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nTwo days had passed since Heidi had left the house, taking everything important she needed in a bag.

nShe had been planning to leave the house since her mother’s death but it took a lot of courage to step out of the house for good this time, with the intention of never returning back. And as she had left in the middle of the night, there were no local carriages by which she could travel.

nShe had walked for hours on foot, heading south from her town by taking the forest route instead of the road with the fear of being caught. She had considered her options carefully before stepping into the forest knowing well that the witches wouldn’t show themselves out in the open especially after their recent attack but that didn’t stop her from being alert.

nWhen the sun was finally up, she had found a riding carriage and the person riding it was kind enough to give her a drop on the way he was headed. Getting down at dusk, she thanked the owner before taking shelter at a local housing inn. The room was small but it was enough. She had later found out that she hadn’t crossed the North empire of Woville yet and to reach the border it would take a day more which wasn’t surprising as compared to all the four Empire’s, Woville and Bonelake had more land surface.

nHeidi looked outside the window of her room from the first storey of the inn, men already up and early, heading towards their work on the streets of the town. She wondered if things were well back at the house. She didn’t know why but there was this unsettling feeling in her chest since she had left. She was sure someone had seen her leaving but she didn’t know who it was. She couldn’t help but be worried about the old man who had worked for the Curtis’ family. Today was the day the carriage was supposed to come to pick her up according to her father’s words. Had they sent Nora in place of her? If they did she knew her sister would be the happiest person right now. At least someone would be happy, thought Heidi to herself. She had stayed cooped in this room for two days, taking precautionary steps by loaning some time until she felt safe enough to travel again.

nHearing someone knock on the door, she turned away from the window to walk towards the door. Opening it, she saw it was the lady of the inn with a young helper girl next to her who had a plate of food in her hand. The lady of the inn was fat in appearance, a dirty white bandana over her forehead and an apron around her waist.

n“Thank you,” Heidi thanked when the little girl handed the plate to her, “Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked seeing they hadn’t left.

n“Don’t take it rudely madame but like I said while giving you a room here, bringing up food separately and providing hot water in the bath is going to have extra charges,” the lady said with a sweet smile on her face while her eyes scanned the room behind Heidi.

nThe middle-aged lady was a nosy woman when it came to meddling with her customers or her neighbour’s affairs which made her curious when she saw Heidi carrying a bag and standing by herself at the entrance when she had come at their building asking for a room stay in.

n“Of course,” Heidi replied keeping the plate on a table to get her bag where she had kept her money. Pulling out the coins, she went back to the door to hand it to the lady.

n“Thank you, madame. Hope you enjoy your meal,” the lady replied delighted and left the doorstep to go to the next room.

nClosing the door, she picked up the plate which only consisted of a bun and a glass of milk. Taking it to the bed, she sat down to eat it. She wasn’t sure where she was going but she knew she had to leave the south empire and it would be a while before she could return back. All the time when she heard the door knock she felt her heart beat in fear of it being one of her family members. Unconsciously she traced her fingers up her cheek at the mark which was caused by her Uncle Raymond’s ring. She was scared of him since he had picked her up from the streets. She had never trusted him, she trusted her father but never her uncle. At least she wouldn’t be dealing with the man anymore, she thought to herself with a sigh of relief.

nShe was drinking the glass of milk when she heard a knock on the door again for the second time since she woke up. Carefully opening the door, she saw it was the young helper girl who had arrived previously at the door with the owner of the inn. Seeing Heidi holding the half glass of milk in her hand, the little girl quickly bowed her head in apology,

n“I am sorry Ms I will be back to collect the plate later!”

nSeeing the girl about to leave, she stopped the little girl, “Wait!” Taking quick gulps from the glass, she handed the plate as well as the glass. Heidi took note of the girl’s dress which was torn at the ends, one of the sleeves adorning holes on it. The girl looked as old as her cousin Ruth who was barely seven. It seemed like she wasn’t related to the inn owner and she felt sorry for the girl.

n“Is there anything else you would need Ms,” the girl asked her.

n“Yes, actually. Wait here,” Heidi went back to her back and pulled out a silver coin from it to only place it on the young girl’s hand. Seeing the young girl’s eyes widen in shock she smiled, “I think that is all for now.”

n“Thank you so much!” the girl bowed completely at Heidi and then walked away with a big smile.

nClosing back the door, she spent some time looking outside the window before she gathered her belongings and putting it back in the bag, ready to leave the inn. She had paid to stay only until noon and she knew if she didn’t leave soon she would have to give money to the lady of the inn for the time she wouldn’t be spending here. Leaving the room, she stepped down the wooden stairs that creaked softly when she placed her foot down on it.

nBefore she could reach the end of the stairs she heard her brother, Daniel’s voice, who was talking to the lady at the inn. In horror, she stopped for a second unsure of what to do suddenly. No no, she chanted in her mind disbelievingly. She hadn’t expected him to come here! Out of all the places, he was here asking the lady of the inn something she couldn’t hear. Making a sharp turn below the staircase she headed towards another door with her heart pounding loudly in her chest. Her breathing got shallower as she walked through the corridor while she looked back every second to see if Daniel knew she was here. Finally, after discovering the door, she opened the lock with her unsteady and sweaty hands. Just as she opened and closed the door behind her, she ran out to only see Uncle Raymond standing there with a cigar in his hand making the remaining amount of blood drain out from her face.

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