It surly was an exhausting travel until they finally reached their destination. When they had to leave the ship Giotto had to get inside the bag again in which Alaude had brought him on the ship. However this time he was fully conscious. It was just thanks to the fact that it was Alaude carrying him from board that Giotto did not totally get scared.

Alaude then brought him into a small rundown building close to the harbor. There he freed him and masked him a little bit more by giving him a hat and glasses. Afterwards they went to the train station were they went on a train to Boston. Alaude had reserved a full wagon just in order to keep people away from Giotto. The train ride took them another two days, but when they arrived in Boston their travel was still not over. They met with a man Alaude obviously knew and who had organized a fully loaded carriage and two more horses. Without much explanation Alaude helped Giotto to get on one of the horses while he took the other one and the third man drove the carriage.

They left town and went on through the actually beautiful landscape until they reached a forest. Giotto sighed. He actually was feeling really tired, hoping they'd reach their destination soon enough, but what irritated Giotto more was how Alaude had behaved during the last few days. On the ship and on the train he hadn't talked much and although Giotto had felt that the man was tensed and uneasy he yet wasn't sure why Alaude was so cool towards him. And right now the French was riding his horse close to the carriage in order to talk to the American while Giotto was following both of them in a little distance.

Not even the beauty of the landscape and the lovely green and bright forest could lift Giotto's mood about that. He hoped that Alaude would finally settle down at their destination, becoming the man again he actually knew.

Caught in these thoughts he watched some squirrels jumping from one branch to another and some bird, chirping in joy. But all this did not brighten his thoughts and not even the warm golden sun, shining through the green leaves could warm his heart until he finally realized someone was close. He shifted his eyes and immediately recognized Alaude who had slowed down his horse in order to ride with him.

"Are you alright? You seem to be tired." Alaude asked with a rather gentle voice, making Giotto finally calm down again. It obviously had been the stress making Alaude that cool and distant. But now he finally started to relax. Giotto was more than just glad.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." He returned, granting the French a small smile. "Will it take much more time?"

Alaude shook his head.

"We're almost there." he added, closely examining the Italian. "I'd like to show you something. We'll take a small detour, but I promise you it won't take much longer than on the normal route." He said and turned his horse towards the forest, giving the man on the carriage a short sign who just nodded in return.

Giotto didn't hesitate for long. He also turned his horse and followed Alaude through the woods. The route took them up a hill and first the forest became more and more thick, but then the trees became looser until they suddenly entered a glade right on top of the hill where just a single old tree was standing.

Giotto's jaw dropped when he saw the amazing view they had from here. The forest was extremely large but it couldn't cover the river which Giotto recognized in the distance. On a glade in between the hill and the river there was a house which already looked beautiful from here. And then on their right there were cliffs and the sea into which the river ended. It was really an amazingly beautiful scenery.

"Is this where we are going to stay?" He wondered with a low voice.

"Yes, we will stay here for the next few months. I thought it would be better like that so you can recover and people really will forget about Sawada Ieyasu. Afterwards it should be safe for you to travel back to Europe. If you actually want, that is." Alaude answered, looking at Giotto in order to see his reaction. "Is this place okay for you?"

"Even if it wasn't it would be okay since you're with me." Giotto said, directly looking at the French. "But, yes, I do really like it. It's beautiful."

Alaude gave him a very short smile; however Giotto noticed it and he felt the warmth inside his heart that he had missed for so long. From now on his life would not only have a meaning again, but it would also be filled with love and joy.

It only took them a couple of minutes to get to the house where they met up with Alaude's acquaintance who had stopped the carriage in front of the house. Alaude stopped his horse next to it and got off in order to speak to the man. Then he turned towards Giotto again.

"If you want you can already go upstairs. I believe you're rather tired, aren't you?" He asked and took the reins of Giotto's horse while the man got off as well.

"Well, yes I am. But shouldn't I help with the luggage?" He wondered, although he actually really felt extremely exhausted. However Alaude shook his head.

"It's fine, Giotto. You can go upstairs and choose for a bedroom. Mister Hickey will help me with the horses and the luggage. Just go and get some rest."

Giotto just nodded silently although he would have loved to gainsay Alaude. After all he knew that the man also hadn't got much sleep during the last few days and he could feel the exhaustion and tension the French actually was feeling. Yet he tried to calm his hyperintuition and just went inside the house which he loved from the very first step that he took inside it.

It was very neat and was covered in a comfortable atmosphere. The windows were rather big so that it was very bright inside the house. From the corridor he noticed a kitchen, a study and a living room. Curiously he took a look around, examining the simple and yet lovable furniture, before he went upstairs. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom. However while examining the bathroom Giotto got quite shocked when he saw his reflection in the large mirror. He was pale and there were dark circles around his eyes. His hair was still dyed black by the coal which made him look even paler. After he had finally accepted his pitiful reflection he started to wonder whether it had just been the travel that had made him look like this or if this actually was because of the years in Japan.

The man sighed and went to the wash bowl which he filled with some water in order to wash his hair and his face. When he felt at least a bit cleaner he went to the bedrooms in order to decide for one. However he didn't have to think that long since one of the bedrooms was not only bigger, but also had a bigger bed and a lovely view past the forest at the sea.

He finally fell on the bed and closed his eyes. The mattress was soft and comfortable and the sheets softly smelled of blossoms. For the first time in years he felt safe and homelike and although he was in an urgent need of talking to Alaude he fell asleep quickly. There would still be time to talk when he'd wake up again.