The early morning air in the forest was crisp and smelled of damp earth and pine needles. Aeryn sat straight on the back of the bay horse, the saber held across her lap, her cloak pulled tight. She looked every inch a normal woman who was clearly, pale, and thoroughly exhausted yet regal.
Rissa, riding slightly ahead on the second horse, looked like a kid who had just won the biggest prize at the fair. Her face was flushed with happiness. She was beaming so wide that her cheeks looked like they might pop.
"Rissa," Aeryn called out, her voice slightly strained from the continuous travel.
"Yes, Your Highness! At yooooour service! Ask me anything, My Lady! I have a whole list of potential problems I've already solved in my head, so you won't have to worry… including how to turn a wild boar into a meal using only a twig and a concentrated fire burst. Also, I know three ways to disable a standard royal tracking charm, which I've been practicing on a pebble, do you want to see? It's very fast, but I can't do it while riding, and the pebble keeps rolling away, which I think is a separate problem, don't you think? Oh! And I also know five great hiding spots if we need to vanish suddenly, but only two of them are actually usable by two horses and one Queen! So, I'm working on new spots for all of us! This is so exciting!" Rissa yanked the reins, bringing her horse to an abrupt, jarring halt.
"Don't do that! You'll break the poor animal's mouth," Aeryn scolded in a low pitched voice.
"Oh! Sorry! I am still learning how to be the Queen's Protector, My Lady!" Rissa apologized, then added proudly, "But don't worry, I am a super fast learner! I have read every tactical pamphlet ever produced by obsessed haters of the Queen that I could find! I bought them all, for verrrrrrryyy high prices, from highly persuasive merchants who claimed to know you better than you know yourself, which, by the way, included seven different volumes on how to tie a proper tent knot! Can you believe it? The knot one was terribly boring, but I read it anyway, because maybe there was a secret Queen-approved knot in there, but there wasn't, which is just typical of... well, typical of... the people who aren't your followers!"
Here rissa suddenly realizing something started to talk in the air …
"Like, the ones who... uh... the Queen haters! No, My Lady, not haters! But not fans either! Like, they don't hate you, but they don't like you either! I mean, like, they aren't your loyal followers, but the other people! Oh, I am so sorry, Your Highness, I didn't mean to talk about this right to your face!" She bowed her head deeply. "is it right? But I am on your left?" she thought out loud, "I didn't mean to talk to about this left to your face!" she corrected herself proudly.
"My Lady, they were scammers by the way … I got to know it after I was scammed of course... if I knew before I wouldn't have wasted my time on those good for nothings... humph!! But no worries! I still have some useful tactics, and the rest? Hmmm, the rest I will learn from the best!" Here, she pointed to Aeryn with both hands, respectfully and playfully flattering the Queen.
Aeryn pinched the bridge of her nose. "Rissa, focus. Tell me where did you get these horses!"
"The camp, of course!"
"I saw the General's tent and I said, 'This one is the fastest,' and 'This one looks sturdy.' They're part of the General's personal stable. A beautiful matched pair, don't you think?"
"You stole them from Sakina!" Aeryn cried.
"No, no, Your Highness! I didn't steeeeal them," Rissa corrected, turning to face Aeryn with extreme seriousness. "I commandeered them! It's a huge difference! Stealing is what villains do. Commandeering is what highly loyal future Generals do when their Queen is in danger and needs rapid, tactical transportation! It's practically a heroic public service!"
Aeryn stared at the girl. "And you knew exactly where I was?"
Rissa winked. "Well, I suspected where you would go. Don't scold me but I never left I was eyeing your tent. The General had the guards triple the security at the front, so, I had kindly loosened the big, flapping hole in the back of your tent an hour earlier. You know, just in case. I always prepare for the most improbable scenarios! It's only sensible!"
Aeryn went silent, blinking slowly. Rissa was a disruptive genius wrapped in a layer of pure, nervous energy.
"You knew I would run away?" Aeryn asked. "With how both of you were with each other, it was visible that you wanted to get away from them…so I just helped in case…guess I was right." She chuckled.
Aeryn was silent. They were moving silently now, Rissa making way and whistling every now and then. Aeryn broke the silence. "why exactly did you do that?"
"What My lady?" rissa said while flying away mosquitoes.
"Why did you hurt people in the camp and that in my name…" it was visible that aeryn still didn't trust Rissa. In a world where everyone hated her calling her a curse, and uncontrollable this like girl was like a die-hard follower.
Rissa's whole demeanor instantly shifted to fiery defense. "They were disrespectful, Your Highness! They were suggesting that the Queen's new vision was… illogical! And they were saying it really loudly, which made their terrible logic even worse! I tried to VERBALLY correct them, but their logic was terrible! So, naturally, I had to PHYSICALLY correct their stance so their heads would align with the QUEEN'S strategic goals! It was just a little alignment adjustment, My Lady, purely for strategic benefit!"
Aeryn sighed. "Violence is not correction, Rissa. On your own comrades, especially when I had strictly restricted it. It's rebellion. And that is why I expelled you."
"I know! I swear I have thought about it every minute since!" Rissa pleaded, raising her hand in swear, her eyes suddenly wet. "I was so ashamed, Your Highness. But I am here now to show you! I will learn control, I promise! I just need guidance! And I can be useful! Look!"
Rissa suddenly held out her other hand, and with a short, controlled burst of power, a small, perfect flame ignited and hovered over her palm. It wasn't wild or destructive, but contained, a bright, stable orange.
"I can use the same control to make sure our trail is difficult to follow and that we stay warm without alerting anyone nearby. I only use power when necessary! See? Necessity! Not rebellion! Unless rebellion is necessary, but I think that is a paradox, so let's stick to Necessity for now!"
"The horses' hooves will leave a massive trail, Rissa," Aeryn pointed out, ignoring the fire for a moment. "They are special guards they not only rely on their elemental powers but on their brains. They will track us through the rock and the soil."
Rissa's eyes glazed over with intense concentration. "hmmmmmmmmm….Aha! I have solved this on too! We must ride them backward! They will naturally step in their own footprints, confusing the themm! It's so brilliant!!!"
Aeryn almost fell off her horse in disbelief. "RISSA!!!" Aeryn said, "If we try to ride two horses backward over rough forest terrain, we will break our necks before Sakina even finishes her breakfast. We are riding forward!"
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