“You won’t be coming b-” Jefferson looked bewildered.
“No. I’ll be staying in the city for a while.” I said positively, “On my own.”
“Oh, right. Well I guess there’s no need to worry about getting you back to Mortlock by a certain time then.” Jefferson said quietly to himself. I could see the clockwork in his head ticking rapidly, trying to figure out what was going on. No doubt wild rumours would spread the moment he could gossip about it. Poor, small town folk, I thought to myself. Maybe things will be more open-minded in the city.
I gave Jefferson a polite smile, though I was silently weeping on the inside.
“When will we leave?” I inquired of him.
“Well if you’re all ready to leave now we can depart immediately.” Jefferson said turning back to his horses to check the reigns. “Feel free to hop in the carriage. Don’t mind the smell, or the noises coming from the box on the seat.” He added.
“Thanks.” I said making my way to the carriage.
My heart was pounding wildly in my chest. This was it. I felt my eyes begin to mist up immediately and I tried to hold it back. I couldn’t let Jefferson see me lose control or he would never let me onto his carriage. I clambered inside just as my eyes began brimming with hot molten tears that were threatening to slide down my cheeks at the very thought of not seeing my family again. I wiped at my eyes furiously, sniffing back the offending lava before Jefferson saw. I took a deep calming breath laid my head back, trying not to think.
It was a little cramped inside. Several crates were on the floor and covered half the seat. It smelled of hay and horse hair. I looked out of the window and saw Jefferson scramble onto the seat at the front of the carriage, reigns in his hands. I breathed deeply and the carriage began to move.
Within a minute we had rounded a corner and Mortlock was no longer in sight.
I sat alone in the carriage, the gentle swaying and trotting echoing through my body which felt like an empty shell.
Only now did I allow myself to cry properly. Before I could stop them my tears were rushing from my eyes, and I was gasping for air. My tears of liquid fire streamed down my face though of course they did not burn me. However when they dripped from my face and onto my clothes they burnt tiny holes through my clothes. Ignoring this, one thought crossed my mind. I had run away without any goodbyes.
Chapter two
Law and Power
I had cried for at least an hour. My eyes were red, puffy, and stinging, not to mention my coat was severely damaged now. My body felt weak, and I decided that I should probably eat some of my rations before trying to get some sleep.
I grabbed a lump of bread and some cold chicken wings, tearing away small pierces and popping them into my mouth. I looked at my reflection in the glass window. Huge bags were under my eyes and it looked as though I hadn’t slept for days. I turned away from my reflection and continued to eat the hard lump of bread and the now hot chicken.
A loud, shrill yelp made me jump violently in my seat. I looked around bewildered wondering where the sound had come from. I realised after a few moments that the noise had come from one of the wooden crates that I was sharing the seat with. The crate was now producing a soft scuttling noise. I looked more closely at it and found that the crate contained air holes in one of the sides. I squinted at one of the dark holes and jumped once again when a little black nose belonging to some kind of furry animal appeared there. It sniffed at the air outside of the box before yelping impatiently again.
I looked down at the chicken wings in my hand. The smell had obviously stirred whatever had been sleeping in the box.
I broke away some of the white meat and held it close to the hole. The nose appeared again, this time sniffing enthusiastically.
I poked the food through the hole quickly, not wanting whatever it was to try and bite at my finger. I heard scuffling, and then the box was quiet for a few minutes. I smiled to myself. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was that I was feeding; though I was sure some chicken wouldn’t hurt it. Jefferson wouldn’t mind, would he?
I sighed and continued eating my bread, popping chicken into the crate every now and then.
The carriage trundled along, and I wondered how long it would be before Jefferson would stop to take a break. I was getting awfully claustrophobic in this confined space, not to mention a little bit lonely.
The sound of gnawing against the wood of the crate reached my ears. I eyed the wooden box and heaved a sigh, “Yes, it is a bit boring here, isn’t it?”