What Lies Beyond the Ocean

Chapter 4

We rode in awkward silence. The only sound to be heard was the ocean crashing against the shore. The sky was starting to get covered by specks of white clouds, but the sun peered through and greeted the Earth. I look up at Alyard, who was sitting in the front seat, while I sat in the back. He appeared tranquil and neutral. I decided to speak up and talk to him, hoping somehow he forgot about the incident that took place earlier.
"A-Alyard?" I stammered out as I sat upward onto my knees.
He turned his head around and made eye contact. Those brown eyes were warm with kindness and trust. I blushed a little, looking away for a second and then gazed back into his eyes.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, pushing a strand of loose hair away from my face. "For earlier."
"It's all right," he adjusted his posture and resumed controlling the carriage.
Alyard seemed to be such an easygoing person, so maybe it's time to tell him the truth?
"And Alyard-" I stop as he looked into my eyes once again. "T-thank you."
"For what?" he asked, raising his left eyebrow, making me a bit confused about why he was confused.
"For taking me in. For helping me out, providing shelter, food, and place to sleep."
"Oh," he said, averting his gaze back onto the road. "It's just a humane thing to do; to help others in need. But you're welcome."
I smiled at his statement. It reminded me of something my mom would say. I felt my smile slowly diminish into ashes as I began to think about her more, so I tried to keep my mind off her. Speaking of mothers, I wondered what happened to Alyard's. I was so agog and was tempted to ask him about what happened to his mother. But then again, it would be churlish of me to ask.
"So," he said, breaking my thoughts. "What was about the incident that took place earlier?"
I looked down and scraped dirt out of my nails, out of nervous habit. Should I really tell him the truth so early on in the journey? I sighed and made sure I didn't make eye contact. I hoped that was enough to tell him that I clearly didn't want to talk to him about it.
To my surprise, he apologized.
"I'm sorry about asking; I didn't mean to offend you, Erline."
Tears began to well up in my eyes. I made sure that none would fall down my face.
"It's okay," I choked out my words. "It's just a bit too personal to me to talk about at the moment. I'm sorry."
"It's fine, and there's absolutely no reason for you to apologize."
He smiled slightly and revealed his tiny dimple again, which made me smile. Not a slight smile like his but rather a jubilant, wide smile. 
The wind grew stronger and stronger, not the ocean wind but rather just a normal wind but stronger.
The ocean disappeared into mist as we rode on, on, and on to the closest city to Allience, Géafra. What I find ironic is that Géafra used to be a Zalfa settlement about 100 years ago. About 50 years later, King Jalopen managed to capture Géafra, making it into a Nilopioan settlement. Géafra is one of Allience's favourite cities to work with.

The sky was now covered with dark, grey clouds. They looked swelled up with water; only a few minutes later, it began to pour like water from a well into a bucket. Thunder rumbled like how the ocean crashed the shore. We made it to Geafra, after about five to six hours travelling on the lonesome road. I saw a small girl with bright orange hair help pick crops with her father. I blinked. I must not think of fathers, or else I  might envision him again.  Alyard finally stopped the carriage and hopped out of it. Alyard then took the reins on his horse and tied it around a wooden pole so that the horse couldn't runoff. He offered a hand as I stood up to get off the carriage. I took his hand, and we headed into the city of Geafra.

Geafra was dissimilar in comparison to Allience. The people, for one, were incompatible. The people of Allience were exultant, jubilant, but yet serious and indefatigable at the same time. Geafra was grave, eerie, and distant. I was bewildered as I made eye contact with a woman with stringy grey hair and the dullest green eyes I've ever seen; she looked zonked. I gingerly slid my hand out of Alyard's tight grip and made my way to the lady. She looked about fifty, or perhaps even older. Alyard stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do. I motioned him to come with me to the lady, and he trailed behind me. The lady hissed and backed away quickly.