The sun's rays illuminate the dirt road leading to Fletcher village, and the birds in the trees around sing cheerfully. Greenwood forest can be gloomy in the deeper parts, but it seems quite normal and even friendly on the outskirts of the village.
The thinner branches of the trees sway under a gentle breeze while squirrels, armadillos, and even small deer can be seen near the road on which Draven and Alicia now ride their black horses at full speed, making a lot of noise and leaving behind a cloud of dust.
Half a mile ahead, they see a group on horseback as well; their animals are clearly inferior, and they are traveling at a slow pace, but it is possible to see banners with noble insignias. Alicia grabs her large weapon in her hand, preparing for a fight. "They look like trouble."
"What? No!" Draven quickly signals for his sister to lower her weapon. "Why do you assume everyone is our enemy? They could just be lost travelers."
Alicia shakes her head. "Everyone is our enemy here, brother; why should I pity those damned nobles from Lumindell who mistreat their own people and enslave demi-humans? Also, these people may not attack our family directly, but they support our enemies; they are a threat to us!"
Draven's eyes shine golden. "This damn war is our father's fault, but don't worry, as soon as I become the new Leonheart King, I will fix things on this continent; so just obey me here and do not attack these people."
"You're already making me regret coming to look for you..." Alicia sighs. "But now I guess I can only have faith that you can come to some sense. I won't attack these scum as long as they don't get in my way. Is that okay?"
"We'll see," Draven makes his horse slow down as they approach the group, which quickly becomes alert, but he lowers his hood, revealing his smiling face while raising his hands. "We are not enemies, my friends!"
All the horsemen quickly form a circle around one of them, most of them are old aged, wearing simple clothes, and light leather armor, but the guy in the center is different; he appears to be in his twenties with short black hair and wearing luxurious clothes; there are also some gold insignias with the same design as the banners carried by the soldiers on his clothes, a bird above a lake.
"Who the hell are you?!" An old man with long white hair next to the young guy questions Draven hostilely and quickly continues. "You are in the presence of the young Master of the Lark Family from Lakeview, so you'd better show some respect!"
Alicia arrives at this moment and begins to release her aura over the group, but Draven gets in front with his horse, signaling for her to back off. 'This idiot!' She casts an annoyed look at him but contains her aura.
The horses of the group become nervous due to the presence of the intimidating black horses, but not seeing the star insignias under Alicia's cloak, the group maintains a hostile stance. Draven tries to make his bright smile even friendlier. "I see; you are honored nobles from Lakeview... I live nearby here and was just curious to know what our illustrious guests are doing in this region."
The young Master doesn't even look at Draven, but the old man next to him starts to have a strange feeling. 'I can't sense the aura of these two... could they be Champions?' Unable to tell how strong the duo is, he starts to act more humbly. "Well, we are going to this village, Fletcher, I believe, to pick up a peasant girl who wants to serve our young Master as his personal Maid."
"Oh, really?" Draven nods several times. "That's very good; I've never seen good nobles taking an interest in simple girls around here, so I guess she's a lucky girl, hehe!"
"Yeah, a lucky girl indeed..." The old man smiles at Draven, but in his mind, things are different. 'Poor girl, I doubt she'll last a month in the hands of that spoiled brat.'
Alicia tries to signal to Draven but ends up just making upset faces at him while whispering. "I'm trying to help you, brother; can you shut the fuck up and let me do it?"
'What's the problem with the women in my life?' Draven wonders as he just looks at Alicia and Aria with an annoyed expression.
Aria is confused to see the siblings fighting, but she doesn't let her guard down, unsure if she can defeat such adversaries together. 'If they summon their Astral Beasts, things are going to get complicated... maybe it's better to attack first?' She only doesn't initiate the attack because she's not sure of Alicia's intentions.
Even knowing the power of Draven and Alicia, Aria doesn't show fear. "I've placed ancient runes all around the house; Eve is protected in a special room, so I don't mind destroying this entire village to prevent you from taking my children from me."
"No, no, no! It's not necessary to go that far!" Alicia quickly exclaims. "I'm here personally to ensure that my stupid brother doesn't make such a mistake." She smiles friendly at Aria. "I just want to talk, my sister, for the sake of our family."
Aria's eyes gleam dark gray with black sparkles, but they slowly begin to calm down. "Look, I've always had a good impression of you, Alicia, but I don't trust Draven and your family."
"There's no diffretence between my family and your family, Aria," Alicia speaks in a gentle and determined tone. "The children are our family; I just want to talk to you, explain what's happening, and why we should stay united now."
Aria is still unsure of Alicia's intentions, but she recognizes some feelings in the sharp yet also kind eyes of the brave warrior. 'Maybe she is quite different from Draven indeed?' Such thought awakens Aria's curiosity, and she becomes calmer and makes the storm inside her domain also calm down.
"You are welcome in my house, Alicia," Aria says as she lands on the ground in front of the door, but then she gives Draven a cold and severe glance. "But you... if you raise a finger against my children again, I'll kill you on the spot!"
Draven is about to give a cheeky response to Aria, but Alicia quickly steps between them. "He won't do anything, I knock him down before he thinks doing it, I guarantee it." She comments honestly.
Aria nods and takes them both into the house. Alicia wastes no time and gets straight to the point. "Our father is dead..." She explains to Aria how things are bad in the north due to her siblings, children from other mothers with her father, fighting for the crown, creating a civil war inside the Leonheart Kingdom.
Alicia also explains how this is a serious problem for Aria and her children because the enemies of their family are more united than ever, looking for every opportunity to hurt them. "If their spies find you, they will do everything to get their hands on your children, especially Draven's successor. We have to stick together!"
Alicia's words make Aria reflect on many things, but then she quickly stands up. "I need to think about this, but now is not a good time."
"What's the problem?" Alicia quickly asks, and Aria responds. "Arthur is dealing with some nobles who want to harm his fiancée, and he wants to do it with his own hands, so I'm going to watch from a distance to help in case he needs me." She explains.
Draven frowns upon hearing that, but Alicia opens an excited smile, her eyes shining with expectation. "So that trash I saw on the road... my nephew wants to deal with them himself to defend his girl? Hahaha... that's going to be quite a show; what are we waiting for?"