The Saintess and the Villainess

Chapter 73

Elyon had said they would only need to walk about half an hour into the forest, but both Corvina and Eva insisted on packing for a longer trip. It was the first time Anne had ever seen the two of them agree so adamantly on something. But Anne could understand why they were nervous.

Anne hadn't been in this world long, but she'd already heard stories of people walking into the forest and being lost for weeks before suddenly finding themselves back where they had originally started, on the other side of the tree line. Sometimes they would discover that years had passed for those waiting outside, even though they'd only been lost for a few weeks. Time and space could be tricky in the Sacred Forest.

The rebel soldiers even whispered of other stories, of people entering the forest and never coming back at all.

Or at least, the human rebel soldiers whispered. The elven soldiers usually just sat nearby and rolled their eyes. But they never chimed in to correct anyone, so...

They had decided to enter the forest on foot. Apparently horses didn't do well in the forest if they weren't used to it—they often stumbled and injured themselves, or spooked at nothing, or made themselves sick from stress.

Agis could have ridden Iramis, since Iramis was raised in the forest, but he didn't want to be the only one on horseback, so he was walking, too.

Eva helped Anne put on her heavy pack full of emergency field. Everyone was carrying their share.

We could've brought Iramis to carry the bags, at least, thought Anne, struggling with the weight of the pack. But, no, Agis would never allow his 'noble steed' to be used as a pack animal.

Agis was chatting with Helen a few feet away, showing her different parts of a wooden bow, expressively explaining something. When he was done explaining, he handed the bow to her.

"We should get going," said Eva with a gentle smile, patting Anne on the head twice. "We don't want to be caught in the forest after dark, so it's better to leave as soon as possible, just in case."

"Yeah, sure," said Anne. Then she called over to Agis. "Agis, we're heading off!"

Agis glanced at Anne and then back at Helen, telling her one last thing before running over.

"What was that all about?" asked Anne.

"She asked me to teach her archery..." said Agis, blushing. "I was just giving her some basic drills to do while we're gone."

"Agis," Corvina approached them. "I have a question."

Corvina had come fully prepared for a long trek. She was clad in all black—knee-high boots, high-waisted trousers with a sword-belt, and a simple blouse (lined with black lace; she was still a Lady, after all). Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and she was even wearing her glasses.

Some of the soldiers had stared at her when she'd walked past them, but she glared at all of them until they stopped.

Anne had not had enough willpower to stop staring, personally, but  Corvina hadn't been glaring at her. Instead, when she caught Anne looking at her, she blushed slightly, and turned away.

Anne thought Corvina must have been embarrassed to be the only one in the group wearing a special outfit for the occasion, so she felt kind of bad about staring, but also this was the first time Anne had seen her out of a skirt. And, honestly, the form-fitting trousers were undeniably sexy. Especially because Corvina had her usually-secret dagger openly strapped to her thigh, in full view.

Anne was certain she was going to be distracted by that all day.

"What do you want to know?" asked Agis.