The sound of the horse hooves clicking on the ground and the sound of horses neighing could be heard. The smell of manure mixed with the smell of the wet grass created a putrid concoction.
Merchants were loading up their merchandise to go sell it in the town of Velvenfiel. Velvenfiel was at the center of the country and was the home of the king.
It was where all the Nobles would gather and celebrate the king. It was the festival of festivals where many merchants from different cities and villages would gather to sell colorful clothing, decorations, and the best food in the country. It was the dream of the child to taste the heavenly food of the people of Velvenfiel which was said to have been made by gods. Today he was about to make that dream a reality as he could feel the festival in his grasp.
The soldier putting boxes of merchandise inside the carriage told the child to strap his things on the side of the carriage as the road down the mountain was very steep and if anything or anyone fell they would never and could never be recovered. The thought made him shudder and the first thing he did when he got in the carriage was strap the bag on the side of the cloth wall of the carriage.
The only thing he kept in his hands was his father's gun and some extra bullets. He was a paranoid person due to his father's abuse would make him tremble. A crackle of a whip rang in his ears and snapped him out of his thoughts. The horses screeched and the carriage started to slowly but surely speed up.
The boxes of merchandise slid slightly as they snagged on the leather straps which were well out of their expiry date.
Four other people were riding along in the carriage with him. Three of them were men and there was one woman. One of the men was a merchant while the other two and the girl dawned shiny armor lined with blood-red rubies and lime green emeralds and the boy figure out that these had to be soldiers from high-class families.
One of the soldiers had a scar covering his left eye and a sword the size of a child. He had a blue bandana holding up his black hair and wore boots and gloves. The man next to him looked like a jolly fellow as he smile ear to ear. He had blue eyes and blonde hair.
The two soldiers were busy talking to each other as the girl sat there examining the piece of parchment in her hand.
The child was entranced by her beauty. Her curly brown hair reached her shoulders and her white skin resembled that of the moon. It seemed as if there was a natural spotlight on her. She sat quietly leaning on the walls of the caravan. She also looked the same age as the boy.
The boy kept stealing glances but they were subtle enough that the girl didn't notice. The men on the other hand did notice and spoke up but to the point where the girl couldn't hear them.
The one with the blonde hair introduced himself as Blake. He continued by saying, "This is my friend and fellow soldier Cole and we are part of the frontier squadron".
The frontier squadron was one of the main armies used to help in wars and was the main reason why the humans won against the demons of Kashka in the first-ever race war. The squadron required gruesome training and the mentality of do or die and those from this squadron were known as the strongest humans ever.
He then pulled the child close and said, "That girl there, we were told to protect her, her name is Grace and apparently she's the daughter of the King and is first in the line of successors to be the Queen.
The child then realized how bad this situation actually was as he was in a carriage carrying the daughter of the King and to top it off there were multiple boxes of expensive merchandise in the carriage as well. This carriage was an invitation card to bandits.
He burrowed those thoughts in his subconscious and instead introduced himself saying in a low voice, "My name is Casey". He then went back to his seat and dozed off leaning on the caravan wall.
A few hours passed and Casey was woken up by high-pitched screams from Grace. He blinked repetitively as he brought his body back to life.
Casey was lying on the ground with a piece of wood pinning him down. It was covered with fire and came closer to him almost as if it was sliding down the wood with the intent to kill.
He knew that death was imminent.