Akko, Lotte and Sucy managed to successfully navigate the mysterious dungeon of Arcturus and with that Kagari can obtain the pendant of courage, in the time she stayed out of the dungeon the village was celebrating the possible failure of the girl with crimson eyes already confident that they had got rid of the girl who is always frowned upon by all the residents there, but they were wrong even more that she managed to come back and as fast as Chariot had taken in the dungeon 10 years ago, with that she is a little devastated to see that she is not so loved by the village where she lives and goes celebrating alone with her friends, then she goes preparing for the next day, already packing her bags preparing to leave the forest of Arcturus and going to the lands of Hyrule.
It was already morning, Akko gets up from bed, gets ready, puts on the same clothes she practically wears every day since it was one of the only ones she had, a green tunic that was already a little short and a cap of the same colour, with brown boots, besides tying it with a rope at the waist so as not to keep the clothes so loose in the wind, picking up her bags that she is taking in a small bag since there is not much to take, looks at her house takes a deep breath and gets all reflective.
(Goodbye little house... You were my home since I know myself, I will miss the things I lived here, but from now on I will live new adventures, I hope the next person will take care of this place very well, unfortunately I will have to leave the Chariot board here, I hope you don't forget anything).
Atsuko comes down from the tree house and there she sees her two friends waiting for her outside, she hugs them both, very emotional since they were the only two real friends she made in the place and together they walked until they reached the exit of the village and there Kagari took a deep breath, meeting the elder Babcock who was watching that place.
"You finally made it, a great miracle, but Miranda said that before you leave, you have to talk to her and then I will grant you that permission" Said the old woman
"Can't you just give me a pass? You already want me to leave anyway" said the crimson-eyed one.
"I even wanted to give the whole ticket to leave, but rules are rules" Babcock said.
The brown-haired woman turns her back and then pats her friends on the shoulder, going to the leader's hut, there she waits and is soon called by Holbrook, when she arrives in her room, Akko sits down and is already offered to have tea, which she makes a point of taking and the leader of the whole village starts talking to her.
"Hello Akko, you did it after all, I'm really sorry for what happened yesterday, but from now on it won't happen anymore, the village really doesn't want to believe in your potential, it seems I got the pendant of courage, but what I really want you to do is to continue your journey through Hyrule, I want you to deliver a letter from me to the queen, saying that there is another warrior appearing to be the saviour of Hyrule, the future of this whole land depends on you girl, go to the castle in the hills of Wedinburgh, this is the last mission I give you, from now on it is quite possible for the queens to order you to do it, I hope you can make it far on this journey, I don't have much to say from now on other than to believe in yourself" Said the elder Miranda.
"I'm going, I hope I can get out of this hell of a place soon, you'll still swallow your words after all the way I was treated here, I'll still be a warrior of respect" Kagari said.
"I'm sure you will girl, finally I'm saying goodbye to you, out there you won't have your friends or anyone from the village to look at you so be aware, it won't be easy from now on, know that very well" The one with crimson eyes just shrugged and got up.
Then she left the hut and walked towards the exit, but not before jumping across the small lake in the middle of the village, where she jumped on small platforms that had some logs that were there until she reached the other side, and then walk towards the exit, there she hugs her two friends.
"Now it's for good, I'm leaving, I'll miss you two, I'm happy to know that you were my only real friends here" said the emotional Atsuko hugging her friends and then putting her hand on both of their shoulders.
"Akko don't forget about us, one day we will find you being a great warrior of Hyrule, you on your horse and your quality sword arriving here full of honour, I don't doubt you will swallow every word, if it's not too much to ask, please try to find a certain Annabel Créme who lives in the village of Blightonbury near the entrance to the forest of Arcturus, ask her if she has one more of the Night Fall books" The brown haired one only agrees with her head.
"I don't want anything too much with you, but then don't stop busting there, show everyone your genius that you showed us against the cockatrice defeating her alone, show the queens that you are a warrior and then impress them who knows you become princess and even future queen of all these lands" Said Sucy which left the crimson-eyed one with the biggest pot face.
She waves to her two friends and then follows the path through a tunnel made with a trunk cut from a gigantic tree and when passing through the tunnel she is already facing a forest ahead, this time all loose it was a very different feeling, it was not like the safe village with everything open, it was a very closed forest, but it had a trail route on the way, where traders appeared from all over Hyrule from time to time to negotiate with the people of Luna Nova.
(So this is the outside of Luna Nova? It's been my dream to walk around here, I'm finally out of my hole, now I can finally get out of here, ahhh freedom, I can't wait to get to the kingdom of Hyrule).
Along the trail she walks and soon sees that there are signs, pointing forward to two destinations, "Blyghtonbury", "Hyrule" she went ahead since it was the only direction so far, looking very attentive, since there could be dangers from that route, but it was until it was very safe until then, until a crow appears from those trees, it lands on her and Atsuko is admired by the beauty of the bird both for being a white crow, both for its size.
"No need to be afraid Akko, I came here especially to help guide you along the way, as I always do with the warriors who every 10 years leave here, you must have just defeated the cockatrice present in the dungeon of Arcturus I assume by your pendant of courage, well now your journey will take different paths, here in Hyrule the map is huge and has its dangers, in the morning and afternoon it is very safe, but at night the danger lives, thieves and creatures appear to attack and you need to have a place to stay or else you can end up dying for foolishness, don't forget to go to the city of Blyghtonbury and buy a map of all the land of Hyrule, as well as a compass to guide you, the Wedinburgh hills are to the north, and there will possibly be your destination, now if you don't mind I will leave from here, when I have more things to talk to you about I will appear in every place and tree you can imagine in this land" Said the crow that flew away and so Atsuko can understand well how things work.
Akko after listening to the crow goes following the path, the trail goes straight and goes quietly walking, which will see a very long path, surrounded on the sides by the forest, while in the middle there is only the road that takes her to the only exits.
[...]
It was a good few hours walking, through the extensive forest of Arcturus she was finally arriving at the entrance to the city of Blyghtonbury, which is exactly at the tip of the forest of Arcturus, when passing through the city gates, she is already walking to a restaurant, where she pays a few Rupees for some food and drinks, being attended by a girl even looking familiar.
"Hey, weren't you Mary who lived in the village of Luna Nova?" Akko asks.
"Do you still remember me? "Yes myself, before my parents left they gave me all their Rupees so I could get out of that village, it was worth too much, you must be the clumsyAkko, how did you get so many Rupees like that? The village always pays badly for those who live there" Mary asked.
"I got it because of that" Kagari shows the pendant that surprises Mary Brooks.
"Are you the chosen one? Woahhhhhhhh, who would have thought that soon you would have the chance to be chosen, but anyway, I'll prepare your food, you must be hungry after walking so much around here, if you also want a room we can guarantee you, I just need to bring my boss here" Said the one with blue hair somewhat stuck.
"And how many Rupees to spend the night? And are there any horses around here?" Atsuko makes a point of asking.
"The night here is 15 Rupees, as for horses you will only find at the Dublin ranch, it is 4 days walk from here, I show you the direction, but they are very expensive too, where do you intend to go?" Said the girl washing some glasses.
"The elder leader Holbrook gave me the mission to go to Wedinburgh Castle, I need to go there, but it seems far" Said the brown-haired one.
"It's a bit far, it would take at least 7 days of travelling on foot or a few days on horseback, depending on the mood, anyway it seems like an important mission, I'll make your food and come back to talk more, it seems that the warrior needs help to guide herself through Hyrule" Said Mary who started to go to the kitchen part of the restaurant.
(And as I need, now that I've left Luna Nova I'll also need to get around if I want to earn some Rupees too, imagine going to Wedinburgh or getting a horse, or something, at least it won't take me more than a week to get there, well it was to be expected, a journey will never be fast, this place is still immense, I don't even want to imagine the dangers of here at night).
Akko goes waiting at the table, looking at some people who passed by that restaurant, some men playing cards, others playing something like chess, in the most just talking to each other and watching Akko there, a little girl so young in the middle of that restaurant alone, what they were coming to bother her, but were interrupted when a woman collapsed with her daughter sat at the table the girl was sitting at.
"Sorry for coming here to your table, we came to take a break from travelling, can we sit here with you? We saw that they were already looking at you strangely, be careful girl, a girl your age alone like that can cause looks" Said the older redhead.
"I realised, it wasn't like this where I lived, who are you?" Atsuko said.
"We came from the Dublin ranch, we came on business to sell and distribute milk and other things here in this restaurant, I also came here to bring my daughter to get to know a little better how things work, you seem to be someone from the village of Luna Nova by your clothes, the people of this place are very mysterious, I'm Chelsea McLaren and this is my girl Holly McLaren" Said Chelsea.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko, I'm from Luna Nova, I see you're from Dublin Ranch, how much would you charge for a lift there?" Asks Kagari already having an opportunity in hand.
"Hmmmmm, you are wanting to travel to our ranch for what reason little girl? I'm telling you, this is not the time to try to make love to my girl, she's still too young to think about marriage, hahahaha, I'm kidding, but tell me the reasons?" Said Mrs McLaren good humouredly while the brown-haired girl was a little blushed and the little girl was just showing a little smile to her.
"It's nothing like that, lass, I just want to go there so I can buy a horse and also because my leader sent me on a mission to Wedinburgh Castle to deliver a message to the queens" said the crimson-eyed one.
"Oh well I don't charge you anything, but you'll have to help us and work with us for a while, after all I'll reward you with a few rupees for the work and I can give you a horse, I want to see you gain our trust for the time being" said the older girl.
"I'll do it, what will I do?" asks the excited Akko.
"Basic stuff, unload the wagon, drive it back to Dublin ranch, then around there my mum decides what you're going to do" Holly said.
"It's not just anyone who goes to the Wedinburgh hills and gains access to the castle, even more so with clothes like that, they will think you are just a sloppy child, they will not let you deliver the message to the queen, apart from that we are very friendly with the queens so if you gain their trust who knows so we can make it easier for you, we cannot let just anyone enter the castle, I guarantee that you will be well rewarded for your service" Said Chelsea.
And with that soon came the food and it was a real feast for which Akko had no idea that she paid, since she spent 15 Rupees for food, which she was sharing with the McLaren of the Dublin ranch, taking the opportunity to delight in all the best delicacies made by the restaurant The Last Wednesday Society, which was filling the stomach of the three.
A baked cucco, potatoes, some fruit, bread, everything that was right of more quality, some spices that were present in the meat of the cucco, besides having a full jug of orange juice and that way it was filling the stomachs.
[...]
Akko began her work of unloading the cart, doing it practically alone while the two McLaren were resting watching the girl's service that was passing the loads of milk, cucco cages, wheat and various crops to the restaurant owner, who was also putting it in place already getting tired with the weight that had in each thing.
(Yesterday I was being a warrior and here I am today, being practically a donkey, while the two redheads are in the most soft, ah but I hope that the reward at least is fat in rupees, these milk jugs are huge yet).
"You have to take it gently or you'll get a bad back, Akko" the little girl said, and Akko almost felt like retorting.
"Don't hold it in or your back will pay the price when you're older, look how Chum is taking it all off, do as he does" said the older girl.
She was looking at the way Chum was doing it, kind of already getting a pouty face and yet she continued since there was little left in the huge wagon loaded by two horses, where she was emptying as time went by, having Chum's help with heavier things, which seemed to make her more tired even after she finished eating.
The sun was already starting to set that day, and there was Atsuko working hard, getting all sweaty, tired from so much that she carried from one side to the other, but at least all this was going to guarantee her a free stay that night, apart from Chelsea promising that she would even pay for dinner for her and even guarantee a bath.
"Look Akko you're almost done, I told you it's not much, we're almost there to have a rest" Chelsea said.
"And it's over!" Said the relieved Atsuko.
"You've done it, great job girl" said Mrs McLaren.
"Now have a bath, you stink" said Holly, holding her nose.
"And what clothes am I going to wear? I only brought this one with me" said the tired Kagari.
"I will provide you with a dress for you, it will be better for you to work instead of dirtying good clothes, now I will provide you with one to sleep in and then one to work in, you can leave it to me that I will guarantee my new worker good conditions, you will be very useful for my daughter to learn more about working at the Dublin ranch, that's what I needed" Chelsea said.
(I think now she'll never want to be a labourer on this ranch again, I've been dying just to carry boxes, milk jars, cages, wheat, I hope this is all really worth it, I've never worked so hard in my life, not even in Luna Nova I worked like this, they didn't even trust me to do anything, they thought I was going to break things, just because I broke a pot one day).
[...]
Akko ended up taking a shower in the bathroom of the restaurant / hotel and was relieved by putting on the clothes that were given to her to spend the night, a nice white jumper and trainers for her to walk around without staining her feet, besides having taken advantage of the bath to wash her clothes that she was already taking the opportunity to leave on the balcony of that place where some clothes are hung drying for the night.
Kagari after the bath goes to where the rooms are and there was only Holly who was kind of playing with a pawn looking all amazed, the 14-year-old girl sits on the bed in front of where McLaren was and waves to her.
"Hi, do you want to play with me?" The little girl said.
"Well, there's not much to do" Akko shrugged.
"My mum has gone to help the cook make our dinner, while it's not ready we can play, how old are you Akko?" Holly said.
"I'm 14 years old, I'm a warrior from Luna Nova actually, look at the way my sword looks" Kagari said showing the sword to the girl.
"Woah, how cool is that that you know how to kill monsters and creatures? That's cool, I wish I knew how to use a sword too, but mum says I'm too young for that stuff, while my two cousins learned how to be warriors younger than me, I think it's unfair that I'm the only one who doesn't learn how to wield a sword, even my mum knows, but not me, I'm already 12, my cousins learned to use swords at the age of 7" Said the little McLaren girl who was picking up the sword and kind of playing with it going from side to side while Atsuko smiled.
"Trust me, a real good warrior won't want to use the sword, it sounds fun, but the part of having to use it is the worst, we only train so we don't have to use it in any way, I just ended up being chosen for my destiny" Explains the crimson-eyed one and Chelsea was just watching everything leaning against the wall, watching her daughter's attempts to use a sword.
"Look at this, I can wield a sword, I can take out those skeletons that appear at dawn, those creatures that come out of the ground" Holly said until her mum appears.
"That's not how you wield a sword, spinning like that will only give you time to take a hit, maybe on the way back I'll give you some lessons on how to turn around, the warrior there can teach you something, since you said you were a warrior, what do you think about playing a little, I want to see if you're really good" Chelsea released Akko's sword and went to pick up a piece of wood which Akko agreed with his head.
"I haven't fought like this in years, I always liked to play swordplay with my friends" Kagari said, picking up a stick as well.
The two were facing each other facing each other and so the crimson-eyed one was advancing and Chelsea exhibited enormous tranquility, she was blocking the attacks with great ease, against a girl her size even with a single hand she was just defending everything showing enormous tranquility.
The brown-haired girl was trying to give some cuts, but she was always blocked very easily, being shocked, even taking a few steps back seeing that and also with the right to a small audience of owner Chum, cook Mary and Holly watching everything, impressed with the way Mrs McLaren used the stick.
"What? How do you do it? You're just a girl from a ranch... I am a warrior, I was chosen by my village to be the warrior" said the shocked Atsuko.
"Well, I don't know if your village was right about that, but you have potential, you just need to train a little more, who knows, maybe you'll become a better warrior, let's try again, more calmly, going like this in madness will never guarantee you anything" said Chelsea.
Akko holds the stick tighter and goes quickly towards Chelsea who goes with a single hand still avoiding attacks and even defending in a way that took Kagari's guard off, to the point of pushing her back, which was a little irritated until she reaches a point where she runs with everything.
Chelsea crouches on the ground and hits the stick disarming the crimson-eyed woman who falls with everything on her back on the floor and sees a stick right in her face pointing at her.
"I told you to take it easy, attacks in desperation end up making you open your guard too much, anyway I think it's time we stopped fighting and let's eat, all this made me hungry" Said Mrs McLaren with great naturalness.
"Woah, Mum, I've seen you use the sword many times, but that against Akko was beautiful" Holly said.
"I didn't know you were a warrior too Mrs McLaren, now I'm going to be a little smarter about not messing with you, you can leave it to me to pay for things right" Chum said even a little terrified.
"How? How can you do it? I've never seen a warrior of the most experienced, none of the teachers are able to wield a stick like that" Akko said getting up.
"I'll tell you one day when you win my trust, until then you'll just be imagining, I also need to train you, let's eat and I want to know more about you Akko, a warrior from Luna Nova...". "From what I know you don't leave the village so easily unless there's something behind it" Chelsea said.
"I'll tell you more when we eat, it's a long story" said Atsuko.
[...]
Akko was enjoying the wonderful food made for dinner, this time it had the presence of eggs and a peculiar mixture that was made, since they were cucco pies which everyone appreciated a lot for being a Chelsea recipe from the McLaren family, with some vegetables also inside and a delicious juice made with lemon giving a refreshment in the middle of such hot days that has been in the summer of Hyrule.
The conversation went on and Akko revealed a lot of what happened to everyone who was there, getting a little impressed with the story of what happened in Luna Nova and seeing the sense in what happened.
"Ah so that's it, you are the famous chosen warrior, just like that Chariot Du Nord was 10 years ago, well just like you, she also came to my ranch, she was as bad with a sword as you are now, she spent a long time
training, she was a great warrior, but we don't know her whereabouts, it's good to know that they sent another heroine" Chelsea said.
"Not for nothing, but you getting beaten like that and defeating a huge cockatrice doesn't make me believe it, it makes me think it was all a matter of luck, or you just ran away from there" said Mary.
"The pendant of courage does not lie, she really did it, well anyway you need to train, I don't think it was luck against the cockatrice, but you could have died if you weren't smart, I will teach you well enough so that you don't die in the next dungeons you will pass" Said Mrs McLaren.
"How close?" Akko asks.
"I know the queen well enough, she will know that she is the chosen one, they will want to test you and you will have to prove yourself by going through some dungeons around, getting some things, I'm sure that will happen, with my training maybe you can get out of these more whole, at least with Chariot she did, I just don't remember what happened, it seems that she disappeared when she went after the master sword ...". That's been about 10 years ago at least" Chelsea said.
"I have heard of this master sword, it is taken when the chosen one takes the four pendants of the four dungeons, so the warrior who takes it will receive a powerful weapon to be able to defeat the evil that plagues this land" said Kagari.
"Exactly girl, when you get to the castle I'm sure the queens will explain this story better, you may be the one who will prevent the advance of the kingdom of Appleton from conquering the land of Hyrule and from what I hear from the people who flee Appleton, good things don't happen there, some don't even survive the escape, those who survive live in fear of being hunted all the time" Said Mrs McLaren.
"So I've got a pretty long mission ahead of me it seems..." Said the surprised crimson-eyed girl.
"I assure you that yes, girl with ruby eyes, you are only at the beginning of a great journey, you were lucky to meet me and my daughter here just today, we will go back home tomorrow morning and there I will teach you how to fight, how to work too, since the agreement to work on the ranch will still be in place and can be part of the training, anyway I'm going, I'm going to bathe, come on Holly, the future warrior needs to rest too, tomorrow we have a long way to go" Said Chelsea who was leaving and going to the upper floors.
(So that's it, now things are falling into place, my dream, the events, that strange guy, I guess I'll have to do something great, stop the evil from advancing, I hope I get good at the sword like her, this woman is really very suspicious, the fact that she knows the queen so well, she helped Chariot before and also she knows how to wield a sword, it's not just any farmer, this woman must be a warrior of the highest class for sure, it must be some warrior with the queen's connection who pays as a farmer)
Akko then gets up from the table, she thanks for the food and goes to her room looking at the ceiling and reflecting, in a bed that is quite comfortable, just thinking about what lies ahead, she will still have a long journey ahead with great dangers, it was just imagining what could happen to her and also the lands of Hyrule.
She was looking at the blade of the sword seeing the mirrored face, just letting the thoughts take over herself about a lot of things.
(Am I really a warrior to be reckoned with? Have I given reason to be ridiculed by the whole town about my ability, have I been lucky? I don't know, I'm already out of Luna Nova, but it seems that Luna Nova doesn't leave me, I really hope I can adapt to the ranch, I barely left one prison and I'm already going to another, but this one is freer and safer at least, Mrs McLaren seems very sympathetic and wants to help me, she doesn't look at me with a frown and doesn't want to treat me like rubbish like I was treated in the village, I hope the queens treat me well, I hope I can become a better warrior).
Reflecting and reflecting, that's what Akko was doing until Holly's arrival after the bath, where the two girls were playing together for a while, kind of playing with a pawn she brought and doing battles with that having Chelsea's gaze seeing the two girls getting along, until it was time to sleep and the three girls went to rest for the next day.
Akko left the village of Luna Nova, walking a long way along a very quiet but long road until she reached the city of Blyghtonbury where she can meet Chelsea McLaren and her daughter Holly the owners of the Dublin ranch that already has some very suspicious things in the air mainly about the bizarre technique in the sword that she has far above any common warrior, in addition to offering Kagari a chance to work and also to
improve as a warrior on a journey towards the Dublin ranch, where Atsuko Kagari's adventures will only begin.
See you, city witches...
