"What a loving relationship. Seeing the two of you really makes me wish I had siblings." Vera said as our carriage slowly rocked forward.
"I pray for anyone who would have to call you sister."
"Oh? What's this? What's with the sullen face? You were so excited earlier. 'It's a promise!', pfff, haha!"
I kept my eyes on the outside scenery while trying my hardest to ignore the annoying smile of Vera who sat on the other side.
"You helped her, didn't you?" I asked her, changing the topic.
She merely shrugged. "Your sister suddenly approached me with a request for a white dress. It really surprised me. I was under the impression she disliked me. But I can't treat the sister of my precious knight badly, can I?"
"I sent a maid her way to help her dress up. That affair took quite a while, hence why I was so late."
'So I was right.'
I thought Kayla was still hurt by me leaving. I'm glad it ended up this way.
Who would have thought Vera would actually help her? I suppose I should….
"There's no need to thank me. Just think of this as an apology for keeping her locked away 2 months ago." She said with a confident smile.
I merely glanced at her before speaking. "Arrogant of you to assume I was going to thank you."
"Oh you weren't? I suppose that's my mistake then?" With that suggestive statement silence appeared in the carriage.
The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the moving carriage and the stomps of the knights outside.
The silence was quite welcomed because I had quite a few things to think about.
Mainly, about yesterday….
During my talk with Kayla, I felt something strange. When I started talking about my encounter with Aiden and my awakening, a strange heat permeated through my body.
The heat seemed to come from the depths of my soul. It was as if something dormant was stirring awake. It felt like I was close to grasping something important...Something powerful.
There are certain sensations that come with becoming awakened. Based on those sensations, I can tell that this bizarre feeling has something to do with my awakening and more importantly, my ambition, the one that caused me to awaken.
"Haaah."
'So many questions.'
'It would be great if all these things were more clear. Well, I suppose all I can do is wait until the answers come to me.'
I could ask Vera about this but I feel like this is something I have to do on my own. Something personal.
"You're going to tire yourself out before the entrance exam if you think that hard."
My attention shifted towards Vera, who had quite an amused expression on her face.
"I'll be fine. The journey will take quite a while so I have enough time to rest, correct?"
She nodded her head. "It will indeed take quite a few hours until we reach the Capital and Sunrise. I'm not sure what exactly you are thinking about, but am sure it would be more productive to relax, or maybe even prepare for the exam."
"That's funny coming from you."
Her head tilted slightly to the right as her red eyes looked at me confused. "What do you mean?"
I started looking out the window without care. "It's nothing big. I'm just not sure how you can be so confident and relaxed with your hair like that."
"..."
Silence once again filled the carriage.
Comfortable for one and awkward for another.
"Haha, I never knew you had a sense of humour, Kaelith." Her voice was measured but I could tell what I said affected her.
After being around her for 2 months, I could say I knew a few things about her.
She absolutely despised unordered and messy things. Even if what I said was a complete lie, it will surely make her panic.
"I wasn't joking. Have you ever heard me make a joke?" With that statement I looked her dead in her eyes without a crack in my expression.
"Well, as long as you're happy with it."
I returned to gazing out the small carriage window.
"..."
As I enjoyed the morning sun and the occasional trees, I heard some shuffling coming from opposite of me.
'Hehe.'
A small smirk crept onto my face as the shuffling continued for a while.
***
Clank Clank
The boots of the knights outside could be heard inside the carriage. During our trip, there haven't been any hiccups or events that required the knights to step in.
We've been traveling for quite a while. We long since left Alexandra and the territory. The more I think about it, the more bizarre that is. I've lived within Alexandra my whole life and this is the first time I'm going somewhere else. Ever since becoming a knight, my life has certainly become more interesting.
I was planning to continue resting when I noticed something odd. The carriage started riding more smoothly and the boots of the Knights resounded even louder than usual. The road seems to have gotten a lot better all of a sudden.
"It seems we're here." Vera announced what I had been thinking.
As I looked out the window, I was met with a massive grey wall. Just by looking at the top, I was forced to shield my eyes due to the sun that was staring back at me. It seemed to be even bigger than the walls surrounding Alexandra.
Judging by the curve in the wall, the city it's protecting is very vast.
The carriage slowed down as we approached the gate. As we slowed down I saw a bunch of carriages lined up next to ours, along with many more people.
They also seemed to be trying to enter the city. The reason we were skipping past them is probably due to the status of a Dukedom.
We eventually reached the front of the line. As we did, I started looking at Vera expectedly.
"What?"
"Aren't you supposed to come down or something?"
She chuckled for a moment before answering.
"No no, there is no need. The Vice-Commander will take care of it."
"But how would the guards be sure that we are really from a Ducal house if you don't show your face?"
Even though the carriage had the symbol of the Dawn House, it could easily be faked.
"It's quite simple really. No one would dare impersonate coming from the Dawn family. Getting such a powerful force against you isn't something anyone wants. And besides, the presence of our Knights is hard to dismiss. Not everyone is capable of bringing a squad of highly trained Knights with them."
'Makes sense.'
The registration didn't last long as we were quickly moving forward again. The gate slowly opened, revealing the city to us.
"Now that I think about it, isn't this your first time in the capital?" Vera smiled at me and spread her arms wide. "Well then. Welcome to the Capital of Felora, Ashbourne."
The capital, Ashbourne was simply put, grand.
From the moment we rode through the city walls I could see a whole bunch of carriages, people, buildings and more.
Though the inner parts of Alexandra were also quite crowded, it didn't compare to here.
The roads were tiled neatly and straight, creating a good place for the carriages to ride on.
From the window I was looking I could see a lot. There were many buildings around, some most likely living quarters and other probably factories of some kind. From what I could see, the city had a slight elevation that led to the center of the city.
At the top, I could see a flashy castle. Probably the place where the royal family lived.
From what I learned from Amy, the most important parts of the city were located in the center, while most of the trivial stuff was focused on the outer stretches.
It is quite surreal to see the city I was learning about in real life.
As the carriage kept moving I kept observing the sights of the capital.
There were quite a few places I was interested in which Vera explained as we traveled towards Sunrise.
"Hmm?"
As we reached closer to our destination, a big white building soared above the rest.
The building seemed to be made from ancient stone. The carving gave it a feeling of refinement. It had tall spires which could make one feel a little intimidated.
"The Cathedral of Velisar, The God of Life."
Vera answered my unasked question.
"Cathedral of Velisar? Is there a Cathedral for every one of the Deities?"
"No, but Velisar is the most followed God in Felora, especially within the Capital."
'Makes sense. Even though I'm personally not a devout follower of the Gods, I've met many people who do.'
"So what God do you follow?"
Though one doesn't have to follow only one deity, most people favor certain Deities over others.
"Me? Well the Dawn House is known to follow Veythara, The Goddess of Nature but that is mostly just an outward appearance. We aren't really that religious."
"Should you really be saying that so openly?" I asked incredulously.
My question earned a chuckle. "You don't have to worry. Even if people were to hear us, you aren't required to follow a God in Felora or any other country. Except maybe Velmora."
'That's good. It would really suck to act like a pious believer all the time.'
"So are you-" My sentence cut off as I observed another big structure appear through the window.
There was a big clearing full of carriages and people.
"Vera, we're here aren't we?" I turned to look towards the girl across from me.
"Correct, we've arrived. At the best place to get stronger in all of Felora…"
"Sunrise Academy."
'So this is the place, huh.'
"Well, we better get ready." Vera announced while picking up her umbrella and getting up.
"I suppose we should be getting ready to register for the academy."
"No no, I'm not talking about that."
'She isn't talking about the administration?'
With a clap her umbrella expanded within the space of the carriage.
"We're going to be making an entrance. Haven't you heard? People of grand status always arrive in style. And so are we." She reached out her unoccupied hand to me, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Do make sure to put on a show, My Knight."
I sighed.
'This already sounds like a pain.'