She never complained, never begged to leave. She simply held her children humming to them quietly as her husband kept the dark at bay with nothing but silence and blood.
When it was all over the trees thinned and the first gold grassy hills of the Goldenfields came into view. Red could finally lower the masking. He let the wagon breath, let Jane sit in the sun without fear.
For the first time in weeks he held Anecus in his arms. Just for a minute just long enough to feel his son's breath against his neck.
A dusty road just outside Goldenfields territory.
The sun is dipping into a haze. Red rides at the head of the wagon reins loose in one hand gaze sharp. Up ahead a wagon leans unevenly, one wheel snapped clean off.
A man grunts, muscles taut, trying to lever the axle and fit a spare wheel underneath.
The first sign of life they'd seen in weeks was a man swearing softly to himself in the dust, it was a welcome sight to be honest. They had just crossed the last ridge between the untamed border and the Goldenfields outer stretch.
Open plains of rising green and pale yellow, dotted with stubborn root trees.
Jane, dozing in the back of the wagon with the twins, stirred when the wheels slowed.
Red muttered to himself, his voice low, not hostile but wary. "Strength's real, not flashy."
As they approached they heard the stranger " Stars above... just hold still, you mule headed bastard."
The wheel dropped again with a solid thud. Red rode up, He didn't suppress his presence…but he didn't let it swell either.
The man notices the sound of another wagon and the clops of two horses.
Mid thirties, sleeves rolled up, hands greasy with oil, straining under a wheel frame twice his size…And lifting it.
The man looked up sweat in his beard, sunburnt and flushed, Then he smiled. "Don't suppose you've got a second pair of hands and no inclination to rob me?"
Red after a pause and a once over of the man "I don't rob. Not since yesterday."
The man chuckled "yesterday is forgiven then."
Without another word Red dismounts and helps lift the wagon, The two work in practiced silence. Sweat and dust shared without comment.
From behind them the wagon's canvas curtains shift. Without needing to turn "Jane stay inside."
Already in the motions of stepping down the wooden steps "it's just a wheel."
Cassia coos softly, bundled against her back making little bubble noises. Anecus stirs on her chest, eyes blinking trying to fight the sun.
Jane rounded the front of the wagon, "they need fresh air too."
The man straightens, wiping his thick brow. His eyes light up. "Twins? Hah! Look at them." A prideful grin forming on his face he continues "My wife's about to give birth any day now, headed back to the Fields. On the last merchant run to pad the coin purse."
With a gentle laughter and extending her hand. "we're on our way there now! Planning to settle down, names Jane by the way."
Rennen with a smile "well then Mrs. Jane you're in good hands, I know folks and I can help you set up something decent. No one should fumble their first months with babies in tow."
Jane accepted Rennen's offer with grace.
He then looked over at Red and with a little smirk and extended his hand "and what's your name mister silent."
Red stared at the hand for a moment, then shook it "Red. call me Red."
packing up his tools, Rennen said "I don't mind company for the rest of the road. There's some long trail left even after the wilds. I know which posts are safe."
Something heavy stirred in Red's chest. Something like...Trust? Or at least the possibility of it.
He wasn't used to people offering help without angle or expectation. In the Empire, nothing came free. In World Dragon's End, kindness was currency, debt in disguise.
But this man smiled without fear, offered without measure. Red looked back toward the wagon. Jane, humming something soft. Cassia asleep. Anecus…watching the stars.
Red 'Maybe it's time I stopped watching for knives in every hand. I'm not just a weapon anymore. I'm a father. And maybe…maybe this world doesn't always want to kill you.'
Looking at Jane, she was smiling in that tired, hopeful way he hadn't seen since before the twins were born.
"alright."
----
The wheels hummed over the dusty ground. The warm air touched with the breath of approaching summer not yet stifling. It soothed the joints long abused by the road. The twins slept, Cassia curled in Jane's lap and Anecus resting against her chest, one small fist tangled in her hair.
Their wagon trundled beside Rennen's, both moving at a lazy, unhurried pace across the last southern stretches before the true farmland began. Rennen talked like a man who hadn't spoken to anyone in months.
Rennen grinning on every word "You'll love the orchard rows this time of year." talking with his hands he continues, "The blooms look like clouds fell out of the sky."
leaning back in his saddle with the reins loose. "And wait until the root festival Mrs Jane." he tipped his hat politely to her, "They make this syrup glazed twist bread the size of your forearm."
Rennen inhales almost as if remembering the scent "Smells like cinnamon and promises."
Jane couldn't help but beam at every word "that sounds incredible!"
Rennen "Don't even get me started on the lake." with a face fondness "The water's so clear you can see the fish looking back at you like you're the weird one."
Riding up front at the reins as usual, Red had one hand hidden on his thigh. He listened, but didn't interrupt.
Rennen slowed a little, letting the wagons line up evenly again. "And the best part?" he says as he pats the side of his wagon "No taxes. No collars. No flags. Neither the Empire nor the Federation care enough to bleed us dry out here."
Jane's eyes widen slightly, a flicker of real hope blooming behind them. "Truly? No one watches?"
with a smug smile "They've tried. Once or twice, Left quickly. Turns out folks who farm in the shadow of dragons don't take kindly to foreign banners. Plus the goods we produce are such a large and quality export that they have grown dependent on us for many things."
Rennen looks ahead into the blue sky falling into thought, almost like he can see the Goldenfields already. "It's peaceful, not perfect, but close. Safe place to raise a family."
Jane looked down at the twins, still asleep. Then looked toward the horizon, where the green rolled on like a dream that hadn't ended yet.
With a sigh she shed off her past for the first time in years…She let herself believe. They were really going to make it.