WITCH - The Queen

Chapter 34

Cleo

With the forest horses, they progressed very quickly and within a short time Cleo and Charlotte reached the marshland. They wore simple clothes so as not to give themselves away and pretended to be normal travelers who wanted to see the marshland and stay in an inn. Cleo pulled her hood deep into her face to hide it. Since it was raining, no one would be surprised.

The border guards let them cross the border without any problems, but they asked for the exact reason for the trip. Afterward, they wished them a pleasant onward journey. Cleo asked them for the nearest inn and the soldiers were happy to help. Charlotte turned around to them when they got in their way again. Cleo laughed softly.

"Don't worry. Let's find the inn!"

"Yes, good", Charlotte agreed. "Do you think it's far?"

"They said half an hour from here. We just have to follow the road."

"Delightful. I'm cold."

"You're always cold!" Cleo petted her horse's neck in amusement. "No matter how warmly you're dressed, honey."

"I'm clearly not dressed warm enough", Charlotte grumbled.

After a little more than half an hour they reached a small inn. 'Der Nebelhof' was written on an old sign. 'Nebelhof', which meant 'foggy inn'. In fact, it had become increasingly foggy and they were lucky not to have missed the sign on the side of the road.

They kept their horses in an open stable and paid an elderly gentleman for the pitches, water, and food. The man, a mortal, smiled.

"You two are lucky. These were the last pitches. We are almost fully booked. A few kilometers from here the large horse and grain market takes place. Therefore, we have many guests. Are you two ladies here because of the market?", he wanted to know.

"No. We want to look at the country. But the market sounds interesting. Thank you very much!" Cleo gave him her friendliest smile. Charlotte just nodded. She was a terrible liar and didn't even try.

The two went to the inn, an old wooden building that smelled of wet walls and stew. They paid for a room. The room was small, with a simple bed, two bedside tables with candles, and a tiny closet. Old curtains hung in front of the small window. It was cold in the room. Above the simple bed linen was therefore a thick, faded wool blanket.

"Pretty", Charlotte murmured. "I'm almost relieved that we'll be riding on tomorrow. To the steppe."

"Better than nothing. Let's see if we get something to eat downstairs!"

They got something to eat. Carrot stew and a slice of bread. More was not offered in the inn that evening. Accompanied by a warm tea. It was enough to fill them up.

While the inn's owners and staff were exclusively human, the visitors were not. They sat between humans and vampires celebrating together. There was beer and wine, someone sang a funny song and Cleo and Charlotte got carried away and celebrated with the other guests. Late in the evening, they fell tired into their bed.

The next morning they got still tired on their way to the border.

Julia

"That's why I think I have to leave soon. Better sooner than later," Julia concluded. She sat with her family at the breakfast table and told them all about her visions and the conversation with Finja.

Elodie frowned. "You want to leave this village? I just got Finn back! You can't take him away from me." She stroked her son's cheek and suppressed a sob.

"Mom!" Finn hugged her quickly. "You can join us!"

"I feel too old for that", murmured the wolf. "No. I don't want that."