by Ian Carter
"I'm fine with riding horseback," Hayleigh spoke as she threw a sly look in Kai's direction. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience Erkau more than we need to. We can continue on horseback."
"Are you sure?" Aleksander quizzed. "Hayleigh, you know we always keep spare carriages in the stables. It's no trouble to provide you with a carriage and bring one of our spares out to replace it."
"See! It's no trouble Hayleigh," Kai stated with an agitated look in his eye. "We will gladly take you up on one of your carriages, Aleksander."
"As you wish, Your Highness. It will be prepared and available for you at first light tomorrow morning."
"Perfect, thank you." Kai looked out as the guard surrounding him and the new City Watchman.
"Aleksander! The rest of you! Do your best to protect this city and its inhabitants. That is an order from your prince!"
A gigantic roar filled the air from the City Guard as they acknowledged the words and job that Kai had given them. After Aleksander issued orders and the City Guard dispersed, Kai turned to Hayleigh.
"I take it back. You're being sent back to the Capital for that stunt." Mason and Hayleigh both began to chuckle as Kai insisted that he wasn't joking and that he was done with her making his life complicated. "It's only been, what, a week? I'm already sick of you."
◆◆◆
The stars graced the heavens above the group as their small cooking fire crackled and popped to provide the evening's soundtrack. The group was spending their second night in the wilderness after leaving Erkau in high spirits. Spooled fishing line sat off to the side of the seating arrangements, the same line that Mason used earlier to catch the fish for the evening's dinner. Kai and Hayleigh had both expressed a desire to learn how to fish, not only for the sake of their pride but also in case the worst came to pass, and they somehow became stranded alone. Mason spent most of the time doubling over in laughter instead of teaching as Kai repeatedly fell into the river as his attempts failed. He praised Hayleigh for her ability to catch on quickly, and after an hour, Hayleigh had enough of a grasp on fishing to continue on her own. Though his protégés made progress, Mason was the only victorious fisherman that day.
One large tent stood erected a few meters from the river's edge that would house the three. Previously in the trip, they had each gotten to sleep in their tent. But after Kai had been taken in Erkau, the group agreed on the safer option to sleep together. Unfortunately, the agreement took a mere two days before it annoyed Hayleigh. She was a light sleeper, and both Mason and Kai snored. Though it wasn't overly loud, it was enough to drive her crazy.
With the fish consumed, Hayleigh had begun to cook her signature stew on the fire. This stew would be their primary food for the next few days while on their way to the much more distant city of Karsdal, the next stop on the way to Stura. One of the benefits of having the carriage was the increased storage space for food. While they had quite a few provisions, it would be impossible to make it to Karsdal on them alone. The group had settled on the river to be their camping spot for the night a little earlier than they anticipated. They wanted to attempt to catch some fresh fish as opposed to their salted and cured rations; A gamble that had ended up paying off.
"What is even in that stew again, Hayleigh?" Kai asked as he sat on the carriage's step writing in his journal. Kai liked to scribe in his journal each night so he could have a record of the events of his trip. He wanted to both reflect on the journey in his later years or, in the worst case, have it be the record of the prince of Orilia's last weeks alive.
"Venison, vegetables such as carrots and celery, as well as some potatoes," Hayleigh replied. "This soup is also one of the rare things Mason or I can make that tastes better cold than it does hot. You're so lucky, Kai, having such a beautiful woman cook your meals." Hayleigh swished her hair to the side in a power display to which Kai could only roll his eyes.
"I have to agree with her, it tastes great," Mason confirmed. "Hayleigh brought some to eat after one of your spar sessions, and she let me have some. I look forward to having a few bowls in the next few days."
"You can have mine too Mason. She's probably just going to try to poison me," Kai rebuffed. "You can be my designated taste tester for Hayleigh's food before I eat it from now on."
"Why are you always so fucking rude to me?" Hayleigh shot at Kai.
"I ... I'm just making a joke."
"Well, it's only a joke if someone laughs at it, and I don't see anyone here with so much as a smile on their face, you jerk."
"Hey, now you two," Mason interjected with an exasperated sigh. "You two are always at each other's necks. Is it really going to be like this until you two finally discover you love each other or something? That would be such a good storybook ending—" A small spoon hit Mason directly in the middle of his forehead. Mason fell backward off the tree trunk he had been sitting on and flat onto his back.
"I would never love someone who has the maturity level of a seven-year-old boy picking his nose," Hayleigh yelled at Mason. "If you say that again, you're getting my Blade in your forehead next!"
"I couldn't agree more," Kai confirmed. "I could never be with someone who is so far past her prime."
"Past my prime? I'm 25!"
"You heard me," Kai said. "I would much rather be with someone younger than you, like Rhea. Her body is sexier, and she always has a smile on her face. Rhea is sincere in everything she says, unlike you. You're always trying to make my life difficult both in and out of training."
"I can't believe how dense you are! The only reason I speak like this to you is you're so immature. The only reason we're arguing right now is your fault. Making fun of the food I'm pouring my effort into, so you won't fucking starve—"
"Oh, that makes sense. Maybe your love is the poi..." Kai began before a small rock plunked him on the left side of his face that caused him to stop talking and clench at his head.
"What did you..." Hayleigh started before she suffered the same fate with a soft clunk. A small whimper left her mouth as Mason entered back into the cooking fire's light. He tossed several smaller stones up from his hand before he swiped them out of the air.
"Would ... you two ... shut up!" Mason barked. Both Kai and Hayleigh stopped mid agony and looked to Mason. An angry look sprawled across his face as he switched his glance between the two of them.
"Kai, stop being rude to Hayleigh. She is trying her best, and you know what she has been through, be more of a man and cut that stuff out!" Kai responded to Mason's words by lowering his head and closing his eyes. "Hayleigh, you cut it out too. Kai is on this mission to grow as both a man and as the future leader of our kingdom. How can he make progress when the only woman he has had a friendship with—or a relationship of any kind—keeps reminding him of how far he has to go!" On cue, she dropped her head as well.
"It's time you two stopped being petty twenty-somethings and started to become friends honestly. Real friends. Unless you two are happy to keep doing this crap over and over to each other?"
Silence fell upon the camp as the fires crackles and pops filled the air in the place of their voices. Mason let out an exasperated breath and turned towards the river and set off. The soft clanks of his armor slowly faded into the darkness to leave Kai and Hayleigh to suffer in their awkwardness.
Kai sighed and clasped shut his journal and let it fall to the step with a thud. He lifted himself and shuffled over to the log where Hayleigh sat. He gestured towards the empty place on the wood, to which she gestured with a nod of her head to sit down. Kai smiled and settled in next to her, and they both stared into the flames in front of them. A soft bubbling sound started to emit from the large pot, signalling that the stew had finally begun to boil.
After she checked on the stew, Hayleigh returned to her seat and threw her hands together under her chin.
"I'm sorry," Hayleigh said to break the silence between them. "I give you too much flack for your maturity, especially when you took on this mission to better yourself an
d grow as a person. I shouldn't chastise you—I should praise you." Hayleigh spoke to Kai even though her face still pointed towards the fire.
"You shouldn't have been the first one to apologize, Hayleigh," Kai answered as he stared directly forward at the fire as well. "For someone who wants to lead millions of people, I'm pretty thin-skinned ... If I can't handle some playful and slightly painful remarks from you, how can I take legitimate criticisms from an old man? What about a beggar in the street, or a military commander? I'm sorry for relegating myself to using the same awful remarks that aren't even true in the first place."
"Well, I should be clear, you're still immature ... but you aren't close to as bad as you would think from my comments. The fact that you can acknowledge things about yourself that you want to change, and you know that you need to change... those are qualities a king should have. I will enjoy watching you grow into someone the kingdom will be happy to have as a ruler."
A small smile broke across Kai's face. "I want you to know that I don't intend to be rude to you or to be mean with my remarks. A lot of it draws from my insecurity, and it's a natural reaction for me to do it. Apart from our issues, you have been an impossibly great teacher to me. I have learned so much from competing against you day in and day out. I would not be anywhere near as good with a Blade today without you."
"Most of my comments don't come from a malicious place either. A lot of the time, I tease you to enjoy your reactions. I don't want to mitigate the progress you're experiencing, so I will try to cut back on some of the things I say. I tease you because I'm comfortable enough around you to do it, not because I hate you. So keep that in mind from now on." Hayleigh slapped her hand down on his shoulder and beamed a smile at him. Kai, in turn, let out a small laugh and turned his face towards her.
"It's a big boost to my morale and ego when someone as beautiful and skilled with a Blade can say these things and show confidence in me. Thank you, Hayleigh."
A new silence fell upon the two as they stared into each other's eyes. It was only for a moment, but for Hayleigh and Kai, it felt like it went on for hours. The crux of negativity that always seemed placed between them had, if only briefly, been swept aside. Kai saw Hayleigh in a new light with the clean air between them, and he felt a real connection to her. Not just as a sparring partner and a travelling companion, but a true friend. Kai could faintly make out by the look on her face that she felt the same.
A bucketful of water sloshed out from the bucket in Mason's hand and smothered the flames from the fire. The sudden shock of the event caused Kai to jump and grab onto Hayleigh's shoulders as his eyes looked to the steaming pile of wood for the cause. Hayleigh released a substantial laugh at Kai's reaction that caused Mason to laugh as well at Kai's expense. Kai angrily threw a nearby rock at Mason that clumsily clanked off his chest armor.
Hayleigh loudly chuckled as she took the soup pot and waded off in the direction of the lamp-lit hanging inside the carriage. As she began to portion out the cooked soup, Kai shouted expletives at Mason for scaring him so badly. The verbal abuse continued as they walked towards the tent to remove Kai's armor and prepare for the trio's bedtime.
Chapter Eight
Abandon All Hope
"Can I ask you a question, Kai? Why do you keep holding on to that Stone?"
Mason's question stirred Kai's conscience and brought him back to reality. The mid-day sun beat down on the two as they sat on the carriage's driver's bench as they travelled through the barren desert that laid between Erkau and Karsdal. Very little shrubbery existed around them to ease the dunes' endlessness. However, they occasionally witnessed a lonely cactus that poked its way up from the horizon. It had been hours since they last saw any kind of water or other signs of life. The only thing to keep their minds off their boredom was each other and their horses trudging down the skinny road made from packed down sand.
Hayleigh laid sound asleep in the carriage's passenger compartment on the rear seat. She had spent the past few hours with her male companions in the blistering sun before she hid away. She was so tired that only the occasional bump from the carriage spurred a change of her position. She did not deal well with prolonged exposure to intense sunlight, so she had decided not to take any chances during the day's trip across the desert. Kai was supremely jealous that she got to sequester herself in the shade of the curtains that covered the windows. Still, he also couldn't stand the thought of sitting in the compartment with only a wall to stare at for entertainment. He decided to pick the lesser of two evils and sit beside Mason to help guide the horses through the seemingly endless sand.
"This stone is special to me," Kai reasoned, thankful he and Mason had a topic of conversation. He tucked his blue Stone back into the breast pocket behind his armor. "It was the first Stone I ever laid my hands on, and at the very least, I like to lose myself in its ocean of blue. In the sunlight, it's even more brilliant."
"That's your only reason? You don't even know what it does. It may look nice, but it's useless." Kai raised an eyebrow at Mason for being somewhat biting with his comments.
"How do you know it's useless if you don't know what it does?"
"Well, you can't use it right now, right?"
"Correct. I cannot."
"Then it's useless. You could have effortlessly convinced any of the Fives Houses to lend you a Stone of your preference. Yet, you chose to come unprepared with a useless Stone because it looked nice?"
"I have my reasons," Kai rebuked. "I have a feeling this is going to become my new best friend when I eventually figure out what the heck it does."
"I would prefer if you took the Stones a bit more seriously," Mason stated with a hint of annoyance. "I and sleeping beauty back there have our mission too, which is to protect you. A prince who only has two Stones and can't use half of them! If we come across a situation we can't control, like we already have in mind, all you can do is hide. If the worst comes to pass, would you leave Hayleigh and I to fend for ourselves and hide? Or would you instead opt to fight against enemies with Stones in their Blades that they know how to use?"
"I would fight beside both of you," Kai answered immediately. "You know I can fight just fine without using any Stones."
"You're above average for your age, sure ..." Mason pondered his words for a moment. "Prince Kai, you're going to have to fight some incredibly powerful and skilled Bladesmen soon. Against such strong opponents, being skilled with a Blade is only one part of the equation. Having Stones you can rely on, one that is compatible with your fighting style, will be the difference between life and death." A short silence befell the men as some type of bird flew over the carriage, casting its minuscule shadow overtop the men.
"When we get to Stura, and we have to take on Terrell Braga, there's no chance you can take him on with just an Invisibility Stone you haven't mastered yet. Hayleigh and I are going to have to do all the fighting."
"What are you talking about? No, you won't! I will be the one to fight him."
"I've already abandoned any hope of that. I couldn't let you take him on right currently as you are. Unfortunately, you would not survive, and it's not a particularly close fight either Prince Kai. I feel now that having you realize this sooner rather than later will benefit you the most."
Kai sat shocked at Mason's comments as silence hung in the air. The horse's footsteps did little to break the tension, nor Hayleigh's soft snores from behind them.
"That was pretty rude, Mason. What's wrong with you? You've been in a bad mood all day, and now you're taking it out on me for no reason."
Mason released a hand from the reigns and ruffled it through his dirty brown hair and released an agitated growl. He released a long sigh and stared into the distance.
"My apologies, Your Highness. Though my words are true, I've been thinking about our overall situation since we entered the desert, and it's bubbling over. Once in a blue moon, I get into these little moods where I overthink, and when I can't find an answer or don't like my concl
usion, I'm a little more brazen with my words than I normally am."
"A little?"
"A lot then, whatever," Mason dismissed, the annoyed tone in his voice fully pronounced. "You don't see it very often because we don't usually spend days on end together like this. Normally I'll be in this kind of mood on the farm, or while you're off in the castle, so you've never seen it. It's been almost a month being on this mission with you two, and this is your first time seeing it. That's a pretty remarkable pace if I do say so myself."
"Wait a minute," Kai said in a panic. "We've been on the road for three weeks. After we get to Karsdal, we have another two and a half weeks before we hit Tipana in Stura. I hope I don't have to see you like this again. Annoyed Mason has now overtaken annoyed Hayleigh as my least favourite person to be around." Mason and Kai both broke into a peal of silly laughter before Mason gestured towards the compartment where Hayleigh lay sleeping, which caused both of them to calm their laughter hastily.
