The Sleepless Night of the Maid

The Sleepless Night of the Maid — Chapter 48

Jack took Eva and Cecil’s luggage instead and led the two women to escape the guard’s eyes. All the wagons were covered with leather roofs, parked in their own order, in line and row. Jack’s wagon was at the end of the last row, just below the hill.

After confirming no one was around, Jack lifted the leather at the end of the wagon to make an entrance. After helping Eva and Cecil climb in, he put their luggage in and got into the wagon. He then took out baggage from inside the narrow space to make a room for them to sit in the cramped area.

“Now, listen carefully. We have 40 wagons and each of them has a number. My wagon number is 40, you can check it on the wheels since it’s written there. Fortunately, I run at the end of the order, so I won’t stand out.”

Eva and Cecil nodded frantically at Jack’s explanation.

The dawn light was seeping in indistinctly because of the pit from the entrance. A buzz from somewhere was audible. A sound signaling that people were slowly waking up. Jack spoke in a hush tone, urgency found its way to his face.

“We start moving after breakfast and stop every two hours. We have to rest our horses. Lunchtime is about an hour and we get ready to camp when it gets dark. I’ll try to get some food, but I can’t guarantee it.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“I’ll drop the wagon as much as I can, so if you have anything to do, do it when it’s time to rest. However, if possible, it’s more safe to move at night instead of going outside during the day. And the most important thing is…” Jack trailed off before taking a breath and continued. “Never roll up the cloth around the entrance while the wagon is moving. Two guards are behind us, so you’ll get caught right away.”

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.” Eva, who’s blood ran cold, answered and gulped down her saliva.

“How long will it take to get to Montana?” As Cecil was listening, she asked in a curious tone.

“Since there’ll be some stopover in the middle, it’ll take about a week at the earliest. It could be delayed by one or a couple of days. Well then, I wish you good luck.”

Once he finished his speech, Jack looked at Eva and Cecil with pity. However, as if he was burdened by the fact that he had to take responsibility for the two women, he soon became perturbed and went outside.

The moment the cloth at the entrance was closed, the darkness enveloped them and her eyes couldn’t see even an inch ahead. If this happened at any other time, she would’ve felt fear due to the crampedness and darkness of the space. However, both Eva and Cecil felt comfortable at this moment. They were finally relieved that they no longer needed to run around with a torn heart and could fall asleep in a place where no one could see them. In addition, fresh air was winding in, so they found no problem in breathing.

“Lean on me and sleep, my lady.”

“No need. You should lean on me instead.”

Cecil tapped her shoulder, but Eva pulled her shoulder. Cecil muttered under her breath quietly, “I am the adult here,” but soon leaned on Eva’s shoulder. Seeing that she fell asleep right away shortly after, it was safe to say she was completely tired.

After Cecil’s breathing was steady, Eva turned her face away and shed tears. ‘How did my life come to this point? Why does God give me such hardship when I didn’t live with great greed or do anything wrong? I know everything has a reason, I know there are things that enlighten me again, but I’m tired of it.’

Eva would rather get out of the chain of fate and fall asleep forever. Or rather, all of this was a dream and the next time she woke up, she’d be laid down in her room in Bale Castle.

Tears and a runny nose flowed down, drenching the front of her hem. Eva wiped away her tears with a handkerchief without making a sound, fearing that Cecil would wake up if she sniffled. After crying for a long time, she trained her eyes to Cecil who had grown thin and vowed a resolution to herself.

‘I have to endure it. No matter how, I have to survive. For the sake of Cecil, who’s by my side, and for those who helped me, I have to fight and win against fate.’

As her prolonged tears ceased, Eva put her head on top of Cecil’s head. Since they were so tired, they fell asleep leaning on each other. Without knowing that the sun had risen and people were bustling around. Even after the wagon departed, they didn’t wake up until a long period passed.