Sienna's dress above :)

The journey to the mountain was long and the deeper into the woods we roamed the more often I found myself tripping over sadistic roots and crippled branches. After falling for what had to be the tenth time, Tallis had me hold on to his arm to keep my balance. I felt frustrated because it seemed like I was the only one who was having trouble. From what I knew, Tallis had no experience gallivanting through such terrain yet he has managed to stay on his feet.

Of course, the veil of night did not help matters. The stone on my neck gave off a blue glow but its illumination could not pierce the blackness beyond my outstretched hand. At first, I wish we had the foresight to grab a torch before we left. When Tallis suggested we make our own torch, Zeph shot down the idea. The gnome told us he would be able to navigate without a light source and a fire would only lure trouble that we didn't have the time to deal with.

It made sense. But relying on the gnome was the last thing Tallis wanted to do. I found myself constantly pacifying an escalating disagreement between the two.

We stopped to rest after a teleportation. I insisted on it given Zeph's fatigue but if I was being honest, the magic made my head swim. At first, he blatantly refused not wanting to waste any time. It seemed his impatience to return home only grew the closer we got. Well, I would match my stubbornness to that of any gnome any day. I sat down on the ground and refused to go any further if he would not rest. The gnome had no choice but to relent.

"Very well," he grumbled. "We shall rest... but not for too long! I had greatly underestimated the toll my magic would take to teleport more than just myself. Then again, I had expected to only teleport one human."

Tallis scoffed but before he could bite that bait, I said, "Tallis, would you like some food? I've packed plenty."

"I sense a water source nearby," Zeph said. "I shall refill your canteen, Your Highness."

I nodded and the gnome scurried away through bushes, almost animal-like.

"I am glad we have not run into any brigands," I remarked feeling the weight of the dagger beneath my skirts. "The Fortune Divinity is smiling on our travels, don't you think?"

I could almost feel Tallis giving me an exasperated look, but his face was obscured in the darkness until he sat next to me. "I am not surprised. The gnome has us weaving around, going deeper in the woods and avoiding all villages. I do not trust him, Princess."

"I like when you slip up and call me by my actual name, you know. I understand why you do not. But we are away from court. You can address me anyway you like now."

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

The azure glow emanating from my necklace made his eyes burn blue as they stared straight into mine. Has anyone ever looked at me straight in the eye before or have I just never looked back? It feels as if my head has been turned away from everyone my whole life. As if... I was shamed to look anyone directly in the eyes because I could not measure up to the expectations there. Though Tallis did not always agree with me, he didn't have an image of me in his mind of how I should be. Instead, he was putting together a puzzle of what is already there. I reigned my focus back in from the detour.

"Of course I did. And Zeph has given us no reason not to trust him. Perhaps I would be more concerned for my safety, but I have you here."

"I am not a soldier."

"But you are a fighter and a survivor and whether you like it or not, you're my friend. Why else would you come with me?"

"I just... do not get why you feel the need to help total strangers. Even I know this isn't something Princesses normally do."

"He is part of my people. How can I not? It is my duty."

"They don't pay taxes. They are not citizens of your kingdom. They are notorious for keeping to their clans."

"It is not about money... and they have an allegiance to the royal family when the First Promise was made by the First King."

"What does this promise entail?"

"He had promised to protect the land and all its native creatures from those who would abuse it. It was agreed that his descendants would keep the promise strong and true."

"Sounds like a nice bedtime story..."

With words set on my lips to argue with him, I reached around blindly for my canteen only to remember Zeph had it. My hand collided with a rock and I sucked in my breath as pain stung my hands.

Tallis immediately grabbed my wrist. "What's wrong?"

"It is nothing. I scraped my hands earlier when I fell."

He held my upturned palms up near the stone to have a better look. "Quite a few dirty cuts. You should have said something. We should clean and tend to it before it is not nothing. Where did you put your medicinals and dressings?"

He began looking through my pack.

"Oh, um, I didn't," I said in a small voice.

"Didn't what?"

"Pack that stuff."

"You didn't pack any..."

"I usually do not get hurt in the woods!" I defended myself though I knew I made a grave error.

He sighed, "It is alright. We just have to figure something out. Alderias boasts of their abundant herbs. And luckily, I brought a book on the different kinds." He leafed through a book, then looked around the area for any helpful plant using my necklace as a light. Finally, he landed on a page. "It's too dark to find much of anything... But according to this, we just need to clean your scrapes, apply the ragweed moss then bind your hands. Ragweed moss is basically everywhere around here. It absorbs the healing properties of the surrounding plants of Aislei. Not the best of plans but it'll do."

We fumbled around collecting the moss from our immediate surroundings. Tallis suddenly clasped a hand on my upper arm and leaned close to whisper. "Listen, before the gnome returns, I want to make one thing clear: you do not need to ever be alone with him. When you sleep, I will stay awake and close. When I sleep, you will stay awake and close to me. Promise?"

"On my pinky soul. But you really do not have to worry. Zeph just wants to save his home. What other need would he have for me?" I whispered back.

"Ransom? Money? You are a princess after all..."

"Gnomes do not care for money. As you said, they are notorious for being hermits to the outside world."

"Just promise me you will stay alert, Sienna, and trust no one."

"I trust you."

He didn't say more.

Once Zeph returned, Tallis used some water to wash any dirt off my hands, applied the moss, then ripped off some of his shirt hem to bind them. I recalled how he had ripped my dress when we first met.

"Who taught you such medical knowledge?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

"Eh. In the forges of Maru, injury was common. I just picked up on useful tips along the way. I don't have real medical knowledge. Hence why I grabbed a book on such."

"Oh! In that case"--- I plucked a little violet bloom from the base of a tree beside me--- "what does this one do?"

He handed the book to me. "How about you tell me?"

"But--"

"You're more than capable of finding your own answers, Sienna."

He is calling me by name. I pursed my lips and tucked my hair behind my ear searching for something witty to say. What would Rose do?

"I would hate to interrupt but I do have a clan dying!" Zeph called to us. "We should get moving."

With an irritable sigh, Tallis helped me off the ground and we continued ahead.

Day broke out over the mountain peaks. Along our journey, I kept myself occupied with the book. I had marked different pages of the book with pressed flowers and plants that correlated with the subject as we came across them, including a remedy for the alleviation of sunscorn. Though it looked as though we wouldn't need it; by the hot hours of day we were close enough to the mountain to be protected by its encompassing shadow.

Each time I found a new plant and its matching description in the book, I would share with Tallis all about the plant and its properties. Telling Tallis something he did not know gave me immense satisfaction.

Zeph grumbled having not met his goal of having us to the mountain by sunrise. When I stopped to rest my feet and to collect some jasmine leaves, he kicked at rocks.

"Perhaps we should keep moving," I said stifling a yawn.

"We have three whole nights til the bright moon," Tallis whispered kneeling down beside me. "Do not let him make you feel bad. You're coming all this way just to help him. We haven't slept either."

"We have been walking forever. But he does have a point about camping down here versus on the mountain. It would be much safer there." I sniffed the jasmine leaves then pressed them into the book. "I never would've thought these boring, ugly leaves would smell so sweet."

"The world is full of surprises," Tallis agreed.

"Indeed. I never appreciated the land and what it can provide. Not truly until now. Zeph says I am connected to Aislei and I always felt like it sang to me in a way... but I am finally starting to understand the words." I glanced over at Tallis, realizing how crazy it sounded. I was expecting him to be rolling his eyes or have some strained look on his face at the mention of land singing, but he was just looking at me, listening. "I've been thinking, Tallis..."

He smirked. "Oh no."

I nudged him nearly knocking him off balance. "I have good ideas, you agree?"

"Sometimes..."

"Well, I thought of another."

"Here we go."

"I want you to be my instructor. Yes, I know you are already the Royal Inventor but just consider it."

"I don't know..." Tallis stood up and I followed him. "You do not seem like a dedicated pupil. Why should I?"

"Because I am asking and not just ordering it. I always learn new things when I am with you. You open my eyes and make me rethink stuff. And I like it. Just think about it. It could be so much fun. And we would get to spend more time together..." my cheeks warmed.

He smiled back. "We will talk about it more when we return. For now, let's just focus on the task at hand."

Before I could respond, a Gladyion Boar roared. It was miles away, but its call echoed shaking the leaves. We had heard it the first time just at sunrise. This time it seemed closer. And angrier. Zeph had told us what it was: a giant creature with protruding deadly tusks and a big, scaled tail that thumps the ground before it charges on its prey. Zeph said the call earlier was a warning to another creature who must have entered its territory.

At that moment, a pod of fizzles hopped through the underbrush causing mayhem in their wake, the boar's roar having spooked them.

"Annoying vermin, get off me!" Zeph yelled after they had tackled him to the ground bouncing on him. Tallis and I laughed. Zeph teleported up and kicked one. It bounced off a tree and away.

"Rose and I would herd these little guys into some traps after getting them riled up. It is most entertaining! Watch, Tallis! Boo!" I clapped my hands together and two fizzles ran into each other then bounced around frantically.

Tallis paused in his efforts to shoo the fizzles away from our packs where one had crawled up into nearly spilling all our rations. "Traps?"

"Yes," I answered. "Little spring nets. We let them go right after, after they have calmed down. Actually, right before you came---"

"What is so funny about scaring them for your own amusement? Then trapping them in a closed space until they're exhausted?" Tallis caught one in his hand and it stilled. He petted its fur. I stared in bewilderment as the fizzle seemed to snuggle into the maruvian's palm.

"Even when they are not in a panic, they are always hopping about. I have never seen one so calm," I observed in awe.

"Nor I," Zeph said examining Tallis curiously before saying, "but of course, an annoying creature would find solace with another annoying creature."

"Or perhaps she knows I do not mean any harm," Tallis said.

"I do not ever harm them." I lifted my hand to the tamed fizzle, but it bounced away seeking refuge under a bush. I frowned, biting my lip. "They bounce so much because they are scared?"

"Wouldn't you? Look at them. They are just round balls of fur. No real claws or fangs. Just big feet. What else can they do to survive?" He paused looking at my pensive face as I reflected on my actions. "Sorry, Sienna, I didn't mean to---"

"No. It's okay. I should feel bad. I should feel ashamed because I was wrong to do that to them even if I did not have cruel intentions. But I will not anymore, I swear it on my First Blood." I knelt to my knees to peer under the bush. The fizzle shook and retreated further in its leafy refuge. "It's okay. I will try not to scare you and your friends anymore."

I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest until I heard that familiar beat, the humming of nature. My own thoughts were too loud before to hear it but now they synced. I got up to my feet feeling a second wind despite my lack of sleep. Zeph and Tallis were arguing over something. I was about to tune in to find a way to defuse the situation when I heard a troubling sound, loud and familiar somehow. My companions continued in their debate, but I turned up a hill to peer down into the valley. Using my spyglass, I found the source of the noise. Trees fell like dominoes. The familiar sound was like the splintering of a wooden lance except this cried out to the sky.

"Uh, guys?"

They continued to argue not hearing me. I looked back as more trees fell in a procession towards us.

"Guys!"

They both paused then the thunderous roar shook the air around us. And the critters of the forest started abandoning their homes.

"Quickly! Follow me!" Zeph shouted as two Boars broke through the tree line, tusks entwined in a ferocious battle of strength. I reached for Zeph and Tallis but something, perhaps a piece of debris, hit me back with great force.

Sienna's Song

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