It somehow felt ‘right’ when he was on the road. It couldn’t be explained in any words he knew, but while the wagon rolled on over a dirt road that seemed to stretch on for eternity, while Tuesday and Hannah sang their song of letters, Varus addressed Lithia.

  “What can you tell me about my friends?” He asked. He said it quieter than he intended to while looking back at the distant dot that his cottage had become even to his sharp eyes. It was, he knew, somewhat rude to not at least look over his shoulder at her to ask the question, but she showed no indication that she minded, continuing to hold the reins and mind the road while wheels of bones continued their endless turn into ruts older than Varus himself.

  “Not as much as I think you would like.” She admitted with some reluctance. “I was only taught the basics. I’m not a historian, and I have no head for that kind of thing…sorry.” She muttered the last word with an apologetic tone, but then went on. “Hero, became a King, if you can believe it.” She smiled a little bit to herself, if Varus’s writings were based off of his old friends, and Hero had been one of them? ‘That’s probably hilarious.’ She thought, and as if to confirm her thought, Varus began to laugh.

  “King Hero! I can hardly believe it. That fool boy thought more of music and mischief than anyone I ever knew! When we had meetings to decide strategy, he was always fidgeting with his hands or shifting in his seat. Most people thought he was just eager to get into the fight. But I knew he just had too much energy to sit still for more than three minutes at a time.”

  “From what little I know, he settled down a lot. His wife had a lot to do with that, and the result of tiring him out enough to start the day was that she had nine children. Legend has it that they became the founders of the nine kingdoms beyond the mountain. But it was so long ago…?” She shrugged as she watched the horizon shift ever so slightly from moment to moment, and the shadows of the great ancient trees dance along the ground nearby.

  “They didn’t inherit his throne?” Varus asked, and if he’d had them, he would have raised his eyebrows.

  “Hero ruled for thirty years before he died, his wife for ten more beyond him, and then she put control of the kingdom in the hands of a council. Their children were unsatisfied, and founded kingdoms of their own beyond the mountains after clearing out the monsters there. They then married the various counselors, and today the Kingdom is still ruled by their bloodlines, and those nine kingdoms beyond the mountains are still part of the empire today. For the rest of your friends… at least the ones I guess you wrote about?”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Lithia took a deep breath and looked down at the skeletal back of the horse which pulled the wagon of bones. “Your priestess friend disappeared. Or, maybe the stories about her did? It has been five thousand years.” Lithia pointed out, “But the last story I know about with her is that she built a ship and set out to find the sacred place where the Goddess and the God first set foot on our world. There are no stories after that.”

  “That sounds like her.” Varus admitted.

  “Your mage friend… sorry again, I’m bad with names like that, but she traveled all over what is now the Empire, founding mage schools and libraries. There’s not much in the way of stories, but there are two hundred and fifty-seven mage schools and one hundred and ninety-seven libraries whose founding stones bear her mark. I know because while looking for more of your books, I saw them myself.” Lithia finally looked behind her with a smile on her face, and saw that Varus was deep in thought, scratching his left horn with one hand while his long white hair swayed in the breeze.

  “I see.” He answered with a quiet voice, “So, they lived and died with full lives behind them…and you, are you of one of those lines?”

  Lithia’s eyes twinkled a little, “The Queen’s line. Very distant. So far that nobody would consider me for the throne unless hundreds of other people died off first. Why do you ask, Varus?”

  “Because if you aren’t her mirror image, then I’m a mad fool who has forgotten the faces of those dearest to me in life. You even remind me of her. In a…mostly good way.” He chuckled a little bit and shook his head, then waved a dismissive hand when she opened her mouth to ask whether or not she should be offended.

  “Forgive me,” he said as a low, rich laugh slipped out, “that wasn’t meant to be mean. It’s just that something similar to what happened with you with the birds, I also did with her. Although in her case, it involved a bucket of honey, a bucket of feathers, greased boots, and a mud pit. Oh, and noodles. There were noodles involved. I doubt any legends exist about the ‘Noodle Incident’, but I still remember it fondly. More so than she, since she was the one who needed a four hour bath, but she laughed about it eventually.”

  “Oh, see now I have to hear that story…” Lithia leaned back on the wagon and turned an ear toward her friend, and on hearing the sparse depiction, even Tuesday and Hannah ceased to make noise, turned and sat on their heels, and looked up in his direction for the story.

  “Another time.” He said with thoughts of a smirk lingering behind his blank face. “For now, I should explain how I think we can make it possible for us to settle in the village without causing a ruckus. Assuming of course, the two of you,” he pointed to the two young girls one after the other, “don’t mind pretending to be mighty spell casters with great necromantic powers?”

  “I’m going to remember to ask about the ‘Noodle Incident’ later but… this plan of yours, I have got to hear.” Lithia said as the two young girls' faces filled with mischief and wicked giggles began to rise from their throats while their tails swished around behind them.