Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 63 – Setting Out

‘A-are you feeling alright Kierra?’

‘Mm’

Hearing Ovia’s voice was comforting after what had just happened, but I wasn’t able to give her a definite answer. I had said goodbye, I had left Mom at the house… but it just hadn’t sunk in yet. The only thing I was sure of at that moment was the butterflies in my stomach as I slowly made my way to the gate with Ava.

‘You’ve made a big step already. It’s okay if you’re feeling a little unsure about things right now because you’ll slowly start to figure things out as you continue to move forward.’

This time, it was Aria’s voice.

I don’t know…

Am I really doing the right thing?

…

‘Mm’

My ambiguous hums probably weren’t what they wanted to hear, but no matter what they said to me, I just couldn’t get my feelings in order.

I can still turn back… can’t I?

…

‘If you’re really that worried about what happened today, how about we make you a promise?’ Aria asked.

I didn’t say anything.

‘The two of us will make sure to keep an eye on your friend for you. Then, if you’re ever worried if she’s alright, or even if you just miss her and want to hear about what she’s gotten up to, you can ask us about her. Would you like that?’

…

I would…

But… you made a mistake…

…

‘… She’s my mom…’

‘I’ll take that as a yes then,’ Aria chuckled slightly, ‘We’ll make sure to keep an eye on your mom for you then. All you have to do is ask.’

…

‘Thank you…’

‘You should be thanking Sister more than me. She came up with the idea while she was busy thinking of ways to help you on your journey as you slept.’

‘Shhh!’ Ovia’s voice easily overtook Aria’s, ‘I thought we agreed to keep that part a s-secret.’

The feeling in my stomach started to settle just slightly. Knowing that Ovia and Aria were both looking out for me made me feel a little better about leaving… though it really was only a little better…

‘Thank you… Ovia…’

“Kierra?” Ava’s voice immediately took me out of my thoughts, “I need your attention for a moment; we’re getting close to the gate now.”

In front of us lay the gate, wide open with a row of wagons going through. From where we stood, I could make out seven wagons in total. Most were waiting outside the gate; however, the last two were still inside.  Each of the wagons had a canvas roof and its own pair of horses to pull it. However, I couldn’t help but also notice the ominous dark clouds that were gradually rolling in overhead.

I glanced up at Ava.

“Alright,” She said as she crouched down and locked eyes with me, “I’ll do all the talking once we get there. The only thing you’ll need to worry about is that they might ask you to remove your hood… and no matter how you feel, you will have to do as they ask. It really isn’t a good look if you refuse.”

Those few words made my heart sink.

“So, we’ll put together our plan for what to do if… well, more than likely, when that happens. What I’ll do is when you lift your hood up, I’ll step in and explain that you’re a wolf beastkin. It’s worked before, so it will probably be fine. What you need to do is take your hood off as soon as you’re asked. Okay?”

…

“Look, Kierra,” Ava placed her hands on my shoulders and squeezed firmly, “Think of this as the last time that you ever need to do this. Once we’re outside of that gate, you’ll have escaped from this place. You’ll be free from all this.”

…

Just… one more time…

…

I…

…

I can’t turn back now…

“Okay,” I said as my shadow quickly came up and coated my hair, dying it a now familiar dark grey.

“Good. We’re almost there now,” She stood back up before heading towards the gate again.

I followed closely behind her, counting the steps as we approached in an attempt to calm myself down. However, that didn’t last very long at all. After only a short while of counting, we were already stood in front of the gate, a mere stone’s throw away from the outside world.

I heard heavy footsteps approaching, so I reflexively pulled my hood down to hide my face.

“More latecomers?” It was a gruff voice from someone who wasn’t trying to hide their annoyance.

Wait…

Just hearing that voice made me immediately freeze up. No matter how long it had been, it was impossible for me to forget it. It was the voice of an older guard… The one that had tried to catch me in front of this very gate two years ago.

What if he recognises me?!

“Only two of you? But we’re still waiting on four,” I could hear the frustration building in his voice, “I’ve been stuck out here all day doing this! Do you see those clouds up there?! I want to be done with this before I end up drenched!”

Ava didn’t seem to be affected by the man’s yelling as she simply pulled out a slip of paper and handed it over to him.

“Everything seems to be in order… Just go over to my ‘colleague’. He’ll do the rest of the checks,” He turned away and grumbled, “Can’t be bothered with this anymore… I’ve been stuck doing this for two goddamn years straight because that pillock couldn’t catch one street rat.”

…

“Kierra, are you holding up alright?” Ava asked.

“Mm,” I responded.

“This is where the check I warned you about might happen, so be ready for it.”

Ava put her arm around my shoulders and guided me forward as I kept my hood pulled down low.

“Hmm? Oh, are you two here as part of this escort mission?”

It was another familiar voice.

It’s both of them?!

“That’s right,” Ava responded.

I’m going to be found out!

I tried to keep my breathing under control, but it was a losing battle.

“Well, I’ll just have to ask your friend there to remove their hood. One of the people in charge is looking for someone, so we have to be a little thorough around here,” The guard let out a strained chuckle, “I hope you can understand… We’re all a bit tired of this.”

This isn’t going to work!

I felt a small tug on the side of my cloak.

He already knows!

“Kierra, you heard him. You need to lift your hood up,” Ava said loudly before leaning in close and whispering, “It’ll be fine. I’m right here next to you, remember? I’ll deal with it.”

I… I don’t…

…

In a spur-of-the-moment decision, I threw my hood off, choosing to trust Ava’s words. However, I immediately regretted it as I locked eyes with the guard in front of me. The surprise on his face told me everything he was thinking.

He recognised me.

He started to reach his hand out, “You-”

“She’s a wolf,” Ava interrupted quickly, standing between us to block the man’s hand, “She’s a wolf beastkin. We’re heading up to Haelmor as some of her family managed to get a trip on a trade vessel by volunteering to help move cargo, so she wants to meet them while they’re here.”

“But…” The man clenched his jaw as he looked at me for a moment before glancing over at the other guard.

I could practically see the thoughts racing through his head, yet, despite that, only one question was blaring in mine.

Why hasn’t he said anything?!

Is he using some kind of signal?!

“That… sounds good… The two of you will be riding in the rear wagon, so go make yourself comfortable,” He suddenly said, catching me completely off guard, “I hope your trip is both swift and uneventful… so you can see your family sooner.”

…

What?…

I…

He…

But…

I was left stunned, so much so that Ava had to pull my hood back up over my ears before I came back to reality.

“Thank you. We’ll go get ourselves settled down then,” She said as she pushed me towards the wagons.

Why didn’t he say anything?

I know he knew. I saw it in his eyes.

I…

“See? I told you it would be okay. We got through the check without any issues,” Ava climbed up into the wagon first before reaching her arm out.

I grabbed onto her arm, and she immediately pulled me up.

There wasn’t much room inside the wagon as most of it was taken up by various crates and boxes. On each side of the wagon was a bench we could sit on. Both Ava and I sat down next to each other on the right side of the wagon.

‘Are you excited?’ Ovia suddenly asked.

…

‘I don’t know…’

‘Oh u-um… W-well, the hard part is over now. All you have to do is sit and wait, and y-you’ll be outside the city. I-It’s that easy.’

…

Is that a good thing?…

…

No matter how much I think about it… I just don’t know…

I’ve said I wanted to go… I’ve got all the way here…

But…

“Sorry to intrude,” An unfamiliar voice interrupted by thoughts, “It seems that we’re going to be wagon buddies for this trip.”

There were two people standing outside the wagon. Both of them were wearing cloaks and had their hoods up. The one who was speaking to us was the taller of the two. Even with the cloak in the way, I could make out that they were fairly thin. The other person was a little shorter but much more muscular, going so far as to remind me a little of Raynelle.

“No worries,” Ava called out to them.

“Then we’ll let ourselves in,” The taller person said as they climbed into the wagon, closely followed by their companion.

The person’s voice was a little strange to me. Even after hearing it, I couldn’t put together a face that would match it. It was unnaturally smooth, but apart from that, there weren’t any other notable characteristics.

“Don’t mind the big guy,” They said as they sat down opposite us, “He looks intimidating, but he’s sweet as can be.”

“You don’t need to tell them that,” The other person’s voice was unexpectedly gravelly, catching me off guard.

“Don’t be like that,” The taller person slapped their companion on the back, “I know you’re just worked up because we had to stay the night in this city, but that isn’t any reason to take it out on these nice people. We’ve got about two weeks where we’ll be riding together with them, hmm? I don’t want them to get the wrong impression of you right away.”

I decided that it would be better not to try and interact with them, so I just pulled my hood down so that it covered my eyes.

It probably wasn’t much longer before I heard a knock on the back of the wagon, followed by a hushed whisper.

“I’m sorry…”

What?

I lifted my hood just enough to peek out the back of the wagon and saw the younger guard waving his arms in the air.

“Everyone’s on board!” He shouted.

“Then we’re setting off!” Someone else shouted back.

As soon as those words were spoken, things suddenly got much louder. I could hear the clopping of hooves in front of us, followed by the groaning of wood as the wagons started to move one by one. The sounds got closer and closer until our wagon abruptly jolted forward, throwing me up against Ava’s shoulder.

“Was that a bit of a surprise?” Ava took the opportunity to hug me close, “You’ll get used to it soon enough.”

“Mhm.”

I wanted to correct her, to tell her that it was an accident, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything more with the other people in the wagon watching us.

…

So, there I sat in Ava’s embrace as I watched the gate that once stood in my way simply pass overhead.

…

What I felt at that moment was impossible to describe. Everything happening around me was real. I knew it. I just knew it couldn’t be my imagination, or a dream, or anything else. The reason for that was simple. As the first raindrops hit the canvas roof with dull thuds, I was there, staring at something I had never seen before…

It was the outside of the very wall that contained my whole life up to that point.