"Why would he make you hear bugs and see fireflies? That's not intimidating in the slightest," Josephine says with her nose wrinkled. She doesn't seem all that shocked to hear about Gravo, bit she always has been good at hiding how she feels... sometimes.
"He wished to lure me into a false sense of security," Faust says. "His goal was to get me on his side and betray the princess."
"So he just walked up to you without knowing we were even here?" she questions.
"Gravo appeared to me as an thought, not a physical person," he explains. "That is why I showed no concern. I forget that you do not commonly experience magic. Forgive me."
"How does he appear as a thought?" I inquire.
"Magic is all connected. If one manages to find a particular wave of magic coming from anywhere, then they can tap into it and send magic to that area as well via that channel. That is how the illusion was sent along with the voice."
"You have a constant channel around you at all times?" Rafael asks. "Isn't that dangerous to us?"
"No, I do not," Faust replies. "That night, I accidentally froze some things and released some energy, hence why it was so cold last night."
"You and I are no longer friends," Rafael says monotonously.
"I never thought we were...?"
"We weren't."
"General Faust, thank you for throwing Gravo off of our trail. We owe you more than I can give," Josephine graciously thanks.
"Do not thank me for doing my job, Ms. Josephine," he says.
"Get rid of one general, we get another, but magical!" Rafael exclaims with sarcastic happiness. "This trip just gets better and better!"
"Sorry...?"
"Don't apologize to him," Josephine grumbles. "He's just an asshole."
"I do not know how to communicate with you, Rafael," Faust admits with a troubled gaze.
"Here is how to; sit down, shut up, and let me do my thing," Rafael explains with a smirk. "It's pretty simple, but you guys don't trust me."
"Let's wonder why," Josephine mutters.
"I kind of trust you," I chirp.
"Thank you, princess," Rafael says. "See? Follow her lead."
"We will fall off a cliff," Josephine argues. "Everyone, just get into the carriage or on a horse or whatever the hell you do so we can make it to Klestia."
Without a word or groan, we all head towards the carriage. Rafael mounts his horse once again, and Faust offers to take over driving the carriage much to Josephine's delight. I sit in my usual spot in complete boredom.
As we ride on, conversation finally takes the place of silence.
"Why did you sell your horse?" Rafael asks Faust.
"I needed some extra coin to pay for a place to stay."
"You're a king and general. Why don't you have pockets full of coins by now?"
"I only took what I thought I needed," he explains. "Bringing it all with me would be foolish."
"We did the same, you know," Josephine says.
"Trust me, I know."
"Ms. Josephine, I must ask you something, if you wouldn't mind," Faust politely asks.
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FantasyWhat would it feel like to have your reality shattered in an instant? Imagine it just for a moment. Now, say that new reality was something greater than what you once thought possible, like a whole new world has been brought into your eyes like a li...
