In the forests north of Reitzlake, the vibrant leaves stirred beneath a soft brush of wind.
The sound of songbirds floated between the branches, weaving a melody of springtime as delicate as the scent of dew dripping after a gentle rain. The shafts of sunlight danced as they peeked beneath the forest canopy, lighting up an uneven trail strewn with fallen leaves and thin twigs.
A small fox darted amongst the trees, its fluffy, red coat betrayed by the bright foliage of the evergreen shrubs. A grey rabbit dug up a mound, helped by a curious squirrel as they searched for food in this ample forest. The fluffy tail of a fawn disappeared in a flash of movement, reappearing beside its mother as they nibbled at a newly discovered wild berry bush.
And a bouncy fruit slime, freshly satisfied with a few apple cores visible in its round body, flew through the air with crosses in its eyes as I punted it away.
“[Spring Breeze]!”
The fruit slime flew with tremendous speed, shooting past dozens of branches until a small cloud of dust rose in the distance. Songbirds scattered in flight. Foxes, rabbits and squirrels fled for their lives. And the family of deer hopped all the way to a new forest to inhabit.
For a moment, I merely watched from atop Apple's back, judging the cloud of dust as well as the faint noise of impact. My noble steed trotted along, unconcerned at what his rider was doing.
Only once I'd fully timed the seconds it took for the dust to disappear did I lower my sword.
I turned to Coppelia, smiling in delight.
“Look! That had to be 100 metres!”
Coppelia stood up on her tip-toes, hands to her brow as she winced into the distance.
“93.6,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Your first attempt was still better.”
I quietly groaned.
“Are … Are you certain? Did you not see the wonderful mushroom shaped cloud the fruit slime made upon impacting the forest floor this time? It was not only more aesthetically pleasing, but it also took longer to subside.”
“True. All true. But the fact remains that it was only 93.6 metres. I think you blew the fruit slime into particularly soft soil. Maybe some kind of warren or burrow inhabited by wildlife. I think I saw a family of badgers running for their lives.”
I clicked my tongue.
Of course, even this many leagues away from my orchard, the badgers would still conspire to ruin my royal duties. I expected nothing less of the garden rodents!
Why, they had no idea they were impeding me from a very important task right now!
Beneath the green forests of my kingdom, I was currently taking advantage of both Apple's steady trot as well as the abundance of fruit slimes that inhabited these places.
Yes, fruit slimes, with their love of inedible watermelon rinds and apple cores. They might be the most bottom rung of monsters ... but monsters were still monsters, and what sort of princess would I be if I didn't ensure that our forests were kept clean and tidy?
Indeed, these harmless, bouncing, round slimes which would only headbutt your knee if severely provoked were wildly useful when it came to refining my [Spring Breeze]!
“Very well, I'll try again! Until I've beaten my initial record of ...”
“98.2 metres.”
“98.2 metres, I intend to refine [Spring Breeze] as much as I'm able! My aim is to be able to launch an average sized fruit slime over 100 metres in under 3 seconds!”
“I mean, if launching a fruit slime over 100 metres is all you want to do, shouldn't you just do your swirly sword thingy a bit longer?”
I looked at her, aghast by the very suggestion.
Not only was that not the name of my … delicate swishing motion thing, but she should already understand the consequences of overusing my [Spring Breeze]. It was a gardening technique to protect leaves, not to destroy them! To do otherwise was to cast aside its very essence!
“My swirly sword thingy, Coppelia, isn't something to be used lightly. Why, when I committed to more than a few seconds of it during the debacle with the fire breathing death beetles, it began to tear the leaves off the nearby trees!”
“Yes, it'd be truly awful if you did more than tear off a few leaves. Imagine if you blew up half a forest as well.”
“Exactly. No, if I'm to use it practically, then it needs to be sufficiently strong enough that I can launch a fruit slime without causing excess damage to nearby flora.”
“Don't like fruit slimes, huh?”
“Fruit slimes are simply the standard measuring unit I've opted to use. They're plentiful, conveniently shaped and are extremely easy to gather. Now, once again.”
I leaned down, retrieving an apple from the saddlebag. They no longer resided in the bottomless pouch after I learned very fast that Apple did not enjoy apples scented with coins.
Reaching forward, I allowed Apple to take a healthy bite from the fruit before I tossed it to the grassy wayside. It took less than a few moments before a fruit slime bounced out of a tree hollow, its black eyes set on the semi-fresh offering.
I raised Starlight Grace, swishing it over my head until I could hear the first leaves beginning to rustle amongst the branches.
“[Spring Breeze]!”
Pooomph.
The fruit slime's eyes crossed as it was launched deep into the depths of the forest. An apple was partially lodged in its round body as it tried with all its might to hold onto the piece of fruit.
In the distance, a large cloud of dust erupted, along with the sound of more songbirds scattering into the sky and the sight of shrubs being disturbed by fleeing animals.
“101.7 metres,” said Coppelia, once again rising to her tip-toes. “A new record!”
“Ohohohoho! Of course, I fully expected to best my initial attempt! Why, I simply needed to angle my swishing motion as though I were preparing to blow away aphids from a purple geranium!”
“I can't wait to hear you explain that to a sword instructor.”
“It's not complicated. Geraniums are a particularly hardy perennial which affords me the luxury of a less delicate touch.”
“You're right. It absolutely makes sense now.”
I smiled, content by the results of my efforts today.
Of course, there was still more refinement to come. Plus I had a whole host of other gardening techniques I needed to reevaluate for the purpose of doing away with larger sized pests. But as a start, this was exceptionally promising!
Ohohoho! To think my genius would reach levels that not even I could have foreseen!
Why, with my Mark II Prototype [Spring Breeze] alone, I could literally blow away a host of problems! The next time I woke from my afternoon nap and found a textbook on classical archaeology passively-aggressively placed beside my face by my tutors, I could blow it to the roof and claim it'd been taken by a diving albatross! Nobody would suspect me!
The uses … it was limitless!
“Now that a rare moment of respite has been afforded to us, at least until we reach the Wovencoille, I intend to develop my trusted gardening techniques for a purpose other than doing away with caterpillars and mailboxes.”
“I mean, I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm pretty shocked you don't just blow away anything which looks at you funny already.”
“Please, Coppelia. Have you not seen me? I'm the fairest maiden of all. If peasants didn't look at me with slack jaws and bulging eyes, I'd be deeply insulted.”
“You feel happy when peasants look at you with slack jaws and bulging eyes?”
“What? Of course not. I'm not some passing curio. If peasants stared at me like that, I'd be deeply insulted.”
“Wooow~ life's hard as a fair maiden.”
“It is,” I said, narrowing my eyes as I looked ahead. “Certainly harder than life as a minotaur, apparently.”
Coppelia let out a tinkling laugh.
“I was wondering when you were going to see that.”
Up ahead, a curious sight greeted us.
Between two oaks by the wayside was a sack being utilised as a hammock. And on that sack was unmistakably a very large, very armoured and very relaxed minotaur.
Dressed in fine steel from hoof to horns, this shining example of bristling muscle, martial strength and barely concealed rage lay in his hammock, swinging idly from left to right. Against a tree was the signature weapon of all who hailed from the Spiral Isle. A great double headed battle axe, meticulously crafted and clearly well cared for, gleaming at its edges despite the weapon being black as doom itself.
In his hands with a large, red tome, which I recognised immediately for its distinctive gold embossing to be part of a compilation of excellent stories based on true crime in the Grand Duchy of Granholtz.
The minotaur immediately earned my respect, my admiration, and my silence.
It was the height of rudeness to disturb someone while they were reading. And so I was content to pass by without comment, only responding when the minotaur glanced over and offered a cheery wave.
“Mornin',” he said.
“Salutations,” I replied.
“Fair weather, isn't it?”
“Quite so.”
He smiled. I nodded. And that was that.
Hmm. How strange. A minotaur resting by the wayside.
Then again, perhaps it was only an uncommon sight to someone like myself who rarely left the Royal Villa. I only saw minotaurs when they petitioned my father or mother for a sacred quest.
It was a rite of passage for every young minotaur hailing from the Spiral Isle to take up service as a questing minotaur in the name of one of their Pantheons. The Kingdom of Tirea was a popular destination, owing to its low hills and shallow rivers. Minotaurs struggled to climb or swim, and there was little reason to make questing harder than it already was.
“What an odd place to choose to rest,” I remarked, once Coppelia and I turned a corner. “I suppose you can't lose sight of the road if you choose to sleep beside it, but it does threaten to invite all sorts of vagrants at you.”
“I have a feeling that vagrants don't really want to bother the minotaur. Especially when they're reading. They get real grouchy. You know some of our best customers are from the Spiral Isle?”
“Truly?” I said, surprised. “How uncultured of me. I assumed they'd be more interested in cleaving trees than reading books.”
“No, they love cleaving trees, too. It's just that it also feeds into their burgeoning book industry. It's pretty much a land of bookworms over there.”
“I had little idea.”
“They love their stories. Ouzelia and the Spiral Isle are quite close in that regard, even though the two places are so far apart.”
I nodded. Ouzelia and the Spiral Isle were on opposite ends of the continent. But given the prolific nature of questing minotaurs, few nations felt too distant from the land of eternal summer.
Case in point … another minotaur now presented himself to us.
“Mornin',” he said, offering a smile and a cheerful wave.
Hmm.
Another minotaur. Resting by the wayside. In a hammock.
Reading a red tome with gold embossing.
How curious.
“S … Salutations,” I replied.
This time, I wasn't offered a cursory comment towards the weather. I nodded anyway, and proceeded onwards.
“Do they only read books, or do they write as well?” I asked, once we'd turned a corner.
“You know that really popular series, A Court Lady's Indiscretion?”
“I do!” I exclaimed, a little more excited than I intended. “I … I mean, I've heard of it, yes … common drivel written by some bored noblewoman, or so the rumour goes.”
“Written by a minotaur.”
I gasped in shock as Coppelia wore a wide beam.
“It was written by a minotaur?!” I asked, stunned enough that even Apple briefly paused. “But it's so ...”
“Visceral? True to form? Exquisite?”
“Yes, precisely! The way that court politics is so brutally exposed is far beyond … no, there can simply be no way, is there? It's too accurate. The conversations in that book. They're ones I myself have wit—”
“Mornin',” called out the minotaur, offering a smile and a cheerful wave.
“... Salu … Salutations ...”
I pursed my lips after I replied, studying the minotaur as he went back to reading his book.
Hmmmmmmmm.
I continued watching him all the way until Coppelia and I turned a corner.
This time, I said nothing to continue the conversation.
Instead, I tugged on Apple's reins, bringing him to a stop.
Ahead of us, by the wayside, was the clear figure of an armoured minotaur reading a book in a hammock.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I turned Apple around.
As he trotted back around the corner, I was greeted with the sight of an armoured minotaur reading a book in a hammock.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I considered the situation for a few moments.
Then, I tugged on Apple's reins, directing him towards the large figure lying in the hammock.
“Coppelia.”
“Yes?”
“Prepare yourself.”
“To fight the 300 pound minotaur with the battle axe?”
“No.” I rolled up my sleeves. “To hold me back.”
In the forests north of Reitzlake, the vibrant leaves stirred beneath a soft brush of wind.
The sound of songbirds floated between the branches, weaving a melody of springtime as delicate as the scent of dew dripping after a gentle rain. The shafts of sunlight danced as they peeked beneath the forest canopy, lighting up an uneven trail strewn with fallen leaves and thin twigs.
A small fox darted amongst the trees, its fluffy, red coat betrayed by the bright foliage of the evergreen shrubs. A grey rabbit dug up a mound, helped by a curious squirrel as they searched for food in this ample forest. The fluffy tail of a fawn disappeared in a flash of movement, reappearing beside its mother as they nibbled at a newly discovered wild berry bush.
And a bouncy fruit slime, freshly satisfied with a few apple cores visible in its round body, flew through the air with crosses in its eyes as I punted it away.
“[Spring Breeze]!”
The fruit slime flew with tremendous speed, shooting past dozens of branches until a small cloud of dust rose in the distance. Songbirds scattered in flight. Foxes, rabbits and squirrels fled for their lives. And the family of deer hopped all the way to a new forest to inhabit.
For a moment, I merely watched from atop Apple's back, judging the cloud of dust as well as the faint noise of impact. My noble steed trotted along, unconcerned at what his rider was doing.
Only once I'd fully timed the seconds it took for the dust to disappear did I lower my sword.
I turned to Coppelia, smiling in delight.
“Look! That had to be 100 metres!”
Coppelia stood up on her tip-toes, hands to her brow as she winced into the distance.
“93.6,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Your first attempt was still better.”
I quietly groaned.
“Are … Are you certain? Did you not see the wonderful mushroom shaped cloud the fruit slime made upon impacting the forest floor this time? It was not only more aesthetically pleasing, but it also took longer to subside.”
“True. All true. But the fact remains that it was only 93.6 metres. I think you blew the fruit slime into particularly soft soil. Maybe some kind of warren or burrow inhabited by wildlife. I think I saw a family of badgers running for their lives.”
I clicked my tongue.
Of course, even this many leagues away from my orchard, the badgers would still conspire to ruin my royal duties. I expected nothing less of the garden rodents!
Why, they had no idea they were impeding me from a very important task right now!
Beneath the green forests of my kingdom, I was currently taking advantage of both Apple's steady trot as well as the abundance of fruit slimes that inhabited these places.
Yes, fruit slimes, with their love of inedible watermelon rinds and apple cores. They might be the most bottom rung of monsters ... but monsters were still monsters, and what sort of princess would I be if I didn't ensure that our forests were kept clean and tidy?
Indeed, these harmless, bouncing, round slimes which would only headbutt your knee if severely provoked were wildly useful when it came to refining my [Spring Breeze]!
“Very well, I'll try again! Until I've beaten my initial record of ...”
“98.2 metres.”
“98.2 metres, I intend to refine [Spring Breeze] as much as I'm able! My aim is to be able to launch an average sized fruit slime over 100 metres in under 3 seconds!”
“I mean, if launching a fruit slime over 100 metres is all you want to do, shouldn't you just do your swirly sword thingy a bit longer?”
I looked at her, aghast by the very suggestion.
Not only was that not the name of my … delicate swishing motion thing, but she should already understand the consequences of overusing my [Spring Breeze]. It was a gardening technique to protect leaves, not to destroy them! To do otherwise was to cast aside its very essence!
“My swirly sword thingy, Coppelia, isn't something to be used lightly. Why, when I committed to more than a few seconds of it during the debacle with the fire breathing death beetles, it began to tear the leaves off the nearby trees!”
“Yes, it'd be truly awful if you did more than tear off a few leaves. Imagine if you blew up half a forest as well.”
“Exactly. No, if I'm to use it practically, then it needs to be sufficiently strong enough that I can launch a fruit slime without causing excess damage to nearby flora.”
“Don't like fruit slimes, huh?”
“Fruit slimes are simply the standard measuring unit I've opted to use. They're plentiful, conveniently shaped and are extremely easy to gather. Now, once again.”
I leaned down, retrieving an apple from the saddlebag. They no longer resided in the bottomless pouch after I learned very fast that Apple did not enjoy apples scented with coins.
Reaching forward, I allowed Apple to take a healthy bite from the fruit before I tossed it to the grassy wayside. It took less than a few moments before a fruit slime bounced out of a tree hollow, its black eyes set on the semi-fresh offering.
I raised Starlight Grace, swishing it over my head until I could hear the first leaves beginning to rustle amongst the branches.
“[Spring Breeze]!”
Pooomph.
The fruit slime's eyes crossed as it was launched deep into the depths of the forest. An apple was partially lodged in its round body as it tried with all its might to hold onto the piece of fruit.
In the distance, a large cloud of dust erupted, along with the sound of more songbirds scattering into the sky and the sight of shrubs being disturbed by fleeing animals.
“101.7 metres,” said Coppelia, once again rising to her tip-toes. “A new record!”
“Ohohohoho! Of course, I fully expected to best my initial attempt! Why, I simply needed to angle my swishing motion as though I were preparing to blow away aphids from a purple geranium!”
“I can't wait to hear you explain that to a sword instructor.”
“It's not complicated. Geraniums are a particularly hardy perennial which affords me the luxury of a less delicate touch.”
“You're right. It absolutely makes sense now.”
I smiled, content by the results of my efforts today.
Of course, there was still more refinement to come. Plus I had a whole host of other gardening techniques I needed to reevaluate for the purpose of doing away with larger sized pests. But as a start, this was exceptionally promising!
Ohohoho! To think my genius would reach levels that not even I could have foreseen!
Why, with my Mark II Prototype [Spring Breeze] alone, I could literally blow away a host of problems! The next time I woke from my afternoon nap and found a textbook on classical archaeology passively-aggressively placed beside my face by my tutors, I could blow it to the roof and claim it'd been taken by a diving albatross! Nobody would suspect me!
The uses … it was limitless!
“Now that a rare moment of respite has been afforded to us, at least until we reach the Wovencoille, I intend to develop my trusted gardening techniques for a purpose other than doing away with caterpillars and mailboxes.”
“I mean, I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm pretty shocked you don't just blow away anything which looks at you funny already.”
“Please, Coppelia. Have you not seen me? I'm the fairest maiden of all. If peasants didn't look at me with slack jaws and bulging eyes, I'd be deeply insulted.”
“You feel happy when peasants look at you with slack jaws and bulging eyes?”
“What? Of course not. I'm not some passing curio. If peasants stared at me like that, I'd be deeply insulted.”
“Wooow~ life's hard as a fair maiden.”
“It is,” I said, narrowing my eyes as I looked ahead. “Certainly harder than life as a minotaur, apparently.”
Coppelia let out a tinkling laugh.
“I was wondering when you were going to see that.”
Up ahead, a curious sight greeted us.
Between two oaks by the wayside was a sack being utilised as a hammock. And on that sack was unmistakably a very large, very armoured and very relaxed minotaur.
Dressed in fine steel from hoof to horns, this shining example of bristling muscle, martial strength and barely concealed rage lay in his hammock, swinging idly from left to right. Against a tree was the signature weapon of all who hailed from the Spiral Isle. A great double headed battle axe, meticulously crafted and clearly well cared for, gleaming at its edges despite the weapon being black as doom itself.
In his hands with a large, red tome, which I recognised immediately for its distinctive gold embossing to be part of a compilation of excellent stories based on true crime in the Grand Duchy of Granholtz.
The minotaur immediately earned my respect, my admiration, and my silence.
It was the height of rudeness to disturb someone while they were reading. And so I was content to pass by without comment, only responding when the minotaur glanced over and offered a cheery wave.
“Mornin',” he said.
“Salutations,” I replied.
“Fair weather, isn't it?”
“Quite so.”
He smiled. I nodded. And that was that.
Hmm. How strange. A minotaur resting by the wayside.
Then again, perhaps it was only an uncommon sight to someone like myself who rarely left the Royal Villa. I only saw minotaurs when they petitioned my father or mother for a sacred quest.
It was a rite of passage for every young minotaur hailing from the Spiral Isle to take up service as a questing minotaur in the name of one of their Pantheons. The Kingdom of Tirea was a popular destination, owing to its low hills and shallow rivers. Minotaurs struggled to climb or swim, and there was little reason to make questing harder than it already was.
“What an odd place to choose to rest,” I remarked, once Coppelia and I turned a corner. “I suppose you can't lose sight of the road if you choose to sleep beside it, but it does threaten to invite all sorts of vagrants at you.”
“I have a feeling that vagrants don't really want to bother the minotaur. Especially when they're reading. They get real grouchy. You know some of our best customers are from the Spiral Isle?”
“Truly?” I said, surprised. “How uncultured of me. I assumed they'd be more interested in cleaving trees than reading books.”
“No, they love cleaving trees, too. It's just that it also feeds into their burgeoning book industry. It's pretty much a land of bookworms over there.”
“I had little idea.”
“They love their stories. Ouzelia and the Spiral Isle are quite close in that regard, even though the two places are so far apart.”
I nodded. Ouzelia and the Spiral Isle were on opposite ends of the continent. But given the prolific nature of questing minotaurs, few nations felt too distant from the land of eternal summer.
Case in point … another minotaur now presented himself to us.
“Mornin',” he said, offering a smile and a cheerful wave.
Hmm.
Another minotaur. Resting by the wayside. In a hammock.
Reading a red tome with gold embossing.
How curious.
“S … Salutations,” I replied.
This time, I wasn't offered a cursory comment towards the weather. I nodded anyway, and proceeded onwards.
“Do they only read books, or do they write as well?” I asked, once we'd turned a corner.
“You know that really popular series, A Court Lady's Indiscretion?”
“I do!” I exclaimed, a little more excited than I intended. “I … I mean, I've heard of it, yes … common drivel written by some bored noblewoman, or so the rumour goes.”
“Written by a minotaur.”
I gasped in shock as Coppelia wore a wide beam.
“It was written by a minotaur?!” I asked, stunned enough that even Apple briefly paused. “But it's so ...”
“Visceral? True to form? Exquisite?”
“Yes, precisely! The way that court politics is so brutally exposed is far beyond … no, there can simply be no way, is there? It's too accurate. The conversations in that book. They're ones I myself have wit—”
“Mornin',” called out the minotaur, offering a smile and a cheerful wave.
“... Salu … Salutations ...”
I pursed my lips after I replied, studying the minotaur as he went back to reading his book.
Hmmmmmmmm.
I continued watching him all the way until Coppelia and I turned a corner.
This time, I said nothing to continue the conversation.
Instead, I tugged on Apple's reins, bringing him to a stop.
Ahead of us, by the wayside, was the clear figure of an armoured minotaur reading a book in a hammock.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I turned Apple around.
As he trotted back around the corner, I was greeted with the sight of an armoured minotaur reading a book in a hammock.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I considered the situation for a few moments.
Then, I tugged on Apple's reins, directing him towards the large figure lying in the hammock.
“Coppelia.”
“Yes?”
“Prepare yourself.”
“To fight the 300 pound minotaur with the battle axe?”
“No.” I rolled up my sleeves. “To hold me back.”
