The city came into sight just after midday. Victoria sighed in relief, glad to be within reach of home. The adventure she'd embarked on to get away from Gabe had not turned out at all like she expected, and was not ending the way she had wanted either.
She felt guilty now about her impulsive drive to leave him just because his words had been hurtful. Staying and facing him would have been the more 'adult' thing to do, though she wasn't about to acknowledge that out loud.
As Klain drew steadily closer, with the residual effects of the herbs seeming to give the horses a far more brisk pace than normal, Victoria looked forward to Mrs. Sherman's hugs and Dr. Sherman's quiet, sobering presence.
They would both be a great comfort to her.
She wanted to minimize her experiences on the journey. How much had Roland told them? The notes Gabriel sent via messenger bird hadn't mentioned her kidnapping, only that he'd found them, and the halflings… and then, of course, the giants.
She longed to pour out her heart to her adoptive mother. Any sympathetic ear would do, really. Except Gabriel's. A lot of what she wanted to say concerned him and the conclusions she'd come to about him.
He was marvelous, and she could barely stand to be around him. Wanted too badly to always be around him. Couldn't bear him touching her, and at the same time being held by him sounded like it would be the most beautiful thing in the world.
It was utterly confusing, and she hated the turmoil. If she told him all that, would he cringe and never speak to her again? Go tell her to find a proper suitor? Tell her she was young and naive and needed to grow up?
Don't grow up too fast, she'd always told him. Would he say the same to her? Everything was strange between them now.
The occasions that he handed her something, moved to shake her hand, or any of the casual contact she easily tolerated from Kyler, Walter, or even the halflings, she steadfastly avoided from Gabriel.
If he'd noticed, he hadn't said anything. And she was pretty sure he had noticed. He wasn't the most observant when it came to other people, but he was far from the least.
"When will we speak to the king? Immediately, or later today?" Tom asked, and Victoria suppressed a giggle at his forwardness. Then again, he was traveling with the king's adopted sister, so it may have seemed natural to assume an audience would be forthcoming rapidly.
"We need to get into the city first," Gabe warned. "They will need to search the wagons for contraband."
"They can't have our things," Bran said evenly.
"From what I've seen, you don't have anything they would take. Mostly they're looking for things that people will want to sell for profit without paying taxes on. Since you're coming in part to negotiate trade, I think they will let your possessions through without incident," Gabriel replied.
"How long will the search take? Can't we see the king and get a pass?" Tom seemed impatient, Victoria noted. First, feeding the horses whatever herbs he had to make them go faster, and now this insistence on seeing Roland immediately, to the neglect of normal policy.
"Well, a couple of riders could go ahead," Victoria glanced at Walter and Kyler for confirmation of her guess. "The wagons would have to take their place in line, but since riders without large loads wouldn't need to be searched thoroughly, we could go ahead and get through faster."
"I will stay with the wagons and make sure our things are unmolested," The halfling woman grunted.
Tom nodded at her. "The three of us will go ahead with Victoria and Gabriel."
The matter decided, the mounted riders set off at a quicker pace to appease Tom's impatience. He and Bran spoke quietly, riding behind the others.
Victoria smiled at the third halfling. "You never did tell me your name, you know. I'll need to give it to the guards at the gate for us all to be let in."
The third halfling had said even less than the female since she'd met him, and it garnered her curiosity. He stared at her blankly for a moment before speaking.
"Harry."
"Harry! It's a lovely name, and I'm glad to know you. Have you been friends with Tom and Bran for long?" She asked brightly.
She could feel Gabriel eyeing her from her other side, but she'd rather not include him in the conversation just now. It wasn't that she was deliberately ignoring him, she just was very curious about Harry and his part in everything.
"Yes." Harry replied, turning his eyes forward to Klain.
Well. She certainly hadn't broken through his verbal dam just yet.
"I knew them both around twelve years ago, before the enslavement was broken. I suppose you knew them back then? Were you in the orphanage, too? I don't remember you there." She chatted.
"No."
Well, maybe she needed to ask only one question at a time.
"You haven't known them that long?" She tried to clarify.
"Years," Harry replied.
"You have a natural talent for single-word replies. I suppose you have no ambitions for politics!" She quipped.
He remained silent, apparently not willing to continue his streak of monosyllabic responses. That was somewhat disappointing.
"Have you ever been to Klain before?" She asked instead.
"No." Harry pulled back the reins on his horse to fall back beside Bran and Tom, effectively ending the conversation.
"Great job getting to know Harry," Gabriel said from her other side. "I suppose you're the best of friends now."
"I know about four times as much about him now as I did a few minutes ago," She bit back a grin. He really was the least talkative halfling she'd ever met. He even put the female with them to shame in that department.
"Well, yes. We finally know his name," Gabriel admitted. The horses apparently caught the scent of home, and naturally picked up their pace as they came to the top of the foothill nearest to Klain and got a beautiful view of the city.
"Woah, boy." The man patted his horse's neck. "We'll be there soon enough."
"What do you think Roland will do about the halflings? The news of the giants? Everything else?" Victoria asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps better." Gabriel shrugged. "I'm just glad it's him that has to make all the decisions, and not me. I'd much rather just be a doctor."
"So would he," Victoria frowned. Roland hadn't said so out loud in years, but she could tell from the way he went about his life that he was much happier quietly helping others than leading the nations. It was a difficult life in leadership, and a heavy burden.
The gates of the city were open, as they always were during the daytime, and the lines were beginning to lengthen as people heading into the city wanted to make sure to be inside before nightfall.
If you weren't let into the city before sundown, the gates closed, and you would have to head to the nearest town for shelter until the next day or camp under the stars.
Victoria had had quite enough camping for now, and the thought of sleeping in her own bed again was the most pleasant she'd had in ages.
"That was quite a sigh," Gabe commented, and Victoria jumped slightly.
"I didn't realize I had sighed," She looked ahead. "I was just thinking how nice it will be to be home."
"Home does sound nice," He agreed, and she belatedly remembered that they shared a home as long as he continued apprenticing.
She would have little luck keeping her distance from him, which partly pleased and partly dismayed her.
Then again, maybe being home would help restore the relationship they once had… even though it wasn't what she wanted, maybe it was better than the awkwardness between them now.
"Will you buy your stable and open your animal doctor business?" She asked.
"I think that will have to wait," The corners of his mouth turned down and a worry line formed between his eyebrows. "With all that's happening in the world… something big is coming. I think it would be better to leave my life as it is for now until things work out one way or another."
Victoria nodded with mixed feelings. Stability. No change, that was good, wasn't it? On the other hand, leaving life as it is left her feeling a bit at sea. The conversation stalled as their little group approached the gate. They waited, the halflings a little impatiently, while each traveling group was processed. As expected, the line to the other side with carts and wagons had a much longer wait.
"Names and business?" The guard gave them a cursory glance when they approached, and Victoria spoke up. She hadn't seen the man before, he must be new to this post.
"Going home," She smiled, then gestured to each person in turn, "Victoria, Gabriel, Tom, Bran, and Harry."
"All right," The soldier wrote in the book he held as he spoke aloud, "Entering Klain. One family: Father, mother, three children. Move along!"