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❅ Chapter Three ❅

Two hours later was when Risa and Loyal climbed over a snowdrift and came upon the old city that used to be called Frontrance. They were both frozen and yet happy to have made it here. It seemed like they would never get there and yet here they finally were after what felt like days.

You could see the smoke rising to the gray sky, it was a blue-gray sky since the sun was trying to fight its way through the dark snowy clouds. The chilly wind started to blow again, making it feel ten degrees colder than it is. The snow had finally let up, which was a good thing for those who hated snow.

Risa was thrilled and proud she has finally made it into town. She may have been half frozen but it was worth it to be here. "I made it! Hello Frontance!" She called out jumping up and down. She was beyond thrilled as time went on and relieved she had made it.

She began to grow nervous, as she realized this place was huge. It was a pretty big city. From where she was at she could only see half of it. It stretched for miles, and she could see the tippy-top of the old palace, although she didn't know that was what it was. She could see the industrial part from her spot since that was pretty close to her.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets as she rocked on her heels. "So, this is where my life all started. This is like a dream being back here and to finally be able to hopefully find my family! Oh this is so exciting, isn't it Loyal?" She gasped, clapping her hands and then picking up Loyal, holding her close.

Loyal yelped and bounced around, shivering a little bit but happy nonetheless. "Oh yes, Risa! This is so exciting! Who knows what lay next on our adventure! We must hurry though I am really cold!" She was quite excited herself to see what this city had in store for them.

As she walked down the snowdrift, she held her puppy in her arms who was snuggled under her coat. She was careful about not slipping and falling into the snow. It was hard enough that it wouldn't give way under her feet. Well, as long as she was careful where she stepped.

Once her feet were planted on the slow covered cobblestone road, she ventured into the city. Things became real to Risa, this was really happening. She was finally here. Yes, she had no clue what she was going to do here now, she just hoped she would be able to figure it out soon.

Glancing around, the townspeople were busy doing the things they did in their everyday life: going to work, coming from work, taking a break from work, going on errands, school children playing out in the snow, people chatting, carts and cars fixed with the traffic on the cobblestone roads. The normal hustle and bustle of life in such a historic city as this.

Much younger kids who were too young to go to school were bundled up nice and warm trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. Or they were making snowmen and dressing them up with their clothes they had grabbed from their drawers. It was adorable to them to have so much fun while being watched by their happy parents.

That was the life of normal children, Risa knew she had never got that growing up. She didn't get hot chocolate after playing in the snow all day. She didn't get to have snowball fights with her whole family. She did have the other orphans in her orphanage to play with, but she learned you can't make friends with other orphans since once they leave they are gone for good. You will never see them again.

She went up to the teller at the boat dock, standing in line behind a woman with her husband and three kids. The kids seemed to be anxious that she didn't blame them. She was anxious herself to figure out what to do to get to Paris. She hoped the teller would help her out since that would be a major blessing.

She coached herself on what to say. 'Just ask for a ticket. It should be fairly easy to buy a ticket. I have a few coins in my pocket I found back at the orphanage, on the floor, probably fell out of Mrs. Hemmingworth's pockets. It should cover at least one ticket, right?' She thought to herself.