Morning arrived.
Breakfast came and went, and we cleaned up the campsite so no trace of our stay remained.
Seeing that the prince and I had finished getting ready to set out, the white horse and one other approached us ahead of the rest of the herd. It was admittedly strange to be leading horses but not riding them, so we figured we might as well take advantage of our situation.
Until we reached the next town, our primary means of travel would be on horseback. I withdrew horse tack from my interdimensional storage—including saddles, of course—and tacked up the horses.
The white mare allowed me to ride her, but it seemed the other horses would be taking turns carrying the prince. The horse whose turn was first looked delighted.
You’re always so popular with animals, buddy.
We swapped our clothes for ones that made us look more nomadic. To protect our eyes from the wind, we wore goggles. I wasn’t too sure why they had existed in Golden Dawn, but now, they served well enough for hiding our faces too. Killing two birds with one stone and all that.
Having mounted our horses, we set off with a shake of the reins. The herd of horses surrounded me and the prince like a cavalcade, and we began to head southward at a trot.
We let the horses set our travel pace. I was only a beginner at horseback riding, after all. If we forced the horses to go fast, it’d only make our journey more dangerous. As long as they were heading in the right direction, I was more than happy to let the herd take the reins.
At the start of the day, the horses had carried us at a gentle trot. From there, they gradually increased their speed until they were galloping at full speed.
“Look over there, Kariya!” The prince, who was next to me, pointed at the grassland ahead of us. “What a lovely field of flowers!”
The field had been blanketed in a sea of purple.
“No, those aren’t flowers,” I said with a laugh. “Pull your collar up over your nose. We’re going in!”
I did so myself, and we covered our faces as the horses plunged straight through the field.
The meadow was filled with small, white flowers that I hadn’t been able to make out very well from a distance. The purple butterflies covering these flowers to sup at their nectar all took off at once, their scales scattering as they fled. The cloud of butterfly scales glittered gold in the sunlight.
The butterflies in our path continued to scatter into the sky as we thundered through the meadow, blanketed as it was by the delicate insects. The view was stunning.
“Breathtaking...” The prince’s voice trembled with emotion.
“I know, right?” I replied. Behind my goggles, the skin around my eyes crinkled as I smiled.
The sight was grand. Fantastical. If this were a scene in Golden Dawn, I’m sure I would’ve hit the screenshot button.
But as beautiful as these glittering scales were, they had paralytic properties, which made them dangerous to breathe. Unfortunately, any selfie I might’ve taken that included the meadow would’ve been ruined by the fact that I’d look real shady being dressed head to toe in protective gear.
However, despite how dangerous the scales were to human-sized creatures, they had no such effect on the horses. The horses were too large.
We soaked in the sight of countless butterflies flying off from this vast field of flowers...and paid for it later that night as we frantically cleaned the scales from our clothing.