Adio
Leave it to King Edolas to maintain silence. Apology was beneath him but Adio wasn’t going to sleep regretting having not asked. It still irked him to no end and he could do nothing but try and drown out the anger with the smell of delicious food. But it only made his stomach churn.
A hand fell onto his forearm, light but its presence certain and confident. Looking down he noticed the only person who could do this was Lenore and his heart skipped a beat. He looked into her face, hearing her words and letting a smile tug at his lips. At first, her words held a cryptic tone and he couldn’t really find what she meant in her eyes. What was enough? The anger? The guilt? Adio sighed and looked down, nodding his head in agreement. All of it was enough. He had more important matters to get to and staying in a constant aura of anger and regret would get him nowhere.
His eyes glanced at her hand as she stole it away and he felt the sudden chill that the absence of it left. The Prince was no stranger to intimate touches, in fact, he could even boast knowing the science of a physical touch. Many women didn’t realize but there were universal meanings to the gestures they made, the way they laid their hands upon things, the way they murmured their words. Adio knew it all in order to play his mindless little game with them. Lenore, laying her hand on his forearm, sparing kind words and perhaps thanks? It had meant something entirely different than a young woman just trying to get a little closer to him. Her confidence had seeped into him and he looked up to his younger brother, trying hard to listen to him through the thrumming of his blood through his ears.
While the others spoke aloud about what the tasks they would take on, Adio was making mental notes. Apparently Lenore could cook and had taken those necessary preparations on herself. He grinned to himself. Sora, of course, would take care of the horses and gather the necessary supplies in the hopes that they would be able to stay in inns on the way to town. One could hope, Adio thought, but that did not mean it would happen. Most likely they would be spending more time out of doors than anything.
They would also have to learn of the village. What kind of place was it? Was there a person meant to specifically learn, study, and know everything about this relic? Shizuo’s voice turned his head upward and he followed her warm smile to the seemingly small blue haired girl sitting in between Jin and Sora. Adio remembered she wasn’t a short young lady, but she had the uncanny ability to take up as little space as possible. Perhaps, though, it had been that she was a little upset earlier? Now he saw something around her that gleamed purpose and something like confidence. He nodded his agreement to the golden haired woman’s statement and rested his chin on folded hands.
Zahra
Zahra moved, rather awkwardly in her dress, with Jin and sat down. Sitting across from the the Prince Adio and Lenore she felt incredibly tiny. They were two presences that just exuded confidence and intent. Zahra was feeling a bit shadowed by it, but with an adjustment of her back and shoulders, she decided to match their auras. It certainly wasn’t as strong but Zahra wasn’t about to be bullied down by unseen presences. Of course, she knew they weren’t doing it on purpose, they seemed much too kind for something like that. She just wanted to look like she fit in. It didn’t feel like it was working at all.
When Sora sat beside her she let out a small sigh of relief. With him beside her she didn’t feel the need to “puff out her chest” as much. Everyone said their piece, which left Zahra to answer Jin’s question and Shizuo’s encouragement. Returning her smile, though Zahra’s was not as beautiful or radiant as the golden woman, she nodded slowly.
“Well,” she began, swallowing hard because she really hated speaking in front of so many people. “He mentioned the village at the base of the mountains and that the relic was somewhere in the mountains. If it is in fact the same place, than he speaks of the Stone Pagoda. I have never be within the village, but my… the tribe that had tutored me had traded with them on numerous occasions.” She sighed, trying to make sure she didn’t sound like a fool with her quiet voice and down-turned eyes. “I do remember having been there once. My…” She shook her head. These slip ups were becoming too often with the memory of them. “The tribe takes all their apprentice hunters to the Stone Pagoda to make their first kill. The elders hide within the stone and snow while the apprentice camps out at the rim of the Pagoda. They believe it holds some kind of energy that keeps the hunter aware for longer than normal. It protects the hunter from the elements of the earth and body.” A ghost of a smile came across her lips as her own experience with it traveled into her mind. Never sleeping, eyes always aware of her surroundings. Bow and arrow always at the ready. For three days she sat in one spot, waiting for the right animal, the right kill.
“They never spoke of a relic inside the Pagoda, but I know there are obstacles to get inside. The tribe never wanted to get in to see what lay beneath the doors and walls. They thought it unnecessary.” Finally, she looked up, a strange confidence exuding from her. “I can get us there, if you like. I know the trails of those mountains well. I never forget where I have been.”