XXII
The Great Northern Road twenty years earlier.The next day, she put her things away like an automaton, without worrying about anything. She took the road again. She walked with difficulty, but she had no choice. If it hadn't been for the encounter with the brigands, she would have reached Sernos within the day. After the a***e they had inflicted on her, she was forced to stop every quarter length to rest the tense muscles in her thighs. At this rate, it would take her three or four days to reach her destination.
By mid-afternoon, she heard a cavalcade behind her. She ignored it, didn't turn around to see who was coming. Perhaps by denying their existence, they would really cease to exist. She closed her eyes and prayed to the Mother, her goddess, that they would not bother her.
Her
