Acca had never been wrong in past and he felt a fool for doubting him. Alfwald had always been viewed as the strongest host ever to have lived, but after today there could be little doubt who was the stronger of the two. Moments went by and the golden glow showed no sign of subsiding. Still no one moved until eventually the glare started to subside into a faint yellow glow. As the glare subsided Henry senior could see that his nephew was still kneeling alongside James’s lifeless body. Henry unsteadily stood up, using the Aelfgar as an aid, and as he did so the glow disappeared completely. With tears in his eyes he turned to face the others. No one moved at first, they just stood staring at each other for a second or two to see what Henry would do next. Then, without a word, Henry walked off and disappeared into the woodland. His uncle went to follow, but Nog took his arm. “Leave him… our master will be fine,” he said sadly.
Bree found herself cuddling up to Hazel and relished the comfort of being so close. Somehow over the last day or so, she had started to feel a lot closer to Hazel than she would have ever believed. Even their fight with the creature made him feel closer. Bree shifted a little and flinched with pain as she did so. she was no longer high on the adrenalin from the fight. This was now replaced by pain and fatigue, and up to now she hadn’t taken much notice of her cuts and bruises: they would heal in time. Her damaged wing was a different matter, but Hazel had said that she could help it to heal with time. Bree’s faith in Hazel was now unquestionable, which helped reassure her a little.
Trying to put the worries of her wing to one side, she concentrated on more pressing matters… And it went without saying that her dear Henry was first on her list of priorities. It was not as if she had stopped thinking about him. Nothing was further from the truth: she could never stop thinking about him, but a lot had happened over the past day or so, one of which nearly pushed them apart, and the hosting being the worst of all. He had changed from a boy to a man practically overnight and she missed him so much… Especially when she thought back to how he was when she first met him under the large oak, and then saw him as he was now. It made her feel so sad, but she would never give up on him, whatever would happen, and her priority now was to find him and this time, stay with him, no matter what it took. No matter how much she tried she couldn’t get over how much her Henry had changed, and she feared it wasn’t for the better. She loved him dearly, and that would never change: his smile and his innocence, she loved everything about him. She even loved his temper and mood swings, but she couldn’t help feeling that he had lost that innocence she loved so much, and had grown up overnight, a transition she was struggling to come to terms with. Without doubt she knew that they were to be together forever, and if she wanted to be with him… she would somehow have to find a way to accept the changes.
Hazel moved a little, trying to stretch her leg, but accidentally kicked Bree, breaking her thoughts. “Oh… sorry, my dear,” she said sleepily. Bree didn’t respond: she shuffled until she got a little more comfortable herself. Considering such cramped conditions, she rested her head on her arm and was asleep in minutes. But Hazel couldn’t sleep: she opened her eyes to dull light emanating through the opening in the tree. It was morning and the rain had stopped; however, it did nothing to improve her mood.
Bree was still asleep and both were crammed in like sardines in a tin. Not wanting to disturb Bree, she decided to stay still for a while, allowing her time to wake up slowly. Hazel just lay there watching the mist rising from the damp earth. She took a deep breath of air, but unfortunately, she could still smell death and decay from outside. They hadn’t moved that far from the dead creature and, although it was dead, it was still contaminating everything around it, something she’d have to put right before they moved on. Knowing her sister, she knew that it wouldn’t be long before Sophia looked for them and thought that it would be far easier for her sister to follow the trail of the creature than it would be to follow them, especially after all the rain they’d had over the past few days.
So, reluctantly, she had decided that they should stay put and wait for her and any others to find them. Besides, they were far too exhausted to travel any distance and, considering the poor state they were both in, they were in no condition for another fight. So wait they would: luckily for them, they didn’t have to wait too long.
Bree woke and sat up. At first, she panicked, finding that Hazel wasn’t there. She looked out of the small opening, squinting her eyes to the dull light and to her relief she could see Hazel just a few yards away stretching her limbs. Hazel still had a few aches and pains caused by the fight the night before, and was a little stiff from being cramped up in the hollow all night; but all in all she wasn’t in too bad a shape, Bree, however, wasn’t so lucky. Until this morning she hadn’t realised that amongst her aches and pains her wrist was the most painful, and she feared that she may have broken it. She crawled out from the tree, stretched and then sat on one of the large, moss-covered rocks holding her arm for support.
The morning air was warm but crisp but the brightness from the sun was masked by the mist and the clouds, giving them a hazy welcome to the morning. They were both still wet through by the previous night’s rain which again didn’t help their mood. Hazel lazily walked over to where Bree was sitting. “You fought well last night, my dear.” Bree tried a smile but didn’t reply. Hazel sat on the rock next to her, but didn’t say any more. Moments went by before Bree spoke. “Have you any idea what that thing was?” They hadn’t spoken of it much the night before, both tired and battered from the fight. Hazel nodded. “I believe it was Woose-demon… but I can’t be sure… I’ve never seen one and can only go by a brief description I once read in a book some time ago.” She paused and looked down to where Bree was supporting her arm. “Let me see,” she said, gently taking hold of her arm and at once realising that it was more than a strain. She got up to kneel in front of her. Bree flinched and squinted in pain. “Why didn’t you say something earlier, my dear?”
Bree didn’t reply and just sat quietly as Hazel went about rummaging through her shoulder bag for a dressing to support her wrist. Moments later, Hazel sat back on her heels after carefully wrapping Bree’s wrist. “There… that should help you for now.” Hazel studied Bree for a moment. “Is there something else bothering you, my dear?” Bree’s eyes filled with tears. “Henry,” she just managed to squeeze out before completely breaking down in tears. Hazel got up, flinching with pain as she did so, sat down next to her and took Bree in her arms, and held her close, trying to hold back tears herself.
A good few minutes they embraced, Hazel sat back and said positively, “Let’s make ourselves a nice hot drink.” She paused, looking at Bree, feeling for her pain and the sorrowful state she was in. But if Hazel had a chance to look at herself, she didn’t look that much better. “What do you say, dear?” Bree nodded and with her head slumped got up gingerly from the rock and walked over to get her belt, whilst Hazel retrieved her shoulder bag and pulled out a watertight bag of tea leaves. A little while later found them sitting around a small but welcoming fire sipping hot tea. Bree thought it almost impossible to ever get a fire started in these conditions, but Hazel proved otherwise. She gathered together a large number of wet sticks and logs, arranged them in a tepee shape, and lit them by using her magic. She sent a small, green flare into the centre of the logs to dry them first, waited a second or two and then sent another which immediately set it alight.
They both sat back enjoying the warmth of the fire, and the hot herbal tea felt wonderful which help soothed them emotionally as well as physically. However, the only food they had was wet bread and a little cheese, but even that went down well. Considering their circumstances and conditions, Hazel was in good spirits. That was more than she could say for Bree. It seemed as if she was beginning to go within herself; she wasn’t making any conversation and only replying to Hazel with a nod or the occasional one-word answer.
It hadn’t rained all morning but the rise in temperature evaporat
ed, the moisture around them making it uncomfortable and clammy with the humidity. Hazel had managed to light a fire by using a little of her powers, and they had hung a few items next to it to dry, but still had no way of getting completely dry. As the day wore on, Hazel’s mood had started to deteriorate, mainly due to the appalling conditions, and nothing much had been said between the two. From time to time, Hazel tried her utmost to lighten the mood, whereas Bree did and said little in return. With little else to do, Hazel went about rearranging the clothes around the fire.
She suddenly stood bolt upright, looked out and concentrated on an area of the woodland to the south of her. She had sensed something in the shadows of the trees. She stopped what she was doing and listened carefully. She knew that more than one individual was approaching them. She glanced over to Bree, who was now up on her feet, one hand in a sling and the other holding the staff Hazel had given her the night before. Seconds went by, then Hazel smiled. “My sister,” she announced. Bree, however, wasn’t that sure and had no intention of dropping her guard until she was sure that they were in no danger.
Bree and Hazel stood closely together in the centre of the clearing, both watching and waiting for whoever it was to appear. The first to leap out from the trees were three elf guards. They ran out, swords in hand, ready for anything that might attack. However, on seeing Hazel and Bree standing just a few feet away, they stopped in their tracks and immediately dropped their weapons to their sides. A few seconds later the tall, slim figure of Sophia emerged from the shadows. She stopped, looked down at the blackened track that led to the dead creature some thirty yards away, then looked up to her sister. “I can see that you two have been busy,” she said flatly. At first, Hazel didn’t respond. She was so relieved and happy to see her sister. A smile beamed across her face as she rushed over to give her a hug. Sophia gave her a rather reluctant hug back but she was never comfortable in showing such emotions, especially in front of others. Bree still hadn’t moved. She stood and watched as other elf guards emerged from the woods, hoping that Henry would be amongst them. When she saw Mylon emerge flanked by two smaller guards she ran across the clearing, dodging others to get to him. “Henry,” she said breathlessly. “Where’s my Henry?”
Mylon smiled but shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint,” he said softly, “but our hero has other tasks at hand.” He paused and placed a hand on her cheek. “You don’t have to worry about him… Besides, he’s in good company.” Bree tried a smile back. “Well, then… Let’s set up camp and you can tell me all about how two tiny women managed to take down such an enormous and powerful creature as this thing.” He smiled again. Bree could have taken offence by his comments, but instead she admired him for it. He had the ability to make light of nearly everything and also to make those around him feel at ease, no matter what the circumstances. However, that didn’t mean he didn’t care or take things seriously. As a commander he had always led by example, and she felt that she knew him well enough to believe that he would continue to do so as king.
Bree looked over Mylon’s shoulder to the edge of the clearing: something or someone was stumbling about in the tall undergrowth behind him. Concerned that they might have been followed, she looked back at Mylon who just smiled again. “Nothing to worry about… It’s just our dear old Walter Britton… We’ve been waiting for him to catch us up all day.” Walt stumbled out into the open, covered in sweat. Both Bree and Mylon watched as he found the nearest log to slump down on. Pulling out his dirty hanky from his shirt pocket, he wiped his head and neck. Mylon smiled. Try as he might, he could not take this man seriously: he always looked so comical. He then surprised Bree by giving her a quick kiss on her cheek and then walked over to greet Hazel.
Cloron, a young commander with the King’s Guards, immediately started to bark orders. His first priority was to set up perimeter guards. He ordered them to be paired up and that under no circumstances should anyone be left on their own, and that all posts were to be in four-hour rotas around the clock. He also assigned four of his troopers to head off to try and find Commander Alk and Bert to inform them of recent events and to guide them safely back to the camp, after which he ordered junior officers under his command to set up camp.
A short while later and with Hazel’s help they had a circle of roaring fires. Usually they would have tried to have kept a lower profile and avoid lighting fires, so as not to give their position away, but the troops were wet and needed hot food inside them. Besides, Mylon reasoned that there was no hiding place from the type of enemy they were facing. It was around dusk before they were all settled, a number of the elves were busy making hot meals, whilst others went about making up temporary shelters. Mylon, Bree and the two sisters spent most of the afternoon going over what had happened to them since they separated. Hazel spoke first, telling them briefly of their fight with the creature, emphasising how brave and resourceful Bree was. She spoke with pride as if she were her own. Bree, however, just sat quietly to one side and said nothing.
Mylon was impressed but not surprised at their bravery and their skills; even Sophia surprisingly was impressed, having encountered the creature herself and barely survived to tell the tale. “Well,” Mylon said, with one of his usual smiles. “Compared to you, it looks like we’ve had a walk in the park.” He paused and looked over to Sophia. “Your sister had sensed a few things lurking around within the woodlands… but luckily none of them bothered us.” Just then, a young guard came over with a makeshift tray full of steaming mugs and offered them around. When offered to Bree she shook her head. Hazel took another mug off the tray. “You must drink, my dear,” she said, placing it in Bree’s hand.
With his drink in hand, Mylon got up and walked over to where Hazel and Bree were and sat down next to them. He still had strong feelings for Bree but tried his utmost to subdue them. But, no matter how hard he fought it, he knew that he would never stop wanting her: whenever they were together he would yearn for her touch. He thought of her in his waking hours and dreamt of her when he was asleep, but he knew no matter how much he wanted her, she could never be his. She was Henry’s and always would be. Henry was all she lived for, and he would rather die than get between the two of them, no matter how much it pained him.
“Still worrying about your Henry?” he asked, trying to make light of it. Without looking up from her mug, Bree nodded. Mylon placed a hand on her arm. “You know as well as I do… Now that Henry’s the host, there’s little that can harm him.” He paused. “Now tell me what’s really worrying you.” Bree looked up from her mug of tea with tears in her eyes. It then dawned on Mylon: it was because he was now the host that worried her… that’s it… She must be feeling that she had lost him already… or at least part of him. He leant forward, enjoying the closeness. “He’s still your Henry,” he said. “I didn’t know him before he became the host… so I’ve no idea what you feel you’ve lost… but I’m sure…” He didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence before she slumped into his arms and burst into tears.
Putting his arms around Bree, Mylon tried to comfort her. He loved her touch and enjoyed breathing in her fragrance. He glanced over to Hazel, who was sitting only a few feet away, and could see that she, too, had tears in her eyes. Hazel moved over to sit a little closer to Mylon. “Bree and I have seen a big change in my son over the past few days… He’s… he’s somehow more grown-up and no longer my boy.” She sobbed. “It seems so long ago… a lifetime.” Mylon was a trained soldier and knew how to fight fear, but with two crying women around him, he was well outside his comfort zone. He had no idea what to say or do, so instead he just sat giving them the time and a little support he could offer. For the first time both women had the chance to face up to emotions that perhaps they had been bottling up since all this began.
The rain had held off and the clouds lifted, leaving a cool, cloudless, moonlit night, and giving everyone the chance to dry off a little and settle down to a better night’s rest. Mylon, however, didn’t feel much up t
o sleeping and stayed up most of the night, leaning against a large tree and staring up at the moon. Like Bree and Hazel he had had little opportunity to reflect on the past few days. First, he lost two of his lifelong friends and then a day later, his father. Bree had helped him in his grief, but in doing so inadvertently made him fall in love with her. His emotions were mixed and confused. He was very fond of Henry and would do nothing to hurt him. However, Henry wasn’t here and he was, and Bree was just a heartbeat away. Being so close to her made him yearn for her touch even more. Her smile lit up his heart… but he was a strong-willed man and knew what was right and would do nothing to change things. If he allowed himself to become prone to his emotions now, lives could be lost. If he and the others were to survive the next few days, he had to remain a strong and decisive leader.
He got up and stretched. He was young and fit but the dampness and lack of rest made even his joints a little stiff. He indicated to one of his officers to come over, who immediately ran to his side. “My lord,” he said. “Any word on Commander Alk and the others yet?” The officer shook his head. “Not as yet, my lord… Do you wish me to send out more scouts?” he continued. Mylon shook his head. “No need… besides, I’ve no intention of putting anyone else in danger… Just keep me informed immediately you know anything.” The officer bowed and ran back to his men.
Sophia sat and watched Mylon, following his every move. She had a great deal of admiration for him… but worryingly she was feeling something more, something a lot more than just admiration. She, too, hadn’t slept, worried about Hazel, her sister’s health being at the forefront of her mind, as she watched over her as she slept. Hazel hadn’t been well since the use of the Moonstone, and Sophia feared that her sister might never recover from it completely. She leant over and pulled the blanket over Hazel’s shoulders, looking back to where Mylon was standing, got up and walked over to stand next to him without speaking. She risked a quick look at him as the moonlight lit up his young, handsome face as he stood proudly watching over his men. He turned to face her and on noticing that she was looking at him, smiled, making Sophia blush as she looked quickly away. “What’s your next move?” she said, trying to sound matter-of-fact as she followed Mylon’s eyes back towards the main sleeping area of his men. “Nothing… we just wait,” he replied, smiling.
Between Darkness and the Light Page 40