A Winter's Tale

Chapter 5:

Chapter 5:
The carriage's abrupt stop was what woke me up. The sky was dark, the moon the only thing illuminating the carriage. I could hear the driver trying to urge the horses to keep going. I knew that horses got skittish at night from my time in the stables at court. Every time a shadow moved, the horses jumped away from it. The driver was struggling with them. I opened my door "do you need any help?" "No," came the gruff reply "stay inside!" I didn't push it.

       It was best to stay quiet, and not get on his bad side. I wondered if he had a family that missed him every time he went away. Or, if he had a daughter, with no mother, that worried about her father. What if he had a son that was on the verge of getting married? Or, maybe, a sister with a dead husband? So many possibilities ran through my head. That's what some people said was wrong with me. I spent too much time trying to piece together a mystery than worrying about my future. My future was a mystery I didn't want to think about. Especially not now. The future was a dangerous, loveless one. It would be worse than being a spinster at court. I'd have to deal with an evil man in a large house. Two things I despised wholeheartedly. The carriage lurched into sudden movement, causing me to slide across the seat. I sighed with relief and horror. A part of me wanted to get stuck out here, never to be found again. Another part of me knew I had to continue on. On to my doom. I missed Lucy. I doubted my husband-to- be had very many women around I could befriend. I doubted he had any people around. I felt sleep tugging at the corners of my mind again, and I slowly let sleep take over, yet again.