Hello again!
This chapter will serve as the first chapter in the next arc, "The Road to Versailles".
Truthfully, I'm not sure just how long I want to make this story.
You all seem to enjoy it, but I don't think I am a strong enough writer to create a long term story.
We shall see.
If I'm going to aim for a Coeur-esque fic in terms of length, then I will have to sacrifice daily updates for greater length.
Anyways, onto the chapter.
The trio of the knight, the witch, and the wizard spoke for over an hour about the logistics of their journey.
Ozma, in his haste to find Salem, had not even brought a map with him.
Thankfully, Tyr's brother was able to spare them an old map. Quite a well-detailed one, too.
Ozma pointed to Aegis on the map. "We are here. The quickest way to reach the capital, Versailles, would take us just over a week." His hand glided over three different villages. "On the route there, we will pass through three other villages."
He pointed to the nearest village. "First, the village of Sevres; from there, we'll go to Chaville, and our final stop will be Viroflay."
Jaune let out a hearty sigh; at times like these, he really missed Juniper. Having a mythical beast ferrying you around was a luxury Jaune knew he'd never recover from losing.
Salem, on the other hand, was absolutely ecstatic at the thought of more travel; her eyes roamed over every inch of the map in front of her like a hawk scanning a field for prey.
When she was a little girl, her father showed her one of his most prized possessions - he had a map commissioned that showed what was believed to be the entire world. It was a grand piece, but it was nowhere near as detailed as the map in front of her.
"That's great and all, but there's one key flaw, Ozma." Jaune patted himself down in a dramatic fashion. "I have no money, and I seriously doubt you'll be able to part Salem from the silk items she brought. We need supplies."
Ozma sighed as he poured out the remainder of his wallet onto the table. "This is all I have left," he said. "We should be able to buy enough supplies to make it to Sevres without issue."
Jaune blankly stared at the currency in front of him; there were several assorted coins made of copper, silver, and gold by the looks of it. He wasn't looking forward to learning about a new economic system.
The trio certainly had a long road ahead of them.
It took another hour for Jaune and Ozma to collect the necessary resources, in addition to an extra twenty minutes of arguing when Ozma found his lost staff in a pile of manure. To top it off, there were also five more minutes of Ozma weeping about how he was now bankrupt.
Jaune didn't see the problem; he had survived just fine while broke.
When the pair reunited with Salem, she was having a tearful goodbye with Tyr.
The large man had tears in his eyes as he lifted Salem into the air, as if she were a small child. "They grow up so fast Zisa," he said, "It seems like only yesterday when she beat me in a drinking contest, now she's off to explore the world."
Zisa sighed in exasperation as her husband's antics continued. "It was yesterday dear."
Tyr ignored his wife.
Salem wasn't much better "I'll make you proud Uncle Tyr! I shall conquer the world and return with the finest mead I can find!"
Ozma stared at Jaune as if he would have an explanation. He responded with a tired shrug.
"Lady Salem, we are ready to depart," Ozma tried to interject.
Salem ignored him.
Tyrel cried even harder at Salem's proclamation "I'm so proud!" Jaune hadn't expected to hear a grown man squeal today "My heart can't handle this!"
Zisa, finally fed up with her husband's shenanigans, literally lit his ass on fire with fire magic. "Let the girl go dear," she said. "If you wanted another child, you should have spoken to me."
The trio hastily backed away from the married couple. Nothing good could come from those words.
Jaune called back to Tyr as he hastily retreated, "Thanks for all your help! Have fun tonight!"
Salem gave him a very unimpressed look.
As the trio reached the outskirts of town, Ozma spoke. "How shall we divide this load, Jaune?" he asked as he unceremoniously dropped the large bag of goods he had been carrying.
Jaune shrugged, "Give it all to Salem. She'll take care of it."
Ozma hit Jaune upside the head with his staff. "I would never force a lady into physical labor! Especially not a lady as beautiful as Princess Salem."
Jaune rolled his eyes. He knew Knights were supposed to be chivalrous, but he felt like Ozma had dialed it up to eleven.
Salem stepped in. "Ignore Jaune, what he means is I have magic that can help us."
Ozma's eyes widened for a moment. "Even so, I could never ask you to strain yourself in such a manner, my lady."
Jaune scoffed, "I can. Here" He tossed the bag at Salem without a second thought.
She used her Space Magic to absorb the large bag. As the bag disappeared, she saw Ozma trying to strangle Jaune.
"That's not how you treat a woman, you barbarian!" Ozma yelled. "Were you raised by wolves?!"
Jaune bit his hand in response.
Salem sighed as she watched the two. They were near enough to polar opposites that it was inconceivable that they could work together.
Salem may have been excited for more adventure, but she was smart enough to recognize one thing.
This was going to be a long trip.
The trio traveled as far as they could before the sun began to set.
Their trip up to that point had been rather uneventful, save for a few hours of bickering between Jaune and Ozma.
As night began to fall, the three of them set up camp.
Salem took the first opportunity she could to escape her two companions and enter dreamland.
Ozma and Jaune sat in silence, staring into the fire they had set up.
Ozma stoked the fire as he spoke to Jaune. "Is it true that you are Lady Salem's pupil?"
Jaune lazily opened one eye, "Yeah, everything I know about magic I learned from her."
Ozma mulled over those words for a moment. "How long have you known her?" he asked. "You seem rather close."
Jaune snickered, "Jealous?" He ignored Ozma's vehement disagreement. "We've only known each other for just over two weeks now."
Ozma was shocked. "I am surprised how quickly she accepted you as her student," Ozma said, tossing a stick into the fire. "Thousands of warriors audition to be personally trained by a Royal."
That was news to him. Truthfully, Jaune doubted Salem knew that either; she had only chosen him because he was the only candidate. In his first life, she would have probably chosen Ozma.
The pair fell into another long silence before Jaune spoke once more. "So, what's your story, Mister Emerald Knight? How'd you end up out here?"
Ozma sighed, "Through a series of many poor decisions."
Jaune had a good laugh at his expense.
Ozma continued, "Truthfully, my position in the Emerald Knights is at stake. That's why it's so important that I safely return Lady Salem to His Majesty."
A fetch quest that could cost him his job? "That's rough, buddy," Jaune said. "So what are these Emerald Knights like? I've never heard of them."
Ozma's eyebrows nearly rose to the top of his forehead. "How have you never heard of them? They are the biggest knight guild in all of Everday!"
Medieval guilds? If video games taught him anything, it was to avoid the largest guilds at all costs; they were all elitist pricks.
Ozma picked up on his lack of enthusiasm rather quickly. "Are you serious? The Emerald Knights! The only guild allowed to accept requests regarding the creatures of Grimm, the guild responsible for slaying an ancient wyvern, the guild that is said to have been specially blessed by the God of Light!"
Jaune just gave him a blank stare.
Ozma ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "You're impossible! What rock did you crawl out from?"
Jaune laughed and rolled his eyes. He much preferred this version of Ozma. In his first life, he'd grown to resent the Infinite Man; he was so jaded and out of touch with his humanity that he was just as untrustworthy as their enemies.
This Ozma was younger and less experienced, but he was still in touch with his humanity. As far as Jaune was concerned, that meant more than any combat experience.
He was about to respond when suddenly he felt as though Death itself had put its cold hand upon his shoulder. Ozma looked much the same.
The two men turned to see a very displeased Salem slowly sitting up.
"If you don't go to sleep now I will flay the skin from your bones and force you to eat each other," she said, her voice taking on a sinister tone.
Hey! There was the almighty Grimm Queen he wish he never knew.
Needless to say, the conversation ended before they could incur Salem's wrath.
Jaune was pleased to know he wasn't the only miserable morning person. He'd heard Ozma's annoyed groan only ten minutes after he had awoken.
Ozma rose slowly, only to see Jaune sitting in a meditation pose next to the rekindled fire. Odd, he didn't think Jaune could use fire magic.
Ozma sat across from him. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Jaune opened his left eye, and Ozma was shocked to see that his pupil had turned from a dark blue to a near-glowing yellow. "I'm practicing a mana technique of mine," he explained.
Ozma looked at him curiously. "I told you about Phantom Fist, it's only fair that you tell me the name of yours."
Jaune chuckled, "I call it Mana Sight. It allows me to see Mana."
Ozma was conflicted. On one hand, the premise of the technique was incredibly interesting; on the other hand... "the name is entirely too bland."
Jaune's eye twitched. "Are you suggesting Phantom Fist is any better?"
Ozma adopted a rather smug look. "As a matter of fact, I am."
The two men were locked in an intense staredown before both jumped to their feet and drew their weapons.
Before they got the opportunity to bludgeon each other, Salem hit them both with enough water magic to drown a large animal. "It is entirely too early for you two to be fighting."
Neither of the men broke eye contact with the other.
Salem hit them both again for good measure.
Today was going to be a long day.
The trio began to move once more an hour after the sun had risen.
With precious little else to do, the three traded stories.
"... and just like that, my party managed to kill the giant bear Grimm." Ozma boasted.
Salem was enthralled by Ozma's stories. The brown-haired knight was surprisingly well-traveled.
No matter what anyone said, Jaune wasn't even remotely jealous. He would challenge anyone who claimed such a ridiculous thing to a duel to the death.
It's not his fault that she was the only friend he had in this world.
"Is that the best you've got, Ozma?" Jaune did the only thing he knew how to do in a boasting battle; he upped the ante. "I once fought a half-human, half-horse Grimm out in the wilds!"
Salem's attention shifted entirely back to him. Ozma's eyes twitched; he refused to be defeated.
"I might not have ever seen such a grimm," he paused for dramatic effect, "But I am certain you've never heard of the strongest Grimm I've ever fought."
Jaune glared down at Ozma over his nose. "Oh yeah? Do enlighten me."
Salem's eyes shifted back and forth between two arguing men. She had never seen Jaune so competitive before; no matter how hard she pushed him, he always remained relatively calm. She was enjoying every second of it.
Ozma spread his arms out wide, "A Titan-class Sea Serpent Grimm. An ancient beast that not even a whole division of the Emerald Knights were capable of slaying." Ozma's smug smile knew no end.
In Argus, Blake had told Jaune about a Grimm she fought that roughly matched that description, albeit much smaller.
Not to be outdone, Jaune moved to press the nuclear button; there was no way Ozma could have ever encountered a monstra before.
However, before he could respond and completely annihilate Ozma, the scent of something burning reached his nose.
Judging by their expressions, both Salem and Ozma could smell it too.
The trio rushed forward along the dirt path they had been traveling, only to see the large village in the distance burning.
Not another word was uttered as the trio rushed to the burning village of Sevres.
Hey everyone! Shorter chapter than usual today.
My 70-year nap only turned out to be a solid 45 minutes.
My body has betrayed me.
Onto the story, I was having trouble deciding how to make the trip to Sevres eventful, but eventually just opted to gloss over it.
Speaking of Sevres, you may recognize the four locations I mentioned. All are real-world locations in France.
I chose to base the capital of Everday on Versailles, mainly due to how many treaties have been signed there. Since Everday is about as peaceful as a medieval kingdom can be, I felt that it fit.
As for the other three locations, I chose them based on the fact that they didn't have ridiculously long French names and because the three cities lead directly to Château de Versailles, which I will be basing the royal castle on.
As for why I chose France? Well, our intrepid protagonist might just happen to unearth some interesting history in the capital.
Fun fact, according to Google Maps, if you start in Sevres and travel through Chaville and Viroflay to get to Versailles, you can make the drive in just 18 minutes. You could also walk that distance in about one hour and 40 minutes.
Wild.
Anyways, before I go, I'd like to ask you all something. How would you feel if I did some magic tomfoolery and incorporated elements of Ever After into the story?
I don't currently have any plans to do that, but mentioning Juniper in the chapter got me thinking.
Anyway, that's all for me today.
Until next time!