Fake Princess
CHAPTER 82
Actually I don't mind. From V the road cuts south, winding slightly through farmland, then the forest that surrounds the city. But most of the forest stretched to the north of the city, so soon the road had entered the open countryside again, filled with agriculture which on the third day gradually changed the endless rolling hills. The hill village of Thorvaldor is home to shepherds, goats, and sheep, attracted by the grass and space where the herders roam.
I had never visited him; if out of the city, the royal family traveled north, to the cool lakes and dense forests. This area is different, more spacious and rocky. But that does not mean it does not have its own beauty. I realized that the open nature and its population were slightly more suited to my current mood. I was like a tangled nerve, but imagining someone coming from afar made me calmer.
There's something else that makes me calmer; Devan. He who controls the practical side of our journey, chooses the place and time to stop, making sure we have enough water and food to arrive at the next town, check the soles of our horses to look for stones every time we break.
On the first night Devan asked for ointment from the innkeeper, after I slipped from my horse and could barely walk into the inn as my legs began to ache, she said, I am not used to a long journey on a horse. Not that his feisty nature disappeared but because he had responsibilities.
Devan sang during our horseback riding, teasing the innkeeper's daughter to get us a cheaper room, and as usual being a spectacle. When I felt guilty, Devan told me that lying to Paula had to be done for the good of the country.
Devan also made up the story that we will tell in Siderros. As a pair of brothers, we are Lord Aldorick and Miss Varil who are rather poor. I will confess that I am writing a book on the history of the soothsayers in Siderros, and Devan will confess to accompanying me to protect me on the way.
Now, as we approached the Siderros fortress, I wondered if people would believe our story. I feel dirty. Before leaving the inn I had taken a bath, and I knew the open wind had blown my hair out to form a tangled ball that was bulging around my face. I don't feel like a noble scientist, but I straighten my shoulders and move on.
The road leads directly to the front of the temple, then weaves towards the hills. There was a fortress surrounding Siderros, the front of which was opened by two large, plain doors. Both doors opened and showed a courtyard made of stone tiles, and we pointed the horse there. Siderros, I realized immediately, not a single structure, but a community of many buildings, like a small village. At the end of the courtyard stood a building that I consider the temple. A long low staircase leads to a colonnaded pavilion, which is then connected to a domed building, similar to the temples in the city.
Seriate