Chapter 15: Natures Trial.
Chapter 15: Natures Trial.
It didn’t take long for them to prepare a carriage for Osborne.
" Young master, You’re really leaving?" Anny, who stood beside him, said.
" Yes." Osborne said but paused when he noticed Anny’s down look.
" I promise I’ll be back sooner than you expected."
" If it’s so important to you, couldn’t you just send someone else in your stead, I’m sure lady Guinevere would be more than happy to help you with that." She said.
" Anny, I’m afraid I can’t have anyone else going in my stead, this is something I need to do for myself." Osborne let out a helpless breath and said.
How could he send someone else to help him get this item, when he knew there was no one he could really trust from house Roosevelt to hand it to him.
The last thing he wanted was to have the item seized by them Instead.
" Then at least let me go along with you." Anny said, sounding desperate. " You’ll need someone to keep you company will you not."
’ I wish you could come, but where I’m going isn’t exactly danger free.’
Osborne shook his head lightly.
Silence.
Anny lowered her head, her shoulders trembling.
" Anny, please don’t cry, look at me." Osborne held her cheeks and lifted her head to stare at her saddened face.
" I only need you to trust me Anny, You’re young master isn’t going to get hurt, I promise I’m not running away either."
" Even if I were planning to run away, you know that I wouldn’t hesitate to take you along with me."
Anny couldn’t help hugging him tight, catching Osborne off guard.
" You running away is the least of my concerns young master, I’m far more worried that this journey of yours is filled with nothing but danger, you say you’ll come back but how am I supposed to believe that when you won’t even tell anyone where you’re heading." She said, sniffling on his shoulder.
Osborne smiled helplessly before gently stroking her hair.
" That may be true, but when have I ever broken a promise to you." He said, hearing him, Anny gradually raised her head to stare at him.
" Don’t you trust me again?" He said with a smile. " You’re young master isn’t as weak as you think, If I say I’ll be back to see you, then that’s just what I’ll do."
Anny turned silent. She knew at this point, there was nothing she could do to him that would have him change his mind.
Moreover, with how persistent he was about going on this little journey, she knew it had something to do with how he’d been treated these past few days.
She knew her young master, he was a man who couldn’t stand by and accept his inadequacy, if push came to shove, he’d do anything just to make sure he and those around him wouldn’t suffer unjustly.
Even back when they still lived in the barony, he never stopped talking about how he would return their house to its former heights.
And why it pained her right now to see him go, she still couldn’t help loving him for the man he was at the same time.
In the end, Anny nodded and pleaded with him to remain safe before letting him go.
Osborne reassured her of his return before getting onto the front of the carriage.
He didn’t ask for a driver since he wanted to keep his whereabouts a secret.
Grabbing a hold of the reins, he looked at Anny one last time, before steeling his nerves and looking ahead.
With a flick of his wrist, the horse carriage speed forward.
*******
Osborne didn’t stop once after leaving the Roosevelt estate.
Only when he left the city and arrived within the vast wilds outside did he let out a breath of relief.
As he traveled along the road through the forest, he kept his gaze ahead.
The carriage continued to ride until the sun gradually began to sink below the horizon.
Noticing this.
Osborne took the carriage off road then stopped without a small clearing where he took out a tent and some materials before setting up camp.
The night sky looked vast yet beautiful and he sat beneath it, next to the fire he’d created to stay warm.
In his hand was a stick with meat pierced clean through on it which he roasted over the fire.
It wasn’t his first time out in the wild since he’d technically gone camping back on earth on several occasions, nevertheless, that didn’t mean he let his guard down.
Osborne ate the piece of meat while sitting next to the fire, being as cautious as he was, he sat wide awake through the night.
Once the crack of dawn arrived, he packed up camp and got back on the road again.
During the day, he’d stop to sleep, but only for short intervals.
And so, he continued this for 4 straight days. Traveling to a destination one could only imagine with no one by his side.
*******
’ Looks like they’re still on my trail...’ Osborne thought as he sat next to a camp fire underneath the night sky.
He was approaching the fifth day of his travels, he’d long since entered the Northern region of the kingdom.
The night wind was far more unbearable here, with the snowy landscape making it difficult to stay warm as well, and yet, he still remained firm on his plan to get the item he sought.
While travelling, he’d long since felt like someone was watching him throughout.
This of course didn’t make him frightened but instead relieved, since he figured someone from the estate must’ve sent whosoever it was to keep a close eye on him in case he tried to escape.
As for how he noticed, besides the feeling of constantly being watched, the fact that he hadn’t encountered a single monster or hostile beast on his journey was more than enough proof already.
To Osborne it felt like a reassurance that he at least had a hidden card in case things turned unfavourable.