Within twenty-four hours, the town had returned to normal. It was as though the commotion of >the previous day had been nothing but a dream.
Luke Sturm watched the people of Taurus. He was starting to notice the stubbornness and resiliency of everyday life. The townspeople had returned to their daily activities, and he had no doubt the incident would soon be pushed to the back of their minds.
Of course, it was still in their minds. He could see fear and hatred in the eyes of the townsfolk as they watched a horse-drawn carriage pass through Taurus’ main street.
“Well?” he asked the boy standing beside him.
Chris leaned against the wall of an ordinary building, his eyes closed and his arms crossed. At Luke’s question, the tactician looked up.
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Well what, sir?”
Luke turned to him. “Was there anything more you wanted to say?”
“With all due respect, Colonel Sturm. How unlike you to say such a—”
“Nagging, unresolved issues can effect your performance in combat,” Luke interrupted. “You still have a long way to go as a fighter.”
Chris paused. “You’re not going to give me a break, are you?” he asked with a sigh.
Luke turned back to watch the carriage. He decided to say nothing.
After a moment, Chris stretched his arms in the air and grinned. He shook his head. “I’m fine,” he assured Luke. “Everything’s resolved, as far as I’m concerned.”
“If you say so.” Luke walked off in the opposite direction of the carriage. Chris jogged up to his side.
“But this is sure to get interesting, don’t you think, sir? The Scrapped Princess—”
“Doesn’t concern us,” Luke said flatly. “All we need to do is plan how to defeat them when our paths cross again. I’m sure it will be soon.”
Chris smiled wryly at the colonel. He kept his mouth shut and shrugged.
Pacifica didn’t want to look. She knew the carriage was coming up on the town gate, and she knew how damaged the town wall was. She wrung her hands uncomfortably.
Seeing it again will only make me feel worse, she thought.
But a few moments after they presumably passed through the gate, she felt the carriage slow. Shannon hissed at the horses and pulled them to a stop.
Pacifica blinked. “What’s the matter?” she asked as she poked her head out the window.
She froze. Huh?
Several dozen people surrounded the Casulls’ carriage. Pacifica half-expected them to start throwing rocks, but they just looked up at the carriage sadly. She recognized most of the faces—Winia, Safir, even Falk the blacksmith.
Raquel joined Pacifica at the window, then raised her eyebrows.
Winia was the first to step forward. She looked absolutely crushed.
“You’re really leaving,” she said softly. “Aren’t you?”
Pacifica swallowed. She liked Winia, and she hated the idea of leaving Taurus, but she and her siblings didn’t have a choice. Winia looked up with pity shining in her eyes. Pacifica had spent the night before tossing and turning from multiple nightmares; Winia had probably heard her.
“I… I’m sorry,” Pacifica said quietly. “None of you deserved this. We brought so much trouble to your town.”
“But you also saved it.” Winia looked away. “And I’ll… miss you.”
“Shannon,” Safir called as he walked up to the carriage. He dropped a large bag beside the younger man.
Shannon frowned, puzzled. “You already gave us a farewell gift.”
Safir shook his head. “This isn’t from me—it’s from everyone here. Preserved foods, medicine…” He smiled. “We figured it could come in handy during your journey.”
“I put some bread in there,” Michelle called from the crowd. “I’m sure it’ll taste better than Kunan’s.”
“Nonsense!” Kunan retorted. “Our bread is superior in quality! Only high-quality bread will last for your travels.”
“I put in replacement hinges for the windows and door of your passenger cabin. The ones you have on now look like they’ll need replacing soon, so…” Falk averted his eyes, and his cheeks colored slightly. “I wish I could’ve made a lot of other things, but that was all I could do on a day’s notice. I stayed up all night making them.”
Shannon and his sisters exchanged glances, surprised. Pacifica couldn’t believe all the kindness they were receiving.
What is all this? she wondered. We almost destroyed their town!
“At the very least,” Safir said, “those of us here are grateful and want to say goodbye. And don’t look so sad,” he added, directly at Pacifica. “You should leave with your heads held high.”
Pacifica scanned the townspeople who had gathered. Some of them wore sad expressions, others awkwardly shifted their gazes elsewhere. A few offered transparent smiles… clearly the feelings throughout the crowd were varied.
But so were the feelings inside Pacifica. She stared at them, emotion bubbling up from deep inside her, and tried not to cry.
“Th-thank you,” she breathed, biting her lip. She climbed out of the carriage and bowed to the crowd. “Thank you all so much!”
Winia drew Pacifica into a long, tight hug. She dipped her lips near Pacifica’s ear.
“You still owe me for the inn repairs,” she whispered with a hint of humor. “But I’m willing to wait.” She pulled Pacifica back and held her at arm’s length. Slowly, Winia gave a full, beautiful smile. “I trust you.”
Pacifica sniffed and shakily nodded. Winia pulled her in for another hug.
The thin crowd of people was far smaller than the town-wide mob that had openly rejected the Casulls, but Pacifica didn’t care how few of them there were. She’d left her own hometown with less of a farewell.
“G-goodbye,” Pacifica breathed into Winia’s shoulder.
“Goodbye,” Winia responded softly. “For now.”
Pacifica didn’t know where her journey would end. Honestly, she didn’t know if she would even survive it. But she still closed her eyes and gripped the back of Winia’s blouse.
“For now,” she agreed.
End of Volume 2