12 Years ago - Part 5

Inside the carriage by myself was very lonely. I could hear my mother and Valk whisper to each other and we bumped along the dirt road. I pushed my ear to the wall of the carriage to see if I could hear what they were discussing.

"We can't afford another attack like that," my mother said.

"The boy must have been cursed some time ago," said Valk. "There was probably a magical trigger that would activate if he and the your daughter were left alone."

"Jall must have been planning his revenge for sometime. I should have put him down then and there when we discovered what he had been doing to the villagers."

"I still wonder about his escape. There had to have been someone on the inside that helped him. There was no way he could have gotten his hands on emberstone locked in the dungeon as he was."

"It's too late to think it about now."

"Will the nearby kingdoms stand for it? Will they just let a mad wizard take and corrupt the land?"

"As long as he doesn't move on them, they will probably won't do anything for now."

"Surely they will feel threatened by his power?"

"Which is what will keep them docile. No doubt word will spread quickly on how fast we were overthrown. No one wants willingly face an army of demons."

A moment of silence.

"What about this green robed person that my daughter saw?"

"No doubt an agent. For that matter, we haven't seen anyone one the roads since we started traveling."

"We're not on the main roads are we? We haven't even passed a village since leaving the castle."

"No, but we should have least have run into somebody. The wizard's corruption already must run deep."

The two fell into silence and I sat back down on the bench. Jall - there was that name again. When I had asked my mother about him earlier, all she told me was that he was a very bad person who had done some very bad things.

After some time, I began to hear scraping on the side of the carriage. Looking out one of the windows, all I could see was green. Trees leaned inward, their branches brushing along the outside of the cart.

"Blasted!" I heard Valk exclaim. "I just got wacked in the side of the face by a branch."

We journeyed onward, the scraping continued and occasionally I would hear a "TWACK" sound followed by another cuss from Valk. The light from the sky started to fade as evening drew in. Valk and my mother began to speak again, this time at a normal volume.

"Milady," Valk said. "It's been a long day. Why don't you go back with your daughter and get some rest?"

"You're still injured," my mother chastised Valk. "If anything you should get some rest."

"As much as I hate to admit it milady, we should all stop and rest. Including the horses"

"Do you think we're safe? After what happened at the bridge..."

"I can't guarantee anything. However, if the wizard was intent on following us, he would have sent along riders after securing the castle."

"What about the person my daughter spotted?"

"We've seen no sign of them either."

"We will have to do watches." my mother insisted.

"I'll start looking for a suitable spot to pull off."

We continued to roll along. I did my best to keep myself amused by pretending there was a little man running along side the window, jumping over any obstacles he encountered.

"Smoke - In the distance." My mother said.

The carriage rolled to a stop.

"I'll go ahead and see what it is," said Valk. The carriage shook as he got down from the front seat.

"Are you OK to do that?"

"It's just a minor wound, I'll live."

"If I'm not back within a half-hour, get off the road and hide."

His footsteps then, walking away doing the road.

I felt the carriage shake again as my mother got down. I heard her approach the door.

"Samantha honey. We're stopping for a bit. Did you want to stretch your legs?"

I opened the door and got out.

My mother looked very, very tired. Dark lines were under her eyes. Her normally tidy hair had several strands sticking out in several directions. Leaves stuck to parts of her travelling outfit. I had never seen her like this, normally she was best kept person that I knew.

The sun was very close to the horizon it would be dark soon.

My stomach grumbled.

"Did you want something to eat?" My mother asked.

"Yes please." I said.

She walked to the back of the carriage and fumbled about inside the luggage box. She pulled out two apples, brought them over, and handed me one. She took a bite out of the one she held and scanned around in both directions. I sat down on the carriage step below the door and bit into the juicy fruit.

She quickly finished her apple and paced around, continuously scanning the horizon. She pulled out some carrots for the horses and fed them. Afterwards, she began pacing again. Even to my four-year-old self, I could tell she was on edge.

Minutes passed. I finished my apple and watched the sun descend behind a far off hilltop.

"Come on.... Come on," I could hear my mother muttering to herself as she continued to look up the road in the direction that Valk had traveled in.

"Thank the ancients!" she exclaimed. I followed her gaze and saw Valk waving at us to move forward.

"Let's go honey," my mother said. She lifted me up to the front bench of the carriage and got behind the reins. We rolled forward, eventually reaching the Valk who stood waiting for us.

"It's a merchant caravan," Valk said once we go into earshot. "They're just skimming the border, making their way to the northlands. Said we could follow them if we wish."

I saw the nervous edge and tension melt away from my mother.

"Finally some good news."