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-Art Hand drawn by Eridanus
Felix and Olympia walked through the trees. The sun had barely risen, and they had only just begun walking. Fella was sitting on Felix’s head right between his ears. It was slightly colder than the day before, and the oak tree leaves were beginning to brown. Olympia put a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you used to the cold?” she asked Felix. “It doesn’t bother me as much because I have fur, but it does get slightly bothersome in the mountains,” Felix replied with a shrug. “Fella on the other hand… I don’t know really. She’s never made the trip through the pass.”
“Well that only means we have to buy enough stuff to keep us warm,” she said, running her fingers through her hair. The breeze kept tangling it up. “Less money I have to steal.” Felix half-joked, pulling out a coin and flipping it in his hand. Olympia let out a small laugh. She walked up next to him, “You don’t mind teaching me do you?” “No. An odd sight to see a princess stealing though.” Felix joked with a smile.
“Besides you, no one else knows I’m a princess,” she laughed. “I guess that’s true. We might be able to get away with saying that you’re a fae instead of a green-haired human.” Felix told her. She looked at him a bit confused. “Fae?” she asked. “You’ve never heard of a fae before?” He asked. “Felix, have you not been listening to the part where I’ve been cooped up in a castle for so long,” Olympia laughed.
“Right, right. Fae are kind of like… fairies, but they’re human-sized, and they don’t have wings. The majority of them have magic. It’s a rare thing to see one of them not with their family, but we could pass you as one. Some of them have normal-colored skin, and most have strange-colored hair. You could probably pass as one.” Felix explained.
Olympia nodded, processing the information. “If we go into town do you think we can pass the library?” she asked. “There is something I want to look into,” Olympia added. “There should be time for that,” Felix replied. A gust of wind blew past, and Fella buried herself in Felix’s fur. Olympia tried to put on the hoodie so that her hair wouldn’t be all over the place but failed. “For Irene sake!” she said a bit too loud as she fixed her hair once again. “Irene?” Felix asked with a laugh.
“Lady Irene is the moon goddess. Father used to tell me that Thovell is blessed by her. She has a very complicated story,” she explained. “I haven’t really heard many legends about this place. Or anywhere really.” Felix said with a shrug. “From what I know Thovell isn’t known to others. Father said that it would be better if we kept ourselves away from others. He said it would be better if a war ever broke out.” she said. “There are certain parts that I don’t agree with him but again I don’t have a say in much,” Olympia stated. “Not really. It’s fairly small. Some of the city-states around the mountains know about Thovell, but that’s about it. This invasion is odd… I don’t understand what they would want from this kingdom.” He said
“I don’t know either. That’s why I asked if we could stop by the library,” she said. “Maybe there is some information on Thovell.” “Seems reasonable,” Felix replied with a shrug. “I barely knew anything about this place before coming here. Just that there were mostly humans.” Olympia looked at him. “Have your parents ever told you about other places?” she asked. Felix paused for a moment. “There… are a few songs I remember from when I was very young. There’s the enchanted forest where the elves live and a lagoon of sea dragons somewhere to the north. Quite a few places I’ve never seen.” Felix replied. He looked away, something crossing his gaze.
Olympia put his hand on his shoulder. “If I said something that offended you, I'm sorry,” she said, a bit worried. “N-no, it’s nothing,” Felix said quickly. Fella climbed down to Felix’s shoulder and cocked her head in confusion. “Is everything alright Fella?” Olympia asked. Fella nudged Felix lightly and chirped something Olympia didn’t understand. “I’m fine,” Felix said, staring straight ahead. Olympia stopped and pulled Felix’s hand making him stop as well. “Do you really want to pull the ‘I’m fine’ card with me right now,” she said. “I know we don’t know each other that long but I can’t tell when there’s something on your mind. So what is it?” Olympia asked.
Felix stared at the ground for a long moment. “It isn’t something i want to talk about.” He said quietly. His eyes were distant as if old memories were playing in his head. “Ok, but next time just say that and don’t say I’m fine when you’re not,” she said, letting go of his hand.
Felix nodded and they started again. Fella still looked concerned, but she pressed against him and hummed in her draconic way. “You know there is a saying that before Lady Irene was the moon goddess, she stood up for justice and peace,” Olympia said, trying to change the subject. “Was she like a person or something?” Felix asked, looking over. His mind seemed to have returned to the present.
Olympia shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve read that she was human but then something happened and she became a spirit or something. I don’t remember much,” she explained. “Sounds like a bunch of crazy to me, but I won’t judge. Probably because I wasn’t raised on stuff like that.” Felix said. “At first I didn’t believe it either,” Olympia said. “But my father can be pretty convincing,” she said.
“I don’t really talk to anyone aside from Fella, so I don’t really hear anything like that.” Felix said with a shrug. “I am here now, so ask away I guess,” Olympia giggled a bit. “I might not know everything,” she said. Felix laughed and smiled. “I guess It’s nice to have someone around that I can actually understand.” He joked. Fella huffed and slapped him with her tail. It wasn’t very effective. “You know I love you.” He teased, petting the little dragon.
Olympia giggled looking at them. “You know the only people that I used to talk to were my father and older brother,” Olympia said. “Only when they weren’t busy,” she added. The thought of not seeing them hurt her. “It wasn’t like anyone around me was busy. There was just nobody around me.” Felix said with a small smile. He cast a worried glance at her though. She had family and a home that she missed. He didn’t know how to help her if she needed him.
“Ok enough with sad stuff,” she smiled. Olympia looked over at Felix. She was glad that she had met someone new. Yes, she missed her family but she liked the feeling of talking to someone else. “What places do you know?” she asked. “Well I’ve been to very few, but I’ve heard of a lot. I’ve only seen two city-states outside of Thovell, but there are only three other actual kingdoms last I knew.” Felix replied. “What are the other Kingdoms?” Olympia asked.
Felix thought for a moment, humming the notes of a couple different tunes Fella hummed with him, seeming to know every tune. “The elven kingdom to the West has no name. Lavora lies to the Northeast, close to the Dragon Rider ruins. West of Dragon Valley to the North lies the kingdom of Alvis. Most of the kingdoms of the world fell after the Dragon Riders died out.” Felix told her. “You know a lot about the Dragon Riders,” Olympia said. “Who were they?” she asked.
“I don’t know when the Order began, but they were said to be people of all races and kingdoms who bonded with dragons. The legend goes they came together to protect one of the kingdoms from strange monsters that appeared. They created a creed and swore to be impartial to any disputes and choose the side that was most just. They protected the land and kept the peace, but over the years, they died off. The last rider and his dragon died around fifty years ago. The ruins still stand, but a barrier of magic keeps robbers from raiding the empty base.” Felix said.
“I… Had to do a bit of research on dragons after I found Fella.” Olympia let the information soak in. “Does that mean you are a part of the Order?” she looked at him. “I… honestly don’t know. Technically, I would have been had the Order been around. I haven’t ever read the creed all the way through, but… the first part of it says that I am. Neither of us have sworn the oath, but… I don’t know.” He looked at Fella, and she chirped something to him.
“How about you creating a new Order,” she told him. “It doesn’t say anything against creating a new one does it?” she asked. “Creating a new Order… would be a whole lot of responsibility. I don’t know if that’s something we could do alone. I’m just a seventeen-year-old fenicc that happened to save a dragon egg.” He replied, looking down. Olympia threw her arm around his shoulder, getting on her tiptoes a bit. “Well if you ever do decide to do it, I’ll be there to help as well,” she smiled at him. He smiled at her.
The sun had fully risen now, and the birds were filling the canopy above them with song. The trees cast a cool shade, but it was already cold. Some of the trees were beginning to lose their leaves. It would probably be a couple more hours of walking before they reached the next town. Felix probably wouldn’t be bothered by it, but Olympia would certainly be sore by the time they stopped. Cloud drifted overhead, darkening the sky only slightly. Felix and Fella hummed along to the various calls the birds gave.
“F..Felix can we stop for a few seconds?” Olympia asked out a breath from walking for hours. “I need to catch my breath,” she said, putting her hands on her knees. Felix paused. “Sorry, yeah we can stop.” He said. Fella jumped off Felix’s shoulder to one of the trees and climbed up to one of the upper branches. Felix watched her and didn’t seem concerned at how high off the ground she was. Olympia flopped down to the ground breathing a bit too hard. She let out a small laugh thinking about how she gets tired too easily.
Fella jumped from the branch and spread her wings. She glided between the branches, and almost managed to land properly on Felix’s hand. “You’re getting better.” He told her, running his finger down her back. Olympia got up and dusted the dirt off of her. “Keep working hard!” she said to Fella. Fella chirped a response and glided down to the grass. She stumbled on her landing, startling a cricket. Felix sat down as Fella began chasing the small insect.
“Felix how come you’re not weirded out about what happened with your hands?” Olympia blurted out. He looked over at her. “I… haven’t really been thinking about it.” He said. “Oh ok,” she said looking away. “Why do you ask?” He asked her. “Is there something bothering you?” Olympia smiled at him, “It’s probably nothing.” “You don’t have to tell me, but it isn’t nothing,” Felix said with a shrug.
Olympia sat down next to him. “It just felt weird I guess,” she told him. “After it happened I felt tired for some reason,” she said. “Nothing comes for free. Maybe that’s the cost of whatever the heck you did.” Felix replied. He wasn’t used to being this close to people. He hadn’t been around people for a very long time. It was… nice. “Let’s just hope it never happens again,” Olympia said. She knew that if others found out about it might cause some trouble. She let out a sigh. “Why? Nothing bad happened, you just got tired.” Felix said. He didn’t understand the risk.
“What if it causes trouble in the future? What if I need to do it again but it doesn’t work? Others might want what I have but I’m not even sure what I have.” Olympia looked at him worried. She let out a small laugh, “it’s best it doesn’t happen again.” Felix nodded. “I have the same worry for Fella. There are a lot of dragon poachers that would love to get their hands on her… again.” Fella climbed into Felix’s lap and curled up into a small ball. Felix ran his hand down her back, looking at the tiny dragon with love.
Olympia wanted to ask but didn’t. She knew there were certain things that are best left unknown. “We should get going,” she said getting up. Felix stood, holding Fella. The tiny dragon was already fast asleep. He gently slipped her into the hidden pocket of his cloak. “Yeah. The town is only a few more minutes.” He said, leading the way. He changed direction slightly so they were moving east. Olympia followed right behind him. She took out two apples from the cloak’s pocket. “Want another apple?” she asked. “No, thanks. I’ll just grab something when we get to the town.” He said. Olympia nodded and put one of the apples back into her pocket and took a bite into the other one.
They reached a break in the trees a few minutes later. The town was fairly small, with one-story buildings through it. There were more buildings the further in they went, and the noise was beginning to reach them from here. Felix glanced down where Fella was hidden to make sure nobody would see her. A cold wind passed them as they entered the town. Felix pulled up his hood. Olympia looked around. She had once thought of leaving the palace and living quietly in town. She made sure to not let Felix out of her sight since she didn’t want to be alone and lost somewhere she didn’t know.
They reached the market quickly. Felix’s ears went back as they entered the noisy fray. It didn’t take long for him to steal some meat from one of the carts they passed. Olympia pulled the hoodie over her as she felt like someone was staring at her. She looked around to see that everyone was minding their own business. She let out a sigh, maybe she was overthinking things.
“People don’t like to get caught staring, but they stare. You get used to it after a while.” Felix said with a shrug. Olympia shook her head at him. “No, it feels like it’s only one person,” she told him. Felix glanced around, putting a hand on the hilt of his dagger.
“Let’s keep walking,” she pulled his hand. Olympia was clearly scared, but didn’t want to show it. Felix nodded and quickly led Olympia away from the market. His ears turned behind them, keeping alert for anyone following them. Olympia turned her head to take a quick glance, but saw no one. “Do you think we got away?” she asked Felix, still a bit scared. “More than likely they were just staring, but I have a good way to check. Come on.”
Felix led her into an alley and climbed up onto the roof. He held the edge of it with one hand and reached his other out for her to take. He wouldn’t admit that this was also an excuse to get out from between the buildings that penned him in. Olympia saw as he got up into the roof. She sometimes forgot that he wasn’t human. It didn't bother her of course. Olympia took his hand.
Felix pulled her up to the roof and held her hand as he led her to the peak. He crouched at the edge and looked out over the street. He seemed to have no trouble crouching on the edge of a roof over ten feet in the air. Olympia did the same and peaked over the edge but backed away quickly seeing how high they were up. She didn’t let go of Felix’s hand. Instead, she wrapped her other arm around his. “I think I've discovered a fear of mine,” she whispered.
“It’s okay, I won’t let you fall.” He told her, still surveying the road for any danger. His other hand rested just on the edge, the claws digging into the thatching a little just in case. A cold breeze blew over them, causing both their capes and Felix’s tail to wave behind them for a moment. Olympia peaked over the edge once more to look over the street. She looked around to see if she saw anyone. Did she get it wrong? It did feel like someone, just one person was staring at them. “Maybe I was overthinking it,” she said, backing away from the edge.
“There’s no such thing as being too careful. If you said you felt someone watching you, there probably was. People stare. It’s probably a good idea to find an inn and stay there. It’s going to start raining in the next couple hours.” Felix looked up at the sky, now covered with grey clouds. “Yeah we probably should.” Olympia said looking up at the sky.
Felix let go of Olympia and slid down the side of the roof. He used his claws to slow himself, then caught himself on the edge of the roof. He let go and dropped without a problem. After a glance down to where Fella now poked her head out, he looked back up at Olympia. She looked down at Felix and let out a nervous laugh. “This is going to hurt afterwards,” she whispered to herself, before sliding down and jumping off the roof. Felix caught her easily. He seemed to have no trouble carrying her. “Ever heard the term look before you leap?” He asked with a smile.
“Thank you! I might have heard it once,” Olympia smiled. “Maybe next time don’t jump straight off a roof. I’m not always going to be around to keep you from breaking your legs.” He told her. Olympia looked at him. “Well until that time comes, you’re going to keep catching me,” she laughed. “I can’t promise that. I’m not the most reliable person.” Felix replied with a smile.
“Umm... You mind putting me down now please,” Olympia said. “O-oh, right. Sorry.” Felix silently thanked the maker he had fur. His face would have been bright red had he not. He set Olympia on her feet, looking away awkwardly. Olympia fixed herself. “We should get going,” she said. Felix nodded and led the way out of the alley. He looked down both streets and chose a direction at random, going away from the market.
“You know when we argued the first time and I slept in the woods, I fell down a tree.” Olympia laughed. “Was that your first time climbing a tree?” Felix asked, glancing down at her. Olympia shook her head. “I was trying to get an apple and the branch broke,” she told him. “Is that where all the apples came from?” He asked with a laugh. “Yes,” she laughed. Felix glanced around at some of the buildings they passed. No inn yet. He checked for the sound of presuit as well. “Well maybe you could check if the branch is sturdy first.” He told her.
“I’ll do that next time,” she said looking around. “Well I burned the tree I stayed in. And then my hands.” Felix said with a smile. He paused, his ears rotating forward. Olympia stopped as well, “something?” “A tavern I believe. Not as-” Felix sighed. “-respectable as an inn, but it’ll have to do.” He started forward again. “As long as we get a good night's sleep, it doesn’t matter.” Olympia said, yawning a bit. Fleix nodded. A few streets later, they stopped in front of a building where music and muffled singing came from. The lights blared into the streets. “Don’t listen to any of the lyrics.” Felix told her, his ears going back. He pulled his hood lower and made sure Fella was hidden.
Olympia nodded and tried to zone out the music and the singing. Felix stared straight ahead as they entered. He had to shout over the obnoxious singing of the other patrons in order to ask for a room. The song of most of the men was slurred and off-key. None seemed to care. A couple were unconscious, tankard still in hand. Quite a few had weapons of some type. “Hey fox boy!” Some of them shouted. Felix glanced back and growled, but didn’t respond.
“Come on Felix, don't pay them any attention. We don’t have time to deal with drunk men,” Olympia told him. She wanted to say something back, but didn’t want to cause trouble for Felix. Olympia considered him a friend so it would be reasonable to stand up for him. Felix paid for a room, and waited while the tavern keeper got the key. “I wonder how much we could get for a pelt that big.” One of them teased. Felix held back a growl, and dug his claws into the wood.
Olympia looked their way and shot them a glare. “Oh, girl wants to defend her pet.” One of them taunted. Felix took the key and started towards the stairs. “Aww, let us make it up to you, fenicc. Sing somethin’ for us!” Felix couldn’t help but growl now. Olympia pushed Felix towards the stairs. “Is it wrong to want to hurt them?” she whispered but loud enough for him to hear. “I don’t think so.” He replied through gritted teeth. All the patrons were now shouting at Felix to sing for them. What the heck was that about? Felix stopped at the base of the stairs, trying not to dig his claws into his palms. His tail twitched.
“Would you idiots shut up!” Olympia yelled, now angry. “Why don’t you go on and sing something,” she said to them. They just laughed at Olympia, and went back to taunting Felix. He let out a sudden loud inhuman snarl and raked his claws across the wooden wall beside him. This stunned the room into momentary silence. Felix stomped up the stairs, and turned around the corner out of sight. Olympia let out a sigh and followed quietly.
Felix was standing silently in the hall, the key to their room in the lock. Fella sat on the back of his hand, chirping at him. “Feix?” Olympia said. “Yeah?” He glanced over at her. “The door,” she said leaning against the wall. “Right.” He lifted Fella onto his shoulder and opened it. Fella looked at Felix with concern as he walked inside. “Don’t think too much about what they said,” Olympia said, closing the room door once she was inside. “They are drunk idiots,” she told him. Felix nodded and sat down on one of the two beds. There was a desk on the wall across from the beds and a single window on the far wall. Felix sat on the bed furthest from the door with his back to Olympia.
Olympia flopped down on the other bed. She took off her boots and cloak. “This feels so nice,” she said, tucking herself into bed. Olympia fell asleep as soon as she laid down. Felix glanced back at her for a moment. He took off his cloak and set it on the back of the bed. Fella sat on the pillow and chirped at him. “I’m fine,'' he told her, laying down. The small dragon curled up against him. He was out in moments.
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