As soon as she entered the main room, she noticed that it was busier than normal. The four warriors sat at one table, Keillis was with her family at another and was clutching to her father’s arm, and there were a few more groups of people scattered around the room. She noticed there were several loaded wagons parked out in front of the inn as she walked over to join the warriors.
“We’re waiting on a few more people and then we’ll head out,” said Bierno. “You’ll want to get some food while you have the chance.”
As Rheen walked towards the counter to get a plate, she heard the front door open. She looked over and was shocked to see Rove, Kenn, and Jess walk in.
“Hello,” she said, walking over to them.
“Hello there,” said Jess. “You look surprised to see us.”
“I am,” Rheen said. “Are you all coming back south?”
“Not all of us, but he is,” said Jess motioning to Kenn. “Rove and I came along to say goodbye. It’s the considerate thing to do, you know.” Her last comment was obviously pointed.
“I know,” said Rheen guiltily. “I’m glad you came.”
Kenn stood behind Jess with a small bag slung over his shoulder. He had a determined look in his eyes that she had never seen before. Rove stood next to him and wouldn’t make eye contact.
Behind them, another wagon pulled up in front of the inn and Bierno announced that everyone was now present and it was time to leave. As the warriors walked past Rheen and her Vree friends, Gillio stopped and handed Rheen a muffin and an apple.
“I noticed you didn’t get the chance to get any food,” he said. “You can eat these on the way.”
He continued out the door, but not before he saw Rove’s dark expression. Rheen noticed it as well.
“Well, we should go,” Rheen said to break the uncomfortable silence that followed.
“Of course,” said Jess as she threw her arms around Rheen. “I’m going to miss you, even if you have been a terrible friend recently.” She stepped back. “I’ll probably come down and join you two eventually. Things just happened too quickly for me to decide. Watch for me though.”
“We will,” said Rheen.
Rove still wasn’t looking at Rheen, so she picked up her bags and walked out the door. Kenn walked with her towards the stables.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” Rheen said to him as they walked. “What made you decide to come?”
“Bierno and Aenin stopped by our place yesterday,” Kenn answered. “They invited all of us to come south. I asked what we would do when we got there, and one of the things they mentioned was some sort of training program they could get me into if I wanted to join their team someday. At first I wasn’t so sure about it because it sounded like school, and you know that didn’t work out for me so well before. After they described it more though, it actually sounded like something I could do well in. They said I did an exceptional job leading the rescue at the Norville Estate a few nights ago.”
Rheen smiled at him. “That’s wonderful, Kenn.”
They arrived at the stable and went inside to find the warriors attaching bags behind the horses’ saddles.
“Kenn, you’ll be riding with the Morlan family,” Bierno said when he saw them. “Their wagon is out front and they’ll be looking for you.”
Kenn nodded and went off to find them while Rheen walked down the aisle to her own horse that was standing tacked and ready. After fastening her bags behind the saddle, she followed the others out of the stable door to join the caravan that was now assembled on the street.
After checking to be sure that everyone was ready, Bierno led the caravan eastwards. Before they were very far, Rheen heard her name being shouted somewhere behind her. She turned to looked back and saw Rove running to catch up. She stopped her horse.
“Rheen,” he said. “Take care of yourself.”
“You too,” she said.
He stood awkwardly for a moment as if he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. Rheen looked back at the caravan which was getting far ahead.
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry for kicking you out the other night,” he said gently, “and if you change your mind and want to stay, I’d want you to come back and stay with us.”
Rheen shook her head. “Thank you, but I’ve made up my mind,” she said.
Rove’s jaw clenched. “I can’t believe you’re doing this again,” he said angrily, “after everything we’ve been through.”
Rheen could see he was holding back tears. From the safety of her horse’s back, she wasn’t afraid of him and actually felt sorry for him.
“I’m sorry, Rove,” she said. “You could always come with us.”
“If you cared enough, you’d stay,” he said, his voice shaking with emotion. “I thought we had a future together, and now you’re going to ruin it again.”
She looked down at her horse’s mane as guilt flooded her mind.
“I never stopped caring about you, doll.” He looked up at her face earnestly. “I love you.”
She looked at him in shock. The jolt helped her to see him clearly. She saw his mask of sincerity and the selfishness underneath. Without a word, she turned her horse and cantered to catch up with the others. Gillio, who was at the back of the group, looked over his shoulder to see her riding up as Rove threw a stone through a street lamp behind her, cursing.
“What was that all about?” asked Gillio when she’d caught up.
“He decided he wanted to say goodbye after all, I guess,” said Rheen. She’d refused to look back, even when she’d heard the glass breaking.
“Is that all?” asked Gillio. He could tell something was upsetting her.
“He wanted me to stay,” was all she could say. She still felt shocked at the last thing Rove had said and was still processing the fact that it had even happened.
“What did you tell him?” asked Gillio.
“I said that my mind was made up,” answered Rheen as she finally looked over at Gillio who was smiling sympathetically.
“I know it’s probably really hard, but I can’t say how happy I am that you decided to come with us,” said Gillio.
Rheen half smiled back. “I’m happy about it, too,” she said. “I feel like things are going to be different than the last time I made this journey to the City of Eilin.”
“Definitely,” said Gillio. “You’ll have friends nearby, and we’re going to make sure you are well taken care of.”
Rheen smiled again and relaxed. Rove had probably just overreacted to his emotions in the moment like he always did, and she was leaving him behind her. They would be out of Vree soon altogether. She decided to put it all out of her mind and focus on the journey ahead.
Travel was slower with the wagons and the large group. They reached the wall on the eve of the fifth day, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they walked through huge, golden doors into the rich, green forest where brooks ran, plants grew, and they didn’t have to constantly watch for an ambush. They made it to the city by mid-afternoon the next day and spent several hours finding temporary accommodations for each family and giving them some tips of who to talk to and where to go to find jobs and get more information about the city. Kenn was taken to the same school where Jekka and Gillio had been trained, and then they went to the stables where Rheen was going to stay.
Rheen had talked with Bierno extensively on the way back about what she should do when they arrived. She didn’t like the idea of a formal training at all and ruled out going to the academy with Kenn. Bierno offered that she could stay with him and his family, but she didn’t want to burden them. When Bierno suggested staying in a room connected to the stables in exchange for work, Rheen thought that it sounded like the best arrangement. As soon as they reached the city, Bierno had stopped in to talk to Tallin who was the stable owner and also a good friend of his. Tallin and his wife were enthusiastic about the proposition and agreed to it.
Now it was the end of the day, and the warriors waited by th
e front doors while Rheen took care of her horse and left her bags in her new room. She came back out a few minutes later.
“How does everything look?” asked Bierno.
“Perfect,” said Rheen, smiling. “It will suit me well for a while.”
“Enjoy taking care of the horses,” said Aenin. “I’m sure we’ll see you again soon.”
“I certainly hope so,” said Rheen. “Thank you so much for everything.”
“It was our pleasure,” said Bierno.
“Would you mind terribly if I came to visit you next week?” Gillio asked hesitantly.
Rheen smiled. “Not terribly, I suppose.”
They all said a final goodbye, and then Bierno, Aenin, Gillio, and Jekka rode out of the city. They had been riding for some time when Jekka finally broke the silence.
“So, you’re visiting Rheen next week?” she asked Gillio with a teasing glint in her eyes.
Gillio groaned. “I knew you were going to say something about it,” he said. “Before you go getting any ideas about us, it’s just a casual visit: between one friend and another.”
“I’ve seen how you look at her, Gillio,” said Jekka. “You’re not fooling me with this ‘friends’ business.”
At this point, they reached crossroads where they would part ways. The sun had disappeared over the horizon, and it was getting dark.
“Well,” said Gillio, “it’s been fun, but the pigs are probably starving by now.”
“Now you’re avoiding the topic,” said Jekka, “and doing a terrible job of it. I know you hate talking about your pigs.”
“I don’t hate talking about the pigs I take care of,” said Gillio, “I just hate it when you make it sound like my entire job is feeding them when it isn’t.”
“Does this really matter?” cut in Bierno. “I don’t know about all of you, but I’d much rather be home than standing here and listing to the two of you make it through another argument.”
“As would I,” said Aenin. “Farewell, and I hope to see you all again soon.”
The others returned his farewell. Aenin dismounted and lifted his face to the sky with his eyes closed. He grew brighter and brighter until he was just a white light, and with a bang, the light shot up into the sky. They watched the trail of light until it met with a star straight above them which flashed when the two lights collided.
“Safe travels, friend,” Bierno said to Aenin’s horse, Qisk, who lowered his head as a parting gesture. Then Qisk also grew into a great light and shot into the sky, sailing up to the star next to Aenin’s.
After that, Gillio galloped off into the woods to the north, but not without a few comments from Jekka about not getting lost and accidently stirring up a dragon. Then Jekka loped off in the other direction, and Bierno finally took the last leg of his journey home. His horse’s hooves pounded the dirt, each hoof soundly placed on the flat and even ground between the holes and rocks, and in no time they came to the top of the slope in front of the house. Having heard the hoofbeats, Sonya was already out on the porch. She stood in the twilight, her long, blonde hair blowing around her face in the gentle wind. She was all smiles and tears as she lifted a slender hand to wave, and the boys came clambering out of the door behind her. Bierno raced down the hill and jumped off of his horse to scoop them all up in his arms at once.
Acknowledgments
I’ve come to accept that no book is ever going to be completely perfect or completely ready, but I think this book is so much better than it would have been without the help of a bunch of amazing people. First off, thank you to Ayla, Carly, my mom, and Esther who read the first draft and provided feedback (however much or little!). It was not easy letting the story outside of my head and into the hands of others, and the encouragement and insight you gave motivated me to keep going. Thank you to my sister-in-law and fellow writer, Autumn, who kept me accountable near the end of the editing process to keep pushing through the difficult spots and stay on track – except for when the cat was distracting us.
Thank you to the many friends and family members who received news of my book with enthusiasm. It made a big difference for me knowing that there were actual, specific people interested in reading my book and that at least a few copies would sell. And for everyone who’s bought the book: you’ve helped fund the next in the series and provided a starving artist with some income, and I couldn’t be more grateful! Thanks to the people at Amazon who developed such a great user-friendly self-publishing service. Know that you are helping cross off bucket list items for new authors like me.
Finally, thank you to my husband, Britton, for letting me basically plagiarize all of your ideas for the scene in the gorge. It went from being one of my least favorite scenes to one of my favorites, and it’s probably the only reason anyone is buying this book. Also, thank you for the support and encouragement and for all of the thoughts and discussions that led to much of the depth in this story. You’ve opened my mind to seeing the world differently, and it gave my writing a purpose.
BAILEY DAVENPORT has been writing fictional stories since she learned how to hold a pencil. She started writing her first novel, “Eilinland,” on December 27th, 2011 in the form of a script. The story had changed into a narrative by the time she finished it six years later, and she renamed it “Eilinland: Through the Wall” to accommodate for future stories in the same world.
She now lives in Howell, MI with her husband, Britton. Aside from writing, she enjoys outdoor adventures, music, photography, and working with horses.
Learn more about Bailey and see updates on the Eilinland series through the sites below:
baileydavenportbooks.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/baileydavenportbooks/
www.instagram.com/baileydavenportbooks/
Eilinland- Through the Wall Page 19