The Four Guardians

Although I wish I could stay and look at this wonderful field all day I had important matters that I had to attend to. After the kind Guard of the King helped me off the cliff I could shorten my travel time. Or at least that's what I thought. My horse was paralysed in fear from all the jumping and near death situations; I don't blame him. I sat down in the middle of the grassy field and waited for my horse to realise that it was safe on the ground. There wasn't really anything else I could do… Well, there is… But it involves magic… and dangerous magic at that… It would be risky… but I guess it's worth a try… I shouldn't be doing this, if I was in the Demon Realm I could do this the easy way...

I pulled out my book and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath in and breathed out followed by one final breath in. I opened my eyes wide ready to cast the spell.

The book glowed a timid yellow colour that surrounded the horse. Slowly the horse began to stand and regain its footing. The horse stood back as if nothing had ever happened as the yellow tint faded away.

I fell to the floor quickly gasping for air. Squeezing my c.h.e.s.t tightly as my body felt as if it was being torn apart from the inside. Grinding my teeth to try and take my mind off the pain.

"Phew… I kinda forgot why I don't use this magic anymore… I should really keep that in mind."

Not all magic is meant to be used by everyone. Only some should use certain magic, and only some can.

"Well. At least you are fixed, come on let's get moving."

This magic had such an effect on me that I realised I was talking to my horse.

I jumped back on my horse and began to move. There was still a few hours of sun so I wanted to try and find a place to sleep for the night and only move during the day.

I travelled happily along the path and was occasionally greeted with pain that was lingering from before. It didn't seem like it was going away but I could put up with it until I found a place to stay.

There were many different paths and wooden signs scattered about, each leading to all the various cities or villages. You could easily see that some paths were more worn out than others. A lot of people only care about large cities, but I needed to travel through several villages to get to where I need to go.

At a crossroad, I met a young traveller who was coming from the opposite way to me. I asked him for directions and if he knew somewhere I could stay for the night. He pointed me to the direction of his village which I would be cutting through anyway.

I travelled following the directions given to me and arrived as the sun was setting. The village felt very nostalgic to me, everything someone could need was in one central location with houses and Taverns around the edge, creating a warm and very close community.

The smell of the market stalls made my mouth water and stomach growl. The rowdy noise of happy laughter coming from the Taverns as people drink till they pass out and take the piss out of each other, really made me think about everything I've missed.

Although I was happy to have returned I couldn't help but feel sad.

I went to find a stable where I could let my horse sleep for the night and went into a connecting tavern.

Upon entry I realised how loud it truly was inside, everyone was cheering and dancing around already drunk. The waitresses happily served large plates of food to the customers with a smile on their face despite the harsh and stressful work.

"Is there any place I can stay for the night?"

I approached the bar and asked the young lady behind it if I could stay. She looked about 17, as she worked away with a smile on her face. She cleaned glasses from the countertop with a pure heart and hummed to herself as she did it. She didn't notice me at first, she was too caught up in her own mind.

"E-excuse me?" I called out.

"Ah! Hello! Sorry about that I was daydreaming, hehe. What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if I could stay here for the night?"

"Oh, a traveller! Are you an adventurer? We get many of you lot around these parts! It seems like a lot of fun but I have to stay here and look after this place. Ah! Sorry I keep talking... We have some rooms available if you'd like?"

She seemed kinda clumsy but also cute. Her eyes reminded me of an ocean I once visited with my parents. So clear and beautiful.

"Yes, I only need one night. I shall be off again in the morning."

"Ohhhh" The girl seemed interested in stories. She looked like she would listen to everything I would say. I've only spoken to her for a few minutes but I already feel like I've known her my whole life.

"For 1 night that will be 3 silver. We also throw in some Dinner with that so whenever you are ready to order just come up here and tell me what you want! I'll be happy to serve you!"

"Hey missy, get me another drink" A drunken man called out.

"Coming right up sir."

The girl handed me the key to the room and rushed off to serve the customer, she was the only one working behind the bar and seemed to enjoy it a lot. She happily served the man and talked to him with ease. It seemed like she had years of experience.

# # #

"So are you ready to order?"

I decided to go up to my room for an hour to let the place die down before I ordered. The same girl was behind the bar and the place was a lot quieter. All the heavy drinkers had left and the ones that remained were all eating happily in peace.

"Yes… I'm not very good with deciding so I shall take whatever you recommend."

"Well! I would recommend everything, but the Pie is a real treat."

"Excellent I shall take that then. I would also like whatever ale you've got."

"Perfect, I shall go bring you your food when it is ready, you can sit wherever you like."

The girl hopped off towards the back continuing to hum her song. I decided to stay by the bar on a stool and as the bar was empty and I thought I would get to talk to her more when she came back.

The front door creaked open and a small group of people walked in, they were clearly drunk as they were stumbling around the place. They approached the bar and slumped down next to me. I didn't want to make eye contact but they looked at me so I tried to play it off by drinking my drink.

"What are you looking at?" One of them asked, he was either the drunkest or the soberest. It was hard to tell.

"N-nothing..."