“How do you mean?”
“Speaking from very recent experience, sometimes you don’t know how good you’ve got it, until you don’t. I wish I could go back in time and have someone remind me of what I was getting myself into before I left home.” Faye’s expression grew sad and she turned to Gaia, stroking the horse gently.
“You regret leaving Awrelwood?” Indi asked, halting her preparations to hang her arms over the stable door.
The princess sighed. “I do. Whilst I am exceedingly glad and relieved beyond measure that Lori is safe, I am frightened about what awaits us in Banesteppe.”
“But the demons will—”
“Lephas will look after Lori, of that I am certain, but I am alone in this. I don’t have a valiant demon protector.” She paused. “You have no idea how much I wish I could go home.”
Raxx’s brows quirked with surprise. He had no idea Faye was so concerned about following her sister to Banesteppe. She had mentioned it in passing the evening prior, but he had chalked it down to exhaustion and cold feet. Faye was frightened. She didn’t have her sister’s easy, albeit foolish, confidence. Perhaps the Goldwyrm sisters’ relationship was not as infallible as it seemed on the surface.
“Lori may be in a romantic relationship with Lephas, but the commander will protect you, Raxx too. I know he can seem a little…” Indi trailed off and Faye rolled her eyes in agreement. “But Zelrus has always spoken highly of the shadow demon in his letters to me. He’s never gone into any details, I suppose it would not be safe to do so via parchment, but I always got the impression that Zelrus trusts Raxx more than any of his men.”
Raxx supposed that at least was true. Due to the nature of his abilities, the king often entrusted him with the private, personal matters. On many a night, Raxx had been Zelrus’s sworn confidant whilst the king bent his ear about his woes. Until now, the shadow demon had never given it much thought. He considered the tasks he undertook for his king as no more than his job, but he guessed on some level Zelrus was also his friend. More so than the others, certainly.
“Listen,” Faye shook herself. “I’m not going to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. All I’m saying is think about it first. I wish I had taken a moment to really consider what I was doing before I had left in search of Lori.”
“Thank you, Faye. It means a lot that you’d come here to confide in me. I have been thinking about leaving for such a long time now, I don’t see how I can stay,” Indi replied, turning back to ready her horse.
“I understand.” The princess nodded.
Raxx watched Faye a moment longer. The faerie closed her eyes and leant forward slowly, until her forehead rested against the horse’s long nose.
“Oh Gaia,” she whispered, “What am I going to do?”
Raxx suddenly felt like he was intruding on something he shouldn’t. Heeding the flurry of guilt he felt, the shadow demon slipped back outside into the snow, deciding instead to loiter nearby – just in case he was needed.
* * *
Once Indi’s final decision had been made, the group quickly gathered their belongings. Lephas was keen to get as much ground covered before they had to set up camp and they had wasted enough daylight as it was.
Raxx hung back, watching the faeries and his commander prepare themselves for the long journey ahead. Each of them had packed lightly, yet the horses were laden with supplies, their saddlebags practically bursting, which was a far cry from how Lephas and Lori had begun their venture.
Faye hopped up into Gaia’s saddle, shifting and getting herself comfortable for the arduous ride ahead. She gathered the mare’s reins into her fists, flexing her hands beneath her soft leather gloves and sat forward a little as Lori and Lephas approached.
The commander lifted Lori up onto the mare’s back with ease and the princess wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist.
At the doorway to the farmhouse, Indi and Magna were embracing one another. The faerie cried into the material of the old demon woman’s cloak and Magna clutched Indi close, her own tears falling unashamedly.
When they parted, Magna looked up at Indi with a soft, warm smile and kissed the faerie’s forehead. Indi eventually stepped away, swiping tears from her cheeks. Magna gazed after her, as if it were the last time.
Lephas helped hoist Indi up onto the back of her own horse and patted the faerie’s knee empathetically, before walking away to busy himself with gathering his own belongings.
Raxx stood away to the side, his arms crossed over his chest, hidden in the shadows. The tension was palpable. Fear of the unknown and grief weighted heavily on the group. Even the commander was on edge, his mouth set in a grim line.
Lephas glanced around the farmyard, undoubtedly looking for him. Raxx recognised his cue and appeared at the commander’s side.
“Are we ready to go?”
Lephas shot him a small, tight smile. “Ready as we’ll ever be. Can you scout ahead for any potential dangers and loop around to update me every few hours?”
“Of course,” Raxx replied.
Hearing his voice, Faye turned in her saddle to glance over her shoulder. They gazed at one another for a long moment. Though the princess’s expression remained unchanged, he recognised the flickering of fear in her eyes.
Everything will be alright princess.
