Rick woke up to the feeling of a moving vehicle hitting what must have been at the very least the mother of all potholes. His head literally hit the shelf on top of his seat.
He heard the clip clop of hooves outside and immediately knew he was on a carriage. He looked outside and saw that he was at the top of what must have been paradise. It was the most beautiful valley he had ever seen.
They were on a path that went down on of the sides and from there he could see the afternoon sun as it set ablaze the lake. The river meandered through a beautiful forest that was dotted with so many colors it almost looked like an abstract painting.
In fact the whole scene looked like it was out of a painting. Beautiful tropical birds flew about in the air, giving the whole scene and enchanted look. Whole swarms of butterflies meandered through the air.
The whole atmosphere was alive and the scent of flowers hung heavily in the air. As described before, it was paradise.
And in this land of overflowing milk and honey, resting on the banks of the lake, was Valenthir, the Capital city of Vaught.
It was a white city, made of marble and sparkling in the sun. It was built on a high ridge just before the depression that formed the lake. The walls were circular, like the lip of a volcano, so the water rushed down in a waterfall in an enchanting view before meeting the lake.
It also caused there to be a perpetual rainbow surrounding the city. It was well and truly beautiful, deserving to be called the Jewel of the Southern Continent.
Yet when Irik discovered where he was he didn't feel enchanted by the beauty. Instead he felt a chill. He had never left the lands of the Barony. In fact none of the Albrecht children had.
It was rare for children of nobles to be so sheltered, but many wanted to see the Albrecht hurt and wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of seeing them out of their virtually impenetrable turtle shell..
A quick scan showed him that he was wearing a black and white outfit tailored to himself. He much preferred the house colors as this ensemble made him feel like he was part of the staff but he had no say in it as he was unconscious.
Still unconscious was Mira, who was seated opposite him. She was also in a brand new outfit in black and white. She looked quite cute while faintly snoring with drool rolling down her cheeks.
In fact she looked much better than usual. Her skin was whiter, the blush a little deeper, the locks a little darker everything just a tad bit better but it came together to give a holistic improvement to her beauty tat was hard to notice.
Next to her was Life Burn, but it had a new checkered black and white sheath.
He took the sword and tried to draw it. It wouldn't budge. No matter how much he tried to pull it out he couldn't, even after straining himself.
After a while he just gave up the fruitless endeavor, only to look up and see his small commotion had awoke his little sleeping beauty.
"Did you dye your hair?" she asked, head tilted.
"Padorn?" He replied, his tone stiff and formal
"Your hair Master, perchance, did you see it fit to alter its coloration?" Mira caught on quick, changing her tone of address changing to suit their more public surrounding.
"I recall no such matter. It is strange, my hair looks much more like Mother's now. Perhaps it is related to the events precluding to my falling unconscious."
"Perhaps."
"And are you wearing makeup?" Rick asked, smoothly changing the subject from the horror that still lingered at the back of his memory. The question made the girl look at the faint reflection in the glass of the carriage.
She lifted a slender finger, licked it with her small red tongue, and rubbed her ruby red lips. There was no discoloration, nor did any of the color rub off onto her finger.
"It would appear not Master. Strange. But I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Do I not look more appealing to you Sir?"
Rick still had not recovered from the emotional impact of watching a 10/10 perform a totally sensual and indecent series of actions. The question caught him off guard and caused him to stop staring, blush, look out the window and change the subject. Again.
"Are you aware of the reason we are on this journey to the Vale? Surely Father did not suddenly feel the need to cure the Traveler's bug that bit me in my childhood no?"
Mira chuckled and relented, knowing she had successfully teased her liege. "I assure you that though this matter eludes me just as much as it does your esteemed self, that is not, nor will it ever be, the case. No bug can ever besmirch His Grace."
Irik chuckled and then continued talking with Mira about nothing in particular. From what he could tell they were in a convoy, headed to the City of Valleys.
After an hour of travelling, when they were about halfway towards the radiant city, the convoy stopped.
A crisp clear and loud bell rang out thrice, meaning that it was summoning the servants, soldiers and attendants.
Mira looked in the window, straightened out her appearance and adopted her ice queen persona.
"I will try try to gather some intelligence of our circumstance. It is best that we are not unprepared for what we shall face."
"Make haste, and behave yourself. While divided we might be in the family, we need to show a united front in these unfamiliar lands. Restrain yourself from provoking the other attendants"
While the world thought the Albrechts were rife with infighting, it wasn't as if the siblings were fighting it out in the streets, or even did or said anything to each other personally. In fact when they met they were cordial, and even put a show of at least spending time together in private or otherwise.
It was the attendants who were responsible for showing the attitude of their Masters.
Such was the way of the nobles.