38 First Step Outside

Belze and Nia walked along the dirt roads. Nia held a map a followed the direction towards King's City. Belze just followed behind her. The kid didn't want to complain. He needed to arrive at King's City to rescue his parents, but as they walked further away from the village, fear began to set in.

Nia didn't dwell on it, but Belze did. He never left the village before without his parents, but he kept that to himself. He took one look back at the empty Kyte village and continued forward.

As soon as Nia figured out how to get to King's City, she folded the map away into one of her pouches.

"Alright, I think I know where we need to go, but I have to set some ground rules. Firstly, stay where I can see you."

Belze nodded and said, "Okay. What else?"

Nia paused thinking of other rules, but instead said, "I don't know. I didn't think that far ahead."

Belze chuckled and his fear swept away like that. Nia began to chuckle as well. The sky was clear and the gentle breeze stridden across the grasslands.

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They continued to walk for hours. Nia had the stamina to continue, but not the boy. Belze started to tire as he treaded along the dirt.

"How far is King's City, anyways?"

Nia looked back and saw that the boy was tired. Belze's face was staring up at the sky. She stopped, but Belze kept walking and eventually his face slammed into Nia. He dropped to the ground, but Nia didn't flinch.

"Oh, sorry. Sorry," Belze said.

Nia sighed realizing that having a child with her would slow her down, but she knew she couldn't just leave him alone.

"We'll take a short break here," she said and as she did so, Belze laid on the ground catching his breath.

"Can't we just fly over to the city. You're a dragon, right? I heard that they can sprout wings," Belze said.

"Even if you weren't here, it would be far too risky to fly around. People on the ground would obviously notice. I don't need to attract the attention."

Belze sighed and said, "That's too bad." He closed his eyes and rested for a bit.

Nia took a seat on the grass and overlooked the vast plains. Only a few trees in sight. She was very much used to the sight of trees for most of her life, but seeing a whole new view of the world awakened something in her. Awakened a fascination with the outside world. She wondered what other things could be out there as she watched the plains.

It was only a couple of minutes, but Nia heard a carriage approaching. She sat up cleaning the grass off of her robes. The wagon was going in the same direction that they were heading towards.

Nia raised her hand in hopes of getting his attention. Belze's eyes opened up and jumped up to his feet. The driver waved back and stopped near them.

"Hello, maam. Are you interested in purchasing some of my wares?" he asked. It was a man wearing silver armor, but his facial features were completely hidden in shadows. His voice seemed to sound young and genuine.

Nia smiled and replied, "No, sir. I'm just interested if we can just hop in the back. I promise we won't be a bother."

"Well, where are you traveling?"

"We're traveling to King's City," Belze said.

The merchant replied, "Well, I'm heading over to Jaeden town to hopefully sell some of my merchandise. It's on the way towards King's City. I don't mind if you hop onto the back."

Nia face brightened and bowed. "Thank you, good sir." She noticed that Belze wasn't bowing and she held the boy's head down in a bow.

"Wh-Why are we doing that?" he exclaimed as his head was down.

The merchant smiled, although they couldn't see it. "Raise your heads. You don't have to do that."

They raised their heads high. Nia was overjoyed that they could find a carriage to ride on. It would hasten the time needed, but she never actually rode on a wagon before. She didn't know how much time it would take to get to King's City and the sooner, the better. Now, that she thought of it, she never actually visited another village before. She was excited for the experience. Belze was happy that he didn't need to walk. His parents took him on a wagon before to go to another town for supplies.

They got aboard the back of the wagon.

The merchant hit the reins of the horse in front and the wagon moved. It shook against the dirt and rocks. Nia was surprised at the sudden jolt of movement, but her surprise turned to excitement. She smiled at the young boy, but the boy only sat there feeling depressed all of a sudden.

"I hope my parents are safe," he said quietly.

Nia understood the boy's feelings and gave him a hug.

"Ehh? What are you doing?" the boy exclaimed.

"Whenever I feel down, my big sister Nera would give me a big hug," Nia said grinning to the boy.

He blushed and no longer felt upset.

"Ok. Ok. I get it. You don't have to do that," he said.

The wagon continued to shake and Nia didn't budge with her hug. But Belze closed his eyes and gave a smile back.

"Alright. Just for a little while I rest my eyes."

As he did so, Nia also felt somewhat tired. Belze rested his head on Nia's shoulder and she closed her eyes, as well. The merchant looked into the back of the wagon and continued on the journey.