Loranta, much like Icefloe was a dour little village along the trade routes towards Sunfaire. The trees had been cleared, making way for fields and cattle and the like. The sale of the timber should've made the town rich but there didn't seem to be much of that to go around.
"I was unaware Moonshollow had many problems such as those of Wintersend." Regina commented to Venar.
"The richest Kingdom in the North by far has always been Wintersend my Princess. The rest have suffered due to the war. Moonshollow has an iron mine or two this is true. Iron is far cheaper than diamond to make weapons from. With the timber readily available, it was easy for them to make their money on the sale to Sunfaire for the ships their navy employs but timber does not provide like the platinum and diamond mines that are readily available in Wintersend. Did you never wonder why Raithewell made Wintersend his home after he took the Kingdoms from his brothers?"
"The thought hadn't crossed my mind." Regina muttered, as the door was pulled open. An unfamiliar Knight bearing the symbol of Moonshollow dipped into a bow stepping back to allow Venar to step out first before she followed, accepting the Knight's gloved hand.
Lancelot stood a step ahead, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.
"Lady Nicia, if you'd follow me." Her wife offered her arm in a formal fashion finding it easier not to let their royal roots show too much.
"Of course, lead the way please." She locked eyes with Venar who gave her a small smile.
"Tea my lady?"
"Please, thank you." She smiled at the man, studying the large hat he wore and the slightly off kilter grin on his face.
Venar took a step forward but didn't say anything as the man pulled away and a young girl set a plate of cookies in front of her.
"I'm sorry my lady. Please don't mind my Father. He's not been quite the same since my Mother died."
Regina smiled softly at her, "It's perfectly all right."
"It is safe isn't it?"
"Cissa." Regina scolded easily adapting the name she'd given Emma in Icefloe back. The blonde lifted her hands, eyeing the piping hot cup and the girl shifted and nodded with a knowing look.
"It's all right. My Father unsettles a lot of people. I try to keep an eye on him as best I can but he's deteriorated a lot over the years."
"I'm sorry for my rudeness." Emma offered, "I'm Cissa and this is my wife Nicia."
"I noticed your wedding bracelets. Did you know they don't employ them in the Southern Kingdoms? How strange not to have the same customs when we all live in the same lands."
"The Kingdoms are all different." Regina offered.
"You're from the Southern Kingdoms right?"
"Is it that obvious?" Regina asked amused at the girl's candor.
"A bit, it's how you talk."
"May I ask your name?" Emma asked, amused at the girl's gumption.
"Grace, my Father is Jefferson."
"Grace, will you come and help me in the kitchen? I think the King is trying to call on us."
"Coming Father." She called back before turning back to them. "It's not really the King but he thinks the butcher's boy is and it's easier to allow him this small eccentricity than it is to try and talk him out of it."
"Of course."
"That poor child," Emma said softly as soon as the girl walked away leaving them in a rather plain drawing room.
"We cannot all be blessed with good family." Venar said softly from his place behind and to the left of Regina's chair.
"Indeed," Regina agreed, lifting a cookie to her lips and nibbling it out of courtesy.
"Thank you for all your kindness Grace. Tell your Father, thank you but we must be on our way." Emma offered the girl who smiled softly and nodded. "Take care Miss Cissa? Watch over your wife."
"I always do. You watch over your Father yes?"
"Always." The girl stood on the porch of the small Inn and waved to them until the carriage had pulled out of view of the town. The Spring Princess smiled softly, thinking back on the sweet exchange.
"We are a few days ride to the borders of Sunfaire yes?" Regina asked, settling back on the bench seat. In truth, she had wanted to ride with the party but she knew Venar would be unable to do so and so had chosen to remain in the carriage. It was for the best. The elderly man was proving to her why he was an asset rather than a hinderance and for all Emma's bravery and sweetness, it was best to have allies of her own.
"We aren't far from the borders of Sunfaire. I imagine we'll reach them by nightfall. Best not to attempt to wander through the Jade Wood in the dark."
"The Jade Wood, that sounds familiar to me. Why would I know it?"
"I'm unsure my Princess. It isn't a place any wish to visit."
"Like the Never Ending Forest?"
"That has a bad reputation your grace. It isn't in fact unending per say merely that it is so thick with a lake that has a tendency to confuse people. It takes away a person's memory you see, a traveler unfamiliar with the terrain and in desperate need of supplies may be tempted to drink the water and will drink from it, lose their memories and therefore remain in the forest until dead."
"That sounds terrible."
"It is a cruel fate my Princess. No one can deny that."
"Are you sure you aren't a scholar Venar? You are quite knowledgeable about the terrains of the surrounding Kingdoms."
"I prefer to pass what little free time I possess with studying your grace. I find it rather fascinating that a land can feature such different terrains and customs of a people that are descended mostly from one bloodline."
"The muddle of royalty." Regina smiled softly at him and he merely offered her a small tilt of his thin, chapped lips.
"My wife and Lancelot were talking last night…they said something about a creature…that may lurk in the Jade Wood. Do you know of it?"
"The Empusa I imagine is what they were discussing."
"Empusa…yes. That was it."
"A hideous creature by all accounts truthfully."
"What exactly is it?"
"It was said to have once been a woman, but she desecrated the flesh, drank the blood of the innocent…so the Valaar punished her. A rather awkward creature, that still has a hunger for human flesh and blood but one that generally won't cause harm unless provoked."
"A good deterrent then…if it even exists."
"Indeed my Princess. A good way to discourage armies from knocking at the door if they choose to try and breach the Jade Wood."
"You don't believe it exists Venar?"
"On the contrary, most stories have a basis in fact…however this one…I do believe this one is an old tale told to discourage the other Kingdoms from attempting a breach."
"It would be difficult to believe that Raithewell would've allowed such a creature to live when he was in possession of something like the sun cryst."
"Exactly my Princess."
Regina looked out the window, studying the green trees. "Is that the way they call it the Jade Wood? The leaves look like jade?"
"The trees when fell also have a quality that makes them shine that same color when placed in the water of the sapphire sea. It's a part of what's made Sunfaire's navy so well known. Their flagships all feature that same wood that looks like shiny green jade cutting through the blue."
"Are you from Sunfaire Venar?" She asked, twisting to look at the older man with a small smile.
"No, my Princess I am not. I am from Eamira."
"A foreigner? And here I thought you were a Northerner."
"You assumed I was; I never corrected you. I was raised in Wintersend, I have spent most of my life there. I barely remember Eamira. Northerners are distrustful by nature, as progressive as they are on certain things; the old traditions are alive and well. They don't trust those not of the North on the whole. It is easier for me to allow peole to assume I'm of Wintersend than to explain I am actually foreign."
"Where are you from then? Eamira is a continent. There are several Kingdoms, not to mention the Kredian and Yorian empires."
"I'm from Uspeova my Princess."
"The capital of the Yorian Empire? That's where you were born?" Regina arched a brow. "Why in the Valaar's names would you leave?"
"You'd have to ask my parents Princess…for I do not know. It was a long time ago and things haven't been right in Uspeova for a long time."
"Yes, I've been reading up on it." Regina moved the book she held in her hands.
"Is it true Venar? That King Gabranth suspended the Senate in order to rule himself?"
"Gabranth isn't right my Princess. The product of hundreds of years of incest but it isn't Gabranth that needs to cause concern. His sister is the true master behind the puppet strings."
"…Valaine right? I was unaware she was his sister. I read she was his wife?"
"She is both my Princess; a more shrewd woman could not be found. The Kredians will not accept a woman ruling them so what better way to do so than to marry your own brother and control him completely?"
"My Mother and Valaine would get along."
"Indeed they would Princess. I wonder if your Mother studied her…though Valaine doesn't possess any special abilities, her ambition knows no bounds."
"Just like my Mother." Regina shook her head, feeling the carriage bump and turn. "This area is so windy." She remarked, hearing the winds howl as the carriage swayed with the strength.
"This terrain doesn't have the Treax Mountains to block it. It's not down in a valley like Loranta. It is mostly open fields until we reach the Jade Wood. Not much to block us from the power of nature I'm afraid."
"You once said you prefer to study in your free time and you are awfully familiar with so many different things…why not become a tutor or the like? Why stay a servant?"
"As I've said, the North is progressive but rigid. I cannot rise above my station anymore than you can lower yours my Princess. This is the way of things and it will stay that way until the North falls."
"When I'm Queen Consort…I will fix this. You have my word."
"Then it will be done my Princess." The older man's smile was small but his eyes clicked with something akin to ambition.
"We need to send the soldiers that escorted us to the borders of Moonshollow back." Regina looked up from her book as the door to the carriage opened as soon as the wheels stopped turning.
"I thought I'd ride with you for a bit." Emma offered her a small smile as she climbed into the carriage. "I could use the break from the saddle sores and I miss you."
"We're at the Jade Wood?"
"We made better time than we thought so we're going to continue to press on. We should be in Sunfaire by dusk. Small town called Gray Water; should be able to find a room there and then we'll head on to Il Mira first thing in the morning."
Regina shifted to give her wife room and settled her skirt once the woman was lounging contentedly on the bench. She rolled her eyes and reached up gently pulling the occasional leaf from Emma's hair. "The Jade Wood certainly has earned its name." She held out a leave that looked like marbled green jade with shots of white throughout it.
"The wind out there is biting." Emma pouted. "At least you two are warm and safe in here."
"The temperatures are growing warmer. I find it much more pleasant."
"It's hot." The blonde princess stated flatly.
"It's warm; it reminds me of home."
"Sunfaire is close to SpringFall."
"Indeed, the temperatures are similar though SpringFall gets warmer the further east you travel, the Qara desert sees to that."
"Well surely Venar agrees with me, being a Northerner and all that. It's hot isn't it?" Emma asked, turning towards the old man who merely offered her a small smile. She felt her eye twitch at the small smirk. Something isn't quite right with this man.
"On the contrary your Highness, I find the temperature change pleasant."
Regina laughed as Emma scoffed.
"We were talking about Eamira before you interrupted us."
"Oh? What about it?"
"I was just asking Venar what he knew about the Yorian Empire."
"The one ruled by the twins?"
"They're twins?" Regina blinked and Emma's brow furrowed.
"I believe so?"
"They're not twins…but they are only eleven months apart. So they were raised as twins my Princess." Venar offered.
"Ah, well that makes a bit more sense." Regina twisted the leather bound book in her small hands. "What do you know of them my wife?"
"Not too much to be honest. Just what I can vaguely remember my tutors trying to drill in my head but I was more interested in archery and sword play so I admittedly didn't listen too much."
"That isn't a good trait your highness."
"My Mother would agree." Emma nodded, blonde wind swept curls bouncing with the movement.
"They do not sound like people I would like to encounter. Valaine and Gabranth."
"I can't imagine many would like to my Princess."
"Do you think they will succeed? With their plans to dominate Eamira?"
"If they do, the Kingdoms of the Enchanted Forest will rise up together to stop them from turning their eyes towards us." Emma stated with certainty. "I cannot imagine a better way to unite people than to give them a common enemy."
"So you did pay attention during your lessons. That strategic mind proves it." Regina's eyes sparkled with laughter as Emma blushed.
"Best to not let anyone…"
A loud scream was heard from outside.
"What in the…"
"We gotta go." The door was thrown open as Grumpy, gripping his pickaxe stood beneath.
"What's going on?" Emma jumped forward, hand on the pommel of her sword.
"Bandits; shocking considering the Jade Wood's reputation but not that shocking. Lancelot is leading some of the guards to try and shake them out of the trees. I'm to get you to safety along with another guard. Stay here and I'll climb up and drive the horses."
"Where's the driver?" Regina asked, clutching her wife's hand in a white knuckled grip.
"Scared shitless." Grumpy muttered with an eye roll.
"Just drive the carriage. I'll stay with my wife and her servant to protect them."
Grumpy dipped his head in acknowledgement and moved with surprising swiftness. The door slammed shut and the carriage took off, winding around the road.
Silence reined in the carriage as everyone strained their ears to hear any little thing that might save or take their lives. Regina longed to remove her boot and pull the little suppressor from her toe. With her magic restored, she would easily be able to handle bandits but she still wasn't sure how Emma would react to that move so she refrained from doing so. The blonde sat forward hand resting on the pommel of her sword as the carriage pulled to an abrupt halt.
The door swung open revealing a grinning face.
"I thought I recognized that carriage." A jovial voice spoke behind a thickly wrapped head cover. Dyed to look like the jade leaves of the Wood around them with brown well-worn leathers covering the rest of the body it was difficult to tell the sex of the person until the voice spoke again.
"I must say I believe the unyielding nature of the North doesn't compare to the might of the swallowing sea. I believe I win again."
"Melody." Emma narrowed her eyes as her godfather swung down from his position on top of the carriage.
"You really thought I was a bandit?" The woman asked, slowly unwrapped her head gear to reveal her grinning face. Pretty dark hair fell in waves down her back as her honeyed eyes danced with amusement. "You Northerners are still as gullible as ever." She laughed.
"You could've gotten someone hurt with your antics." Grumpy muttered, still obviously tempted to take a swing at the Princess of Sunfaire.
"Nonsense, no one got hurt. Just run around a bit. I was told you were coming and thought I'd have a little fun."
"Your idea of fun has never adequately matched up with the ideas of most sane people I see." Regina observed coolly.
"Huh, so you're the Princess of SpringFall? Not exactly what I pictured."
"I can honestly say the same Princess Melody."
The woman laughed, "Our Kingdoms are the most private though we maintain a steady trade with Arrendale and you maintain a trade with Agrabah. They truly aren't that different."
"We clearly learned different definitions of how to be royalty then."
Melody shrugged and nodded, "Yes I suppose that is true. I much prefer to be at sea than on land but I make do. Besides the Jade Wood has a reputation and I like to test her boundaries."
"So you're going to escort us to Il Mira?" Emma interrupted.
"Something like that." Melody brushed her knuckles against her chest and smirked at them.
"I'm sure your Father will be pleased by your antics."
Melody tensed and narrowed her eyes, "What would you know Emma?"
"More than you think."
"You just sit back and watch over your wife. Let the real warriors do their jobs."
Emma growled as the door to the carriage swung closed with Melody's quick movements.
"I can see why you dislike her so." Regina observed.
"You don't even know the half of it." Her wife replied through gritted teeth.