Wicked Hearts Of Stone

Chapter 7

The carriage halted. I hiss as my body slides across bracing myself as i hit the wooden end rail. Hey needles scratches and scuffs my skin.
I shift my body so i can lay on my back again, suddenly taking in the stone gates and walls towering above me.
Beautifully crafted stone blocks, perfectly placed and stacked together to create a monumental wall that goes along the curving land as far as i could see. The stone walls come to an end at either side of me to build up to a beautiful arch towering over me. Covered with vining plants climbing in between the gaps and spaces of the stone blocks all the way to the very top of the wall.
Suddenly an unfamiliar walks into my view. I tall man wearing uniform like amour, similar to the one me and Luca saw at the markets the other day. Some sort of solider type of person standing out like a sore thumb among the villagers.
A long sword strapped to his back, gleaming with a singular gem at the top of the hilt peaking out above his shoulder.
We lock eyes as he was emotionless, studying me up and down for a moment before carrying upwards to the front of the carriage.
"Afternoon, sir." he said. His voice deep and raspy. "Long time no see." He followed with.
"Yes I've been doing more travels on this side of the wall. Studying the land and scoping out more goods." The man that have been with me throughout this journey said. He sounded particularly proud of himself.
The armored man glanced at me for a moment. A wicked smile grew on his lips before returning his attention to the man directing the carriage.
"Ah yes," the armored man said following with a small laugh, "I'm sure she will make someone  very happy. Worth a bit of coin."
They both shared a small laugh together before the armored man banged the carriage a few times and waving his hand in the air, signaling the other man by the gate to open the gate and let us through. They both nodded to each other as we carried on forwards.

The enormous wooden gates creaking, and chains clanging as another man rolled the doors open for us slowly. They were so big I'm sure a ship would fit through them. They were heavily armed with soldiers dotted along the wall, like this was a place of secured importance. Three men standing on top of the gates watching carefully our every move, but he man i was travelling with seemed very calm and familiar with this place and the people like he came here through often gaining their trust.

We carried along the rocky path, underneath and arch and through the doors to the other side of the wall until we were cleared from the gates.
And then it stuck me.
"The..wall?" i say, looking back at the gates get further into the distance, disappearing behind the hill.
"Oh, so you know of the wall?" The man said, turning slightly to me as i peak his eye brown raised almost in confusion. "I thought your people never spoke of it as like its a curse or some forbidden place." He followed.
"No..." i say quietly, feeling my heart sank into the pit of my stomach, feeling like the skin has gone cold. "It thought it was just a rumor, just a lie or story tale for the kids to scare them. A lie." i followed.
Replaying the memories of when i was just a young kid when mother was still with us. Me and Luca playing around the markets while mother shopped for our food when i spot spotted an old man with draped with a worn cloak sitting on a cut piece of timber. A handful of kids sitting in front of the man as he spoke. The kids laugher echoing through the bustling noises of the markets. I grab Luca quickly and drag him over to the old man and the kids.
The old man, hunched over closer to the kids was telling us the great story of the Wall to the north. A place where they divide us and the other.. things. The kids would keep asking him what were the other 'things' but the old man chuckled as he nodded his head, saying we were too young to understand, or know, i forget. either way as much as we persisted he wouldn't tell us.
He told us stories of when him and his father would go hunting far out of the village and closer to the wall he would see it in the distance. Snaking along the horizon in between the trees and hills. From coast to coast the wall was constructed to keep us in, or out, r what ever place they were guarding. So tall even daring to climb it while no guards were on duty, you would collapse form exhaustion. Falling to you death.
The old man said he sometimes would see guarding carrying people back to our village as it was the closest town to the wall. Bleeding, wounded and crying out in pain, some of the bodies were even a mangled mess just to get dumped on the outskirt of the village, not daring to speak what they've seen or where they've gone. Like they were scared from the inside out.
Mother would soon yank me and Lucas hand and pull us away back home. Questioning her about the wall always made her quite mad. She would always tell us to stop speaking nonsense or not to bring it up and quickly change the subject. Over the years the memory of the tale of the wall would fade from our minds, until now.