Lucy walked down the dirt road for nearly 20 minutes before she came upon the town of Dunlar. It wasn't very large. It was also pretty islolated. Chaylin was the nearest city. There were guards at the gates. They looked at her as she passed by but didn't say anything. She breathed a silent sigh of relief. She would have to ask around for her aunt so that she wouldn't raise suspicion. She wondered where to start looking. She decided that she should go to the town center first. She kept walking until she found it. She walked up to the first person she met.
"Excuse me, sir. I am looking for Carlea. She is my aunt and I am trying to find her."
"Why?" the man asked sounding a little annoyed.
"My parents have recently died in a fire," she said looking down and forcing a few tears. "Aunt Carlela is the only family I have left. I only know that she moved south after she eloped with someone that my grandparents did not approve of."
"Never heard of her, sorry."
"I know that the man she married was a farmer. Could you point me towards the farms so I can look for her?"
"Get lost," he said. Lucy noticed that he stiffened a little. This could be a big clue, or maybe she was reading into it too much.
"But I must find her…"
"I said get lost," he interrupted.
Lucy moved on. She found a bakers shop with a woman inside. Perhaps she would be more open. She stepped in and the aroma filled her. She smiled and breathed deeply. Her stomach grumbled. Lunch had been a mere two hours ago. She could normally go longer, but everything in the shop smelled so good.
"Can I help you?" The woman asked.
"Yes, my name is Eva Devere. I am looking for my aunt, Carlea. She married a farmer and moved south. I am looking for her. Could you point me towards the farms?" Lucy asked.
"I am sorry Miss, there is no Carlea around here. I have lived here my entire life and know most everyone," she replied. "You best look somewhere else. Maybe she is in Chaylin."
"I just came from Chaylin. She is not there. It is possible that she changed her name. She did not want her parents to find her and take her home. If I could just look around and search the farms to see if I can find her…"
"The farms are to the west of the town," the woman replied with a smile.
"Thank you. Do you like living here?"
The woman's smile faded. She looked lost in thought for a moment and then regained her composure. "Every town has its problems."
"Really? What are the problems here? I would like to know since I might be living near here soon."
"Oh this and that. I shouldn't worry about it if I were you."
Lucy sighed inwardly of disappointment. She was really hoping that this woman would give her a clue. At least she could check the farmland off her list, probably. "Thank you," Lucy said and left the shop.
Lucy wandered down the street occasionally asking people about her aunt, but not many would even stop and the ones that did didn't stop long, only long enough to say that they didn't know her aunt and were busy. They all seemed a little afraid. If the remnant was here, that would give them a reason to be nervous. She was a little surprised that they might go to a town. That seemed a little bold. It would seem easier to hide in the forest, but then again Peter and Edmund had found them in the woods often and they might have done it as a last resort, controlling the people with fear. In that case, people probably wouldn't go near the place where they were hiding out. All she had to do was find a large building that could house them that was being avoided. It was a small town, it couldn't be that hard, could it? She had wandered while she was thinking and was startled back to where she was by a young man.
"Where are you going?" he asked nervously and quietly. "No one goes down this way. Come on back to the market with me."
"Why? What is down that way?" Lucy asked. She tried to look simply curious when she was getting excited inside. This was what she was waiting for!
"It doesn't matter," he said quickly. "Just don't go there, alright?"
They got to the market and she decided that she would wait until the cover of dark to investigate that street. That meant that she would have to find an inn to stay at.
She tried to ask others about the inn and about her aunt to keep her cover. The people here seemed very private, suspicious and above all scared. By the time she found the inn it was three hours later and she had been told nothing outright. Everyone seemed to want her to move on to another town. She finally found someone to tell her where the inn was. She looked up at the sign. It read "The Singing Swan Tavern and Inn." She walked inside and was immediately uncomfortable. It was filled with men that were drinking and talking really loudly. Many of them were staring at her. She stared straight ahead at the man behind the counter. She wished there was a better place to stay, but there was no other place. It was nearing six o'clock and in another hour it would be dark. A young lady would be in her room at this time.
"Excuse me, sir," she said to the man. "I was looking for a place to stay for the night and was told that this was the place. How much is a room? I do not need anything fancy or large."
"You are looking for the cheapest room? Well, you can sleep in the R room for only 3 crescents a night and it comes with a giant stick included."
"Only three crescents? That sounds good. What is the stick for?"
"You will see," He said. He grabbed a key, a lantern, and a stick and walked around the counter. Lucy followed him down the hall to the right and then down some stairs. He unlocked the door and let her in.
"This is the R room. I will need your name."
"Oh, I am sorry. My name is Eva Devere," Lucy replied. "You would not know of a Carlea would you?"
"Here is your key, your lantern, and your stick and enjoy your stay," He gave them to her and shut the door behind him.
She locked the door and then set the oil lantern on the small bedside table while she looked around the room. She saw something move and almost screamed. It was a rat! Now Lucy knew what the stick was for and the R in R room. She walked over and wacked at it then backed up quickly. After a second she looked again. She wasn't sure if it was dead or just stunned. She opened her door and kicked it out. She didn't like rats. Even the talking ones tended to be smooth talkers and rather underhanded. Mice were a different thing. Mice were noble and respectable, but she did not do rats.
She looked to the right of her bed across from the door and saw a small window at the top that was at ground level. Perfect. She could fit through it and sneak out in a few hours. She looked back at the bed. It didn't look very clean, but she would get over it because this was a mission and that meant that comfort was not important. She quickly whipped back the covers and waited for rats to scurry out. One did and she dropped the covers to whack it and kick it out like the other, which was no longer there she noted. She went back and thankfully there were no more rats in the bed and she sat down on it.
She tried to come up with a plan while she waited, but it was hard to do when she didn't know exactly where they were. She would have to be quiet. She just needed to find them and after she saw for sure that they were there, she could go tell Peter and Edmund. She would tell them right after she found out if she could sneak out of the city. If not, she would wait until the morning.
Lucy sighed. She was getting tired of waiting. It only gave her time to get more nervous. She tried to shove those feelings aside with thoughts of how Aslan would protect her and of how important this was. It didn't ease her worries. She trusted Aslan but this feeling still lingered. It was weird and different than other times. She just had a feeling that things would not go well, but she tried to ignore it. What could go wrong?