20 Beyond Compare

At 10:00 in the evening, Luke finally woke up, he planted a quick kiss on Laura's forehead and untangled himself gently from her body. He left the bed and entered the bathroom to have a quick bath and get himself ready for the journey to Hallowpass.

Fifteen minutes later, he exited the bathroom and saw Laura already awake, wearing a towel around her body. He smiled adoringly at her. "Excited to go home?" he asked her in a sad tone. He reached her side and gave her a quick hug.

"Yes..." she replied with a gloomy sigh.

"Okay, take your bath and I'll go outside to check our transportation for the journey," he said.

Laura nodded her head and went inside the bathroom to start bathing.

After donning clothes on his body, Luke left the room to check the carriage outside the house.

When Laura exited the bathroom a moment later, Luke was nowhere in sight. She changed into the red floral dress and dried her hair with the towel, then she starts combing her hair.

She found a black leather backpack from the closet and took it out. She folded the clothes neatly and put them inside the bag and left the red velvet dress on the bed. She has nothing to give him as their remembrance... except for the red dress.

She sat on the chair waiting for his return. She's feeling sad about leaving Luke's side but also feeling excited to return home. The mixed feeling she had right now was torturing her.

A minute later.

The door opened and Luke stood in the doorway wearing a brown cloak around his body, he stepped into the room and looked at her. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "By the way, since I have nothing to put my clothes into... I took one of the knapsacks from the closet and put my clothes on it," she said apologetically.

Luke smiled and covered their distance in just seconds, he hugged her tightly and placed a loving kiss on her forehead. The pain of letting go is making his heart bleed. He picked up the knapsack and reached for her hand. "Let's go..." he said softly as sadness engulfed his eyes.

"Okay," Laura said.

They exited the room going downstairs to start their journey.

A few minutes later, they were already boarding the horse-drawn carriage. The horses were moving forward in a steady manner exiting the gate. Laura stared back at the mansion, giving it one last glance before she will leave this place completely. It's hard to leave such a nice place that produces beautiful memories that she had shared with Luke.

She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sweetheart, you can sleep in my lap. I will hold you till we arrive at your home," Luke offered.

Laura took a deep breath. "A few hours from now, we will never see each other again," she said sorrowfully.

"I know, but you still have a choice. Just say the word and I will order the carriage to bring us back to my house and we will live happily ever after," he offered.

Laura released a deep sigh. "I'm so sorry, Luke. I just can't do it and you know the reason why," she said in a dispirited voice.

"It's okay, I understand your situation, it must be pretty hard for you to decide. Anyways, I'll stop asking you to go back with me to avoid subjecting you to mental stress. I'll just keep my mouth shut and hold you until we arrive at your home," he said trying to ease the heavy burden that she was carrying on her shoulder.

"Thanks..." Laura murmured and closed her eyes. One hour later, she was already dozing off in his arm.

Luke settled Laura's sleeping form properly in his lap. "Sleep well... sweetheart," he whispered in her ear.

Their journey went smooth sailing while the full moon was shining brightly up in the sky.

Luke was staring at Laura's face absolutely enamored by her mesmerizing features. The times he had spent with her were the best moments of his entire life. He only experienced full happiness when he was with her. The kind of happiness that was beyond compare.

Hours went by.

The dawn was breaking on the horizon outside the carriage.

The drivers of the carriage asked for a short break so that they can feed the horses and allow the animals to take a rest for at least two hours.

Luke agreed. They camped in a nearby clearing situated a few meters away from the main road. Laura was still sleeping in his lap. He has done his best to make his beloved sleep comfortably in his lap as much as possible.

When Laura woke up, it's already early morning. She noticed that she was sleeping on his lap. "Oh my! Did I sleep the whole night?" she asked in horror.

Luke nodded his head. "Yes... I let you sleep in my lap," he answered.

"I'm sorry, it must be very uncomfortable for you," she apologized.

"Not really..." Luke responded. "Do you want to eat breakfast now?" he asked her.

"Where are we?" Laura asked. She took a glimpse outside the window of the carriage, she notices that the carriage was no longer moving and they have parked in a clearing out of nowhere. She yawned and covered her mouth with her hands. "I want to go out and stretch my body, can I?" she said.

"Sure..." Luke replied.

They left the carriage stepping into a grassy ground.

Laura saw the two drivers setting up the portable table and chairs nearby. She began stretching her body while roaming her eyes around the area.

On the table were two mugs of coffee and some tasty bread and biscuits.

"Sweetheart... have some coffee," Luke told her as he sat on the wooden chair stirring his coffee.

Laura settled on the wooden chair facing him and picked up one piece of tasty butter biscuit and put it in her mouth, munching on it. "This tastes nice," she commented.

"I'm glad you like it," he spoke.

They eat the biscuits and began sipping their coffee.

"We will have a proper breakfast a hundred miles from here. We'll have a stopover in an eatery located near the road," Luke said.

The couple consumed their coffee along with the bread and biscuits while the birds were serenading them with their chirping above the branches of the trees.

One hour later, they resumed traveling on the road.

The couple was usually quiet inside the carriage. Outside they were contented holding each other, while in their minds, they were mentally tortured by their imminent separation.

Thirty minutes later, they finally arrived at the eatery located on the side of the road. Luke's entourage refilled their water jug and allowed the horses to have a rest while they were having heavy breakfast inside the eatery.