Two Worlds to Know

"It seems as though you truly don't need a wife after all," she teases him with a laugh as she went to sit beside the man, crossing one leg over the other as her eyes stared into the fire, "You seem to be doing just fine all your own where food and care is concerned, haha."
 
He smiled and bit, pulling her closer to him
"...I don't require a wife to cook or care for me..but I do require a lady to love and be with me..."
He smiled and ran his hand down and played with her fingers, smiling at her as the food cooked
 
She smiled bashfully, but let him do as he pleased, enjoying the gentle warm touch while she could. He wanted a lady to love and be with him...a small part of her said that she couldn't be that lady, even after the love they made. She didn't feel much like a lady, more like a traveler, a witch; besides, once they reached Castian and he became a knight, he would be invited to many royal balls where he would meet a plethora of beautiful, elegant, delicate ladies that would be more than happy to marry him. While no girl could hardly pass her in his village, how could she hold a candle to the ladies of court?

She couldn't. Regardless, now was not the time to be thinking depressed thoughts and instead focused her attention on him, smiling brightly.

"And I have full faith that you will marry a suitable lady that loves you and adores you and will happily spend the rest of forever with you," she replied, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

(Hey! I have to turn in for the night. I have class early tomorrow and it's already late. I will be on tomorrow in the afternoon, though! After 12pm, so hopefully I'll see you later tomorrow. ^.^)
 
He looked at her, something about last night was more than magical. it was a connection and this journey would prove it further as he smiled at her, rubbing her arm still looking at the tanning meat, the succulent morsels ready to be devoured as he tore off some of the pork and ate it, then went to Ellie's tent
"..Wake up sweetheart..breakfast is ready and you also need to shower.."
He smiled and Ellie soon jolted up, hugging Rush in the face
"..Mmm Morning Rush~"
she giggled and let go, waking up fully and walking outside to Narida, sitting in her lap and tearing off some meat, eating cutely
 
Nadira sat up a little straighter as the small child climbed into her lap, making herself comfortable as she indulged in the juicy meets of the boar. This was a new experience for the witch; usually, children were always wary of her for their innocence made them sensitive to the dark auras that surrounded others. They never went near her, not without shivering or crying in fright, some even claiming to have seen her shadow hounds lurking nearby, glaring at them, grinning their dark grin. Ellie, however, seemed oblivious to it or she just didn't care. Nadira smiled gently at the little girl and stroked her hair before she wrapped her arms around her waist when a floating flower made its way toward them.

It danced in the wind, it's pretty orange and pink petals swaying from side to side as it drew ever closer. The witch watched it closely, suspecting that something was amiss about the flower...and having her suspicions confirmed. Something was indeed amiss about it, but it was something pure and pleasant that Ellie would find beautiful.

"Just sit still and let it come to you," she instructed the little girl as the petals swayed in front of them.

In the next instant, the flower turned upside down and the leavy green figure of a tiny mystical being revealed herself. It was a Flower Maiden, a special type of creature whose soul purpose was to bring joy and beauty to the children that looked upon it. The petals were made into the skirts of her dress, the stem her body and leavy green tendrils her arms and legs. Her face was small and green with two big black eyes peering at them gently. She tittered and laughed, floating closer to the beautiful child and tapping her nose.
 
Both Rush and Ellie watch this in awe and fascination, he walked over, leaning down in front of them to watch the being dance and flow in the breeze. The little girl just watched, holidng onto her plushy but her eyes never left the dancing leaves. Rush sat down, legs outstretched towards the witch as he leaned forward, the flower maiden daintily flew towards the girl, landing on her arm and dancing graciously on her skin, sending shivers and giggles to Ellie as she watched. Shadow, the energetic puppy was calmed down by the motions of this flower maiden. Soon though, she changed back into her flowery figure, brushing against Nadira's cheek as the wind carried her off to the next plumage of dancers.
"...That was incredible..."
"And lovely!" Ellie chimed in
 
The witch laughed at their amazement, watching the flower follow the stream of the wind, "They are meant to bring happiness and joy to children. I say she accomplished that task very well today, haha! That also means that our road ahead will be a safe and peaceful one, at least for now. Flower Maidens will hide if anything fearsome approaches their homes. Just the fact that that one was dancing about means that all is well."
 
Rush was too busy watching the flower maiden off, Ellie walks up and holds his hand., tugging at it to get him back to the real world, She was dressed and ready, Shadow was pacing rapidly in excitement and his sword was on his sheathe. He smiled at his companions and nodded, kicking the fire out with dirt and repacking the tents on his back.
"Well time's wasting then, Let's move out!"
 
And off they went again. True to Nadira's prediction, the road ahead was safe and peaceful, the trolls from the night before apparently having long passed them at some point. More Flower Maidens began to flutter around them as they left the protective trees of the forest and found themselves traveling along the beaten path surrounded by a field of wild and beautiful flowers, some of them just nature's creation and others the mystical Flower Maidens. The witch giggled as Ellie excitedly danced among them, hearing them titter and giggle as the child played to their singing and joy.
 
Rush smiled at this, slowly leaning on a tree to take a breath but looked up at some pears in a above branch, climbing the tree with ease and sitting upon the perch, he kicked some of the lush fruit upon the ground with a few soft thuds and smiles, grabbing one himself and biting in, the succulent juices traced his lips as he slowly crawled back down. Ellie partook in the weight as well with a satisfied "Mmmmmm~"
She sat and leaned against Shadow who happily let her, looking at Nadira with content and welcoming, panting slightly as his tail thwacked at the dirt below him
Rush walked back up to Nadira and offered her a pear as well, smiling as he still had his fruit locked in his jaws
 
Tilting her head to the side and studying the pear in Rush's hand and the one in his mouth, she grinned mishievously and wedged the one in his mouth out of its hold between his teeth. She then, after making sure Ellie wasn't paying too much attention, kissed him and traced her tongue along his juice-ridden lips to taste the sweet liquid as it slid down her throat. She pulled back and gazed into his eyes, her own laughing at her little trick.

"Thank you," she replied finally, biting into the already bitten pear and leaving him with the whole one as she walked ahead a little.
 
He blushes and looked over, noting Ellie and Shadow were too busy with their pears to notice as well as entranced with the pixies, he grabbed Nadira's hand and pulled her back, kissing her deeply, dropping his pear to the ground and giving her his full attention.
He smiled and slowly broke away, licking at the nectar on her chin for the pear and he drew back, grinning more and giving her side a gentle stroke as he walked back to pick up his pear
As they went along the route more, he stood beside the with, hand in hand as Ellie held his other. He was surprised to wonder why his sister never questioned why he and Nadira were close, and also curious why Nadira never wondered how the Husky that accompanied them, a breed full of wonder and energy, always obediently stayed with them
 
They had continued walking for some time, the band of three heading for the Kingdom of Castian. They had just passed through the entrance to a small valley riddled with boulders and large rocks when the witch suddenly came to a stop, the others following her lead. She remained perfectly still, staring at the ground as she strained her ears to listen all around her, sending a pack of her demon dogs out to scour the area. Something didn't seem right, there was something rank in the air that told her she should be worried. Half a second later, she whipped around and yanked on Rush and Ellie's arm.

"Quickly! Duck down!" she whispered harshly, pulling them behind a small enclosure of rocks that hid them from the trail, the witch calling Shadow to their hiding place, "No one move a single muscle."

She pushed Ellie's head down into Rush's chest, instructing the young man to keep her eyes off the path, just as a band of trolls went tromping by. Their terrible odor wafted around them, the smell so bad it could bring tears to the eyes, but Nadira kept her gaze locked on them as she watched them lumber past the enclosure. They were muttering to themselves and breaking rocks with their giant clubs, blood dripping from their mouths and hands, signs that they had just been on the kill.
 
He wrinkled his nose in the stench and covered Ellie's eyes and ears with his hands and chest, letting his heartbeat clam her as the trolls clamored on, he swallowed a lump as he tried to hold back form vomiting, snarling at the stench, Shadow however just soot firm, crouched and poised but stopped as Rush petted him with his leg, telling him to stay calm, knowing that one wrong move could mean their deaths

Moments, that seemed like an eternity, passed for the group,taking a deep breath of fresh air that was no longer stained with the atrocious stench, he was the first to emerge holding his hands out for the others to head out
"They're gone off now, but form the looks of it and their...."
He looked at his innocent sister
"...Meal...they just left a village...hopefully only lost livestock..."
 
"We'll take an alternate road, one less traveled," Nadira replied as she handed Ellie over to her brother before climbing out on her own, her brow furrowed just as Trophnac appeared before her, sniffing at his mistress to be assured that she was okay, "Trolls are never not hungry and if we continue behind them, they'll just come after us. I've never had much of a problem, but with you two on this journey as well, I won't take that chance."

She looked down at her faithful hound, listened to him snarl and yip before he melted into the shadows and reappeared atop a boulder, overlooking a small pass that lead farther down into the valley, underneath the path the trolls were taking. Nadira followed her hound, lightly hopping up to assess the dangers of this new route. It would be tougher, no doubt, very rocky and somewhat unstable. It was a chance, but she wouldn't let Rush and Ellie or even shadow get hurt.

"We'll go this way...it's the safest road that Trophnac can find," she stated, petting her demon as it nuzzled into her hand, "You trust me...right?"

She looked Rush in his eyes, showing her sincerity and truth.
 
He knew she was a trickster and a fiend..but not a liar and not once to harm him or his sister, the night before could attest to that after their passion and he nodded, taking her hand in his and nodding once more looking at the path ahead of him
"..Luckily the footing is large and wide enough for us to cross but no troll could fit those creases...we'll be fine...and I trust you entirely.."
He smiled and looked up
"..But we better get to a settlement soon..Nightfall is looming and the trolls are notorious for night walks...maybe a village is close by and we can roost there for the night and continue tomorrow but we haste..."
He picked Ellie up and hoisted her onto his shoulders, walking along with Nadira to the mountain face, looking down at the chasm they must cross, slowly breathing in
"...Send a hound first..They'll see if the footing is safe..."
 
Nadira looked across to the rocky bridge that stretchd over the chasm, shaking her head negative, "I don't even need to send them out...I can already tell it's too weak for us to cross at one time. We would have to cross one at a time to make it over safely...or..."

The witch stopped and touched her fingers to the emerald around her necklace, another idea forming in her mind as she bit her lip. It was a risky one, primarily for Rush and Ellie because it involved using her dark magic to help them cross the chasm, but if they weren't careful, the beasts inside the shadows she would use would play tricks on them. She bit her bottom lip; it was definitely safer for her to use the shadows then it was for them to trust nature at that moment. She lifted the emerald up to her lips and whispered words into it in that strange foreign tongue. The air around them darkened and the stone bridge that once stood weak and brittling was now replaced by blackness, a new bridge created by the shadows Nadira commanded, a sturdier one that would ensure their safe passage over the falls. However, there was a catch.

"I will walk behind you, Rush, and I will keep my hand on your shoulder to let you know I'm still here," she told him, guiding him towards the black bridge, "I need you to keep your eyes closed, okay? I will guide you forward, but do not open your eyes. There will be things that will jump out at you, trying to get you to scream or yell; you can't make any loud noises."

She then put her hand to Ellie's back, whispering gently to the little girl, "You too, Ellie, you keep your face pushed into your brother's back. Don't open your eyes and don't look up, not until I tell you it's safe."

With that, she picked Shadow up in her arms, hiding him under her cloak to protect him, and placed her hand on Rush's shoulder like she had promised, "Are you ready?"
 
he was uneasy at the sight of the bridge but looked back at the witch, and nodded, he trusted her enough and did as he was told, holding his sister's head into his chest and wrapping his arm around her head to block her ears, shutting his tight and nodding, slowly walking, scuttling his feet to keep a tocuh to the ground, moving his shoulder back for Nadira to grasp as they walked.
As he moved, small pebbles of the rock underneath the blankness smoothed off, trmbling down the mountain face which made him inch towards the wall but he was still feverent to pass the chasm, walking slowly over the depths of dark. He could feel the energy of beings around him but they did nothing as his eyes were tight, Ellie shivered and almost cried but Rish put a tender touch to her cheek and she nuzzled in, knwoing her brother was there and just as frightened was somehow calming her fit as they went.
It seemed like hours before they stepped in solid ground, but Rish and Ellie bolted ahead around a corner away form the shadows and huddled together, hugging each other close and making sure they were alright
"..You did good Ellie
"...Rush I was scared..."
"I was too but we're safe now..."
He looked back at his lover, her hand still on his shoulder and he smiled, kissing her finger "..Thank you..."
 
Nadira's eyes dimmed back to their original color and she smiled in return, gently caressing Rush's cheek with those kissed fingers, "You are welcome, knight-to-be. I am very proud of the both of you for doing so well."

Reaching forward, she took Ellie into her arms and gave her a mighty hug, stroking the child's hair, "You were so brave, Ellie, and even more because you weren't afraid to admit you were scared."

She pulled back to look down at the little girl's face, brushing her thumb over her soft cheek, "You're going to be a strong and beautiful woman one day and I hope I'm lucky enough to get to see it. I'm sorry I scared you, but the shadows are gone now and they won't be coming back unless I tell them to. I promise."
 
She smiled and buried her face to her bosom, holding Nadira close as Rush peeked around
"..Thank the gods a village..."
Sure enough there was a stone arch and a gate protecting the entrance to the safehouse and crossroads, this settlement seemed more avanced and rich than his hometown
"..Ahhh New Haven..I heard of this place, they will gladly take us in..>"
Ellie took Rush's hand and walked with himas he looked at Nadira
"..This time please don't upset the villagers and no going near merchants without me, but first we should find a housing..."
As they enter, the streets were still bustling ever at the late night time, Gaurds were patrolling the streets as two archers kept watch in each district in the gates to protect form trolls or other foul creatures
"..My hunch was right, those trolls only got a cattle or something..."
He smiled and led the group to a hotel, placing some gold shillings on the table "..Room for three plus one dog"
He was handed a key and sent upstairs, where they went into a room, seperated by a door and setting Ellie on the bed, smilign as he helped take her shoes off and she ran to play around.
"..Phew..long day...."
 
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