'Am I... forgetting something?'
The question escaped Julius almost absentmindedly as he tightened his grip around the rough wooden handle of the cart.
Veins bulged across his forearms as he leaned forward, pulling the heavy carriage along the dirt road that wound toward the nearest city.
Large sacks of freshly harvested grain were stacked neatly behind him, their combined weight enough to exhaust an ordinary man long before reaching the city gates.
Yet Julius continued forward without complaint. Sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking his clothes as the afternoon sun beat mercilessly against his back.
Despite the physical exhaustion, a faint smile lingered upon his lips.
Inside the cart, Lyra rested quietly against the sacks of grain. The long days of helping around their small farm had left her exhausted, and Julius had insisted she sit and rest for the remainder of the journey.
