The carriage set off from Selvarum Manor, the horses moving at a steady pace as the afternoon sun shone over the horizon. The silence inside the carriage was broken only by the sound of the wooden wheels creaking on the dirt road and the horses' hooves pounding the ground.
Victor gazed out the window at the green hills stretching ahead. His mind was full of thoughts of what awaited them in the capital, but he also felt a pang of nostalgia as he remembered the friends he had left behind.
Aluella, sitting next to him, took his hand and squeezed it gently. "It's going to be okay, Victor. We're in this together."
Victor smiled, comforted by Aluella's words. "I know. It's just... we left a lot behind. But like I said, it's not goodbye forever."
Wanda, sitting on the other side of the carriage, leaned forward. "And we have an important mission ahead of us. We mustn't forget that."
