Just then a woman ran out of her tent with panic, immediately she noticed the gathering and beckoned on them for help.
" My son ,my child , please help me" she cried.
They all rushed to her aid. Her tent was just two tents away from Madame Devlin's . No wonder they thought the screaming came from hers.
They found the boy on the mat shivering as if a bowl of ice was poured on him.
"Whatever happened?" Madame Reynolds asked.
"He…he woke up screaming as if he was being chased by a beer in his sleep, suddenly he started to shiver" she wiped her tears off her eyes as they were making her sight blurry.
"His temperature is very high, I think he has come up with a fever " Madame Devlin observed his body.
"Has he been sick?" Madame Reynolds asked.
"No he has not" she sobbed.
"You have some herbs with you?" Madame Devlin asked.
"Yes…here it is " she handed the medicinal herb to her with shaking fingers. "I don't just think that he is sick" she blurted.
"If he is not sick then whatever is wrong with him ?" They all asked with curiosity.
"Before he fell back asleep he said he saw someone chasing him in his sleep ".
Her words made everyone frown.
"The person kept on chasing him until he fell" she continued. "As he was about getting up on his feet, he noticed it was a woman with feathered dress, he was so scared and was finally able to get on his feet. As he ran the woman kept on chasing him, suddenly she began to fly"
" She caught him and threw him into a pit full of reptiles, then he screamed for help but no one came to his aid" she bust into tears.
"It is the witch" the average man said " she is tormenting the children, we have to do something " he paced to and fro in panic.
"There is nothing to do, they will keep on coming and tormenting the children, witches do not go easily " Madame Reynolds said and sat heavily on the floor.
"Then what must we do?" They all chorused.
"We have to leave !" She declared with her eyes on the floor.
"Where then can we go? We have nowhere else to go, no kingdom would harbor strangers in their land , if not for the benevolence of the king of Cano we would have been all dead by now " the average man panicked.
"Words young man , they are children in here" Madame Devlin cautioned.
"I am sorry" he apologized with a bow.
"In a few days the king of Nagi shall wage war against Cano, and Nagi shall conquer and kill all the refugees in the camp of Cano".
These were the words that played in the mind of Madame Devlin. They played and replayed.
They have to leave, but where shall they leave to?
"We must away from this land before it is too late, but where shall we go? We cannot go back to our land for it has been brought down as a result of war . But we must go away from this land for it is doomed for destruction ".
"I had a vision " Madame Devlin blurted." And in the vision the king of Nagi conquered Cano with its inhabitants including the refugees " she spoke looking at everyone including the ones who stood outside the tent.
"We must leave" she declared with a firm voice.
"We cannot " an elderly woman spoke from the outside of the tent " if we must leave where shall we go? That is the question , also most of us are aged we cannot walk long distance " she rubbed her forehead trying to relieve herself of the headache she was feeling.
"But we cannot stay here and die , neither do we know where to go, the only option we have is to go back home. The war is over , and our land was not taken from us" the average man commented.
"Young man what is your name?" Madame Reynolds asked noticing he is always had a thing or two to say about each matter discussed. He showed interest in the lives of the people more than any other young man she knew.
"I am Anthony by birth your Grace,but after the war and the trials, seeing how I overcame them all I renamed myself Grit which means perseverance and resilience " he smiled.
" I do know what it means master… you are not married are you? " Madame Reynolds frown.
" No your Grace , and do not hope to in the next ten years" he bowed with an expressionless face.
" Hmm " she sighed " which do you prefer to be called? Anthony or …Grit ?".
" Grit your Grace , for the war has renamed me, and not to me alone , we all the survivors. I hear the name for us all" a sad feeling was creeping on his face.
"Yes! You are a great young man!" She complimented with a smile. " you call me your Grace ?" She asked curiously " perhaps you know..".
She had not finished her words when he said " yes your Grace, you are the duchess of Boton , with lord Reynolds as the duke"
"Hmm" she sighed deeply " you must not pay honor to my title anymore ' for the war had made worthless the titles of our lands".
" We shall regain much more than we lost " he said with great courage.
"You speak like you have lived more years than you have" she spoke with wonder. " What then do you think we must do?".
"If I be given the privilege of airing out my thoughts I will suggest we leave , go back to our land, for it has been far too long we left".
" We did not " someone shouted from outside the tent." We were driven away , driven away from our land by our oppressors ".
" But still we must leave this land behind, or soon we shall be asked to , we cannot possibly stay here forever" another said.
"We wait till daybreak to fully decide what we must do, when there is a full house the decision shall be made" Madame Reynolds concluded.