“Be careful on your way home, and take care of yourself. You’ve gotta be happy, okay?” Missus Olga said, hugging me tightly.
“Okay. Thank you so much for everything. Take care of yourself, too.”
Starting with Missus Olga, I thanked everyone in Riunione before we left. Though I was sad to say goodbye, I was happier that I could finally return home. Not being able to go back, even though I wanted to, and not being able to see the people I wanted was much harder than I’d thought. That must have been what Miss Maria felt like, coming to our world with no one she knew.
I thought of my best friend, back at the castle. Apparently, she hadn’t gone home yet, instead waiting for me. I teared up when I heard she’d refused to leave without making sure I was safe.
“Are you lonely?” Sir Celes asked gently from behind me on the horse, holding me close as I was bundled up in winter gear.
I shook my head. “I was thinking about how Miss Maria must have felt, not being able to go home. She must want to go back so bad, but instead, she’s waiting for me. I want to see her as soon as possible, to give her some relief.”
I realized that I’d done nothing but worry Miss Maria. I’d told her I would protect her, but I hadn’t managed that at all.
“Can we leave going to my parent’s graves for later? Miss Maria must be worried sick. Let’s get back to Arldat.”
“Okay, we’ll head straight home, then. Once we see the Sacred Maiden off, we’ll go see your parents.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry for being selfish.”
“That doesn’t count as being selfish. If anything, I’m the selfish one.”
“Yep. Don’t worry at all, little lady. So, wanna rush back, then?” Sir Gaius laughed from beside us. It felt just like it did on our journey. I was so thankful for coming back.
✦ ✦ ✦
Apparently, it took about ten days to get from Riunione village to Arldat, crossing the mountains. I didn’t remember much from my trip with Mister Guido, but that sounded right.
But this time, we weren’t going through the mountains, but instead taking a detour. They said that it would be too dangerous to cross the mountains when the snow was this deep. While it had been shoveled around the village, it really piled up outside.
“Should we go the way we came?”
“Probably. Then should we stop at an inn in either Barbi or Campos?”
The two knights were discussing our travel plans, clearly used to it. While I could help set up a camp, I couldn’t help with anything related to geography. I knew that Riunione was in the far north and that Kyriest was close to the mountains, but I had absolutely no idea where we were on the map.
When I asked, they showed me on one of our breaks. When we’d headed to Kyriest from Arldat, we’d gone by way of Tello and Amarith, but to get back without crossing the mountains, we’d have to take a path around towards the sea.
“I’ve never seen the sea before,” I said, my eyes opening wide at the mention of the sea.
With a laugh, Gaius replied, “Yeah, you never would, living normally.”
He was right. If my mother hadn’t died, I probably would have never left Hasawes. And if not for the journey of purification, I would have spent the rest of my life in either Hasawes or Arldat. Both of those were inland, so there was no seeing the ocean.
“We would’ve never seen it either if we didn’t get sent out on work. Naturally, most people will never get the chance to.”
“Sir Celes told me before that the wind is just as strong as a dragon’s wings beating.”
“Sounds like something the Cap’n would say.”
“The coast is a different kind of cold, so try not to catch a cold, Lucia,” Sir Celes chimed in.
Given we were deep into winter, I was definitely cold — even bundled in winter clothes and cuddled up to Sir Celes. I wondered what he could have meant by a “different kind of cold,” though.
I’d thought that so idly, but I found out exactly what he meant a few days later, once we got to the coast. The wind was so frigid it felt as if it were cutting right through you. It was more of a violent, biting cold than the seeping cold I was used to. I buried my face in my cloak to hide it from the sharp gusts of wind.
Once we passed the coast and went through a couple different towns and villages, the scenery slowly gained color.
Just like we’d noticed on our way back to Arldat after purifying the tree in Maynard, there were no signs of any monsters. Instead, we saw people and carriages. It really made me realize that time had passed since our journey.
“It’s so peaceful...” I murmured. Sir Celes tightened his arms around my waist, giving me a hug.
“You made it peaceful, Lucia. You and the Sacred Maiden.”
I couldn’t see any fear on the faces of the travelers we passed. They acted just as they would in a city. The carriages were more lightly equipped, with no heavily armed guards accompanying them. I could feel how free and lively the people were, now that they didn’t need to fear the monsters.
As we kept traveling, I finally began to recognize my surroundings. My breath caught in my throat once I could see the castle in the distance. I was finally going home. I wouldn’t have to suffer through nightmares alone anymore.
During our trip home, Sir Celes was always with me, day and night. Waking up to see the face of the person I loved most was nice, but the feeling of coming home was different.