Jette had already stepped forward, taking over for the young driver.
Ian, Ulli, Lane, and Rigelt joined her at the back of the wagon.
Climbing up onto the back end of it, Robin pulled back the canvas covering to reveal several large woven rugs, seemingly piled high. But the sharp smell of brined vegetables, preserved fruits, and dusty dried beans told her that the true cargo of this cart was something else.
Ulli reached over the side of the cart and started to roll back one of the rugs. Below it, in the bottom of the wagon, sat stacks of sealed barrels and crates. Preserved food that traveled well and had been grown in Allys. The neighboring kingdom had not been hit quite as badly by the storms.
Lane grabbed another one of the heavy rugs, pulling it off of the real cargo. “Imagine how much more food we could fit in here if we did not have to disguise it under a shipment of textiles.”
“Some is better than what most of the villagers have,” Robin said. She grabbed a crate and hefted it over the side of the wagon, glad that her consistent archery and constant work allowed her to carry heavy burdens.
Ian reached up to take it from her.
Robin let him have it, grabbing another for herself before she jumped out of the cart and led the way into the manor.
Inside the great hall, Ilida was already clearing space on one of the tables. “How much?” she asked before Robin had even set down the first crate.
“I do not know yet,” Robin said. “Two weeks. Maybe three.”
Ian set down his crate and went back out.
“Will the next one be delayed?” Ilida asked, opening the crate to peer at its contents.
“He did not say,” Robin answered.
Ilida picked up a piece of parchment and started marking down the contents of the crate.
By the time Robin was back outside, Ian stood next to the cart lifting a barrel over the side as if it weighed nothing. With his disheveled hair and simple, stained clothing, he looked far more like a bandit than a prince.
She liked that.
He walked past her, sending her a smile as he carried a barrel into the house.
She also liked the way he seemed to quietly step in and help, no matter the task. Perhaps that was why Ilida and Ulli had already started to trust him.
“He smiles different here,” Lane said, stopping next to her with a crate in his arms.
“What do you mean?” Robin asked, hiding her face as she moved to the back of the wagon to grab another crate herself.
“It’s just not the same as his prince smile,” Lane said.
“He’s still a prince here,” Robin said.
But Lane was already on the move, carrying his crate toward the manor.
Robin grabbed a crate for herself, but before she could carry it inside, Ilida strode out of the front door, her stacked parchments nestled in one arm. “Robin,” she said loudly as she approached. “This is even less than usual.”
“We have not finished bringing it in yet,” Robin replied, holding the heavy crate in front of her.
“The crates are less full,” Ilida retorted. “It will not add up to the same amount.” She tapped her parchments, coming to a stop at the side of the cart. She stood on her toes to peer over the side, her lips moving as she counted its contents. “It is not enough for the full circuit,” she confirmed.
Realizing that this would not be a quick conversation, Robin rested one end of her crate against the side of the wagon.
“We have to limit how much we hand out,” Ilida said. “It is the only way to ensure that the last two villages get enough.”
Ian reappeared from the manor house, moving around Robin to grab a barrel.
“We have discussed this,” Robin said. “I will not tell someone they cannot take enough to feed their family.”
