Goodbye Hydrogia

It was the sunniest day of late autumn.

The knights and apprentices who were headed to battle woke up with the sun but were allowed to move slowly since preparations were done for their travel the night before.

Commander Lothian had returned from the front lines in order to lead the rest of his men into battle, feeling that there was nothing more he could do at the front lines that couldn't be handled without him. Having him and his second command in Hydrogia taking men into Chemois, he appointed Sir Alix in charge until he could return.

The commander organized a big breakfast to send the knights and apprentices off on their journey. He explained that food would be more limited until they made it to the northern country.

Henry felt he had been spoiled the past few months by being able to eat three times a day, but he knew that after a lifetime of only eating a couple of times a day he would be able to go back to it if he needed to.

After making peace with his decision to follow Sir Trenton into battle, he had a good night's sleep and was well-rested for what was to come.

For the week leading up to their departure, he had been making progress with Sir Roland's horse, Lilly. She was larger than Axe and much younger. She was less likely to suffer injury from weather or weak bones because of her age so Henry made the final decision to take her to battle.

Sir Roland promised he would keep Axe company while he healed from the amputation of his foot.

As Henry got Coal and Lilly ready for the journey, he felt energized and found himself humming as he adjusted the saddles and gave them one last drink.

"You seem like you're in a good mood," Trenton said, coming up alongside Henry and adjusting the saddle a little bit. "You've done the horses well as usual. Taking care of them was never one of my strengths, but I suppose it's yours."

"I have a lot of experience, sir," Henry responded.

"Were you able to say goodbye to your mother?" Trenton asked. "Is the house holding up well?"

Henry nodded, thinking about the night before and the confusing interaction with his mother and her hesitance for him to go to battle.

"She doesn't want me to go," Henry said. "But I want to go. I don't like being in the peasant village. It makes me feel like I'm going to do the same thing for the rest of my life."

Sir Trenton laughed.

"That's the reality of most," he said. "Only nobles can afford excitement. The only hope someone has of leading an adventurous life is becoming a knight or a mercenary."

Sir Trenton thoughtfully scratched his red beard that he had been growing out more since the weather had gotten colder.

"You remind me of myself when I was younger," the knight said. "My father was in the last war and filled my head with nonsense. It made me unsatisfied with staying in one spot. I don't know if I wanted to be a knight at first, but I did want to see what else there was in life."

Henry had finished with the horses and made sure their reins were secure. Since Sir Trenton had already arrived, he handed him the reins to Coal as he spoke.

"My mother's a writer," Henry said. "I daydream too much because of her."

Trenton's smile wrinkled his eyes.

"You are distracted a lot," he said.

Henry immediately looked embarrassed and stepped back to face the knight.

"You've gotten better," Trenton quickly explained. "I trust your instincts in battle."

And he had been telling anyone who would listen about how well Henry did in front of the ogre, leaving out the part bout when he found his apprentice on his hands and knees emptying his stomach.

Eventually, they had to join the procession of knights and apprentices along with the wagons that were taking supplies to the front lines.

Henry could feel his heart racing at the sight of everyone in armor with their best weapons strapped to their backs or on their hips. His good mood from before was only multiplying.

It finally struck him that he was doing something he never expected to be able to do. It was almost as amazing as the stories his mom read to him, though he doubted there would be a beautiful princess to save on the battlefield.

The procession started moving and the pace was slow. The commander at the front of the line said it would be until they got to the northern side of Hydrogia.

Between the fortress and the northern gate, some fields eventually turned into the north district of Hydrogia. The streets were made of well-maintained brick and there were pathways on either side due to the high amount of foot traffic. This area was dense and the movement was slow. It seemed everyone was out to say goodbye to the brave soldiers who were headed to battle.

Women lined the streets with dried flowers in their hands, offering them to knights as a form of good luck. Children sat on the shoulders of their fathers', admiring the heroes as they left.

Henry smiled at the sight of some of the older kids with wooden swords strapped to their hips, raising them to the knights as they slowly moved past.

However, Henry was suddenly struck at the sight of dark green velvet.

Princess Marie.

Golden blonde hair blew in the wind and gloves hands occasionally poked out the bottom of bell sleeves as she occasionally waved at the passers-by. He could see the velvet was sewn together using gold thread.

The procession slowly advanced, but his heart was anything but slow. The closer he got to passing by her, the more he noticed about her.

Her cheeks were red from the cold and he could see her breath just as everyone else who was outside. She sat above everyone else on a carriage and a fur was laid across her lap to keep her warm.

Henry wondered if it was her choice to be there or if it was some kind of obligation.

The princess occasionally shivered and Henry felt bad that she was having to be out in the cold to say farewell to people lower than her.

While he was only a few feet from being in front of her, he didn't know what came over him.

"Princess Marie!" He suddenly shouted. "Your highness."

He bowed his head the moment she turned to him and he could feel his face warm up at the attention. Who did he think he was? His heart was beating so quickly that he thought he would have passed out if he wasn't on top of a horse.

He knew there were more eyes on him than just hers and he stopped his horse, causing those behind him to have to stop for a moment.

He made sure to speak above the noise of the crowd so that he could be heard. He wanted to sound confident.

"When I come back from battle, I promise I'll be worthy enough to stand in front of you!"

The princess was shocked at his boldness, but she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Her reaction caused Henry to smile in return.

She remembered him only because of how unusual his victory in the sword fighting competition was.

"I'll be waiting for your knighting ceremony then," she said.

His eyes widened.

Only heroes of war received knighting ceremonies. Most of the time being knighted was a ceremony with many others.

"Y-yes, your highness."

He had no choice but to keep going when someone told him to get moving from somewhere behind him.

Normally, he wouldn't have had the courage to do something like that. The energy he had been feeling all day was making him do strange things.

He didn't know if he was going to come home from war, but having something to look forward to would motivate him to do better.

As he kept moving his horse forward, he heard Sir Trenton chuckling from in front of him, his helmer turning right and left as he shook his head.