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The sun was barely in the sky as the threesome walked out towards the courtyard the following morning. They had agreed the night before it would be best to get an early start. The feast had been relaxed and cordial, but this morning, the icy silence between Aein and Lars returned. Finn pretended not to notice. He trotted along as happy as any hunting dog out for a day's adventure.
Aein shifted the pack on her back. Suiting up in her old chainmail and leather armor felt strange. In one way, it was comforting. It was not something she enjoyed wearing, but it was something she knew. In another way, though, the weight and the sound and the smell brought back the memories of everything that happened the last time she wore it. And this time, they only had one werewolf.
Before they were halfway across the courtyard, Ragnhild came running out of the castle towards them, her soft, green robes billowing behind her.
"You are on your way!" she said.
Aein smiled, thinking about how much this woman had done for them. They would all be dead if not for her. It suddenly became hard to say goodbye and part of Aein wished Ragnhild had not come to see them off. It would have been so much easier to slip out. "Thank you for your hospitality," said Aein. It sounded so formal and lacking the depth of what she actually felt.
"This is not goodbye." Ragnhild clasped Aein in an embrace. "We are coming to you."
Aein was taken aback. "What?"
"Our people still search for the black mushrooms you told us of, but as soon as our king recovers, he shall come to the Haidra Kingdom and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your Queen Gisla to beat back this Lord Arnkell."
Aein looked at Lars and Finn. Finn, forcibly, inch-by-inch, stretched out of his wolf shape to become human. He took Ragnhild's hand and pressed it to his forehead. "Our thanks." And then he collapsed and shifted back.
"He is getting better," Ragnhild remarked, admiringly. She turned back to Lars and Aein. "Now, in return for this support..."
And this was the moment Aein knew was coming. No kindness was ever given without asking something in return. It was what she had been bracing herself for the entire time they had been here. She automatically stepped into the adopted the rigid pose of a soldier receiving instruction.
"...in return for this support, King Vadim asks that when Queen Gisla is victorious, she shore up the swamp that was once under Lord Arnkell's rule and honor the vows all sovereigns with lands in the swamp have made for centuries."
Aein relaxed, processing what Ragnhild had told her. Most leaders, when joining forces, would demand property or riches as payment. But merely to ask that Queen Gisla pick up the pieces Lord Arnkell dropped was what she was doing already. Aein nodded in agreement. "I shall pass along your king's demands and believe they shall be acceptable to Queen Gisla."
"Not demands," said Ragnhild, touching Aein's wrist. "All of us will perish if this is not done. All of us. Our survival is entwined with your survival. Lord Arnkell's wickedness is nothing compared with the creatures that will come through. King Vadim offers his services to help all of us stay alive."
Aein grunted in agreement and then turned towards the gate.
"Where are you going?" asked Ragnhild with curiosity.
"Into the swamp," replied Lars, mystified by her question.
Ragnhild laughed. "And how did you think you were going to get there?"
"We were going to walk," said Aein, hiking her pack higher onto her back.
"It would take you months," Ragnhild replied. "We have prepared horses for you."
Aein looked at where Ragnhild pointed and sure enough, there were three horses packed with supplies. "The expense..." Aein protested, knowing their value.
Ragnhild stopped her. "My people rarely ride," she said. "We fly. We run."
"Still..."
Ragnhild shook her head and lifted her hands to the skies as if the gods were testing her patience. "We shall gather our horses from you when we come to your kingdom. Take them."
Aein and Lars crossed their fist over their heart in a grateful goodbye, but Ragnhild held out her hand and clasped their forearms. She then bent down and placed her hand on Finn's head, as if in blessing, her thumb running across his silver scar. "I shall see you soon. May the gods guide your journey and protect you on your way."
Aein and Lars crossed to the horses. The saddle, Aein observed, was not like those on the other side of the border. There was a simple blanket of leather with a low pillow at the front protecting the horse's neck from the rider. The blanket itself was attached by two leather thongs - one which ran across the breast of the horse and one which ran under the girth. There were no stirrups. Aein looked over as one of the villagers mounted his horse. He vaulted himself on top, using his own strength to pull himself into the saddle. It was a trick that seemed best for those not weighed down with chainmail and armor. Aein held her hand out to give Lars a leg up and he took her offer. Once safely atop, she turned to Finn. "Mind giving me a hand?"
He knelt and she used his extra height to get atop. It was not elegant, but it was done. Aein tucked her short blonde hair behind her ears. It had grown out enough that she could do it. Just another sign that time was passing and it made her worry they stayed too long. But Aein looked down at Finn and thought to herself that it was worth it. With him, they carried home a second hope. If they had to use all the berries to get through the swamp, at least they had another option for the Haidra people. She prayed that they managed to somehow get out of the swamp alive to share this knowledge.
They exited the stronghold through the massive front gate and Aein could not help a shiver run down her spine as the portcullis clanged shut behind them. She gave a last look up at the towering stone walls, shielding her eyes and spotted Ragnhild and Kaleo on the ramparts. She lifted her hand in goodbye and they waved back.
The entrance to the swamp was in front of them too soon. She looked over at Lars and braced herself for the haunted look that came across his face whenever he entered the trees.
But this time, there was nothing there, no shift in mood. If anything, he looked as if he was excited to return.
"Are you doing all right?" she asked, just in case he was putting on a brave show.
He turned to her and smiled. "As a matter of fact, I have never been better."
"Really?" she asked.
He held out his arms and leaned back his head. "I am free. I am no longer the creature that this swamp made me. Whatever the fog shows me? It isn't who I am anymore. It is who I was. I am free."
Finn gave a low growl, as if warning Lars to keep his voice down.
Lars waved him away. "Not even you can spoil this for me. We could be attacked by a horde of harpies, and it is nothing compared to what I have been through. It is impossible to fear a hell when you've escaped from a worse one."
Aein was so surprised by his words, but they caused her to smile. Perhaps she had been wrong to be so judgmental of him and his decision. Perhaps Finn had been wrong and they would get through fine. Perhaps what Lars needed, more than anything, was to be rid of his shift. Perhaps she should have trusted that he knew best for himself.
There was a jauntiness to Lars, a lightness in the way he carried himself. He reminded Aein of who he used to be, of the friend she cared so much for. Unfortunately, it made her realize how much she was no longer that girl. The smile faded from her lips. She had seen things. She had done things. And she could not shed that skin from her soul like Lars could. She could not go back in time to that place of innocence and hope. She was not the person Lars fell in love with and it broke her heart a little. She wished that she could join him in his freedom.