Her eyes narrowed, and she stepped closer. “Up top? If you say so. But if you get too cold up there one night and decide to go scratching on another door, it may not open.”
With that, she whirled and began walking down the line of wagons, calling orders to the people settling crates.
Beside me, Raven let out a sigh. “That went well.” Then he motioned me forward. “This way.”
I followed him to the smallest wagon, the one in the lead. Two horses had already been harnessed to the front, but he took me to the back door and opened it. The bottom of the door was the height of my waist.
“Normally, I have a set of portable stairs positioned here,” he said, “but we’re getting ready to leave.”
Peering inside, I saw how a table and bench had been built into a side wall. A set of cupboards had been built into the wall directly across, and a bed had been built into the front wall. My own chest was sitting up against the bed. I could hardly believe it.
Raven must have read my face because he said, “You’re one of us now, and those things belong to you. We don’t steal from each other.”
In truth, I had no idea what the housemaids had packed for me, but I was relieved to anticipate a change of clothing…and at the thought that I was not traveling into the world with nothing but the dress on my back.
“Does anyone besides you live here?” I asked, for it had sounded like numerous people lived in each wagon.
“No. I don’t take many privileges, but I need my own wagon.”
And yet, he was allowing me to stay here.
Looking down the line of wagons, he said, “I need to go and help. But we’ll be off soon. You can ride inside the wagon or up on the bench with me.”
“Inside,” I answered instantly. I’d not known this would be an option, but at least I would not be under the open sky after all.
With a nod, he laced his hands together and leaned down. “Up you go.”
Placing my foot in his hands and one of my hands on his shoulder, I let him toss me up into the back of the wagon.
“Secure the door so it doesn’t fly open,” he said. Then he was gone.
I looked around the narrow interior. His clothes, mugs, and other possessions were scattered all about. The table was dusty, and the bed was unmade.
Still, for now…I was home.
At least until I could get a message to Lady Giselle.
* * * *
Not long after we rolled out of the settlement, I began to wonder about my decision to remain inside. I should have given thought to the steep downward incline of the chute, and I found myself nearly hurled forward, taking refuge on the bed.
The window shutters were open, and outside, I could see the rock walls only a few hands’ length from the wagon. There was enough room for the wagons to pass downward, but barely. We rolled down and down, and I began to feel queasy.
Just when I thought we’d never level out, we did. Then I remembered all the fuss over Badger driving the Capello wagon through the forest, and I wondered what would happen next, as these wagons were much larger and less wieldy. But Raven turned us east onto a dirt path, and the wagon rolled easily. Not long after, we reached a road.
Though I’d hoped my feeling of queasiness would pass, it continued growing worse, and even though we’d eaten no breakfast, I soon feared that I might start to dry heave. The sensation was miserable.
Not an auspicious beginning to this journey.
Hours passed.
I sat on the bed, suffering in nausea until I began to wish I had run off in the middle of the night to try and find my way back alone. Then finally, I heard Raven call a halt from up above, and the wagon lurched to a stop.
Within moments, the back door opened, and he peered inside.
“Are you faring all…?” Taking in the sight of me, he motioned with his hand. “Out. Now.”
Standing on wobbly legs, I managed to reach him, and he lifted me down.
“Lean over and put your hands on your knees,” he said.
Jade, Tannen, and Badger came around from the wagon behind us. A boy about nine years old walked beside Jade. His hair was chocolate brown.
“How’s the princess?” Jade asked, and when she saw me with my hands on my knees, she appeared both amused and pleased. “Doing well, I see. What a good idea it was to bring her along.”
Tannen cast her a sideways glance and held a canteen out to me. “Water?”
“Thank you. In a moment,” I answered.
Jade carried a light tray in one hand, and with the other, she handed Raven a slice of ham. The smell of it caused my stomach to lurch, and I had little interest in eating lunch. But outside of the rolling contraption, I was beginning to recover and stepped out to look down the line of wagons. There were other people on the ground, sharing food and water, and I wanted to begin taking some stock of my traveling companions. From where I stood, I saw an elderly couple, a middle-aged couple, and two small children—both girls.
At the sound of barking, I looked left to see three small dogs dashing about, chasing each other as if celebrating a few moments to run. All three were white with brown patches.
No one spoke to me, but numerous curious glances were cast in my direction.
After far too short a break, Raven called out, “Time to go! We need to make it halfway to Fayette before dark.”
Instantly, everyone began climbing up the sides of wagons or on to the benches to drive.
Though I dreaded the thought of getting back into Raven’s wagon, I grew more alarmed when he walked up and said, “You’re riding on the bench with me. It’s not good for you in the back.”
Drawing away from him, I begged, “No. Raven, please.”
He frowned. “You can’t still be afraid of me?”
How could I explain? But I didn’t want him to think that I feared him, not after his kindness. “No, it’s not you. It’s the sky.”
“The sky? What do you mean?”
“I’ve never seen it like this…so open.”
“But you were riding with the Capellos. You told us you were Royce’s property.”
“For a day. Before that, I’d hardly left the manor, and then only to sometimes walk in the garden just behind the house with my lady. From there, I could not see how big, how open everything is.”
He stepped close, speaking quietly. “Wait. Are you telling me the Capellos only bought you that same day we found you? And before that, you lived in a manor?”
I nodded. “With my lady.”
“What did you do there at the manor?”
“I was companion to my lady. When she grew lonely, I found ways amuse her or make her glad. She was so kind to me.” Speaking of these things broke my heart. “She fought to keep me, but Lord Jean wanted the land, and Royce wanted me.”
“And Royce took you away that same day we took you?”
Again, I nodded.
For a long moment, Raven said nothing. Then he grasped my hand and led me to the step up to the wagon’s bench. “You’ll get used to the sky, but you can’t ride in the back if it’s making you sick. Climb up onto the bench.”
I obeyed him.
* * * *
In truth, sitting on the bench beside Raven as he