The Unseen Road

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Are you ready to go?"

Kylie, saddling the last horse, turned around at the sound of Nicolas' voice. "Huh?... Oh, yeah."

Tying the final knot, she took a moment to face the mount once more and made sure the parcel was secure, then gave its rear a good pat before she started off to meet the Prince. It was early morning; Celeste, Kylie, Mina, the shapeshifters, and even Nicolas had gotten up far before the crack of dawn to help saddle all of the Training Base's horses with their three weeks' worth of supplies.

Working through the latter half of the night had been a tedious process. But now that the sun had finally broken over the horizon, the Soldiers and Knights, as well as the Prince's own generals, had finally begun to gather in the field outside of the city's gates, propped open in anticipation of their departure. Soft sunbeams fell upon their silhouettes one by one, faintly illuminating each Sori's figure. The atmosphere was a placid combination of the somnolence characteristic of such an early hour and heavy anticipation.

She approached Nicolas, who was some paces in front of her. Even though the battle was still far off, he was clad in full mail just as she was; the rising sun's light reflected delicately off of the shining metal, stark against the fading darkness of dawn. Morning dew clung to her pants as she approached him.

He reached his hand out and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Everybody is almost assembled," he said softly.

Kylie sighed. "I know."

"Will you be all right?"

She let out another long stream of air and looked down at her boots. "... Yeah," she replied. "... I just don't believe a week has passed already."

His gentle, emerald gaze fell upon her. "Don't be nervous."

Feeling his gaze on her, Kylie let her eyes drift up to meet his. "I won't be," she attested resolutely.

"Good." Nicolas nodded and looked out over the sea of gathering soldiers, each like individual waves in a large ocean; but, in contrast, it appeared to be as it got more and more crowded, the current began to settle down.

A familiar pair of figures emerged from the growing turnout, headed towards them. After they caught her attention, Kylie recognized the figures as belonging to Nereus and Caraeon, Nicolas' principal generals; the two had been charged with manning the Gates, keeping track of the soldiers as they filed through. Nereus held a clipboard jammed with parchment to his chest while Caraeon stepped forward to address the Prince.

"Are we ready to give notice of departure, Prince Nicolas?" Caraeon asked. "The last of everyone who will be fighting with us have passed through the Gates."

The Prince turned towards them. "That's the last of them?" he replied. Kylie stood quietly beside him. "Very well. Give the order to close the Gates."

"Right away." Caraeon ducked his head dutifully.

Nicolas waited for the two Generals to take their leave, bowing as they left. Kylie reflected with a tinge of sadness that there were only mere moments left until she would hear the powerful, reverberating sound of its doors as they closed for the last time.

"Would you like to meet with Celeste and the others?" Prince Nicolas asked her when his generals were out of sight. "It looks like we won't be busy for a while. Nereus and Caraeon will take it from here until it's time to leave for Solaire."

"Yeah." Although she wasn't exactly sure where they were, Kylie knew that Celeste and Mina were waiting somewhere in the front of the crowd, where Claribold's division was, with Baron and the rest of the Beginner's class. (However, Kylie and Celeste were not going to be travelling alongside their old friends, only practicing with them when they make camp). Before they had even begun to gather outside the city, Kylie had left with Prince Nicolas early on to accompany him to make sure the other officers were prepared to assemble their respective divisions, and to assign a few final tasks while ensuring the kingdom was in good hands under the supervision of the city council.