"Thank you, so much sir," Eliza said to the coachman as she alighted from the carriage, hastily following behind Althea who was slipping through the bustling market.
"Wait up my lady!" She ran after Althea, looking around for any signs of someone following them.
Althea suddenly stopped and turned back to Eliza. "Where should we go? Barrowville or Northshire?"
"Barrowville is a far journey to start tonight. I think we should go to Northshire then Barrowville later."
"Perfect!" Althea clapped like a seal and hurried to the next carriage.
She knocked on the coachman's door, and it swung open. "I'd like to book a private ride to Northshire."
The coachman looked her up and down, he had not seen this face before but she seemed like a noble. "That'll be 30 silver coins." He said looking sly.
Eliza gasped from behind and came to the front. "30 silver coins is a stretch mister, let's go for 10."
The man clicked his tongue, "Leave if you can't afford it." Then rudely closed the door.
Althea turned to Eliza, "Why did you do that? We could have just paid."
"No milady, he is trying to rip you off. We'll find someone better."
They went to the next carriage, and it was Eliza who spoke this time. When people saw Althea, they tend to hike their prices higher because she looked noble. "10 silver coins for a private ride to Barrowville." She told the coachman.
"Let's go for 15."
"12."
"13."
Eliza wanted to keep bargaining but Althea held her hand. "We'll go for 13," Althea said from behind. Pure regret could be seen in the man's eyes when he saw Althea. He should have priced higher, he thought.
They entered the carriage and their journey to Barrowville began.
Althea hummed happily while Eliza kept watch like a hawk, despite them being in a carriage already. They had succeeded in escaping but it all felt too easy. She couldn't fight the premonition creeping up her spine.
Meanwhile, Althea had no care in the world. All her plans were going just as she laid them out, unlike Eliza, she didn't think anything was wrong. She just felt the moon goddess must've heard their cries.
The carriage then passed through a narrow alley, making the hair on Eliza's neck stand.
"Why are we following this road, mister," she asked guardedly.
"Oh, don't be afraid." The coachman chuckled. "This is a shortcut, Barrowville is quite far, we need all the shortcuts we can find."
Eliza calmed down a bit but her guard was still up. Meanwhile, Althea had already fallen fast asleep, her light snores filling the carriage.
They burst into a forest and Eliza finally let her guard down. She thought this would be a case of kidnapping but she was wrong.
Her eyes grew heavy and despite her struggle to stay awake and protect her lady, she gave up and fell asleep.
After what felt like barely twenty minutes of sleep, a gallop suddenly woke Eliza up. She squinted her eyes and opened the carriage window, trying to figure out their location, if she could.
The carriage moved with full speed, trees swooshing past them. She then saw an imposing structure looming ahead.
'We must be in Barrowville' she thought to herself, sleep still clouding her senses.
She closed the window and got back to sleep, only that she kept on seeing the same structure haunting her in her sleep. It looked too familiar.
Finally, it clicked.
She jolted out of her sleep and, opened the window with haste. This time, they were closer and all the sleep had left her eyes.
"Oh no," she muttered completely terrified.
"My lady," she tapped Althea who was deep in sleep without looking back. Althea groaned and shifted in her sleep, but she didn't wake up.
"My lady!" Eliza slapped her harder and Althea's eyes flew open.
"Are we here yet," Althea asked stretching tiredly. "But the carriage is still moving."
Eliza turned to look at her with her eyes wide open. "We're in trouble."
"What do you mean?" Althea asked confused, unaware of what was happening.
"We're not headed to Barrowville. We are back at the White Moon pack house."
Althea's heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She opened the window in haste and saw the packhouse right before them.
How did this happen?
"Mister!" She yelled for the coachman. "I thought I paid you to take me back to Barrowville? Why bring me here!"
"I'm sorry my lady, but the alpha ordered me to bring you to the pack house."
"What?!" Althea muttered in disbelief. How did he get a whiff of her plan?
"I told you it was too easy my lady, what are we going to do?" Eliza was panicking.
"Turn the carriage around and I'll give you 50 silver coins," Althea said to the coachman.
"I'm sorry but I cannot defy the Alpha."
"How about 100 silver coins?" Althea tried again. If there's one thing she has learnt in her nineteen years of life, it is that money controls minds. Broke loyalty.
"I'm Sor-"
"300 silver coins?" Althea was desperate, they were very close to the pack house. He wouldn't refuse, right?
"I can't disobey the alpha."
Althea slumped back on her seat in defeat. Her mind was raging with solutions to their problem.
"Bribing them won't work, werewolves are loyal to their alphas." Eliza bit her nails, the wheels in her mind running. "If the Alpha tells the king, your parents…"
Althea turned to Eliza her eyes wide with terror. "That cannot happen. The king must not hear of this."
The carriage rolled into the pack house and in front, Alpha Nathaniel stood waiting for them, his hands behind his back. He had a sly grin on his face, one Althea wanted nothing more than to wipe off.
"My lady," Eliza panicked the more when the carriage finally halted.
Althea held her hand and squeezed it. Her heart was beating rapidly and her mind was blank of any other ideas. She didn't think of the consequences of failing while she was mapping out her plan.
The carriage door opened, and Althea gave the coachman the stinkiest glare ever. If looks could kill, the coachman would be six feet under by now.
She got out and helped Eliza out. It was meant to be the other way but Eliza was too shaken to even help herself out. She had heard many bad rumours about werewolves and she didn't want to be the victim of their many horrific tales.
Althea walked forward her head up and stopped in front of Nathaniel. Eliza stood behind her.
Nathaniel stepped forward, fixing a loose strand of hair behind her ears. "How was your little adventure? Had fun?"