Erika (ON HOLD)

Chapter Five

*Ding, dong, ding*

I woke up on Sunday morning to the bells ringing in the town square. This was to signal that it was time for everyone to wake up. It was the week after the ball, and everything was back to normal. I had to wear my mask and go to school. I also had to help out with chores around the house.

I got out of bed, put my mask on, and then walked downstairs. My mother and father were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. "Good morning sweetheart." my mother said with a smile when she saw me. "Good morning." I said in reply. I sat down at the table and grabbed a bagel.

"Erika, can I ask you to do a favor for me today?" my mother said. "Sure. What do you need me to do?" I replied.

"I ordered some materials from South Point for my shop. I just received notice that they arrived today. The problem is I'm on a deadline to make a dress for a customer and don't have enough time I get the materials. Would you mind going to get them for me?" she asked. "Not a problem." I said with a smile.

South Pointe was another one of the ten villages. It wasn't that far from us, but it wasn't that close. On foot it was about a thirty minute walk, and by carriage it was only about a fifteen minute ride. I was going to have to walk since my mother took our carriage to work.

After I are breakfast, I bathed, got dressed, and put on my mask. I took a basket to put the materials in, then walked out the door.

The walk wasn't to bad. I have had to walk further distances before. It was about a 45 minute walk because I stopped to get some fruit along the way. When I got there, I looked around to see if I could find the trade center. Each village has a trade center. When you ordered something from a different village, you went to their trade center to retrieve it.

I finally saw the building, and headed toward it. When I was almost to the front doors, someone ran into me. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into." the person said. It was a female with a mask and red hair. "Brittany, is that you?" I asked the female. "Erika! Wow! I didn't recognize you with your mask! I also didn't know you lived in South Point." she said.

"I don't. I live in West Field. I'm just here to pick up a few things for my mothers shop."

"You're from West Field? That's convenient. I have to pick something up from the trade center today. Maybe we could walk together."

"That would be great."

We walked to the reading center together and got the materials for my mother. We walked out of the trade center, then began to go to West Field.

"So, have you heard anything from Christian or the royal family?" she said while we were walking. "Why would I have heard anything from them?" I replied.

"Because, you two had a spark."

I just let out a little laugh and rolled my eyes. "Sure we did." I said.

We walked for about thirty more minutes before we got to West Field. We went to the trade center and she got the supplies that she needed.

"Well, thanks for walking me here. It was nice seeing you again." She said. "It was nice to see you too. You know, if you wanted to, you could come back to my house and eat lunch with us. It's a long walk home, and I wouldn't want you to have to walk home on an empty stomach." I said to her. "I would love to join you for lunch! I'm sure whatever you are eating will be better than whatever my family is eating." She said.

We walked to my house. When we went inside, we were greeted by my mother and father. "Mom, dad, this is Brittany. Is it okay if she stays for lunch?" I asked them. My parents looked shocked. I usually don't bring friends over to eat. In fact, I don't think I have ever had any friend over since I was ten. As I told the prince, I don't really have any friends.