The Journey Begins

-----Yui's POV

Mom finally came back just as it was about to be night out. Rupert and the rest of his household had also arrived with mom, bringing with them a couple caravans of their own. They'll be staying in one of our spare rooms as they immediately went up stairs. But What I didn't expect to see however was that Olivia had someone with her; Gabriella. 

Yui: "Wait. Gabriella?"

Gabriella: "Olivia told me that you guys are moving?"

Yui: "Yes?"

I turn to Olivia, about to question her.

Olivia: "I- Well... She kind of just followed me as she saw me packing my things from the dorm."

So that's what it is? But doesn't Gabriella have a family? Is she just planning on abandoning her family to come with us? That's a bit-

Gabriella: "Don't give me that look. I'm coming!"

Iris: "Are you sure? Your parents would surely want you to stay."

Gabriella: "I'm an adult. Plus they don't even care how well I'm doing in class. I've grown to like Olivia over the weeks, so when I saw her packing I just had to come along."

Iris: "Hah~ I'm not going to force you stay behind, but you should seriously consider what you're doing."

Gabriella: "I have."

Yui: "Don't you have other friends as well?"

Gabriella: "Yes, but Olivia is special to me. Thank to you, I've come to look past our difference in status."

Iris: "You do realize that your status will be null and void if you come with us."

Gabriella: "So... I'll just be a commoner?"

Iris: "Yes."

Did she seriously not think about that?

Gabriella: "Cool! That means you don't need to be all formal with me anymore, hehe."

I thought she'd actually back down and reconsider after being told that by mom, but instead she wrapped an arm around Olivia with a bright smile on her face.

Olivia: "You sure are reckless, Gabriella."

Gabriella: "Mhmm!"

Iris: "Fine. If that's what you'd like to do, then I won't question you anymore. Thank you for coming along."

Gabriella: "Thank you, Lady Iris."

Iris: "You can sleep with Olivia and her family if they're fine with it."

Luna and her family are staying at one of the many houses owned by mom in our territory, along with many other commoner families she brought back with her. Only Rupert and his family will be staying here in the mansion with us.

Gabriella: "Thank you!"

Iris: "Remember to be outside here before sunrise."

Olivia: "Yes, milady."

With Olivia taking Gabriella with her outside, mom turns to everyone else.

Iris: "Alright, let's all get a good rest for tomorrow. We leave at dawn."

With that, everyone nodded before moving out, with the maids and butlers moving to their dorms. Kaede and I move back up to my room as we lay down on the bed. It was a bit silly of me to pack away the pillows and blankets so I had to take them back out.

Kaede: "It's finally happening."

Yui: "Mm. I'm a bit nervous though."

Kaede: "About Fabian?"

Yui: "Yeah... But also, it's a long road ahead. Something could go wrong."

Kaede: "Well, you've got me here-"

Mai: "And me!"

Out of nowhere, Mai appeared by the side of the bed.

Kaede: "You've been hiding this whole time?"

Mai: "Pretty much. I'll let you two sleep though."

And just like that, she vanished, but I just know she's still there just invisible.

Kaede: "Let's get some rest."

Yui: "Yeah."

I pull the blankets over us some more as we snuggle closer to one another before I close my eyes. I can't believe that the next time I open my eyes, we'll be leaving... To a completely different country.

The morning quickly arrived as I got woken up by Kaede who doesn't even look be tired at all. Wouldn't be surprised if she just stayed up the whole night.

Kaede: "It's time."

Yui: "Mmmm~"

Begrudgingly, I get out of bed along with Kaede before shoving the blanket and pillows back into my bag. We quickly get changed before making our way downstairs. I notice that outside the windows, it still appears to be night, but all the lights are on inside as everyone gathered in the main lounge area, with Rupert and his family coming down shortly after us after one of our maids went up to knock on their door.

After confirming everyone's here, mom guides us outside, and just outside the gate, I could see many caravans in a line going down the main road. I can't even begin to count how many of them there are.

Iris: "We'll put our things in the first 5 caravans. My soldiers will be distributed in every caravan, with Alice in mine."

Yui: "Can Kaede sit with us?"

Iris: "Of course. The maids and butlers will take the caravans behind us."

Yui: "Wait! Since Natalie is my maid and all, can she also be with us?"

Iris: "Fufu~ Sure."

And with that, we all move out the gate, heading towards the first caravan at the very end. Mom went ahead with Alice and began to gather everyone else in the rest of the caravans. I can see Luna and her family, along with Olivia and her family in the caravans as we pass. I give them a wave before we continue further.

Once we get to the front, we start loading our stuff into the caravan, but with Kaede and I having our bags, it was mainly just Natalie's things we were loading. And after 15 or so minutes, Mom and Alice caught up and began to load in their things as well.

Iris: "Okay, everyone's ready."

While walking past all the caravans, I managed to count 52, with 5 Soldiers in each one. Except for the one we're getting in as it'll just be Alice. I've never seen mom's soldiers, but I didn't expect this many. They all had our family insignia on their armor making them stand out from the soldiers I've seen in the rest of the city.

Hopping into the caravan, It's pretty close to the same size as the ones we travelled to Azalea in as it easily fit all of us inside. We could even fit maybe 10 more people inside pretty comfortably, but I guess since this is my mom's caravan, the extra space is quite important as mom did bring with her a lot of things.

Looking out of the caravan, I could see the sunshine now beginning to shine, marking the beginning of dawn.

Iris: "Everyone has everything they need?"

We all nod in unison before mom leans over to the front.

Iris: "Ready when you are."

Driver: "Yes, milady."

And with a crack of a whip, the caravan jolted a little as it now began to move. Looking behind us, all the other caravans also began to move together. It's finally happening.

I was sitting between Kaede and Natalie, whilst mom was sitting beside Alice. It's a bit sad seeing how Fabian isn't sitting here with us, and as I look towards mom, she also seems to share the same look.

Kaede: "Hey. It'll be okay."

It was Kaede who had grabbed hold of my hand as if to comfort me. It did help a bit as I have her a smile in return.

Yui: "I hope so."

Kaede: "So do you think we'll have enough room for the rest when we pass through the towns?"

Iris: "We should. They'll have to squeeze into the caravans that have room, but Fleur and Faye could join us in this one. They are the ones who are responsible for enabling my trade routes to even be connected to Yarene in the first place. If it weren't for them, I'd imagine it would've been that much harder to even get in contact with the Queen."

Kaede: "What about Sicily, Lillian and Mell?"

Iris: "Don't worry. Just like what happened with Gabriella, they can join if they please, as well as anyone else that would like to come along. We will be making stops from Maemont all the way to Azalea."

Yui: "What about Pontia?"

Iris: "I've already been there personally. A fair bit of people did move into my territory yesterday so they should be in the caravans already."

Wow. No wonder mom was late coming back last night. This might be the first time where she can just sit down and relax.

Yui: "You're pretty amazing, mom."

Iris: "Hehe. I have to be. Everyone here is my responsibility. I need to make sure everyone is safe."

I wonder when mom dies, all of this responsibility would fall onto me... Especially if Fabian is now being separated and joining father's family. Wait... If I'm the only descendent now of mom's family, then wouldn't I need to be married off and have kids of my own to continue the bloodline? Kaede and I can't have kids obviously and mom does approve of our relationship, but there might be some complications in the future... I suppose I can think about that another time. There's also the chance that Fabian will join back with us and he can continue the family bloodline himself.

Natalie: "Something the matter, Ellen?"

Yui: "It's nothing. Just a bit nervous is all."

I won't talk about this until later. Right now we should focus on getting out of here in one piece.