On The Road Again!

“My grandmother? What was so special about my grandmother? She was a wonderful woman who loved to bake bread for my parents and me.”
“No’ tha’ gran’mammy chil’. The un who came ‘fore that’un. Ye be the gran’daughta of Gaia, Mother Nature.”
“So I’m the granddaughter of Mother Nature? Big help that does me.”
Calypso chuckles softly. “Ye’ll see chil’. Ye’ll see. Fer now jes make sure ye stay close ta land when ya feel tha penchan’ fer makin’ poisons.”
Rose could hear Calypso stand to her feet, frowning she turned her head to look up towards the woman, but with a soft rush of wind, she could tell that Calypso had left. She stood to her feet and found Draven and Sarah a few feet from the campsite, not too close to where she and Calypso had been talking. They merely look at her and the sounds of animals feeding could be heard throughout the woods. Rose waits with the other two until the sounds die down before they all venture back to the campsite. Sarah starts cleaning up the mess that was left behind, using a branch that had fallen from a tree to sweep away any evidence of the fight that had occurred, before she and Rose sat by the fire to cook the evening meal.
The next day the trio began their journey again, and as they came upon the Nightfall City once more, Rose felt a sense of foreboding and frowned, already not liking the smells of the city and the general unease it gave off. Sarah, who had the paperwork for them all, reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a thick stack of papers as they rode up to the gates. The three of them stopped in front of the guard station and Sarah leaned slightly to the side to give the guard their paperwork.
The guard walked off, his feet shuffling slightly as he thumbed through the different sheets of papers while Sarah, Draven and Rose waited for the needed sheet of paper for them to enter the city.
“Sarah,” Draven muttered softly, “can you remind me again why it is we are going back to the city we started from instead of waiting for the ship from the docks close to my village?”
Rose, hearing the question, perked up slightly as she had been wondering the same thing herself.
Sarah sighed softly as she inched her horse closer to the other two and murmured back, “Because, we didn’t tell my sisters to meet us at your shipyard and since they wouldn’t think to stop there to pick us up and they probably have already collected supplies before making this trip down this shoreline, they wouldn’t stop anywhere but where they dropped us off at. We have to go back so we can catch the ship.”
“These sisters of hers must be idiots if they wouldn’t know to pick up passengers from the docks closest to where the people are going to be at,” Rose thought to herself. Several fairies nestled into her hair, hanging on as the rested.
The guard cleared his throat and then walked back towards the three with two sheets of paper in his hand, a frown pulling down the corners of his lips. “Excuse me Ms. Sarah ma’am. But is there any reason why there be two marriage certificates in this here bundle for you and the young man you’re with?”
Draven looked at Sarah wild a mild look of surprise on his face while Rose scowled silently. “Yes dear. Why is there two marriage certificates? I myself would like to know the answer to this.”
Sarah sighed softly as she then smiled charmingly behind her mask, “There are two certificates because my husband and I were first married on board my ship The Black Calypso and then married again by my husband’s village Wisdom according to the laws and traditions of his home. As a matter of fact, the Wisdom is travelling with us, also according to the laws and traditions, to ensure that we grow closer as a couple in the first year of marriage and help meditate any problems that may arise so that our marriage continues to be strong for the rest of our lives.”
The guard peered over at Rose as she shrugged and smirked, “That’s true.”
Nodding absently, he returned to the guardhouse and began scratching marks on several sheets of papers before walking back to the three that sat on their horses. Handing up a white stone he had them repeat the information that they had given him while holding the stone before giving them their papers back. On top of the stack of papers rested three City-passes, one for each, allowing them to stay for a period of fourteen days before they had to leave or swear fealty to the Queen and become citizens of Nightfall. They make their way to the closest inn, the same one that Sarah and Draven stayed in when they visited before, and after securing two rooms, Sarah was soon called upon by Kelly and a few of the other women of Nightfall City.
Draven decided to take Rose shopping for some clothing that would be better suited for travelling than the clothes that she had, but the trip was such a disaster that Rose got very little clothing and an even deeper sense of foreboding from the city. When Sarah returned from the castle, she found Draven sitting in their room with his arms supporting his head, a bruise forming on his temple and across the hall she could hear Rose pacing angrily.
Instead of saying anything about the events of the day, she grabs a few coins and suggests a meal for the three of them. Before heading out however, they are told that there are creatures plaguing the city and that it isn’t safe to be out too long after dark. Rose becomes more and more agitated and Sarah suggests they leave immediately, stating that they can be out of the city limits and not in danger once they reach the next rest area. They get their horses from the stables and leave quickly.