by M. K. Adams
The two smiled and waved as he wandered off in search of somewhere to rest his head below deck. Jocelyn followed along shortly after, but Lyvanne opted to stay above deck, saying that she would sleep once night fell. Until then, she sat staring out at the lands beyond the river. She watched as arid and desolate dry lands turned in luscious and vibrant countryside, her jaw agape for nearly the entire time. They passed all manner of creature, some herded in fences, farmed for their meat and milk, others roaming the wilds, free from Human or Hemeti interference. Some of the animals she was familiar with: cows, chickens and horses she had seen within Astreya, whether at a market or towing along the carriages that transported the rich. Others she was less familiar with, only having a passing knowledge of them from the stories that Abella used to tell her. At times Trystan would come over to keep her company and she would ask him to test her as she named the various animals they passed by.
“You’ll learn, kid,” Trystan would say as he laughed at her third incorrect guess at naming a gaggle of geese that were sunbathing by the banks of the river.
As day drew into night the countryside grew denser. The trees edged closer to the river and as they began to tower higher into the sky, the animals Lyvanne saw although less frequent, became more exotic. By now the sun had long been hidden behind the encroaching trees, with only thin veils of light breaking through the canopy but she didn’t care, nor did she plan to rest anytime soon, despite her frequent yawning.
One creature in particular caught her attention. It was larger than anything she had seen before, grey in colour and walked on all fours. Trystan told her that it only ate the plants and trees of the jungle and that it wouldn’t harm them. Before adding that their tusks were a valuable commodity among merchants. Lyvanne for one couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to harm such a beautiful animal and she found herself waving as the boat slowly drifted by and off down the Anya, leaving the animal to bathe in the shallows.
Despite her reluctance tiredness eventually took hold. Lyvanne was still too stubborn to fall asleep below deck though where she might miss something, so instead Trystan offered her a pair of blankets which she could use to rest her head on, and before long she fell asleep on deck. But not before warning the boat’s captain that he was to wake her if he saw anything interesting.
• • •
Jocelyn tossed and turned on a small wooden bed and thin mattress that had been set up at the aft of the ship. She knew that she should try and get some sleep, but her mind couldn’t relax. There were too many questions she had, too many plans that she was being left out of. At first she had let it slide. Sinjn and Turiel had always played a bigger role in The Spring than she had and she was fine with that, but to still not know for certain where they were going itched away at her like a bad rash.
Rolling out of bed and taking a second to steady her feet against the gentle rocking of the boat as it made its way slowly down the river, she pulled herself up and set off to find Turiel. Out of courtesy, they’d refused to use Trystan’s bed, which meant there had only been the one spare. She’d smiled when she came below deck to find that Turiel had left the bed for her or Lyvanne to use, but lying against a sack of potatoes she doubted that Turiel was having any better luck sleeping that she was.
“Turiel?” she whispered as she entered the main cargo hold. “Are you awake?”
A ruffling from among the sack of potatoes gave away his answer. “Jocelyn? You should be resting,” Turiel replied, unflatteringly stumbling up to his feet. “Everything okay?”
She considered lying, trusting that he knew what he was doing and going back to sleep. “Not really.”
“What is it?” he asked groggily, wiping away sleep from his eyes.
Jocelyn walked over to him. Everything had always been a various shade of awkward between them, if The Spring wasn’t a thing she often wondered how differently their lives would be, how different they would be together. “Are we going to meet up with The Spring?” she asked, not wanting to beat around the bush at this hour.
“Yes,” Turiel replied flatly. “Why?”
It was the answer she had been expecting, but her heart sank slightly regardless. She had never mentioned it to Turiel, but she had been hoping that the three of them could escape together alone, that Turiel had found a quiet village where they could live together away from the watch of the king. “Is that really what’s best for her right now?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s a child, should we really be throwing her into all this already?”
Turiel seemed conflicted; all Jocelyn could do was hope that he saw her way of thinking. “She may be a child, but you know how important she is to our future, everyone’s future.”
Hemeti didn’t believe in an Angel of Destiny, she wasn’t sure what validity there was to Turiel’s vision, or if he’d really ever had one. But she trusted him as a person, and wanted to believe what he said.
“But still… she’s still a child, don’t forget that okay? Let her live a little before it’s too late,” Jocelyn said. She let the words settle for a brief moment before raising her hand up to his elbow. “You can trust me with anything, you know that right?”
Turiel smiled and nodded, “I know.”
“Good, next time let me know where we’re going then… enjoy your potato sacks,” she said, deciding that any lingering questions could wait until they’d reached their destination, in the hope that Turiel would naturally divulge more once they were there.
She woke early the next day, the sun rising in the distance over a hilly meadow. The thick jungle was long behind them Trystan said and Lyvanne wasn’t sure if he’d slept at all. Turiel and Jocelyn soon rose as well and after sharing some of Trystan’s cargo among themselves to break their fast, they began to watch the horizon with Lyvanne, teaching her about the different farms and crops as they passed by. There were small idyllic villages, some larger than others, some more obviously densely populated.
“Life doesn’t seem so bad out here,” Lyvanne commented as they passed by one particularly beautiful village, where the occupants were out at work in the fields and some were even washing clothes in the Anya, a mere few metres away.
“This is only one part of the story,” Turiel replied. “You might see a village like this and think they have a perfect life, but you don’t see the hunger in their stomachs, you don’t see the overcrowded houses or the refugees who wander here looking for a new home. You don’t see the predator who eats the livestock at night. Try not to forget all that, like the king has.”
Lyvanne nodded. She started to realise how much she had learnt in such a short time. She felt like a completely different person to the one who had spent her days scavenging for food in the Upper level of Astreya.
“You never told me, were you both born in Astreya or did you move there?” Lyvanne asked, turning between Jocelyn and Turiel.
Jocelyn answered first. “I moved there, my parents bought the house you stayed in when Sinjin and I were only very young, but originally we came from a small village to the north of Avagarde. My father worked as a smith and my mother a teacher,” Jocelyn was proud of her parents, her eyes gleamed as she recalled their memory. Lyvanne didn’t want to ruin the moment by asking what had happened to them, so instead she turned towards Turiel.
“I was fortunate enough to be born there,” he dutifully answered “My father had already enlisted with the king when he had me, I spent the first handful of years growing up in the king’s castle, a real honour,” he twisted the last word with sarcasm. “After that… well, you know the rest.”
“You turned out alright for a man of the king,” Jocelyn said playfully to some laughter. Lyvanne watched the pair share a smile.
Cute, she thought simply.
The rest of the day went slowly, Lyvanne kept watch of the surrounding countryside, but even she had to admit that after a few hours of seeing nothing but grassy hills and wheat fields, it began to feel all too similar. Before long, t
he sunset behind the horizon and Lyvanne decided that it was time she got some proper rest. Following Jocelyn and Turiel below deck she found what would have to pass as comfy flooring and settled down for the night.
She didn’t wake again until she heard Trystan bellowing from from above deck, “Destination in sight!”
Chapter 13
Sure enough, as the trio woke themselves up and made their way above deck, Turiel let out a spry smile as they beheld a small quay off in the distance. The surrounding areas seemed like nothing special to Lyvanne as she tried to figure out where their end destination was. The quay itself was too small for more than one boat, and it wasn’t well constructed like the ones in Astreya, so it couldn’t be a heavily populated area. Similarly there were no visible roads or dirt tracks that could signal a nearby town or city. It was just as much countryside as the past day’s journey had provided.
“This the place?” Jocelyn asked Turiel for confirmation.
“This is the place,” Turiel replied as he went below deck to gather the few belongings he had brought along for the journey. A few minutes later and the Colossal had been docked alongside the small quay. Trystan helped each of them off the boat before bringing up from below deck a small satchel of food that he had prepared for their departure.
“You’re too kind,” Jocelyn said as she accepted the parting gift. Despite her initial doubts, Trystan had delivered them safely out of Astreya, and Lyvanne could see her friend’s recognition of that.
“My honour, mi lady. Be sure to say ‘ello to t’others for me,” Trystan continued as he turned to Turiel ,“has been too long.”
“I will,” Turiel said as he moved forward and shook the merchant’s hand farewell.
“And to you kiddo,” Trystan said as he turned his attention last to Lyvanne “T’was a joy to watch you experience this world for the first time, glad I was around to see it.”
Lyvanne blushed, gave the giant man a hug as well as the length of her arms would allow and stepped away from the boat. “Good luck on your journey, Trystan,” she called out as the merchant began to untie the Colossal.
He waved his thanks and moments later he was off down the Anya, seeking destinations so far away that Lyvanne struggled to comprehend it. A part of her, although she wouldn’t admit it to the others, wanted to go with him.
“How did Trystan become involved with The Spring?” Lyvanne asked as they gathered up their things and began to set off into the countryside.
Turiel smiled. “I do believe that’s the first time you’ve used our name.”
Jocelyn jokingly punched him in the arm. “Stop being self-proud and answer her question.”
“Alright, alright. He was a friend of my father’s back before he was captured, drinking friends by all accounts. It was a complicated relationship given the vast difference in social standing between the two, but it was there. When my father vanished, Trystan presumed my family to be all dead. When he discovered I was alive and well, and I explained to him what had happened, he was quick to change sides. Never openly acknowledging his association with The Spring, but always helping where he can.”
Jocelyn grimaced. “You don’t trust him still?”
“Find it hard to trust a man who changes allegiances so easily,” she replied.
“He did it for my father,” Turiel reminded her.
“I know… I hope you’re right.”
Lyvanne wished she hadn’t pressed; it was obviously a sore issue between the two and was likely why Turiel hadn’t shared the plan for escape, even with Jocelyn. The sun was high in the sky by the time the three made any significant traction into the grassy meadow before them. It was hot, but noticeably cooler than it had always been at Astreya. Lyvanne would take that small mercy she thought as they trudged through long grass and overgrown meadows, making it difficult to make any decent time on their travels.
“Who were the others that Trystan mentioned?” Lyvanne asked, too bored to keep silent anymore as she fought off small flying insects that had followed them since the river.
“You’ll find out soon enough, little one,” Turiel replied in his ever mysterious way.
“How soon is soon enough? Because it feels and looks like we could be walking forever before we find any signs of civilisation.”
Jocelyn chuckled and Turiel tried to hide the fact that he wanted to do the same. “You see that tree line?” he said, pointing off into the horizon where the meadows gave way for a small woodland area.
“Yeah.”
“Our destination is in the heart of that wood. No doubt we’ll be met at the edge though, we’re expected.”
Lyvanne nodded and with a newfound determination pushed on, striding ahead of both Jocelyn and Turiel, although the speed didn’t last for long. The trio stopped shortly after for food and some rest. Sitting in a small clearing to the side of a meadow, they shared a loaf of bread and some salted foreign meats that Trystan had gifted them. Conversation had been infrequent since they left the boat, and everyone seemed eager to just make it to the woods. The rest, however, afforded Jocelyn the chance to do some prying of her own.
“You know all there is to know about us, little one, but you’ve never really told us about where you came from,” she inquired, as she nudged some more bread in Lyvanne’s direction.
Truth be told, she didn’t really know much about where she had come from, she had been a street urchin for about as long as she could remember.
“I really don’t know. I have a small memory of my mum, she seemed nice, but I don’t know what happened to her and I don’t know how old I was in the memory.” Lyvanne chewed on some food as she strained to make some memories appear. “I guess I was born in Astreya, but Abella’s house was the closest thing to a home I knew.”
“Did you live there alone?” Jocelyn asked and Lyvanne suddenly realised that through all the talk of magic, insurgencies and escaping the city she had never really sat down and told Jocelyn about herself.
“No,” Lyvanne said, shaking her head .“A lot of orphans came and went, but towards the end it was Abella, me ,and two others, Oh and Lira.”
A sadness overtook her as she talked about them. She missed them more than she cared to admit and rarely a day went by that she didn’t worry about them. Her mind also drifted even further back, to the orphans she had known years ago, who had left to make their own lives, Merry, Took and Issy to name a few. She wondered where they were now.
“You must miss them?” Jocelyn asked, as Lyvanne started to fight back tears.
“Yeah.” The one word was about all Lyvanne could manage without crying.
“We’ll go back for them one day,” Jocelyn said.
“Promise,” Turiel chimed in. The words meant the world to Lyvanne. She’d always planned on going back for them, to find them and free them from Astreya’s grip, but knowing she had people who would help her do it gave her a hope she’d never had before.
After the meal, the three appeared more refreshed than they had done in a long time. Turiel was back to his jovial spirits of old, and Jocelyn was frequently joking at his expense. Lyvanne figured that he liked having the attention from her. As they grew closer to the woods the sun slowly began to make its descent down from the sky. In its place Lyvanne found the most dazzlingly and beautiful array of stars, reminding her of her hideout on the banks of the Anya back in the Upper level of Astreya. She found solace in that moment and everything felt right.
She became less optimistic as the stars slowly became shrouded by cloud. The moon vanished behind a dark behemoth in the sky, and no sooner had she been admiring the beauty of the night sky than had she begun to feel the first drops of rain falling from above.
“Rain’s more common this far south,” Turiel warned as he drew his hood up over his head, his red travelling cloak becoming spotted as the falling water found its mark.
“Last one to the trees has to buy drinks the next time we find civilisation,” Jocelyn said jovially as she sprinted ahead
of the others, hood drawn and doing her best to beat the rain.
Turiel and Lyvanne both laughed but quickly followed suit. Lyvanne didn’t want to admit that she was far too tired to be running anywhere at this point, but she was having fun and that made a lot of difference. The tree line grew ever closer, they were only a few hundred feet away when Lyvanne made out the first signs of life. Small fires flickering along the edge of the wood. Jocelyn had slowed to a walk, easily beating the other two who eventually fell in behind her.
“They’re here,” Turiel said as he took the lead and walked towards the fires, his voice muzzled by the patter of rain on their clothes and the grass surrounding them.
As they walked closer, Lyvanne began to make out the faint outlines of people under what she now considered to be torches lining the woodland edge. Ten, no twenty, she thought as she tried in vain to count their numbers through the rain.
“Who are they?” She asked to either of her companions who would listen.
“The Spring,” Jocelyn replied.
Chapter 14
Turiel was the first to enter the line of trees. Three men with drawn swords immediately swarmed him, their eyes trained on his every move.
“Why are they threatened?” Lyvanne asked Jocelyn as they hung back just beyond the edge of the wood awaiting Turiel’s signal to join him.
“It’s part of the life they’ve chosen. They have to be constantly aware, constantly on edge. Many of them will have never met Turiel, just like I have never met any of them.”
“How are you on the same team if you’ve never met?” Lyvanne quizzed, the intricacies of the situation escaping her.
“It’s not as simple as saying we’re on the same team, little one,” Jocelyn replied, putting an arm around Lyvanne’s shoulder and drawing her in close “We fight for the same cause, but as a whole, we lack the funds or organisation to stay in constant communication, let alone to meet face to face. Turiel will have had to pull in quite a few favours to get this particular branch to let us stay.”