"There's been an assassination attempt on Queen Leona of Coltend. She… she's gathered enough information to determine that it was of Harutian order, so she's going there personally to investigate," he said, his tone dropping in frustration. "That's fucking suicide. If she knows where they came from, why the fuck is she going straight to the source?" I asked, feeling my brother's frustration at Leona's lack of tactical knowledge.
"I think there's more to it than that. She'd have Thorsen by her side and making sure she didn't do anything rash. I'm confident they didn't make this decision lightly, especially not with him being a former synner," Bernar said, rubbing his chin. "Well, you'd better keep making sure he does his job," I nudged, trying to loosen the very visible strain on his features. "W-what?" he asked, taken aback.
"Listen, shit-head, we all know about your situation with Leona, to include Aurae and Ysevel, might I add," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But right now, she's going to need you more than ever, especially if she's going straight into the country where these supposed assassins came from. Mom and I will be fine, so go. She needs you, I know she does," I said, encouragingly.
Bernar looked at me with both confusion and admiration. He let his face fall a little, as he broke into a heavy-hearted smile. "You've grown up, you little shit," he said, tousling my hair. "Fine, I'll go, but I swear to the gods both above and below, if something happens to you or mom…" he let his words hang.
"You'll kill me, I know. Bold of you to assume I'm not opposed to that after that letter from she-who-shall-not-be-named," I said sarcastically, giving my best shrug. He tilted his head as a thin-lipped smile grew on his face. "Damn you," he chuckled.
"Go, Bernar. You might catch her in time to meet her on the Rhydian Pass," Vyra chimed in after approving nods from all of us. He nodded his head in return, gripped the hilt of his blade, and dashed off faster than I'd ever gone using my second stage.
Holy shit, I thought, feeling the resulting gust of wind smack my face.
"Son, we should be on our way, too. It normally takes about a day or so for a carrier raven to make it here, so we're probably already late for the fun," my mother said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Give me a minute to grab my things, I'll meet you at the stables. Is anyone else coming with us?" I asked, looking at the others. "I will. There might be something these tracks hold that I can learn from," Derion said in an eerily excited voice. Both my mother and I nodded our understanding. "And I will be going as well," a familiar voice came from behind me. "Ysevel, why are you here?" I asked, turning to face her.
She was already dressed and prepared for the journey, with a single-strap satchel hanging across her chest. Her armor reminded me a lot of my mother's but something about it seemed different, and I couldn't place what for the life of me. "Since when do you have armor like that?" I asked, moving in to inspect it more closely.
Without realizing it, I had drawn a line with my eyes from her stomach, to her pauldrons, and then straight to her chest in quick succession. "Oh, I-I'm sorry," I said, realizing I had been staring at her chest for a lot longer than I had meant to. "The ladies are covered, nothing to apologize for. Though I will admit the detailing around them is superb," she said, tracing a pair of lines with her index fingers along the details of the armor.
"Nevermind that, it fits you like it was entirely made for you," I noted, seeing not a centimeter of fabric, leather, or chain-link out of place. The leather, covered in what I could only guess were some kind of warding runes, seemed to hum with mana, though I couldn't tell what sort of element it came from, or if it even was elemental at all.
"It does, doesn't it? Curious," she said in jest, giving my mother a knowing wink. "Did you have this made for her?" I asked, noticing the exchange. "Not exactly," my mother replied, childishly looking away. I could only chuckle, but reality kicked in soon after. "So why are you coming with us?" I asked. "Surely your mother doesn't approve of putting your life in potential danger," I said, trying to lean on the fact that she was fucking royalty and not some mere commoner like myself.
"Mother always encourages me to go if I have Siraye with me. Says I might learn a thing or two about fighting and battles for when it's my time to rule by the future king's side, and what I should do in them should the need ever arise. Scrolls and books will only take you so far, you know," she said, giving me a wink. I could only smile in return. I knew, deep down, that I had been no different from her in a sense; always wanting to prove myself or learn something new in the process for personal development reasons.
"Alright then, I won't argue with that," I conceded. "Also, our mothers thought that now would be a good time for you to have some company of someone closer to your age," she added, a soft rush of blood reaching her cheeks.
Really, mom? I asked. I-I don't know what you're talking about, she replied curtly. Elhael has no idea she's coming with us, and neither does Aurae, do they? I asked, mentally chagrined. Elhael would likely age a thousand years if he heard she was coming with us. What she said about her mother, however, was entirely true, she replied, doing her best not to show the same, shit-eating grin my brother would've had in moments like this.
"If you two are done doing… whatever the hell that just was, I'd recommend Thoma grab his bags and meet us at the stables. Celer is already being fitted with a new saddle and horseshoes as we speak," Ysevel said, pointing her thumb somewhere behind her. "You're right, we need to get going," I said, prying my eyes away from the armor one last time and channeling mana to dash to my room.
"Oh, and Thoma," my mother said, just before I was about to step off. "I've got a surprise for you when you get done," she smiled wryly. Not knowing what the hell that meant, I nodded, and within a few moments appeared in my doorway. I grabbed a satchel, stuffing some basic hygiene supplies and other such things in there, and donned my leather jerkin. The snug, yet flexible leather jerkin felt a little tighter than it normally did.
I wonder if this will impede my movement at all, I thought. I'd never filled in any clothing before, so I wasn't entirely sure how it worked. The training gear I got from Maikell, which, apparently, was the name of the royal blacksmith, as I came to find out, had often suited me perfectly well. However, after not having worn my own jerkin for quite some time, I quickly realized just how much I'd grown.
I should probably swing by Maikell's shop before I go, I thought, rolling my shoulders to see just how much tighter the leather had gotten since I arrived.