Aiden, the said guard, appears out of nowhere and hands me some sort of box. Opening the smoothed wooden packet, I find a cloak inside. Then, he disappeared as fast as he had appeared. 

I put the cloak on and try it out, noting how it fits me well. It also hides my identity. Merle follows behind me, although he doesn't try to hide his own identity or anything. His hair is the only thing that hides something, which is his eleven ears. 

I open my map and try to gauge the distance between Silvailia and the nearest marked out village. "That'll take some time," I mutter and sigh. 

I can't take too long to repair the mirror since grandma Pallor is alone and probably struggling. Why did I even come back here instead of staying with my grandma?

She's getting older, after all. Nobody can stop ageing even if they try everything. Everyone eventually dies...

'No! Don't think like that!' I scold myself and grunt as I slap myself to snap out of this. It's my fault that I left grandma alone, but I need to correct my mistake and come back as soon as possible. It's no use crying over spilt milk anyway.

With a shake of my head to let the stinging sensation of the slap on my cheeks fade away and the thoughts to drift out of my mind, I calm myself and roll up the map before glancing at Merle.

He simply smirks and pats my shoulder in a comforting manner before taking the lead. Following right after him, we head to the end of the village, where two horses are already standing ready and prepared for departure.

My eyes immediately go to the beautiful and rather muscular black horse, and I step closer, extending my hand. It sniffs my hand and stands still, so I take the chance to get closer and pat it gently.

With a snort, it leans into my touch and blows a bit. A small smile forms on my lips, and I hop on its back, taking the reins.

Once both Merle and I are ready to start our journey, we lift the reins a bit, looking where we want to know and pulling the reins in the same direction. I squeeze the horse's sides, and it starts trotting.

Merle shows me how it's done since he's more proficient in horse riding, and I follow suit, urging the horse to run with its partner, and it speeds up, now galloping alongside the other stallion as we catch up to Merle.

'The air here is very different from my hometown. It's fresher and somehow feels better to breathe in,' I think and let the fresh air fill my lungs as I close my eyes for a moment and simply enjoy the moment.

The wind blows through my hair, making it fly back a bit, and it also hits my face, gently caressing it. The horse's mane flies in the air as well, creating an elegent veil around its head.

During the way, I start to feel even better as we leave the village's protective barrier. A sigh of relief leaves my mouth as I enjoy the fresh air and the sensation of the wind blowing against my skin.

Merle, also enjoying the ride, steals a glimpse at me to see how I'm faring so far, but what he says next catches me by surprise.

"Alaire, are you alright? You have a nosebleed." He says in a worried tone, which is poorly hidden behind a neutral facade that he tries to maintain to hide his real concern.

Reaching my left hand up to my nose, I notice a warm liquid dripping onto my it. I look at it, and I see the blood. My eyes widen slightly upon seeing the crimson liquid dripping on and running down my hand.

While I wipe the blood with my hand, I try to figure out why I suddenly got a nosebleed. 'It's odd. I felt perfectly fine the whole day, so why now?'

"Ho!" Merle urges both horses to a stop, catching my horse's reins and tugging on them slightly, before reaching out to check up on me. His rather cold hand touches my face, and I lift my gaze to look up at him.

"Weird. I can't sense anything wrong with your body." He retreats his hand back, giving me another thoughtful look.

'And what does that mean?' My face scrunches up in confusion before Merle continues speaking, crossing his arms in the process.

"It's true that you have a slight temperature, but it's nothing life-threatening. Say, how do you feel?" He asks as he tries to figure out what could've caused my nosebleed.

"Uh... Like usual." I give him a vague answer, and that earns me an irritated groan from Merle, who doesn't seem too pleased.

"What an enlightening answer. I don't know how you usually feel, idiot. Give me a better description." This makes me glare at him a bit for his obvious sarcasm, but I just let it go.

"I'm fine." I grumble as my nosebleed finally stops. I wipe away the remnants of the nlood and pat my horse a bit. 'Tsk. The blood is everywhere...' I wipe it off the saddle as well, trying to clean up the mess that I made.

"We should take a break," Merle suggests, and I agree. The way is still long, after all. The sun is setting, so it wouldn't be too bad to get some rest before continuing our journey towards the nearest village. 

I look at the sky, which is now painted in hues of orange and yellow. The clouds are illuminated by the setting sun, so they also have an orange-like colour, fading into something between pink and purple. The sky on the other side is already dark, with the first stars showing up, keeping the clouds company.

Some birds fly above, making their way into their nests to sleep and protect their young. The cheeps and rattles of the birds make a nice background sound as they settle down to go into slumber.

"A rest is indeed a good idea!" Hewie chirps a bit and finds herself a comfortable spot to rest in while Merle ties our horses to a tree before giving them some water.

"I'm gonna hit the hay now." I inform him and lie down under a tree, somewhat tired yet still full of energy. A lot of things bother me even while resting. Like why I'm here. Who Hewie is, or how my grandma is doing.

Ellirith is a mystery as well. I don't understand why she would reveal such important information to me, a literal stranger. Perhaps she has a plan, perhaps she simply did it for her entertainment. I can't figure her out no matter how much I try.

Also, there's this thing about me having magical powers despite not originating from Elarion. It's truly unsettling.

Everything is weird. And it gives me a bad feeling... The world fades into darkness as I fall into a deep slumber under the tree, watched over by Merle, our two horses, and Hewie, who isn't asleep despite being the first one to find a resting spot.