Back at the sunlit cabin, most of the people had gone home, or were on their way. Erk and Canas were dragging the unconscious Lucius outside onto the dirt path. "Ah, I simply can not believe him sometimes." Canas said. Erk let go of the young monk, and Canas fell down in trying to hold up Lucius's weight by himself. "Yeah, that was rather unlike him." Erk replied, "But look on the bright side, he got rid of Serra for me. Heh, guess I owe him for that." Canas got up and then looked from Erk to the monk. "Well, I do have my doubts that he shall remember anything." he said. "Huh, you think?" Erk laughed. They both looked down at him for a while before Erk asked "So should we leave him here?" Canas opened his mouth to speak, but before he got the chance, a high, girly voice called out, "Erky!"
Turning to their left, they saw the cute girl with her staff in hand. She winked at them. "Serra, may I ask, what are you doing here?" Canas asked. "Well," Serra replied, lightly pushing the scholar aside, "I just wanted to see my Erky!" she said as she approached the mage, who backed away with every step she took closer. "Um...I do believe that you can quite well see without getting that close to him." Canas said. "Serra, why don't you go on home?" Erk, who had been backed up against a tree, suggested. Serra frowned. "You're no fun, Erky." she said before stomping off back into the woods. Canas watched her go, and had a sick feeling inside that they hadn't seen the last of her.
Meanwhile, Sain and Kent continued their travel. They had left the forest mostly undamaged, besides the bruises on Sain's forehead. They were now heading across a field of tall, golden grass. In the distance, towers could be seen amongst the mountains. The two knights were headed for these towers. "Man, this is some freaking tall grass!" Sain said as he looked at the weeds that were almost as tall as his horse. "Keep your voice down, Sain. We could get ambushed in a place like this." Kent said quietly. "But look at it, Kent! Someone seriously needs to fix their lawn." Sain exclaimed. Kent suddenly halted. "Shut up, Sain, I heard something!" he whispered harshly. "Probably a pheasant." Sain replied. "Sain!" Kent snapped. A gang of five sand-colored birds fluttered out of the grass immediately after, chirping wildly.
Kent watched them disappear into the distance as Sain went around him and said "See? Pheasants! Now quit being so paranoid, Kent." Unfortunately, just as he said this, an old, cranky voice called out, "What? Who's there? Get the hell outta my field!" Sain stopped circling Kent, and was still with fear on his mount. "Ah, now look what you've done!" Kent growled. "No time to reason with him, so we'll have to do what you always end up doing." he continued. Sain gave him a look. "Flirting?" Kent shot one back. "No, I mean run like hell." he said before dashing downhill on his steed. Sain thought for a moment. "Run like hell, huh? Ha! I'm no coward!" And the old voice came closer. "You! Where are ya!? I'll tear you to bits! I was a general back in my day!" That was all Sain needed to hear to bolt down to catch up to his friend.
By the time the old man had reached the end of his field, where the hill began to slope, the mounted knights were but specks in the green hills below. Catching his breath, the large, bald man said to himself, "I'll get you two trespassers if you come back...On my name. Yes, I, former...General...Wallace!"
The hilly plains that Kent and Sain traveled through were beautiful. The grass below was lush and green, and blossoms from cherry trees wafted through the wind. Sain smiled as the petals caught in his hair like soft snowflakes. They seemed to bother Kent though, who brushed them off as if they were violent insects. Apple trees were scattered about with the cherry, and Sain stared hungrily at the ripe fruit that hung on the branches. Though Sain was behind him, the red-haired knight knew what his companion was thinking. "Let me guess, you're hungry and wish ever so greatly to taste the sumptuous flavor of the fruit upon the trees?" "Why yes, Kent! However did you know!?" Kent sighed. "You said that the last time we passed here. And do you remember what I said?" Sain thought for a second, and recalled it with a perfect impression. "You said, 'No! Now shut your damn hole or I'll shove a lance down your throat!'" Kent slowed his pace a bit. "No...before that." "Oh, you said that we had business to take care of that was more important than eating fruit. But come on Kent! Be reasonable!" Sain begged. Kent looked back at him. "There's fruit in the village that we're headed to. We need not stop for this." "Oh! You're so hard to deal with! I'm going to get an apple!" Sain said, clearly determined. "Well I won't stop to wait for you." Kent replied, heading on.
Sain dismounted and mumbled things under his breath. "Stupid Kent, thinking he's the boss of me. He doesn't know what's best for him. I'll bring him an apple too. Then he'll see." The apple tree Sain selected was young, so its bright red apples were easier to reach. The trunk of the tree was embraced by a thin strand of ivy that spiraled around the plant, likely to kill it in a few years. Sain looked up to his right and found a beautiful, dewdrop sprinkled, ripe fruit. He licked his smiling lips and reached for it.
Kent continued over the plain, mumbling to himself. "Stupid Sain, thinking he knows better than me. He doesn't understand what's right. There are fruit sellers in the village. He'll see." Kent continued on his way until he heard a scream behind him. Sain. Kent quickly turned around and raced back to the apple tree. He found Sain, whose face was pale white, and eyes watery with fear. His hand was curled up by his chest, one of his fingers scratched and bleeding. He had clearly pulled his hand back suddenly. "H-h-hey K-Kent." Sain said. "Sain, what happened?" Kent asked. When Sain didn't respond, Kent looked around for clues. He looked down by Sain's left foot, and found a ripe, red apple in the grass, an arrow shaft sticking out of it. "What the-" "Oh! Sorry about that! Haha!" a voice called in interruption of Kent.
The owner of the voice sat up and made himself visible. He waved to them with his bow. "Wil!?" Kent exclaimed. "Kent! Hey man, it's been a while since I saw you! Why weren't you fellas at the bar party? Man, that was great! You should've seen what Lucious did!" Kent waked over to the young archer and asked, "Wil, what on earth were you doing?" "What? Oh, you mean the arrow. Haha, I was just practicing my aim." "While lying on your back?" "Well, I gotta challenge myself, you know?" Wil said. He then stood up and walked over to Sain. Putting his arm around the stiff knight's shoulders, he said "You ok there, Sain?" Sain said nothing, and Wil said "Alright, that's cool." He then got off and went to the apple at Sain's feet. He picked the fruit up and yanked the arrow free, spraying the fruit's juices everywhere. He then went back to Sain, opened his hand, and placed the apple in it. "There you go, buddy." Wil turned and grinned at Kent, who shook his head. "Wil, I won't even ask you why you decided to blindly shoot an apple down from the tree." Wil nodded. "Want to see me do it again?" "No thanks. Sain and I are rather busy at this particular time. Right, Sain?" Sain nodded slowly. "Come on, Sain, you got your apple. Let's go."
Sain blinked, and he let out a relived sigh. Instantly, he was back to his old self. "That's right, my fellow cavalier! You and I have business to attend to!" he said, and then took a bite out of the juicy apple. "Alright. Goodbye, Wil." Kent said, not bothering to mention that Sain had blood on his hand. "Yes! So long, Wil! May we meet again at a later date!" Sain added, his mouth full of fruit.
He then mounted his horse, and the two knights rode over the hills to the nearby town, where the sun was slowly setting, making the cloudy sky look like fire.