99: After her

After her

Finally!0

Adela took a satisfying breath beneath her helmet, her face and hair concealed. She had managed to bypass what she hoped would be the final platoon of knights obstructing her path without ever getting stopped. Her black apprentice knight suit fit her perfectly, the result of meticulous adjustments she had personally overseen. Every seam and strap were aligned flawlessly, allowing for maximum agility.

With enough distance now separating them, she could accelerate into the countryside that lay between the Archduchy's main streets and the Latoran desert in the heart of Emoria. She affectionately stroked Evita's neck and back, silently communicating that she would soon ride her as fast as they could go.

"Now!" Adela urged her trusted steed forward with a gentle squeeze of her heels against the mare's sides. Evita responded instantly, her sleek muscles rippling beneath her glossy coat as she carried them forward with remarkable speed.

The road stretched out before them, a blur of dusty earth and scattered pebbles. Adela's heart pounded in her chest as she leaned forward, her body melding with the mare's rhythmic stride. But her elation was short-lived.

It can't be!

Adela's heart raced as the thunderous sound of hooves rapidly approached from behind. Fear surged through her, causing her muscles to tense. Someone was gaining on her with incredible speed.

She urged Evita to gallop faster, gripping the reins tightly as she desperately tried to outpace her pursuer. But despite her efforts, the relentless rider closed the gap, the thundering hooves growing louder and more intense with each passing moment.

Adela stole a quick glance over her shoulder, her eyes widening in terror as she recognized the rider. Clad in fully black armor, with a physique that defied the status of a mere apprentice, it was impossible to mistake him, but she could not bring herself to say his name.

She looked down at the beautiful stallion he rode, "Xavier?!"

As her pursuer remained silent behind her, Adela's resolve began to waver and Evita's strength seemed to falter.

The next moment changed everything. 

The figure of the rider —now beside her— pulled her towards the left without laying a finger on her. The undeniable connection between them which he referred to as mate bond transcended the barriers of steel armor they both wore.

I could recognize Egon even if my eyes were blindfolded. The thought left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

"Egon," she breathed his name inside her helmet.

"I don't know who you're talking about. I am an apprentice of the Second Order of Knights, much like you, My Lady," he responded, his voice muffled beneath his black helmet.

The intense adrenaline that had surged through her veins began to subside, allowing her to regain control of her emotions. "How is your uncle?" She asked, trying to divert her thoughts from the chaos around them.

"He will be better once we bring his son back to him," 

"I was waiting for a report on the poison and his ankle... But I was never able to reach that," she confessed.

"You have already done enough for him."

She blushed beneath the helmet, "It was nothing someone else would not have done,"

"You saved his life,"

Their horses slowed to a canter, allowing them to talk as they rode side by side. Adela's embarrassment prevented her from asking exactly how she had saved him, but she suspected it had something to do with pushing Leopold forward as her instincts had told her.

"You've never been to the desert before... How were you planning on finding your way there?" Egon inquired.

Adela's plan had been to reach Arkin before he left Lanark, but the detours to avoid the knights had prolonged her journey.

She sighed.

"I was going to figure that out once I reached there," she admitted.

"Is that so..."

Silence hung in the air between them for a moment as Adela removed her helmet, she shook her head gently, causing her hair to come loose from its confines and fall gracefully around her shoulders.

"They say a tongue in one's mouth is all they need to reach their location," she said with a smile.

Egon's expression was hidden beneath his helmet, but as she felt his gaze on her, her lips tingled for no specific reason, bringing the memory of their kiss to the forefront of her vision.

"I-I am well-versed in astronomy and can read the stars for direction," she stuttered, "I am also armed, and my mare is fast... It wasn't a reckless decision that brought me all the way here... But how did you happen to know where he was heading?"

"I will guide your way. Try not to argue too much with me," he replied in a harsh tone, dismissing her question.

"...I don't have any reason to hide my identity there. I won't need you to guide my way," she retorted.

"Put your helmet back on," he ordered abruptly.

Adela's pride suffered worse than her heart in Egon's presence. "...Why?"

"I asked you not to argue too much, now put it back on," 

"And if I don't?" Adela challenged.

"It brings too much attention, alright?"

She looked around in a deliberate slow motion, with the Archduchy in a state of emergency and the knights absent from the countryside, his concern about attention was puzzling, not to mention demeaning. 

"You seem to be misunderstanding something. I started this journey alone, and I will continue alone," she asserted.

"I will not permit that,"

"I don't recall asking for your permission," she shot back.

"You will follow me,"

"I will do no such thing,"

Egon's head shifted forward as he muttered to himself, contemplating the challenges of guiding a mountain goat on a hunt. Right when she was about to demand that he quits with that analogy, he pressed on Xavier's chest, urging the horse to pick up speed and take the lead.

Adela watched as he galloped ahead at a slower pace, a clear message conveyed in his actions. If the Lady wished to avoid following him, then she would have to deliberately lose her way.

How she wished she had the time for that.

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