Chapter 155: Finding Out What Happened Back Then
A/N: I messed up Lara’s age. She should be sixteen and not seventeen. She was abducted when she was about to turn fourteen, and the story’s timeline jumped to two years after that.
After lunch, Lara announced that she wanted to visit Village 13 to check on the things that she had asked Lina to make for her. Thankfully, her master had procured two horses and a carriage. It would make their travel faster.
Lara wanted to leave because she wanted to escape from her brothers. They might continue to pester her to return with them, and if she continued to refuse, wouldn’t that hurt their feelings? While she longed to experience having a family, a loving one, she was not ready yet.
When the children learned that she would go to a village, they pestered Great Grandpa Samuel and Grandpa Jethru and said that they wanted to come along. Samuel hesitated but deferred the decision to the children’s grandfather.
Jethru, a man known for his strict demeanor, was a formidable presence to Lara, Reya and Sandoz. But when faced with the bright, pleading eyes of his granddaughter, his resolve crumbled like dry parchment. He sighed in surrender, knowing resistance was futile. With Lara leading the journey, he knew that the children would be safe and taken care of.
Before setting off, Lara thoughtfully packed the remaining food from lunch, ensuring nothing went to waste. Soon, she was out the door, her small entourage trailing behind as they proceeded to where the carriage awaited them. Their coachman, of course, was none other than the white-haired master himself. He decided to tag along at the last minute.
Her brother, Percival, insisted on going as well, taking advantage of the opportunity to bond with his lost sister.
Beneath the Last Narra Tree
Meanwhile, Reya had just finished cleaning up in the kitchen when the Norse siblings called for her to the backyard. A large wooden bench circled the base of a young Narra Tree, its trunk thick enough for an adult to wrap his arms around it. This was the last Narra tree standing in the area—the rest had long been felled to make way for homes and the alleyway, which was named in its memory. Once, this place had been a thriving Narra forest. Now, only this lone sentinel remained.