"Arl Chester?" The knight squinted his obsidian eyes at the young teenager.
"Yes! Yes! Son of William Chester. I’m just a peasant!" replied Arl earnestly.
Noah’s eyes narrowed even further as he continued to question the teenager.
"And what brings a peasant like you to a place where he doesn’t belong?" he asked, his voice low and nacing.
Arl hesitated for a mont before answering. "I was only passing by!" he exclaid, his voice rising with panic.
But Noah wasn’t convinced. "Lies!" he spat. "This is not a pedestrian road. This is a campsite for the knights of Cassian on duty!" he exclaid, his voice rising in anger.
"I swear it’s true! I was simply bidding farewell. I had planned on leaving this location," Arl insisted. He almost choked in fear at the sight of a long sword pointed at his neck. Beads of sweat began to form on his temple as he trembled.
"Who were you bidding farewell to? This place is deserted. There’s no one here," Clara countered.
"I know... I only wanted to catch one last glimpse of this place. It reminds of the lady who used to reside in the camp," said the teenager, still shaking.
Noah raised an eyebrow and took a mont to think. Besides the commander’s wife, he couldn’t recall any other won in the camp.
"Who exactly are you referring to?" he asked.
The knight glared at him again, with the sword still nacingly close to Arl’s neck.
"Lad... Lady Anna Raychard," the teenager stamred as he trembled in fear.
"That’s the pri-!" As Emily was about to blurt about Anna, Clara quickly covered her mouth, silencing her urgently and gesturing to her not to carelessly reveal the princess’s status to an unknown person.
"How did you know her?" asked the knightess urgently, her eyes fixed on Arl.
The teenager hesitated for a mont before answering.
"Please remove the sword first! I’m scared! I promise I will answer all your questions! Just... please... put it away!" he pleaded.
Noah cast a quick glance at Clara, and she nodded imperceptibly. Understanding the unspoken ssage, the knight withdrew his sword from Arl’s neck, but he kept a firm grip on it, just in case.
Noah’s eyes flicked over to the teenager, sizing him up. He could tell Arl was no fighter; his stance was awkward and untrained. Despite his youthful appearance and friendly look, the teenager lacked physical prowess and combat skills. He was tall and slender for his age, but his figure was not the build of an experienced spy and bore no threat to the knight.
Thus, Noah wasn’t worried about him attempting to retaliate. He knew that the teenager couldn’t possibly match him, and he had no intention of causing any harm unless it was essential.
Relieved from the withdrawal, Arl took a deep breath before answering. He hesitated for a mont before answering.
"She used to save my life, as well as my brother’s and my neighbour’s," he said, his voice filled with gratitude.
The teenager then told them how he and the two other foragers had been affected by an unknown sickness and how the princess and the Knights of Gerhard had saved them.
He described the occurrence in detail, explaining how Anna had been determined to help them and how the knights, the healer, and his assistant had treated them.
"Why would the lady attend to you and not the assistant or the other knights in the first place?" Emily intervened with curiosity.
"They were taking precautions. She believed it was a dangerous disease that could affect everyone, and she also said she was immune to it. The rest of them only ca close after a day," he replied.
"I don’t know what the sickness was. I did ask the lady, but she was reluctant to speak about it. So, I didn’t ask further," he added.
"That’s strange... she has always been frail and sick. How can she be immune to so kind of sickness?" Clara muttered to herself with a brooding expression.
Convinced by Arl’s explanation, Noah slowly sheathed his sword, his eyes never leaving the teenager. He was still wary but knew that the teenager posed no imdiate threat.
"Why were you hiding behind the tree just now?" Noah asked with a low and asured voice.
Arl shifted nervously on his feet.
"I thought you were robbers. At first, I wanted to run, but you would have noticed and probably pursued , so that’s why I hid," he explained, his voice shaking slightly.
"Scared of robbers, yet you still got the courage to travel alone!" the knight scoffed.
Arl looked down and pursed his lips as his brother expressed the sa resistance to his decision to leave Mistdale. The teenager stuck to his decision and left a goodbye letter despite this.
Noah’s expression hardened as he realised Arl might have eavesdropped on their conversation.
"What did you hear just now?" he demanded, his voice sharp.
"Umm... pretty much everything," the teenager replied, his voice barely above a whisper.
Noah clicked his tongue in dismay, throwing an intimidating joke as he smirked, "Darn it! You should have run! Now, I might need to slit your tongue for eavesdropping."
Emily, who was now familiar with the knight’s way of speaking, quickly interjected.
"That’s too much of a joke! He’s still a boy," she retorted as she glared at the knight.
"Forget about him, Mr Chester. He was just pulling your chain," said Emily reassuringly.
Noah’s expression softened slightly, but he remained firm.
"My mission is a secret. He overheard our conversation, so why shouldn’t I?" he countered, his eyes fixed on Arl. The young woman rolled her eyes at the sarcastic remarks.
"Then, you would’ve done the sa to ! Besides, I’m not part of your mission anyway," she argued.
The knight gritted his teeth in annoyance.
"You’re different! Don’t compare yourself to him!" he grunted.
Arl, who misunderstood the knight’s words, quickly begged for rcy. "Please don’t hurt ! I won’t reveal anything! I swear it on my life!" As he spoke, he looked at the knight and placed his hand over his heart.
He beca anxious when faced with the knight’s silence and tried to think of sothing to say to ease the tension and avoid any harm. Suddenly, an idea ca to his mind.
"I can help you! If you’re heading to Gantz, I can take you there through a faster route than the mountainous one," he suggested.
"You dare to lie to us?" Noah asked with a sneer. "Do you think I don’t know the way to Gantz from here?"
"No, no, I didn’t an that. My brother, neighbour and I used to forage around the mountains and the surrounding area. There’s a secret shortcut that can take you to Gerhard in three days without hiking the mountains. From there, you can take another route to the capital, which will take about four days from the duchy," he explained.
The knight was intrigued and asked, "You know about the road from Gerhard to the capital?"
Arl nodded eagerly.
"We would go there through the route if we got good foraging collections. The price of the rchandise is higher there, and it was worth the journey," said the teenager.
"If he’s right, we can reach her in just a week instead of waiting for the whole month!" said Emily excitedly.
Arl nodded eagerly in agreent, his eyes fixed on the young woman’s face. Her cheerful expression gave him hope that the knight would be convinced by his proposal.
"A month or a week, does it matter? You’ll et her anyway," Noah scoffed, his voice laced with irritation.
Arl’s heart sank at the knight’s dismissive tone. He feared the outco wouldn’t favour him if he couldn’t appease Noah’s anger.
"You promised to take to her! You should honour it!" Clara suddenly urged. She had given it a thought after hearing Arl’s suggestion.
"Seriously? You still want to go on despite your injury?" questioned Noah as he clashed eyes with the stubborn knightess.
"I must et her and see that she’s safe with my own eyes!" demanded Clara. The knight grunted in dismay.
"I won’t be responsible if anything happens to you due to your condition!" said the knight.
"You don’t have to!" she adamantly retorted.
"Look, since we will pass by the duchy, we can stop by if you worry about her. I’m sure we can get so treatnt and better transportation to Gantz," suggested Emily.
Noah took a mont before responding.
"The healer and his assistant are not in Gerhard currently. They escorted His Highness and his wife, too. So, no one there can treat you," he said, recalling the secret note he had read.
The reply drew a sudden silence from them.
"Co to think of it again... I think you are right. It would be better for us to go to Gantz. They should be able to attend to your injury when we et them," said the knight.
"Are you certain you can endure the journey, Da?" Noah asked, his gaze lingering on the knightess, who could only move with the assistance of a crutch or be held up by Emily.
A crease ford on his forehead as he took in her condition, the way her face was drawn with pain.
He knew the journey ahead would be complicated, full of rough terrain and long stretches of travel. He didn’t want to put her through any more suffering than she had already endured.
Clara nodded bravely, her eyes bright with determination. "I can manage," she said. "Don’t worry about ."
Emily’s eyes sparkled as she heard his reply.
"You think they can treat her? Then, is it possible for Da Clara to recover?" asked the young woman in a thrilling voice.
"I can’t really tell. However, Mr Amares, the healer, is very talented. He might be able to do sothing," replied Noah.
Just then, a slight whine ca from Arl’s bag, making the trio turn to him.
"What’s that sound?" asked Clara inquisitively.
"It’s my puppy!" replied the teenager, taking out Rhen from his sling bag.
"Oh, my! What do we have here?" Excitedly, Emily approached him and bent down to have a better look at the little one.
"Can I hold him?" she asked the teenager.
"Sure."
The young woman grabbed the puppy from Arl and hugged it. She grinned from ear to ear as she held Rhen dearly. The puppy seed to enjoy the embrace and did not even have a slight fear.
"Oh, my gosh! You’re so cute! I’m going to kiss you!" Emily said in a playful tone as she raised Rhen and kissed his face a few tis. Arl smiled as he watched how happy she was with the puppy.
Noah glanced disapprovingly at Emily as she showed affection towards Rhen. Clara shook her head, aware of the young woman’s love for animals. Emily had expressed her desire for a pet many tis, but her previous job as a maid prevented her from having one.
"Enough for now!" the knight interrupted.
Addressing Arl, he ordered, " Boy, you’re coming with us. Show us the way."
The teenager’s heart leapt with relief as Noah finally agreed to his suggestion. He let out a deep breath he didn’t realise he was holding, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. With eagerness, he nodded as he smiled at the knight.
Arl couldn’t believe his luck. He would see Anna again, sooner than he had ever hoped. The mory of their last eting and how her eyes sparkled in the sunlight filled him with warmth and anticipation.
The wind blew through his hair as his heart rejoiced from the excitent. He was ready to face the journey head-on, fueled by the promise of seeing the lady again.
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