All Chapters of The Luna I Was Never Allowed To Be: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

KIERANBy the time my horse crossed the eastern gate into Easthaven, I had already been called by name at least six times.“Kieran!”“You're finally back!”“Look who decided to remember us!”I laughed as another familiar face waved from beside a grain cart.My pack had not changed much while I was away, although there were enough little differences to remind me that life here did not pause whenever I left. I noticed two new stalls had appeared along the market road, one was selling dried meat and the other sold woven household cloth. A section of the wooden fence around the eastern storage grounds was still leaning badly, despite the fact that I distinctly remembered telling someone to repair it before I left.Apparently, my instructions had been treated as suggestions.I saw children run between the legs of the adults, shouting and laughing as they chased one another through the market. Traders were already arguing over the price of a grain shipment and each one insisting that the

ELARASeveral days passed and nothing happened that needed my immediate attentionFor once, I was happy about thatThe northern district had not suddenly become peaceful but the problems coming to me were normal enough to let me relax—disagreement between two families about a damaged fence, a village asking for more guards around a storage ground and a group of workers asking when their delayed payments would comeNone of it was unimportant, especially not to the people involved but none of it carried the same uncertainty as the investigation we were working on. I went to a village meeting on the fourth day where half the time was spent arguing about a road damaged by the rain. One farmer said the road was always bad another blamed the timber workers for using it too muchI listened asked questions and finally agreed to a temporary fix while the district office looked into who was responsible for that roadIt was the sort of work I had become used to—practical problems and practical

ELARAThe dead man's name followed me into the next morning.I tried to leave the man's name behind, I really did but I couldn't stop thinking about it. There were reports waiting on my desk requests from two villages— a list of workers who still hadn't been found and another note from Rhys saying there was still no sign of the transport manager. The royal investigators had begun following the trail behind the forged authorization and I had already instructed the district clerk to preserve the employment and transport records exactly as we had found them.There was enough work to keep me occupied until nightfall but still, every time I looked down at a document I found myself thinking about that name.A dead man had been listed as a living worker and it bothered me because I didn't know what it meant.I was halfway through a report when someone knocked."Come in."The door opened and lady Miriam stepped inside, she came without carrying documents or anything at all and that alone ma

ELARA The first thing I heard when I entered Briar Hollow village was laughter.I still haven't recovered from the private dinner I had last night and now I am attending a festival in one of the villages in the Northern district. The laughter came from everywhere at once mixed with the smell of meat, freshly baked bread and something sweet that reminded me of honey and cinnamon. I could hear music coming from the village square from a group of musicians gathered beneath a wooden shelter with their instruments keeping a lively rhythm. Children ran between tables with the complete confidence of people who knew nobody would let them get lost.Rhys slowed his horse beside mine and looked across the crowded square.“I suppose the guards are going to have a difficult time protecting you from anyone who intends to attack you with a basket of apples."I glanced at him. "You sound disappointed."“I spent the journey preparing for a serious security operation."“You still have a security o

KIERANBy the time I reached the Easthaven trading yard where I was supposed to handle the dispute that was assigned to me, three merchants were arguing so loud that half of the settlement could hear them. The yard had always been noisy, but this was different. Grain sacks were stacked beneath the covered sheds, timber wagons stood in uneven rows along the outer road, and drivers moved between them carrying ledgers, receipts and pieces of paper that seemed to contradict one another depending on who was holding them.A grain merchant was insisting that his payment had been sent two weeks ago.The man who was supposed to receive it was standing three feet away, swearing that no such payment had ever reached him.Two timber traders were arguing over a route change that neither admitted to requesting, while a wagon owner had apparently decided that the best way to defend himself was to shout over everyone else.I stopped at the centre of the yard and waited until the arguments had reach