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Description
The road was narrow and twisted with fallen branches and overgrowth of plants making it hard to navigate. It was unused anymore by most travelers, though it had been a main road once. Arcelia and Bem were using the back road so they wouldn’t run into anyone else; they needed to move quickly and many travelers who saw knights asked for stories or trade and that would slow them down.

      Arcelia would have taken the main road but for Sir Shaun’s warning to her. If things really were that bad, then she needed to get in there without being reported by others and then get back out just as quietly.

      The sun was very hot again this day and traveling through a dense forest as they were made things that much worse; Arcelia and her squire had tripped over hidden branches more than enough to get their emotions high. Bem had even started complaining about the path his lady had chosen, which wasn’t something he had done yet in their time together.

      “I’m sorry, Bem, but wyverns with riders draw attention. Wyverns without riders are less conspicuous as they look like any other wyvern. Besides, we need to learn the terrain anyway.” She had added as an excuse. Bem had only shrugged his shoulders and then continued on behind Arcelia, despairing quietly to himself. He almost wished he’d been left behind with the other squires at Lord Deningham’s palace; he’d never had to work this hard there.

      If there was one thing he disagreed with Lord Deningham about women it was the fact that they were physically unable to outlast any man or male child. Bem had been ready to quit several hours ago, but his lady had pressed on and he refused to look any weaker in her eyes than he already did.

      “Okay Bem, your turn up front now.” Arcelia said as the path suddenly seemed to disappear into a thicket of shrubbery which climbed and twisted around tree trunks to the very tops of their branches. Bem stared at the thicket and back at Arcelia. She had to be kidding! “Go on,” she said, wiping her brow. “Get out your sword. I’ve done it the last three times we ran into a wall like this.” Had they really? He didn’t remember going through thickets like this; but then he’d had his eyes cast downwards the entire time as he sulked.

      Sighing, Bem stepped forward and withdrew his sword from its sheath and began hacking at the growth. Within seconds his arm was sore and he wondered how his lady could have gotten through three of these without her arms falling off. “Here, you’re doing this wrong.” Arcelia corrected and placed her hand over his and started slashing. “Like this, and this. There, you try again.”

      Bem heaved another sigh and turned towards the thicket, missing the smile on his lady’s face. If Meadow was here I wouldn’t have to do this, she could do it for me. Bem thought as he began hacking again. After several minutes, Bem had to switch hands and continued to do so until he was sure his arms were going to fall to the ground, twitching as they relieved stress. It never happened and so he continued on with his lady following him and giving instructions, pushing him on past what he had thought his limits were.

      Finally, half an hour passed and Bem felt he couldn’t press on any longer and leaned against the thicket in front of him, wondering if it was ever going to end when he fell forward and landed on his face. He heard laughter behind him and tried to turn over but his arms refused to move so he lay where he was, trying to regain his strength. “You seem to fall through things a lot. Was this common at Lord Deningham’s palace as well?” Arcelia asked with humor and then pulled Bem to his feet. He swayed and looked up at her quizzically as she brushed him off and then handed him his sword, which he’d dropped when he fell.

      “Well, you got about as far as I did when I was first a squire.” Arcelia commented. Bem barely registered what his lady said as she led him outside the thicket and sat him down against a tree on some soft moss. “And you kept to the path; that’s a good thing. It looks like the path clears up from here so you probably won’t have to do that again. I could be wrong, however.” Bem groaned and buried his head in his knees, closing his eyes. “Oh no you don’t. Don’t you dare go to sleep; we’ve still got several hours travel ahead of us. I’m just giving you a five minute break.”

      “But—I’ve got to…use the…um….” Bem blushed a bright red, which only got darker when his lady laughed at him.

      “Use the bathroom? Well then you’d better go because you have only four minutes left.” Arcelia replied. Bem wasn’t sure he could get to his feet as he had hard enough time lifting his head to look up at his lady. She was smiling and put a hand around his arm and pulled him up again and then pointed him off the path. “Hurry it up, three minutes left.”

      When Bem returned, Arcelia was ready to go. “But I thought I had three minutes left!” Bem protested.

      “That was before you left. You were gone an additional five minutes.” She looked compassionate however. “I did the same thing and my lord made me continue on.”

      “Weren’t you tired?” Bem asked, feeling exhausted himself.

      “I felt like I couldn’t take another step.” Arcelia replied.

      “Then can’t you—you know, have a little mercy on me?”

      “Nope,” Arcelia replied.

      “Why?” Bem asked, his exhaustion evident in his voice. “I’m tired and sweaty and I can smell myself. Surely having been through it yourself you’d have more understanding for me?”

      “Because, if my lord hadn’t pressed me to go this far, I would not be the person I am now.” Arcelia answered. “I would not be as strong as I am now. I hated my lord for it then; I thought he was trying to get me to quit. I thought he hated me because I was a girl. I was wrong; he was trying to form me into a strong responsible person. Now, we’re wasting time just standing around here and talking. Once we get to the farm we can sleep.”

      Sighing and forcing himself to trudge forward, Bem followed Arcelia, trying to not drag his feet while Arcelia led the rest of the way to the farm. At first, it looked like an open valley at the edge of the forest, but a small dark object could be seen far in the distance over tall grasses. A field to the left, filled with corn, stretched to large hill that was part in making this a valley. There were patches of the cornfield missing where some people had ripped the cornstalks clean from the ground.

      “Faster than just harvesting the corn, I suppose.” Arcelia mumbled to herself as she searched the area. She noticed large chunks of charred wood in a pile on the ground, but no footprints were surrounding it. Upon closer inspection, Arcelia could tell the dirt had been swept with something heavy. “It looks like a particularly large clan camped here, or many clans. But why would they leave the campfire in view when they obviously took such care in covering their tracks?”

      Bem bent over part of the campfire and felt perhaps more puzzled than his lady. He didn’t understand what she was thinking and decided to just let it go lest she launch into a long explanation and delay their sleep a few more hours. Bem was quite exhausted and wasn’t sure that he’d even make it to the farm house which looked so far away from where they were. Leaning against a tree, Bem let his eyes close slightly, hoping to just rest a few seconds while his lady continued looking around.

      He didn’t remember falling asleep so, when his lady jostled him awake, Bem was quite startled to find he had been sleeping soundly for at least ten minutes and had managed to still remain mostly upright against the tree. “Meadow is here; she’s going to take you to the farm house. She and Delmar have been talking with the farmer and he’s most eager to put us up for the night since we’re here to help him. So go on, get some sleep. I’ll be there in a few hours.

      Bem heaved a sigh of relief as Meadow lowered her head to him for support as he made his way towards her back. “Thank you, Lady Arcelia.” Bem managed to mumble as he pulled himself heavily upon Meadow’s narrow back. He wrapped his arms around her neck and then nearly fell asleep like that just before Meadow launched into a quick run, beating her great wings as she did so until her feet left the ground. Then they were soaring through the air up into the cooler ether before slowly gliding down again and there was the farmhouse below them.

      When Bem woke the next morning he found he’d been sleeping in his clothes from the previous day. He wrinkled his nose, knowing his lady would disapprove if she had seen him. He quickly changed into a new set of clothing (which was the same as the ones he was currently wearing as knights rarely wore anything else these days).

      He loped down the steps to the main floor and went to the dining room where the farmer, Leland, and his family were just laying out breakfast. “Is Lady Arcelia up?” Bem asked.

      “She’s been up for three hours and said that when you woke you should eat quickly and then go to meet her in the fields.” Leland replied. “Would you like to eat with us?”

      “Thanks,” Bem said and nodded. Leland indicated a spot that had been set for him. “Did my lady eat?”

      “The stuff she brought with her. You didn’t get to meet my family yesterday, so I’ll introduce you now. This woman on my left is my wife, Karme and the one on my right is my daughter, Belle."

Description
The road was narrow and twisted with fallen branches and overgrowth of plants making it hard to navigate. It was unused anymore by most travelers, though it had been a main road once. Arcelia and Bem were using the back road so they wouldn’t run into anyone else; they needed to move quickly and many travelers who saw knights asked for stories or trade and that would slow them down.

      Arcelia would have taken the main road but for Sir Shaun’s warning to her. If things really were that bad, then she needed to get in there without being reported by others and then get back out just as quietly.

      The sun was very hot again this day and traveling through a dense forest as they were made things that much worse; Arcelia and her squire had tripped over hidden branches more than enough to get their emotions high. Bem had even started complaining about the path his lady had chosen, which wasn’t something he had done yet in their time together.

      “I’m sorry, Bem, but wyverns with riders draw attention. Wyverns without riders are less conspicuous as they look like any other wyvern. Besides, we need to learn the terrain anyway.” She had added as an excuse. Bem had only shrugged his shoulders and then continued on behind Arcelia, despairing quietly to himself. He almost wished he’d been left behind with the other squires at Lord Deningham’s palace; he’d never had to work this hard there.

      If there was one thing he disagreed with Lord Deningham about women it was the fact that they were physically unable to outlast any man or male child. Bem had been ready to quit several hours ago, but his lady had pressed on and he refused to look any weaker in her eyes than he already did.

      “Okay Bem, your turn up front now.” Arcelia said as the path suddenly seemed to disappear into a thicket of shrubbery which climbed and twisted around tree trunks to the very tops of their branches. Bem stared at the thicket and back at Arcelia. She had to be kidding! “Go on,” she said, wiping her brow. “Get out your sword. I’ve done it the last three times we ran into a wall like this.” Had they really? He didn’t remember going through thickets like this; but then he’d had his eyes cast downwards the entire time as he sulked.

      Sighing, Bem stepped forward and withdrew his sword from its sheath and began hacking at the growth. Within seconds his arm was sore and he wondered how his lady could have gotten through three of these without her arms falling off. “Here, you’re doing this wrong.” Arcelia corrected and placed her hand over his and started slashing. “Like this, and this. There, you try again.”

      Bem heaved another sigh and turned towards the thicket, missing the smile on his lady’s face. If Meadow was here I wouldn’t have to do this, she could do it for me. Bem thought as he began hacking again. After several minutes, Bem had to switch hands and continued to do so until he was sure his arms were going to fall to the ground, twitching as they relieved stress. It never happened and so he continued on with his lady following him and giving instructions, pushing him on past what he had thought his limits were.

      Finally, half an hour passed and Bem felt he couldn’t press on any longer and leaned against the thicket in front of him, wondering if it was ever going to end when he fell forward and landed on his face. He heard laughter behind him and tried to turn over but his arms refused to move so he lay where he was, trying to regain his strength. “You seem to fall through things a lot. Was this common at Lord Deningham’s palace as well?” Arcelia asked with humor and then pulled Bem to his feet. He swayed and looked up at her quizzically as she brushed him off and then handed him his sword, which he’d dropped when he fell.

      “Well, you got about as far as I did when I was first a squire.” Arcelia commented. Bem barely registered what his lady said as she led him outside the thicket and sat him down against a tree on some soft moss. “And you kept to the path; that’s a good thing. It looks like the path clears up from here so you probably won’t have to do that again. I could be wrong, however.” Bem groaned and buried his head in his knees, closing his eyes. “Oh no you don’t. Don’t you dare go to sleep; we’ve still got several hours travel ahead of us. I’m just giving you a five minute break.”

      “But—I’ve got to…use the…um….” Bem blushed a bright red, which only got darker when his lady laughed at him.

      “Use the bathroom? Well then you’d better go because you have only four minutes left.” Arcelia replied. Bem wasn’t sure he could get to his feet as he had hard enough time lifting his head to look up at his lady. She was smiling and put a hand around his arm and pulled him up again and then pointed him off the path. “Hurry it up, three minutes left.”

      When Bem returned, Arcelia was ready to go. “But I thought I had three minutes left!” Bem protested.

      “That was before you left. You were gone an additional five minutes.” She looked compassionate however. “I did the same thing and my lord made me continue on.”

      “Weren’t you tired?” Bem asked, feeling exhausted himself.

      “I felt like I couldn’t take another step.” Arcelia replied.

      “Then can’t you—you know, have a little mercy on me?”

      “Nope,” Arcelia replied.

      “Why?” Bem asked, his exhaustion evident in his voice. “I’m tired and sweaty and I can smell myself. Surely having been through it yourself you’d have more understanding for me?”

      “Because, if my lord hadn’t pressed me to go this far, I would not be the person I am now.” Arcelia answered. “I would not be as strong as I am now. I hated my lord for it then; I thought he was trying to get me to quit. I thought he hated me because I was a girl. I was wrong; he was trying to form me into a strong responsible person. Now, we’re wasting time just standing around here and talking. Once we get to the farm we can sleep.”

      Sighing and forcing himself to trudge forward, Bem followed Arcelia, trying to not drag his feet while Arcelia led the rest of the way to the farm. At first, it looked like an open valley at the edge of the forest, but a small dark object could be seen far in the distance over tall grasses. A field to the left, filled with corn, stretched to large hill that was part in making this a valley. There were patches of the cornfield missing where some people had ripped the cornstalks clean from the ground.

      “Faster than just harvesting the corn, I suppose.” Arcelia mumbled to herself as she searched the area. She noticed large chunks of charred wood in a pile on the ground, but no footprints were surrounding it. Upon closer inspection, Arcelia could tell the dirt had been swept with something heavy. “It looks like a particularly large clan camped here, or many clans. But why would they leave the campfire in view when they obviously took such care in covering their tracks?”

      Bem bent over part of the campfire and felt perhaps more puzzled than his lady. He didn’t understand what she was thinking and decided to just let it go lest she launch into a long explanation and delay their sleep a few more hours. Bem was quite exhausted and wasn’t sure that he’d even make it to the farm house which looked so far away from where they were. Leaning against a tree, Bem let his eyes close slightly, hoping to just rest a few seconds while his lady continued looking around.

      He didn’t remember falling asleep so, when his lady jostled him awake, Bem was quite startled to find he had been sleeping soundly for at least ten minutes and had managed to still remain mostly upright against the tree. “Meadow is here; she’s going to take you to the farm house. She and Delmar have been talking with the farmer and he’s most eager to put us up for the night since we’re here to help him. So go on, get some sleep. I’ll be there in a few hours.

      Bem heaved a sigh of relief as Meadow lowered her head to him for support as he made his way towards her back. “Thank you, Lady Arcelia.” Bem managed to mumble as he pulled himself heavily upon Meadow’s narrow back. He wrapped his arms around her neck and then nearly fell asleep like that just before Meadow launched into a quick run, beating her great wings as she did so until her feet left the ground. Then they were soaring through the air up into the cooler ether before slowly gliding down again and there was the farmhouse below them.

      When Bem woke the next morning he found he’d been sleeping in his clothes from the previous day. He wrinkled his nose, knowing his lady would disapprove if she had seen him. He quickly changed into a new set of clothing (which was the same as the ones he was currently wearing as knights rarely wore anything else these days).

      He loped down the steps to the main floor and went to the dining room where the farmer, Leland, and his family were just laying out breakfast. “Is Lady Arcelia up?” Bem asked.

      “She’s been up for three hours and said that when you woke you should eat quickly and then go to meet her in the fields.” Leland replied. “Would you like to eat with us?”

      “Thanks,” Bem said and nodded. Leland indicated a spot that had been set for him. “Did my lady eat?”

      “The stuff she brought with her. You didn’t get to meet my family yesterday, so I’ll introduce you now. This woman on my left is my wife, Karme and the one on my right is my daughter, Belle."