The town meeting with the new representative did not last long. He explained that he was a knight operating under the patronage of the regional lord, and that he was here because there would soon be a large influx of people from all over the kingdom traveling here. His being here had more to do with ensuring that the amount of unrest was kept to a minimum, than with him taking governance of the village. Since this area would soon become a hotspot of activity in the region, he offered every family in the town a choice. When the meeting had ended and the representative went back to the manor the people of the village stood around for a while, shocked. This was definitely not the news anyone expected to hear, then everyone slowly made their way back to their houses to discuss with their families. That is now why the Voland family is sitting around the table instead of settling down for the night like they normally would have.

“It is a generous offer Mary… you know why we live out here.” His father started after a long silence of sitting around the table.

“I know it is generous Davin, but our lives are here. Ren grew up here. He doesn’t know anywhere else. What right do we have to take him away from that?”

“How old were you when you started to travel with your father? He is older than you were I think.”

Ren’s mother seemed to bite her lip. “I don’t know Davin. This might be a good chance to remake ourselves. The offer that he made for people that stayed was generous too.”

“That offer is only as good as long as true nobility stays out of the village… or town I guess.” His father leaned back into the wall and placed his hands over his eyes rubbing them. “One-hundred gold if we want to leave, and granted land in the new town if we stay… It’s a hard choice.”

His mother looked thoughtful, her head resting on her palm. “The gold will last us… what… five years at best? Land will leave behind a legacy, and it gives us a reason to be living in town.”

His father removed his hands from his eyes and looked directly at Ren. “Son, this decision is not mine and your mothers to make alone. This affects you as well. What would you like to do?” His eyes jumped to Ren’s mother. “I think that we would be fine either way we choose.”

His mother nodded, agreeing.

Surprised that he would get a say in this, Ren hesitated at first. “Well, I like this village and the people in it. I don’t see why we have to move…” he looked down at his feet which just recently were able to reach the first rung of the stool, making him think about how much he had grown recently. “I don’t know dad. I grew up here… my friends are here.” Ren’s voice trailed off.

His mother cut in, “We don’t have to make a decision now, but we want you to be a part of the choice. All of our lives are going to be changing regardless of the choice that we make.”

“I believe Representative Morningstar said we would need to provide our answer within a month. I’m sure that we won’t be required to move out for a few months after that, if that is the decision that we make.”

Soon after the Volands went to bed and to his own surprise Ren didn’t want to pull out his book to read. Instead, he stayed up late thinking about the choice that he would make. This was the first major decision that he had ever made, and he was worried about it. Peeking through the curtain that separated his part of the room from his parents, he made sure that they were asleep, and decided to go for a walk. As quietly as possible he got out of bed, put on some thicker clothes, and left the house.

The air was cold, and the smell of the lake was always more powerful from dusk until dawn. The mist that covered the lake always seemed to spread throughout the village at night, reminiscent of long wiry fingers reaching for the warmth of the buildings. Ren always liked the way that the light from the lanterns reflected off the mist, it gave the village a mysterious air, almost as if there were secrets to be found around every corner.

It wasn’t often that Ren went for a walk at night, but it wasn’t unheard of. This thought reminded Ren of the first time he had left the house at night without telling anyone. It was about a year ago, when Ren had proudly boasted that he was super brave and sneaky. Trying to call him on his bluff, Gena had dared him to sneak out of the house at night and break into the Representatives Manor. His pride wounded; he made the last-minute decision to go through with it. He had made it in through the Manor’s kitchen and had decided to take a spoon to prove he had completed the dare. He hadn’t made it fifteen feet across the floor to the cabinets before the representative had grabbed him by the back of his collar and held him at eye level. Ren shuddered at the memory of the events that followed, and promised himself that if he was ever going to sneak into somewhere again, that he would at least make sure no one was home.

He had just made it to the Village center and was kicking a small stone down the path, his mind wandering, when one of the watchmen on duty called out to him. It was Brett fletcher, one of the Village’s resident hunters and several years older than Ren, about the same age as Skylynn.

“Morning Ren! What’s gotcha out here so late?”

“Just wanted to go for a walk. Couldn’t sleep with the big news.”

“Ah. So, I guess your family came to a decision then?”

“Not yet.”

“So, the uncertainty is getting to you?”

Ren stopped and sat on a bench that overlooked the rest of the town. “No… I’m worried that I’ll made the wrong decision for my family.”

“Oh… I see…” Brett said. They both fell silent for a while, but it was Brett that broke the silence. “You know Ren. You freak me out sometimes.”

Confused, taken aback, and mildly insulted Ren looked at Brett.

“Oh, come now you know I didn’t mean it like that.” Brett punched Ren in the shoulder. “You just don’t react the way I did when I was your age. I would have been excited that the village would be growing. Then again, I would have been excited for other reasons. You’re a kid. Why are you worried about this sort of thing?” laughing he said, “You sound like an old man.”

Ren smiled, deciding to take what he said as a complement. “Thanks Brett. Figured you would make me feel better. My family wants me to decide on what we should do.”

“Oh… well that’s a big decision. I wouldn’t have expected your parents to let you make that choice… Actually, never mind. It is your parents after all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your parents trust you a lot. You don’t see other kids around your age walking around this late at night do you?”

“The only kid near my age is Gena.” Ren said.

“Then my point still stands. Shes not even allowed to leave the village.”

“Alright alright. But enough about me, have you and Angela started dating yet?” an evil smile crossed Ren’s lips, made worse by the lantern light.

He looked away rubbing the back of his neck, “Little dude that smile is super creepy. But to answer your question, no. She has been super busy in the shop since her mother got sick, so I haven’t had time to ask her out.”

“Sounds to me like you are just scared of her.” Ren said, his smile never leaving his face.

“Hey now, her mother spent the better part of her life, and most of mine, chasing me around town with a stick. You would be scared of her too if you were me.”

Ren raised an eyebrow, “I was talking about Angela.”

“Oh, right… Well… it is hard for me to ask her out at the shop. The way her mother looks at me gives me goosebumps.”

Ren stood up, “Well maybe she is worried that you will steal her daughter away like you tried to steal that rosemary from their garden.”

Brett stood up as well and clasped him on the shoulder “Well if I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have fallen for Angela when she cut me loose after her mother tied me up. So don’t get too worried about the choices that you make now. It’s going to be an adventure regardless.”

“You really think so Brett?”

“Ya, I do, and unlike me you got some great parents to look out for you. So don’t sweat the small stuff short stuff.” He looked off into the distance and stretched. “Alright it was great talking with you Ren, but I have to get back to my rounds. If you are going to stay out make sure you stay in the village.”

“Night Brett, but I think I’ll go to bed now, I’m pretty tired.” Ren said the exhaustion finally hitting him like a brick wall. Waving, Ren started the short walk back to his house.

Once he got back home, he stood outside the front door for a few seconds, deciding to lay down on the table and look up at the stars. As he lie there, he thought about the changes that he would see in the town in the coming months. According to Morningstar the village population over the next few months would increase tenfold. Within the next five years the population would have increased a hundred-fold. Is that the type of place he wanted to live? If they did leave, what would they do? Would they travel around the world like his grandfather did? Would they try and settle down in another village? Or maybe another nation? These questions swam around in his head, chaotic and untamed, but thinking about these things made him think about his grandfather.

His grandfather was adamant that the Kingdom of Gernt, which is where Kilead was located, was the worst of the three nations that spanned the world. Always saying that it is a nation of liars and cheats. Ren figured that he got a bad deal here many years ago and always held a grudge. But the people of the village always had bad things to say about the other nations. The Queendom practiced slavery and the minimum punishment for breaking the law was being sold to the person you wronged. The Royal family was well known for holding public executions of their slaves as entertainment. The Republic was full of corrupt political officials that threw the common folk under the cart at the first chance to make a profit. They were secretly ruled by a group that only cared about making money no matter the cost to the people. Neither place sounded like a good option for his family.

So, what if he stayed? What type of life would he have? Would he stay in Kilead his whole life and grow old? Ew, he would probably have to marry Gena. After all she was the only person close to his age in the village. Gross. Well, now that he was thinking about it. There would be lots of people coming to the town, it wouldn’t just be older people, there would be kids his age too. Surely, they would bring their families with them when they moved here. If he stayed, he could make friends in the new town.

It was these thoughts that eventually lulled him to sleep.