A heavy rain pounded on the roof of our coach as we raced down an elven forest highway at midnight, in total darkness. The prince and I had both taken off our soaked evening dresses and were relaxing in our daytime clothes—which, given the diplomatic nature of this trip, were rather fancy. Adela had changed into a new maid outfit too, though she was currently wearing an oilskin raincoat over it as she drove the coach. This must have been pretty difficult in the rain, with scant lighting from magic lanterns along the night highway her only source of illumination.
Inside the coach, the prince was looking at a map.
“Where does this highway lead, Your Highness?”
“It is known as the Prayer Tree Highway, as it leads to a religious elven town. Past it lies the Border Tree Town, at the edge of the Elven Forest Republic.”
“How long will it take us to reach that border town?”
“About three days in a coach. But since we want to avoid major towns and make stops in small highway villages, it will probably take a bit longer than that.”
It had taken us roughly a month to make the trip from the Aryakan capital to the Town of Yggdrasil, but now that we were in hostile lands, we needed to make our way back to the border as fast as possible. It would surely take some time for Chancellor Mickaël’s rebels to gain full control over the republic. Perhaps a week, or even a month. But once that happened, the elven and demonic forces would no doubt make a combined assault on the Dwarven Great Caves. They wouldn’t invade Aryaka until they were done with the dwarves, so we had some time to spare.
I wished I had brought Phalaris along. We could’ve come home in a day on the back of a dragon. He found diplomacy a “pain in the butt,” however, and had gone to visit some elder dragon instead.
The coach came to a sudden stop, forcing me and the prince to brace for impact.
“What’s going on, Adela?” I asked, leaning my head out the window.
“You should see this, milady.”
Opening the door and looking to the front of the coach, I spotted something akin to a puppy, lying on the road in the light of a magic lantern.
“What is that?” I wondered.
“Did we hit a weasel?” asked the prince.
Adela climbed down from the driver’s seat, and the two of us went to give the animal sprawled in the center of the highway a closer look. Lifting it up, I discovered it was warm. A puppy, perhaps? It was drenched to the skin and was wounded and bruised all over.
“It’s a puppy.”
“It has sword wounds, and some arrows seem to have grazed it too. Who could’ve done something like that?”
The puppy lightly opened its eyes and whined. Something warm welled up inside me at the sight. This little creature in my arms felt precious to me. And though it was all messy right now, it would no doubt be a fluffy delight once we got it dry. Ah, what a precious little thing. Dosukoi dosukoi!
“♪ There’s all kinds of frogs and toads... Like the tree frog fond of hortensias... ♪”
Oh my, being drenched in the rain made me sing a jinku about frogs.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to keep it, milady!”
“Oh, come on, Adela—don’t you feel sorry for it?”
“I just don’t think we have time for this.”
“It’s okay. ‘In traveling, a companion; in life, compassion.’”
“You’re as kind as ever, Floortje,” spoke the prince, a gentle smile on his face.
Oh, please, Your Highness. Dosukoi dosukoi!
“There he is!!! He’s on the highway!”
A group of elven soldiers came running from deeper into the forest, armed with spears and bows.
“Adela!”
“Got it!”
I handed the pup to my maid and lowered my center of mass. Prince Richie spread his legs and lowered his hips. Not a pose a Crown Prince and Crown Princess Candidate should be making on a highway in the middle of the night, but we were past that. For we were a firmly linked pair of sumo wrestlers!
“Shit! It’s the fugitive Crown Prince and that ‘sumo princess’! They have him now!”
So it wasn’t us, but this pup they were chasing?
“All right! Time to kill two birds with one stone! Slay them all!!!”
Booing with angry looks, the handsome elven soldiers charged at us. Adela took cover inside the coach with the pup in her arms. Shuffling his feet along the wet road as if sliding, the prince closed the distance to the elves and performed a Tornado Beltless Arm Throw on a spearman. The usual tornado appeared and swept up several other soldiers before blowing them away. Come to think of it... It’s raining. One of my skills should be highly effective!
I singled out what appeared to be the commander of the elven unit: an obese, revolting elf who, nonetheless, had a pretty face. Grabbing him by the belt, I shoved my knee between his legs. Bzzzt!
“Aggghhh!!!”
“Take this! Lightning Inner-Thigh Throw!”
Smash! Of course a lightning effect would be extra powerful in the rain! A group of elven troops collapsed from electric shock.
“Damn it! Retreat, retreat!” shouted one of the elves, prompting the rest of them to start carrying their fallen comrades back into the woods.
“Elves can be dangerous deep in the forest, milady. Chasing them would be ill advised.”
“You’re right,” I replied to Adela, whose face had appeared in the coach window.
Deciding not to stray too far from the highway, Prince Richie and I stopped and looked at each other.
“Looks like they weren’t after me,” spoke the prince.
“They were chasing that pup...but why?”
I stared at the dark depths of the forest. The highway was a winding one, and the elves had come from the direction of the Town of Yggdrasil. Who was this pup?
I made Barkus drink a potion I had received from Adela. As an aside, Barkus is the name I gave the pup.
“We barely have any potions and you’re giving him one anyway,” complained Adela.
“Don’t you feel sorry for him?” I replied.
The prince smiled at the sight. Please, Your Highness, you’ll make me blush if you stare at me like that. Dosukoi dosukoi!
Once the potion healed Barkus’s wounds, I borrowed a towel from Adela to wipe him clean. What beautiful bluish-gray fur!
“You’re safe now, Barkus. Let’s travel together, shall we?”
“Milady, you don’t have good naming sense, do you?”
“Oh, leave me alone.”
“I like ‘Barkus’—it’s a good name. Nice to meet you, Barkus,” spoke the prince.
Barkus barked in reply.
“This isn’t even a dog,” said Adela.
“Really?” I wondered.
“He’s small, but he’s a species of wolf. Since he only has one head, he isn’t a cerberus. Could be an orthrus pup or even a fenrir.”
“A fenrir? Don’t they live deep in forests?”
“Perhaps he got captured by hunters, then escaped when they tried to sell him. The sale of such captives could be funding the elven revolutionaries.”