"Multiple?"
"Yes, but I couldn't see anything deeper than that, I could even feel myself being burned as I tried to peek." Her smile started to disappear.
"Sorry... I was just curious."
My eyes shifted to the girl that slept behind her,
She is just like Mim...
"But I could feel a comparable essence, but it was not a faerie..." Her head lifted up while her legs were swinging off my shoulder.
"Is it a spirit?!" Edward shot forward.
"I don't know... that's why I wanted to look..." Her eyes finally met Edward's as well.
"But I need to leave to do something! If you need something—I'll help you!"
"Thank you, but how can I even reach you?"
"We're connected now, that is part of harmonizing..."
"I know what your essence feels like, and you know mine! So it will work instinctively... probably!"
"Bye, bye now."
She vanished into light, but as she said I could still feel her essence.
What even is essence...
"Tjer, you truly are full of surprises!" Edward said, crossing his arms, shining a grin down on me.
"And how could Mim sleep through all this...?" Katherine said, her legs bouncing off the ground.
"She has always been a deep sleeper..."
"...but honestly ever since we left Kage she has been sleeping more and deeper—but it has improved the last few days. So maybe..."
"In that case we will just keep watch over her, to make sure nothing happens to her..." Her legs started to calm down.
"Thank you, that's what I was planning to do as well."
"But do you know what it means for the fair ones to befriend me?" My eyes alternated between the two.
"Not much is known about it," Edward said, with Katherine simply nodding along.
"But what is known, is that you have easy passing in places with high spirit density. And that some fairies will help you, and some faeries won't see you as hostile any longer—I guess it would even help you with spirits, they are one themselves after all." Katherine added in.
"Wait—do I have a spirit's blessing?!"
"No, no. A blessing is more like a contract, and both should consent to it. This is more like a gift, it's not as powerful as a blessing, but it's not as costly as one either." Both of their eyes lowered themselves with each word.
"But how can I receive a blessing?"
Katherine looked away, not even letting her own breath escape, turning her head when Edward spoke.
"You can't search for it, the spirit chooses you. The way it works is still a mystery, I guess you can see them as a higher being."
He put his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry about your curse, it will be alright—we will find a way."
My fingers simply buried themselves into my lap, with the urge to jolt away lessening.
But a cold shiver still sounded through my body.
"Thank you... I won't worry about it then..."
Out of nowhere Thalira appeared on my shoulder again,
"Hi, hi—there is nothing hostile on the road!"
"Wait, really?" Even Edward and Katherine's faces tensed up.
"Yes, we steered them away for you!"
"Thank you?"
They are really helpful...
"This way the road should be easier right?!"
"Yes, yes—we're grateful for your help!"
"Hehe, it's no problem!" The light that shed from her wings had brightened while she brought her hand to the back of her head.
And indeed as we continued down the road we didn't come across anything—from beginning to end. Even Edward said that it never happened before.
We all continued talking with Thalira staying with us, even saying that she couldn't leave the forest because she is a forest fairy—a plant fairy to be exact.
Being acknowledged by the forest faerie meant that this acknowledgement only worked inside of forests—I won't be able to see or communicate with fair ones outside of forests.
"You are almost out of this forest..." Thalira said, her head hung low.
"Don't worry I won't forget you... are you bound to just this forest?"
"N-no I can go into every forest, but I can't reach most of them." She cleared her throat as she spoke.
"You can always appear when you are able to, okay?"
The light that peeked through the curtains was increasing with each second.
"Okay... and don't forget about me!" Each step the horses took were starting to sound more solid.
"Of course not!" I said, waving my hand at her.
I was met with silence.
The light weight had been pulled off my shoulder.
She had returned to her territory.
I looked out of the window, and walls could be seen in the far off distance—possibly still an hour or two away.
It's really similar to Arbis...
"Is that a frontier?" I asked Albert, who had been sitting behind the horse for the past three days.
"Indeed, this is the frontier before we leave this country," Albert said, while Katherine pulled the curtains slightly.
"I thought so, the walls look like the one from Arbis."
"Frontiers are meant to be defenses, so its appearance is not of high priority."
"I didn't know that... thank you!"
"It's no problem."
He had already been riding for three days in a row, shouldn't he be tired already?
During this entire journey I hadn't felt any strange movements, or vibrations. He had been reining since the start of this journey.
"Tjer, I think it's time." Edward who had been holding his chin the entire time since Thalira left, finally looked up.
"What is it time for?"
"I'll show it to you after we arrive."
After even more time we had passed the shadows of those gigantic walls.
We had arrived at our resting spot.
It's been a while since we slept in a normal bed...
I looked over at Mim whose eyes were still droopy.
"This is our home, so watchful eyes are of no concern here—Tjer follow me."
His tone had changed as if he finally made his mind up about something.
"I'm coming, but don't we need to eat first?"
"No, we can do that later." He didn't wait before walking away.
I followed him, seeing no other choice.
After we reached the backyard of the house, he wrapped his fingers around his sword—and as if it was light itself pressure appeared, one I hadn't ever felt before.
Light reflected off the gemstone decorated sword.
I had realized it before, but this was the first time I truly felt it.
His greatness.
The light grew as the scabbard moved further away.
Until his entire blade was in sight, the scabbard swung back as the tip was pointed at me.
Two words were all that was necessary.
"Watch me."