Alicia was staring at herself in the mirror of her new suite. It really only had two rooms, a living room and a bedroom, but it was still bigger than the dorms she had just spent the last month in. She was trying to adjust her whites over her body a little bit. They were made from soft doeskin, but it still felt strange on her body, since it was a strange material that she had never encountered before she came to this place. Oh sure, she knew of people who had hunted deer back where she came from, but she never really touched the skin that they had sitting out, mainly because she wasn't sure she could without starting to cry for the poor animal or something. She adjusted the bottom of her tunic slightly so that it fit a little bit better over the pants. She just stared at herself in the mirror for now before she heard a chuckle coming from the other room. She peeked into the living room and smiled when she saw Aeren standing in the doorway. "I see you're preening now." Was all he had to stay as he moved in and moved up next to her. She giggled softly before looking back into the mirror again.
"The fabric is like nothing I've ever touched before. It's so soft and light." Aeren nodded to that comment, leaning in the doorway.
"Well, mainly since we're going to be going south right away, they didn't want to fit you with anything heavier yet. I believe that when we come back from Velvar, then they'll have some winter outfits ready for you. I would suggest taking one pair of normal winter clothes, though, since we should probably be coming back before Midwinter. You'll need it then, and you really shouldn't need more than one outfit." She tilted her head as he explained that part, thinking about it for a moment as she went through the pile of clean laundry that had been left for her, finding the winter version her uniform and then nods, packing it into her pack. She then looked to him again.
"So did you come here to laugh at me while I adjust my uniform? Or did you actually come here for a reason?" He smirked a bit and walked into the bedroom and sat on her bed, looking to her.
"I came for a reason, since this is going to be considered your internship assignment, I have to take you through the ropes. Getting supplies, and what not. I'll just take you to show you where you would get the supplies, but since we're going to Velvar as envoys, we'll be overnighting at inns along the way. We won't need much in the way of supplies. Even when we get into Rethwallen, since it's an allied country, we'll be using their inns as well." She nodded a bit as she packed a bit more of her stuff and then sighed softly. Now it was Aeren's turn to tilt his head. "What's wrong?"
"Oh... I just wish Karla was here, that's all. I would have loved to see her once more before we left."
"And who says you wouldn't see her??" They both jumped at the voice that appeared in her doorway. When Alicia turned, she squealed quite shrilly with happiness as she went over and tackled her friend and mentor with a tight hug. Karla hugged her back and then smiled, holding Alicia out to arm's length, looking her over. "Well well... look at you. I remember when I first brought you to your dorms. And seeing you in those Greys for the first time. I must say, though, white is definitely more your color."
Alicia smiled and blushed a deep red before giggling and playfully poking her shoulder. "Look who's talking. I think that if they hadn't passed you early, you would have snuck down into the laundry and 'borrowed' whites just to keep when you were hiding out in your room. And I use the term borrowed lightly." Now it was Karla's turn to blush and giggle before looking over her shoulder.
"So, you get to be her counselor, eh, Aeren? Good luck with this one. Being her mentor nearly gave me grey hairs." He stood up from the bed and chuckled lightly, walking over to the pair of them.
"So what are you doing back here so soon?" He asked her. She frowned slightly as she told them why she was back early.
"I'm only going to be here for a few days. Mira, my counselor, had a family emergency to get home for. She lives out near Lake Evendim, so she wanted to get started as soon as she could. So we came back yesterday, actually, and she headed out as soon as she unloaded the supplies and checked in. I'll be heading out as soon as they assign me another Herald to go with." She smiled and shook her head though and lightened up the conversation then. "So, when I heard that Alicia had been passed through to her whites to go with a Herald as envoys to Velvar, I knew I had to come see her before she ran off." Alicia smiled then.
"You make it sound like I was going to go and elope." Karla giggled and winked to her.
"How do I know you two weren't ready too, hm?" She winked again as it was Aeren's turn to blush and bid farewell to her friends before turning and leaving the room. then spoke to her Companion, :You're right, Trey. I think there is a lifebond there. It actually seemed like they were just falling for each other, but with what I could feel without knocking their shields down, it seems like there's a lifebond there.: She heard a slight sigh in the back of her mind and then heard him respond to her.
:That goes with what Mara and Corie have told me. I was merely not trying to pry too much into the affairs of their Chosen, but I just hope that this trip into Velvar doesn't go badly.: Karla nodded, even though no one was in the hallway as she walked back outside.
:I agree with you. If something happens to one of them, we might just end up losing them both.:
Early next morning
"Ugh. What happened to life not exisiting this early in the morning." Alicia muttered to her Companion as she and Aeren stood in the stables, working on saddling them and putting their packs on the back of the saddles. Corie threw his head and gave her one of his whicker-chuckles.
:You might as well get used to it, love. This is the life of a Herald. Getting up at ungodly hours when they have to make long trips like you two are about to do.: She shook her head and made sure that the saddle was tight at the bottom. Aeren was doing the same thing, just without the yawning. They were soon joined by Darac, who had his horse saddled up and ready to go. He was simply sitting on the stallion while waiting for the two Heralds. Soon, though, they were both ready to go and they climbed up into their saddles and they all started out. Alicia remained quiet while Aeren started to ask Darac questions.
"I know we'll be heading through Rethwallen, since relations with Karse are less than friendly. What's the route after that."
"Simple," Darac started. "We go through Rethwallen, like you said, then we go through Ruvan and then into Velvar that way. We have a trade agreement with Ruvan, so they'll let us pass through easily. It's a couple weeks journey." Aeren nodded, thinking about the maps that he and Alicia studied the night before. He thought they were going to go through Jkatha, but then they realized that they would have to go the entire length of the country just to get to Velvar. Apparently, Darac knew a better way.
They traveled the entire day, going south from Haven towards Kettlesmith, then Horn. They stopped in Sweetsprings for the night. When they left in the morning, they left a chit behind to the road guard, to save them partial taxes in the coming year. They continued on just as early the next day and started to travel through farmlands. They stopped for the night just north of the Holderkin lands in the village of Cairn. It was a little bit off the Southern Trade Route, but it was Aeren's home village, and the last one that he knew of for sure before they would hit the Holderkin lands. And he knew for a fact that they wouldn't be able to stop there without problems arising. As Aeren and Alicia settled their Companions and Darac's horse into the stables of the inn for the night, Darac went off like he usually did. Neither Herald knew why he did, but they didn't feel like it was their place to ask.
Darac went off into the woods a bit, looking around to make sure he was alone, and then pulled a travelling mirror out of his pocket that he always kept with him for this purpose. He placed a simple spell on it and within moments, he was looking into the face of King Belmear himself. "We've gotten to Cairn, M'lord. The male Herald grew up here and knew that it was the last place in Valdemar that we could stop. We'll be passing through the Holderkin lands tomorrow and then we'll be crossing into Rethwallen."
"Have you learned anything more of the female yet?" Belmear asked him, tapping his fingers somewhat impatiently.
"No, Majesty." Darac shook his head as he answered him. "She isn't speaking much, though I've been trying to get her to talk about herself since we left the Capital."
"Well, then try harder, Darac. That's why you're out there. You are a mage, after all. Use those abilities you've got locked up in that tiny little brain of yours. Force the information out of her, if you have to. I want to find out everything I can about that girl before you get to the palace, understood?" He watched Darac nod his head. "I want to know where she came from, how she got here, and whatever else you can find out about her. If we can use these Heralds against Selenay, I want to do it. Now, no more excuses and start thinking. I expect to get a better progress report tomorrow." And with that last comment, Belmear's face was gone from the mirror. Darac shoved it back into his bag, giving a bit of an annoyed grunt.
He turned and left the woods where he had been hiding out and wandered back to the inn as casually as he could as if he had just been taking an evening stroll. When he walked into the common room, he looked around. It was quite empty except for the two Heralds he was travelling with. All he had to do was to get Aeren to go to bed early, and then he and the girl would be alone for him to question her. And an extensive questioning he would do, too.
