WITCH - The Revolt

Chapter 37

Peter

He was cold. The blanket under which he lay scratched and the mattress was hard. For a brief moment, he didn't know where he was. But then it came back to him: The inn!

Several men had freed the carriage from the tree in the storm. It had not been an easy task and had taken a long time, as they gradually sawed the tree into pieces. After that, they helped the prisoners out of the carriage. The owner of the inn, a friendly man with white hair, had offered them rooms for the night, hot tea, dry clothes, and soup. Peter was grateful for that.

With difficulty, he got up, everything hurt, and made his way to the spacious restaurant of the inn. His father and the baron, who had also been lent clothes, were already waiting for him there. The two men sat at a table and drank coffee. The table was set, and a pot of coffee stood in the middle of it. At the tables around them sat the guests of the inn, as well as their coachman and the guards, one of whom wore a bandage around his head. Babette was nowhere to be seen. Was she still asleep?

"Good morning," Peter murmured, sitting down next to his father.

"Did you sleep well?", Friedrich wanted to know.

"To some extent." Peter rolled his stiff shoulders. "But better than inside the carriage!"

"Of course, you did!" The innkeeper's wife came to their table and placed a basket of rolls on it. She was younger than her husband. How much younger Peter could not estimate. Maybe ten years? "Our rooms are much more comfortable than a broken carriage. My husband and I missed asking you for your names yesterday?" She looked at the three. When she looked at Peter's father, she smiled amused. "You look like the king!"

The faces of the royal family had been painted often enough for many citizens to recognize them, but not all. The Queen's face was minted on coins. A simple painting of the royal family hung in every good inn and on the market square in castle town stood a statue of the queen.

"Such a coincidence," Friedrich said dryly.

The Baron looked sternly at the Unsuspecting Woman. "You are talking to the king." He spoke softly so that the other guests would not hear it, so there wouldn't be a tumult or something similar. So far, none of the guests seemed to have recognized them and that should remain so.

"What?" Now the lady seemed confused.

"This is King Friedrich", explained the Baron.

Peter's father smiled. "Thank you for your help. We are very grateful to you."

The lady blushed. "Oh no! How embarrassing... I'll go and get the rest of your breakfast..." Then she hurried away.

Babette had now arrived at their table and sat down next to Peter. In the simple clothes she had been given, she actually looked pretty. But she didn't look happy. Her blond hair was open, instead of ornate and strangely coiffed.

"These clothes scratch!", were her first words.

"Good morning Babette," Peter greeted her. "Would you rather wear your wet dress?"

"Peter!", hissed his father.

The baron laughed. "These are simple people, Sparrow. That's all we can expect from them."

Peter looked at the clothes he had been given. A simple, beige cotton shirt and dark cloth trousers. "It's clearly better than our soaked clothes, Babette. The dress suits you."

Babette looked at him suspiciously. She pointed with her hand to the light brown dress that belonged to the innkeeper's daughter, as they had learned in the evening. "This dress? Is this a joke?"