CHAPTER 130: FIRST STEPS INSIDE

"All in a straight line!" a guard roared loudly. The crowd immediately fell silent and tried to form proper lines, straightening them as best they could. Many had been talking and had forgotten they were supposed to be in a straight line.

The line was chaotic with noise and talks from different sides. Ava and Mr. John stood together, Ava looking worried about the war as she glanced at her husband.

They were fourth in line out of this long queue, but at least they weren’t too far back...they would have time to rest. Everything had happened so suddenly at midnight that even the food items she had bought were left on the road.

"Husband, that’s a coin loss we just wasted food," Ava pouted, and Mr. John chuckled.

"You know there will be everything here, and it will be very cheap as well, or maybe even free," he said. Ava’s face lit up, and she nodded excitedly.

"Free? But... wait. Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to keep my hopes up only for them to be crushed by a simple guard’s words," she said. Mr. John smiled.

The place was a little loud with chatters, filled with people whispering and speaking among themselves..different families, some with children, some with newborns, and some whose husbands were absent, having gone to war with the king as part of his soldiers.

"But wife, did you forget the part where I said ’cheap,’ huh?" he looked at her. Ava shook her head, shrugging, as if she had no idea what he meant.

"I have no idea what you are saying, Mr. Johnny, all I heard was free," she said.

Mr. John stiffened slightly at her nickname, his face flushing. Ava’s lips curled into a smile—she had managed to distract him by saying his nickname, they moved forward, now third in line.

"You really are smart, huh," he muttered. Ava nodded, looking back at the castle as they were at the other side. It really was big, and she wondered if Ariana was inside.

They walked, now second in line.

"Husband, I’m curious... how does the inside of the place look?" she asked.

"I don’t know, Avy, but what I do know is that they would probably assign you a hut or a little house, mostly one-bedroom, since there are plenty of people here," he replied.

"Ohh," Ava nodded and shrugged.

"I don’t mind, as long as there’s free food," Ava said, and Mr. John laughed.

"Don’t get your hopes too high, my Avy. I was just saying..."

"Oh, too late! My hopes are already high; in fact, they’re touching the tips of the clouds," she interrupted with an exaggerated grin. Mr. John shook his head in disbelief but didn’t mind her enthusiasm.

"Next!" the guard called, and Ava and Mr. John walked forward. Ava’s excitement was already showing—so much that even the guard noticed, though he didn’t know she was thrilled about a free meal.

"Name, general name, and then individual names," the guard instructed, holding a pen. From what Ava could tell, he was simply ticking off the names of people present.

Ava was quite shocked—they knew every single person here! That must be why the weekly report is needed back at the village, where tenants write their names and submit them to the local chiefs. So this was its purpose—just in case of emergencies like now.

"Mr. and Mrs. John. My name is John Bulb, my wife’s name is Ava Brentford," Mr John said.

The guard removed his eyes from the paper as they landed on Ava. He paused for a moment before giving a curt nod. He searched through the list and finally ticked something off.

He handed them a paper with a number.

"0098," Ava read aloud, taking the paper as the guard looked at her once more before turning back to Mr. Brentford, speaking professionally.

"Your house number. It would be there, at the wood door."

Ava noticed the paper was attached to a key, meaning it needed to be kept safe.

"No spare key, so make sure not to lose it," the guard added.

They nodded. Mr. John spoke, "Okay." Leah, whose hands were wrapped around his, nodded at the man with a small smile.

"A great pleasure," she spoke with a charismatic grace. The man’s eyes widened..if not for her simple creamy gown, he might have mistaken her for royalty.

They walked inside and moved down the stairs before finally reaching a large door. Another guard stood there. Ava raised her key to show him the evidence that she had been checked, and the man gave a curt nod as he opened the door.

As it swung open, Ava’s eyes widened. The place looked more like a small village, with tiny houses scattered around. It even looked better than the village they had come from. In the middle at the far end, a larger building boldly displayed a sign:

General Market.

A small smile graced her lips as she turned to her husband.

"This place is even more beautiful than I expected," she whispered. Mr. John nodded. They noticed some people glancing around, probably looking for their own doors. The sun’s rays hit the village, lighting it up beautifully. The only difference was the large fences at the far end of the place. Otherwise, everything looked perfect.

Ava spoke, moving forward.

"Let’s go find our door."

✬✬✮

Raven walked along the side of the corridor, observing the crowd in straight lines. He guessed this would take until nightfall..the number of people being checked before them was enormous.

He approached the guard who was inspecting them.

"General name...lady, don’t you know what a general name is?" the guard asked calmly, his tone in sharp contrast to his stony expression.

Raven moved closer, whispering gently. The guard turned and then spoke out loud.

"One minute, all," he said.

He then turned sideways, his back facing the crowd, and began speaking to Raven.

"What is it, man? You can see I’m busy—there are over 800 more people I need to attend to today," he said calmly, though Raven could feel the frustration in his tone.

"I understand that, Gabriel, but by any chance... so far, have you come across the name Ava Brentford," Raven asked, his hard eyes meeting Gabriel’s, silently questioning if he was thinking what Raven suspected.

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was the only one who found that name familiar," Gabriel muttered to himself, relieved he wasn’t imagining things.

"So that simply means you’ve passed her? You’re busy, so go ahead..we’ll discuss this later," Raven said. The man nodded.

"Next," the guard called.

Raven moved forward. He was supposed to inspect everyone today, so now he needed to head to the goods delivery for checks. As he reached the back of the crowd, someone stepped on his shoes, pressing mud onto them. He caught the figure before she could fall.

His pupils dilated slightly when he noticed her hair—red and straight, unlike the usual wavy strands he’d seen. As he caught her, the pin that had held it up came loose. The hair tumbled down, shimmering like a flowing river. She stood, bowing slightly, her perfect three cute freckles on each cheek framing her face. Then her blue, ocean-like eyes met his.

His body stiffened.