Chapter 209 [Bonus chapter] the inn

“I think we can stop here.” Hazel stared at the small inn which was shrouded with darkness.

The building was rusty and old where not a single soul could be seen moving. Hazel stared at Lucian, stepped out of the carriage and walked towards the inn, unsure if she should follow or wait for him here.

The building did not give her good vibes maybe because of its look or the surroundings. They have come too far to almost reach the border of town with only a few houses and most of the area was covered with dark forest.

The cawing sound of dark crows and hoot hoot of owls was the only sound that could be heard around giving her an ominous feeling.

Her hold on the reins tightened and the desire to flee from there only increased when she heard strange whispers around her and then saw a silhouette walking towards her.

“Why in the world has he brought me here?” she cursed Lucian who had disappeared behind the door only to not come back and make her anxious.

“Shall we leave!” She pulled the reins and soon the horses neighed loudly while raising their front legs above the ground.

“Oh my, are you already leaving. The boy said that you need many rooms.“ Just when she was frowning as to why the horses were not leaving, the silhouette came closer and whispered slowly with an audible sigh.

Her heart leapt out of her cage as she was an old woman standing there. Her brown eyes were covered with wrinkles and her hair had turned white due to her age. She had a few moles on her face, making her look scarier in the dark night.

When she raised the lantern of her hands to look at Hazel better. She looked no less than a dark ugly which used to scare kids at night.

“I did not mean to scare you young lady but many women could not maintain their beauty in old age. Do you still need room or leave?” Hazel felt a bit embarrassed when the woman not only read her thoughts but also announced them curtly on her face.

If she would still leave, then she would be called narrow minded and since there was nothing wrong, then maybe she was just getting anxious because of the surroundings.

“I was just looking for a good place to park the carriage so that the horse could eat grass in the meantime.” Hazel felt her gaze filled with mockery as she looked at her and then at the carriage but in the end decided to not to pass another sarcastic comment and nodded her head.

“I will not suggest you to Parking carriages in a far area. Though you would get fresh and free grass, your horse could be stolen or worse die.

This area is not safe. Neither for humans or animals. It would be better if you leave it here only.

We will feed him too. You do not need to worry about that. But for that you have to pay us extra. As you can see, we are risking our lives to bring grass for your horse.” with a sly smile on her face, she tapped her fingers and then showed her two fingers as the charge for the grass when hazel nodded.

Among all the worries, she was glad that she needed to care about money or wealth at least.

“Aah, then you are most welcome. Come let me give you a small guidance to this place.” Hazel nodded and stepped out of the carriage but she did not open the door for the kids yet.

If she doesn’t like it, she will just pull Lucian with her and leave this place for good.

The woman held the arms of the hazel tightly as if they were in an intimate relationship as she smiled and then started pulling the Hazel towards the entrance door.

“Though this place looks a bit worn out. It has all the facilities, warm water, good food and even top notch gossip.

Many information guild members visit this place regularly for new for their newspapers and personal investigation.” Hazel wanted to ask what was so prideful about it when she was spreading gossips but only nodded her head.

She did not want to talk a lot with the woman who was giving her strange vibes. Soon the door of the entrance opened and Hazel looked around. She swore she was not that scared when she was going to meet Rafael for the first time.

Just why in this world have they come to this place out of anywhere in the whole empire.

She had thought that she would see ghosts running around here or at least that same murky and rusty smell in the hall with no one around but was surprised to see half a dozen people sitting in a circle and chatting with each other while enjoying the warmth of the fireplace.

The place looked cozy and warm with bright yellow color on the walls and small portraits covering the hall.

Lucian was sitting on the sofa while talking to an old bald man who turned his head towards her when she entered and nodded,

Hazel nodded back as she took hurried step towards her. She wanted to tell him that they were leaving for a better place but the man did not leave Lucian even when she tugged his shoulders and asked him to come with her.

“Hello, lady hazel. We are glad that you have chosen this place to stay tonight. We will try our best to offer you good service. Though you can see that it is an old inn, we have good staff and chefs.

I have already ordered them to make warm soup for the kids.” As if on cue, he turned to look behind her for a few more seconds then turned his head to Lucian in confusion who stared back at Hazel.

“The kids are still waiting in the carriage.”