Chapter 3

I grabbed a knapsack from my mother’s old hope chest and began to pack it with a spare change of clothes and a week’s worth of apples, bread and cheese. I grabbed the small purse that held my extra coins from my job in the grocery store. I put the journal in between the scarfs and threw it under some of my clothes at the bottom of the bag after having checked my first destination point on the map. I knew I had to get some sleep so I decided to wake at the first sight of dawn before heading on my way, then maybe I could stop by the store to see Sal one more time before I left.

As much as I tried I could not get a wink of sleep. The anxiety of what I needed to do was overwhelming. I ended up leaving before dawn after putting enough food for the animals to feed off of for two weeks, hoping I could be back before they all starved to death, if nothing worse happened to them. I started off down the road and got to the village center just as the sun started rising over the mountains. I sat my pack down inside the grocery store as I went to the bar.

Some of the bar maids and local prostitutes where outside having some wine with their morning loafs of bread and cheese as they recovered from last nights excursions. Outside the bar were fresh piles of bile that were expelled from overly drunken men. Passed out individuals were lying along the outside deck and the small patches of grass that were not sodden down. I marched over to the maids giggling away at some unknown joke.

“Hello Azaylia!” the maid who had helped me out yesterday said.

“Good Morning, Farah! I was wondering about the men who I helped yesterday, are they doing any better?” Farah’s face fell a bit at my words and i knew that nothing good was about to come out of her mouth.

“One of them died about an hour ago. We can not get him out of the room just yet because all of the strong men are incapacitated, but we will move him later on in the morning. The other one only seems to have gotten worse and we do not expect him to last ‘til sundown. The doctor said he would be back this morning to help them, he wanted me to thank you for your help.” She gave me a smile of appreciation before readjusting her breasts so they sat lower in her corset top.

“Thank you Farah. I do need something from you. Could you please send the doctor round to my place? Most of the animals have contracted The Sickness and need some treatment, but my Mother and Grandmother Yvette have also caught it.” Her face fell further and she turned pale. Grandmother Yvette was beloved around here and was well respected for being the oldest person in the village. Grandfather Macoby was a well respected man so being his wife added to her popularity amongst the village people. I still can’t believe they met when his father and him were running a cart route for travelers.

“Oh Azaylia, I shall have the doctor come around immediately. Is there anything else I can do for you?” she said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Please take care of them for me, keep yourself safe, but I need someone to look over them. I am heading out of town for a while and I do not know how far I am going, but my mother told me of something that I could find that could help us fight The Sickness.”

“Of course Azaylia, stay strong on your journey, and stay safe.” She gave me a hug that I reciprocated in kind. I gave a wave to the girls before heading back over to the grocery store in which Sal now stood. I went in and grabbed her knapsack before starting to talk to Sal.

“So why do you have a traveling bag?” he asked, leaning against the wall of the store. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a concerned look in his eye, urging me to tell him everything.

“I have to go visit a relative.” I spoke, not looking in his eye.

“With all the spare cash I gave you and a weeks supply of food? I don’t think so Azaylia.” He said, giving me the look that told me he could see through any lie I gave him right now. I caved in and told him.

“My mother and Grandmother Yvette both got The Sickness and I am going to find something that can possibly help us. I will be gone for a couple weeks at most and then I should be back to helping you.” His demeanor changed at hearing about The Sickness having spread to my family. I would not expect anything less.

Sal immediately set to work grabbing a few other things from around the store and placing them in another rucksack. He handed it to me before telling me what he placed inside. “There is another weeks worth of food and a roll of cloth that you can either trade or sell along with another ten silver coins for you. Unfortunately that is the best I can do for you in these hard times Azaylia.”

“Sal, I can not accept this. You are too kind, but I just can not. You need it more then I do.” I said trying to give it back to him. He crossed his arms again, effectively shutting off any attempts.

“You will take it. If I hear another protest I will give you even more. You are going alone on a journey and I am neither your parent, nor your School Meister. I am your employer and since we are inside your place of employment I order you to take that.” He gave me a stern look. As I started to tear up at his generosity he opened his arms for one of his infamous bear hugs which I gladly accepted.

“Thanks Sal. I’ve got to get going. I have to reach the travelers cart two towns over to buy a ride to Terrone.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving his embrace. “You have no idea what your help means to me.” I gave him a smile before he patted my shoulder.

“Just stay safe kid. I do not know why you need to go to Terrone, but maybe the university there can help you with whatever you need.” He gave me a smile in return before we both came to the understanding that it was time for me to go. I left after giving him another quick hug, not looking back on my small town.

I walked along the dirt road between towns, going farther into the countryside then our town was. The populated parts of the country were closer to the palace in which The Demented One stayed. The people that were closer to him were under stricter regulations whereas the people farther out were not as closely monitored due to being so spaced out. I had stopped for a moment earlier in the day just after leaving the first town to have my lunch of an apple and a small slice of bread with some cheese. I soon found a creek afterwords to take a long drink of cool water.

By the way farms were getting closer and closer to each other I knew I was approaching the second town in which I would find the traveler cart to Terrone. One of the nice things is that there were carts leaving at least once a week from a few towns within the country that headed farther into No Man’s Land. It is where the people furthest from The Demented One’s reach lived, some even say he can not even reach them due to the city they are centered around.

There has always been something mystical about the ancient city of Terrone, where I was now headed. Most of the carts went through customs where The Demented One kept tabs on who left and made sure they all returned by keeping guards on the people, but sometimes if you bribed the cart owners they would take you to cracks in the fence. With what I was planning on doing, I knew I had to either come up with a good excuse for going through customs, and I would have to come up with a greater excuse for whatever I would have to bring back. I figured I might as well go through customs and figure out the crack later. I did not need to spend money on a bribe right now when I needed it for supplies or food later on.

I walked into the center of town and quickly found the travelers cart, paying my fare simply. I waited until we were on our way, since these carts always started in the middle of the night, before going to sleep curled up around my backpacks to discourage other travelers thieving any of my items. It was a little after dawn, probably about seven in the morning, when I woke up again. An older woman was lying back in the bed with me while a pair of guys around my age were sitting on the end of the cart talking quietly. I heard one of them mention that I looked mighty pretty, in not nearly as nice a manner, so I nudged them to let them know I was awake and did not appreciate the less then mature comment they had made.

“What’s your problem little lady?” the one on the left asked.

“I do not like being stared at like a piece of meat while I sleep. I am an actual person you know.” I replied a little icily.

“You are just a woman. There is nothing special about a woman.” The one on the right said, and boy did he choose the wrong thing to say.

“Well you are both boys, nothing special about you either. I am at least, in your own words might I add, a woman. A woman is an adult thereby making me your superior and the one in charge of you. Now why don’t you be good boys and play nice or else I will have to put you in time out.” The boy who was driving the cart with his father chuckled behind me which only served to fuel the anger which I had just stoked within the boys at the end of the cart.

“She did not.” Mr. Right said.

“Oh, but she did.” Mr. Left said.

“And what are we going to do about it?”

“Well teach her a lesson for one.”

“The weaker sex is always bellow a male.”

“She will learn soon enough.” They turned their malicious gaze towards me so I reacted in the only way I know how. I pretended to cower down in front of them which only caused them to grin evilly, thinking they had beat me. I then smiled meekly before kicking them both very hard and shoving them off the cart. They were so surprised that they could not even get back up right away. I crawled to the end of the cart and called after them.

“Weaker sex? I do not even think so boys. Have a nice trip.” I then threw their bags into the forest to where they would have to hunt for them, very satisfied with my self. The boy was clapping at my work.

“Way to go miss. We get to many girls on this cart that just remain silent and let themselves get verbally attacked by those brutes. I am glad someone was finally able to stand up to those kind of men.”

“I grew up a few towns over. Since my Grandmother Yvette and Grandfather Macoby were the elders no one messed with me, and anyone who tried got hurt or in very serious trouble.”

“Well no wonder, you are a strong young lady Miss. Proud to have you aboard my cart.” The father spoke up.

“Thank you.” I smiled at their kindness and looked at the older lady who was still asleep, thinking of my Grandmother Yvette.

“Where are you heading?” The boy asked.

“Terrone. I am looking for something and the only clue I have is Terrone.” I answered vaguely.

“I would ask the university if I were you. They tend to know a lot about things within that city. They can tell you anything you want to know about King Midas and his Royal line.” The father turned slightly to see me.

“Thank you.” I saw his tiredness in his eyes and I knew the boy was too young to know the way, probably even being his first ride, so I offered to drive the cart for a bit. The father eagerly accepted giving me basic enough instructions to where I could follow them long enough for him to take a nap and recharge. The son went in the back too, wanting to follow what his father did exactly. I would put his age at about twenty eight seasons, maybe thirty. He was very young to say the least.

We had been moving along for quite a while before the elderly lady woke up and came to sit in the front with me. “So I guess I should ask where the two strapping young boys went since I overheard that they were heading to the border with us.: she spoke in a surprisingly strong voice for her frail body.

“Well the boys decided to get a bit randy with their choice of words so I showed them what I thought by playing a game of…” I pretended to have a momentary thought process on what the game was called to add some additional humor to the situation. “…footsie, and I guess I was a little to rough on them because they got just a tad dirty from falling off the back of the cart.” she started laughing over what had happened and I knew she was very much like my Grandmother which caused me to feel a bit happier, but also made me feel a pang of guilt for leaving them behind.

“Oh you are a feisty young lady. I could tell that as soon as I saw you traveling alone. I like you.” She said, bumping shoulders.

“Aw, I like you too. You remind me of my Grandmother Yvette.” Another shot of guilt ran through my system at my words.

“You miss her?” the lady spoke, picking up on my distress.

“She and my mother both contracted The Sickness. I had to leave to go find something that could possible help us, something my Mother told me in her last moment of sanity, before it made her stay in the bed. I left them behind for this trip yesterday morning.”

“There is nothing to feel bad about, my child. If you had stayed you could have contracted it, and it would have been highly unlikely that you could have made them feel better. There is more chance of you helping them with this trip.” She rubbed my shoulder in a comforting manner as we started to come towards a fork in the road that the Father had not told me about. I could hear the Father stirring in the back of the cart so I decided to rouse him, pulling the cart over to the side to do so.

I hopped down and went to go shake the man’s legs to wake him up. “Sir. I have hit the end of your directions.” I spoke as he slowly came into consciousness. He finally took in the meaning of my words and slowly got up to sit in the front seat. I sat in the back with the young boy as he slept. Without his Father’s warmth he started getting cold so I sat closer as he curled into me instinctively.

It was about three hours later when we made it to the border. We all hopped of the cart and got in a line behind others as the Father and Son duo headed back to their little town. The line was moving fast enough, but I was still anxious about it. Knowing that what you were doing was going against the regime is something that gets your heart pumping. The older lady stood in front of me and we spoke about meaningless things as we waited. Soon it was her turn to go through the terminal to the next area. From the look of the border there were guards stationed every thirty feet or so. They asked her a few questions and let her pass. It was now my turn.

“Name and birthplace.” The guard asked me.

“Azaylia Mecronia. Born three towns over in Cornfield.” I gave as little information as was needed.

“Parents, grand parents, and occupation.” He was very clinical about the questions, but he must have had to do them over a thousand times a month to passing people.

“Daughter of Charles the third and Georgette Mecronia. Paternal grandparents are Charles the second and Eve Mecronia. Maternal grandparents Macoby and Yvette Wheaton.” He looked up at me for a moment after I said my grandmother’s name, but I let it slide, not knowing why my grandmother would be important since she was a servant her entire life.

“And what is your business leaving The King’s Domain?” he spoke. I scoffed at the name.

“I know The Demented One does not particularly like it, but I am going to learn in the city of Terrone. I plan learning more about the history of the world there. I am a minor history enthusiast.” He gave me wary look but let it pass.

“And finally when do you plan on coming back.” He looked at me intently, not sure how I would answer, but he seemed very interested.

“I do not know. I plan on coming back within the next six months. One of the main things I want to do is track down where people from my section of The Domain came from before The Demented One took over.” He shook his head, a disappointed look coming across his face. I must not have given him the answer he wanted.

“Move along. If you are not back in six months you will be detained upon arrival of the border. Do you understand?” he gave me a mean stare with his words. It made me feel like he wanted me in trouble, like he wanted to arrest me. He wanted to take me in front of The Demented One.

“I understand. I will be here, if I need more then six months I will come back and report.”

“If you need more then six months then you will have to enter the country wait six months and come back. It is the law.” He crossed his arms in a intimidating manner, but I refused to let him get to me. Just to irk him I gave him a bright smile and put on my best bubbly attitude.

“Well then I guess I better get my work done in six months!” I giggled like I was back in school, looking at the cute boys. He looked at me like an oddity before waving me through. I joined a cart headed for Terrone as I saw the older lady join another one that was headed for somewhere else. I hoped I could see her again. We waved at each other before her cart started off on their journey. I felt a tear slip out as I felt like I was abandoning my grandmother all over again.

My cart started off soon enough so I just sat on one of the side benches, keeping all of my stuff together so I was taking up minimal room. According to the middle aged woman driving the cart Terrone was a half a day’s journey away. I was itching to pull out the journal and look over the instructions again but I knew I had to wait. I knew it would be just past dark by the time we got into the city so I knew I would have to wait until I could get in a hotel or bar room before I could look at the journal.

A couple families seemed to be on this cart, as it was larger then the last and could hold about fifteen people. It almost seemed as if they were trying to escape, that they would never go back. The looks in their eyes of stifled relief seemed to prove my theory. The only reason they were holding back was because they were still too close to the border, close enough that the guards could see if they were too happy and they would get suspicious. I felt happy for them that they were getting out. The Demented One lost power every time he lost citizens. I could only hope that one day I could get out with my Husband. I did not want my children under his authority.

The things I have heard about children in the city, being brought to him, being tested by him. For what, no one ever knows. Sometimes he keeps them and about ten years later he has a new guard to protect him, brain washed to believe that they are ‘cut from the same cloth’, as they put it. They consider him a father almost. The poor kids were taken at around six years of age, too young to know any better. By being in the country you were less likely to be told to go to the palace. Kids were taken from time to time though.

Within the next hour we had arrived in the village center. The families got off the cart and gave each other large hugs, further confirming my theory that they had escaped. I wished them luck as I hoped they wished me luck, even though they did not know why I was out here. I quickly found a cheap place to stay the night after asking a friendly local. I was able to get a room that was relatively clean above a bar. My door was knocked on by one of the maids but I quickly deterred her by affirming that I was a girl. She was embarrassed but we both laughed it off as a friendly mistake. I was then left alone for the rest of the night to look at the journal.

I pulled the tattered book out of my knapsack and opened it to one of the first few pages. Inside was a rough telling of the tale of Midas, stripped down to its bare bones, which I assumed created the map. On the next few pages it went through different things known about Midas, but it was not detailed and mainly stuff I already knew. Whoever made this did not know too much about Midas himself and focused more on the legend. There were at least three different versions of the legend that kept the same bare bones of the story line inside of it.

I finally came upon the page that detailed the map I was supposed to follow. I could tell my mother had written this, maybe having tried to follow the map herself, or maybe having rewritten it to make it clearer. It only had a few directions, but it was enough to get me started. I only hoped I was smart enough to figure out the clues. Luckily the first few destinations were within the city. It didn’t tell me exactly where to go, so I still had to follow each step, but it gave me an idea of where to go.

I knew that the first stop I needed to make in the morning was the university, but from there I only got basic directions, not every footstep was mapped out for me, but I knew I could find where I needed to go. I had too.

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Word Count: 10, 862