Chapter 499

499 A New Adventure

As the wind outside rattled the windows, Skye and Tidas stirred within their bed. The days were growing colder, and the mornings were becoming shorter with the fall weather. It was after six in the morning, and the sun was just peaking through the darkness of the retreating night.

Tidas reached across his side of the bed to tuck a loose strand of hair behind his wife’s ear. Feeling his gentle touch, Skye lazily opened her eyes to see her husband smiling at her. She grinned back at him before asking what he was so happy about that early in the morning..

“Just looking forward to waking up next to you for a while. It’s rare here, but in Sai, we should be doing everything together. That means we’ll go to bed and wake up together.”

Skye’s grin turned cheeky as she said; “I like how ya worded that.. Goin’ ta ‘bed’ together instead of sayin’ the word ‘sleep’. We may have ta wait ta make our family, but we can practice all we want..”

Tidas chuckled as he pulled Skye into his arms, then spoke in a low tone; “We could do a bit of ‘practicing’ now..”

After leaning back to look at him, Skye replied; “Ya know Peggy’s gonna be walkin’ through our door any second now, so why must ya tease me.”

Tidas ran his free hand up and down her back as he replied; “Because you tease me just by walking.. Every time I see you, I want to take you into my arms, and-”

“Time ta wake up ya two! Tis gonna be a long few weeks on that boat, and I’d like ta get-what are ya two doin’?! Can’t ya keep yer hands off of each other?! We got too much ta do, and not enough time! Ye can do the ‘marriage side mambo’ After we get ta Sai!” Peggy yelled once she had actually looked over at the two.

She had barged into their room, and automatically started to pick up their clothes from last night as she’d talked. It was only when Peggy had finally looked at the bed did she see them holding each other. Basing her assumption off of Tidas’ bare back, she had started to chide them without actually knowing what they were doing.

.....

Tidas had slept with his shirt off, but he had the bottoms on. Skye had a nightgown on, but it was a summertime one, so the straps were tiny. When they both sat up and got out of bed, Peggy’s face turned pink as she sputtered excuses..

“Well, if I didna walk in on ya two so bloody often, then I wouldna expect ta see ya two goin’ at it so readily!”

“Well, if you actually knocked every once in a while,” Tidas muttered as he stretched.

Skye stifled a giggle as she added; “He’s got a point, Peg.”

“...There’s a joke in there, but ye two need ta move yer arses. Tis six-thirty, which means we got less than two hours ta be at the docks. If ya want time ta eat and shower, ya need ta move it now.”

Tidas and Skye shared a look, then headed straight for their bathroom. There hadn’t been any actual showers in Sai the last time Skye had gone, but their baths were like bathing in Heaven from what she remembered. This would be the last time that they had a shower until they returned to Alcon.

Taking their time, Skye and Tidas washed each other’s backs as they playfully teased each other. When they got out, Peggy had set Tidas’ clothes next to the door, and laid Skye’s out on her bed. She had requested her riding clothes to be the main articles left out, since they were easier to move around in.

Skye had also had Peggy place their armor in the trunks that they would have access to during their trip. Genie had mentioned other Senators going after Mei and her father, and it wouldn’t surprise Skye and Tidas if they sent assassins along the way to try and stop them from getting to Sai. Having their armor accessible just made sense to them.

As Tidas came out of the bathroom, he glanced around his bedroom. It was nearly barren now, and looked very similar to how it did before he had married Skye. She had given their room a feeling of home by filling it with knickknacks, books, and other mementos from their life together, but now it had all been sent to their new home.

Even the box that Skye used to store her precious memories in was gone now. Tidas had added a couple of things to it that he had saved from their honeymoon, and one thing from the Highlands. A small piece of Zazzy’s shell from her egg, a bottle cap from the wine that they drank on their honeymoon, and a seed from the massive pine tree that the Highlanders decorate for Yuletide.

It wasn’t much, but Tidas wanted to see if she could guess what each thing was whenever he got the chance to show them to her. Peggy had taken the box either last night, or while they were showering; not that it mattered. He wasn’t planning on bringing it up until they were in their new home anyway.

“Did ya hear me, husband? Are we ta get Zazzy, or is Lenny bringin’ her?” Skye asked with an edge to her voice.

Tidas took a breath like he’d been startled out of his thoughts, then replied; “Lenny is meeting us at the docks with her. He wanted a last chance to fly her, since we won’t be back for a while, and Zazzy wanted it too, so I consented. It gave us a bit more time to sleep.”

Skye quirked an eyebrow at him; “Aye.. Are ya okay, husband? Not havin’ second thoughts about goin’, are ya?”

Tidas shook his head; “No, I’m just thinking about something..”

“...Like?” Skye replied as she nudged him.

Tidas sighed heavily; “Just wondering if we really will get to start our family when we return.. Our RMC responsibilities are a lot to handle. Then we add in children? ..I want to watch them grow, not just pay someone to do it for us.”

Skye chuckled; “Oh, ya bet yer arse that yer gonna help me raise our bairns. Ima sure that we can talk ta Magnus about gettin’ you an assistant or two. Yer brothers have at least five each.. I think you could do with a couple yer self.”

“You’ll need a couple as well, love. Remember that you’re gonna take over Shasta’s position at some point,” Tidas added.

Skye smirked; “I thought that I wasna supposed ta know about that yet?”

Tidas flashed her a deflated expression; “You’re the one who overheard Shasta, and cornered me about it in bed last night. I didn’t tell you, and there’s no one here to hear us talking about it-”

“Talkin’ about what? And help me wit these plates. They’re heavy, and I’ll make it a point that the first one I drop is the bacon,” Peggy announced as she came into the room balancing multiple plates.

Tidas instantly swooped in to save his bacon while Skye helped Peggy with the other dishes. She had gotten them scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, fresh berry muffins, fried potatoes covered in cheese, and a massive bowl of fruit. As Tidas attacked the plate of bacon, Skye went after the cheesy potatoes, and Peggy ate a muffin.

The three cleared the plates, helped Peggy stack them, then helped her take them down to the kitchens. The head chef had a large basket waiting for them filled with a stack of their favorite sandwiches. Each was wrapped individually, so they didn’t have to eat them all right away.

After profusely thanking him and the rest of the kitchen staff, the three exited the kitchen, and headed for the stables. Servants and guests alike bowed and wished them good traveling as they passed. Skye, Tidas, and Peggy thanked them, then continued outside to the stables. A stagecoach was waiting for them, much to Peggy’s relief.

“Thank the gods.. Ima too old ta be ridin’ a bloody horse,” she commented as she climbed inside.

It didn’t take long to reach the river harbor, since it was right outside of the northeast of the capital. It was the only way into Sai that didn’t require scaling mountains, and was the safest way to travel in general. Robbers were common on the mountain paths now because it used to be cheaper for merchants to use stagecoaches versus the riverboats.

The spike in robberies had merchants flocking to the riverboat companies, which was why the docks were packed at they headed for their ship. It was large, and made from leftover ancient vessels. As Skye marveled at the sight of it, she ran into a person, and let go of Tidas’ hand accidentally.

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As they became separated amongst the crowds, Skye looked for some form of a landmark to call out from. As she scanned the area, a tall, familiar face stood above most of the people. As she pushed her way to him, Skye called out; “Murdoc! Murdoc! Do ya see Tidas anywhere?! I lost him!”

A hand shot up next to Murdoc as a familiar voice called out; “I’m here, Skye! Kinda hard to miss this giant! So I knew to wait by him for you!”

Murdoc grinned cheekily as he yelled; “Just more proof that I’m an upgrade!”

As the two started to bicker, Amara came into view, then hugged Skye as she said; “We all came out ta see ya two off! Didna expect this many people!”

“What? What ya mean?” Skye shouted, then looked around.

As familiar faces encircled them, Skye beamed to see all of her loved ones from last night at the dock. They hugged, waved and curtsied as they passed. Alfred, Renee, and the Fae all squished Skye in a group hug that even Aero was a part of. Zas, Shasta, Lawrence, Magnus, and Marie were all surrounding Tidas as others shoved their way in to say goodbye.

Lucas and Lidia squeezed Skye until she was red in the face, then did the same thing to Peggy. As Tidas looked around, he realized that the only one not present was his oldest brother. Usually it would be seen as an insult, but Tidas was happy that he wasn’t there to dampen the festivities.

When the captain came out and called for all passengers to board, Skye nearly cried as everyone shouted to her and Tidas. Genie was already on the ship waiting when they reached the deck. As they waved to their loved ones, a massive shadow flashed over everyone from above..

Zazzy nearly knocked everyone over as she landed off to the side of the docks. Larry climbed off of her back, pet her a final time, then watched her take off again. She didn’t want to land on the ship’s deck until they were out of the harbor, and the people had been cleared from the deck.

Flying above them in a circle, Zazzy waited to follow the ship down stream. As she waved to the people below her, Skye and Tidas did the same as the ship started to pull away. Magnus, Lucas, Lidia, and Marie wiped the tears from their eyes, then watched until they became dots in the distance.

Magnus invited everyone back to the palace for an early lunch, then headed back with the massive group of people. As they mounted horses and climbed into stagecoaches, a dark figure watched them through a spyglass from the palace. Specifically focusing on Zas..

“They have officially left for Sai, my King. What are your orders?” Draco asked as he stood a few feet back.

Marco closed his spyglass with an evil smile playing at his lips as he replied; “Bring in the general’s family, and summon him to me once you have them all in the dungeons. But make sure to bring the old one to me.. Zas may need physical proof that his family’s lives are in my hands..”