Lindsay
Schopfer

By Lindsay Schopfer

Keltin woke for what seemed to be the fifth time in the last hour. Usually, he was grateful to be a light sleeper and could remember several times when it had saved his life while on a hunt. But as he struggled to find a comfortable position slouched against the window of their passenger car, he couldn’t help feeling envious of Mr. Paulsen as he snored softly in the seat across from him.

The three-day trip through Riltvin had been uneventful, and they had passed without incident over the Krendarian border earlier that morning. There was still a solid day’s travel before the train would reach the capital city of Carvalen. Keltin finally gave up on sleep and watched the scenery speeding past his window as evening fell on the countryside. He had spent most of the trip looking out his window as the thick forests of the hill country had slowly changed to copses of evergreens separated by farmers’ fields and pastureland.

A polite tapping drew Keltin’s attention from the scenery to the window set into the sliding door of their compartment. A porter stood outside in the corridor holding a tray with Keltin and Paulsen’s dinner on it. Keltin opened the door and took the tray from the pleasantly smiling man.

“Will there be anything else, sir?” he asked.

The tray was overburdened with the large, spicy sausage favored by Krendarians as well as roasted potatoes, greens, and rolls with jam. Keltin looked at the sumptuous meal and felt his mouth watering. If nothing else, Mr. Paulsen had provided some of the best meals he’d ever eaten outside of Mrs. Galloway’s dining room.

“This is wonderful, thank you.”

The porter smiled and left. Keltin started in on the delicious sausage as Mr. Paulsen rubbed his eyes and sat up.

“Is it lunch already?”

“Dinner, actually.”

“Did I not have lunch?”

“You ate it, but I don’t think you were awake to enjoy it.”