by A. J. Medina
I still knew the path to my meadow. It was like I had never left. All the while Neala looked on in amazement at the woods and the sky as if it was all knew to her.
“Are we almost there?” Neala asked excitedly.
“Aye, just a few more minutes and we’ll be there. But it’s winter, so the sunflowers will be gone.”
When the path finally ended, the hill was on one side and my meadow was straight ahead. Even though it was cold out, I had to do it. I didn’t care if my toes froze and fell off.
“Is this it?” Neala asked.
“Aye. This is my meadow.”
“It’s beautiful. Better than I imagined.”
When I didn’t say anything, Neala turned around to see why not. One boot was already off and I untied the other.
As if I had challenged her to a race, Neala undid her boots and flung them off to the side. She ran up to me and pushed me. “Catch me if you can,” she shouted, and then took off running into my meadow.
My toes dug into the cold, still moist dirt from the last rain, and propelled me forward.
Neala was fast, but not that fast, and I caught her quickly. She turned on her next step and gave chase. We chased each other over and over until we were too tired to run anymore and collapsed onto the cold ground.
“Is this what it’s like?” Neala asked.
“Is this what, what’s like?”
“Having fun outside of the castle city?”
My forehead crinkled as I stared at her. “Aye.”
“Oh. It’s nice.”
How could Neala not know what having fun outside the castle city was like?
With her next words it became clear to me.
“I don’t remember ever having fun outside of the castle city. I’ve been a servant for so long, I don’t even remember playing as a child, just working—all the time.”
“I worked too,” I said. “On my farm. I was doing chores since I can remember.”
“Not the same,” Neala said.
“I know.”
And I did know. I didn’t know why I said that.
Neala lifted herself up onto her elbows and studied her toes. “My toes are blue and numb. We should get back.”
I agreed.
We grabbed our boots, put them on and I slapped Neala on the shoulder and said, “Catch me if you can.”
Chapter 12
The next morning we got some sweet bread from Lucah’s mother, said our goodbyes, and then headed south.
We walked and walked towards the most southern tip of our kingdom. At the end of Ly’vera there was nothing but water to the south as far as the eye could see. To the west the river that separated Ly’vera and Ry’uet flowed north back up towards the castle city.
The current looked far too strong to swim across and there was no telling how deep it was. It was a good thing the wizard had warned me to go by foot otherwise I might have tried to bring horses. Good thing indeed. What if the water was too deep and the horses drowned and took us with them? My... our... journey to find the dragon wizard would have failed.
“What now?” Aednat asked.
I knelt down at the river’s edge and pulled my glove off. Dipping a finger, the water was colder than I would have imagined.
“Cold?” Thomas asked.
I nodded. “Aye. It’s even colder than Neala’s bowl of wake up water.”
All of the girls laughed, knowing just how cold Neala’s bowl of wake up water could be. Thomas, not having to deal with her waking him, had no clue. He shrugged in response to our laughter. I shook my hand out, making sure it was dry before sliding it back into my glove.
It was nice hearing everyone laugh. It’s been a long time. Even the sound of laughter from Aednat felt comforting.
“There’s no way for us to get across,” Aednat pointed out.
Still kneeling, I pulled my satchel off and reached in to retrieve my journal.
“What’s that?” Thomas asked.
“My journal. I’m writing down everything that happens on our journey.”
I turned to the page that had the magic words on it and read them aloud. “Pons apparere.”
Nothing happened.
I said the words again, and still nothing happened.
I read the words in my mind and then read them from the beginning. Ah yes. There was my mistake.
I tucked my journal back into my satchel and stood. With outstretched arms, as if I was about to conjure something out of thin air, more for show than anything, I yelled with enthusiasm. “PONS APPARERE!”
The water level began to rise and the ground underneath my feet began to shake.
“What’s happening?” Neala asked.
I didn’t answer her, because I didn’t know myself.
“There! Look!” Thomas shouted, pointing out at the water.
Off in the distance something was emerging from beneath the water.
“What is that?” Neala asked.
I still didn’t know. That is until they fully emerged.
“Stepping stones,” I said. “Our way across.”
“Nay!” Davina shouted.
We hadn’t heard her speak yet today, so hearing her shout ‘nay’ startled all of us. We stared in amazement at her conviction.
“Why not?” I asked.
“I’m not crossing on those. Look how small they are. One misstep and we’ll fall in.”
Davina was right. The stepping stones were small and they were spread far apart from each other. The first thought that popped into my head was, Lucah wouldn’t have a problem with this. Him having such long legs and all. Aednat and Thomas would be fine, and even Davina, who was scared to cross, had longer legs than me or Neala.
“You’ll be fine. Your legs are long enough. Longer than mine at least,” I tried to assure her.
“But what if I fall in?” she asked.
“You won’t,” I tried to encourage.
Davina crossed her arms and huffed.
She was spending too much time with Aednat. In that pose and with the huff, they could’ve been sisters. Or more like brother and sister. Aednat could still be mistaken for a boy with her boyish body and short black hair. Why she didn’t grow it out, I’ll never guess.
“Come, I’ll go first,” Thomas volunteered.
As the water slammed into, and washed over the rocks, Thomas stepped onto the first stone. He tested its stability and shifted his weight onto that foot. He pushed and bounced on that one foot a few times and when he felt confident that it was sturdy, he shifted all of his weight onto it and swung his other leg, landing it on the next stone.
He turned and motioned with his arm for us to follow. When he did that, he lost his balance some and swung his arms trying to regain it. As his body moved to and fro trying to regain its balance, Davina let out a yelp.
When he regained his balance, each leg still on its own stone, he started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Davina shouted.
“I was joking. I didn’t lose my balance.” He motioned for us to follow. “Come on silly. Let’s get to the other side.”
Thomas stepped to the next stone and then to the next. Aednat was next to follow. She tested her weight on the first stone just as Thomas had. When she was satisfied it was sturdy enough, she stepped to the next one. When she was five stones away, Neala was next to go. She also tested the first stone and then stepped out onto the next one.
“Davina you’re next,” I said.
Davina walked to the edge of the river and studied the first stone. She took a deep breath and then stepped onto it. She immediately stepped back off it. “I can’t.”
“You can. You must,” I said.
“I’ll wait here.”
“It’ll be days. Let’s go.”
She crossed her arms and her lower lip protruded. “Nay.”
She reminded me of the small children in my village who would challenge me and then pout when they lost.
“Fine, I’ll go first, but if
you don’t follow, then you’re disobeying orders. Follow me across... Knightly.”
Davina’s arms fell to her sides. She inhaled deeply and then exhaled with a nod.
I nodded back and then stepped onto the first stone. I found myself testing the stone like the others had and when I felt it was sturdy, I shifted my full weight onto it and then stepped onto the next stone. The distance between the two stones was much farther than it looked. My stride was pretty wide and I had to make sure to shift my weight at just the right moment otherwise I wouldn’t make it to the next stone.
Up ahead, Thomas was getting close to the land on the other side, with both Aednat and Neala on his heels. The slight delay between Davina’s pouting created a gap between us.
I tried my best to take a quick glance over my shoulder, but was having trouble. I felt like I would lose my balance and not be able to keep moving forward. I focused on shifting my weight and moving to the next stone and hoped Davina was behind me.
When Thomas made it to the other side, Aednat was right behind him. At that point I was right in the middle of the river and all I could hear was the calm soothing sound of the water flowing and slapping against the rocks. It was almost like I was in another realm.
That’s when I heard the shouting. Thomas was yelling at me. I couldn’t quite make him out, but he was pointing south, out to sea. I glanced to my left and coming right towards me was a tree floating in the river. I sped up my pace, trying to make it out of its way when I heard a loud thud and a splash that caused me to stop mid step.
Both of my feet were on different stones and I lost my forward momentum. That was it. I knew it might be impossible to get my momentum moving forward again. I was stuck. I turned my head to see if the tree had missed Davina.
It hadn’t. She was clinging to the tree. It had gotten stuck on the stones. With me losing momentum and her in the water, I was worried. When I looked back towards the others, Thomas was back on the stones heading towards us.
Thomas was yelling and pointing back to the side we had come from. The stones were sinking back into the water. I stretched my hands out and said the magic words again, but they were still sinking one by one.
“Davina get up!” I yelled. “Back on the stones. Hurry!”
She clung to the tree trunk. “I can’t!”
The stones closest to us were beginning to sink. I couldn’t soar across the river, at least I didn’t think I could. I hadn’t tried soaring on water yet out of fear of not being able to stop my descent and hitting the water hard. But I could soar to that tree. I aimed my had at the stone under my feet and fired. I soared into the air just enough so that I wouldn’t need to fire again to stop my fall. I landed on the tree trunk and sprung into action grabbing Davina’s wrists and pulling. “Climb up!” I shouted.
A hand reached out and grabbed Davina’s wrist. It was Thomas. “Pull!” he cried.
With the two of us helping, we pulled Davina onto the trunk and then it started to roll as the stones on one side sank. “Quickly, onto the stones!” I yelled.
Taking the lead, I hopped from stone to stone as fast as I could. When I got to the other side I waited for Davina and then Thomas to make it to shore. With everyone safely on the other side, I removed my satchel and dropped to the ground. While I waited for my heartbeat to return to normal — it felt as if my heart was in my throat — I lay there trying to figure out why the magic words hadn’t worked.
I couldn’t quite figure it out and decided to give up. The bridge of stones was behind us now. After a short rest, it was time to move forward. I gathered myself and my things and led us into the woods.
The forest in Ry’uet appeared as all the others I’ve seen in Ly’vera. Tall trees, bushes spread out here and there, and grass along the dirt covered ground.
The dirt itself felt sturdy, not muddy at all. The tree branches, even without their leaves, covered and blocked out most of the sky and must’ve protected the ground from soaking up too much rain water.
The grass and dirt in this area were not traveled. There wasn’t any type of trail, the kind created by travelers walking over and over across the same terrain.
I just kept focusing on walking south. South would lead us to our destination.
We had passed some hot springs where the steam rose off the top of them a while back, and when the sun began to set, and we came across a break in the trees, I decided to make camp.
“This looks like a good spot to camp,” I said.
“Finally,” Aednat groaned.
I tossed my satchel down on the ground and helped Neala off with hers. She had insisted on being the one to carry the tent we would be sharing so hers was much bigger and heavier. I only agreed to it because Neala agreed on us taking turns carrying it if, and when, she became too tired.
While I helped Neala set up our tent, Thomas set up his and Davina and Aednat set up theirs.
The tent we all had was big enough for two and I was happy I went with the decision of sharing a tent with Neala. As the sun went down, I felt much more at ease knowing I would have company in mine.
When the tents were all set up, I went inside and lay down my bedding on the tent’s floor. Neala entered with some firewood she had gathered. The tent had an open area in the middle where the firewood would rest on the dirt and right above it was an opening to let the smoke out.
Without a fire out here, we would surely freeze.
“Are you hungry yet?” Neala asked.
“Aye.”
“Then I’ll make a fire outside and begin our evening meal.”
Our evening meal consisted of a stew Neala put together, filled with lamb, potatoes, and carrots with a roll of sweet bread for each of us. It was filling and very tasty, especially after the long trek we had taken.
Everyone was tired and as soon as they finished eating they all retired to their tents.
I helped Neala clean up, so as not to attract any wild animals, and when we were finished, I went into our tent.
With a flick of my wrist I started our fire, placed my bowl and spoon next to my satchel, and then removed my cloak and boots. I wiggled my toes and pointed and flexed my feet. They were happy to be out of their constraints. My boots were comfortable since they were custom made to fit my feet, but there was nothing like being barefoot.
Neala slid past the opening of the tent and placed her pot, bowl and utensils by her satchel and then removed her cloak and boots. She slid under her fur covers and by the looks of it, was ready to go to sleep.
“Good night, Neala,” I said.
“Good night, Alora.”
The forest at night was very quiet. It felt as if all the animals had gone to sleep as soon as the sun went down. I sat on my bedding with my arms wrapped around my knees, gazing at the fire in the center of our tent. The flames crackled, rose and fell and then swayed back and forth. It appeared as if the fire had a life of its own.
It didn’t take long before Neala was fast asleep. Her breathing was steady and heavy. I could see her chest rise and fall with each breath. Even though my body felt tired from our traveling, I wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep just yet.
With Neala asleep, I pulled out one of Agbavitor’s journals I had brought along, and started reading. I was surprised to find his entry discussing Tessa.
The young one they call Tessa has spirit. She is the smallest of all the volunteers, but she is quick and agile. The king believes it a mistake to choose her, but I believe she will make a great knight.
Along with her agility she seems very happy. Her life must’ve been filled with fun and excitement up until this point, which does make me question why she would want to be a knight.
Perhaps her life wasn’t as great as I want to believe it was. Her high spirits might just be a cover. Either way, I’m sure with the proper training, she will be a formidable opponent.
I shut the journal and slipped it back into my satchel. I missed Tessa. Before Neala, she was really the only girl who wanted to b
e my friend. I didn’t want to think of her. If I did, there’s only one memory I would see in my mind, and that’s the memory of Silas... his sword thrusting into her body.
I shook my head trying to stop the memory from entering, but it was no use. I climbed to my feet and went outside.
The night air was crisp. I hugged myself and rubbed my arms trying to stay warm. Part of me wanted to go back inside while another part of me wanted to stay outside and let the cold distract my thoughts. The cold won.
Looking up at the clear sky, it was filled with stars. The ground was cold on my bare feet, but I didn’t care. Off in the distance there was a pink cloud formation. It was slowly making its way towards us. That was it then, I’d seen them before. The first snow of the winter would be upon us soon enough.
Being out in the open would have scared me if I didn’t have the ability to control fire, and as I rubbed my arms, I knew I was going to miss the comforts of the palace and even my old room high in the turret with the other girl knightlys. Maybe Aednat was right. Maybe I was getting weak living with all the creature comforts available in the palace.
Turning back to face the tent I shared with Neala, my thoughts turned to the girl sleeping inside. As far as Neala could remember she had been a servant and she was happy to become a chamber maiden. A title given to her when word of the new girls, who would be training as knights, had made its way to the servants.
Serving the other girls, and then moving on to solely serving me, had made her life so much better, to the point that she didn’t mind being a slave anymore.
Didn’t mind being a slave? How could she not mind?
Neala didn’t have a say in her own life. No say as to what she could or couldn’t do. She had to follow the commands of royalty, and me, otherwise she could be put to death. How could she not mind that?
I slid the entrance to my tent over and by the dim light of the fire, Neala’s body was folded in on itself. The fur covers were tightly wrapped around her body. Even her face was barely visible. She was freezing. I knew it was cold, but hadn’t realized how cold the night had become. Our second skins held in our heat much better than regular clothing. I knelt down and threw more wood on the fire. Placing twigs and kindling on top, I made sure it would stay lit.