Into the Land of Valentia

Chapter the Eleventh

XI

"You're keeping your head down?"

"If this plan is to work, you shouldn't be talking to me. But yes, my head is down."

Cayden made a good point. Already some people were halting work in their gardens to look up at the newcomers. Their offhand curiosity would grow into something much more acute if they saw what appeared to be a conversation between a young woman and an unconscious rider. 

Vivica smiled at one of the closer townspeople. The woman had dirt dusting the front of her apron and chunks of hair escaped her updo. She must have been doing garden work. "He was riding too fast, and without looking. Knocked himself out with a tree branch. And here he thought he was a better rider. Men!" 

The woman smiled back cautiously. "Is he alright? If you want, you can both rest here a little, no need to ride all the way to the inn."

"Oh, thank you," Vivica said, not halting her mount to speak. "But actually, we're here to visit our uncle. I'm sure he'll be more than able to help. But good day to you!"

"Good day," the woman called back. Vivica threw her one last smile over her shoulder before turning back around to fix her eyes in the general direction of her target destination: the castle gatehouse.

From his position with his head slumped over Sun's neck, Cayden made a very horse-like snorting sound. "That was a terrible lie. I think she believed you because she didn't want to know what the truth may have been."

"Excuse me, I believe you said I shouldn't talk to you, lest people become suspicious." Vivica leaned over and pretended to check the straps keeping Sun tethered to hide her mouth as she spoke. They may have cleared the woman's house, but there was a good stretch of road that remained. From the corned of her eye, Vivica could still see the occasional townsperson looking her over. The majority of the gawkers had withdrawn after her short conversation with the gardener. Perhaps they went to seek her out to gossip.

"I said you couldn't speak. My face is hidden in horse mane. I'm choking on horse hair."

Garrett snorted.

"We should be there soon," Vivica said. She righted herself and promised to ignore anything else that Cayden had to say. But he stayed silent.

She was instead greeted with the sounds of a town, something she hadn't experienced before. Valentia's towns were bereft of dragons, due to their locations and the large number of soldiers that lived within their borders. This was information she had learned only from word of mouth. She never had a reason to go, nor the funds. 

But now she tried to imagine why Naleena dreamed of visiting Verida, where the castle and the princess resided. The people looked the same, with young children playing in the late-afternoon sun and mothers tending their gardens. Clotheslines were still suspended with undergarments flapping out in the breeze. 

It was when Vivica turned her attention to the large stone and mortar buildings that lined the road that she began to see the differences. They were houses with gardens of expensive fruits and vegetables, and flowers bought and planted for mere show. The people that lived in them did important jobs for the king, had trades that paid well. 

Her thoughts ran to her own trade. Upon hearing that a woman would be taking on the job of dragon slayer, the Crown had begun to cut down her pay. Now it seemed they didn't even see fit to keep her in their service. She wouldn't ever be able to afford a house like one of these, nor even pay for a stay at an inn in this town. Naleena dreamed of visiting Verida because visiting was all she could ever do.