Since forcing the horses to start running so soon seems a very bad idea so that night after each of them took a quick bath in the stream and ate another dried goods, it was decided that Beatrix will sleep inside the carriage while Prince Anders will sleep in a tree branch nearby to avoid becoming a victim to roaming predators at night.

Beatrix secretly complained of body aches because of the hard carriage's floor that served as her bed while Prince Anders complained of rough, uneven, and uncomfortable tree branches making it hard to sleep.

What a way to celebrate my eighteenth birthday in the wild! Surely, running away is not as easy as I expected but without other options, it is still better than doing nothing at all.

She suddenly realized. It also did not help that there are lots of mosquitoes! Beatrix was forced to take cover under a thick layer of a blanket from head to foot ignoring the fear of darkness and uncomfortable heat!

Prince Anders suffered from darkness, coldness, and mosquito bites therefore he cannot sleep very well that night and would constantly wake up then try to sleep again.

On the ninth day, at the very first sign of light, they started the journey not wasting time. That night, it was better because they decided to make a stop earlier near a lake and decided to do things together! They thought that it is better to learn the skills first before the division of labor should be done!

They decided to learn how to start a fire first to repel the darkness, the coldness, the night predators, and the pestering mosquitoes! Above all, it will be used in cooking if they will be able to successfully catch a fish in the lake today. Luckily, they were able to learn how to start a fire and catch a fish but they burned it to a crisp so they still cannot eat it! Once again, they resorted to eating dried goods but at least, their sleep is better now although sleeping in the ground still feels hard and damp for their pampered bodies. At the first sign of light, they started to travel again. Their target is to reach the border soonest!

The next day, they stopped early for camping. There is no water supply nearby so they tried their luck by looking for edible fruits and mushrooms. They could successfully produce a fire now and they could do it faster than yesterday!

Sure thing, practice makes perfect! No pain, no gain!

They happily thought and it seems that they are luckier today! They were able to find many wild berries! They collected some berries to last for two or three days in case they will not be so lucky in the next few days. The food and water that they took could only last for another week.

They are already far from the capital but they are still hesitant to make a long stopover because they are still very far from reaching the border. They could only sigh in relief if they successfully left Sky Empire!

Every time they could find a village or town, they make a stopover to purchase more food and water. They also have their clothes cleaned while checking for other necessities. They decided to change to a larger carriage to house larger supplies because they are going to enter a region in the empire where natural food and water supplies are scarce!

Overall, they just stick to the same routine daily. They wake up early and eat a light breakfast, then leave immediately. They stop only when needed but usually because of the call of nature. If they see a village or town, they purchase food, water, and other necessities or usually, spend the night in one of the inns in that village or town then leave early in the morning but most of the time, they are not very lucky so they were usually forced to stay outside, unaware of the several eyes watching them closely in the darkness of the night...

The owners of the eyes signaled at each other to start their attack! Soon, Prince Anders and Beatrix were surrounded by several heavily armored and masked people from all directions! No available way to run away and escape!

Prince Anders and Beatrix tried to ask politely what they want to avoid causing unnecessary fights and violence but the other party remained silent and continued encircling them! They continued walking closer to them drawing their weapons!

They did not come in peace!

The two immediately realized so they prepared to defend themselves. For a case like this that fleeing is not an option, there is no other way but to fight! Prince Anders draw his sword while Beatrix got one of the burning firewood as her weapon! They did the back-to-back fighting position and soon the fight begins! Prince Anders is gaining an advantage but it is bad for Beatrix!

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