The Woven Crown (Completed)

Chapter 21

They arrived at Wheatford, tired and tense. Even though Thistle had warned everyone to act as normal, the crew was wary. Mae became more nervous the closer they came to the gates, clasping and unclasping her hands, jiggling her knees. Ryla got up and opened the compartment. Mae's eyes grew round and dark as she looked into the opening. Ryla took a seed out of her pocket she'd gotten from Thistle's stores and folded it into Mae's hand.

"When you go in, I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on the seed, Mae. I want you to tell it to grow."

"But I dunno how," she said.

"You'll see it. Just look for the spark of life."

"Won't the bad Woven see?" she asked.

"Not with Yulia weaving a defense." Even now Ryla could see more of Yulia's threads weaving in to reinforce the protective net already in place around the girl.

"Quickly now, get in," she said, giving her shoulder one last squeeze.

Ryla shut the door on the luminous eyes that looked out at her and she felt her own heart shiver. Please hold still, she begged silently.

They approached the open gates, guards stationed on either side. If suspicion had already attached itself to the Caravan, this is where they would meet the first sign of trouble. Ryla held her breath as the guards nodded to Graphiel and one by one, the wagons passed through the gate. No stopping them to check the wagons, no questions. They'd made it in time.

Ryla bent down and lifted the door of the compartment. Mae shot out and into her arms. Ryla hugged her close, whispering, "You did well, you were brave," into her hair. Mae stepped back and proudly held out her hand. In it was the little seed Ryla had given her, only now it had a tiny green shoot with one fragile flower sprouting from a crack in the skin. Mae grinned so wide, Ryla could see where she was missing a tooth.

Ryla opened her other hand and placed a tiny cloth bag in it. "Next time you have to hide somewhere small, take out a seed and make it bloom. By the time I see you again, you'll be better than me!" Mae grinned and tucked it into her pocket. They were all flower seeds, so there would be no surprises.

Ryla pulled back a corner of the curtain so they could peek out the window. Wheatford was not much different than Starling, if but a tad larger. It had the same constant stench in the streets and the same dirty faces peering out of unwashed windows. Blessedly, no more excitement than usual met them as they jostled their way through the streets to the place where they would set up for the week.

Opening night went much like all the others. Rhid performed his show with Sahana, his usual steady self. It helped Graphiel watched him like a hawk to make sure he didn't leave to visit any pubs beforehand. The crowd was the largest one they'd seen yet, but Yulia couldn't get any leads on a new Woven.

"It's difficult with so many people in the same place," she said. "All those threads. It's hard to separate them into different people, and if anyone's using magic, it's very possible I'm just overlooking it."

The next day, the crew began to relax a little. No word had come to them about the soldiers on the road and they started to feel confident no one would suspect them.

Ryla and Yulia decided to do some careful exploring through the narrow city streets. Yulia said it would be easier for her to look for Woven that way, a few at a time. Graphiel instructed them to take Sahana with them in case they ran into any trouble. Mae wanted to go too, but Ryla convinced her to stay with Graphiel. She could continue her errand running like she had in Starling.