Chapter 5

Christophe woke up early the next morning to the pitter-patter of rain on the roof. He got out of bed, being careful not to wake Victor, then walked over to the wind out and looked out. The rain was coming down at a light pace, meaning it was safe to get back on the road. He quietly packed up his belongings then walked over to Victor to wake him, “Come on, Vic, wake up. We need to go.”

Victor grumbled under his breath as he sat up and put his boots on. Christophe bit back a laugh at the sleepy, disheveled look his friend gave him as he helped lace his boots. Once they were ready, he gathered his bags and went to Hector's room. Victor knocked on the door, mumbling a good morning when Hector opened the door and let them in.

“Good…morning?” Hector watched Victor shuffle in to the room then looked back to Christophe, who just shrugged. Hector sighed, dismissing it for now. Maybe he just hadn’t slept well. Those storms had been pretty loud.

He turned to Christophe when he felt him staring to find he was quirking a brow at him, “What? I was awake and noticed the rain had stopped so I cleaned up, then went out and bought a tarp along with some rope for the wagon.”

“Alright. Good idea.” Christophe's expression, however, didn’t change as he went and helped Victor with some of the bags. Hector nodded was he picked up his bag, wondering what that had been about then shrugged it off. They went downstairs and turned in their keys. Christophe and Victor loaded the wagon while Hector walked over to the market to stock up on food and refill their canteens. Victor waited until the lieutenant had gone then tapped Christophe on the shoulder. He could tell something was bothering him by the rough treatment he was giving the bags as he tossed them into the wagon and wanted to see if he could help, “Chris? What’s wrong?”

Christophe paused as he regarded Victor for a minute, then furrowed his brows as he turned his gaze to the bag he was holding and fiddled with it, “It’s..just strange..”

Victor blinked owlishly as he tilted his head, “What’s strange?”

He turned to face him, “How much you and Hector look alike.”

Victor furrowed his brows as he thought this over. As he thought about it, he realized it wasn’t the only thing that was strange. When they met, the lieutenant had given his first name instead of his surname as guards usually did when introducing themselves to citizens. He hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, but now that he did, he wondered why he hadn’t questioned it. Must’ve had to do something with the familiarity he had felt. A familiarity he hadn’t felt since his parents died. His eyes widened as he muttered, “It couldn’t be…”

“What is it?”

“I think I know why.”

“Okay?” Christophe watched his friend, worried as a lost look donned his face. Victor had told him about what had happened to his family, and it pained him to see his friend like this. He put the last bag in the wagon, then wrapped an arm around his shoulder, “Take your time. You can ask him when you are ready.”

Victor turned to face him as a tear rolled down his cheek and nodded, hopeful but afraid at the same time. What if he was wrong? Or, if he was right, why didn’t Hector came for him when his parents died?

He had so many questions, but wasn’t entirely sure he was ready for the answers, or to find out he was wrong. Christophe wiped his face then helped him into the wagon just as Hector was returning. A look of concerned crossed Hector’s face as he watched Victor climb inside the wagon, “Is something wrong?”

Christophe shook his head and put on a smile, “Ah, no. He’s just tired. He didn’t sleep well last night.”

Hector nodded, “To be honest, I don’t think anyone here did. Those storms were pretty loud.”

“Yeah they were.”

They finished loading the wagon then Christophe hopped in the back to sit with Victor while Hector hopped into the front. As Christophe climbed in, he noticed Victor had huddled in a corner and seemed to be lost in thought as he clutched a blanket tightly to his chest. His heart went out to him as he sat down and put an arm around his shoulder, “Hey. It’s going to be okay.”

Victor nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced. Christophe sighed, then smiled as he had an idea. He found his bag then dug through it and pulled out his book, “Want me to read to you?”

Victor managed a small smile as he nodded, then jolted for a second as the wagon lurched forward before relaxing again. Christophe bit back a chuckle as he opened the book and began to read.

Harvart Kingsworth huffed as hogged the final transaction for the day then locked everything up and headed to the local pub. It had been a long day and he was ready to put it behind him with a few good pints of ale. He laughed and cheered as he greeted his friends and sat with them. One of them clapped his shoulder, “Hey! Have a seat! We already got you a pint!”

Harvart grinned and nodded as he grabbed the pint and clinked it against theirs then chugged it.

Hector yawned as he flicked the reins. A fog had settled in patches once the rain had stopped. Thankfully, it wasn’t thick enough to obscure the road, but it was still thick enough to obscure his surroundings, so he was doing his best to remain alert despite the exhaustion. He had not slept well due to the storms, which was why he understood why Christophe was blaming Victor’s mood on fatigue. Fatigue, however, did not explain the lost look that he had seen on his face. He sensed there was more to it than that but decided not to push it for now.

He sighed again then turned when he heard one of the boys climbing up to join him, surprised when it was Christophe. Wasn’t he comforting his friend? The boy smiled and explained, “Victor fell asleep while I was reading to him.”

Hector nodded as Christophe settled next to him, pulling his blanket tighter around him to ward off the cold.

The fog dissipated some as they neared Bayleaf, but the cloud cover remained. A damp breeze indicating more rain was on the way rushed by them. Christophe sighed, “Looks like Victor was right about more rain being on the way.”

Hector nodded in agreement, “Should we keep going?”

“There’s another village halfway between here and Luna Falls. If we need to, we can stop there for the night.”

“Alright.”