"You mentioned Grundvollr was attacked? When did this happen, and how the hell didn't we hear about this?" he asked in a tone I'd never heard him use before.
"King Mads had declared that its fall should remain a secret, one that remained so for over forty years. He considered anyone who had survived the attack to be a failure and a disappointment, hunting and branding them outcasts as a result," Thorsen began with a heavy sigh. "What?" Bernar tilted his head angrily.
"Only I and one other remained true to our lives as synners for a time after, though he and I later went our separate ways," Thorsen said, averting his gaze. "By the gods, I am sorry to hear that," the Master said, lowering his head with a slight shake. "As am I for having lived through it," Thorsen replied as the Master was clearly lost in thought.
"If Grundvollr has fallen, why are you heading North? We were going under the assumption Grundvollr was still active, but why are you going that way?" he asked. "You see, Master, the fact that Grundvollr had fallen had stopped me from pursuing a Synner's life after a while, but it didn't stop the other one who had survived. He's hidden here, in the southern part of Hjalfar, far away from Mads' reach, and built a hidden synner school," Thorsen said, prompting my brother and the Master to glance at each other momentarily.
"Where is the school?" the Master asked. "Well, I'd be more than happy to show you, Master, but we have come a long way, and I fear the ladies might not hold out much longer at the pace we have maintained so far," Thorsen looked at their tattered appearances. "I will have horses brought for both of you. Can you ride?" the Master asked Meliss. "I can, Master, though not very well," she admitted. "Well, we're not moving very quickly, so I think you'll be alright," Bernar added with a warm smile.
However, I could only nod to her subtly since I couldn't get a word out, to which she blushed.
"Thank you. Both of you," Leona replied, giving them a warm smile. No amount of grime could hide her beauty, even as dirty as she was, and I could have sworn I saw my brother blush, but he turned away before I could confirm it.
"Bernar, take Leona with you back to the others. Oh, and Thoma," he said, finally acknowledging my presence. "Yes, Master?" I asked sheepishly. "You'll take Meliss with you. We'll get them some food and horses with the others," The Master said with a wolfish grin.
Fuuuuuuuuck, I thought as I realized what he was doing.
"I don't believe your horse will carry the two of us, Master. I can hold my own," Thorsen said with a toothy grin, judging the horse's size. It was a war horse, but Thorsen knew it would break under their combined weight. "Oh, good. I'm glad you caught that," the Master chuckled.
My heart nearly stopped beating entirely when I noticed she was walking toward me.
This can't be happening, he thought. I mean, I'm glad to see her, and more than happy to have her ride with me, but I'm a nervous wreck. Think I'd rather face an ochelon again than try to maintain my composure right now, I thought, feeling my pulse begin to quicken.
She stretched out her hand with a warm smile as I was helping her up to ride behind me. She wrapped her hands around my waist and squeezed lightly.
He's got that shit-eating grin of his again, I thought as I noticed my brother staring at me.
My heart raced and palms began to sweat, as my body felt like it was about to implode. "You're not about to spit your morning meal, are you?" Meliss asked me playfully. "N-no, I'm alright," I replied nervously. Bernar helped Leona get behind him in the saddle. While I couldn't read his mind, I knew a nervous look on my brother's face when I saw it.
That's not to say mine was any better, to be fair.
The Master rode at a slow trot, with Thorsen jogging briskly beside him. Meanwhile, Bernar kept Leona in place, placing a hand over her thin arms around his waist. We soon reached the others, where Garett had stopped the small army, and I saw the look on Ed and Batch's faces when they noticed who I had behind me.
Gods, not them, too, I blushed immediately.
Bernar helped Leona to the ground, where she was greeted by Garett and another synner who offered her water and food. I helped Meliss dismount my horse, with a bit of help from Bernar, and she thanked him warmly. Just before turning to accept a meal offered to her, she gave me as warm a smile as she could muster.
I did my best to return it, but my nervousness nearly got the better of me.
Leona maintained her graceful composure, dirty, hungry, and disheveled as she was, while she drank the water offered to her. "Here you are, Your Majesty," Garett said with a bow. "You needn't call me that any longer, for Coltend has fallen to our enemies and I am its queen no more," she said. I'd heard their brief exchange, but I couldn't take my eyes off Meliss, whose sole purpose in that moment was to ingest the food offered to her. She ate and drank her fill, and life returned to her quickly.
I tried to avert my eyes, but failed miserably when she caught me looking at her and gave me a shy smile like she was embarrassed to eat. I returned the smile, and did my best to encourage her to eat her fill without saying a word.
You are a fucking fool, Thoma Fayren, I thought.
"As I did not know of the hidden school, I'd like to ask you its precise location, now that we're in a more secure area," the Master said to Thorsen quietly. "It is in Fangsdalr, Master. Only about a day's ride from here," Thorsen replied with a mouthful of bread. "A hidden school? We'd best be on our way, then. Time is of the essence, after all," Garett said, not fully understanding why their destination was about to change. "Get horses for the lady and Thorsen, we must ride at once," the Master shouted.
Two extra horses were brought out for Leona and Thorsen, who immediately got into their saddles. "Meliss, you can ride with Thoma again," the Master said, with a grin just large enough to wrinkle the scar on his cheek. "Of course, Master," she replied kindly, making my face flush with blood so quickly that if she had seen it in that state, she might have agreed with my earlier thought about exploding.
Batch and Ed, of course, held shit-eating grins on their faces.
"We ride to Fangsdalr," the Master called out, turning his horse. Thorsen rode beside him, and they held an inaudible conversation. Bernar rode just beside us and next to Leona in silence, with a look that clearly showed he was trying not to make a fool of himself.
His eyes darted at her periodically as he noted her perfect riding form. The hems of her dirtied robes were draped over the sides and gently flowed in the wind. "I've never known a queen to ride with such ease," Bernar began, stumbling over his own words like a nervous child.
It made me giddy to see my once-confident brother shaking in his boots over a woman, just like my inexperienced ass.
"Thank you, though I'm not as adept as you Synners are," she replied warmly, immediately making him blush. She giggled lightly and smiled shyly back. "There's no need to blush. This is just a normal conversation," Leona said comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I don't know why I am, truth be told," he said shyly.
Leona looked at him as if she knew he was around her age, but with far less experience in dealing with people who didn't carry a sword, or who weren't whores. She looked at his freshly-shaved face and black hair with an intent I couldn't read, but I was sure his glowing eyes added to her interest.
The audacity, I thought with a smile and a shake of my head.
"You already know my name, and yet I didn't catch yours earlier," Leona said inquisitively. "Bernar Fayren from Kinth, Your Majesty," he answered. Leona was puzzled. "I don't believe I have ever heard of Kinth before," she said, putting a finger to her small chin pensively.
"Oh, it's a small village somewhere on the map. Don't believe it holds much to be well known, Your Majesty," Bernar said dismissively. "Well, you're from there, so it at least held something of value," Leona said cheerfully. I was sure Bernar's heart skipped a beat or two, and after a slight pause, the two chuckled quietly.
"Not really. I mean, I'm certainly better with a sword and mana manipulation than most, but still not good enough to beat the Master in training, Your Majesty," he said with as much humility as he could muster, causing her to regard him curiously for a few heartbeats. "How good?" she asked playfully. "If I were there at the palace during the time of the attack, I would have turned the stone into glass just to save you," he blushed without meaning to.
Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but she must have assumed he was joking when she started to giggle, prompting him to do the same. After a few moments, she turned and looked back at me with her pale blue eyes, making even my heart skip a beat.
Alright, Bernar. I get it now, I mentally chuckled.
"Meliss, the girl here with me, is from the Gramm Isles," Leona began, trying to continue the conversation. "I think you two might have something in common, for until I met her, I had only ever heard rumors about the place," she said. "Well, I just hope she and my brother get along well enough. After all, they are riding together," Bernar said, using his head to gesture in our direction.
Leona looked beyond him and straight into my eyes again. With a quick, darting glance, she realized whose arms were wrapped around my waist, forcing me to blush even worse than I already had.
"He's redder than a maple leaf in autumn! What is his name?" she asked in a playful tone. "Shit bird, Your Majesty" Bernar said with obvious sarcasm, to which she snorted heavily, immediately putting a hand to her mouth to keep from bursting out with laughter.
I'm going to kill him, I held a chagrined smile as she looked back at me.
"I'm only kidding. His name's Thoma. He's just turned eighteen, and the horse he's riding is the one I gave him as a gift," he explained. "You two get along well, I assume," Leona said factually. "We do. Almost too well, at that. He's not as strong as I was when I was his age, about five years back, but he's got a good head on his shoulders, and a strong will; hard things to find in one person these days," he upturned his lip and shrugged lightly.
"Am I included in that select group of people?" Leona asked playfully. "I believe you to be far beyond that, Your Majesty," Bernar said with as low a bow as he could manage on horseback.
"You don't have to continue calling me that if you don't want to. I am no longer the queen of Coltend, and as it currently stands, I am simply a woman with the will to continue living, even if my old life of servants and banquets has ended abruptly," she said with a slight frown.
Bernar and I clearly understood what she meant.
"As sorry as I am to hear about your situation, I'm glad I don't have to call you by your full title. I've always hated them, after all," he chuckled, making her jaw drop in surprise. "That was quick," she said, lightly hitting his shoulder. "Hey! You were the one who wanted to be treated normally," he chuckled, lightly rubbing his shoulder.
I knew she hadn't even given him so much as a red mark on his skin, but I let him have that feigned moment of injury.
She's made it clear that she didn't want to be treated as royalty, but as a person. A human being. I can't imagine what life must have been like for her until now, I thought as I watched them continue their playful banter for a few moments.
"I never got your name," Meliss whispered, viciously reminding me that her arms were still around my waist.
Oookay, it's happening. Uh, think, you dumb bastard, think! Okay, we can do this! At least try to act naturally, I thought.
"Thoma," I replied after swallowing dryly. "Name suits you," Meliss said in her thick accent. "You're Meliss, right?" I asked, unable to think of anything better to say. "How'd you know?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm. "I remember you from the first time you showed up to take our armor back in the room at Coltend Castle," I grinned.
"True. I remember you had to strip down to your birthday suit," she chuckled, making me instantly regret reminding her of that fateful day. "Well, that's one way to meet someone for the first time," I said with a smile. "I'm sure there are worse ways," she said playfully. "Your accent… you're not from the Continent, are you?" I asked bashfully, unable to place its origin with my limited world knowledge.