Heading Out

 The morning of the trip came by rather quickly.

Zeya was busy making note of her luggage as they were hoisted outside by the male servants, making sure that she had brought enough of her stuff for duration of the trip.

 She felt incredibly light in the outer wear that the maids had given her when she was getting prepared earlier this morning.

It had been a while since she's worn pants and a simple blouse instead of the tight, inflexible dresses that were considered proper inside of the palace.

Her mind and body felt much better that day and she suspect that it was thanks to the nutritious food that Nevra brought her last night.

 There were only a very few selected individuals were there to bid them farewell, with Lex and Arius being the only ones from Zeya's side.

Apparently, it was to prevent any leakage of Varen's arrival to the village as well as to stop any of her friends from causing a large scene outside the palace.

 "Safe travels, Your Majesty." Arius said with a small smile although, the look in his eyes told Zeya that he was still very much displeased by her departure. "We'll be sure to handle things here while you're gone."

 "Remember my warnings, dearest sister." Lex said, giving Zeya an incredibly serious look. "And do take extra care and not hurt yourself again, will you?"

 "Your Majesty." Ezra called Zeya in an urgent tone before she could even reply. "It is time to leave."

 "Alright, I'll be right there with you." She nodded to the advisor before turning back to the two Roseabelles. "It is time to leave, do not worry. I'll be back in one piece."

=================

 The old, worn-out steps creaked under Zeya's weight as she hoisted herself up into the carriage before Varen did the same.

She couldn't remember the last time she got on one of these to travel because of her ability to fly.

Flying was secretive and less time-consuming, but she enjoyed the tranquility that came with the slow and steady pacing of the horses that pulled them to their destination.

Nox had turned itself into the smaller version of itself before it enjoyed a much-needed nap on Zeya's lap. Zeya, on the other hand, just quietly enjoyed the moving scenery outside.

 The silence lasted a couple of hours until a question popped up in the Roseabelle's head.

 "You said we were going to the village to solve an issue there." She asked out of the blue, causing Varen to turn his head towards her.

 "Right." He answered, waiting for her next question.

 "Well, are you not going to tell me what exactly that problem is?" She tilted her head, getting impatient. "I hope you know that mind-reading is not my forte."

 "Do you wish to know?" He answered her question with one of his own.

 "You might as well tell me everything since there's still a long way before we get to our destination." She sighed as she leaned her head against the leather seat of the carriage. "I'm starting to get bored."

 "Very well." He said, his eyes failing to hide the amusement he felt. "Let's start from the very beginning then."

=================

 "Have you heard of poppies before?" Varen asked, watching as Zeya nodding a yes.

 "I've heard stories of humans smoking it for leisure." She answered though she was unsure. She recalled seeing many of the servants doing so during their breaks. "Rumors has it that it gives them a great sense of euphoria, like magic flowing through their system."

 "So, you are aware. Well, that plant is highly illegal in Exousia." He resumed, tapping his fingers on the wooden door of the carriage.

 His face was grim as a result of how serious the situation had become after he had neglected it for the sake of finding the monster.

Now, his subjects were in danger because of greedy mortals that want nothing more than wealth, even if it meant getting it through illegal methods.

 "I had it banned because of how ill it made my people, the Kaxarenes." He recalled the day he received the news from Ezra and how it left him disarrayed. "The fatality rate was almost one hundred percent, and we still don't have a cure to treat the affected."

 "Is it the smell perhaps?" She asked, remembering how horrible it smelled to her personally. Immortals like her had a more heightened sense than the humans, which made many of them incredibly sensitive to their environment, especially when it came to smell.

 "It's a booming business in Imnolyn and many of them wanted to expand it further over here but I refused which made many of them upset, obviously." Varen 

"But despite my warnings, it appears they decided to still move their businesses into the smaller regions of my kingdom, using the farmlands to plant poppy flowers. There is lesser security around villages like this because it just makes the people anxious for no reason. But the bastards behind all this decided to use it to their advantage."

He clicked his tongue as he remained deep in thought, the tapping of his fingers quickening sharply until it stopped abruptly. 

"What's worse is that they've started to get the Kaxarenes involved in it as well, giving them some chump change in exchange for their precious farmland." His tone turned sharp with anger. "While they make a thousand times the amount selling this product to the wealthy humans."

 "I've already sent several of my men to solve this in my stead, but they were all no match for the potency of the plants. They would all come back incredibly sick with no known cure to help them recover."

 "This must be a first for you." Zeya commented, glancing over at Varen to see his reaction. "It's not common to have immortals like us fall sick like this." 

 "Plants aren't supposed to be toxic to Kaxarenes... after all, we were born from nature." He explained, visibly troubled by what was occurring because he too did not know what to think. "The only conclusion I can make from this is that the seeds were modified before they were planted."

 "Perhaps to bring in more yield?" Zeya guessed and Varen nodded in agreement.

 "That seems to be the most plausible reason, though I'm still contemplating if it was done with magic." 

 "I just realized I've never seen these flowers with my own two eyes." Zeya said with a matter-of-factly voice. "I suppose that's mainly due to Stygia's climate being unsuitable for most flowers to grow."

 "Worry not, you'll see lots of them once we get closer to our destination." He smiled with little to no humor present in his eyes, making himself comfortable in his side of the carriage seat. "They are probably going to be the most beautiful flowers you'll ever see."

=================

 It was already dark out once they reached their destination.

As she got off the carriage, Zeya noticed Varen giving the driver a heavy bag of gold before he left to get back to Exousia, leaving the two behind in this small, deserted village.

 "We should head inside." He pointed to one of the nearby houses that pretty much blended in with the village.

 It looked like any older, homey cottages you would see in any regular village, nothing about it stood out amongst the other similar structures.

 "We're alone here?" She appeared puzzled when none of his Valors came out to greet them. 

 "I told them to evacuate the place because too many of them were getting sick because of the flowers." He confirmed as they both made their way towards their hideout for the week. "I made sure to hide my tracks from them before coming here. Otherwise, they'd just make a big deal out of it."

 The inside was still dark but was nicely kept, as if the owner of the house had been expecting guests.

Just as Zeya had imagined it, the house was by no means appear luxurious, but it was incredibly cozy.

The house only had one floor where everything was available to you.

The living room was directly in the center of the house before you would see the smaller path that led to the bedroom.

 The kitchen and pantry were right next to each other on the right side of the house and although it had seen better days, Zeya was confident she would not make her way over there anytime soon.

Nox rushed out of her breast pocket once it realized that it was finally out of that small, moving box and quickly made its way through the house, inspecting it carefully. 

 "Make yourself comfortable." He said as he placed his belongings next to the door without stepping inside. "I'd say we probably have a few more hours before the sun rises so you can get some sleep while I'm gone."

 "Where are you heading off to this time?" Zeya inquired, surprised that he already had something to do as soon as they arrived.

 "Quite the curious one, aren't you?" He smoothly managed to avoid the question, but Zeya pressed on. 

 "At least take me with you." She insisted, dreading the thought of staying indoors and being bored out of her mind.

 "I'm afraid to let you do that." He said half-jokingly, placing his hand out in front of him while shaking his head. "Who knows what that little knight of yours will do if he finds that you're hurt because of me again?"

 "So, do you expect me to just sit here and wait for you then?" She asked, clearly unpleased by the mere thought of that. 

 "Well... if you must insist on following me everywhere, dear." He pretended to be in deep thought, clearly having fun with vexing Zeya. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you tagged along occasionally."

 "However, I have one condition." He paused for a moment to add some unnecessary suspense. "No one but me should know that you're a Roseabelle. No one."