The party stopped for lunch in a beautiful spot where a huge tree had fallen and the wood had been carved into a massive table.
The table had been surrounded by stone benches that had also been carved, their thick legs covered with moss and lichens. Diffuse light filtered through the green leaves overhead.
Izuku could hear the faint trickle of running water nearby.
The scene felt peaceful and very old.
Izuku's double, Yui, came up to take the reins of Izuku's horse as he eased out of the saddle, his thigh muscles quivering from the unaccustomed strain of riding all morning.
Come evening, he was going to be in a world of hurt.
Clearly Nemuri had no such trouble as she sprang lightly from the back of her mare.
When the Elven woman joined him, Izuku said, "This place is gorgeous. The tree must have been immense."
Nemuri regarded the scene, her expression inscrutable. "Yes. I was very saddened when she fell."
Izuku looked from Nemuri's face to the table again. This time he also took in the hollows on the stone benches along with the wear underneath on the forest floor.
Katsuki, Nemuri. His mother. It was easy, he thought, to speak of ancient beings without really taking in just what that meant until the reality hit home at moments like this.
Someday, someone might look at him and realize the same thing. But nobody would look at him that way for a long, long time.
He was just in his twenties, which was young by human standards, and much much younger by Nyr's, not to mention he had mated with one of the oldest known creatures in the world.
How could he expect to become the man's partner in anything?
Even worse, how could he expect Katsuki to accept it?
It was beyond crazy. Discouragement turned his limbs leaden.
While he tumbled into his private funk, Elves brushed off the top of the table and laid out flasks of wine and water, along with fruit, nuts and stacks of their indescribably delicious wayfarer bread.
At the end farthest from Izuku and Nemuri, they set out a variety of meats and cheeses.
Izuku's mouth watered at the sight of the loaves. He had eaten Elven wayfarer bread just once in his life, when he and Katsuki had been kidnapped by Goblins and imprisoned in a Margin Land, and he had never forgotten the taste.
He glanced upward, but the sky was too obscured by thick tree branches and clouds to see the sun. It wouldn't sound good to ask how soon he might be able to go to bed.
"How long is the journey from here?"
"We'll arrive before dark," Nemuri said. "Sunset is around five thirty, which is something around forty-five minutes later than Musutafu at this time of year. That is, if you're up for the rest of the trip? There are a few quite comfortable cabins just an hour away if you would rather stop."
"Not at all," Izuku told her. "I think we should travel the whole distance today."
After all, the sooner he got there, the sooner he could talk with Sekijiro, accomplish what he came to do and go home.
He was not well adjusted at all. Most people would be thrilled at the rare privilege to see inside the Wood and travel into the heart of the Elven domain.
All he did was think about leaving as soon as he could.
Because he might have put too positive a spin on Katsuki's texts.
YOU ARE READING
Crossing Fates : Book 3 - Detain (BakuDeku)
Fanfiction- This is the THIRD book in Crossing Fates Series... kindly read in order : Book 1 - Escape Book 2 - Capture Book 3 - Detain* ***** Half-human, Half-nyr, Izuku was now pregnant and mated. He had been alone and on the run his whole life and now that...
