by Rhavensfyre
A wave of homesickness crashed through Rohanna, riding in on the sound of Shyann’s accent. She missed the hills around her home. She thought of her grandmother, whom she had not seen since her father’s funeral.
Just thinking of her seemed to conjure up the beloved woman’s voice.
“Rohanna? Quit your daydreaming, girl!”
The admonishment rang in her ears loud enough to believe it was real. She cast a quick look at Shyann, surprised that her new companion didn’t hear the distinctive voice. Of course, Shyann’s mouth was travelling a mile a minute, and Ro wasn’t sure if the girl’s ears could hear past her own words once she got going.
“Did you hear that?”
“Well, sure I did. ‘Tis my great-aunt. She brought me here.” Shyann stopped her monologue long enough to answer her.
Rohanna emerged from the dim shadows of the barn and was instantly blinded by the sun. Squinting against the light, she didn’t immediately recognize the nimble older woman scrambling out of the horse trailer parked outside the barn.
“Shy, grab this won’t you? It’s a bit heavy for an old woman.”
Rohanna stopped dead in her tracks. Various emotions raced through her, starting with surprise and ending with sheer joy at seeing her grandmother after so long a time. The poor woman barely had time to step down from the trailer door before Rohanna was there, wrapping her arms around her.
“Grandma! Oh, my God, you’re really here. It’s so good to see you.” Rohanna’s words spilled over each other as she hugged her grandmother.
“Careful Ro, you’ll break me. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
Remembering her manners, Ro turned to introduce Shyann to her grandmother then realized that Shyann and her grandmother obviously knew each other, only Ro had no idea who Shyann was.
“Great Aunt?” That was what Shyann had said. Stepping back in confusion, she took a closer look at the young woman. Rohanna noted the reddish hair framing a somewhat oval face, a slight jaw giving her an elf like appearance that would have looked innocent, if it weren’t for mischievous green eyes. Shyann was practically dancing from one foot to the other, her lips pressed together tightly as if trying not to speak. Somehow, Ro knew this was something that was very, very difficult for her to do.
“What’s going on?” Rohanna asked, her gaze passing from the familiar lines of her grandmother’s face to the much younger and unfamiliar face of Shyann. There was an unmistakable family resemblance in their features, although her grandmother’s hair had faded to that magnificent shade of silver that red heads often did, compared to Shyann’s copper-penny red. Despite their obvious age differences, two similarly mischievous smiles peered out from beneath equally untamable hair, mirroring each other in a way that gave away their common heritage.
Her grandmother beckoned Shyann forward. She wrapped a thin, denim-covered arm around the taller girl and squeezed her tightly. The younger woman flushed red in embarrassment at the public display of affection, but managed to widen her grin at the even more confused expression on Rohanna’s face.
“This is your cousin, Ro. I meant to do the introductions, but it seems like you two have found each other on your own.” Looking past the two girls, she focused on the large wooden barn they had just emerged from a few minutes ago. “Although, I should have known you would be in the barn with the horses,” she added.
So, Shy was her cousin, Rohanna thought, but the information didn’t lessen her confusion. She cocked her head sideways, begging the question on her mind.
“Aye, my mother’s, mother’s sister, she is,” Shyann explained, pretending to add up the generations by ticking them off with her fingers.
“Behave, Shyann.” The wrinkles around Maeve’s eyes deepened when she smiled. “Shyann is going to be attending here this year, Ro, so make sure you keep her out of trouble.”
Casting an inquisitive glance towards her cousin, Ro caught the other girl’s quick wink at her and smiled ruefully. Somehow, Ro got the impression that keeping Shy out of trouble would be a full time job.
“Um, Grandma?” Ro asked, suddenly serious. For all her joy at seeing her grandmother again, there was still something she needed to get off her chest. The guilt over her father’s death remained a heavy burden on her heart, and she needed to tell her how sorry she was. Ro had lost a father, but Maeve had lost her son. She needed to know why, after all these years, she finally searched her out.
“What, child? You look troubled,” Maeve asked, noting the sudden change in Ro’s demeanor. Shyann slunk off, remaining close by yet managing to give them some privacy.
“I am so happy to see you again, but…but, I thought you were angry with me. Belinda told me you didn’t want to see me, and then, nothing. I sent so many letters, telling you how sorry I was…how much I regretted what I did.” Rohanna choked up, her apology caught in her throat.
“Oh, Ro…I don’t blame you at all. What happened to your father wasn’t your fault, and don’t let me catch you thinking that way again! The storm was to blame, and bad luck. And as for Belinda?” Maeve’s eyes narrowed when the name passed her lips. “I’ll not speak badly about your step-mother here, but I never told her to keep you from me. Your letter’s never reached me, of that you can be sure, or I would have written you back.”
“But, how did you find me now?” Rohanna was trying to wrap her head around everything Maeve was telling her.
Maeve winked at her. “A certain saddle maker showed up at the farm looking for you. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say…we turned over a lot of stones to find you here.”
Maeve shook herself, and with her old shawl wrapped loosely around her shoulders, the action reminded her of a crow trying to settle ruffled feathers. “Now, you two girls hurry up and get Calypso unloaded. She’s been stuck in the trailer all morning.”
Rohanna followed Shyann around to the back of the horse trailer then stood back as her cousin emerged with another horse. Almost the twin of Galileo, Calypso also stood a solid seventeen hands, with the same intelligent eye and elegant head that the other horse possessed. But where Galileo was a brilliant blood bay, Calypso was a dark black bay. The gleaming black coat was trimmed elegantly with red gold highlights gracing her delicate muzzle and accented her legs and underbelly. A patch of white on her forehead shaped like a new moon glowed against the dark coat. A true horsewoman, Ro had to look her over from head to toe. She whistled softly; the mare appeared flawless in conformation.
“What do you think?” Shyann asked, obviously proud of the tall mare she led into the box stall across from Galileo.
“I think you’re very lucky to have these two.” Ro couldn’t suppress the small stab of jealousy admitting that gave her. Her cousin had not one, but two beautiful horses to choose from. “There’s not a single mount in the barn that can hold water to them.”
“Are you worrying about how you’re going to fare at the shows this year?” Shyann asked, raising one ginger eyebrow.
“Ah-ha! I see your evil plan. But remember, you have to be approved for the team first, then we’ll see how you do against me.”
Galileo was doing his best to get their attention. Laughing at his “love me” expression, she almost expected him to bat his soft brown eyes at her. He was actually pouting, sucking his bottom lip in at the other horses who were receiving his attention. Rohanna felt drawn to the bay gelding gently nuzzling her for treats. He seemed more solid, more trusting than the darker mare.
I wish you were mine, Boy’o, Ro thought, then patted Galileo one last time before regretfully turning away from the gelding.
“I guess we should head back to the truck before Grandma comes looking for me,” Rohanna said. There was no way she was going to miss spending time with her grandmother before she had to go back home.
Shyann agreed, but before they went too far…she pulled her aside.
“Listen. Maeve will kill me if she finds out I told you before she did, so act surprised, okay?”
&nb
sp; “Okay?” Rohanna half agreed but only because Shy was making her incredibly curious.
“I’m not so lucky as you think I am.” Shyann looked behind her as if expecting Maeve to suddenly appear behind them. “She’s going to ask you to choose one or the other.”
Rohanna almost jumped out of her boots, her excitement was so great. Shyann practically clamped her hand over Ro’s mouth to keep her from making too much noise.
“Well, I guess you’ve got excited down pat. Do you think you can do that again in, say, five minutes?” Shyann asked, a droll expression on her face.
“My choice? Galileo or Calypso?” Rohanna whispered loudly, peering back towards the stalls. She thought about the two of them, so alike and yet so different in temperament and attitude.
“Yes.” Shyann laughed at Rohanna’s indecision, then waggled her eyebrows at her. She shouldn’t be enjoying this so much, but she really wanted to know if Rohanna would recognize the familiar soul and be drawn to it. “Is it so hard to choose? They’re twins you know, I can see why it would be hard. Like two peas in a pod, they are.”
“No, they aren’t. Calypso is definitely the flashier of the two, but there’s something about Galileo that I can’t put my finger on.”
“I know what you mean. Maeve said he has an old warrior’s soul. Fierce to protect, but old enough to know better than to start useless wars.”
“Hah! So, you’ve gotten your fill of her stories as well, I see.” Rohanna chuckled, then frowned slightly. “I find it strange then, that we’ve never met before. Grandmother must have kept you hidden in the pantry when I came to visit.”
She was joking, but Shyann seemed distracted and was a second late responding to it. Then her eyes focused back on Rohanna and she broke out into a hearty chuckle.
“To be sure, I could see her doing something. But truth be told, I travelled a lot when I was younger. I’m sure if we were supposed to meet before now, the fates would have ensured it.” Shyann grinned at her. “But now that we have met, I’m sure we are to be the fastest of friends. This school won’t be the same, you can be sure of that!”
“Why do I feel like you are going to be trouble for me?”
“Ah, perhaps because my mother named me that as a wee child, eh. A wonderful middle name that would be, hmm?”
She didn’t even mind helping Shyann haul all her luggage up to the dorm—at least until the next morning when she woke up stiff and almost too sore to move.
She barely made it to the show on time, and if her face was more grim than normal, none of the judges noticed. She still collected the blue ribbon, even if she did have to use a hay bale to dismount at the end of the day.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Rohanna woke screaming, flailing her arms wildly. Something was holding her down. Red flashed behind her eyelids, blurred images of a figure draped in black, a voice whispering in her ear, urgent, demanding—wanting something from her. Other voices joined in, sibilant, whispering in the dark around her. It was terrifying.
“Ro, wake up Ro!”
Rohanna struggled to open her eyes but the nightmare still claimed her, holding her hostage with gossamer strands of fear that bound her arms and legs until she managed to break free from the imaginary shackles. Groaning, she tossed off the thick blankets and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She dug her palms into her eyelids, trying to push the jumbled images out of her head.
Raking her fingers through sweat dampened hair, Ro shivered in the cool night air. She could feel her heart beating rapidly within her chest, as if she had been running a marathon in her sleep. Taking in deep gulping breaths that burned with the sulfurous stench of fear, she attempted to calm her racing heart.
“Dammit, that hurts. You hit me!” Shyann yelled, fingering her left cheek tenderly. She winced when she found the bruise left by Rohanna’s elbow or fist. Rohanna wasn’t sure which one.
“Shit, Ro—you could have warned me!”
“I’m sorry, Shy,” Ro apologized.
“Ask me again and call me a fool if I ever try to wake you up from a nightmare,” Shyann muttered, her quick temper already losing its flame. Ro was incredibly glad her cousin was more of a match than a wildfire; she rarely stayed mad, and she never brought up past grievances. She was the epitome of someone who lived fully in the moment, and Rohanna loved her for it.
“Are you okay, I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Rohanna asked. The nightmare was quickly fading into a memory of terror and rapidly losing the power it held over her.
“No worries, Ro. A little bent, but not broken,” Shyann joked, breaking the serious moment with a crooked smile. “But remind me to poke you with a long stick the next time, instead of trying to shake you awake, okay?”
“Sure, Shyann,” Rohanna agreed, “but I still feel horrible about the whole thing.”
Shyann sat down on the bed next to her. Despite the humor in her voice, Shyann held a measure of concern.
“It must have been a bad one. You were screaming at the top of your lungs. I thought you were going to wake the entire dorm up. Thank goodness we have thick walls,” Shyann said, then added with a wink, “You need to do something about that, Ro. I can’t afford those kinds of noises coming out of the room, now, can I?”
Rohanna laughed. Shyann didn’t make much of an effort to hide her preference in company. In her short time at the Academy, she was already the subject of gleefully whispered rumors. As far as Rohanna knew, though, Shyann had never brought anyone back to their shared room. Rohanna had a sneaking suspicion that Shyann was all tease and no action, but the rumor mill was brutal and cared little for actual facts.
“You know you’re going to get into trouble someday, don’t you?” Rohanna asked. Shyann was handsome, aggressive, and in competition with all the boys at school for the heart of every available senior girl who batted their eyes at her. Ro worried that Shyann’s behavior would get her kicked out of school and that would deprive her of the only close friend and serious competitor she had. Her concern was purely selfish, life would be incredibly boring without her cousin around.
“I won’t get into trouble. There’s nothing for them to catch, I promise. Besides,” Shyann added in her uncanny way of reading Ro’s thoughts, “that would deprive you, my dear cousin, of me.” Laughing heartily, Shyann was almost knocked off the bed by the carefully aimed pillow that landed squarely in her face.
“Oh, you! You are so full of yourself.” Rohanna jumped out of bed to wrestle her pillow back from Shy. Shy, on the other hand, was intent on keeping it, at least long enough to return a pummeling rain of blows across Ro’s shoulders and back before retreating to her side of the room. Their short burst of energy didn’t last long, their giggles wound down until only tired smiles remained. It was almost morning, and they both needed more sleep.
“I have a test in the morning, Ro,” Shyann spoke around a yawn. They didn’t so much crawl back into their respective beds as fall into them, exhausted. Rohanna curled up in her blankets with her back to the center of the room. She was so tired but her brain was running in high gear. She stared at the wall and willed her body to relax, feigning the sleep her mind wouldn’t allow.
“Ro?” Shyann’s voice floated between them in the dark. Rohanna weighed the idea of not responding, then sighed. It was so hard to lie to her cousin.
“What, Shy?” she asked, hoping she at least sounded sleepy.
“These nightmares of yours, do they happen a lot? I mean, obviously not as bad as tonight…but, often?”
“No, they don’t happen a lot, Shy. I can barely remember already, there’s no reason to worry about them.” It was hard to lie to her cousin, but not impossible.
The room fell silent for a couple of minutes. Rohanna was starting to believe she was off the hook, then Shy spoke up again.
“You know, if you need to talk about them, I’m right here. Maybe I could help you with them.”
“Go to sleep, Shy. We both have a busy day tomorrow.” Rohanna punched at her
pillow then burrowed in deep, pulling her blankets all the way up past her shoulders. She lay awake for a long time, listening to the deep even breaths of her sleeping cousin while the images from the familiar nightmare played behind her eyelids. With each necessary blink, blurred snapshots of movement passed across her vision, frustrating and incomplete. She had lied to Shyann, but what could she do? Tell her that the nightmares came almost every night?
Rohanna had learned a long time ago to recognize the strange voices heralding the beginning of the nightmare. Their metered cadence was more frightening than the out of focus images flashing along the sleep dimmed edge of awareness, almost recognizable but just beyond her ability to put a face and name to them. If she could drag herself awake before the nightmare had her in its grasp, she had a chance to escape it. Tonight, she had been too tired to wake up in time and it had caught her in its terrifying web.
She doubted she would get back to sleep tonight. As much as she enjoyed Shyann’s company, her presence proved to be a double-edged sword. Rohanna couldn’t slip out of bed and go to the barn, where the comforting smell of hay and horses often allowed her to catch some much needed sleep. Dreamless sleep. For some reason, the nightmares never seemed to find her there. There were many mornings she had run back to her room, picking straw out of her hair before heading to her first class. Those mornings were few and far between now, and the sleepless nights were starting to wear on her. Shyann was a heavy sleeper, but Rohanna didn’t feel like explaining a late night excursion if she woke up to find her gone. Although if this keeps up, I might have to change my mind. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep soon I’ll be useless in class and dangerous in the saddle.