Chapter 24 - Idiots
"Grass mandrakes? What a timely coincidence!" Said the man. "Could it be that you are going to the Grassfield?" Asked the man thinking that Pan had not understood the meaning of his first words.
'What a headache.' Thought Pan. He, of course, understood that the man was going to the meadows, just as he understood that the man expected mutual collaboration. But Pan hated mutual collaboration, in his view such nonsense did not exist. Someone always leaves with more and someone always leaves with less.
"Of course! where else could I find grass mandrakes?" Pan replied, pretending to finally understand the man.
'They can be useful and that pays for the ride.' Thought Pan.
"Oh, but that's a wonder, isn't it, my dear daughter?" Asked the man, but the young woman just huffed and glared at Pan. "Ahem," coughed the man, full of embarrassment at his daughter's actions. "In any case, noble apprentice, if it's not rude to ask, I'd like to know if we can, for the mutual good and of course, develop a friendly and reciprocal hunting relationship."
'Nanna was right, the rich and noble talk too much, they are too false.' Pan thought repugnantly.
"I don't see why not," was what he replied.
"Wonderful! Excellent! So I will be counting on the noble apprentice's timely help from this moment on," the man proclaimed.
"Right," replied Pan.
The journey followed with many ramblings from the nobleman, many rude opinions from the young woman and very silence on the part of Pan. Night then fell and they decided to set up camp on a flatter part and close to the salt road.
But as was to be expected, Pan couldn't sleep a wink. The same knew that the event that happened on Lark's path to the Order was rare, few fallen managed to cross the borders and enter so deeply into the realm of the Order. But Pan still felt small and fragile in the night, in the dark. The whisper of the cold wind and the noises of the woods didn't help either.
But contrary to Pan's fears, night came and went without too many alarms and the carriage was soon back on the road and on its way.
"I believe that if we continue at this gallop, we should reach Grassfield today," said the man.
Pan didn't answer and the man didn't insist on an answer, having already understood that Pan was the quiet type.
'Even if an apprentice and even just a green, it's never a bad deal to have a guaranteed good opinion of a future crossed.' Thought the man.
Soon, as determined by the man, the carriage arrived at Campina de Grama. But as night was about to fall, they thought it would not be a good idea to venture into a place full of mandrakes that would kill them if they made a wrong move. So they decided to set up camp and Pan was again unable to close her eyes outside the walls.
'I need sleep, or I might have problems tomorrow.' Thought Pan.
But as if Lazark heard his thoughts and enjoyed playing pranks on him, a jovial cry was heard far away from the bonfire where Pan and the guards now stood.
'I knew it.' Pan thought, getting up and drawing his bastard sword
The scream was brief and distant, not indicating who or where. Pan didn't know the direction, but he had an idea who the scream might be. For the young lady was nowhere to be seen.
'Tsk, teenagers.' thought Pan. But he didn't notice the irony of his thoughts. Since he himself was yet to turn seventeen.
"Monica! Monica!" Shouted the merchant as he ran into the darkness of the woods without even taking off his pajamas.
It all happened so fast that Pan was only able to hear in the distance the guards shouting and asking their lord to calm down and think clearly.
'idiots.' Thought Pan.
Partly because the man took the trouble to put on and take off his pajamas every day even when he was on the road. Second, by simply throwing himself in any direction at random. Third, but not least, the guards, they weren't boys but old men trained for situations just like this and yet they weren't even capable of holding their stupid master.
But Pan couldn't keep paying attention to the ridiculousness of his actions. A girl even younger than he was now at death's door, a rude, undisciplined, arrogant, self-centered young woman. But Pan wouldn't let her die just because her personality was poisonous at best.
'Come on, help me help you, you suck but you don't have to die being stupid.' Pan thought and again as if answering his yearnings, a scream was heard, brief and distant like the first, but this time he managed to get the steering wheel.
'Really a bunch of idiots.' Pan thought before heading in the direction of the scream which was, by the way, completely opposite to the direction the man and his guards had gone.