The Dragon Knight Prophecy

1-7 A gift from the heart

 Gersius awoke to the sound of Lilly searching the room on hands and knees for coins. She glared at him with narrow eyes when he finally moved, anger still apparent on her face. He did his best to avoid that gaze, instead, focusing on getting ready for the day. He strapped his armor to his pack in the hopes he would not need it today. Most of the morning would be spent in the village after all, and he would enjoy having it off for a bit.

Lilly was his next task. It took some convincing to get her to put the coins in a bag in his pack. It made her crazy not to be allowed to carry them and watched with a shattered look in her eyes as if he was taking them away forever. He made a promise to return them that very day if she would let him carry them now. She relented but was upset about the whole thing, reminding him that she needed a new hoard.

He decided to try and cheer her up with food and stopped to have breakfast. He tipped the innkeeper to get Lilly a little extra, and her plate arrived piled high with fat sausages and fried eggs. She devoured the eggs and sausages with a pleased hum, her gaze finally softening. When a drink arrived, she went to blow on it but caught Gersius's gaze, telling her no. She set it down and looked away as if disinterested and never touched it again. He hated to take such a simple pleasure from her, but it wasn't safe to use such gifts. If word reached the wrong ears, the road could grow significantly more dangerous.

After breakfast, he took her down the street into the merchant square. The morning air was cool, and the streets relatively quiet. Lilly watched a man driving a herd of pigs with curiosity, then jumped back from a barking dog. It wasn't until they were well down the street that she looked around and turned to him.

"I thought we needed to go south," she said, finally breaking the long silence between them.

"We do, but we have a few stops to make first," he responded, not looking at her.

"So, this is going to take even longer?" she said, coming to a halt with a stomp of her foot.

He turned to see her face wearing a frown that made her look like a pouting child. With a hand through his hair, he stepped closer and spoke in a soft voice.

"This is to help you on the journey," he insisted.

"Help me?" she replied in confusion.

He waved her forward and took the lead, taking her to a building with an open doorway and sign that looked like a foot. Inside were shoes, and boots, and leather objects of all kinds. Lilly poked at the things while Gersius talked to the two men behind the counter. He tried his best to watch her as she explored the shop full of new experiences. Lilly played with some of the objects on display, running her hand over leather's various textures. She smelled many of them, lifting items to her nose to get a good taste of their scent. She went to chew on a belt, but he snapped his fingers, shaking his head when she looked over. When he returned to her side, she was full of questions.

"What are we doing here?" she asked while playing with a long strap of leather.

"We are both getting a good pair of boots, and I am getting you your own pack."

"A pack?" she asked.

"Like mine but a little smaller," he said, turning his shoulder so she could see it. "You do not need to carry a full suit of armor."

"Does that mean I can carry my coins?" she asked with bright eyes.

Gersius knew that question was coming and nodded. "Yes, you can carry your coins." She smiled and went back to playing with the leather, and he let her be.

The men returned with rulers, paper, bags, boots, belts, buckles, and all manner of things Lilly had no concept of. She tried on dozens of boots, swatting at hands when they tried to help her get them on. Gersius had to teach her how they worked and then had to teach her left from right. She asked strange questions as the two men from the shop exchanged glances of concern.