The Hands of Fate

Chapter 23

Once Farah had stepped outside, she had been taken by the arms by two unknown guards and shoved into a carriage; and by carriage she didn't exactly mean the comfy carriages that the royals and nobles would ride in. She meant the cramped, wooden carriages that were built for animals to travel in on their way to Allenia or any other kingdom.

After scanning the perimeter of the cart, she noticed that on the sides, were two small windows that had wooden bars around them so that Farah couldn't climb out. Not that she could even without the bars, seeing as the windows were much too small. It was nearly impossible to see, as it was still so early in the morning that the sun wasn't even rising; but Farah could see the sun peeking its way through the horizon, the sunrise clearly starting. This gave her more of an ability to see in the cramped carriage, as she tried to think of where on earth she was going.

Farah suddenly fell backwards into one of the walls of the tiny and uncomfortable carriage as it began to move, thus making a small ouch escape her lips. Her back felt sore and she groaned, sitting upright and rubbing it. She was jerked to the side roughly as the carriage hit a pothole, making her groan as now her side hurt also.

Farah balanced on her hands and knees, trying to keep herself from falling over and harming herself anymore. She was there for a few minutes, and suddenly heard hushed conversations and whispers over the sound of the horses hooves hitting the cobblestone. She immediately noticed that she was in the town. The people who were out this early must either be on a romantic stroll in the morning to watch the sunrise, or just heading home after a night out, she thought to herself. It seemed that the ride to town took less than ten minutes, much to Farah's surprise, as it took around twenty minutes to walk from the palace to the town. Then again, she did recall how when Caspian and herself were riding on horseback, they had reached the town in a very short amount of time.

Farah grimaced as she fell onto another side when the carriage hit another bump in the road, her body being slightly lifted into the air before being shot back down by gravity. She curled up there, trying to keep herself both hidden from the eyes of the townsfolk and from getting pushed all over by the bumpy carriage. Farah gazed up at the window across from her. It seemed that no one could really catch her gaze from there, and seeing as she was right below the other window, it meant she was to be unseen by anyone, much to her liking.

She clenched her eyes shut, pulling her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth as the carriage moved on. Farah gritted her teeth, she didn't deserve this, did she? Why would she ever deserve to be shipped off and forgotten because she made a mistake? Because a princess called her out for something she didn't do? Or did it have nothing to do with that, was it about Caspian all along? Because she had developed feelings for the Prince?

Perhaps it was because they wanted Caspian to forget about her, and so they thought the best way to do that was to kick her out.

Where was she going anyways? And what was she to do there?

She had not the time to gather all of her money, so how would she make a living? Get started in this new life?

She could sell the ring and the necklace that she still wore; but that would be wrong. They were gifts and she felt it would be ungrateful to sell them off to someone who may not even take good care of them, and be unaware of their true values. Besides, they were the only things Farah had left of both her mother and Caspian, now.

Millions of thoughts and questions swirled in Farah's head, all invading her mind, circling her brain and causing it to think terribly hard. So hard, that after just a few minutes, she was asleep in the carriage. Tired, worn out, and scared, Farah had eventually slipped into a slumber. With her mind at rest, she somehow felt better, more relaxed. She was prepared to face the wrath of terrible nightmares; but none of them came, much to her surprise. So she allowed the darkness to envelope itself around her, unaware that the carriage, after long hours, came to a stop in an unknown town at an unknown place.