Chapter Three
Changes
If it was quiet he wanted, then it was quiet he would get. She would not make a peep. She always won at his little games, and she planned to win again. After about ten hours, Ryhan’s stomach was howling at her. Cursing herself for being in such a hurry that she didn’t pack food; she scanned the scenery looking for something edible.
Luckily, there was a tree not far ahead growing some sort of fruit, so she quickened her pace enough that she passed Roger. He did not say anything only began stretching his long legs a bit more as he walked, until he was at least even with her. She laughed at little, and he looked away from her. Rolling her eyes, she began to run.
A little space between them was just what she needed; the tension was giving her a headache. Of course, he began to run also, but she had always been much faster than he had. Reaching the tree first, she quickly realized that she was about two inches too short to reach any of the fruit.
Once Roger arrived, and realized that she could not reach, he laughed a little smugly and picked several yellow apples. Instead of offering her any, he ate one, and put the rest in his bag. He left nothing for her to pick, it was surprising the tree was able to produce the few it had, and it looked as if it would topple over any minute.
Furious, she went and opened her bag and took a sip from her waterskin. It held roughly four servings of water and it was only about a third full. If they did not find water soon, she wasn’t sure how far they would make it. They kept a slower pace for the next hour, while Roger was looking for a place to set up camp. Her stomach was protesting loudly, and the evening air was getting cold. Amused, she watched as Roger tried several times to start a fire unsuccessfully.
The more frustrated he became the more angry glances he shot her way. She was getting tired of his lack of understanding, and his frustration was starting to make her angry. Who did he think he was anyway? She had never lead him on, or treated him like more than a friend. She was always very clear that she didn’t have feelings for him. She did not think punishing her for something she had no control over was fair.
He was still rubbing two sticks together when she started to get a strange feeling. Once again, she felt a stabbing pain behind her eyes. Falling to her knees, she tried not to cry out. The pain moved to her neck and through her spine, then to the rest of her body. She faintly heard Roger call out another curse, and then felt the warmth of a fire before darkness took over.
When she opened her eyes, Ryhan had almost forgotten where she was. She felt warm. Realizing that Roger had covered her with a blanket, she sat up and searched for him. There was a dying fire on her left and across the other side of it, and he was snoring loudly. Trying to remember what happened, she spotted a few apples by her bag.
Smiling to herself, she hoped that meant the silent war between them was over. She grabbed all three apples and ate the first two so quickly that she almost choked a couple times. The pain in her stomach had eased up enough, that she ate the third one more slowly, actually noticing the sweet crisp taste.
Staring at the smoldering wood, she wondered if she had started the fire. Could all of it really be true? She prayed that she would not have to go through that pain every time she tried to use her power. It was strange to think that she could possibly be anything that her mother said she would be. She began to think that maybe they had gotten the wrong person.
Growing tired again, she laid down and drifted back to sleep. When she awoke, Roger was already up. Something smelled good. Roger was cooking something on a small pan he had brought with him. She stretched her sore limbs, and folded up the blanket, placing it back in his bag.
“Good morning. I know you are probably starving, I found a lizard and some eggs.” He said.
Lizard was not an appealing breakfast, but it was food and she wasn’t going to complain.
“It smells wonderful, thank you.” She replied.
“I guess I shouldn’t keep you from eating anymore, I’m sorry about that, you scared the hell out of me.” He said.
She looked at him for a long while, not sure of what to say. He obviously thought she passed out from hunger, should she tell him what really happened?
Unsure she asked, “What exactly happened?”
“Well I’m not really certain. I was trying to start a fire, ineffectively, and all of a sudden out of nowhere there were huge flames as tall as me. It happened so fast I barely had time to get out of the way. I looked over at you and you were laying on the ground unconscious. I tried to wake you, but you were sleeping deeply, so I just let you rest. I figured it was because I hadn’t let you eat all day.” He said apologetically.
Ryhan smiled at him and ate her breakfast in silence. She helped clean up, and stayed at camp while he went in search of some berries. He hoped that he would find a little game so they would have food for the evening. She sat there for a long time thinking about everything that had happened over the last two days, feeling very alone.
She wondered if they, whomever it was that she was supposed to be meeting in Fishien, would mind if she told Roger what was happening to her. After contemplating it for a while, she had decided. If they had something against Roger knowing, they would have to take it up with her, because she could not keep it to herself any longer.
When Roger got back to camp, he greeted her with his big goofy grin, wider than ever. It made his brown eyes light up. He had his shirt off and bundled in his hands. She had never seen him without clothing, and she suddenly felt a little embarrassed. His lean muscles flexed slightly as he set the shirt down. Smiling back at him, she tried to look him only in the eye.
“We lucked out, I haven’t seen mallow berries in years, hopefully the closer we get to the coast and farther away from the drought, the more foliage we’ll find.“ He said excitedly.
She was glad that he had found the big plump berries; they would keep them sated until evening. Pulling a smaller empty sack from his bag, he emptied the berries out of his shirt. She was grateful when he put his shirt back on; his naked chest was becoming a distraction.
He embraced her and said, “That should hold us over for a while.”
The hug surprised her, and she did not mean to tense up as much as she did.
He obviously felt it, and pulled away quickly. Looking down at the ground and rubbing his golden brown hair, he walked over to his bag and pulled out a small leather pouch. It looked very similar to a coin purse and had a colorful ribbon tied around it.
“Happy Birthday!” He exclaimed as he handed her the bag.
She had completely forgotten. She was sixteen. Silently she wondered what she would have spent the day doing before her world was turned upside down. Probably nothing as exciting as the journey they were making.
“Thank you Roger.” She said holding the bag gently as if it would break at any moment.
He laughed, “Open it, the bag isn’t your gift.”
She pulled off the rainbow colored ribbon, and reached into the bag. A silver chain clinked softly against itself as she pulled it out. It was long enough to fall to the bottom of her chest and was made of several pieces of the same glistening metal intertwined and knotted every few inches. It was exquisite.
She could barely find the words to thank him again, “Oh Roger…this is so beautiful. I don’t even know what to say.”
“So, you like it then?” He asked.
She replied, “I love it. It’s perfect.”
That time she embraced him, but pulled away after a few moments, trying not to give the wrong impression. Placing the chain around her neck, she wondered how he had been able to afford something so amazing. She had wanted to ask him, but thought better of it, as she was sure that it would hurt his feelings.
As if sensing her thoughts he said, “It was my sisters. I found it while I was packing my things. She would have wanted you to have it.”
Holley was the same age as her, and was like a sister to her as well. She had gotten sick when they w
ere younger and didn’t live past her eleventh birthday. It was a thoughtful and endearing gift. Tears filled her eyes and Roger shook his head and wiped away a single tear that had fallen on her cheek.
“Your eyes. They look different.” He commented.
Absentmindedly she wiped her eyes and gave him a puzzling look.
“They are still blue, but there are all these intense red flecks around your pupil. Like embers.” He said in awe.
“Oh it must be the light.” She said and stood quickly, not wanting to broach the subject at that moment.
He followed her lead and asked, “Who do you know in Fishien anyway? I didn’t think you had any family outside Resteir.”
Hesitating she said, “I’m not sure, my mother knew whoever it is a long time ago.”
He didn’t press any further, but she could tell his curiosity was not satisfied. They set out for another long day of walking. It was a more pleasant experience than the previous day. They chatted for most of the day, which made the time pass quickly enough. She was a little worried that they might be lost though, because Roger kept glancing behind them every so often checking for something.
How they could be lost, she was not sure, because they had been following the riverbed the whole way. They stopped in a small clearing to rest. It was full of a type of flower she had never seen before. They looked a bit like daisies, only there were several blooms on one stem, and there were many different colors.
“Do you know what sort of flowers those are?” She asked Roger, but he looked just as puzzled as she was.
Whatever they were, they smelled wonderful. Ryhan sat down and leaned against the tree behind her. Once she had a moment to rest, thoughts came flooding in of her mother and Roger and of how her future was even more uncertain. What would happen once she reached Fishien? All of the thoughts circled around in her head. She tried to clear them all away and rest, since they still had several hours of walking before dark, but that just left her with a headache. She rubbed her temples and all of a sudden, her head no longer hurt.
In fact, she felt great. More than great, she felt amazing, wonderful, and happy. Really happy. She smiled at Roger and he turned to her and giggled.
His laugh was high pitched and unusual, laughing with him she asked, “What is so funny?”
Laughing hysterically he responded, “I…I don’t know. Why are you laughing?”
She tried to answer, but she was not even sure why she was laughing so hard. Several minutes passed and tears rolled down her cheeks from laughing so much. It was beginning to get hard to breathe. Roger was so enthralled in his laughing fit that he laid down on the ground. She joined him on the ground quickly enough, too weak to stand any longer.
What was going on? Never in her life had she wanted stop laughing so badly. Rolling around in the flowers, she got another big whiff of the sweet scent. It was almost sickening. A loud noise came from the other side of the clearing. It sounded like a large animal of some sort and it was getting closer.
Laughter still uncontrollable, Ryhan glanced at Roger to see if he heard the noise also. Unable to respond, he just nodded his head. She turned her head toward the sound to see if she could see anything. Nothing. The noise was getting louder. Whatever it was, it sounded big and angry. She was frightened, and the laughing was hurting her stomach.
Roger motion back towards the way they came. Nodding her head, she got on to all fours to try and crawl out of the flower induced hysteria. Unlike anything she had ever experienced before, she had to concentrate on every movement and will her limbs to move. She never realized how much effort it took the body to produce a laugh, let alone thousands. They had barely gone two feet when the growling animal revealed itself.
It was a huge beast. It resembled a bear, only its front legs were much shorter, so it walked on its hind legs holding the front legs close to its body. Its head was very round, and it had two rows of razor sharp teeth that ran the entire length of its face. The strange animal’s nose was remarkably small, and Ryhan thought for a moment that anything would seem small compared to the gigantic mouth that was salivating at them.
She froze in place. The laughing had stopped, silence overtook her senses, and for a moment, she feared she had gone deaf. She did not even think she could blink. There was a sickly sweet odor in the air. It smelled similar to the flowers, only much stronger. It burned her nose, so she tried to breathe through her mouth, but could taste it in the air and quickly began breathing through her nose again.
Roger looked even more terrified than she did, if that was even possible. The creature came up to her, its sticky sweet smelling drool dripping down its chin. A purple tongue rolled out of its mouth quickly. Pink blisters covered the surface pulsating like a heartbeat. Her stomach churned at the horrid stench, and Ryhan thought she might vomit.
The unappealing combined scents of sweet nectar and rotting garbage wafted in the air. Its protruding tongue licked the side of her face and her cheek felt like it hot coals were rubbing against her skin. All she wanted to do was scream but nothing would come out. It leaned in close to sweep its ugly tongue across her face again; when a loud crackling noise stole its gaze and a large, bolder flew upside the monsters head.
Dazed for a moment, the creature shook it off, angrily looking for whatever had caused the object to strike it. Another bolder, a bit larger than the last, hit the beast right between its round plate-like eyes. It moaned and fell to the ground. Still paralyzed, Ryhan could not see whom or what was causing such an act, but she hoped it was not something bigger that also wanted to eat them.
She felt someone grab her arms and pull her out of the flower-infested field. Already freed from the paralytic field, Roger sat leaning against a tree. It took several minutes for her to regain the feeling back in her body. She looked around for whoever it was that helped them, but saw no one.
“What just happened?” She asked Roger.
“I have no idea, I didn’t see who helped either, but I had thought someone was following us.” He said.
“Do you know what that beast was?” She asked, shuddering at the thought of it waking up to find them still in close proximity.
“I remember an old scary tale when I was just a child, but I never paid it much attention. I think that beast is called a Haldengar. They lure their prey with the flowers. When some animal is trapped in their field, they torture it by eating it slowly. Layer by layer, starting with the skin first and then…” He stopped when she started gagging.
“Well, I’m quite thankful to whoever helped us. I just wish they would have shown themselves.” Ryhan took a fleeting look around before remembering her wound.
All at once, the pain came flooding back. Roger came to her side, eyes wide as he saw the side of her face.
“What does it look like?” Her voice shaking as she asked.
“Not good.” He said as he grabbed the waterskin and doused the wound. Ryhan screamed at the pain. It felt like he was ripping her skin off.
“Come on, we have to move before that thing comes back and wants to finish the job.” He said.
Shaking, she took Rogers hand and leaned against him trying to keep up with his pace. Grateful as she was to whomever had pulled them out of the Haldengar’s field; it worried her a bit that they could not stick around long enough to introduce themselves.
After they had walked several miles from the horrid flower-eating beast, Roger agreed that they could slow their pace. She was thankful to be able to stop, she wasn‘t sure how much longer she could go on. They made camp and roger had a much easier time getting a fire started. The pain on her face was enough for a lifetime, she was glad she did not also have to endure the pain of starting another fire.
She worried that every time she was angry or upset that her power would just randomly set things on fire. What a horrible way to live. After getting things settled, Roger brought over the waterskin and a clean cloth as well as a few stalks of a green plant. She was not sure what kind; she was nev
er very good at identifying plants. He reached up to dab the wet cloth on her face, and she flinched at the pain.
“Sorry, I’m not sure what happened, the best I can guess is that the secretion of that Haldengar dissolves the flesh. When I tried to clean it the layer of skin that was covered with the saliva just washed away with the water.” He winced as he said it, as if it caused him pain to tell her.
“How bad is it?” Ryhan asked.
“Uh, its…it’s not so bad. I’m sure it just hurts worse than it looks.” He exclaimed.
“Roger, don’t lie to me, just tell me the truth.” She said.
“Okay, it’s pretty bad, it’s going to take a while to heal, and you’ll have to be careful about infection. You should see a healer as soon as we get to Fishien.” He said reluctantly.
Ryhan sighed, “I want to see it. Do you have a looking glass with you?”
“No.” Roger replied quickly.
She watched him put away the waterskin and unused plant stalks. He was lying.
“I don’t believe you.” She said.
“I don’t care.” He replied.
She reached for his bag, but he snatched it out of her hands.
“LET ME SEE!” She shouted.
“No, it will do you no good to see your injury right now. Wait until a proper healer can help you.” He pleaded.
“ROGER!” She yelled angrily, and could see the flames flickering behind him.
He refused and placed the bag on a tree branch far out of her reach. She felt the heat rise up into her face and spread through the rest of her body, the fire grew higher. Who did he think he was, she thought to herself, and the flames felt hotter. Her anger intensifying, the fire stared sputtering wildly out of control. Roger backed away from the fire and stared at her as if he was putting pieces of a puzzle together.
Quickly he knelt down in front of her and looked her in the eye. “Ryhan, calm down. Breathe. Look into my eyes and just breathe.”
She did as he said, letting the deep breaths calm her.
When she was back in control of herself, she apologized to him. “I know that you are just trying to help me. I shouldn’t have gotten so angry.”
He just nodded and said nothing else. She knew he wanted to talk about it, but she also knew he was not going to bring it up and risk her getting angry again. Therefore, she just let the silence fill the air for the moment. Whatever the plant was that he had smoothed over her cheek had given her some relief.
After finishing a small rabbit that Roger had managed to catch, they laid next to each other while watching the stars. It was a clear night. Ryhan was always amazed at how many stars filled the sky. She started to tell Roger what was on her mind, but before she could say anything, she heard him snoring loudly.
She covered him with a blanket before going to sleep herself. It came swiftly and soon she was running. She was running so fast that she could barely see where she was going. There was a voice telling her to hurry, that she would be too late. The forest seemed to stretch out before her endlessly. It was as if she were running in place, and never getting anywhere.
She cried out for someone to help her, but there was no sound. A woman’s voice spoke; it was beautiful, like angels. The voice was calling for her, begging her to come.
“I’m trying!” She called out, but again the words fell silent before they could reach anyone. She kept searching. What was she looking for? She wanted it badly, needed it desperately. A man appeared. She could only see his piercing ruby eyes that bore right through her. He was laughing a cold and wicked laugh that resonated deep in her bones. He had something, the thing she had been looking for.
He knew she was weak because of it. What was it? She could only see his eyes. Only hear his evil laughing.
“Please!” She begged. This made him laugh harder and he approached her, arms opened wide, as if he was coming to hug her.
Trying to escape his cackling and afraid of what he would do, she ran. Managing to get lost in the woods again, his voice grew louder. He was getting closer. She would not escape him; she could not run fast enough. He caught up to her and put his arms around her from behind.
“No use fighting,” He hissed, “I always win.”
He was holding her tight. So tight, she could not breathe. What was he doing to her? She was getting weak and heard a faint whisper call her name. It was getting dark and she could not fight it anymore. She tried to take a breath, but nothing happened.
“Ryhan, wake up.” A voice called out, louder than before.
She opened her eyes and choked on the cold night air. Scrambling to her feet, she scanned the area, looking for the ruby-eyed monster and found nothing. Falling to her knees, she let the real world come back to her slowly. Roger waited a long while for her to get her strength back.
“Ok, what happened to you? You really scared me Ryhan.” Roger said.
“Well…I was dreaming. Yeah that’s it…I was just having a bad dream.” She said weakly.
“That was no bad dream, okay. You weren’t breathing. It looked like something was trying to crush your ribs. I don’t understand. Why are you really going to Fishien? What aren’t you telling me?” He asked.
Ryhan sat for a long time, unsure of how to start, “Roger… I wanted to tell you, but you were mad and then I didn’t know if I should get you involved. I am sorry, but I don’t think you would believe me. I’m not sure I even believe it myself.”
He just motioned for her to continue. She took a deep breath and recounted everything that happened since the night before they left, including details about the fire at her house and the one at the camp. He shifted slightly when she mentioned the pain that came with the fires, as if he were in pain also. She was curious about his reaction, but continued with her story. When she was finished, they sat in silence for a long time.
“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me.” Ryhan said.
He looked into her deep sapphire eyes. Moving closer to sit next to her, he put his arm around her and leaned his head onto hers. It was nice, but she did not know if she should let him stay that way or not. Ever since he had proposed marriage, she was not sure how to act around him. He must have sensed her confusion and pulled his arm from around her, but did not move away.
“Ryhan,” He said softly, “It’s not that I don’t believe you. I have heard of a great many things in our world, magical things. I just cannot believe that you would willingly go to these people that you don’t even know, and trust them to help and take care of you.”
At first, she was offended that he thought she needed taken care of, but after hearing the actual concern in his statement, she realized that it was only him being protective. She thought that he would have many more questions, but he was silent for the remainder of their trip. Fortunately, there were no more strange events. Just silence.
Every time Ryhan would try to start a conversation, Roger would simply smile and give her a short reply then go back to his own quiet thoughts. She was beginning to regret telling him her secret. He must have thought she was some sort of monster or something. She would not bring it up again. They would reach Fishien, and then he could go on with his normal life.
It saddened her to think that she might never see Roger again. However, she was glad that he was going off to live his life. Maybe he would find someone that would make him truly happy. They arrived in Fishien a half a day earlier than planned. Which gave them some time to walk around the market. It was a large coastal town and the market smelled strongly of the sea and spices.
How was she supposed to find someone she didn’t know? What would happen if she never found the right person? She was becoming nervous while they were wandering around aimlessly. Filling her waterskin at a fountain nearby, she silently hoped that she would not need it again anytime in the near future. Ryhan had never been accustomed to people staring at her, and now with everyone looking at her face she felt even more unnerved.
Ignoring the pain, she pulled the hood
of her cloak up around her head and watched the villagers move about through their day. However, much better off than the people of Resteir, the people of Fishien were not exactly a lively bunch. Filled stalls lined the streets and none of them looked particularly hungry, but there was a certain vibe in the atmosphere. She could tell that the changes happening in Corafeldon effected them as well.
“I don’t even know who or what to look for.” Ryhan stated sadly.
Roger was about to reply, when another voice called out her name from behind.
She turned around quickly to see a small child who looked to be about five years old. The voice she heard had sounded like an adult man, so she let her eyes pass over the boy, quickly searching for another person close by.
The child grabbed her hand and said, “Ryhan you must come with me. My name is Farwen; I am here to take you to see Gavin.”
The boy she had passed over was in fact a man. After studying his features for a while, Ryhan realized that he was only about three and a half feet tall, and his entire body was completely proportionate. The only hints that he was not human were his yellow eyes. He also had very large ears that were completely round. Roger seemed just as astounded as she did, and stood there speechless as well.
The creature did not seem to mind their staring, “I know that you haven’t seen many magical beings before, so I apologize if I have surprised you. You must come with me now. It is urgent that you meet with Gavin as soon as possible.”
She didn’t know why, but she trusted the man. He seemed mysterious and knowledgeable. There was a hint of familiarity about him that she could not quite put her finger on. Ryhan allowed the childlike man to lead her. She noticed that Roger was close behind them, and wondered what he thought of him.
He would probably say she was too trusting, but something inside her felt like she knew Farwen. They stopped next to a row of shops each one with a staircase that wrapped around the side of it.
Farwen turned to Roger and said, “She will be fine, you may continue on you journey now.”
Roger about exploded, “If you think that I am just going to leave her with a stranger you’ve got another thing coming. I WILL make sure she gets to where she needs to be.”
“She has arrived where she needs to be. It is not necessary for you to endanger yourself any longer. I assure you she is safe with me, please be on your way.” Farwen replied.
Roger shook his head and continued to follow them closely. They reached a building that looked like an herbal shop. Like all the other shops, there were stairs that wrapped around from behind the building and stopped where they stood.
Farwen glanced at Roger and then spoke to her gently, “I would advise you to send your gentleman friend on his way. This is a very dangerous endeavor, and we do not wish for anyone to become involved that does not need to be.”
Ryhan nodded, knowing that he was right, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye to him. She looked him over, frowning at his worried expression.
“Could we let him stay for just tonight? We have traveled such a long way, so quickly, and nightfall is approaching. Please? I will make sure that he takes leave of us in the morning.” She asked.
“Of course my lady, but Gavin will not be pleased.” Farwen answered hesitantly.
Turing to Roger she said, “You can stay for the night, but you must leave tomorrow. This is my journey now. You have your own quest remember.”
Roger nodded, but she felt as though he had not made up his mind if he was really going to leave. She hoped for his sake that he would continue on to Breckenshire.
Fated Volition: The Sapphire Star Saga Page 4