Council of the Heir

Chapter Twenty One - the ocean! aaaaaaaaah!

Lydia gripped the saddle horn as she stepped up into the stirrup, swinging her leg over the saddle and settling into place on her horse's back.

"You okay?" Heather confirmed from where she sat before Herobrine. Lydia raised her hand to give her a thumbs-up.

"I've ridden a horse once, so if we run I might fall off, but otherwise I think I'm good." She quickly turned away so that Heather couldn't see the giddy look on her face. Time for honse.

It was the following morning. Lydia was pretty sure that the villagers were as ready for them to leave as they were to get out of there, since Notch had spent the last 12-36 hours being bossy and annoying. For once, she'd managed to get a good night's sleep, thanks to a bed that she'd been provided from the villagers, and felt way better today than she had trying to sleep on rocks. One thing she definitely did miss about her home world was memory foam mattresses.

They were heading out today, towards where Lydia knew they would hit the coast. She would need to come up with some other plan before they got there.

"Are we ready?" Notch called back, sitting astride his mount from where he waited at the front of the profession. Lydia glanced over her shoulder to check on Valor, who looked a little uneasy where he sat on his own horse. He probably had even less experience with them than she did.

"Ready," Steve piped up. Notch's gaze swept over the group, then he nodded and nudged his horse forward, down the packed dirt path that led out of the village. To Lydia's immeasurable relief, her horse was content enough to just follow.

Not having to worry too much about driving, Lydia was able to admire the scenery. After her experience in Valor's world, getting tossed into another world was slightly less discombobulating than it would have been otherwise, but... also, blocks. A square sun that didn't hurt to look at. Pixelated grass and flowers that waved peacefully in the gentle breeze. She was still having trouble with comprehending that this wasn't on a computer screen.

On one hand, cool! On the other hand, she was pretty sure that if she died in this Minecraft then she would die in real life. Except she wouldn't, she'd return to her last save point... assuming that was still a thing in this world. Probably best not to test it unnecessarily.

Lydia snuck a glance at her riding companions. Out of all of them, she was pretty sure the only one with permadeath was Herobrine. Heather couldn't die, Alex and Steve would respawn, Valor had his magic amulet, and Notch could only be killed by Herobrine. Or... well, actually, Lydia, Valor, or Heather could probably kill him too since they were all exempt from his 'don't kill your dad' failsafe. Not that she was planning on it. Unfortunately they probably had to keep his sorry butt alive for him to get socked into a redemption arc.

She was just glad that she got her own horse. Steve'd had some extra spawn eggs, the horses from which he has kindly tamed for her and Valor while the latter watched in mild horror. If she'd had to share a horse, it probably would've ended up being with Alex or Steve, which, while not the worst, may have been awkward. Either way, honse time.

Their crew made its way out of the village and into the plains, the grassy fields dotted with poppies and dandelions. Lydia tilted her head back to stare at the sky, watching rectangular clouds float lazily by. What level of realism did this world have, she wondered? Obviously she knew part of it, having written the fic, but the sovereign had implied that the story already existed and had just beamed its way into her head. So, not everything she'd written was even necessarily correct. There was air, she knew that, and heat and cold she was pretty sure were a thing. Other stuff, like dust, and bacteria, probably not.

Her horse made an uneasy step beneath her, and Lydia's chin snapped back down to watch the path ahead. At that moment, one of the other horses moved towards her in her peripheral vision, and Lydia looked over as Herobrine and Heather's mount made its way over to walk alongside hers.