Well, the travel time from Aerahelm to Baybluff would probably take a few days, but our barony was the safest place to be next to Aerahelm. Our land might be on the rural edge of the Kingdom, and might also be one of the poorest, but we were at the furthest point away from the major battles.
“My lady, we promise to lay our lives to protect your daughter,” Reuben spoke up from beside me, bowing down as he held a fist over my insignia on his chest. Robin copied him, but with a smile on his face, watching me instead.
My pseudo mother wiped her eyes clear of her tears before she glanced between my twin knights. “You are such good boys. It’s one of our best decisions to take you in. Take care of my Bea, please? To the best of your abilities.”
“In however form she wants it, we swear to you,” Robin smirked as he winked at me. The heat crept up to my cheeks at the innuendo he dropped, or was that just my imagination?
When Reuben gave me the same heated look in his eyes, I realized I did understand his comment correctly. They had itbadfor this girl!
It wasn’t like that at all! We had never done anything together in that context. They watched over me and guarded me for the past nine years. Surely, they must only see me like as a little girl, or a little sister, or someone weak who needed protection?
I was so in denial, it wasn’t even funny.
My father had arrived and held my mother in his arms before she kissed him on the cheek. He turned to me next, and I couldn’t help but give him a hug too, as he pressed his lips to my head.
Jenson might be a very busy man, and I could hardly see him sometimes, but he loved his family. He always found the time for us with important events, even if it could impact the work that needed to be done with the barony. He was loyal to his people, but he was loyal to his family first, and for that I was grateful.
“You don’t have to stand out, Bea,” he advised as we released each other from the hug. “In fact, it will be best to stay as average as possible.”
I gaped at him, while my mother, my knights, and Mia did too.What?
My father brushed my hair to the side, looking fondly at me. “Consider this: if you’re at the top of your class, the chances are high they’ll accelerate your learning so you can head to conscription as soon as possible. The army always needs a highly competent mage. On the other hand, if you’re terrible with magic, it’s the front lines for you with the other combat-focused fighters. Both situations are awful.”
Mia paled at my father’s hypothetical scenarios while my mother sobbed again, after I had just managed to calmed her mood.
Good job, pseudo dad.Ugh.
He laughed, placing a hand on my mother’s shoulder to placate her. “If all goes well, we only need to worry about that in five years.”
This seemed to have a positive effect on her, until she burst into tears again. “Oh, but this is Alec’s final year! Soon he needs to fulfill his duty to the Kingdom.”
“We’ll have this conversation some other time, love,” pseudo dad assured pseudo mom, patting her hair and kissing it lovingly. It was very cute, and I was a tiny bit envious of their obvious affection for one another.
A few more goodbyes and farewells later, with Mia and her family too, I rode the carriage — yes, we rode on carriages, how freaking charming was that? Mia sat across from me, while Robin sat outside with Micah, Mia’s brother and our coachman. Reuben rode on horseback following us. We had a caravan of carriages with our possessions plus the other guards.
Aerahelm was about a week of travel at regular speed, if my brief study of the country map was accurate. We would pass by at least five towns and one city before we arrived. Reuben informed me of a route that would get us an inn by nightfall every day, so I didn’t have to camp in the wilderness.
I looked out the window of the carriage, following Reuben with my eyes, as he trotted alongside us with his gaze focused on the road ahead. These men definitely looked otherworldly; Reuben had long, silver hair, tied in a low ponytail, while Robin had his silver hair cut short.
Their hair was how everyone could tell them apart, but I had a few different tells. Robin smiled wider, but when Reuben did smile, the corners of his eyes crinkled too. Robin’s green eyes were a bit bluer compared to Reuben’s. Robin’s skin was slightly darker because he trained with the sword under the sun, while Reuben liked to practice his bow while sitting on a tree branch.
Yes, I wastotallynot ogling them every time.
As if Reuben felt me watching him, he turned his head and gave me a smile that surprised me.
Oh, so his eyes really did crinkle. That was so fucking adorable. I smiled back, andhewas caught off-guard that he almost fell off his horse. A laugh was ready to come out of me, but it wasn’t very ladylike, and at the very least I had to pretend to be one.
Iwasa lady though, and honestly, I could do whatever I wanted.
But there would be no risks until I could learn more about this world. First, no internet meant I couldn’t look up information easily. But magic existed, so maybe there was a magic wiki somewhere? And if there was, then it would probably be at theonlymagic school of the Kingdom.
Second, remembering precisely how I arrived here was vital; it might help me on my quest to return tomyworld. The memories just wouldn’t come. Maybe there was a spell for restoring memories?
Third, people still practiced religion despite the existence of magic. Our barony was secular and, as expected, there were no religious buildings as we exited our estate. Using my video game knowledge though, unusual circumstances like mine were usually believed to be a miracle or some other form of divinity. That could be worthwhile to research too.
Considering all this, I should be careful about letting the truth come out.
Mia napped as our caravan made headway to a town for our first stop on our journey. My carriage would stop at the inn while the rest of our entourage would camp outside of town. While we could afford to bring some security as we travel, we tried to save on expenses as much as we could. I had argued about it in the past — that I could also camp out with my guards — but my parents wouldn’t have it.
