#131
Winter. Day 141. Evening. Royal Fields

I woke early, before the sun even rose. Hopped out of bed and found that I had a single letter from Celestia. My eyes bleary, I read through it slowly. Once more for the words I missed. She consulted Twilight, as I figured she would. After some time, they set up a working model according to what descriptions I had given. The probability of the using the tower as a conduit for magic was possible, so long as there was a proper charge. In essence, my theory was correct. Still, the question why remained.

Breaking me from my thought, Ginger placed her forelegs around my shoulders and her head atop of mine. “So, were you right?”

“In a sense yes but the question of why Nutmeg would want the kingdom hidden is still there. Once we get to the tower or the Bibliotheca, we should be able to find out quite a bit more. Are you excited to see your sisters?”

“Not particularly, we sisters tended to fight often.”

“That's unfortunate.” I remarked as I began to pack up my notes. “Maybe you'll be able to able to sort them out.” I humored.

She lightly laughed behind her teeth. “Maybe. Maybe they've sorted themselves out. Which I really hope they have. An troublesome bunch really.”

“That would be nice. You'll have to introduce me to them, then.”

“If they're not busy. Royalty always have matters to attend to. I'm sure you're already aware of such things.”

“More than you know.”

She pulled herself away, “Oh, interesting. How so?”

“Three princesses, a king and a queen. The three princesses I'm friends with, the king and queen, not so much.”

“Why is that?”

“Different kingdoms. Equestria is ruled by two princesses and the third one doesn't really have a kingdom. The king and queen rule over Light Fringe. Two different places, days apart.”

I heard her begin to shuffle through her clothes, followed by a brief pause. “You don't include me as a princess, despite my status?”

“You are barbarian, remember?”

“Of course.” she huffed. “And if I were a lost duckling, what then?”

“A lost duckling.”

“If I were a run away child of royalty with the title?”

“Which title?” I asked, turning in my chair to her. She had taken on the splendor of the rising sun bouncing off the short dress that Clear Wing had commissioned. It was a lovely thing. Adorned with the royal colors of white, dark green, and indigo and most importantly, Clear's family crest. The head of a lion with an open mouth. The colors shimmered rather nicely too. She was befitting of her title, at least in beauty. I know nothing of her leadership.

“Princess, of course. What other titles are there?”

“Then princess and there's archduke, duke, duchess, prince, count, earl, baroness. There's quite a few more, of course.”

“I get it.” she groaned. “Does it look well?”

“It does.” she smiled at that. “Now all you need is a crown.” I humored.

“I'll have to get it back from my brother first.”

“Right, of course. I just hope that all goes well.”

“'Hope'? That's a funny word, isn't it.” she snickered, moving away from the window and towards me. “If there's anything to hope for, is that this 'Rebirth' of your mother's doesn't occur.” She continued past and toward the door, her bags laid over her back. “If anything, I hope you don't develop some fear that dumbfounds you.” I remained silent, having nothing smart to retort with. “Get your papers packed, you egghead. We've longer days ahead of us and I'd rather not have you making them longer.”

“Yes, milady.” I saw her eyes flare a moment, then letting it go with a sigh. Part of me thinks that she actually likes that respect, but hates the term. As she left the room, I began packing my books and paper, and my flight equipment. I think, despite it only being a few days, that my mind had begun to settle here. The city reminded me much of home, only a scale tenfold of home.

I met Ginger and Clear Wing just outside the bedroom doors, saying their farewells to Garlic. I said mine to her as well, as best I could. She gave me a rather strong hug, one that told me she appreciated my company. A mother's hug to her missed child. Truthfully, if I hadn't had other matters more stressing, I could easily call Pecken home.

We left the tavern then, escorted by Clear's two guards and to the eastern stables. It was a long walk to the stables. The further we went, the more the air opened up, fewer towers lingering over us, guiding us through a fenced field of lush and green grass. Overrun by weed and wild flowers. The stables seemed typical enough, only larger. Boards and log beams thicker than my torso kept it standing and held the thatched roof well above it. As they needed to be, drozards are no small things.

The front end had a simple desk and large retracting gate leading into the stable. Clear Wing approached a minotaur stable master working hard to distract him from repairing some frayed twine. Clear put on his noble smile and greeted him kindly, the minotaur replied with remarkable familiarity. There was the gesture of suggestion, followed by obvious thought, then complication.

The loud clanking of the steel gate grabbed at my ears, Clear motioned us forward. The minotaur bowing as he let us pass. He brought the gate to a close and took the lead again. The smell of those stables were surprisingly swell. Perhaps the work of magic to keep it from smelling too terrible. Ginger seemed surprised about it too. The minotaur instructed us to stop and opened the gate to one of the many gates in these rather dwarfing stables.

He lead out a single drozard, not as large as the ones as I had seen out in the fields. Regardless, its sleek and took on a blue on white dappled look. Its eyes were a bright and vivid green. It had already been saddled and haltered with tough leather and rawhide. Steel and iron rings connecting the long lines of the reins to the halter. Before giving the drozard to Clear, he warned him about something.

After all was said and done, Ginger and I were stuck riding that drozard, aptly named Leopard. His smaller size lead him to picked on by the larger drozards, so we trailed behind Clear and his guards. I had never gone that fast across the ground, surely Gold Arrow is quicker, but Ginger said that they were capable of going faster. Despite the fact I had to keep my head down just to keep the wind from forcing my eyes closed.

As we continued crossing the plains, I could finally see how truly massive the Sky Spear was. It could easily eclipse the sun and its shadow could stagnate whatever it claimed. Looking around, I noticed that the entire kingdom was encircled by nothing but mountains. Which is leading me to think they may be acting as a perimeter for the tower's magic, if it truly exists. It may become more apparent the closer we get.

For the time being, we're letting the drozards rest. The sun was already drifting into the early evening when we left, now it's gone beyond the spiky horizon. The moon is invisible tonight, but the sky is clear and bright. Strange how that works. Perhaps Luna is looking out for me, as silly as that sounds. The sound of strange crickets chirping and quiet wind is all that really fills the air right now. There is no fire tonight as the body heat of the drozards is keeping us warm.

Tomorrow we should arrive at Hestan's main gates. We should be able to get through them without much trouble. Clear Wing has made sure of it. Still, in spite of comfort, I've found myself unable to sleep. Ginger has found herself in the same boat as well. She has been watching me scribble my words down by dim candlelight. Enjoys the sound of it, apparently.

I've come to learn that these plains are called the Royal Fields through what hushed whispers her and I have been sharing. A few constellations as well: Ponce, Alexan, and Joha. Strange names certainly but to her they have significance. As a result, I've gone back to the few sporadic sketches I had and named them accordingly. With her help of course. Ponce was a balled flame, Alexan was a helmed skull of a minotaur, and Joha was the head of a broken spear. They all had their legends and their fates intertwined. Tales that she didn't explain, as much interest I had of them.

#132
Winter. Day 142. Early Morning. Royal Fields.

This morning was brought on by a beautiful sky. It'd been a long while since I've seen the sun in it's fiery majesty and grace. Colors warming my eyes like a soft painting and the shattered rays dancing among the eclipsing mountains. The tall grass and flowers glinting brightly across the plain. A painting that would take years to perfect in every hue. I've never thought much about such a place, but it's brought a smile to my face.

Perhaps I was just glad it was morning. I found no sleep last night thanks to who knows what. I will admit, my mind has not been at much ease ever since I've begun my chase. We ride soon, Clear and his guards are checking their inventory. There's mischievous critters that come out at night.