Put back together

36. The second Kingdom

Roman had absolutely no idea how long they had been waiting when the Unicorn finally came back with three other creatures in tow.

Two horses with big, strong wings sprouting from their backs.
One Pegasus brown with dark spots, the other a soft red that seemed to glow in the light of Virgil's lantern.

And behind them trailed something that looked like someone had taken the vague idea of a horse and turned it into a living nightmare.
It had two heads, one almost normal if it wasn't for the smoke coming from its mouth and the too many teeth, some of with were sticking out to the side, not finding room in the mouth.
The other head was little more than a skull. Its flesh was rotting and its skin was stretched over its head and neck was ripped in some places and looked as if someone had poked holes into it.
Its body was in a similar skeletal state and two of its legs were... wrong. As if someone had ripped them off their original owners and rammed them into the horse, deep enough that they wouldn't slip out again.
Its left back leg looked like an oversized dog leg and its right back leg looked like it had originally belonged to a giant bird.

"We have found others willing to help the humans. Even someone willing to help the dark one which we did not expect," the Unicorn declared. "We will only allow a pure human to climb onto our back."

"And who of us is pure?" Roman asked.

"This one definitely not," the Unicorn looked down at him. "These ones... more like it. But we will not carry a scaled beast."

Elliott hid deeper in Logan's collar.

"Don't bully the poor kid!" the brown Pegasus protested and stepped infront of Logan. "Get on. I don't mind the dragon."

While the unicorn's voice had sounded like it was only in Roman's head the Pegasus had actually spoken.

The unicorn made an offended noise but let Patton get closer.
Roman had to Patton up onto the tall creatures back before he pulled himself onto the other pegasus.

Roman had been riding horses since he had been a little kid. At first just sitting infront of a rider and as soon as he had been tall enough to sit in an actual saddle he had been riding on his own.
Different horses were different to ride. Some were faster or slower, some were more or less submissive, some were better in forests, open field and others were in their element in the mountains.
Yet Pegasus something entirely different.

He wasn't sure whether he was flying or riding and the forest around him was nothing but a blur of gray and black.
Roman pressed himself close to the pegasus' neck.
It was even faster than when Virgil had brought them over the abyss.

And then suddenly the Pegasus came to a halt.

Roman's knees felt weak as he dismounted.

"Whoo! We were the fastest!" the Pegasus cheered. It turned to him. "Who are you anyway? It's been so long since I've actually talked to a human!"

Roman leaned against a tree in order to regain his balance. Just a few meters next to him was the abyss.

"I'm Prince Roman of Sallerow," he introduced himself and on instinct straightened up a bit.

"Another prince?" the Pegasus laughed. "My name is Quil. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, too, Quil-" he was going to say more but was cut off but the sound of hooves.

The Unicorn came to a halt next to them, followed by the second Pegasus and the corrupted horse.
Roman was surprised that the misformed animal with its mismatched legs had managed to keep up with the other two.

They thanked the animals, the Unicorn and Pegasus disappeared into the forest again and the cursed horse laid down in the high gras completely ignoring their presence.

"So that's Terona," Patton muttered staring at the Island in the distance.

"Let's hope that there's a town close to the bridge," Logan said and turned to Virgil. "Do you happen to know if there is?"

"There's a small village but I'm not sure if you can buy a map there. If not the nearest bigger town would actually be the capital," the mage shrugged.

"I suggest we only go to the capital if we have to," Roman spoke up. "Sallerow and Terona don't exactly have the best relationship and, I don't know about you guys, but I don't really want to have another group after our heads."

They crossed the bridge and Virgil took the lead again.

After wandering through the thick forests of the Cursed Islands the light of the sun seemed almost too bright and hot.
Still, there was no dangerous tension in the air and they walked on an actual even path instead of stumbling over roots and other things they didn't want to know what they were.

After a short while they came to the village Virgil had mentioned.
The people stared at them and a few mothers pulled their children closer.

Roman had to admit that they probably were quite the sight.
Between their dirty and tattered clothes, his bloodstained, ripped sleeve and Virgil's now purple lantern it was only natural for the people to stare.
Not to mention that they could most likely tell where they had just come from.

There was no map in the village but they did end up buying some clothes. Or rather Virgil bought them some clothes.
When Roman asked where he had gotten the money from the mage had just threw a shirt in his face.
He didn't bother asking again.

It was a relief to wear something clean again.
The blood on his sleeve had dried and made the fabric stiff and scratchy to the point where the skin that wasn't wrapped in makeshift bandages had become irritated and red.

The only problem was that they were now going to the capital of Terona.
Roman only hoped that no one would find out who they were.

Yeah, Roman. Nothing will go wrong. I totally don't have a certain plan for your time in Terona. Not at all. ;)

As always feel free to comment, ask questions or roast me for spelling errors!

Have a nice (gay) day!