fifty two

fifty one

Grey woke up to a beam of sunlight shining in his eyes. for a moment, he didn't remember where he was. he lifted his head from the tree stump he rested on, and looked around. he must have fallen asleep on the stump, traveling. he looked up to see a circle of trees surrounding him. he sat in the middle of the small clearing with his coat on. while Grey noticed how cold he was, he put on his coat and grabbed his bag. "now which way did I go," he wondered, " I think that I was traveling toward that tree." he thought. he looked up at the tall oak tree and sighed. "all alone" he thought. he was still shocked by his mother's death and the quest that she had left him.

He made sure to cover his tracks, and started to walk toward the trees. he was heading to the library In the next town to find the story of the 52 cards. he went the longer way through the forest so that he was sure not to be found. he still had his cards, even though he had no idea how they would be much use to him. trudging along, further toward the next town, he kept thinking of all of the things that could go wrong. he would be caught and taken to prison, he could be taken to the orphanage, and if the judge thought that this was a big enough charge, he could be sentenced to death. he tried to push these thoughts away, and think about the cards. how could a musty old deck of cards do anything to help him? he shook his head, thinking that this was such nonsense and continued trudging through the forest.

"FARBRIGE 1 MILE AWAY"

Grey looked up at the sign silently thanking it. he had been walking for hours, his feet were sore, he was tired and he was hungry. hoping to find an inn or a restaurant that he could stay at, he marched faster. "only one mile to go," he thought silently to himself. he couldn't wait to rest. after walking for what seemed like hours, Grey made it to farbrige, the next town over. he emerged from the forest, his head held high, and his arms swinging side to side. through the trendline, he marched through an alleyway, dampening his confidence. alleyways had always freaked him out. he'd heard of people being mugged, and stolen from, and many other things. fear sent a chill down his spine. he turned up his coat collar and walked faster.

Grey emerged from between the buildings, one being a bank, and the other, a business company. looking flustered, grey turned one way on the sidewalk and started walking. hoping that he would find an inn, he marched up and down the street. he wasn't familiar with farbrige, so eventually, he got lost. he glanced to his side, and saw a pretty ,tall dark brown haired girl with dark, almost navy blue eyes. he knew that he needed to just suck it up and ask her where he was, so he plucked up some courage. he turned to her and cleared his thought to get her attention. then, out loud, he said "erm... excuse me, but... do you know where we are? I'm not from around here," he said, then looked down at his feet awkwardly. she looked up at him passively and said, "we're on the corner of 4th street and elm. if you need an inn, go a little further down in that direction," she said pointing, "there's one called farbrige inn." she dropped her hand abruptly, and turned away, shaking her head. Grey nodded his thanks and headed off that way.

Grey walked toward the large bright sign that read "Farbrige Inn". it looked nice enough. he sauntered toward the building, relieved that he'll get to rest soon. he approached the door, not expecting the doorman to open the door for him. the door man opened the door for grey, and grey awkwardly shuffled in. a wave of warmth surrounded grey. he stared at the lobby, mouth open. it was the fanciest place he'd ever been to. everything, even the carpets were red and gold. everyone greeted him with smiles, and cheerful voices.

Grey approached the front desk, "umm... can I... uh... have a room?" he asked nervously. he'd never been to a hotel before, and was strangely nervous. "absolutely sir, what is your name and how many nights will you be staying?" the manager said, with a huge fake smile plastered across her face. she was not impressed. "um, Grey Willis, and probably only one night." he mumbled. "sir, I meant your full name." she said without missing a beat. "oh, uh, it's Gregory Evan Willis," he said. even though he had never been to a hotel, he thought that this was odd. "Okay, here is your room key, and sign here please," she said sliding him the key and pen and paper. he quickly signed his name, even though his handwriting was barely legible. he slid it back, and took the key. she took the paper and looked at it. her smile twitched for a moment, and said, "your room number is number 104. have a nice stay." he nodded and stumbled toward the hallway. Grey found his room, and opened the door. eager to rest, he hurried in and closed the door.