Chapter 49: Meet again
Captain Diana held the worn parchment map before her, squinting at the faded landmarks as they trudged along the overgrown path. The silver moonlight filtered through the leaves overhead, casting eerie shadows across her determined face, the pointed tips of her ears just visible beneath her disheveled silver hair.
"We’ve been making reasonable progress," she announced, folding the map with practiced precision. "After over a week and two days of travel, we should reach the border of Thornvale by midnight."
Elira stumbled over a gnarled root, catching herself against a nearby tree trunk. She cast a longing glance behind them, where the distant spires of Vylonia were no longer visible through the dense foliage.
"I still don’t understand why we couldn’t bring the horses," she grumbled, adjusting her pack. "My poor Whisperwind is probably wondering why I’ve abandoned her in that musty stable. She gets anxious when left alone, you know—starts chewing on her own tail. Last time, she nearly made herself bald."
Diana didn’t even turn around as she replied, "I’m not entirely sure what we’ll encounter. The elders spoke of strange dangers, but they were vague about specifics. Better safe than sorry when it comes to our mounts."
"More likely you just enjoy watching us suffer," Elira muttered, plucking a burr from her sleeve. The moonlight highlighted the delicate tattoos that adorned her forearms, marks of her woodland heritage.
Lyra suppressed a smile as she helped Elira adjust her pack. Her ears twitched slightly at the sounds of the night forest. Ahead of them, Rose moved with quiet determination, her eyes—naturally adept in darkness—fixed on the horizon, her thoughts consumed with finding Princess Eren.
They had been walking for several hours since their last brief rest, their bodies weary from the journey that had stretched over a week and two days when Naia suddenly froze, her slender elven hand shooting up in warning. The group immediately halted, hands instinctively moving toward weapons.
"Did you hear that?" Naia whispered, her senses heightened in the darkness as she scanned the dense undergrowth around them.
Lyra frowned, straining to listen. "I don’t hear anything."
"Something moved past us," Naia insisted, turning in a slow circle, her ears twitching with concentration. "It was quick—like a shadow slipping between trees."