Chapter 13: Weselton and Flensburg

Skonhed and I rode down to Weselton, making good time. We made it to Weselton from Gereby as the sun was setting. When I arrived, I was stopped at the gate. "HALT!" I stopped quickly. "Whoa, there." I yelled to my horse, in a higher pitch than I usually talk. "Weselton's on high security. Who are you?" For a moment, I considered telling him my real name, but then I quickly came up with a different name. "I am returning to Weselton from the Netherlands! I am Klaus Dominik Frei, and I request to get through." I couldn't believe how my voice was sounding. Very different from usual.

"Indeed, sire! You may proceed!" He opened up the gates, and I rode through with Skonhed. I gallopped throughout town, getting to our house. When I found the house, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was just like it was, beautiful and pristine. I hitched Skonhed to the hitching post outside of the house, and walked inside.

I knew what I was there for. I reached into my pocket, and recieved the paper that Norma had given to me. "Belinde's blankie". Thankfully, the blanket was right where she usually kept it, on her bed. I grabbed it, and placed it into one of the knapsacks. Next on the list, "Jorge's Fighting Doll". Yes, I remember where he kept this one. I reached into a chest by his bed, and placed it next to the blanket in the knapsack. The next object on the list, "Family Pictures", was easy to find. I reached into our secret compartment, and placed it into the same knapsack. I also left the letter, explaining who we were.

I read down the list a little more, "My (Norma's) unmentionables". I stood up, and looked for the box that said, "Unmentionables." Norma seemed to love that word. When I found the box, I grabbed the knapsack I was using, and poured the contents into it. I closed the knapsack, it has reached the capacity, and threw it around my back. I then looked for the clothes, as I knew it was on the list, and threw them in another knapsack. I filled one of them, and halfway filled another. I threw the next one around my back, and then grabbed my secret bolt supply, and threw them in the last knapsack. The list was complete, but I wanted to grab one more thing.

I felt the sword at my belt, it felt right. It was Rejnar's, and I knew I didn't want to lose it. I then grabbed Norma's jewelry box. I knew that Norma would appreciate this. Now, I had 4 knapsacks around my back, which was pretty heavy, and ready to go on. First, however, I grabbed the largest knapsack there was, and I threw three of the knapsacks in there. I turned around, struggling to carry the knapsacks, when I was face to face with my former neighbor, holding a knife to my face. "Who are you, and why are you here?" I struggled to keep a straight and good face on, when I responded. "I'm Brynjar Krogh, I'm the owner of this house's cousin, he wanted me to grab a few things for him."

My neighbor, Anika, was 5'6" and was very small. Once she heard the name Krogh, she knew I wasn't a criminal. Her face immediately lightened up, and she set the knife down. "Oh, a relative of Jeronimus and the family, eh? Well, I guess it's okay. I heard he was the one who tried to kill the Queen, is that true?" I, again, got nervous, and then replied, "Oh, he uh, was only being loyal to the Duke, he told him to kill the Queen. Otherwise, he wouldn't have tried killing her, and he even regrets it." Anika smiled at this. "Jer, I knew it was you, quit the act."

I was surprised. "How did you know?" She replied while giggling, "All of your neighbors know that it was the Duke's fault now." I was surprised at this information. "You defending yourself is what gave it away." I nodded. "You're here now, anyways. Are you going to stay?" I shook my head. "We're moving up to Denmark. My home country. Nice place called Blavand." She nodded. "Will you return again?" I shook my head once again. "Well, okay. I'll let them know that the building is up for sale. Be careful, in town, though. A lot of people still are angry at you two, even though it's been announced that the ex-Duke was the one who caused it. I don't want you to die." I nodded, and then hugged her. "Thank you for watching my house, I appreciate it."

She nodded, and said, "Anything for Norma and the kids. And you, I guess." We laughed, and then I got on Skonhed to ride away. I waved to her, and she waved back. That was the last I'll ever see Anika, I thought, but then again, the town we have here isn't the best to live in anyways. Better to be in Blavand with my father. I considered stopping and seeing Sideburns, but I decided against it. I did, however, stop at one of the local shops, that had giant knapsacks, bought one, and stored the rest of the knapsacks inside of that one. I then got back on Skonhed, and started to ride out. The guard at the gates started to open them, but then looked a little closer at my face. "Are you... Jeronimus Krogh?" I shook my head. "You're the fifth person to tell me that, but I need to get through." He nodded, and then opened the gates.

I rode a bit, knowing the country limits were a bit outside of Weselton. I thought about what I said to my family, that I wouldn't sleep until I found them. I'm sure they would be sleeping inside of an inn somewhere, I didn't bring sleeping bags. I remember a store that sells them in Blavand, we wouldn't need to buy any until then. Skonhed and I galloped along, until we came to the first city inside of the country of Denmark, Flensburg. I stopped at the inn, knowing that my family must have passed through here. I went up to the man. "Did you encounter a large man, a woman, and two kids?" The man at the counter replied, "Yes, they came in, but they got angry at my implication that they were married, so they decided to go to a different inn, nearby." I nodded, thanked him, and decided to search for the other inn. I jumped on Skonhed, and rode over to the Cranberry Inn. I scoffed, thinking, "What an original name." I stepped inside, and stepped up to the woman at the counter. "Hello, miss, did you encounter a large man, a small woman, and two children in here today?" She nodded. "Yes, they decided to take a room, it's right on upstairs." She pointed to the stairs, and let me go on up. I thanked her, and decided to take the offer.

As I was upstairs, there were 4 doors. "Which door?" She replied, "The one that says 4". I nodded, and stepped into said door. When I stepped in, I was immediately tackle hugged by my two children. I patted Jorge on the head, and looked up at Norma. She was smiling. I handed her the giant knapsack. "It's all in there." Then, we all engaged in a group hug.

We decided that Uncle Jer will carry the knapsacks, and that we will leave in the morning, and would not stop.