Page 8 of Their Chosen

I had never been to the mortal realm, but the soldiers at the outpost were well-versed in all the current customs. We would need a guide since none of my men had ever been either. It would probably also be best if we only took as few people across as possible so we could travel as quickly as needed. We were racing against the odds with only four more days, and at least one day would be needed for traveling back to the castle. “With this new information, I believe we should stop at Kharthas Outpost to prepare for travel in the mortal realm. I would advise that we continue on through the portal tonight with only you, myself, and a guide in order to move as quickly as possible. When we stop to rest, we can re-evaluate any new information received from the guide and from the realm.”

“Sounds reasonable to me. I am prepared to do what is necessary to accomplish this mission.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.” I spurred my horse forward, catching up to the scouts. As I drew up next to one, I called out, “Mathias, how quickly can we get to the outpost?”

“Sir. At our current pace, we should be there in about two and a half hours,” he answered swiftly, my selection of him for this mission the right one.

“The prince wants to move more quickly. Graysen,” I called to the other scout.

“Yes, Sir?” the young soldier replied.

“I want you to take the rest of the soldiers to the outpost at the current pace, where you will all await our return from the mortal realm. Mathias, the prince, and I will ride ahead since time is of the essence.” I turned to Mathias. “Mathias, I want you to ride with the prince and myself, set us a hard pace, and use whatever magic to ensure the path is clear. The horses can recover once we reach the outpost.”

“Yes, Sir!” both men responded. Graysen turned to ride down the line, relaying my orders.

I turned my horse back as well, intent on reaching the prince. “Your Highness, we will part ways with my men here. Mathias will set a path and a hard pace so we may reach the outpost within an hour, if that pleases you?”

“Aye, Captain Oakley. Let's ride.” With that, we both split from the main group. Mathias set off ahead of us to ensure we arrived at the outpost safely and quickly. Speaking wasn’t possible at this speed, and we needed all our attention on the path before us, ensuring our horses avoided roots, limbs, and beasts.

I urged my mount to keep up with Mathias, surprised that the prince wasn’t falling behind. I had never failed a mission before and refused to fail this one either. It helped that the prince was deferring to my judgment and not holding us back. I had no doubt that had any other soft Lordling been with us, we would surely fail, but so far, the prince was keeping his word in doing whatever was necessary to succeed. I wasn't sure why exactly we had a deadline that seemed nigh impossible, but if I had to guess, the prince was under orders himself. He didn't appear to be happy about being assigned this task, but he wasn’t hindering us so far. And that was certainly something I could work with.

I looked ahead of us again, checking our progress, my horse lathered in sweat. He didn't have much longer at this rate and would start slowing soon. If I continued to push him, he would become lame or he could die from the stress. While this breed was fast, endurance was not their strong suit. We’d been riding all day at higher speeds than was good for him, already. Adding this new pace was pushing him to his limits.

Thankfully, the forest was starting to thin, and I could see a glow in the distance. We were close, making better time than I had thought. I glanced at the prince, noting the determined set to his brow and mouth. His horse was faring better than mine, but that was due to the superior breeding. I pulled back on the reins, slowing us down as we drew near the gate which sat in the middle of the ramparts that surrounded the outpost and the portal, ensuring our protection from any invasion from other realms.

The guards manning their posts seemed to notice the prince's livery and were already opening the gates. As we approached, I instructed one of them to fetch the commander and have him meet us at the stables. He saluted me and ran off, doing as he’d been told. We passed through without incident, the gates creaking shut behind us. The outpost was small, with only a stable, barracks for the soldiers, a training ground, and a meeting hall. They didn't have a need for much out here, instead seeking pleasures at the nearest village where they could also do their personal trading. All other needs and supplies were sent from the castle and Tír Na Síoraí. We preferred they had very little distractions while on duty since they were our first defense.

At the stables, a couple of young boys took our horses from us as we dismounted. My muscles voiced their displeasure as I stood and stretched after riding for hours straight. “Please walk the horses until they have cooled enough and give them all extra oats after they’ve been brushed down,” I instructed the lads, who nodded at me in response.

A large, burly man was striding quickly toward us, his red hair and beard long and unruly. I recognized him easily as the Commander. “Your Highness. Captain,” he addressed us both as he arrived. “What brings you all the way out here, away from all the comforts of our world?”

After the Commander had bowed to the prince, he responded, “A very time-sensitive mission. We seek passage to the mortal realm, to a place called Texas, so that we may find one of the Chosen.”

I knew Commander Ashford, not well, but enough to know that he was rarely without words. He was rough and boisterous, always laughing and ready with a smile to offer. But in response to the prince, it took him a moment to respond. “Now, how did a Chosen find her way into the mortal realm?”

The prince responded, which was fine by me as this was his mission. “We are not entirely sure, but Master Jude assures us that she is indeed there. He was unable to provide a more definitive location or exactly who we are looking for.”

The Commander still seemed perplexed by this turn of events, but the prince continued, glancing at me as if in question of whether he should continue. I nodded. “I have a compass that should help us narrow her location if you’ve any maps of the territory. However, we must return to the palace within the next four days. Captain Oakley believes we should travel light and only with a single guide to help us.”

“Aye, that seems to be the best approach.” He tugged on his beard as he thought over the problem. “If you would follow me, Your Highness, we can get you outfitted and review our current maps of the area.”

Commander Ashford turned without looking to see if we followed, still tugging his beard and watching the ground as he walked. “I know the best guide for you both. Baer knows the area well and will be your best bet at finding the lass as quickly as possible.”

He led us to a small cabin, which appeared to be his personal quarters. He held the door for us as we entered. Once inside, he turned to another soldier, sending him after Baer, and to then fetch us the clothes and supplies we would need. Just on the other side of the room of what looked to be a small office was another door that he led us through.

This room had a large table with several shelves that held rolls of paper on them, all labeled neatly. He crossed to one shelf that was marked United States and dug through the rolls. Upon finding the one he was looking for, he unrolled the paper to reveal a map of the Texas Territory. He set weights on the edges and then turned to us. “Do you have a general idea of where the lass is in Texas? This is one of the largest territories in what is known as the United States of America and would take weeks to cover completely by the mortal’s transportation, which they call cars.”

He looked at me first, but I tilted my head toward the prince to indicate that he was the one able to answer. His questioning gaze shifted to the prince, who was looking at the map. “Master Jude indicated the Chosen would be in the Northeast part of the territory but was unable to narrow it further. But his map was not this detailed. Are all these names of villages?”

“Aye. The mortals have surely procreated efficiently and outnumber us now by millions, if not billions. We haven’t been able to gather a number on the exact population, but it seems to be growing at an alarming rate.” The Commander then moved to the shelf again and pulled out another map.

Once unrolled, this one was an enlarged version of the northeast region of Texas. As the prince viewed the map, I started to have my first doubts about our success on this mission. Unsure of where to start, I asked the prince, “Any idea of where to begin, Your Highness?” My response was a shrug and a huff as he ran his hand through his midnight black hair. That answer wasn’t very assuring. How the fuck were we going to find one girl in such a large territory?

Shaking off the negative thoughts, I approached the table and started to look at all the lines connecting several dots with the names of the villages, trying to find the best place to start. Just as I was starting to feel this was a hopeless mission, I remembered, “Your Highness, would your compass be able to narrow it down further if we placed it over the new map?”

His eyes lit with the first sign of hope since realizing the scope of our task. His hand reached for the compass, and he opened it, hovering it over one corner. We watched as the needle moved to point in the needed direction. His arm followed the movements until it started spinning over an area called DFW. “What is this area?” I asked the Commander.

“Only the two largest cities in the territory, but I guess that would be easier to cover than the entire state. It appears to be more over the Fort Worth area, so I would suggest starting there.”

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