Chapter Eleven

From Lizon to the station was a great distance; we paid four copper coins to a horse-drawn wagon. So as we traveled, mom kept pestering me to check if I packed the essentials and also that I should keep sending her a letter every chance I get.

"Yes, mom, I'll send you a letter at least once a week," I said, a little bit tired at the constant conversation.

"No, send two, one in the beginning of the week and one at the end of the week," mom said.

"Fine, I'll try my best," I said as I pulled the strings of my backpack, making it shut.

We finally reached the train station. Mom asked the wagon to wait for her as she walked me in. The station was unlike anything I have ever seen. Just a few steps in front of the door were four ticket booths which had a desk and a glass pane or partition (I read about them once), which separated the ticket givers and the customers but it still maintained the visual of both people during the transaction.

The walls were made of perfectly aligned bricks, which were painted in a chalky white color. On the walls and ceilings were square glass panes that contained mana orbs which made the room bright with a bright white color. In front of us was one of the mana-powered trains. The train was arranged with adequate mana crystals, which were arranged in a way that it provided power to the train. The train was like a tube that was slightly flattened at the front and there was a small black windscreen. The train was also white in color.

But the thing that made the train unique was that it didn't have any wheels like wagons or carriages, no it had a strange device which was powered by the crystals. This device used the earth's magnetic force to move forward, steer, and turn.

"Hmm, everyone here dresses like the Windsors," mom said, making me snap out of admiring the train's workmanship.

I looked around and it was true, most of the men and women here all dressed, uh, um, what's the word am I looking for? Fancy? Yeah, fancy. The men were dressed in full three-piece suits, which were mostly in black or gray color. Their shoes covered their whole feet and had laces.

The women, on the other hand, wore beautiful silk dresses. They had cleavages at 'interesting' spots: the legs, guts, and most of all, the chest area where I could see a bit of the twin mountains, if you catch my drift. As for me and my mom, well, I was dressed in a light black tunic, gray pants, black sandals, and a brown bag swung on my back while mom was wearing a dress that had a small patch at the hem. She too was wearing sandals. To these rich folks, we looked no more than porters.

"Well, no point standing here then, let's get my ticket punched," I said as we headed to the ticket booth.

Inside was a woman who had tied her hair up into a bun. Not a single strand of hair was out of place. She wore small black glasses that had a small chain which kept it from falling off. Like the rest of the nobles here, she was wearing a fancy get-up except instead of a dress, she wore a suit. She had deep black eyes, a straight nose, dark circles under her eyes, and pink bow-shaped lips. She seemed mid-thirties or maybe in her forties. She was busy examining a couple of paperwork on her table.

I didn't know what to do, so I did what felt was right. I knocked at the glass pane three times, and the woman raised her head from her desk. She scanned me from head to toe; her tired expression turned into a slightly angered one.

"Porters only get paid at the end of the day, same applies to train attendants so as you can see I'm busy," she said as she got back to her papers.

"Oh, it's not that. I have a package for you. It's called 'shut up and listen to me,'" I said, and in that split second, mom smacked me right in the back of my head.

"Manners!" she scolded.

"Ouch!" I said as I rubbed my head. "Sorry about that. I'd like a ticket to Rivendell."

"That will be two gold coins," the woman said without raising her head.

"It's for one person," I said since two gold coins seemed expensive.

"And like I said, two gold coins. Either pay it or leave," she said as annoyance filled her tone.

"Okay," I was about to give her a piece of my mind, but I didn't want to get hit again so I complied. I dug into the leather pouch that was tied around my neck and took out two gold coins. I dropped them into the spot where there was a small compartment where my hand could pass through.

The woman stopped what she was doing; she picked up a coin, took a bite out of it, and mumbled something under her breath. She took the coins, opened a door which led her into the booth next to her to a man who was dressed like her. They mumbled something, and the man took a bite out of it too. After a lengthy discussion, the woman came back.

"The coins are authentic, so pardon my behavior, Mr...?" the woman said, and as she did, I noticed a slight change in her tone. Guess money does make the world go round.

"Ragnar," I said.

"Well, Mr. Ragnar, here's your ticket, and I hope you may find it in you to pardon my earlier 'behavior'," she said. It was refreshing. She must have thought that I was like Henry, one of the rich people who would act like peasants.

"Sure, I'd let this slide once," I said as I took the ticket which showed my cabin number and the time the train would leave.

My train was scheduled to leave in four hours. I didn't want mom to stay here and waste her time, so after a brief goodbye and hug in which mom cried a little, she left. I sat on one of the benches and went back to observing the train, but this time I used mana sight.

This way I was able to see the cluster of mana rush into the front part of the train where I assumed the engine was and underneath the train. The train was pulling most of the mana in the room, but with mana sight, I noticed a mark just at the front part of the train; it resembled the shape of a bull.

"Huh, so a dwarf designed it," I said as I shut off my mana sight. Usually, dwarves have their own signature, and the signature is usually reactive to mana. I leaned my head back and shut my eyes.

I felt a light tap on my thigh. I opened my eyes, and it was the glasses woman.

"Mr. Ragnar, your train has arrived," she said, her voice maintaining the respectful tone.

A light smile appeared on my face. Not because of the way she was respectful, but I smiled because I wondered how the woman would have acted if she found out I was really a peasant.

"Thank you, Miss..."

"It's Hargreaves," she said.

"Thank you, Miss Hargreaves."

I walked into the train, and the walls were covered with a green wallpaper. The floors were covered with a gray furry carpet, but from the sound it made, I could feel it was of wood.

I walked over to the hallway to my cabin. The door to my cabin slid to the side, and inside it revealed two brown leather seats facing each other. On top of the seats was a shelf to place your luggage, and it was close to a window. I placed my bag there and sat in one of the seats.

My heart was racing as the train began moving. The realization that I was really leaving my home and my family was now creeping in, but I just leaned on the window and watched as the train left the station and the view was replaced with green forests.

"Goodbye, mom," I said.