Not long after Raven arrived in Lapis City, buzz circulated around the city's people. Everyone loved the story of a marriage after all, plus talk of Raven's beauty also spread, causing a mix of curiosity and envy throughout the city's population.
However, Raven herself refused to leave her room. She had her breakfast brought to her and taste tested by one of the maids just in case Tarren's planned to drug her, and Leonora stood guard constantly, making sure no harm would come to Raven. Leonora even gathered two of her friends from the nearby guild to assist in her job, whom she paid out of her own pocket. The two friends were both highly ranked guild members, both of them B rank, which makes them plenty capable.
The Tarren family, however, all felt different regarding Raven's presence in the household. The patriarch of the Tarren family, Duncan, didn't care about the fact that Raven stayed in her room. She was nothing more than a means to an end for Duncan. Oliver, the oldest son, was more angry than anything; he was expected to be a more obedient type of wife, someone who did her duty without argument. That was less of the case regarding Raven, who didn't listen to a word he said. Oliver even attempted to try and tell Leonora to let him into Raven's room, but he was stopped by his mother, Ellen.
Ellen was more sympathetic to Raven, as she had gone through the same thing when she was 16. Her family married her off to advance their position. Her father became Duncan's father's right-hand man, and now that role is filled by her younger brother. Meanwhile, she is still there; she didn't love Duncan; she simply fulfilled her duties as a wife and as a mother to the best of her ability; however, Oliver, being the firstborn son, was directly under the tutelage of Duncan, while their secondborn son, Randall, was more of a momma's boy. In an attempt to help Raven acclimate to life in the Tarren House, she had attempted to talk to Raven, even just a little bit, but was shut down immediately. So Ellen had ordered maids directly under her and trained by her to handle all of Raven's needs, including food. It was her way of making sure nothing would happen to Raven, which would even worsen her trust in the Tarren family.
*Alex's perspective*
Alex, his mother, and the maids were walking down the road. They didn't have any horses or a carriage, so they were forced to travel by foot. Alex had wanted to at least grab one horse from the Blackwoods before he left, but their stable was completely empty.
"This is so tiring..." Eve said, sighing.
"Hopefully we can get some horses at the next town." Mary said.
Alex, however, was silent as he stopped in place.
"Alex?" Anna asked, concerned.
"Do you guys hear it?" Alex asked everyone.
"Sounds like...blades clashing?" Kaede said.
"I hear it...it's coming from up north." Anna commented.
"Let's go." Alex said as he started running in the direction of the noise, with the rest of the group following him.
Once the group got to where they heard the sounds, they spotted five people surrounding a carriage, all dressed in casual clothing, and only two of them were armed, fending off six other people dressed in fur and other types of clothes.
Bandits.
"Mom, Kaede you two with me. Eve and Mary, make sure the people getting attacked are okay." Alex said.
Everyone agreed, and Alex, Kaede, and Anna rushed the bandits. Alex used his lighting to hit two of them directly in the chest, killing them. Kaede threw a dagger into one of the bandits backs before slitting the throat of another, and Anna used her magic to hit her two bandits, immediately killing them. A quick and decisive victory.
Alex turned to the people who were being attacked. The two who were fighting were an older man in his late 40s and a young man in his early twenties. The three who were inside the carriage were a woman in her early 40s, a younger woman, maybe twenty at best, and a very young little boy around the age of 5.
"Are you all alright?" Alex asked the group.
"Y-Yes, thank you!" The older man said trying to catch his breath.
"Who are you?" The younger man said.
"Name's Alex; this is my mother Anna; and that's Kaede, Eve, and Mary." Alex introduced everyone to him. "We don't mean any harm; we just simply saw you all in trouble."
"W-Well thank you for saving us!" The older woman said. "My name is Catherine; the older handsome man over there is my husband Gareth; the young man here is my son Travis; the woman next to me is his wife Sandra; and finally, the little boy is my grandson Thomas."
"It's nice to meet all of you." Anna said. "If you don't mind me asking, where are you heading?"
"The town of Larton." Travis said. "We are going to be stopping by there for a few days."
"Isn't that near Lapis City?" Mary asked.
"Right outside of it by a few miles." Gareth said, having finally caught his breath. "We're merchants, so we help restock stores around the region."
"Well...I don't mean to be rude, but..." Alex said before turning to them. "Mind if we come with?"
"S-Sure! It's the least we could do to repay you for saving us." Sandra said.
"Sandra..." Travis said angirly.
"It's fine, Travis. Besides, we saw how they fought; we could use that protection just in case." Sandra argued with her husband.
"Fine..." Travis reluctantly agreed.
"So where are you five heading?" Gareth asked.
"We want to reach Lapis City pretty soon, and if we join you on the carriage, it seems like it'll be an easier trip." Alex said.
"Well, we aren't heading to the main city, but we can definitely get you to Larton. Though it may be a tight squeeze." Catherine said smiling.
"We appreciate the help." Alex said, smiling.
With that, the five joined the merchants on their travels to Larton. Travis gave them the stink eye the entire way, but everyone else was fine with it. Eve even helped watch the young child and played with him a bit, which Sandra appreciated.
Alex looked outside the carriage, thinking, "Almost there, Raven...almost there..."
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