Chapter 5

He had opted to strap her onto his back. It was more comfortable that way for both of them and also a bit less awkward. Not to mention the fact that they could carry on a private conversation without anyone hearing her as she would be closer to his ears, rather than on his waist. Um yeah, there was that too. She truly wanted to be nowhere near a man's nether region. She certainly didn't wish to be anywhere that intimate with anyone. She had been carried in that way in the past and it had to be the most mortifying experience in her long life, not that she clued any of her previous companions in on the fact that she was completely sentient and was perfectly capable of carrying on a conversation. That would have been a complete disaster had any of them known. At least it would have been for her.

It turned out that his loyal scout and companion had been a wood elf known as Yukihito. He was young, about 75 years old and very… enthusiastic? She could think of no other word to describe his personality. When he discovered that she was an enchanted sword that could speak, and that she was actually a woman, he squealed like a teen-aged girl. She still winced when she thought about it. Thankfully Sir Ren didn't mention her unique identity or he probably would have exploded; however, he was very trustworthy and had not mentioned a word about her or to her when they were anywhere anyone could spy on them.

"Sir Ren…" She whispered and he nodded.

He glanced over at Yukihito. "I know… We're being followed." He murmured. "Yukihito has it under control." He assured her.

"Ah…Okay." She relaxed and her gem flickered to an amber color. It seemed to do that a lot around him lately and neither of them knew what to think of the changes. She could honestly say that she'd never noticed it, and no one had ever mentioned it around her. So, if it had happened before, she certainly wasn't aware of it.

"You can come out now!" Ren called out behind him, stopping his horse and looking at the path behind them. "I know you're there."

Three youths emerged from the bushes on the side of the road looking rather sheepish. "We apologize good sir, but we're actually looking for our rooster. He seems to have wandered off."

Ren cocked his brow and gave them a look that told them that he didn't believe them. "Your rooster…"

"Ah yes… My name is Hikaru and these are my brothers: Shinichi and Yuusei. Our chicken's name is Boh and he wandered off this morning. We're worried that someone or something may try and catch him to eat him." He explained a little distressed.

Ren looked at their rather plain attire and guessed that they belonged to some kind of troupe. One had a fiddle on him, another had a lute, and the other had a small horn. He guessed that they were possibly minstrels or a comedy troupe.

"FAIRIES! I smell FAIRIES!" A high pitched voice called out from in front of them. "I love fairies! Where are they?"

Ren and Yukihito were shocked to see a talking rooster. Kyoko had pretty much seen everything in her long life and travels, so it honestly didn't shock her that much. "Boh, I presume?" Ren asked, smiling at the brothers.

Hikaru chuckled. "Yeah, that would be him." He looked over at the rather rotund bird and smiled. "Where were you? We were worried about you." He scolded.

"Worms. Can never get enough worms. You're starving me." The vocal avian announced, rolling around on the ground as if he were dying. "Look at me. You can almost see my feathers." He gave a cute little bird pout.

Yuusei rolled his eyes and Shinichi laughed. "Boh, you're a bird. Literally everyone can see your feathers… all the time."

"Are you a fairy?" Boh waddled up to Ren's horse, reminding him more of a large, fat duck, than a rooster.

He chuckled at the thought. "Um… No, I'm not." He lied. This chicken was entirely too perceptive.

"I smell a fairy!~ I smell a fairy!~" Boh sang as he danced around, avoiding the three young men trying desperately to capture him.

"Come on, Boh. If you keep this up, we'll miss our appointment with King Lory." Hikaru announced in exasperation.

Yukihito cocked a brow and smiled. "You'll do fine with your comedy act. His Highness appreciates humor."

Hikaru gave him a confused look. "We're musicians, and Boh is our vocalist." He told him in seriousness.

"Oh…" Yukihito answered dumbfounded.

Ren chuckled again. "Well, good luck then. I'm sure King Lory will appreciate any effort that you put forth." He encouraged.

"Thank you, Sir Knight. Thank you for your encouragement, and in the assistance in finding Boh." Hikaru told him as he quickly snatched up the confused bird and promptly stuffed him into a burlap bag that they were carrying.

"No! No, I want to meet the fairies! You can't do this to me!" Boh protested.

"We're very sorry for all the trouble. Boh tends to go pretty crazy when he thinks he's found a fairy. He was raised from a chick by them and tends to get pretty excited when he comes into contact with their scent." Hikaru explained over the loudly clucking, boisterous bird.

"Not to worry. He probably caught scent of the fairy wine I have in my pack." He lied, covering the fact that both he and Kyoko were fairies. He wasn't sure if it was he or her that the bird was insistent upon.

Yukihito let out a sigh of relief as he watched the trio walk further away from them. He looked over at Ren. "That was… close."

Ren nodded in agreement. "I've never encountered anything like it."

Kyoko giggled. "He was quite cute. Although, I do feel somewhat sad for the poor thing." She told Ren.

"Why is that?" Ren asked curiously.

"Well, he was raised by fairies. They're his family and he can no longer be with them because of the humans he's with. It's not likely that they'll take him back with them around. Fairies can be quite reclusive when it comes to humans and their identities." She told him as they continued on their journey.

Ren nodded in agreement. If it weren't for Lory, he most likely would have never consorted with humans. He was somewhat glad that his parents knew the man.

~xoxo~

"Do you think he'll be okay? I've never seen him behave that way." Shinichi asked with a glance toward the now sleeping rooster in Yuusei's arms.

Hikaru nodded. "He'll be fine once we get to the palace. He's just not used to so much travel."

"I'm not so sure about that, Hikaru. He was pretty adamant about smelling a fairy. He's never been wrong about it before." Yuusei commented, petting the napping bird.

"Hmm, that knight did say he had fairy wine. Perhaps that's what he smelled." Hikaru pondered.

"Could be." Shinichi surmised.

"Do you still have the invitation?" Yuusei asked.

"Right here." Hikaru answered, holding up his small satchel. "Not to worry. I would never misplace something so valuable." He touted. The invitation was sent directly to them from the palace for the auditions of new minstrels. It would be a huge break for the humble brothers. They would no longer need to worry where they would be staying or where their next meal would come from, and they certainly would not have people constantly harassing them to sell Boh. That was the most important thing to them. Boh was their friend, not a pet or food item and they wished with all their hearts to protect him as much as possible.