New World

Chapter 34 - Wind Nation

"Let me hear it one more time—Jay," Chelsea said, applying a sharp elbow into Jay's spine, and a very audible crack came out of him.

"It was only a joke! You know I don't mean it!" Jay said between desperate gasps of air. "We're not going to go kidnap Mia! I just wanted to change the mood. We're only going to ask Mia to help Anthony learn Wind Magic. I think it's time for him to learn other types of Elemental Magic. So, for the millionth time! Get off Me! Anthony, do something—I can't breathe!"

Chelsea hit Jay on the head as she got up and plopped down into her corner. Jay sat back up and tried to even out his breathing, and he glared at Chelsea.

"I don't know why you and Sara are so overprotective of Mia!" Jay yelled out, still trying to catch his breath. "I know you knew I was joking, and yet you almost crushed me under your w—"

Chelsea formed her pistol in her hand, and the threat of angering her silenced Jay.

"Now..." Chelsea said in her usual lack of expression, but somehow sounded eerie, "do be careful how you phrase your next sentence, Jay. If I didn't know any better... it almost sounded like you were going to make a comment on my weight."

"Nope! I would never say anything like that," Jay declared, genuinely scared of Chelsea's gun.

"Alright... I'll believe you—this time. But as for why I had to act in such a manner is because I know you. Don't go pretending as you've never thought about it before. We all know you have a little sister complex when it comes to Mia. You don't show it when others are around... but we know."

"You're joking, right?" I started but stopped once I noticed Jay was sweating buckets and refused to make eye contact. "Jay..." I let out in disappointment.

"Enough!" Jay yelled out. "I will not let you disrespect me in front of my student, Chelsea. I don't have a complex! We'll reach the Wind Nation in a couple of days. Any more talk about this and you can walk there. And put your gun away!"

Chelsea complied, and I knew all Jay was doing was trying to get off the subject, and I played along as I had something to ask anyway.

"Jay," I said, and he faced me, "why is it that it only takes a couple of days to get anywhere, but the map makes it look like they are much further apart?"

"I guess I never told you, did I? That's all thanks to Ace. You see, Ace isn't just a horse, he's actually been infused with magic crystals that allow him to move much quicker across the Empire. It takes a lot of mana, so we can only do it at night, after a full day worth of him replenishing his mana. If we were walking on foot or even using a regular horse, it would take weeks or even months to get anywhere. It may seem that the Empire is small at times because of Ace, but in reality, this land is too vast for any common horses to travel... and Ace is far from a common horse."

"Is that why he doesn't go into cities?"

"Yeah... Ace is the last of the seventh-generation of Magical Horses. He is also considered... an unstable breed, and because of that, Ace was banned entrance into any big city. He was solely created as a tool of war—to enter and leave the war zones as fast as possible. Sadly, the Kingdom was forced to shut down and then put down all seventh-generation Magical Horses because of their defects. But my Master saved Ace... she couldn't see him go, and he's been a part of my life since I first fought in the war... since I first fought with Hestia."

"Well... that explains why you're so attached to him."

"Yeah, we've been through a lot..."

I knew Jay didn't mean just him and Ace... he was also talking about his Master... and all those he's lost. I wanted to ask about her since he's never really spoken about her, and has only ever used her name a handful of times... but his eyes told me he wasn't ready to show me that part of his past just yet.