Promise: The Scarred Girl Read Online Free PDF

After a few seconds she closes her eyes and sleeps for the first time in an eternity without fear. With the large Luica and Harold and Zippi, Nea feels safe.
    The next morning, Luica wakes Nea early. To Nea’s astonishment, the others have already stowed the entire camp away. She is ashamed that she did not help them; after all, she owes them a lot already. Normally Nea’s sleep is not too deep, but she probably caught up on the lost sleep of the past two years.
    When Nea apologies, Harold said it was not bad because she would not have known where things went and would have been in the way as she did not know the routine. After a few minutes, the rest of the camp is stored. The two cows are harnessed together to the wagon. Luica and Harold rise to the coach box, while Nea helps Zippi herd the goats behind the wagon, it does not take much as the goats seem to be familiar with the routine and trot obediently behind the packed carriage.
    They travel slower than Nea would if she were traveling alone, but the three seem to know which way to go, even if they do not have a map or a compass.
    “How do you know where to go?” Nea curiously asks Zippi, glad to have been able to find a topic of conversation.
    “We always take the same route. Sometimes we have to stop and sleep, we found the best places to rest and find food.”
    “Are you going only to Dementia, or will you go further?”
    “We visit a few villages outside of Dementia, but the Carris have the best shops to deal with, they always pay well.”
    “And they never try to capture you?”
    “No, because otherwise we could not bring them more goods.”
    Nea hesitates, because she remembers that the Carris are known for their excellent farming, so why should they need to buy milk or eggs from strangers?
    “Do the Carris have no animals?”
    “Of course they do, but it’s not the same.”
    Nea looks at Zippi with a puzzled expression. She wants to inquire further, but he quickly changes the subject.
    “We can sit on the wagon seat the last part of the way,” he said, grinning at her with his gap toothed smile.
    Around noon, they stop for a short rest and eat homemade bread and drink fresh cow’s milk. Luica says they would arrive at Dementia later in the day, but will not reach their trading post until the next day.
    Once they have delivered their goods, they will leave. Luica offers to put in a good word with the guards for Nea to allow her safe passage, but Nea rejects this offer. It may be that the Carris like doing business with the three of them, for whatever reason, but she doubts that Luica’s influence is enough to get her a transit permit. Therefore, Nea says she will move on alone the next morning. Upon hearing this, Zippi roars with his mouth full, that they should have a farewell party for Nea that evening. Nea laughs again and her heart is somewhat heavy when she thinks about having to move on alone again.
    She has stayed with these three for only two days and already it’s difficult for her to leave them, because they welcomed her so warmly, she will especially miss the little cheeky Zippi.
    After another hour in the woods, it begins to thin slowly. It is time for Luica and Harold to trade places with Zippi and Nea. Nea might actually need no rest because of the slow pace she does not feel the least bit tired. She is used to long walks, but nevertheless, she is pleased to be able to rise to the coach box.
    It does not take much to steer the cows on the flat road, for they know the way as well as their owners. The carriage lurches up and down, but you can still see much more of the landscape than you could by simply walking. By now the sun has come up through the clouds and melts the last remnants of snow from the ground. The fir trees are slowly replaced by bare deciduous trees and the soft moss covered soil turns into a green meadow. The forest is getting lighter the further they go, and finally all that’s left of the forest is a single isolated