12 Years ago - Part 7

I awoke to the sound of a knock at the carriage door.

Sleepily, I looked up just as my mother pulled the door open and peered inside.

"Honey, are you awake? Time for breakfast."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the cobwebs of sleep.

Yawning, I pulled myself out of the covers. I stepped to the carriage door and my mother helped me down the single step to the ground outside.

The camp looked different in the daylight. Already, horses were being hooked up to carriages and vardos. Tents were being dismantled and cooking fires were being put out.

"Sit," my mother said.

I sat on the carriage step and my mother handed me a wooden bowl of porridge and a hunk of bread. It was the first hot meal that I had since we left the castle, and despite being a little bland, it felt like just what my body needed at that point.

As I ate, Valk was leading Regal and Majesty to the carriage to be hooked up. When I saw the horses, I was once again reminded of Hortim, and how he had been so kind. I wondered what happened to him.

Valk seemed to move a little quicker than he did last night. A few of the bandages that he had been wearing the last time I saw him had been removed.

"No flies on these folk," Valk said as he started tethering the horses to the wagon. "Up just before dawn, and ready to hit the road."

"Merchants are like that," my mother said. "Time is money for us."

Valk looked a little embarrassed. "I keep forgetting your history milady."

My mother reached up and began massaging her left shoulder, "I wish my body remembered. I spent so many nights sleeping on the ground when I was younger. I've gotten soft."

Valk appeared like he was about to say something, and then stopped himself. He then looked to the other carriages and wagons. The guards that we had spotted the night before were now aligning themselves on either side of the assembling convoy.

"I'm certainly glad that we have some more protection, even if it is only for a little while."

"I'll take whatever help we can get at this point," my mother said.

I mopped up the last of the porridge with the little piece of bread I had left. "I'm finished," I said.

My mother took the bowl and addressed Valk. "I'd better return this. Can you watch Samantha for a second?"

Valk nodded. He finished adjusting the harnesses and came back to where I was sitting.

"I'll be right back," my mother told me. She then turned and started walking towards a group of women who were cleaning up one of the final campfires.

I remained seated on the step. Valk looked down at me.

"So..." he trailed off.

I didn't know if I should say anything. Valk was a constant figure around the castle, but I never really interacted with him before. Often, he would be seen close to my father when he was working. He would be absent during family outings, or if my father had made special time for me. Aside from a polite "Hello" when we passed in the castle halls, I'm not sure if he had spoken more than five words to me in my entire life.

Valk was a good head taller than my father. I wasn't sure how old he was, but grey was creeping into the hair around his temples and into his beard. From the little that I knew about him, I don't think that he had a family.

"Are you doing OK?" he finally asked.

I thought about his question for a few moments. It had been a scary couple of days, but it was an adventure. My mother was with me, so everything would be fine. It would get even better once my father arrived. So, there was only one answer that my four-year-old self could give.

"Yup."

"Good," he looked at a loss of what to say. "Good."

My mother returned shortly after. I don't think I've ever seen a man so relieved to return to tending horses before.

"We should join the convoy, they'll be heading out soon," Valk said lifting himself up the driver's perch in front of the carriage. "With your permission milady," he added.

"We'll switch up driving duties when the convoy makes their rest stops," my mother said. "For now, I'll be in the back with Samantha."

Valk nodded. My mother opened the door to the carriage.

"Whoops."

Valk looked back concerned. "Whoops?"

"I forgot about the bed I made for Samantha, give me a second."

My mother grabbed the blankets and returned them to the box and the rear of the cart. She plopped the pillows back on to the carriage benches.

"Alright, back aboard we go."

I entered the carriage and sat on the bench to the rear. My mother closed the door and sat across from me. She tapped the front wall to indicated to Valk that we were ready to go.

Just like that we were in motion again. We joined the convoy near the rear and waited for the straggling carriages to fall in behind us. A long horn blast sounded, indicating it was time for the convoy to roll out.

We snaked along the road at a snails pace. With all the goods that the merchants were carrying, it was slow going. The guards walking along side had no trouble keeping pace with the procession.

It was a pleasant day. I watched the clouds and the terrain roll by from the window. I spent some time looking at the book that I had taken with me, my mother helping me with some of the harder words.

After a few hours, we rolled to a stop. My mother opened the door and went to the front of the carriage to talk to Valk.

The horn sounded again. This time it was three short blasts. The guards started scrambling.

In the distance, I heard guttural hooping and hollering.