The wagon finally exited the perimeters of Browncliffe village.
They would soon arrive at another village called Thorn Spring within five hours. From there, the real journey towards the castle on the hill will start.
Kate was having a little bit of rough time riding the wagon, it's bouncy inside especially if there are many rocks scattered on the road. Since it's her first time traveling outside their village she was not used to the rough road.
She was having nausea at first.
But three hours later, she finally got used to the rocky road and able to control her dizziness in check.
The scenery outside was filled with natural green trees, beautiful wildflowers, and bushes. She was accustomed to this kind of scenery and grew up with it before their village was ravaged with locusts and droughts.
Two hours later.
Kate was now having fun with her journey and watched in awe as the Thorn Spring Village was coming into view. The village has more grand houses compared to the ones in her village and she saw establishment such as barbershop, eatery, industrial store, and more are lining up in the streets.
The farther they went deeper into the village, the more she saw structures that cannot be found in the place where she comes from.
Thorn Spring Village was now looking more like a town to her.
Beautiful carriages were coming and going in the street, inside, she saw men and women wearing fancy clothes.
But she also noticed that majority of the masses were just wearing plain clothes like her.
Compared to the village where she grows up, Thorn Spring village was much more developed and she heard from the gossips in their neighborhood that it's going to be made into an official town next year. This means, later on, this village will be bustling with more people and more established and will become a city a few years from now.
All of a sudden, the wagon stopped in front of the eatery.
The wagoner went to the back of the wagon and looked at his passenger. "We'll stop traveling, for now, Miss. You can eat lunch at this eatery. Don't leave this place, I will come back for you in a little while," he said.
Kate raised her brows. "Huh? You will leave me alone here? Where are you going?" she asked in alarmed. She doesn't want to be left alone in a place where she doesn't know anyone. She felt like she was an outcast.
The wagoner looked at her face and see her worried expression.
"I will just visit my family on 3rd street. I will come back for you so that we can continue the journey, I promise you that. You can check out the stores nearby. Just don't venture out too far away, or else you will get lost and I won't be able to find you easily," he warned her.
Kate roamed her eyes around the area, it's a busy street around here, looks fun checking some of the stores nearby. "Alright, come back quick, please..." she said.
He's the only one she knows in this village. "What's your name?" she asked.
"My name is Robert," he answered.
"Okay, you may go now, and please don't leave me here alone on my own for a long time," she begged.
"Of course, I'll be back right away. I just need to check on my wife and son first. I'll tell my wife that I'll return after one week, to prevent her from worrying about my absence," he explained.
Kate nodded her head, she understood his concern.
"You may come down now. Let me assist you," he said and reached out for her hand.
Kate grabbed her bundle of belongings with her and jumped out of the wagon without the wagoner's assistance.
"You can go now to your family," she told the driver the moment her feet landed on the ground.
The wagoner went back to the front and guided his horses to move forward, leaving Kate behind.
Kate watched as the wagon disappeared in another corner.
She looked at the store on her left side. She saw some colorful big bags displayed inside and looked at her plain-looking bundle.
Hmm, she will need to buy one!
She ignored the eatery and went to the store instead.
She entered the store excitedly, she inspected the items on display and admired the excellent craftsmanship of the colorful wooden statues displayed in the corner. There were elves, fairies, mermaids, centaur, and other animals carved in wood.
They look amazing and magical!
She went to the bag's corner and checked out the quality of the bags. Attractive flower designs were being embroidered delicately into the clothe...nice...she wants to choose bright colors and there's a lot of them in a display, it's confusing what bags to chose, she just wants to buy them all!
But she can't.
After getting tired of choosing the most attractive ones, she finally bought four pieces of colorful bags made of quality garments. She will give one to Ivy, one for her and the remaining two for her aunt and Ella.
Done with her purchases, she exited the store and went to the eatery and find a vacant table in the corner. She dumped her bundle inside one of the bags and folded the three bags into a smaller size so that they will fit inside the bag without cluttering the inside.
She put the bag on her shoulder.
Kate went to the food display counter and chose a delicious-looking dish called roast lamb and she also ordered rice. She handed her payment to the woman, the change she got from her bag purchase went all to the food she ordered.
'Hmm...looks like the food is expensive here,' she thought to herself. She picked up the wooden food tray and brought it to her table and began eating 'coz she's getting hungry.
In fairness, the dish is succulent, savory, and tasty!
A few minutes later, she finished the food on her plate and drank two glasses of free water provided by the eatery.
She also went to the toilet to relieve herself.
She emerged from the toilet door and went back to sit on the table that was already wiped clean by the staff of the eatery.
Kate wanted to explore the nearby stores but she's afraid that the wagoner will return anytime soon and can't find her. So... she sat on the chair and waited patiently for him.
A moment later.
She smiled after seeing the wagoner outside the eatery.
She immediately bolted from the store's entrance. "Thank God you're finally here!" she said. "Can we continue our journey now?" she said urgently.
The wagoner was silent for a moment brooding about something...
"What's wrong, Robert?" Kate asked.