The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 23: Twenty-two

There are four towns in total in the north which are named as Chivahon, Kentucky, Rye, and Philipia.

These four towns are under three nobles— Rye and Philipia are under Marques Ebonics, Kentucky is under Baron Brown, and Chivahon is under Baron Taylor.

Rye and Philipia are near each other, half a day would be the maximum time to travel from Philipia to Rye on foot, but it would take quarter of the day if on horse.

Kentucky is half a day far from Philipia if on horse and would take a day on foot. On the other hand, Chivahon takes a whole day to get from Philipia on horse while a day and half on foot.

People will have to get through Chivahon first before they could reach Kentucky or any other town further up on north. However, one could go take a detour which would take another day or so.

Hence why people would rather go through inside the town than go around it.

It’s also the reason why Jannah and her people are heading to Chivahon to get to Philipia. However, there’s one problem..

"Hello? Anyone there?!" Jeremiah called out, slamming his right fist against the thick wood of the gates, "This is Countess’s Rafelon’s knight! We need to go through the town to go to Kentucky! Let us stay for the night!"

Silence.

Jeremiah’s eyebrows furrowed as a scowl appeared on his face. Even after all that pounding against the door, he was met with nothing, but silence. Seriously? I just told them that there’s a noble waiting out here and there’s still no response?

He let out a deep breath, not wanting to show such ugly expression to his master. He heaved several deep breaths as he kept slamming his fists against the wooden gate— using it as an excuse to calm himself.

He tried this for a few minutes before he hastily retreat back to the group, he couldn’t shake off the eerie and chilly feeling he gets from the town.

"My lady, the gates are locked from the inside and it seems like there are no guards on the gate." Jeremiah said as his horse gallops his way towards the Countess’s mare.

"What?" Jannah’s eyebrows furrowed, eyes looking past her knight and looked straight to the wooden walls of the small town of Chivahon.

The sky is already dark and the air is freezing. The weather is getting colder and can cause for goosebumps to rise if it weren’t for the coats they are wearing. They have been traveling all day just to reach Chivahon on time, but it looks like they already closed their gate.

"Do we have to go around?" Jeriel asked, her own horse approaching Jannah’s stallion.

"Are you guys up for it?" Jannah turned the question around and asked her people instead, "We could just wait here until morning and have breakfast in their inn tomorrow."

"It’s okay, my lady." Marco spoke for the others, "The women can take a nap while we take a detour to Kentucky."

Jannah glanced at Jeriel and saw that her little sister did the same, the two of them raised their eyebrows— exhaustion clear as day in their eyes, but will that stop them? No, it won’t.

"Alright, we can take a break halfway through the detour." Jannah agreed to Marco’s suggestion and kicked her stallion’s side to let him know that he should move, "The horses need to take a rest as well and I’m sure we’re not exactly light either."

Quiet giggles and chuckles can be heard after she made a light joke. It made the atmosphere bright than earlier and made everyone relaxed as they make their way around the town.

Half an hour had passed in complete silence except for the neighs and the tap of horse shoes against the dirt beneath them, but no one dared to break the silence.

All of them are quite tired and want to take a break, but their ticket to resting got blew in the wind when they found the gates of Chivahon locked. Usually, the gates get locked to keep wild animals from going inside.

Which I completely understand, but how come there’s no knight guarding the gate? Jannah asked, looking over through the tree lines to look at the town’s walls in the distance.

The distance from the town on the path they are following right now are quite far so the lights that peak through the wooden walls to the tree lines shines lowly when she caught it from the corner of her peripheral vision.

It’s weird to say the least, but the town of Chivahon is not under her authority so she really can’t say anything about how it operates.

Half way through the detour to Kentucky, the town have completely disappeared from their sight so nothing’s really keeping them entertained anymore.

"Why don’t we take a break here?" Jannah spoke up, startling the people who almost doze off in their horses.

No one answered, Marco and Lucienta seems like their mind is elsewhere while the others are trying their best to keep themselves awake. Jannah sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, a puff of smoke coming out of her mouth in the process.

They’re being stubborn. Jannah thought with a small smile. Okay, they don’t want to take a rest? Then we won’t.

There is a saying that people learn things from the people they love and admire. Jannah wonders if her people learned how to be stubborn from her or her little sister. After all, Jeriel can be very stubborn, too.

Jeriel blinked and shook her head slowly to shake away her drowsiness. She looked around, taking mental notes of who are sleepy and tired looking.

She pursed her lips and kicked the stirrup on her mare’s side, guiding her horse to go to her big sister in the front.

"Sis." Jeriel called out softly, "Don’t you want to take a break here?"

Jannah hummed and paused for a moment before she turned her head to look at her sister, "I asked earlier, but it seems like they want to be stubborn and would rather go to Kentucky before anything else."

"Stubborn?" Jeriel’s face scrunched lightly as she looked back to their people, "Does that look stubborn for you?"

"I don’t know." Jannah hummed out and shrugged her shoulders, "With our pace right now, we will be able to reach Kentucky before noon. We can take a rest there, yes?"

"Aish.." Jeriel clicked her tongue with her eyebrows furrowing. Her big sister is stubborn. It’s obvious that everyone is tired, but she doesn’t even want to stop and take a break. They’re all stubborn.

"Come on, there’s no need to look so glum." Jannah chuckled under her breath, "Turn that frown upside down."

"Not until you tell them to take a break here." Jeriel stood her ground and urged her sister again, she can’t order everyone to stop and take a break since she’s not the one in charge.

"Alright, alright." Jannah smiled, happy to know that her little sister has not lose her persistent personality.

"Let’s take a break here, everyone!" She exclaimed which startled the dozing women awake, "Jeremiah and Dreidel will set up the camp for the ladies while I tie the strings and cans around the camp!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"I can do that, my lady!" Marco called out from the carriage.

Jannah sighed, staring blankly at the old man looking at her with stubborn eyes. He was puffing out smoke because of the weather and the exhaustion in his black irises are evident.

She swerved the reins of her stallion and approached the carriage.

"No, you’re cold and obviously tired. You need rest so as soon as Jeremiah is done with the tents, you go ahead and call it a day, okay?" Jannah raised an eyebrow at him, taunting him to go against her words.

Marco could only nod his head with a small defeated smile, "Yes, my lady. I understood, thank you for worrying about my health."

After that short conversation, she unmounted her horse and walked around the area she chose for her people to rest on. She clutched her sword’s hilt tightly on her side, looking around and doing her best to look past the tree lines.

She was cautiously looking around as she tie the strings around the tree trunks. Once she’s sure that the strings are secured, she gave the cans a test and looped her finger on to the string then tugged it lightly.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Sure enough, it worked like a charm. Jannah smiled and stepped back, she admired her work for a moment before she turned around and walked back to the camp.

The camp was only two meters away from the strings to give the others some time to gather themselves just in case something triggers the sound of the strings.

"Has everyone settled in?" Jannah asked the first person she approached which is Jeriel who is busy soothing her mare to sleep.

"Yeah." Jeriel answered in a quiet whisper, "Marco, Haile, and Aran is sharing a tent beside the carriage. Lilo, Lucienta, Kirie, and Marietta are all in that tent."

Jeriel pointed to a specific tent beside the path they were walking down a while ago. Jannah hummed in acknowledgement and nodded her head which she’s sure that her little sister saw in her peripheral vision.

"I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to sleep on a tent so I told Dreidel to not lay our tent." Jeriel mused with a smirk which Jannah returned in a playful manner.

"I’m a knight. I can handle not having the luxury of a bed." Jannah countered back to her little sister’s musings, "Make sure to sleep as well. I can’t have you passing out on our way to Kentucky."

"Psh, please, I’m more worried about you passing out, you know?" Jeriel rolled her eyes and slumped on her horse’s side, leaning against her and sinking into the animal’s warmth.

"You’re going to sleep there?" Jannah raised an eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders when Jeriel nodded her head, "Alright, suit yourself."

She didn’t even wait for a response and walked away from her little sister. Jeremiah and Dreidel are sitting on top of the carriage, they’re awake for the first watch and will switch with Haile and someone else later.

Jannah decided to leave them be and walked around the camp again to check the perimeter. It’s better to be thorough than sorry, right?