“We’re jus’ headin’ north, aren’t we Charlie?”

“Yeah. Up on our way ta Lorenston. Get away from the wars, y’know.”

“You sound like you’re from southern Crellik,” the man remarked. “You must’ve come a long way.”

“Yeah, well, there wasn’ any use livin’ down there anymore, right ma?”

“S’a bit of a wreck at the moment.”

“I guess I’ll let you be on your way then. You should try and make as much ground to Lorenston as you can. You never know what’s lurking out on the roads at night.” He tipped his hat towards them. “I hope you two make it to your destination unharmed.”

“Tha’s kind o’ ya, sir. Thank the man, Charlie.”

“Thank ya sir.”

The man tipped his hat and flicked the reins of his red-wood beauty. The cart began to pull away, leaving the woman and boy behind them, waving with grins.

They walked another few miles, not saying much , when another merchant cart came by them. This time is was a much younger man who appeared to be transporting powdered goods. Spices, by the smell of the cart.

He spotted them walking along the road and regarded them with surprise, slowing his cart and stopping to look down at the pair. “Are you two alright?” He looked around, suddenly wondering if it was a planned ambush. They weren’t carrying much, only a little backpack each, and didn’t seem dressed for the Mildew Road.

“We’re quite fine,” the woman replied. She offered him a cheery smile. “I’m just escorting my nephew to Dunwood.” She saw the concern and added, “I only live in Courtan. And I’ll be escorted back from Dunwood by my elder brother.”

The man looked in between them. “That’s still a journey for a young woman and a lad,” he said, keeping another eye out.

“We’ve done it several times before,” the boy spoke up. He looked to the young woman. “Haven’t we, Luda?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe a half-dozen this year.” She bowed her head a little and chuckled. “I thank you for your concern though, but it isn’t necessary. We always time it right. We’ll get to Dunwood an hour or two before the sun goes down.”

The man nodded and they started to move away. He turned on the front of his cart and called to them, “Are you sure?”

She laughed and nodded, waving her hand in goodbye. “Yes, thank you!”

He turned back to the road, took one last glance at the pair and started to move along the road again, wondering if he had ever seen them walking by before.

Four miles past Dunwood, the pair stowed away in the Figlent Forest. They lay wrapped in a blanket each against a tree, each on either side so that they couldn’t see each other.

“Why is it called Figlent Forest?” the boy asked.

“Because the giant named Figlent used to roam these woods. It was his mighty kingdom before he died at the hands of the humans.”

He suppressed a laugh and waited a minute before asking again, “Why is it called Figlent Forest?”

“Because the Fey that used to live here lent the humans figs from their forest during a time of hunger. The humans then returned with fruits from a great harvest to thank them. In the Faerie language, the forest was named using the words ‘to give’ and ‘fig’ but it cannot be spoken by humans and so was nicknamed ‘Figlent’ until it eventually became it’s human name.”

The boy laughed and he could hear a small chuckle from the young woman. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

When the sun rose and painted the sky, the pair rolled their blankets and returned to the road. The boy stretched and grimaced from the cold night but the young woman trodded on as normal, with only a yawn here and there.

Six miles into their journey, they met a pair of men her were likewise walking the road, but were coming from the opposite direction.

“G’mornin’,” one of them politely greeted as they past.

“Seifioré,” the woman replied.

“Müstas,” the boy added. The pair bowed heads at the same time before continuing on.

“That’s a bit strange,” they heard one of the men say as they kept walking. “What’re Melkia doing this far north?”

“Probably just touring,” the other shrugged. “S’been a while since I heard Melkeen though.”

Only half a mile later, the boy and young woman stopped a travelling food merchant. Eager for breakfast, they waved to him and asked for some of his time. He was travelling with his wife and their infant.

“You’re mighty daring to be walking on the Mildew Road at this time of day,” the merchant said with a chuckle as they began exchanging coin for food.

“I just shiver at the thought of not being in the wagon this early,” the woman laughed. “It’s so cold.”

The merchant grinned at the boy and ruffled his hair a little. “You look like a strong lad though.” The boy nodded. “Where abouts are you off to? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Just east of Ghalen,” the young woman answered. As she packed the supplies into her bag, she handed a bread roll to the boy to eat. “His father is stationed there.”

“Oh, an officer’s wife?” She nodded. “And he made you walk to his station?”

The young woman laughed. “Oh no, it’s a surprise that we’re coming. We actually only live a mile back and that’s why we’re travelling light. We informed one of his close friends in the barracks and they wanted to send a chariot for us but I thought that it would be best needed at the station.”

The merchant smiled. “What a thoughtful wife you are.” He glanced back at his own wife who was nodding in agreement.

“There are too many officer wives that flaunt the man’s money and neglect their duties,” his wife said. “We wish you a safe and speedy journey.”

“Same to you,” the young woman said as she began to back away from the cart. “And I wish your child a blessed life.”

The couple smiled and waved goodbye before the boy and young woman were on the move again.

“I’ll play you for the jam donut you got,” the boy said, not even fifty feet from where they’d met the merchant.

The woman smirked and looked sideways at him. “What game?”

He thought carefully. “I’ll guess your age.” Her grin widened and his confidence faltered. “I get four guesses?”

She laughed. “Go on then.”

“Nineteen?”

“No.”

“Twenty-two?”

“No.”

He frowned a little but couldn’t tell from her face if he was close or not. He’d thought that she was of legal age but not by that much.

“Twenty… one?”

“No.”

He looked down at the ground with a bit of a huff. He’d thought it had to be somewhere in those years. He’d been convinced and as his mouth formed his last answer, he realised that he never had any reason other than his assumption to have been certain of her age. “Twenty-six?” he mumbled.

“No.”

He made a loud noise and put his hands on his head. She laughed at him and he saw from the corner of his eye that she was holding something to him. He turned and saw that it was the jam donut.

“I bought it for you, anyway,” she told him. “I was going to save it for after dinner tonight.”

He almost blushed in embarassment but opted for laughing heartily as he pushed the donut back to her. “We’ll eat it together after dinner then,” he proposed and the pair of them kept laughing.

That night, after they’d eaten dinner, she didn’t pull the donut out, instead she kicked dirt onto the fire and tucked the boy against a tree with his blanket. He didn’t say anything and she whispered to him.

“They’re on a treasure hunt, and we have the treasure. They’ve been tracking us for some time now,” she said. “But we’ve got to get it to the Grand Duchy in Yorkland or they’ll use it to summon a great serpent and ask for the world to be destroyed.” He could hear footsteps approaching them as she continued to make sure he was comfortable. “If we get it to the Grand Duchy first, he’ll ask the serpent for prosperous land.”

Even though it was in the dark, he could tell that she was smiling. She stroked his cheek with her thumb and it reminded him of when they had met, and like that time, she defended him without any obligation. There were muffled thuds and choked screams but after a while, the forest was silent again. He didn’t move from where she’d tucked him and he could hear rustling not far from him, as well as clinking and ripping.

The boy woke some time later, his face a little wet, to a small fire nearby. It didn’t light up much of the forest and was like a warm beacon in the midst of the darkness. She was nearby the fire, tending to it careully. He saw that she had already cleaned up as much as she could but as she walked over to him, with a gentle smile as she held out the jam donut, he could see blood all over her face and clothes. It had been a while since she had had to change them.

“Thank you,” he told her as he took the donut. In the distance of the flame he could see an empty boot, belonging to a man, not a woman. He ripped the donut in half and held it out to her. She chuckled and accepted it before sitting down and eating with him.

The boy slept much better that night and woke in the morning to find himself under two blankets. They rolled them up and packed them and left for the road again. He noticed that she had changed her clothes and cleaned herself. Her bag looked heavier as well and her hands were thoroughly scrubbed. She glanced down at him, unsmiling, and he stopped. She stopped with him and looked her in the eyes as she turned to face him.

He grinend widely at her and scoffed, “Play you for jerky.”

After a moment she started to laugh and smile. They continued to walk and she asked, “What game?”

“Speed. First one to that cart up there.”

“Okay.”

“Run!”

He took off with his headstart and she followed after him. He could tell she was letting him win but didn’t mind. He was having too much fun. They caught up to the cart in front of them in fits of laughter and the old couple regarded them with a little bit of surprise and wonder.

“Bit early fer such activity,” the old man said in a gruff voice.

He laughed and his wife said, “Ah, to be young again, right Maurice?”

Maurice nodded and looked down at them as the young woman began to apologise. “Sorry, sir, but my little brother bet me that I wasn’t faster than him.”

“And it looks like he bet correctly,” the wife commented. They all laughed and they stopped to greet each other properly. “What brings siblings on the Mildew Road by foot?”

“Ah, we live just up there,” the boy pointed. “But we went looking for game in the forest.”

“Pa said the one who catches the most will get to travel with him to Gunner,” the young woman said.

The couple laughed and nodded to one another. “And how did that go?”

“Ah, sis caught a couple,” the boy replied. “But they were chasing her so she got lucky.”

She laughed and nodded. “I was pretty lucky. Lucky enough that I’m ready to go home.”

“What kind of meat?” Maurice asked.

The young woman tilted her head from side to side. “It’s a secret,” she said with a grin. “Let’s go Callum.”