Chapter 77 - Óraid

They stopped in a small clearing for the horses to rest and then continued without waiting. Anastasia's mind was agonized, her limbs were sore and she was miserable. At the clearing she asked if he wanted to talk to her because she was itching to reach out to him, but he just shook his head. Anastasia ended up helping Kaizan with heating food since Darla was too aloof, and then she took a brief rest beside Ileus. She knew that he was very upset over losing two of his men and since he wasn't talking she was silently supporting him. She curled her arms around him and buried her face on the side of his chest. He lifted his hand and then she snuggled in the crook of his shoulder after placing her head over his arm.

They moved again. By the time it was dusk, they had reached thick woods that were covered in dense fog, which seemed to stretch for miles.

"We have reached the periphery of Sgiath Biò," said Ilues in a low voice.

"Oh!" Anastasia gasped. They were finally going to cross Sgiath Biò. Relief washed her like a strong wave. Now she would start on her real mission and find her way to Iona. Her skin tingled at the thought of a new adventure. Suddenly Ileus grasped her tightly and pulled her closer to him. And heartache jabbed her. She would have to leave him. It sounded so wrong, so horrible, that she swallowed her saliva to suppress the feeling. "When are we going to reach Óraid?" she asked.

"Soon," he said quietly.

The horses fell into a line as they brought them to a slow trot. The fog was so dense that she couldn't make out what was in front of her until she was a meter away.

"Don't look anywhere, Anastasia," Ileus warned her.

It took an hour for them to cross the fog and as soon as they cut across, they rode through the night.

Flurries of snow greeted them upon leaving the forest.

When Guarhal shouted, "Óraid ahead!" Anastasia lifted her head to look at the sleepy mountain hamlet in front of her as they crested a hill. Despite the flurries of snow that was falling for the past hour, she could make out a tall building with spires, bunch of small huts, some of which were glowing dim with lights inside them peeking through a carpet of snow, but most were merely a dark silhouette against the gray and black sky. Topped with snow, the village was painted like a deserted winter wonderland.

But it was a welcome sight—one she had been waiting for so long.

Finally, they were out of Sgiath Biò! She couldn't help smiling. One part of the journey was over.

Kaizan came up to them. "I know an inn there. I hope the owner still recognizes me. We will go straight there."

Ileus nodded.

As soon as they started to descend the hill, wind slapped at them, and the soft flakes of snow that were wafting towards the ground in the valley, quickly turned into icy needles. By the time they neared Óraid, they were traveling through a blinding deluge along with equal intensity of wind. The trail was disappearing over a blanket of white that had grown deeper. The horses had to be slowed down in order to traverse through the snow.

In such severe weather, Anastasia was relieved that she was close to Ileus and shared his heat.

It was late night when the group traveled in the sleepy hamlet, which was surrounded by snow-clad mountains on all sides. Óraid was the first village after Sgiath Biò and it was said that Anastasia's mother, Áine, was from here. Excitement cruised through her. Her mother had never spoken much about the place where she was born, but it was so beautiful that Anastasia could have stayed here for eternity.

They passed through the eerily silent streets of the small village with not an inhabitant in sight. The only signs of life were the soft glows of candles, oil lamps or hearths, the lights of which escaped the furs, which were used to cover the doors and windows—a small effort to keep the bitter cold away.

They passed through the closed market square where most of the shops were closed barring two places from where one could hear loud brawls of drunken men. Just beyond the market were the residences of the locals. The huts were small with thatched roofs over which snow had piled up. With snow falling over the hamlet, it reminded Anastasia of a snow globe her mother had gifted her long back. Was the globe an imitation of Óraid?

The horses trotted along the snow covered cobbled street that was right in the center of the hamlet. It had small, crouched huts crowded on both sides.

"Where's the inn?" Ileus asked Kaizan.

"It should be near," he said as he scanned the area.

They passed an alehouse. "Why don't we stop here?" Ileus said.

"I don't mind, but the inn would have a place for all of us and feed us, if we pay a good amount of coins! I can't say the same for alehouse. At the inn we have higher chances of getting individual rooms, but alehouse will have a common room."

"The inn, it is then," Ileus said. Then he whispered to Anastasia, "This town doesn't like Faes. So stay as discreet as possible."

Kaizan, who was beside them scoffed, "They don't like any of the outsiders. Mostly because of the bandits."

"Why don't they like Faes?" Anastasia asked with shock. Her mother belonged to this village.

"Because Faes collect tithe. It was stopped long time back, but after Aed Ruad became the Crown Prince, they resumed collecting tithe, and this time they have doubled the amount."

"That's horrible!" she muttered. "Unacceptable."

"People are tired. In fact not only Óraid, many other villages that are in the close vicinity are affected by this cruelty. Poor become poorer, the rich become richer."

"And on top of that they are regularly raided by bandits and rogues?" Anastasia gritted. "Gods, I do hate the dark prince but I hate Aed Ruad more!"