Into the Woods

Even with Ella captured ahead of schedule, we stayed at the castle another two days. During the day, I spent a lot of time with Henry and otherwise preparing for the journey. I tried to buy a horse for Ella, making it easier for her to keep up, but Henry wouldn't hear of it and gifted me one from the stables instead.

Ella had no experience riding, but to no shock to me bonded with the horse immediately, she got a lot of practice riding in while I was hanging out with the Prince.

Henry wanted to do Princely things while hanging out. Riding, hunting, falconing, etc. He was really quite impressed by my longbow, the shorter bows favored in his kingdom could fire quicker and were certainly easier to use on horseback, but couldn't come near to matching my range or the damage I inflicted on the poor archery butts used for practice.

I wasn't much for falconry, though thanks to my Persona, I knew the basics. I was tempted to ask to have Ella practice since she had the Monster Tamer tag but that would look terribly out of place, my Persona informed me. Oh well.

Henry's chief falconer also had a nephew who was apparently a good tracker with experience in the Enchanted Forest. I was delighted to hire the lad and was informed he'd be ready and waiting the morning we were set to head out.

Ella's maid dresses were completed in plenty of time, and I made sure to tip the seamstress some extra gems I was so delighted by their look. The good sturdy fabric would also do well for her even on our journey, though I did buy her a large cloak to wear as well.

Speaking of Ella, after that first night, she became a most enthusiastic lover. There was nothing she wouldn't do for me, and she quickly mastered blowjobs, which became her favorite way to welcome me back to our accommodations.

I quite thoroughly enjoyed my stay in the Kingdom of the Sun, but by the morning of my fourth day here, I was ready to head on. I led Silver while Ella had her own light brown roan she'd called Buttercup. We met up with the falconer's nephew, named Fogbert of all things, outside an inn on the outskirts of the city, leading towards the Enchanted Forest. He had a number of supplies he'd put together for the three of us for the trip. I gave him a few large gems to pay him back for them, for his hire, and to ensure loyalty.

I had four bracelets now, though only three in my pouch, as one of the ones that appeared during my stay was a wide silver band with a large black diamond that looked suitable for a man. I took the hint and wore it myself. I didn't have Basic Runes yet, but it would be a very good idea to eventually, and the band would be useful then. It also increased my max stash, but I didn't have even half that yet.

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Outside the city, the three of us mounted our horses and set out at a faster pace. "How long do you think to reach the Kingdom of Germonia Fogbert?"

On his own dark brown horse, the man in question turned to me. "A day to the edge of the Kingdom of the Sun, your lordship. Good sized town there on the edge of the forest to stay the night. Then onto the forest itself another day, day and a half to their capital if naught goes wrong, my lord. Only the one city and the whole of the kingdom is within the forest itself."

At least these kingdoms were close to each other. "The forest sounds large then?"

Fogbert nodded. "Aye, my lord, 'tis huge. It's near swallowed the kingdom to the north, has swallowed what used to be a kingdom east of that. Runs clear to the desert to the south and up into the mountains east of Germonia, I've heard tell."

"Quite impressive." Sounded like the forest was the hub of this mixed kingdom world. If I was right, then a certain tower and vine-covered castle lay within its depths. Excellent.

"You've a lot of experience in the woods?"

He nodded, grinning. "Oh aye, my lord, I've led many a hunt for the Prince and his men into the woods. Deer, wolves, and even bears. I know the signs to avoid, you'd not want to wander into a patch of black fungus, no." He chuckled. Well, black fungus didn't sound good.

"Glad to have you with me then, lad. Any other dangers I should know about?"

He shook his head. "No, my lord, long as we stay near the road, three people a horseback should keep most at bay. Camp may be a problem, but a good campfire wards a lot."

"Excellent." I smiled back at Ella, who beamed her own back at the attention.

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We passed more farmland like I'd seen before and a number of small villages until late, as promised, we entered the town on the edge of the woods. It had quite an impressive wall on the forest side of the town. They certainly weren't taking its presence lightly.

I paid the innkeeper of the nicest establishment in town handsomely to take care of our horses and a room for myself and one for Fogbert. Ella would be staying with me, of course. The place seemed to have seen better times, so I asked him about it.

"Yes, m'lord, used to get a lot of traffic through here before the old King's passing. Trades become a bare trickle since then, I'm sorry to say."

Interesting but not unexpected. "So the Queen's not running the kingdom well, you'd say?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dare say anything bad about the Queen's rule, m'lord. No, not at all." He looked shaken. I guess she had a long reach, even to here.

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The next morning, after an excellent breakfast, we set out through the gates into the Enchanted Forest itself. The road was quickly shaded by the branches of the trees grown overhead. It never got so bad that we couldn't keep track of the sun, but I'd not want to be heading into the woods unless I had need.

Fogbert found us a nice spot to stop for lunch where a stream came near the road. Using a tree that had fallen across the stream as a seat, I motioned for Ella to join me.

"So how are you holding up?" All of the ravages of malnutrition and hardship had been erased from her by Body Tune Up upon her capture, but she was still not used to spending a day in the saddle.

"I'm fine, my lord, but thank you for worrying about me." She smiled.

"Good, now remember when we get to our destination, you are to be my betrothed's chambermaid. We must not be overly familiar with each other, or we will give a bad impression to her mother, the Queen."

"Yes, my lord, I understand."

I took her hand in mine. "This is not a reflection on you, you've done nothing wrong. The Queen though, well, she's more than a tad insecure. Try not to attract her attention, or your own beauty might upset her, silly as that is."

"I understand, my lord, my sisters were much the same. I know how to stay small and unnoticed."

"'Tis best for now, but it will not always be so. I promise." That got me a bright smile. Maybe it was just that she was my first minion after losing everything I had, but I really wanted to keep Ella with me, maybe I could upgrade her later on. Cinderella laying waste in a set of power armor was an amusing thought.

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Our trip through the forest remained uneventful until the sun dropped near out of sight. "There is a clearing not too far ahead, I have heard tales of from others that traders once used. No telling how overgrown it might be now though m'lord."

"Sounds better than nothing, lead on." Fogbert had seemed confident early on but less so now. We were in new territory for him, still, he had woods lore I lacked for now, and a second bow was nothing to scoff at.

The clearing was still there and not overgrown at all, though quite scattered with debris. I wondered if they'd salted the ground to keep it clear. Ella worked to clear the fire pit while Fogbert and I cleared enough debris to leave us space for our bags and the one-man tents packed on the horses, which we left tied to a tree. And a good thing too.

We'd mostly got things set up when we heard the howl of a good-sized wolf. I waited, expecting more, but it seemed this was a solitary beast.

Fogbert had his bow out and was looking pale. "A lone wolf can be a bad sign, m'lord. A pack can be driven off, but loners tend to be ****."

Well fuck, and this one sounded big. "Ella, any luck in getting that fire started?"

She didn't have time to respond as a man-sized wolf dove into the clearing, bowling poor Fogbert over, and sending his bow flying from his hands as it made its way towards me.

I'd had my bow out as well, not expecting to have a fucking wolf in my face, but thanks to Martial Talent, I had plenty of time to drop it and draw my sword. I was ready for its charge, yet still spooked by the intelligence I saw in its mad eyes. Do not tell me I had the bad luck to run into a damn werewolf my first night in these woods.

Before either of us could do anything, we were both shocked by Ella stepping between us. I'm not sure who was surprised more, me or the wolf, but it stopped before it got to her, though it made a fearsome growl.

"Ella, what are you doing?!" Creature Defense wouldn't stop a werewolf. At least I didn't think it would, not unless it was far gone enough to the beast probably.

"She's just trying to drive us out of her territory. She doesn't mean to hurt anybody. I don't want anyone hurt." Indeed, I noticed Fogbert was getting to his feet, so far unharmed. Of course, that put her between us, which might drive things out of hand. Also, she Ella said. Interesting...

"Fogbert, stand down. Just go calm the horses. Ella, can you ask her if she's under a curse?"

Fogbert didn't look very happy, but he slowly moved away as I indicated. I'm not sure what he would have done without his bow though.

"I can't really talk to her, my lord, it's more like I just understand her intentions." Hmm, I could have sworn she talked to the mice in my memory of Cinderella. Probably something to do with different versions mixing in this amalgam world. Oh well.

I circled to the side, sheathing my sword, and pulled a bracelet out of my pouch. "I hope you can understand me. I am Prince Guy of Fawkes, and I have no intentions of harming you if you are peaceful. We are merely passing through and will be here but a single night. You are welcome to share our fire and provisions if you care to. Also, my kingdom is known for its magical jewelry. These I carry with me are known as curse breakers, and I meant them as a gift to the Queen, but I would spare one to help you if you wished."

The wolf kept her eyes on me once I cleared Ella. There was definitely intelligence there, and I'd never seen a normal wolf so large. Now, are you cursed or not? And do you want rid of it?

"I don't think she trusts you." Ella told me. Yeah, no shock there, though I was telling at least some of the truth.

"Show her your bracelet that I used to break you free from your fate." I kept the one in my hand up so the beast could compare them.

Following my order, Ella rolled up her sleeve and showed the wolf the bracelet with its gleaming sapphire. Meanwhile, I was racking my memories for a female werewolf in the Disney stories and coming up blank.

Eventually, the wolf seemed somewhat less hostile, and Ella turned to me. "She'll take one if I put it on her, she still doesn't trust an armed man to get close."

"Fair enough, I'm not sure I like the thought of being within biting distance of her myself." I handed Ella the first one that happened to have a ruby set in it, and she approached the wolf, who kept her eyes on me. "Now it will take time to break the curse, three days to a week, but it will happen. And it will shift with you to stay on, so no worries there."

The wolf snorted at me as Elle stood back after she was finished, then sniffed the bracelet and ran off into the woods. Well, we'll see what kind of investment this pays off in a week or so, I thought. Even if she turns out to be an ugly old woman, a werewolf is a werewolf and an asset.

After that excitement, the rest of the evening went smoothly, and with a big wolf nearby I wasn't worried any other predators would be bothering us.

Snug in my bedroll under my tent, I fished out my Company device to see what information I could. Ruby Lucas 168 hours. Who the fuck was Ruby Lucas?