before!” Tomoko loved how perfumey they were.
“We call them Moondrop Flowers! They only bloom the day after a full moon, and stick around for about a week before closing up until the next full moon,” Elhaym took another full breath for Tomoko to experience. “They're my favorite flowers!”
“I would love to have a garden of them one day!” Tomoko always wanted a small garden and was a hundred percent sure she wanted a whole garden of these wonderful flowers.
“I'll help you when you get your own place!” Elhaym chuckled.
“That would be lovely” Tomoko wish she could show Elhaym the warm smile she had.
The group picked up the pace and rode a bit harder North. Tomoko wasn't a huge fan of bouncing up and down the saddle, but did enjoy feeling the wind flow around her as they rode. It was a really liberating experience, she could see why some of her friends loved riding motorcycles and wish she took their offer to ride along before she had passed.
The group rode for a few more hours, the sun was lowering in the horizon before they slowed down in a tightly forested area of the road. Fenix had raised an armored fist signaling a stop, turned around and raised one finger to his lips for quiet.
Elhaym was on high alert, Fenix had the best senses of all of them and something must have alerted him. Just a moment had passed before Elhaym (and Tomoko) heard it too; the sounds of battle.
Elhaym quickly dismounted her horse, and tied her off to a tree nearby, Fenix did the same. Elhaym drew her sword from her belt as Fenix drew his from his shoulder sheath. Tomoko's heart was in her throat as Elhaym quickly made her way through the trees towards the sounds, Fenix disappearing through into the trees further to the side. After a few more yards they came upon a clearing where the battle was happening. A single wagon in the middle was surrounded by six men, various weapons in their hands. On top of the wagon was this short, green-skinned woman, holding what Tomoko recognized as a crossbow.
A couple bodies laid on the ground, covered in, rainbow sparkly ink? Tomoko was confused, she was sure there would be blood leaking out from the terrible wounds she saw, but everything that should be blood, was this sparkly rainbow ink color. Tomoko couldn't dwell on the thought long as she heard the green-skinned woman cry out for help and Elhaym charged in.
Elhaym was a tornado of steel. Tomoko expected the armor Elhaym wore to make her movements slow and deliberate, but it was quite the opposite. With incredible speed and ferocity, Elhaym spun and slashed through the bandits. Sparkly, rainbow ink spraying the spring air as Elhaym quickly dispatched the assailants. The last bandit fell with a pained gurgle. Tomoko (who had never been in a fight, let alone anything that involved killing aside from smacking mosquitos) was surprisingly calm about the situation. The 'sprink' as she was now calling it, made the scene of what should've been horrifying violence look absolutely cartoony.
“Oh my hero!!” Cried the green-skinned woman. She clambered out of the wagon and took a short tumble to the ground.
Elhaym reached down and offered the girl a hand up, who looked up with large, sparkling, red eyes. She had messy shoulder-length red hair, large eyes, a smile filled with fanged teeth, and two large leaf-shaped ears that flopped behind her shoulders. She was short, even to Tomoko, she was really short. Maybe thee and a half feet at Tomoko's guess.
The girl grabbed Elhaym's hand and picked herself up, her gaze not leaving the Princess' face. Tomoko recognized that look, it was the same look she would've given Fenix earlier: “Awooga!”
Tomoko chuckled to herself as the girl grasped Elhaym's hand with her other had too. She gazed lovingly into Elhaym's eyes, her long ears flopped a little.
“My hero~” The girl whispered unblinkingly.