The first day of travel went by smoothly, the carriage passed by many travelers and caravans making their way from Castillan.
A few hours after noon, a small group of three carriages were spotted at the side of the road, two of the three seemed to be heavily damaged.
The first of the two was a well-made brown carriage with orange linings all across it. It's well-crafted design was ruined by several arrows sticking out of the top and side.
Said carriage seemed to sustain the most damage out of all three and as they rode by, a small group of people were replacing bandages and reapplying aid to their wounds.
It even seemed like one of them had fallen to the barrage of arrows. The individual's body was wrapped in a tarp and tied to the top of the carriage.
"The bandits are more active than I thought." Zadius said
Ignoring his words, Rosaly knocked at the wooden frame near the carriage driver, signaling him to stop.
She made her way outside carefully stepping down from the carriage with Xaryus and Zadius following right behind her.
Both their gazes constantly wandered around to ensure that nothing could cause harm to the princess.
"What happened?" Rosaly asked as she approached the group.
The cohort of adventurers seemed disheveled, their physical and mental state were at rock bottom.
One of the two women among them seemed to be an emitter of some kind because she wielded a long staff with a red crystal at one end, and the others seemed to be blade wielding augmenters.
"They're all around adept rank." Xaryus thought, assessing any potential threats.
The second of the two women who seemed to be the leader of the group turned her attention away from the bandages and glanced towards Rosaly.
She had basic features with dark, curly hair, fair skin and a long blade attached at her hip.
Her gaze then shifted across Xaryus and Zadius before it returned to Rosaly, "You're a Lionheart?" she asked.
Rosaly simply nodded in response.
After Rosaly's acknowledgement, the woman's guard seemed to soften which wasn't surprising. On the entire continent, there weren't many that didn't understand the Lionheart's contribution to technological advances that aided in the development of city security from external dangers.
"We were ambushed near Castillan, on a part of the road that passed through a small forest." The woman spoke, her words triggering some of her subordinates.
"Were they bandits?" Zadius asked.
"They wanted to appear that way. But they were too organized to be bandits, and their attacks were focused on one of our carriages. Luckily, we were able to escape, but we lost one of our own." The woman's gaze shifted to the top of the carriage near her.
"It's not my place to say but be careful princess." The woman ended.
"... I will, and I wish you to reach back to Rosa safely." Rosaly responded with a soft smile before making her way back into the carriage.
And just like that, their journey to Castillan continued.
However, Rosaly was less talkative, she seemed to be deep in thought.
"Rosaly…" Xaryus attempted to speak out.
"I think they're after me…" She said abruptly, interrupting Xaryus.
Her words hang in the air for a moment.
"What?" Xaryus said, confused.
"Then we must return to Rosa immediately." Zadius responded quickly.
"No, we can't." Rosaly responded, looking back at the three carriages they left behind with a hint of disdain.
"I don't understand why we can't and I won't ask but this is far beyond the scope of the request made." Zadius tried to plead.
But his words fell on deaf ears.
"No, we move forward." Rosaly ended, her gaze unwavering, betraying the fury building in her mind.
"How dare they touch innocent citizens of Rosa. Those bastards!" Her thoughts flashed across her mind in a blind fury.
"How do you know they're after you?" Xaryus asked.
There was a moment of silence before Rosaly decided to respond, her gaze still looking back at where the three carriages would have been.
"The carriage that had been the crux of the attack was eerily identical to the one I was supposed to take to Castillan. But my sister changed it out to this one last minute, a coincidence?" She paused for a beat, "I think not. And you wondered if this is outside the scope of the request made, Zadius? That means you don't know Leveness or my sister very well." Rosaly ended, her gaze finally shifting back into the carriage and towards the brothers.
Her eyes were sharp and resolute; there was not a hint of doubt nor fear behind them. Xaryus and Zadius could even recognize anger in her gaze.
It reminded them of something Leveness had told them some months prior.
***
"Have you ever wondered why Lionhearts are feared and respected not just on Inux but across the world? Even though they're not a family known for possessing powerful awakened?" Leveness questioned Xaryus and Zadius as they were sprawled out across the training room floor.
"Because they're skilled artificers?" Xaryus responded, gasping for air.
"No, because they are ruthless to those they deem an enemy and kind to those they deem allies."
***
On the second day, Rosaly stirred awake from her poor sleep. The constant shaking of the carriage against the road pair with having to sleep sitting up made for a distasteful experience.
Xaryus and Zadius didn't seem to have slept, their attention still focused on the immediate surroundings.
With a yawn, Rosaly greeted them, "Good morning… You do know you could have slept right?"
"Good morning." Zadius responded.
"Good morning. We know, but I think that would not reflect well when your carriage driver reports back to Leveness." Xaryus added.
"So, you figured it out?" Rosaly asked, with a soft smile.
"That we are being tested and monitored or the part where they are throwing us towards a known danger they think we can handle?" Zadius interjected, still looking out the window.
"I guess that's a yes." Rosaly said with a soft chuckle before stopping the carriage.
After kicking Xaryus and Zadius out the carriage, she proceeded to tidy herself up and change her clothes.
Most of the day passed without an issue after that with bits of conversation exchanged between Xaryus and Rosaly.
She primarily guided the conversation, asking about the time Xaryus and Zadius spent in the hold, sharing about her travels and findings over the past years.
A main topic was her time spent with RavenCross - a branch family based in Castillan - to refine her abilities as an artificer.
Zadius on the other hand spent most of his time staring out of the carriage window observing the beautiful hillside.
Around noon, the old man gently knocked on the passenger cabin. Rosaly couldn't help but feel anxious at his signal.
They were approaching the area where the group of adventurers were attacked.
Rosaly looked out the window, she faintly saw a patch of forest that surrounded the road up ahead. It stretched for about 100m.
"Xaryus." Zadius called out his brother, giving him a short nod.
Xaryus nodded back in response, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly in hand.
"Henry, don't put yourself in danger." Rosaly commanded the carriage driver.
"I wouldn't dare, young miss." Henry replied
"I look forward to seeing your capabilities." Rosaly said to Xaryus and Zadius.
Zadius' focus stayed on the patch of forest whereas Xaryus returned a respectful nod to Rosaly.
Soon, the midday sun vanished above the spotted canopy of the tall trees. The sound of the carriage rattling across the rough road filled their ears.
Rosaly began to feel uneasy, they had already moved quarter way through the forest, and nothing happened. For a moment she wondered if there would be no attack.
Her wish would not come through.
"Here they come." Xaryus said, his words hitting Rosaly like a shot of adrenaline.