BELLRAM V02 - Ambivalence of Light and Shadow II

BP002-P04 - The Bridge 4

The covered wagon had already come more than halfway. Violet kept an almost constant eye on the spot in the clouds where Lyr was supposed to be. But so far there had been no signal. Why not? Violet had with certainly expected to be attacked. She wasn't the only one. After all, she had been hired specially and she was paid by the hour, with danger pay and the time of her return journey also taken into account. Was she too much of a deterrent? Violet felt uncomfortable. Something wasn't right. It was going too smoothly. She would rather someone attacked her, then she could solve the problem and relax again. So she had to question herself. ~Have they seen through me? No signal. Has Lyr been discovered? It's almost impossible to find her.~ Lyr wasn't the strongest, at least she wasn't at the level Violet was thinking of. Originally, Violet hadn't wanted to take her with her, but she had insisted on earning her share of the payment. Violet would like not to think about it, but there was a chance that she had been discovered and if so, there was no signal because she was long dead. The carriage would be unguarded. For Violet, she would see this mission through, even if Lyr died, even if everyone else died, even if she herself died. Failure was not an option. The queen had to be delivered unharmed.

Suddenly, Violet had a familiar feeling and a shiver ran through her. Someone was watching her.

~Lyr...~

"Yuri! I'm running ahead! Stay by the wagon!"

There was no answer from Yuri, only the car moved closer to her side.

~That she doesn't say anything even now...~

Violet let go of the side of the covered wagon and stormed ahead across the bridge. The air her body displaced ripped the hood from her head. The heavy wooden beams bent under the force of her legs pushing off. Rain falling in her path bounced off her body and splashed away to the sides. Without the lanterns of the covered wagon, it grew darker. Only the white glow of her swords remained. As she ran, all she could see were the next few beams, the rain pattering on them and the surging current. Lyr should be able to see her. She should wonder why she left the wagon. ~I don't have a good feeling about this. Is someone really plotting to assassinate the queen? If not, they wouldn't need me. If anyone dared lay a finger on the carriage or Lyr, I'll slaughter them all.~ Along the way, Violet reached into a hip pocket under her cloak and threw a handful of headless nails from the bridge. It was preparation. But they weren't necessary. Only a moment later, the carriage came into her field of vision and stood at the edge of the forest exactly as planned. The door was closed. The curtains were closed. There was no one to be seen outside. Lyr wasn't there either. The horses were quiet. Everything seemed normal.

Barely eighteen seconds after Violet had set off, her foot touched the ground. She ran out and then continued as normal until she reached the carriage door.

Through the wood, she could hear the queen laughing muffledly from inside. Unfortunately, it was reassuring. It seemed she had been worrying for nothing. There was no attack, and she had spent so long thinking about how she could get both carriages over the bridge unscathed. In the end, it was all for nothing. They probably could have just driven over it.

Violet lifted her left arm back so that the coat moved and her leg became visible to her. A sigh escaped her when she saw that the side seam of her pants had split open. She had already felt it, but it was still upsetting to have to see it. It was one of her favorite pairs of pants. They had the perfect balance between being skin-tight but still wide enough for her to move around in. At the same time, they were waterproof and therefore well suited to this weather. But wearing these pants had turned out to be a mistake. Violet might have expected to have to fight, but she had not expected to sprint.

~Will Lyr be able to sew this?~

Violet stood by the carriage for a while, waiting for the covered wagon, but before it arrived, Lyr came hurrying down from the sky.

"Violet!" she shouted while she was still high in the air.

~So a problem after all.~

"What is it?"

"A wagon is coming towards us. Still about 10 minutes away. One person. One horse. No lights."

"That's okay. We'll drive away from the bridge first, then we'll wait for Yuri. You let her know. I'll inform the queen."

"I will." Lyr said and immediately corrected her course towards the bridge.

Violet knocked on the carriage door. At the same time, she looked to her left down the forest path. It was pitch black between the trees.

~Who drives this way in the middle of the night? Certainly not a merchant.~

.../ End BP002