Chapter 80 Wise Women
The Ridges.
Snowfall flew away with Hernando, Volker, and a large bundle of scrolls. Her wings were so strong that the added weight did not pose any difficulty for her.
Hernando shouted: I can ask Birgit if she has a sister or a friend!
Volker: I am fine, thank you, no.
Hernando to Snowfall: Do you think he likes men?
Snowfall: No, he likes a woman.
Hernando: Who?
Without warning, the Pegasus turned its wings and body to the right and descended to the height of ten men at great speed.
The rider and the passenger screamed with fear and excitement. Once she stabilized, they could see the landing path south of Cresta de Flores..
Birgit waited by the path as the beautiful Pegasus descended gently, making a smooth landing. She had worked in Puerto Blanco for much of her youth, learning to care for the Pegasi. When she noticed the boys, she found herself surrounded by boring men with blond hair and blue eyes.
Birgit: Ernando! Welcome back.
The man untied the ropes and jumped off the saddle. Volker untied the ropes more slowly and descended using a rope, with the bag slung over his shoulder. The young blond man watched his friend and the woman exchanging smiles and flirtatious glances.
Volker: Ernando, I can deliver the messages if you want to attend Snowfall. I will use the coins from the Herald to buy a ferry across.
Hernando looked at his friend with warmth: Are you sure?
Volker: Yes, paying attention to your lady is more important.
Birgit: Thanks, Folker! We will save some ale for you.
Volker spent three hours delivering the messages to the noble houses of the Ridges. Many were almost empty because the people had left for Puerto Blanco or the mountains to the southeast. They knew that war was coming.
In the air near Puerto Blanco.
Red Sunrise: Your heart is heavy.
Corsino: Yes. My parents received many coins from their lord and master.
Red Sunrise: And what about the small, dead plant is causing so much anxiety?
Corsino: It is a secret message for the master of the nest there. And it contains a word that means duchess and another that I think means to die.
Red Sunrise: Why do you care about that woman?
Corsino: There is no reason. But she has never hurt me. The previous messages were just information. This feels different.
Red Sunrise: Why do you not do what you are thinking of doing?
Corsino thought for many moments as they flew onward: Thank you, my red goddess.
The man took out the bag of coins with the message inside and threw it onto the ground, far below, in a field full of bushes.
The rider and Pegasus landed without difficulty. They always flew as if they were one. The rider dismounted and then mounted a pony for the journey to the castle. She ate with the two males. She now saw them as uncles or older brothers. She was too young to feel anything more. They treated her like a lively and cheerful child. But they would defend her to the death.
Corsino was brought before the duchess. She seemed very frail, but her eyes gleamed with an intense blue fire. The twelve knights, dressed in black and gold armor and tabards, looked like giants next to the small man.
Lieselota: Thank you, Rider. Could you wait a while in the kitchens until I can respond to the queen?
Corsino: If possible, is there a shrine here dedicated to the goddess of the air?
She looked at two knights, and they led him to a simple room with windows that opened to the outside to receive the winds of the goddess.
While the rider offered his prayers and confidence to the goddess, the duchess thought of the queen, of her young son who was in the castle with her, and of the thousands of soldiers who hated her people. After much reflection and deliberation with her loyal lords, she wrote a reply.
Queen Olivia
Please do not harm my son. My knights will attempt to kill Aurelio to demonstrate our loyalty. My army will delay the royal army for as long as possible.
Mother Duchess Lieselota, your servant.
The Pegasus and her rider left the duchy at sunset. They flew towards the nest of stone. As they entered the air above the city, she noticed some strange things.
Red Sunset: Rider, there are many bipeds moving among the small nests. They are carrying weapons and wearing steel clothing that reflects the light of the moons.
Corsino: How many?
Red Sunset: Hundreds of them. They are moving in small groups in various directions.
Corsino: Land as soon as possible. I need to tell someone about this.
The young Pegasus landed without difficulty with the help of the assistants carrying torches and thanks to a calm wind. As they walked towards the walls to dismount and remove the saddle, the rider shouted, calling out to Marcela.
Marcela: What happened, Corsi?
Corsino threw the leather case to an assistant and looked at his mother in the nest.
The rider: Soldiers, hundreds of them, are heading from the eastern farms towards the castle. I do not know why they are moving at night, but I think it is a bad thing.
Marcela: I can send that message and your information to the Queen with Chara. She needs a purpose right now.
The forty-year-old woman ran with a young assistant to the nest and found the rider.
Marcela: Chara, darling, you must come out of your room. There is a message for the queen and information for the Count of Arms.
She waited to hear a sound from the other side of the door, but there was nothing.
She whispered to herself and then shouted: Alright. Rider. your duties call! Get in front of me right now!
The door opened quickly and the young woman looked at the only mother she had now. She had spent the night and a day in her room. Her eyes revealed that she had been crying at times. The older woman had decided that she needed to mature a little today.
Marcela: My daughter has only one hero in her life. And that hero is you. Remember what the wings on your dagger represent. Take this message to the queen and tell her and the Count of Arms that Corsino saw hundreds of soldiers moving in this direction tonight. This is important.
Chara straightened up a little more. She wiped away her tears and adjusted her clothes. She tooked the case and slung it over her shoulder.
Chara: This rider is ready. I apologize for my weakness.
Marcela watched the young woman as she ran towards the stairs. Each step seemed more confident than the last. She thought: You are not just a hero to my daughter.