I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 428: Break in the Schedule
For the past couple of weeks while Irene was at home, ever lingering were her brother’s words about how, because she had to leave, he was therefore forced to stay. It made her feel guilty that she was selfish for following her own path. Never had her brother expressed his desire to go somewhere other than their home.
Besides, he was only fifteen and wouldn’t need to take the reins of lord for a long time. He could carve his own path if he wanted to. There were bigger townships he could go to. Even central Hydrogia wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities with her mother’s family still in the area.
Since Arne hadn’t gone to their grandmother’s house so he could practice with Irene in the mornings, she decided on a different approach as she spoke to her father and gathered supplies.
Things were still feeling tense, so she felt she should get her brother out of there. After all, it seemed he was only staying there because of her. Otherwise, she wondered if he would be at their grandmother’s place much more than he was.
When he showed up in the practice yard, as tired as expected from a teen waking up just after sunrise in the middle of a dark winter, Irene crossed her arms as she gave him a once-over.
"You’d better dress warmer than that for where we’re going," she suggested. "Think, traveling far in the cold and you’ll get the idea. Meet me at the front of the house."
At that, Arne seemed more awake and he rushed back inside. An adventure wasn’t in his cards for the day, but if she was suggesting they do it, she must have already sought permission.
In the meantime, Irene went around the side of the house and went into her family’s barn as she finished getting Sammy and their other, similar horse, Ferro, ready to go. The stablehand who normally worked there wasn’t there so early in the morning. Plus, Irene didn’t mind doing this work for herself.
First, a blanket was placed over the animals’ backs, and then a leather saddle with fur cushioning the underside was placed over that. She ensured the straps weren’t twisted as she tightened them. It was then time to check their feet and make sure there wouldn’t be a delay in their travel by having to visit a ferrier on the way out of the village.
Seeing that there was nothing else wrong, she mounted her saddle, holding onto Ferro’s reins all the while. She then led both horses to the front of the large house and waited for her brother to present himself. It seemed obvious that she needed him to bring supplies as well. Her saddlebags were ready, she hoped he was knowledgeable enough to bring his own, but it wasn’t he who had traveled with knights for the past seven years as she had.
However, her day was made as Arne rushed out of the house wearing clothing that made him look truly Sunstoian and he had saddlebags over his shoulder that he had rushed to pack but made sure that they weren’t lacking in any supplies he might need for travel in the cold weather. After all, even though he hadn’t been traveling with knights, they were still both raised by the same man. Irene’s abilities far preceded her time as an apprentice because of Arthur.
Without hesitation, Arne tied his saddlebags onto the horse and mounted the loyal steed gracefully.
"I assume no one has an issue with us leaving," he said.
Irene smiled, deciding not to tease him too much. He had become so obedient during her time away despite what his appearance might say.
Before she could pull her scarf over the lower half of her face, she responded, "Father didn’t seem to mind much. I don’t think mother can say much."
"Fine," he responded with a light sigh, although he wasn’t truly complaining. All he knew was that he would likely get an earful when he got home. His mother wanted him to show a more mature side of himself as their heir. He felt a bit too young to have to care about any of that.
Unexpectedly, the path Irene led them towards didn’t go through town or the well-worn east or west roads that would at least have evidence of others’ travels. Instead, she directed them south. She rushed through her family’s lands until they were at the very edge of an icy river, and having to follow the riverline southwest until they got to a bridge that was rarely touched by another person—its rickety nature showing as much as Irene dared direct her horse over it and Arne had no choice but to follow his older sister over it.
When she made it off of the bridge and to the other end, she turned to Arne. "Any guesses about where we’re going yet?"
"Not really," he admitted.
"I suppose all we have is hope that the old fishing cabin still stands," she admitted. "Otherwise, sleep is going to be quite cold this evening." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
"Wait, Irene!" her brother called as she began to take off once more. "You don’t even know?"
He wanted to be cautious and annoyed that she was taking such risks, but as they galloped along with their northern horses, enjoying every bit of the plowing through the snow with their sturdy bodies, he found himself smiling easily. He didn’t get to adventure as much as he’d like. The times he did go around, it was normally simply around their grandmother’s house. The small mountain in that area was safe enough and well memorized him by that point. It was time to be a bit more adventurous.
Their travels then took them towards a small forest that was completely devoid of leaves since there were no evergreens in that specific crop of trees. Deer that were thinking they were more hidden than they actually were began running away due to the disturbance of two horses galloping by.
However, it was also the reason Irene knew they were getting closer and closer. By that point, she had memorized landmarks far better than what she could read on any map.
Most would be vexed by the completely white environment, but all the times they came to this place when Irene was a kid were during winter.
After all, ice fishing was only possible when the lake had frozen for long enough that they could ride horses across and get to the cabin without having to go miles out of the way.
