Sorry for not updating earlier. I was on vacation.
AN: I don't own the characters of twilight, but the storyline is mine.
Bella's POV
As we rode onto the avenue and away from the shouts of the slave market, the sound of our horses' hooves was muddled with the other noises of the city. It was just before midday, and we were in the middle of the last surge of activity before people withdrew into their homes to wait out the afternoon heat. There were a few other horses and donkeys on the road, but most people traveled on foot.
I watched in awe as merchants brought their goods up the avenue in carts and then led their loaded donkeys down the narrow alleys to the back doors of the great houses, hoping to sell their vegetables to the cook, their linen to the housekeeper, or their wine to the steward. There was a ton of jostling and shouting and noise. Everything was so new to me, because I had never been in a huge city before. The closest I ever got to something like this was the town market and that was nothing compared to the sights that laid before me.
We threaded our way through all the traffic, drawing curious looks. It wasn't normal for a slave to be riding, I guessed. I suppose that most had to walk behind or next to their master's horses.
We crossed the upper part of the Sacred Way, and then the lower part, which held all the nicest shops in the city. Looking up and down it from the intersection, I could see the sedan chairs and fancy carriages waiting by the doorways while the gently bred owners made their purchases inside. One shop near the corner sold only earrings, and I watched wistfully as it went by. We were too far away and there was too much traffic to allow even a glimpse of the merchandise displayed in its window.
Once we got to the lower town, traffic thinned out as people retreated indoors. When we reached the docks, we turned and rode along beside them toward the north gate out of the city. We passed the merchant ships and a pier full of private boats for fishing and pleasure and then the king's warships lined up at their docks. I was counting the cannons bolted to their decks and almost fell off my horse.
The man who bought me just smiled. I was so embarrassed. I could imagine how red my cheeks must be. I looked back at the warships again, not wanting to see if he was still looking at me.
At the south gate we went through a cool tunnel, this one was much longer than any of the others in the city. It passed under the sloping earthwork and the newer city wall. Then we were out in the sunshine again. Not that the city ended at the walls. The invaders in their officious and sensible way had brought prosperity to the city, and it had never stopped growing larger than its boundaries. We rode past the fine houses of the merchants who chose not to live squeezed into the city. Over the tops of garden walls we could see the citrus, the fig and the almond trees, shading the grass or the edge of a veranda. The horses provided a sort of moving platform, allowing glimpses into other people's privacy. I would have preferred to climb the walls and look my fill. I didn't like the way the view kept disappearing behind the dark green leaves of an orange tree just as I got interested.
Beyond the villas the farms began. The fields stretched perfectly flat on either side of us for miles in every direction. There was not even an undulation in the ground, it seemed, until the road reached the foothills of the Ered Luin Mountains, many miles ahead of us. We passed field after field of onions and an occasional smaller field of cucumber or watermelon. The fields and the farm houses reminded me so much of home and what had happened the last few days. As we neared the forest, I knew if we headed right we would end up at my family's farm. I glanced ahead to see if my new owner (I'm still not used to having to refer to somebody like that) was paying attention. He was still looking at what was in front of us.
I figured it was either now or never. I turned my mare to the right and urged her to a quick gallop. The man quickly realized what was going on and he quickly followed suit. I was so scared. I honestly didn't want to know what was going to happen when I got caught, because it wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of when. The man was quickly gaining ground on us. I urged my mare to go faster; it wasn't to much farther to my house. I could see the outline quickly rising up into view. I slowed my horse down just enough to leap off its back and go running straight into the house. I ran straight to my room and jumped onto my bead and just lay there, face down and sobbing. I didn't care what happened to me now. It didn't matter. Everything that I loved had been stripped from me, and all I could do now was lay there sobbing.