During dinner her father had mentioned something about how Lysandra and Ambra always played together in the gardens. Remembering their childhood, her father had gotten quite emotional. After her mother had commented on how Lysandra always got her dress dirty, whilst Ambra was too focused on catching frogs. Laughter erupted at the table.
That night Lysandra had trouble falling asleep. She kept twisting and turning. It felt like she did so for hours. When her mother knocked on her door in the middle of the night asking if she could stay with her, for her final night at the Atar estate. Lysandra almost teared up and just nodded in return. Finally falling asleep in her mothers arms might have been just what she needed that night as her mother sang her to sleep with a lullaby.
The time had come, Lysandra stood all dressed up in her Imperial dress on the steps of her childhood home. She wore a red layered dress with a white neckline. Sitting in the carriage all day for the next two weeks wasn't something she was looking forward to. That was the other reason nobody would travel to the North willingly. It just took too long and was likely too cold, based on what her grandfather had written in his journals.
Lysandra's father was already waiting for her outside. The carriage that she would be travelling in was well kept and equipped with comfortable seating. Seeing his daughter off had made the usually joyful Marquis sad. Having no children in the house anymore would be the death of the house of Atar. It was a known fact that burdened the family but remained unspoken.
"There is my dearest." Her father smiled but it was clear that his smile was forced, just to keep Lysandra comfortable.
"You're a vision." He smiled again, complementing her clothes.
"Shadow is travelling with you to the inn at least, perhaps they would exchange horses so he can come with you to the North, if the Duke allows it."
Shadow was Lysandra's horse, it was the only piece of home her father could think of that could travel with her besides her maid.
"If anything goes wrong just get on your horse's back and run." Her father stepped closer and hugged Lysandra tightly.
"I'll miss you and I love you. Remember to write home." There was a tremble in his voice.
Lysandra eyed over her shoulder seeing Shadow all excited, thinking they were most likely going for a stroll. She turned her eyes back to her father. Before she could utter a response he had his arms wrapped around her hugging her tightly again.
''I'll miss you, father," she whispered back and gave him a reaffirming nod. "I'll promise I'll write as soon as I make it to the North." She turned her head around hearing her mother behind her as she rushed into her arms.
"Mother– Thank you, for last night," she whispered.
"Of course my dear." Her mother whispered back. Saying goodbye to her mother felt surreal, she'd hoped this goodbye would have been different.
"Be yourself and just come rushing back if anything goes wrong. We will always figure it out." Her parents were thoughtful. Her mother leaned in one last time.
"And I put a vial of poison in one of the trunks, in case you would need it. It's in that terrible smelling perfume bottle, of that fragrance you always hated anyway." With a soft smile the woman pulled back and looked at her daughter one last time.
"Stay safe. We love you." Small tears were forming in the corner of the woman's eyes.
Lysandra chuckled softly at hearing about the hidden bottle in her trunk.
"Thank you mother, really." She whispered and hugged her mother once more. After placing a kiss on her mother's cheek, she stepped toward her father and placed a kiss on fathers cheek as well. She then stepped into the carriage.
"I'll promise I'll write as soon as I get to the inn and once more when I arrive in the North."
Tears formed in the corners of Lysandra's eyes as she stepped into the carriage, Daisy had said her goodbyes to her own parents as they too worked for the Atars. Once inside the carriage they waved as the carriage took off. When the gates closed behind her, Lysandra could see her mother breaking down in tears as father wrapped his arms around her, waving goodbye.
With the estate disappearing behind them Lysandra, her maid and a few guards made their way to the edge of the capital. The big mansions with lush gardens made way for homes that became increasingly smaller and smaller.
The outer ring of the city was not a good place to travel through. They would have to go through the northern gate and just keep heading north for a long time. As the carriage moved through the city and was nearing the last gate, it was clear that there was something going on at the city gates. Lysandra heard a lot of commotion.
Peeking outside the window Lysandra could see a caravan of horse drawn carts with the D'Anser family emblem. The carts were filled with what seemed to be raw materials. Overseeing the long line of carts was Leonel, along with his friend Maxim who was the man's shadow. Though the Atar family's carriage wasn't marked, most nobles knew what the carriages of other families looked like. Lysandra could only hope that neither of them would spot hers in the heavy traffic.
A harsh whistle came and Lysandra could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising. "If it isn't the lovely cursed bride." Leonel yelled for everyone on the road to hear. He had a smug grin plastered on his face. "Off to your own funeral? Isn't black the funeral colour instead of red?" He mocked her for all to hear.
Lysandra could feel her nails digging into her palm. She wanted to just scream at the man, but she couldn't-
She most likely would never see them ever again, that might be one of the positive things about leaving the capital. So perhaps screaming at them might be an option now.
"Daisy," Lysandra called and the maid turned her head.
"Yes, Milady."
"Do you still have that nail file?" Lysandra requested and within seconds the nail file was in her hand. Swinging the door open, the guards halted the horses in surprise. With all her might Lysandra threw the nail file and the two nobles. It hit! The nail file flew in Leonel's face, causing him to flinch. "Fuck you Leonel!" The guards blinked and once Lysandra closed the door and sat down, she knocked on the carriage door. "Move on!" she ordered.
Leonel grabbed his face as a small trail of blood dribbled down. His face twisted. "You lowborn bitch! You will pay for this. Just you wait! The demon of the North will kill you soon enough. Doing us all a favor!" He yelled after her as the guards had been quick to get the carriage moving again.
Daisy looked at Lysandra with a very confused expression on her face, it went from confusion to pure glee. "That—-He deserved that Milady! May the scar be ever ugly." Daisy giggled.
The following part of the journey was uneventful to say the least.
Each night they would stay at an inn. One by one they would become less and less luxurious as their journey progressed further from the capital and closer to the North. They crossed villages and towns along the way. Lysandra had never been this far from the capital. She saw livestock, like cows and sheep, those animals weren't kept in the capital. Spotting a deer for the first time had been an event as Lysandra yelped and quickly pointed the deer out for Daisy to see.
It wasn't until they hit the fifth day that there would be longer distances between villages. Heck, at one point there weren't any for a long time at all! The land had become deserted. The road had become crude and ill kept, making the carriage ride a hellish and bumpy journey. Riding Shadow would have been so much more comfortable but the horse was one of the two horses pulling the carriage. Taking one horse off wasn't an option.
However, nothing could have prepared Lysandra for what was to come that evening. There was no inn that night. They built a campfire as the guards had put down bedrolls while Daisy had turned the carriage into a bed for Lysandra to sleep in. She herself had already insisted for her maid to stay with her in the carriage, not wanting her to sleep outside. Daisy might be her maid, but she was also one of most trusted friends in a way. Peeing in the bushes was also not something to be proud of. There hadn't been much of an option, as there was no village. It was the seventh night, meaning they would need to travel at least three more nights before getting to the inn indicated by the duke.
That seventh night the sounds of wild animals kept Lysandra up the entire night. The guards were used to sleeping outside. Whenever a sound emitted from the surrounding bushes, Lysandra's eyes would be wide open. Even if she wasn't able to look out of the carriage window, sleep would not find her. Daisy had turned the whole interior of the carriage into a mattress of sorts. It was nowhere near as comfortable as her own bed back home. The choice between a hard mattress and sleeping outside on the ground was an easy one. Daisy slept despite all the foreign noises surrounding them.
On top of the sound of wild animals fighting outside, the temperature also dropped, which made Lysandra uncomfortable. It was more noticeable here than it had been inside one of the inns. In the rooms she stayed in there had been a fire burning to keep her warm throughout the night. Perhaps she had been spoiled. By all means Daisy didn't seem too bothered sleeping in the cold. Curling up in the sheets hoping to just fall asleep quickly as she rubbed her legs together to get warm, the night seemed to never end.
The sun rose and Lysandra looked like a shell of herself. She hadn't slept a wink. Luckily the guards made no mention of it. On their next three days they passed small villages, as well as some farms. It wasn't until they got to the final village at the end of the road. This seemed like the last beacon of civilization before the forest leading to the North started. After three whole nights of sleeping in the carriage, seeing this town was a relief. Perhaps there would be a bath and real bed available for Lysandra.
"Milady, we will be heading to the town's inn right away." One of the guards said, throughout this whole journey the guards had barely spoken to her. They were men hired by her father, the estate back home might have had some guards but these hired men knew the roads to the North.
"Alright." Lysandra replied and looked out into the village. The sun was setting yet there were still so many people out and about, how could a village so far from the capital have this many people living in it?
There was a main street and everything. Shopkeepers were closing up for the day. "Oh, they even have a clothing store all the way out here?" Daisy questioned excitedly. "Maybe the North isn't all that bad, Milady. They look quite civilized for barbarians." Daisy spoke softly.
Once inside the inn, an elderly woman walked up to her with her left eyebrow raised. The woman's hair was dark streaked with grey. "Would you look at that. It's not everyday I see folks like you coming all the way out here. Coming from the capital no doubt." The woman stated and regarded Lysandra up and down, followed by humming.
"Do you happen to have a few rooms for the night?" Lysandra asked, trying to stay polite. She was unsure as to why the woman was looking at her like that. The woman had a cheeky smirk on her face as she put her hands on her hips. "That's gonna cost ya, you know. "
Lysandra was taken aback, not expecting the elderly woman to be this rude. "But of course I will pay for the rooms. I wasn't expecting they'd be free." Lysandra replied. The woman suddenly burst out in a warm laughter. "Oh he is going to like ya. You've got some spunk in you." The woman still had that smile on her face. "Don't tell him I said so, but I like you already." She winked before being interrupted by an unknown man.