The small carriage creaked loudly, and not just because it was worn and old.
Through the tied down curtain, I could see the rows of wheat we were passing. They swayed wildly in the strong wind, making as much noise as the cart did.
Two large horses were pulling the cart, but through the windstorm and the noises I couldn't hear them. I also couldn't really make out the conversation the two women who sat at the front of the carriage were having. I could make out their complaints of the storm, and the cold, but I only caught a few words here and there.
Other than I, and the two sitting at the front of the carriage, there were only two others. An older man and a young boy. They sat on the other side of the carriage, more in the middle than not. Probably because the wind was cold and it crept in between the curtains.
None of them had bothered me much. They had passed by me as I was walking out of Ruvindale, and the two women invited me to ride with them. When I had told them I hadn't the coin to pay for it, they said it was fine.
Perks of being a young woman, or at least looking like one.
I'd need to do what I could, when I could, to pay them back for the kindness. Maybe later when, if we stopped, I could help them cook or something.
The carriage tilted for a moment, and it made me feel uneasy. The whole world was flat all around us, yet it seemed we were rolling over many hills.
It was a good thing it wasn't raining and storming, otherwise I'd worry over getting stuck in mud.
The road was packed dirt after all, nothing more.
"It's cold," the young boy whispered to who I assumed was his grandfather. The old man nodded in agreement, but said nothing.
Did they not have a blanket?
Granted I didn't have one either. Yet I wasn't as susceptible to such things as humans were.
Maybe the two women had invited them into the carriage too, out of kindness.
There hadn't been much said between any of them since I had climbed in. Mostly because of the loud storm… but…
Something told me none of them were related in any way.
Shifting, I sighed and reached in-between my legs. To where my little backpack sat.
It wasn't the one Nory had made me. Nor was it the one Amber had purchased for me, after Vim had complained over my attire… It was just a small pack that I had bought with the few coins I had left, before leaving Ruvindale.
Leaving all those coins at the doctors had been a mistake. Yet I was too worried to go back and get them, even if there was a good chance that they would have been willing to return them to me. I didn't want to show my face there again, just in case it really did endanger the Sleepy Artist.
Yet it had seemed that I hadn't handed the nurse all the coins in my panic. There had been a few renk and a single penk left in my little pouch, which had helped a little.
It had been enough to purchase another small bag, a light cloak, and some rations. Dried meat, though I wasn't entirely sure what kind of meat it was.
Opening the small bag, I pushed aside the bundles of wrapped meat wrapped with some kind of large leaf. Finding the envelope crane had given me, I pulled it out carefully, and was a little upset to find that it had already bent a little.
Maybe I should have carried it on my person… but I had worried over the rain, upon seeing the dark clouds and feeling the heavy wind.
I could smell the rain, rather clearly, but I had been able to smell it for some time now. Either it was still on the way, or it was falling not too far from us.
Glancing up at the top of the carriage, and the dark cloth that the canopy was made out of… I hoped it'd last against a heavy storm. It looked thick enough, but until it happened…
As my eyes left the canopy, and returned to the envelope, I realized I was being watched.
The young boy's eyes bored into me, and for a brief moment I worried that my hat had shifted with my movement. But a quick shift of my ears told me it hadn't. It was still firmly on my head.
My cloak, although thin, did indeed have a hood... but I had lowered it upon boarding the carriage. I wanted them to see my face, as to not arouse suspicion.
And my tail was hidden away under my loose pants. Wrapped lightly around my left leg.
I smiled lightly at him, and he looked away. Maybe he was just bored.
Returning my attention to the envelope, I carefully went to opening it.
Luckily Crane hadn't sealed it in any way. The flap opened easily enough, and I quickly pulled out what looked to be the thickest of the papers.
The paper was thick because it had been folded several times. Unfolding it, I found a rather large piece of paper. It was obviously the map that Crane had mentioned, and it didn't take long to glance over it.
There were only a few locations on it, after all… and it was rather crude.
Honestly I had expected a rather fancy map… yet I knew the reason for its base appearance.
Neither Crane nor Lughes really wanted to help me anymore… nor did they care for me. Thus its plainness.
Ruvindale was in the center. It was represented with a single circle, and a large letter R inside it. From there were two lines, one heading north-east and another heading south.
The south was a single solid line, to a large… cross. Church of Safety was written next to it, and beneath it said that Vim frequented that location and to ask for the Silver Saint.
Why was a church of all things a place I could go to find safety…? And once again a Saint was being mentioned. Were they more common than I had been originally led to believe?
The path northwest had a few more stops. The first was some kind of human village. "Plobo," I read the name aloud. After that there were what was probably supposed to be trees. "The Owl's Nest in the dark forest," I read that aloud too, and wondered if that was what I thought it would be.
Would I find owls there? Actual owls, or of our kind?
After that were two more locations. Both were real close to one another, drawn in such a way to imply they were probably not far from one another. A large city called Bordu, and next to it a smaller place called Twin Hills. Next to Twin Hills was a small note, telling me that was where Vim was escorting Lomi and if I hurried I'd be able to find them there.
There was nothing else on the map, even though there was plenty of room on it for more. Why use such a large piece of paper, for so little?
Unless whoever had done it had planned on putting more… at least, before their fully realized who it was they were making it for.
Gulping a dry mouth, I glanced away from the map. To look out the little flaps of the canvas next to me. The world was getting darker. The wind was picking up, and the smell of rain was becoming stronger.
The storm would be here any moment.
Folding the little map up, I quickly put it back into the envelope. Pulling the next piece of paper out, I went to quickly reading it. Before there was no light left to do so.
I quickly realized Lughes's handwriting. His letters were large, bold, and a little wavy. As if his hand trembled while writing them.
I knew though that it wasn't wavy because of emotion. I had seen his writing before our… falling apart, and it had looked the same.
"Forgive me for being a coward," I whispered, and immediately regretted reading it now.
Blinking away tears, I glanced to the two other passengers in the carriage. Luckily, it seemed the two were now asleep. The older man's head was hanging low, slack, and the young boy had lain down on his lap, his right arm dangling from the seat since it was too small for him to lay on completely.
Taking a deep breath to control myself, I quickly debated reading the rest.
They would not appreciate me breaking down, sobbing here. Humans found such things odd, and worrisome.
Yet…
I had to know.
Forcing my eyes back to the small letter, I felt a little numb as I went to reading it.
Each word I read made Lughes's voice echo inside my head. Oddly, even though the letter was a sad one… I somehow heard his happy tone as he spoke.
He apologized for being a coward.
He apologized for hiding from me.
Yet at the same time he chastised me.
At the same time, it almost seemed as if…
"He blamed Amber," I whispered, finishing his letter.
Him being angry at himself, and me, was understandable. But the fact that he blamed Amber for her death, and endangering them and the Society…
It was insulting.
Quickly folding the letter up, I slid it back into the envelope and pulled out two more papers. Probably Crane's letter.
I was glad I had not read it while still in Ruvindale. I'd have grown angry enough to find the old goat and give him a piece of my mind.
How was it Amber's fault? She's the one who had suffered… she was the one who had died!
"Stop," I whispered at myself, and right as I unfolded the second letter, the world became bright.
The whole carriage lit up, and then after a moment got dark again. Then the loud boom of thunder woke up the other passengers.
Both the child and the old man startled, but the boy had been the worse off. He had rolled off the old man's lap, and off the seat, to the floor of the carriage.
He groaned, and I wondered if the main reason he had fallen was because the old man had startled and had started to stand up.
"You alright?" the old man though quickly regained his composure, and went to checking on the young boy.
The boy didn't cry, but he did groan as he rubbed his head.
For a small moment there was noise. Not just from the wind and the oncoming rain… the two passengers went to talking, just as the two women who sat at the front of the carriage went to talking as well. I heard their sighs and complaints as they most likely saw the approaching rain.
Going back to my letter, to hurry and read it before the rain arrived, I was glad for the urgency.
It kept my heart from breaking further.
Crane's letter hadn't been as… sad, as Lughes. In fact, it wasn't even for me. Which honestly shouldn't surprise me, since she had directly told me she hadn't written one.
She hadn't written me a letter.
This was for Vim.
She told Vim what happened, in rather deep and accurate detail.
"Bared her fangs, yet didn't bite," I read, and wondered if that was a compliment or not.
Crane told Vim of Amber, and…
"Shelldon dug deeper," I read, and somehow wasn't too surprised to know what that meant.
He had dug deeper, to hide better. From everyone. From the whole world.
From me.
Her letter ended with a small apology. To Vim.
"Tell her I'm sorry," was all Crane said.
Re-reading the end of the letter, I wondered why she hadn't addressed it to me…
Wait…
There was another sheet. I had forgotten about it, as I had read the other.
Expecting this one to be addressed to me, I was surprised to find it was neither Crane's writing… nor for me.
The paper was a different color than the others. It was… thinner too… and…
I didn't recognize the writing, but as I read it… the author became clear.
Small little dots began to appear on the letter, and I startled. Was the rain here already? And was the carriage leaking that badly?
But no. The rain still hadn't arrived.
Wiping my tears, I sighed at myself.
Folding Amber's letter carefully, I held it for a moment and wondered when she had written it.
Surely a long time ago, based off the faded ink… but how long? A few years maybe?
"I wonder if he'll cry when he reads it," I asked myself, as I went to putting the letters back into the envelope, and then to hide it all away in my bag. To keep it safe from the rain that had just begun.
The storm arrived without a care, and I was thankful for it.
With heavy rain, and thunder and lightning… maybe none of the other passengers would notice my tears.