The Outside.

Lunch was a feast. Esme felt that it was No Face's send forth gift to her. She ate to her satisfaction and taking No Face's advice, drank a concoction that knocked her out for nine hours.

When she awoke she took a bath, ate some more fruits and snuggled into her quilts again, waiting. She hadn't been that well rested in a while.

At exactly midnight, No face strolled into her room.

'Common kid', he said 'It's time'.

He tossed her a sack which Esme easily caught. In the sack she found a dark warriors suit and an even darker hooded leather coat with a pair of sturdy leather boots.

She quickly put her clothes on and filled the sack with her water guord and some fruits.

Colene was asleep so Esme wrote a brief note telling her maid not to miss her.

She stepped out into the cool night air. With the dim light of the moon, Esme could make out No Face's figure standing by the high wall that surrounded the cold palace.

'We are flying walls eastward till we breakout into an alley, think you can keep up?'

Esme made a face her companion couldn't see and swiftly leaped into the bare branches of a tree.

'Catch up old man'. She said before leaping unto the fence and out of his sight.

No face took up the challenge and soon both spies were shadow leaping past courtyards side by side.

They travelled that way for about fifteen minutes before breaking out into the alleyway. There were guards in the watch tower who had obviously seen them but has ignored. Esme wondered how many palace workers No face controlled, he seemed like he knew too much.

Esme and No face landed into the alleyway seconds apart. There was another hooded man in the alley, Esme's body coiled into a defensive position but when she noticed No Face at ease with the figure she relaxed.

The other hooded figure wordlessly handed No face the reigns of stark black stallion that had escaped Esme's notice and vanished.

No face led the horse into the open street and under the moonlight so she could see the animal better and when she did she stood in awe.

The stallion was muscular and dark and very well groomed.

'It's name is Bull, it's a war stallion bred to be faster, fearless, fight, obedient and handle rigorous situations.

It was a fine stallion indeed. Esme closed in on the stallion and when it seemed ok she rubbed it's finely brushed mane. She was falling in love.

'Bull' she whispered scratching its neck 'that suits you very much'.

No face chuckled handing her the reigns. 'You and bull take to each other like soulmates from a past life. He can be rather fierce and may sometimes need a hard hand but I was right that he would do well with you'.

When Esme just kept hugging and petting the horse, No Face continued 'Bull has been very well rested and fed just like you. I'm hoping you would travel the remainder of the night and find rest in the morning'.

Esme hummed and inspected the sacks strapped to Bull. In it she found her personal sword and daggers, her bow and arrow set, a thick rope, three water gourds, three scrolls of maps, some fruits, two thick quilts and two full sacks of gold pieces.

Bull was strong to carry all that easily and she knew he would handle her additional weight just fine.

She climbed into the saddle still petting the horse and found that she felt quite at home on it's back.

"Your first stop is a horse ranch a few kilometers outside of the capital. They are expecting you at the first sunrise. You can have a good breakfast and some rest but you should be out again at the first hour of noon".

No face looked up at Esme on the horse, though his mask covered his while face Esme could feel him making a sincere face towards her.

"Well. Goodluck Kid". He said and then smacked Bulls behind. Bull lurched forward a bit but didn't take off running. Esme gained control of the reigns and sent Bull into a gallop.

'See you later, No face', she called into the still night that was now interrupted by the sound of Bulls hooves pounding on the dusty streets.

She didn't know when she would see No face again or when she would see Sukech again but she had given herself a two month ultimatum to bring back Prince Kairo.

She galloped away thankful for the street lights and the empty streets, thankful for the powerful stallion beneath her that was so in sync with her every command.

It was still dark when she came to the city gates, she presented her calvary badge which allowed her pass without question. They seemed like they had been expecting her because the captain of the guards was present and he was the only one able to recognise the badge.

They even offered her two guard escorts which she was grateful for.

Once out of the capital with her new escorts she reduced her pace to a steady trot. Bull didn't seem tired yet but there were no streetlights outside the city and though her new escorts carried lamps she feared that bull would far outrun the guards horses.

She travelled with her escorts silently like that for two hours until the forest became much dense and the guards declared they had to return. They left one lamp with her and turned back towards the capital.

Esme descended from Bull and strapped her sword to her waist, with her left hand she held the lamp up and with her right she led Bull by his reigns.

They walked miles like that under the moon and the flickering guidance of the lamp.

They soon broke out at a river bank. The same river she was to follow up north. She allowed Bull some water before they continued their trek.

Two kilometers following the river, they finally came to the horse ranch. There was only a tiny hint of the sunrise in the sky when a woman came out to greet Esme bearing a badge that confirmed her as an ally of the Kings Calvary.

At the horse ranch, Bull and Esme were separated. Esme carried all the luggage strapped to Bull into the small loft they assigned to her. She had a quick bath and slept in a comfortable night gown provided for her. The bed of straw was not as good as her palace bed or her quilts but she was grateful for the one more night of postponing her jungle floor bed.

As the sun began to rise she slept off but this time with the knowledge that she wasn't in the palace guarded on all sides by palace guards.

It was about the tenth hour of the morning when Esme opened her eyes again.

She found the hostess who had taken her in and the lady spread a feast of a breakfast before her without much conversation. Esme ate and drank to her filling although not too much that it would prevent her from being alert. She then went to the stables and checked on Bull, he looked well rested and well fed but she decided to wait till the first hour of noon to head out.

At the first hour noon, Esme left the horse ranch with all her luggage and an additional bag of apples and carrots. After the horse ranch, there was no saying when her next lodging or cooked meal would be.

The duo set off galloping making use of the daylight.

Since it was noon there were travellers along the river banks put many of them had begun travelling by morning and were now settling down for a rest. Esme and Bull zoomed by tirelessly.

*IMPORTANT NOTICE*👇