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John and Martin didn’t know if they were lucky or not, but on this night, there were many villagers who sneaked into the Bartel estate. No one was bothered with the presence of the other but rather drew courage from the presence of others and stealthily started searching for anything that could be salvaged or eaten.“Where is the entrance to the main house?” Martin whispered, moving close behind his uncle.“No, the back entrance is better.” John interrupted, his gaze cautiously scanning their surroundings.Peter guided them confidently; he knew the layout of the estate like the back of his hand. This was one of the first works that he had completed under his master’s tutelage. Once inside, Martin skewed his eyes and pursed his lips into a lopsided grin as he asked “Uncle, how do you know this estate so well?”“I built it along with my master.” Peter smirked without taking any offense.“Then do you know all the secret chambers?” Martin continued with increased enthusiasm.“Um…some…” Pe
“Then why didn’t you?” John asked in confusion; they didn’t have to be separated for so long.“Like you said, so many things happened…” Peter sighed “After searching for you lot, we figured that he had sent you Amberton Duchy and didn’t want to make it easier for those searching for you; we didn’t want them to find you by following our trail…. So, we decided to stay put.”“How can, you be sure?” Martin asked with a foolish look.“Hearing at the urgency and concern in Alex’s voice, we knew things were not straightforward.” Peter shrugged “With how much he loves his wife, do you think he will let her sister suffer? He even thought of getting us out of the heat and under the protection of his good brother although our only connection to him is via your father.” Peter chuckled “Do you think anyone with a little commonsense couldn’t figure out who his first point of concern was?”Martin nodded with a silly grin.“Our only confusion was why he didn’t ask us to head to Worthington.” Peter sh
“Just like you care about me, Beth cares about her sister.” John pursed his lips and spoke in a firm voice “From the moment, I fell in love with Beth and from the moment Katherine fell in love with brother-in-law, our fates have been intertwined and will never separate until our last breaths.”“And where did that get you?” the lady shouted bitterly; she had been separated from her brother and family for more than a decade. She had lived her life all this time, washing her face with tears and regret.“How many times did I warn that girl to not look for fate higher than the skies???” She sobbed uncontrollably without giving John a chance to refute, not that he wanted to … he knew that his sister was venting her past grievance and didn’t have any malicious thoughts.“What did it get her in the end?” She continued sobbing “Not only did she not get a good life, but she also didn’t even get a proper burial…Oh! What sin???”“How do you know?” John interrupted his sister’s ranting as he heard
They walked for about half an hour before they finally came to the area where there was a cluster of cottages. The lady led them to the cottage at the far end and invited them inside warmly “Come in.”“I am Lily” The lady smiled as she introduced herself. “This is the home my master gave me and there is no one else here. You can stay here without fear.”“Currently I am part of the Salvol estate, and I work for my master at the Tavern.” She added thinking she should introduce herself properly. She lowered her voice as she continued “When all that trouble broke out years ago, I sold myself to my master so that I can keep a roof over my head.”She lifted her head proudly and added “My contract clearly states that I will only be responsible for cooking and serving at the tavern and that no one can make me do anything without my consent.”John and Martin nodded with shrug to indicate that they didn’t think anything of what she just said.“I am John and this is my son, Martin.” John broke t
“The Purlongs although they are an independent estate, they are still governed by the Asters. But that was not their crime, they were in close cahoots with the Asters, did you know?” She raised her eyebrows quizzically before continuing with increased enthusiasm as she saw the interest in their eyes even though they were shaking their heads, confirming that they didn’t know the Asters.“They were the grand dukes, one of the most powerful duchies in the whole of Hal, second to only the king… but they got greedy…. Wanting the throne…” She shook her head, her lips curling in schadenfreude.“They plotted against the Zumerong heir, causing his death and angering his royal highness, Cornelius Richard the fourth…. And that my friend marked the end of their story.” The lady shrugged as though it was a no brainer.“Till that incident, I always thought that his royal highness was a charming gentle soul.” The lady’s eyes became dreamy as she thought back to her yester years “He was best friends
“I don’t have a story other than wanting to freeload off my old man and see the world.” Martin shrugged with a wilted expression.The lady turned her attention to John who sighed once again as he raised his ale in a gesture to toast “I was sold by my master when I was very young. I have never been able to come back.”“Oh dear….” The lady shook her head in sympathy as she asked “How old were you? Your folks?”“I was four or five…not sure… it was a very long time ago.” John shook his head, his eyes naturally filled with sadness as he lowered his head dejectedly “I don’t know how they are or who they are.”“My memories of the past are a blur.” John’s voice lowered in guilt “All I can remember is the big iron gates with the estate name closing behind me as the master who bought me rode away.”“Oh dear…. Oh dear….” The lady shook her head, sympathy etched all over her face; her eyes paused on the empty mug beside John and stood up “Let me get you a refill to comfort you.”Martin had an exp