The Woven Crown (Completed)

Chapter 18

The Caravan's first stop was not another estate like those of Wightmanstry and Greyheights, but a town northeast of the Hive by the name of Starling. The roads along the way became more crowded and Ryla was surprised at the number of villages they passed. As they rode along in the growing warmth, Thistle reminisced about how before the rebellion, summertime meant a burst of green; verdant fields, lush foliage, an abundance of medicinal herbs growing along the forest paths. Even though the trees still put on leaves, they were few and more of a pale yellow than green.

Ryla knew they were getting close to Starling when she looked behind the Caravan to see a line of villagers stretched out behind it.

Thistle said, "We don't have to make any announcements. When they see us comin' they know it's time and start makin' their way into town. Once word spreads, we'll have a line a mile long." After a moment Thistle added, "This might be a good time to go ahead and hide that hair of yours."

After months of practice, she was finally able hold a change in hair color. Under the hood of her cloak, Ryla concentrated on weaving her hair into a dark chestnut color. "That's better," said Thistle. Ryla kept her hood up for an extra precaution— she didn't want to risk a slip up in her magic.

Ahead, the road led up to the entrance to the town of Starling. For a moment fear rose up in Ryla as she remembered what they'd found at the Hollanders' Inn, but as they rode through the gate, the sights of a busy town met her eyes rather than the burnt corpses of houses.

Carts carrying people and produce jostled for position on the muddy streets. Children ran under the wheels, narrowly missing being crushed to death. The difference between these children and the ones at the refuge was stark. While the children of the refuge played games with bright-eyes and red cheeks, the children here looked back with hollow eyes and gaunt faces. Their clothes were all the same uniform gray-brown color fabric gets after going unwashed for so long.

The carts moved and Ryla could see what the children had dived beneath the wheels so eagerly for. It hadn't been a game. There was a potato not even half the size of the ones at the refuge that had bounced from the cart on its way to the market now sitting bruised and splattered with mud.

The children all tried wrestling it away from each other, but quick as a flash, a small child dove straight into the fray. Ryla watched as they knocked each other into the mud with grunts and wild yells, but the child, a small girl, took off like a stray cat down a side alley, the sad little potato clutched tightly in her fist. It took a few moments for the other children to realize what had happen, but they were up and running as soon as they did.

The Caravan continued on through the crowded streets, past beggars who shook their cups at the wagons, through an acrid smoke coming from a shady little building hunched up on the street. On the northern most edge of the town, there was a small field used to keep various kinds of livestock for the market. The Caravan pulled their wagons into there after a toothless man pulled open the gate with a tug at his hat.

"We will sleep here in our wagons like usual," said Thistle, "but the benefit of a large town like Starling is we get free use of the inns' baths and meals." She and Ryla jumped down from the wagons and began to unharness the horses. A young boy ran up to Rhid waving a sealed letter. Rhid fished out a few coins from his pocket and traded them for the letter which he tucked into his cloak. He turned from his wagon and started off into the crowded streets.

"Guess I'll finish this myself," Ryla heard Sahana mutter as she unbuckled the bridle straps.

Once the horses were watered, Danelle and Dhavlin volunteered to take Yulia and Ryla exploring and to get dinner at an inn. They stuck close together as they traversed the deep wheel ruts and puddles in the streets. Now that they were no longer with something as recognizable as the Caravan, people didn't give them a second glance. They kept their hoods up, all the same.