Whispers of Destiny | A Mcd Fanfic | book 1

V

        The moon was high in the sky lighting up the paths in the night. Dante and Grace had been walking for hours and we still hadn't come anywhere near Gapalan. They were at least another day or two away on foot, maybe a day if they had horses. 

        "Grace... I'm tried..." Dante yawned as they walked. Grace sighed. as much as she wanted to, she knew they couldn't sleep out in the open like this, it was way to dangerous. If they could find a village then maybe they could rest there, but Grace doubted they were anywhere near a village at this point. "I know Dante, so am I. We will rest as soon as we find somewhere safe to," Grace assured her younger brother while pulling him into a hug.

        Grace prayed that they could find somewhere to sleep for the night. If not a village, maybe some sort of cave that they could take shelter in. But if they did find a village, they could ask for directions for the rest of the way to Gapalan and maybe even horses so they could get there faster.

        The two walked for a little longer until they saw candle lights up ahead. They kept walking closer until realising that they had come across a village. "Come on, let's see if there is somewhere we can sleep in this village," Grace said to Dante and he nodded in agreement as the two aproached the village gates where two guards stood.

        "Excuse me," Grace began. "Our village was attacked so we needed to leave and we were wondering if we could stay here for the night? We promise that we will leave straight away, in the morning, we just need somewhere to rest for now." The two guards glanced at each other before shaking their heads. "I'm sorry, you cannot. This village has already got too many people and there is no room for anymore."

        Dante's face fell and Grace knew they needed somewhere to stay. Therefore, she was determined to keep trying. "Just for one night, please," Grace begged but again, the guards shook their heads. Grace sighed. She knew that they weren't going to change their minds so she might as well ask for directions. "Well can you at least tell us the was to the village of Gapalan?"

        "You're travelling the whole way to Gapalan?" One guard asked, raising an eyebrow. Grace nodded. "You will never make it there in one night, not even a day on foot," the other guard added.

        "We know that, we were just looking for a village to stay the night in and we would be on our way tomorrow," Dante explained, hoping that maybe the guards would change their minds. The guards looked at each other before sighing. "You may stay in the guard quarters with us for tonight and we will talk to the lord tomorrow about lending you both a horse and a map of the region," the first guard said.

        Grace smiled before looking down at her younger brother who was also beaming. "Thank you so much, this is a big help." The first guard nodded before opening the gates and leading the two to the guard quarters.

★★★

        Dante and Grace lay in two single beds in the headquarters. The two were extremely grateful for the guards for allowing them to stay the night. Dante had fallen asleep straight away. Meanwhile, Grace stared at the ceiling with her bloodshot eyes, unable to sleep. 

        Although she was extremely tired, her eyes just wouldn't close, not allowing her to sleep. The night's events kept replaying in her head. The pain and fear kept coming back to her, the guilt of not being able to protect her father and mother from her evil older brother.