Knightress

Chapter 32

Laura glanced out the window, the thicket was tense, her eyes darted everywhere. The gentle rustle of trees sounded much louder and more eerie than usual. She closed the curtains and shook off the ominous feeling, distracting herself by helping her parents pack, they were leaving tomorrow.

She was fully aware of the conspiracy against her name, she knew she would accumulate enemies but she never thought it would reach the point where her life would be at stake. She feared more for her family than herself, she hoped she could protect them. She placed the folded clothes in their designated suitcases, as she packed she was hypervigilant and noticed everywhere small movement. As the door of her parents room creeked opened, the subtle sound entered her system igniting her trained reflexes to kick in. She turned sharply in its direction with wide eyes, her mother who had been the one entering, almost died of fright at the sudden action.

Upon seeing her startled mother, a wave of relief washed over her, she felt sheepish in that moment. "Sorry mom," she mumbled.

Her mother waved it off, she was about to assist Laura in packing when her eyes studied her daughter more carefully. She didn't appear out of the ordinary in appearance, she was calm and collected having a neutral expression. But for some reason she felt a deep gut feeling that she wasn't okay, it was a mother's intuition.

"Are you alright?" She questioned in concern, her voice softening. "Your eyes have been darting everywhere the entire day, and it's nearing night time."

"I am alright." She responded dismissively. Her mother wasn't having it, she took the clothes from Laura's hands and placed it aside forcing her to give her attention. She's never had a heart to heart moment with Laura, her daughter never came to her when she were upset and if she remembers correctly her daughter never ever looked upset. Her face was always blank and unreadable, it would be strange to assume she were upset with such a face. She's guilty to admitt that she never cared before, she intended on making up for the lost time. "That's an obvious lie, what's bothering you?"

Laura immediately felt uncomfortable, she wasn't used to this caring and soft side of her mother. The tenderness of her gaze paired with her soft, caring tone was strong enough to stir up the emotions inside of her that she battled to suppress. The turmoil inside her wasn't seen on the surface, she had mastered dealing with it internally without allowing it to spill out on her expression. Her eyes were stone cold as they hovered on her mother, she placed her hand on her shoulder in a futile attempt to get her to open up, Laura nearly threw it off. "It isn't a lie, mom. Drop it." Her tone was final.

Her mother didn't press on but nodded understandingly, assisting her with packing. Her parents had ensured she was highly informed about the move, they scraped together some money to buy a wagon and two donkeys of their own to travel, they were currently tied to a tree outside. Her heart felt burdened knowing today was the last day she would see her family for a long time, if it were three months ago she would only be thinking of her brothers but she didn't want to leave her parents too. She enjoyed the few days that she was home, she never knew that she loved the simplicity of life, slow mornings, casual breakfasts, days filled with quietness rather than excitement. She has been so at peace, a peace that she has never felt before, one that she never knew to be possible.

She felt liberated, strengthened and rested having been home and made peace with her parents. What troubled her was that she still had so many wrongs to right but at least she has started somewhere. She was ready to go, this time her parents supported it and encouraged her, if only it were in better circumstances.

The midnight hour came, the entire kingdom slept apart from the city guards who were on night duty, however Laura was wide awake. She laid stiffly on the bed staring at the window with slow blinking eyes, her hand gripped the hilt of her sword like a vice, ready to pull it out whenever need be. She was on high alert, her mind emptied out all thoughts allowing her senses to pick up sounds within a close radius.