Chapter 69: The Road to Thornvale
Four days into their journey, Elira’s patience was wearing thinner than the soles of a palace dancer’s slippers. She cast a sideways glance at her traveling companion, who hadn’t stopped talking since breakfast. Since yesterday’s breakfast, if she was being honest.
"—and that’s when my grandmother told me that if you ever find yourself face-to-face with a wild boar, you should climb the nearest tree," Anna continued, seemingly oblivious to Elira’s exasperated expression. "But what if there aren’t any trees nearby? I asked her. Well, she said, then you’d better hope you’re wearing your fastest boots!"
Anna’s laughter echoed through the forest canopy, startling a flock of birds from their perches.
"Fascinating," Elira muttered, adjusting her position in the saddle. "Simply riveting."
"Captain Diana says I notice things others don’t," Anna continued, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch. "That’s probably why she chose me for this mission. I mean, I can spot a deer track from fifty paces, tell you which direction the wind is blowing just by the way the leaves flutter, and I once identified an assassin at court just by noticing she was the only one not sweating during the summer solstice dance."
Elira snorted. "Or maybe she chose you hoping Thornvale’s elves would surrender just to make you stop talking."
Anna gasped in mock offense, then broke into a wide grin. "A strategic choice then! My endless chatter: the Moonlight Kingdom’s secret weapon." She patted her horse’s neck affectionately. "Poor Pebbles here has heard every story I know twice over. Haven’t you, girl?"
The horse snorted as if in agreement.
"See?" Anna laughed. "Even Pebbles is tired of my voice."
"Perhaps we should rename her ’Patience,’" Elira suggested with a smirk. "Though I think mine deserves a medal after four days of your company."
"You love it," Anna insisted. "Without me, you’d have nothing but trees and your own thoughts for company. Dreadfully boring, I’d say."