Chapter 13 - The Unwelcoming Gates of Oakhaven
The carriage ground to a halt outside the heavy timber palisade of Oakhaven. The village was wrapped in an eerie silence. Instead of the usual bustling marketplace filled with merchants and farmers, the dusty streets were nearly deserted. Doors were bolted shut, and anxious faces peeked through shuttered windows.
As King Alaric and Princess Evelyne stepped down from the carriage, followed closely by Rowan and Captain Darius, the local magistrate—a portly man named Vane Senior, cousin to the noble who had screamed in the ballroom months ago—stepped forward. He was flanked by four town guards holding rusted halberds.
"King Alaric," magistrate Vane said, his voice dripping with forced formality and thinly veiled hostility. "Oakhaven does not usually receive royal visitors, especially not unannounced... and certainly not accompanied by unregistered vagrants."
Alaric’s eyes flashed with royal fury, but before the king could speak, Evelyne stepped forward. Her presence commanded the courtyard instantly; her posture was regal, her gaze piercing.
"Mind your tongue, Magistrate," Evelyne commanded, her voice ringing clear and authoritative. "We are not here to threaten your village. We are here to bring the truth about the borderlands and to ensure that Oakhaven shares in the new prosperity of the realm."
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Magistrate Vane sneered, casting a sideways glance at Rowan. "Prosperity? The only thing flowing from these hills is chaotic magic that withered our crops last season. The Council warned us that the royal family had been bewitched by an outsider. We will not submit to dark sorcery disguised as royalty!"
Before the magistrate could finish his sentence, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble slightly—not with anger, but with a deep, resonant pulse of natural energy responding to Rowan’s presence.
