Tom led Exuberance back to the camp, returning from a trickling stream he'd found several paces off. The stallion hadn't seemed to mind a drink of the cool water, after his master had first refilled his own canteen. The equestrian's hooves thumped in the moist grass as they stepped into the light of the fire. 

After letting Exuberance go to greet Headstrong as he appeared eager to do, Tom stepped over to Alden, who squinted into the distance with his one good eye. 

"Is something wrong, Grandfather?" he asked with his youthful brow furrowed. 

"Not in any way I can prove. I only feel it." 

"That answer got me no closer to an understanding than your prior silence." 

Alden spared his grandson a quick glance. "I do not feel safe here, Thomas. I feel it in my very bones...that we're being watched. As if the stars themselves are antagonistic eyes, peering down upon us with ill intent." 

"That suggestive image will fuel my nightmares for many nights to come." Tom remarked with a humorous grin the old man ignored. "I'm sorry. Is there...anything we can do about it? Somewhere safer we can lodge?" 

Alden shook his head. "Guistan says the nearest town is ten miles off, mostly uphill. The horses have worked hard enough, he insists." 

"Our horses could pull the carriage and allow theirs to rest." 

"No, our steeds are bred for speed and endurance in traveling. Theirs are studier horses, bred for pulling heavy loads and not complaining." 

Tom shrugged. "Surely ten miles—" 

"Ten miles uphill, with those heavily armored men standing atop the carriage. Headstrong would give up, and Exuberance would be forced to pull it all himself. Our only recourse is watchfulness." 

"I suppose you're right. Let's hope the scabbard is sufficient this night." 

With that, Tom strolled over to the warmth of the fire. He shivered as he stepped closer, as if his body wished to remind him one last time of the reason he went there. He soon spotted Alice, leaning closer to the leaping flames from where she sat on a jagged-edged log. Without asking permission, he took a seat beside her. 

She glanced up immediately upon spotting him in her peripheral vision. "What is it?" 

Tom frowned. "What is what?" 

"You came to speak to me about something, didn't you? Or you only came for the fire?" 

The lavender scent wafted into his nostrils, evidently originating from her body. Pushing back the memories of his distant mother, Tom put on a grin. "I assure you, my lady, I only came for the fire." 

She rolled her eyes. "If you're to lie to a lady, you may as well at least make it convincing." 

"And how am I to go about that?" 

"You have to lie to yourself first. If you can't even persuade yourself, how will you possibly persuade somebody else?" 

Tom chuckled. "For a lady, you seem to know quite a bit about the art of dishonesty." 

"I spend much time in reading. I cannot help but have picked it up." 

"Why is that so terrifying? Whole books dedicated to lying?" 

Alice frowned. "You speak like a fool! The books weren't about teaching that, they were only descriptive of others' doings. Thereby their techniques become evident." 

"Ah, then I stand corrected." 

"I'm sure you're all too familiar with that." 

Tom laughed heartily. "I'm afraid so. You're a feisty one, Lady Delquez." 

"Hardly. I merely speak my mind. Many are afraid to do so." 

"And why do you think that is?" 

She paused a moment. "I believe every word you utter has consequences, whether you ever see it or not. Many fear the repercussions of their own words." 

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Bandits. Now, what are the consequences of me saying that?" 

"You made me glance about. And also made yourself appear as a ratty fool." 

"I'm afraid I excel at the latter especially. Perhaps the first requires still more work." 

Alice scooted down the log, a few handbreadths away from Tom. "I don't gather your meaning, and neither do I intend to." 

Tom sighed dramatically and rose to his feet. "Well, good evening to you, my lady. Our talk has been most pleasurable." 

"A one-sided pleasure it was, I assure you." 

"Duly noted." Tom shot her a smirk, and then walked away. 

**** 

A/N: Another short and sweet one for ya there, got to know some of our characters a little better, I hope, but then again, there's also a taste of ominiousity. Is Alden onto something? Guess we'll find out. 

If you enjoyed, make sure to leave a vote before you head out, and if you're feeling extra generous, some comments as well. I always appreciate it. 

And now that we've had three chapters to decide, who's your favorite character so far? Why? 

(Bonus points if you can also name your least favorite and a why for that as well.) 😝 

Now granted, I get that it's early on, and things can change, so I won't hold you to it. I just like to gauge reactions as we go. 😁 

Well, thanks so much for sticking around this long if you're still reading! The next pair of chapters will have some awesome stuff in them, so I'm excited for that, to be sure. Until then, I hope you have an awesome weekend, and hopefully I'll see you soon! God bless! 

Okay, can I say I love your dialogue? It's so full of life and wit it's so fun and amusing to read, and each character has a distinct way of speaking (which is actually quite hard to do, might I add, so extra kudos)! Alden is wise and weary, Tom is, well, Tom XD, and Alice is full of half snark and intelligence. It's a great blend and I love how that throws some sparks between all of them. There's some really fun dynamics forming!

As I mentioned in some linlines, you could enhance the dialogue more by adding action tags to spice things up and vary your formatting a tad too keep things interesting and less repetitive. With the nature of how back and forth things go, I don't think you need *too* many action or speech tags because those might actually slow down some parts (e.g. the conversation at the end of the chapter), but for more emotional or serious conversations might benefit with more visual cues.  This suggestion is more how to enhance or embellish what you have because it's already so great! So it's quite optional ^^.
 #DLG

5mo ago

1
Their conversations are so amusing XD So much wit! So much unshaded disapproval! She is sooo not impressed with him 😂

5mo ago

1
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