Your (pov)

I gazed upon the kingdom before me, a large, towering castle with a village sheltered behinds its walls. Quite a magnificent site if you ask me.
I looked over at Kio as we rode.
"So, uh, you said that we're supposed to be farm children? Does that mean I have to fake an accent?" I asked, a slight hint of nerve in my voice.
Kio looked over at me, keeping his horse going forward.
"You bechya! We both have to fake an accent so we don't blow our cover." He replied, already beginning to fake a thick southern accent.
I groaned as I let out a sigh, mumbling a slight 'fine' as I looked forward again.
Yara was still with us, walking beside my horse at the exact same pace as her white and black fur ruffled in the light breeze.
Hmm. What are we going to do with Yara? I didn't really think about it till now. Maybe I can shape shift her or something. What spells do I have again? I thought as I turned around, beginning to carefully search around my bag for some sort of spell for Yara.
Kio turned to look at me again, cocking his head.
"What are you looking for?" He asked.
"Ugh, a spell to make Yara into a housecat or something like that." I replied with a grunt as I kept searching. My expression lit up slightly when I found my spell book. I pulled it out, flipping through the pages while still keeping my horse steady.
"Ah! Found it!" I said as my expression lit up fully.
I looked down at Yara, grinning slightly as glanced at my spell book.
"So, Yara, what would you like to be transformed into? A cat, or a dog?" I said in a slight taunt.
Yara glared at me, slightly snarling at my taunt. This made me laugh as I looked back at my spell book, beginning to gather magic in the palm of my hand.
"Alrighty, cat it is!" I said before casting the spell on her.
I could hear her meow in protest as she shrunk and her form changed, but her color remained the same.
I laughed lightly at her protesting as she jumped onto my horse before I got ahead of her.
"Aww, you're so cute.~" I teased, laughing as her ears pinned back and her tail frizzled in disapproval.
"We're here!" I heard Kio cheerfully say in a southern accent, making me look up.
Here we were, at the large entrance to Pheraen. There were four armored guards with swords, shields, and spears waiting.
"Howdy, fellers!" Kio chirped, almost making me laugh at his accent. "We're expected by the captain of yer royal guard. My name's Kio and this is mah little sissy, (y/n)!" He finished.
"You're expected by the captain? Where are you from?" One guard asked, his voice echoing through his armor.
"We're from a nearby village past them yonder hills over there." He said, pointing to the direction of a village a little ways away.
The guards exchanged glances before nodding and letting us in.

We rode through the front gate, slightly gaping at the magnificent village before us.
"Wow. Quite a sight, eh?" Kio awed as he grinned.
I nodded, holding Yara steady on my lap as we rode in.

It took a while to get to the castle. Halfway there we had to get off our horses and go on foot in order to maneuver around the carts and people scampering about in town.
When we finally got to the castle grounds, we made a left into the training grounds. There were a bunch of soldier trainees practicing and sparing in the large, open area near the castle.
In the midst of all this, one tall, muscular, green-haired man stood over all the trainees. He supervised their training, sometimes commenting on their progress or shouting commands and such.
Kio lead the way, and we ended up walking up to this man.
"Howdy commander! We've arrived!" Kio chirped, saluting the man in a slightly joking way.
The man turned around, revealing the double scar that crisscrossed across his face.
"Ah, you must be the two that wanted to join the royal guard of Pheraen. Well, I'll have to be the judge on that matter. Follow me." He said, beginning to walk over to an exit from the open training grounds, but not before ordering someone else to take his place.

We walked out through an open stone archway and into a large, empty outdoor training area just next to the other one.
He stopped when we reached the middle.
" You can tie off your horses over there for now. Do it quickly and grab a sword." He said sternly.
Both me and Kio nodded, bringing our horses over to where we were instructed before we ran over to a table with a few training swords.
We each grabbed one before walking back over to the commander.
"Now, you each will be tested separately. Fight me as best as you can. Do your best, but don't get your hopes up." He said as he too grabbed a training sword.
Kio stepped forward first, being the usual bumbling idiot he was, and took a stance.
Kio began his fight against the commander, trying to act as if he didn't have as much practice with a sword as he actually does.
And in the midst of the fight, I just stood back, taking note and watching carefully as Yara sat upon my shoulder.

Kio got the last hit before flinging the commander's sword away from him. He pointed his sword at the commander's neck with a cheerful grin on his face.
The commander stood up straight, brushing himself off as he nodded.
"Good. Now, it's your sister's turn." He said in a monotone and serious voice.
Kio nodded happily as he walked to where I was, quickly whispering something in my ear before trading places with me.
"Make sure not to show your true skills." He warned.
I nodded to myself before walking to where the commander was waiting, taking a stance as he grabbed another trainee sword.
Yara jumped off my shoulder before the commander jumped at me with an attack, slightly surprising me as I blocked. I quickly parried his attack before darting around him to his back.
I remained on the ground as I kicked him in the back, making him slightly get off balance, but not too much.
Let the games begin...

I wiped the sweat off my brow after knocking the commander's sword from his hand. I never realized how tiring it would be to act as if I knew nothing.
The commander stood up, picking up his sword before glaring down at me.
I kept my expression serious, not showing any sign of reaction to his glare.
"Good." Was all he said before putting his sword back on the table.
Kio was the first one to speak.
"Pardon me, sir. But did we succeed in yer test?" He asked, cheerful and not losing his accent at all.
The commander turned to look at us with his cold, harsh expression.
"You'll find out at sunrise. Be here tomorrow morning." He said before walking past us and back to the training area he had been supervising before.
Our eyes followed his large form until he was gone.
"Quite an intimidating feller, ain't he?" Kio asked.
I nodded, feeling Yara climb back up my arm.
We both remained silent for quite some time, exchanging glances until we silently put our swords back.
We untied our horses and walked out of the silent, empty area we were in. We walked through the training grounds which were now empty.
I looked up at the sky, the sunlight was beginning to fade fast. We must've spent all our time traveling and not noticed the time. But I just shrugged it off.
I looked over at Kio, trying my best to imitate the southern accent he had before.
"So, it's getting late. We should probably find a place to stay for the night." I said calmly, fumbling over my words slightly since I wasn't used to having an accent.
Kio nodded in agreement, looking forward before pointing.
"I saw an inn when we entered here. It ain't far. Let's stay there." He replied.
I looked forward, seeing the inn up ahead as I nodded in approval.
"Alright. Let's rest up then."