The forest echoed with the steady rhythm of marching feet.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Hundreds of boots pressed against the damp earth, their cadence broken only by the occasional creak of wagon wheels and the snorting of horses weaving through the column. Sunlight slipped between towering pines, painting shifting patches of gold across helmets, shields and worn cloaks. The deeper they travelled into Vargarde, the quieter the forest became, as though even nature understood strangers had entered its domain.
The foot soldiers marched together while officers and veterans rode horseback near the center of the column. Captain Wulfric and Vice Captain Hugo led from the front, speaking in low voices. Morgana rode just behind them, while Aldreic walked beside her horse, one hand loosely holding its reins.
The silence between the two was noticeably different from the day before.
Whatever understanding had begun forming around the campfire had vanished overnight.
Morgana sat straight-backed upon her horse, wearing the same composed expression expected of a noblewoman, though every now and then her eyes drifted toward her father before quickly looking away again. When Aldreic spoke, her replies were short. Cold. Almost as though she had decided yesterday's conversation had never happened.
Wulfric eventually guided his horse closer to Hugo.
"You should settle this."
Hugo didn't even glance behind him.
"They're children."
"They'll work it out."
Wulfric sighed.
"Children?"
His voice carried more disbelief than amusement.
"Hugo... at their age people marry. They inherit lands. They command armies."
He glanced briefly toward Aldreic.
"Especially that boy."
Still Hugo refused to look back.
"These things have a way of fixing themselves."
"No," Wulfric answered firmly.
"They don't."
The words hung between them.
"If you're determined to die carrying every burden alone..." his tone softened, "...fine."
"But at least give your daughter peace."
A long silence followed.
"Tell her about her mother."
Hugo said nothing.
His grip around the reins quietly tightened.
Morgana stared absent-mindedly at the road stretching ahead.
*What exactly is so special about him?*
Her eyes drifted toward Aldreic again.
Father trusts him.
Captain Wulfric trusts him.
Everyone speaks to him differently.
She studied him.
He simply walked.
No complaints.
No attempts at conversation.
No curiosity about where they were going.
Just quietly guiding her horse.
Without warning he spoke.
"Do you need something?"
She nearly jumped.
How does he keep doing that...?
She hadn't made a sound.
"...Water."
He nodded and reached behind the saddle, retrieving a leather flask before handing it up to her.
As she drank, he spoke again.
"If you drink too much, you'll need to stop later."
She lowered the flask.
"That's none of your concern."
"It becomes my concern if we have to stop."
She rolled her eyes before noticing something.
"This isn't mine."
"No."
"...Whose is it?"
"Mine."
She frowned.
"Then why didn't you give me mine?"
"It's empty."
He answered so matter-of-factly that she almost laughed.
"I'll refill it at the next stop."
"And if there isn't one?"
"I'll find water."
She looked at him for a long moment.
There wasn't the slightest hesitation in his answer.
As though taking care of someone else's needs before his own was simply... normal.
A faint smile escaped her lips.
"...A true knight."
"What?"
"Nothing."
She looked away before he could ask again.
Meanwhile Aldreic frowned to himself.
A knight...?
What exactly is a knight?
After another hour of marching, Aldreic looked around the column.
"Where's Jack?"
"I don't know," Morgana replied.
"He isn't with us."
Aldreic nodded before looking toward the front of the column where Hugo and Wulfric still rode side by side.
"Can we move closer?"
Morgana followed his gaze.
An opportunity to ride beside her father.
"...Fine."
Trying to sound indifferent, she nudged her horse forward while Aldreic gently guided it through the marching soldiers until they reached the commanders.
As soon as they arrived, Aldreic spoke.
"Don't worry."
The two commanders looked down at him.
"We're not arguing anymore."
Silence.
Wulfric blinked.
Hugo slowly turned toward him.
Morgana stared in complete confusion.
...What?
Wulfric glanced sideways at Hugo.
Were we speaking that loudly?
Hugo met his eyes with the exact same question.
Neither of them had noticed Aldreic listening.
The awkward silence lasted only a moment before Aldreic asked another question.
"Where's Jack?"
Hugo answered first.
"He's a scout."
"He left before dawn."
"He'll be informing the border garrisons of our arrival."
Almost on cue—
The distant sound of galloping echoed through the trees.
Every experienced soldier instinctively turned toward it.
A horse burst through the forest path.
Jack.
His horse was drenched in sweat.
So was he.
Before the animal had even fully stopped, Jack shouted at the top of his lungs.
"HALT!"
The entire column ground to a stop.
Boots scraped against dirt.
Horses snorted impatiently.
A tense silence spread through the forest.
Jack caught his breath before speaking.
"Forward resistance."
"They're already waiting for us."
A murmur swept through the ranks.
They had expected resistance.
Just...
Not this soon.
Hugo lowered his head, thinking.
Only a few moments passed before he looked back up.
"We're not fighting."
His voice was calm.
"We're going to parley."
Without realizing it, one word escaped Aldreic's mouth.
"...Why?"
Nearly every officer nearby looked toward him.
Not with anger.
With disbelief.
To them...
The answer was obvious.
To Aldreic...
It wasn't.
Yet beneath that innocent question, another feeling quietly stirred.
The word battle had reached him before the explanation did.
His heartbeat had quickened.
His grip tightened unconsciously around the reins.
Something inside him had awakened again.
That same unfamiliar pull he had felt after his first kill.
He couldn't name it.
He only knew one thing.
Whatever waited ahead...
A part of him wanted to see it.