Chapter III

The world of Oledale is separated by gender and species. The current King of Kukya is especially prejudiced towards citizens who are not human, banning them from coming into the kingdom. Both Roes and her brother Caden have different views on this topic and want everyone to live in harmony. Though Roes doesn’t want to become Queen, she knows her brother would be a kind and just King. The travelers’ rest, Pran, was established by the famous adventurer named Pran. From Kukya to Pran, the common hunting game is red deer and jackrabbit.

Roes and Miracle headed out early in the morning since they still had a while before arriving at Kirkwall. So, getting an early start would save some time on not only daylight but travel and weather. By the looks of it, they may be walking into rain very soon as dark clouds begin looming above them. They decide to take shelter at an abandoned guards’ barrack. Still well kept by travelers who pass through and use it to stay out of harsh weather and camp for the night.

“I didn’t think that the weather was going to be like this during our adventure,” Roes sighed with a pout. Miracle laughed, a smile spreading on their lips, telling the princess that they will have plenty of time to reach Kirkwall. The bodyguard sets their bags down, taking out an ax to chop up some wood in the pile that was stacked in a corner. Miracle starts a fire as Roes takes a step outside under the zoning to wring out the water in her clothing. “Oh! Someone made a makeshift clothesline,” said the princess, looking up to see the bit of fishing wire from one post to the other from where she was standing.

She hangs up the wet clothing just as her bodyguard takes off their armor to remove the piece of wet clothing. Roes peeks but quickly turns her head away, a deep blush on her face. The princess plays with the ends of her hair nervously and gives Miracle a sideways glance as they walk to the entrance, writing out their clothes. “I was thinking… when the rain stops, we could take a bath together. I saw some bouncing bets on our way through and picked some. There was a freshwater stream as well.” Roes cleared her throat. The bodyguard nodded, stating that it would be nice to do afterwards but first they needed something warm to eat.

Miracle began making a stew using some salted red deer meat they had left over from their hunt yesterday. A few wild vegetables and seasonings were added. The bodyguard mixed it together and let it boil. The lid began to gently rattle on top. The barracks was lit by the glowing light of the fire. The princess sat across from Miracle, sitting with her legs pulled to her chest. She rested her head on her knees.

The fire danced in her eyes, and the bodyguard thought that she was absolutely breathtaking. Roes had always been ever since the first day they met. She saved their life and gave them a second chance, even giving them a name when they had forgotten who they were. “Is there something on my face?” The princess asked. She smiled and giggled, causing Miracle to find something else to look at. “Oh, come now, don’t pretend that you weren’t staring at me just now. I caught you.” said Roes.

The bodyguard pouts at the princess for teasing them and crosses their arms over their chest. They turn their head, the tips of their ears tipped in a red blush. Roes smiles, thinking that her bodyguard looks cute as always. The stew would be done soon. Miracle picks up a spoon and stirs it. The scent of herbs fills the space.

Both of them eat together, watching the rain outside, chewing on some fresh bread to go along with it. “Did you happen to pack the canopy umbrella?” the princess asked. The bodyguard nodded, motioning towards their bag. “Good. I’ll hold it for us while we walk. We can’t very well stay here all day, especially with Kirkwall being another day’s trip ahead of us. It will only delay us.” said Roes, sipping her soup. Miracle believed that Roes was afraid that her father may have sent people out searching for them.

“That certainly warmed me up. Thank you, Miracle.” The princess sighed happily. She smiled at them and put her bowl aside to check the hanging clothes. Miracle finished their soup as well and gathered up their dishes using the metal bucket. They sat outside to watch the water and washed the dishes they used along with the pot. “The clothes are still a bit damp. So they’ll need a bit more time to dry… oh, would you look at that!” Roes motioned towards the sky at a rainbow streaking across it. As the rain began to slowly stop, tapering off to a sprinkle.

The princess guessed they wouldn’t be walking in the rain after all. In a way, she was glad since it could be dangerous. It also made it easy for bandits to use as a cover to steal from travelers. “It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it? I wonder how many more rainbows we will see together.” Roes pondered aloud. Miracle responds, telling her that they will see many more after this one, and the princess nods.

“Let’s get our things and head down to the stream,” said the princess . Miracle helped gather all of their gear together. Along the way, they gathered some bouncing bits. They used these for bathing in the stream. When rubbed between your hands, they made a soft, light scent lather like soap.

Roes and her bodyguard took turns being the scout for one another. To ensure no one would walk up on them. “I feel so much better. What about you?” the princess sighed in relief. She turned to Miracle, who had just finished dressing as they waited for their hanged clothes to dry. The bodyguard nodded, saying that it felt good to wash off all of the dirt and sweat.

“I agree. We have been traveling quite a bit, so it tends to stick with you, doesn’t it?” Roes nods.

With their clothes and bodies dry, they continued on their journey to Kirkwall. Following the trail on the map, they still had another day and a half to go. The princess stopped when they began to lose daylight, walking into an inn that wasn’t marked on the map. “I wonder when they decided to build this here?” Roes asked curiously. Miracle shrugged, pointing out that it wasn’t even marked on the map.

“Well, should we check it out? It might be a spooky haunted inn that only appears every couple of years.” The princess teased. The bodyguard shuddered at the thought but agreed to go inside with Roes following closely behind her. The wooden floorboards creaked underfoot, and the door closed securely behind them. “H-hello?” Roes announced, her voice trembling. Miracle stood next to her, a hand on their sword, ready to protect the princess if things turned bad.

Out of the back, a young man about their age stepped up to the counter and bowed his head.

“Welcome to the Hag’s Tavern.”