Chapter 115 -- Home

"What?" Elizabeth said, asking for her son to repeat his words.

"Yes mother, two of them on horses" Tommy repeated.

"Go call your father" Elizabeth said.

'Those sound like nobles, i wonder what they want' she thought. It wasn't that rare for nobles to visit their village, however it was still surprising.

A panicked William burst through the door "Quick Elizabeth where is my best suit!?" he shouted as he ran to their bedroom, finding his suit on the bed.

"Calm down" Elizabeth chuckled as she walked into the room. "Zip me up please" she said as he turned around for her husband to zip up her gown.

"How can i calm down?, this is going to be my first time meeting nobles as Chief of our village" William said in a hurry.

"What if they don't like the way the village is being run, what if there was a problem with the last batch of wheat....." he mumbled on.

The people of Nok village didn't know anything about the politics inside Willow city. They thought that every noble family was united and all of them worked for the City.

What they didn't know was that even if the nobles visiting them where Charles and Lara themselves, they didn't have any say in anything of the village since Nok village was under the Jurisdiction of the Bryant family.

In a few minutes the two were done dressing and they quickly got on their horses and rode off in the direction of the village gate.

Before arriving at the gate, the duo had turned into a group of ten. The other eight were other elders of the village. The village elders were just chosen by their age and wisdom.

That title though was just that, a title with no real meaning. The elders didn't do anything at all in the village, they were only useful in situations like those, to make visitors feel welcome.

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"Huh, i guess we are getting the full noble welcome" Zane said as he saw the group slowly riding out of the village.

"Noble welcome?" Cora asked.

"Yeah it's just this thing they do to try and suck up to nobles" Zane explained as he squinted his eyes.

He was looking for his father, who was also part of the elders when Zane left the village more than three years ago.

'Did father get kicked out of the group of elders?' he thought.

"What is your name?" Cora suddenly asked.

"Zane"

"No you're noble now, never forget your last name. It's important, even if you're talking to people who knew you before you gained your noble status" Cora said.

Zane nodded, even though he wasn't sure if he would be able to remember that. A few seconds later and the duo met the group about 25 meters away from the village gate

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"Welcome distinguished guests to our humble village of Nok" William bowed, while still on his horse.

"My name is William, i am the chief. This is my wife Elizabeth" he introduced.

Cora glanced at Zane, expecting him to speak. However it seemed that Zane was looking for someone, scanning through the group that came to meet them.

Zane's glare scared William as he began to think that something was wrong. "Thank you for the welcome, We are delegates of the Willer family here on a casual visit" Cora said.

William sighed in relief, if these nobles were only there for a casual visit, it meant that the village wasn't in trouble.

"Of course, please follow us to our village hall were i will personally give you a guided tour of our village" William smiled.

"No thank you, we can find our way around on our own. If we need you we will meet you at the hall" Zane said for the first time. He was really surprised that his old teacher couldn't recognize him.

"As you wish, please make yourselves at home" William and the group opened way for the noble duo to pass. Zane and Cora nodded before riding into the village.

When the nobles had entered the village, Carter rode up to William "Doesn't the man seem familiar?" he asked.

William released a breath he didn't know was held in before answering "Really?, I didn't notice. He must have one of those faces" he said as he led the group back into the village.

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Zane rode slowly through the village, appreciating for the first time his birth place. The last time he was here he couldn't actually see as he could now.

It didn't take long for him to arrive at his farm and they dismounted their horses and left them in the stable, which was newly furnished to Zane's surprise.

Before he could enter the house, he heard the sound of people working in the fields and he immediately followed the sounds.

The closer he got to the field the more confused he became. The people in the fields looked in their direction, but they didn't come running to him, as his parents would have done.

'Either my parents forgot me and Father shaved his head or these aren't my parents'.

"Hello?" Zane said.

The two people working in the fields only then recognized the clothes Zane and Cora were wearing.

"Greetings visitors, how may we be of service?" the man approached Zane, attempting a handshake only to pull back after realizing how dirty his hand was.

"Where is Owen and Olivia?" Zane asked. Now that they were close, Zane saw that these weren't his parents.

"They are in the house" The woman pointed at Zane's home a few meters away.

That statement only surprised Zane even more. It would have made more sense if the farmers had said Zane's parents relocated.

"Why are you working in their farm, and exactly who are you?" Zane asked.

"We were just hired by the Chief to work in his farm" The man answered.

Every answer Zane got only raised more questions. Why did his parents hire farm hands?. Where did they get the money to hire farm hands?. Why are the farm hands saying his farm belongs to the chief?.

"Okay thank you" Zane said before turning around and walking double time towards the house. Trying to open the door he realized he couldn't without using force, so he knocked.

"Coming!"

That voice was enough to draw a smile on Zane's face, however his smile disappeared when the door opened.