Gold Dust | Barns Courtney

Chapter Five | Babylon

The next morning I woke up to the smell of breakfast being cooked. I rubbed my eyes before opening them. When I looked around I saw my dappled gray horse next to a white one. I glanced in the other direction and saw Barns cooking over a fire. I wanted to check my backpack to see if the crown was still there. But I didn't want him to think I didn't trust him, so I didn't check.

"Good morning. I hope you enjoy the breakfast I made for us. I'm not the best cook, but... at least it's something." He said when he noticed I was awake. "I'm sure it'll be fine." I said before yawning and stretching. He fixed me a plate and a cup of coffee. I thanked him before I started eating. The food wasn't too bad, at least it was eatable. I thanked him for breakfast when I was finished eating. Then I helped him gather everything. "We could travel together if you want." He said as we packed.

I thought about it, and took him up on his offer. At least then I wouldn't be traveling all alone. "Are you going to Babylon?" He asked curiously. "Yeah, how did you know?" I replied with furrowed brows. "I didn't. That's where I'm going too." He said. When we gathered all of our stuff we made sure our horses were fed and had water. Then we climbed onto thier backs. I was looking forward to getting into town later today.

I wondered if my pen pal was worried about me. I tried calling a phone number he had given me, but it didn't work. Hopefully he was okay with the fact that I was a few days late. During the last leg of the journey, Barns and I talked. We didn't really reveal much about ourselves though. I did thank him for saving me from the horsemen in black. "Who are they anyway?" I asked. I wasn't sure why those men wanted the crown so bad. It was obvious they were willing to kill to gain possession of it.

"They work for a man only known by the name Sevens. He wants the crown because he believes it will give him power." Barns replied. "Oh." I said, I wasn't really sure how to respond. It was odd that someone would believe a crown could give them power. Unless owning the crown meant you were a king or something. Like... a figure of power or a leader. Then another question came to my mind. I wasn't quite sure if I should ask it, but I did anyway.

"How did you know that I had the crown? And how do you know so much about everything?" I wondered. It made me a little suspicious of him. "I was hired to protect it. When I saw that you had escaped the train and no one else, I figured you had it." He said, although I wasn't sure if I believed him. But I didn't say anything. My instincts told me that he wasn't being completely honest with me. The rest of the journey was quite and peaceful.

Even though the mid-day heat was beginning to creep in. Oddly enough, it was kind of nice having Barns for company. I didn't feel alone and in danger as much. Especially since he had helped me escape the horsemen a few days ago. We took a few breaks to stretch and eat. We tended to our horses as well. Luckily nothing dangerous or interesting happened during the last bit of my journey.

But for some reason that made me nervous. It felt like there was some kind of looming threat that I couldn't see. It could have all been in my head knowing people were after what I had. When we reached Babylon there wasn't anything special about it. Only the fact that it was a bigger town. "I'll tag along with you until you reach your destination." Barns said, which I was thankful for. I got a piece of paper with my pen pal's address on it. Barns helped me find it, but when we did my stomach sank.

The address my pen pal had given me was an old abandoned house. The structure was being held up by ivy. "But... why would he give me the wrong address?" I said out loud. I felt hurt and betrayed. For months I had been writing letters to someone I trusted and formed a bond with. I had to jump off a train, run from mysterious horsemen, got shot at, and it was all for nothing.  This person I thought I developed a friendship with had lied to me. I just sort of glanced from the address on the piece of paper to the crumbling house.

"Come on, we'll get a hotel room together." Barns's voice took me out of my thoughts. The way he said it was soft and gentle. When I glanced over at him there was sympathy in his blue eyes. I nodded and we rode our horses to the nearest hotel. We tied up our horses in the designated area. We gave them water and food to enjoy at thier leisure. I followed Barns into the hotel and stood quietly as he booked us a room. "Here's your keys, and if you need anything don't hesitate to ask." A middle aged man said to us as Barns took the keys.

He handed me mine as we walked upstairs. We walked into the room, and it was much nicer than the other hotels I've been in. There were two beds, a could of night stands, and a couple of chairs. I sat my backpack down on the floor and sat down in int of the chairs. "Rose... I'm sorry about your pen pal. Maybe they didn't believe that you would actually come to see them." Barns said, breaking the silence. "You don't have to be sorry, it's not your fault. I was the idiot who thought he actually wanted to meet me." I replied.

"You aren't an idiot. You just wanted a friend." He said. His eyes were still filled with sympathy for me. I gave him a weak smile and thanked him. "Well... I'm going to take a shower. Then wash all my dirty clothes." I said with a deep sigh. "Okay." He replied. I went into the bathroom and locked the door. As I got undressed I wondered who my pen pal even was. I wondered what else they had lied about.

I turned the shower on and waited for the water to heat up. Then I stepped inside. It felt nice to wash all of the sweat, dirt, and sand off of my body. When I was finished I dried off and brushes my hair. Then I put on some clean clothes. After that I walked out and noticed that Barns wasn't there. I quickly checked my backpack, and a relief washed over me when I saw the crown was still there. I gathered all of my dirty clothes and started to wash them.

A little while later Barns returned with takeout from a nearby restaurant. "I thought we deserved a good meal for dinner tonight. I know that I'm sick of having sad sandwiches." He said with a small laugh, which made me smile. I thanked him as I sat down to join him. We talked as we ate. Afterwards he washed some of his own clothes. For entertainment he grabbed his acoustic guitar again and sang. Around ten thirty we both decided to go to bed.

I didn't know what I was going to do now. The person I came here to meet probably didn't even live in Babylon. If they did they probably have me an address far away from where thier home is. 'At least you aren't alone. Just try to enjoy your time here. Get a train home whenever you want to leave.' I thought inside of my head before drifting off to sleep.

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