NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39: Arriving at the Fort
The next day, Aiden and Mia were preparing themselves to continue their travel toward the Upsilon Empire.
Nothing happened during the night since they were well separated by the wall made of cushions made by Mia.
"Alright, so in about an hour or two... we will arrive at the Fort built by our empire. There shouldn't be any problems," she said, explaining where they would be going for the day.
This was all new information for Aiden but he still acted as if he already had this information, "Oh right the Empire's Fort," Aiden replied with a voice that contained a certain uncertainty which was immediately noticed by Mia.
"You've never been there? Well, I guess that's why you need my help," Mia said, realizing Aiden really didn't know much about the world that surrounded them.
She found it weird that he was so oblivious to the current situation but she still didn't emphasize it, thinking that he probably didn't leave the empire much.
"When we arrive there, just let me speak. They'll let us through, don't worry," Mia said. She was used to going through the Fort that she had met some people over the years.
Aiden understood what he needed to do and continued going forward on the back of his malnourished horse.
While they were on the way to the Fort, they continued talking to each other to pass the time.
"What was that yesterday? You seemed completely different than right now as if the only thing on your mind was killing what surrounded you," she asked, curious about what she had seen last night.
Aiden who heard her ask this didn't know how to respond because the person she had seen yesterday was the Reaper, the one who would kill all of his targets in a single strike to the head. The one who was renowned as an assassin.
Not wanting to reveal where he came from he told her whatever excuse came to his mind, "I don't know...I just feel myself transforming into a different person every time I fight someone," Aiden said while laughing to decrease the tension in the air.
"I guess that's what it was, you looked... free," Mia said, thinking about the right word to describe him. "It was as if nothing was holding you back anymore."
"I guess so," Aiden replied not knowing how to answer.
Noticing that Aiden didn't want to talk about this subject, Mia decided to change the subject.
"By the way, after we pass through the Fort we will be entering into the territory of the Upsilon Empire, so we will have to be a bit more discreet than we are right now."
"How are we going to be more discreet?" Aiden asked, not sure how they were going to hide with the two horses who were making loads of noise.
"What I want to say... is that we will have to travel by foot, leaving the horses by the Fort and I'll take them back with me when I get back," Mia explained to Aiden.
"Won't that take too long?" Aiden asked since he had a bit of a time restraint to respect which made him worry if he would have enough time to kill the rest of the generals.
"Don't worry, the Fort is really close to the Upsilon Empire, it should take probably 5-6 hours by foot."
"That's not what I call really close," Aiden murmured, remembering the stairs he had to climb to buy his dagger and the pain he felt in his legs at the end.
"I promise you it's not that bad, I mean if you want we can keep the horse," Mia said realizing that Aiden wasn't so pleased that he would have to use his legs.
Hearing this, Aiden was happy but at the same time he knew that he had no other choice but to walk on foot because he needed to infiltrate the territory without anyone finding him.
"No it's fine we'll go the horses," he said with his heart aching.
One hour and a half later, they finally arrived at what seemed to be the Fort that Mia had talked about. It almost looked like a castle but it was much smaller and was in the form of a big observation tower.
You could probably be able to see everything that surrounded the Fort when a person was at the top. However, with all the trees blocking their vision, it wasn't that easy.
In front of the wall, there seemed to be a big wall that served as some sort of defense against invaders.
Seeing this, Aiden and Mia decided to direct themself to the gate which could be found on the giant wall to be able to enter the Fort and finally enter the territory of the Upsilon Empire.
Guards spotted them approaching and decided to act with precaution, "What is your purpose for coming here?"
"Oh...Mia, it's you!" The guard uttered when he recognized Mia.
The guards quickly stood aside and let them in without any problems.
"It's always nice to see you around," one of the guards said as he stared at Mia's melons.
Mia looked annoyed as she quickly walked inside the Fort and left the horses. She didn't even answer him or look his way. It seemed she was used to this sort of action.
Aiden didn't like seeing her that way, so he tapped on her shoulder and whispered, "Do you want me to do something about this?"
Mia looked surprised that he had caught on to what that guard was doing. However, she quickly said shook her head. She knew that it would only be attracting problems their way.
'Still, if I ever come back here. I'll show them what I think of this," Aiden thought, clearly angry with how they had looked at Mia. They had looked at her as if she was a mere piece of meat, which wasn't something that Aiden liked.
Everyone deserves respect. It doesn't matter if you're in a position of authority, you need to respect others still.
Now, all that was left was to infiltrate the Upsilon Empire and kill the general which was easy to say but complicated to do.