The weather was good for the rest of the journey and Sirrah was thankful that Eltanin had no longer co to disturb them. Her excuse that the girls needed rest, due to sheer exhaustion, worked well. Snow had stopped falling and it was just a chilly wind that blew through the forest. That was the only reason why they were able to move at such a fast pace. They reached the borders of the capital after sunset.
All throughout the entire journey, Sirrah had a tough ti watching her animated daughter, all she had wanted to do was to get out. Tania on the other hand, sat quietly, as she watched them.
Just a few more hours and they would all be in Draka. The caravan stopped suddenly.
Morava slid the glass window to the side and asked Mizvah, "Why have we stopped?"
"I don't know," he replied as he looked ahead, narrowing his eyes for better vision.
"Go and find out," Sirrah grunted. She didn't like his closeness with Morava. She couldn't risk him getting close to her. He was going to beco a headache.
Mizvah kicked his horse on the side and made him trot towards the front. He soon ca back, panting. "The soldiers found the body of a soldier hanging from a tree sowhere deep in the Eslam forest. So, the scouts have stopped the entire caravan before they proceed further."
Sothing inside Sirrah shook. She gulped the bile that rose in her throat and asked, "Whose corpse was it? I an which soldier? Ours?"
"No."
Mizvah's reply gave her the much needed relief she needed.
"It is one of their soldiers and I believe they have sent a strong team to hunt for the killers," Mizvah replied nonchalantly, as if this was all normal. He gazed at Morava, who was staring at him, and a blush rose on his cheeks.
Sirrah imdiately closed the window. Mizvah whipped his head back to the front.
The caravan stopped for no more than an hour and then they started their journey to Draka once again. It was after midnight when they reached the capital. Extrely exhausted, Sirrah made the girls wear their cloaks with hoods and hurried them both to the guest rooms. As requested, no one was there to receive them and that was important.
They soon fell asleep and when Morava got up, it was pretty late. She heard her mother shouting at Tania, "If you want to go out, you can go and sit on that bench under the canopy." She was pointing to a bench and the canopy of trees right outside their rooms. "Make sure that no one sees you."
Morava swept her feet off the bed and watched her mother fluffing up Tania's hair so that they covered most of her face on the sides. "Now you can go!"
As soon as Tania stepped out, Morava walked up to her mother and growled, "Why is she allowed to go out and I can't?"
Sirrah smiled. She wrapped her arm around Morava's shoulders and said, "Because I want people to see her from a distance and be reassured that she is Tania, otherwise suspicions will be raised and we will be unnecessarily deviated from our main purpose."
Morava giggled. "You have ticulously thought of everything, haven't you Mother?"
"Of course!" Sirrah laughed. "I have removed Tania once and for all, not only from Pegasii, but also from Draka." She held Morava's hand and took her to sit on the couch at the foot of the bed. "The rabbit stew that Tania ate in the morning was heavily drugged. I had mixed such a heavy portion of poisonous mushrooms, that she would have been unconscious until the evening."
Morava laughed. "That was a brilliant plan, Mother."
"It was easy to smuggle her out of the tent. Two of my guards dragged her all the way deep into the forest, away from the path as quietly as possible, in a bag," Sirrah continued. "There was so much commotion during that ti since the soldiers were all wrapping up the tents, utensils and other items to start with their onward journey. I know that this was the best ti that no one would have seen what was going on behind the tent of the royal queen and her daughters."
"I saw that," Morava replied with a glint in her eyes, as she placed her arm on the footboard of the bed and cradled her head on her palm.
"My guards carried her all the way to a tavern near Hydra Kingdom, which is frequented by Nyxers. They are always looking for won to add to their breeding herd," Sirrah said in a very cold voice.
A shudder passed through Morava. "You also know about the Nyxers?" she asked, her eyebrows shooting to the roof.
"In my position, I need to know a little about everyone, my dear," Sirrah said with a mysterious tone.
"So, you are suggesting that—" Morava's mouth fell to the floor as she realized what her mother had done. "You have sent Tania to—"
A sly smile played on her lips. "Last night, I had dispatched a letter to one of the Nyxers that I know, to co to the tavern to buy a special breeder. I revealed who the girl would be. I am sure that the Nyxer would be in a rush to buy her. I even put a hefty price on her."
"Oh. My. God!" Morava's hands went to her mouth as her eyes widened. "But why?"
Sirrah chuckled. "Because after all, she is the princess of Pegasii. The bitch who wanted to be the queen of Draka. A girl as important as her should fetch a good price, shouldn't she?" She plucked an imaginary dust particle from her gown. Then she turned her head to Morava and said, "I have asked the Nyxers to give two trunks of gold." A wild smile appeared on her lips. That was what Morava had told Eltanin when she first tried to sow the seeds of hatred between them.
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