Vow Of Silence

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

1st PERSON: Pelomina Lorenzo-Capiz

As promised, a few hours before daybreak, Yulsey did all that he could to provide me with the necessary equipment I’ll need on my voyage, travels if you will but more than that, he made sure I understood and followed the map that he gave me. He pushed all the books and papers he had on his desk to the side and unrolled the map on the surface, flatting it out for full view.

“You will go through here, it will be a difficult trek in the forest…” he trailed off, tracing the road with his fingertips as his long golden hair fell over his shoulders, speaking of hair, mine is actually getting harder to manage, I suppose I should cut it so it wouldn’t be a nuisance.

I nodded at him but he still looked at me with disdain, “I still don’t approve of this plan, but if you really want to escape, you’ll have to bear the unfavorable routes ahead,” he followed, he didn’t need to say it I could see it in his face. He must’ve really loved the real Pelomina Vaustero, to go to such lengths for her.

‘I’ll do my best to bring back the friend you know and love, Yulsey,’ I’m sure if Pelomina was here, she would appreciate all that he’s done for her.

I’ve had friends back in my world, but I wonder if they would do this for me. If anyone would support me like this… Probably, I’d like to humor myself and just trust that there will be friends I could go back to once this whole mishap is over and dealt with.

“No one will know, right, Yulsey?” I asked,

He nodded, “Yes, I would also pretend to be surprised by your escape—however, I am almost certain there will be knights sent after you, you better move quickly and hide,” he answered. I gulped. Yeah, I already guessed that would happen. Still, it didn’t stop me from feeling nervous and shocked once I heard him say it.

“I trust that you would be able to stall them, perhaps?” I said, peeking at his face with a sigh. Not even saying anything back, he just nodded. I beamed and gave him a side hug. It’s all coming together. I’m finally getting to take my first steps to get back home.

“Right… then, can I ask you for one last thing?” I followed, but that choice of words made him whip his head towards me,

“What do you mean last?... This is not the last you will ask of me because this is not the last we’ll meet—on second thought, maybe this plan is—”

“Yulsey… You’re right, I’m sorry, I meant that this is the last for now, I just need… a dagger,” I interrupted, pressing my hands on his shoulders, “Something that I could cut with, it’s a convenient thing to have,” I followed and he nodded with a hum.

He reached under from his desk and pulled out what I presume would be a dagger, sheathed in a leather case strapped to a belt, “I’m not really one for combat so I have no use for this, I wish you wouldn’t have to, but if you need to use it, may it be able to serve you well,” he said as he handed it to me with both hands.

The thing was, it's as long as my forearms, I wonder if I could learn to manage the weight and use it effectively. “Thank you Yulsey, I’ll… use it well?” I answered, and he scoffed.

“I hope not, I hope you have a peaceful road ahead of you,” he replied, pulling me into a warm hug that we both bathed in, it seemed peaceful, and yet it felt like we were both saying goodbye, there was this sad easiness and relief that I felt, which is probably opposed to how Yulsey felt seeing as he clutched me as tight as he could before letting go, his expression more downtrodden than any he had before.

After that was a shared nod and we were on our way out of the castle. I didn’t even try to recognize any of the hallways that we passed. It was a fleeting moment as I watched him navigate through the castle, avoiding coming across anyone, and hiding until patrolling guards already passed. Soon enough, we exited the castle through this narrow backdoor of some sorts after descending stairs upon stairs.

Close by was a saddled horse. It feels as if I’ve been planted on the ground, my footsteps felt heavy once I walked on the dirt and approached the horse, it was bigger than I anticipated, dark as night, yet it didn’t shine, it had matted fur and braided mane. I’m not sure if I’m just small or it’s just a really large horse.

Yulsey helped me as I grabbed onto the tied straps and wedged my foot into the stirrups, hopping as hard as I could to be able to sit properly. Yulsey held my hand as I smiled at him for one last time.

“Good luck, Pelomina,” he said before looking at the horse, patting its head, “Now you, Chauven… take care of my friend for me, okay big girl?” he whispered, and as if Chauven, the mare, understood she neighed.

“Just reach the end of the forest, that’s where your journey starts, be careful…” he reminded before tapping Chauven’s hind legs and she started trotting away, I waved at him as we went and softly flicked the reins which made Chauven run a tad bit faster.

The sky was still dark, but I won’t take my chances. With the small lamp that was strapped to the saddle on a match that was in one of the pockets, I shed some light on our path, continuing to walk onwards and occasionally bringing out the map, trying to memorize which way we’ll take after the trek.

For the longest time, it felt like we were just going through circles. It’s just tree after tree, we are in a forest after all. I don’t know what was running in my head apart from absolute nervousness when I thought that maybe I’ll spot an animal or two—this is the forest, magical forest I suppose, or whatever, but there’s got to be something interesting to wash away my anxiety even for just a minute.

I already feel crappy as it is.

“I guess it’s just you band me for now, huh, Chauven,” I whispered, in an attempt to fill the silence in these dark, dense woods.

Chauven seems to turn to me and huff as if she actually understood my words. More than that, it gave me the impression that she must’ve thought I’m being stupid for trying to talk to her…

I mean, this is a magical world, after all, maybe horses actually… “Chauven, do you really understand me?” I whispered again, leaning in closer to her head and she replied with another huff and suddenly lunged forward for a split second, forcing me to sit up straight again.

I gasped, “You do! And you have an attitude too… that’s really amazing, not every day you find a sentient horse,” I said with a shrug, and as proof of her attitude, she grunted and huffed at me. We continued walking like that. I suppose a horse who understands humans didn’t surprise me as I thought it would. It’s fascinating nonetheless.

I feel like one of those princesses that could talk to animals. The only upside to this journey.

As the sky got lighter, we picked up the pace. Now we could see more of our route and I’m also starting to see some life moving around. Birds sang as the sun rose. Along with the elevating feeling of watching daybreak, I couldn’t help but worry and occasionally look behind me, fearing that some people might already be after me.

But there was no such thing. Yulsey kept his word, either way, it’s not like people are constantly looking for me back when I was in the castle, I’m sure they wouldn’t notice that I was gone, but in the case that they did, I’m sure Yulsey has my back.

We reached the end of this seemingly never-ending forest, by then I know which direction we should take, and from that point on was an established path taken by other travelers, in fact just as we exited the forest and stood on the path, there was an oncoming wagon pulled by something that looked like a cow mixed with a deer.

The feeling of seeing both aspects of two different animals in one was jarring, but these are the things I should learn to get over with if I want to blend in and not cause more problems by bringing attention to myself.

“Right, let’s go this way Chauven,” I whispered as I lightly tugged her rein in the right direction and flicked them softly, causing her to steadily pick up the pace as we ran ahead of the path. Looking back, I could still see the castle, towering over the vast forest we crossed.

‘Goodbye Lykus… it was nice while it lasted,’