Chapter Two
The Journey
DAWN BROKE OVER the sea of grass. He decided to wait just a little longer.
Perhaps his faerie only got overexcited and flew a little further away than it had intended.
He kept a sharp eye out for any movement but soon, his eyelids were unbearably heavy and he had to prop his chin on the blade of his sword to keep from dozing off.
At high noon he was still awake, albeit barely.
He was a naive young man whose thoughts never considered the possibility that his faerie would never return.
There had never been a story about a Hero who had lost his companion.
His stomach groaned for attention, but still he waited.
There was a sharp scream of a bird in the distance.
Cyrus's head shot up.
His heart leapt when he saw a white flash racing towards him but just as quickly dropped when he saw it wasn't his faerie that had made the noise.
Behind his frantic companion was a tawny falcon, barreling in at a ridiculous speed.
Cyrus whipped his sword into the air.
The faerie whizzed into his tunic.
The falcon screeched and crashed into the blunt end of the sword and Cyrus fell back from the impact.
The falcon squawked at him after falling in a daze to the ground, then took off shakily in the opposite direction.
When he was sure that the falcon had gone, Cyrus peeked into the collar of his tunic and saw the interior lit up by the faerie huddled on his stomach. He beamed.
"The bird is gone," he coaxed. "You can come out now if you promise not to fly away again."
The faerie let out its strange little cry but fluttered out of the dark blue fabric and onto Cyrus's shoulder. It would not look at him and instead pulled up its knees and rested its chin on them.
Cyrus didn't care.
At least now his faerie wouldn't go wandering off.
A small heat emanated from the faerie, making his shoulder and the side of his face warm.
He thought it comforting.
The smile didn't leave his face the entire way to the nearest city.
THE CITY of Jacen was smaller than Kinswick. There were no impassable crowds to bustle through. There were no stalls of magical tools or companions. There was a baker shouting out sales to disinterested people and sour-faced residents in a hurry to get somewhere-anywhere but here.
Cyrus glanced around.
Now that his faerie had returned he thought it was as good a time as any to find food.
He walked towards the baker and the heavenly, crisp smell of fresh-baked delights. The baker promptly turned the other direction with a sneer.
"Sir? I only want to buy some bread."
Without a word the huffy old man shuffled into his shop, leaving Cyrus standing in the cobbled street confused.
"Can I help you?"
A young woman about Cyrus's age appeared behind the Hero, catching him off-guard. He jumped and twisted, almost knocking his Faerie off of his shoulder in the process. He blinked a few times and a lump grew in his throat, growing so horribly big that it was impossible to even croak a word, especially
The woman was petite with curling dark brown hair. She wore simple clothes of dyed green cotton, the norm for people in the impoverished city of Jacen. They fit snugly around her waist and hips. A large, loose collar encircled a narrow neck. She wore a single dangling, silver earring in her left ear. As she stared at him, Cyrus saw that her eyes were a deep green like her dress.
He shook his head, causing his black hair to fall over his eyes.
"Are you sure?" she asked, cocking her head to see under his bangs. "This city isn't too friendly with outsiders ever since the famines started. I'm sure you could use someone to help you out."
He backed up, tripping over his own feet. His heel caught and he tumbled backwards onto his rear. His faerie flew off, chirping at him while hovering a good two feet above his sprawled form.
But it was the girl... he wished he could melt like water and disappear on the ground as she giggled. Instead, Cyrus flushed a bright scarlet.
He scrambled back to his feet, quickly adjusting his belt and sheath before briefly bowing and running in the opposite direction. The faerie flew after him, chirping in annoyance. It caught up once Cyrus entered a small shop of dried meats and preserves.
The shopkeeper scowled as he picked out foods for the journey. Cyrus kept his head low and placed the items on the shop counter. He slipped some jewels out from his sleeve and started to gather the meat into leather pouches from his pack. The shopkeeper glared at the jewels but snatched them up and put them into his pocket.
"Now, go," he growled. "You have no more business here."
Tying the full bags to the side of his pack, Cyrus obeyed without a word. He exited the shop and glanced in the direction of the girl. On a hunch, he decided to go the long way around to avoid her altogether. The faerie pulled at his ear towards the shorter route as if to question why he was making a hassle.
When he ignored it, it sat on his shoulder again, shaking its little head and pouted.