1 The Wide, Wide World [Kumo -> Konoha/?/Bokuden] Fri May 09, 2014 8:22 pm
Ayesha
D-rank
There was so much to take in, so much to see, feel and smell that she surely spent the first fifteen minutes observing the landscape which spread out before her. She gazed at the mountains in the distance, eyes wide open, then knelt down and picked up a stone.
Cold. But not only the stone… the air was colder here. When she took a deep breath, the faint smell of salt water crept into her nose, undoubtedly coming from the shore where the ship had docked half an hour ago.
On Ayesha’s left side, there was the edge of a forest with beautiful trees, some of which she had never seen before and only read about: conifers.
Still too amazed at everything around her, Ayesha approached one of the conifers with a blissful smile, reaching out for the unique needle leaves.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Goldschein trotting around the area restlessly until he halted at last and whickered.
“Gold?” Ayesha turned away from the tree and followed the horse to a forest path leading through the woods. “I see.” She smiled again. “Well done. Let’s go before it gets dark. I hope we’ll arrive at a city or village soon.”
~~
Just like the horse hooves on the ground, her heart hammered in her chest with a mixture of excitement and fear. Not once in her whole life had she ever experienced anything like this before. She was alone – not counting Gold – and she neither knew where she was going nor how long it would take to get out of the forest.
Despite all this, the birds chirping and the wind blowing through her long pastel pink hair could easily keep her in high spirits. This was her own little adventure. Finally.
Along with her hair, the red cape belonging to her royal outfit fluttered in the air as Gold moved on gracefully while she patted his crème coloured neck every once in a while.
“Do you like it, Gold? One could say this is the outer world,” she whispered, her mind wandering. Since she had been taught how to ride a horse from an early age, she hardly had to think about what she was doing and could very well concentrate on other things meanwhile.
Such as… the sound of wings beating that suddenly replaced the peaceful chirping of the birds. Ayesha’s head jerked up. For the fraction of a second, she saw a shadow darting from one tree branch to another. The next moment, he was gone.
A shiver ran down her back when she instinctively pulled at the reigns to tell Gold to stop. He obeyed at once.
Something was wrong. She hadn’t imagined it, had she?
Heart pounding, she waited in the silence enveloping her; waited for a sign or anything which could give her the impression that it was safe to move on.
The seconds stretched into minutes. Nothing happened. Just as she decided to continue her way, however, a dubious figure emerged from behind a tree.
The masked man’s sudden appearance shocked her so much that she could do nothing but watch him approach her.
“Oh, what do we have here?” he mused, stopping three, four metres in front of Gold. His eyes looked completely black; they were probably of a very dark brown colour. He paused a short moment as if in thought. “What a rare and beautiful horse with golden hair. People would pay thousands for it. And you, young lady, must be a highborn, am I right? I would say your clothes give you away. I feel very honoured to meet you, Miss…?”
Ayesha took several seconds to realize that this man only wanted to talk to her. Yes, he was most likely a wanderer of sorts and curious why a girl was coming this way.
Relieved, she gave him a gentle smile and replied, “Ayeshaline Helena Elizabeth von Schneeberg. But please call me Ayesha.”
Gold stamped his hooves anxiously on the ground. Something about the stranger seemed to unsettle him, but Ayesha refused to forget her manners in front of the poor man.
He hadn’t done her any harm. In fact, he sounded pretty nice, not dangerous at all in contrast to what her father would always say, “Don’t talk to vagrants. They never have good intentions.”
“Ayesha. What a sweet name. But what are you doing out here all alone? Your parents must be worried sick.” The man returned her smile and drew out a knife.
Her heart sank. How ridiculous that such a small gesture was enough to spoil the mood. “Um… nothing. I… um… what do you want to do with the knife?”
“I believe you’re hungry. I will hunt a rabbit for us.” His tone of voice sounded amused although Ayesha wasn’t sure what exactly amused him about this situation.
Following her silent command, Gold took a few steps back, bringing more distance between the man and them.
“It’s all good,” Ayesha said to the stranger and forced a small smile on her lips. “I’m not hungry, but thank you for the offer. Nonetheless… I should go now.”
“Are you sure?” Another strange response from the masked man. “I don’t want you to go yet.”
Then he began to form hand signs she didn’t understand.
Travel Complete
Training 272