Ashka remained silent. What if it was in fact she who’d stolen her daughter’s childhood from her? What if it had not been the dragon? She’d begun teaching Elena everything she knew as early as Elena could understand her. She didn’t even remember the girl ever playing with dolls or other toys. Her throat went dry. Gods! Her look softened. After a long, long time she finally saw her daughter as the cute little girl who goofed around with her brothers and looked guilty whenever she came home with a hole in her trousers or a dirty dress. Maybe for the first time she saw Elena as a child and daughter, not as a bearer of heritage and tradition, as an Adragon with a mission. She sighed, realizing she did not know what to talk about with her own child. For a moment they sat silently, contemplating each other. It seemed as if Elena sensed her mother’s uncertainty.
“Will you comb and braid my hair?” she asked quietly. Ashka nodded with relief and moved to Elena’s seat.
◆◆◆
They traveled so far into the mountains that further coach ride was impossible. For Elena it was a relief. Her mother’s men hid the coach in a ditch. Finally! She hated those seats and hated not being able to ride on horseback. Ashkent, standing behind her, nudged her back playfully, urging her to turn and face him. As she did so, he nudged her again and tried to push his nose into her pocket. Elena laughed, fishing a piece of old bread out of her shirt. He crunched on it while she stroked his velvet nose. His presence was reassuring. Elena looked up at Michael, who winked at her happily. Her huge luggage was to be left behind in the coach. Packed into tidy packages, their contents was to be carried by one of the horses. Behind her own saddle, Elena had a bundle with weapons and her boyish clothes, along with a blanket and the same waxed coat all the other Berber were wearing. She wore pants, a shirt and riding boots. And she was armed. A light sword and a dagger were at her waist. Hidden under her shirt a scabbard with throwing knives and a trakesh was sticking out from behind her neck. Delighted, Ashka noted that Elena skillfully matched her jewels with the traveling outfit. A braka nonchalantly dangled from the end of her long braid. Holding her hair tight to her head at the temples were the long combs. A black velvet ribbon decorated Elena’s neck, but the jewel on it was invisible, as were the tiny earrings in her ears. It was of course possible that the girl was actually not wearing the earrings or the charm on her necklace, but Ashka doubted it. The bracelet, braka, and combs were dark, as if blackened. Interesting. It had taken Ashka years to control each jewel separately and to her liking. Elena mastered this art in less than few days!
The cavalcade moved again. Elena swung into her saddle. Ashkent seemed happy to be with his little rider again. With a spirited toss of his head he tried to gallop forward. Elena pulled him back reluctantly.
As far as Elena was concerned, the trip was extremely uneventful. Had Elena not sensed a certain amount of nervousness in the company, the trip would have been outright boring. They were moving through country unfamiliar to her, so she entertained herself by watching whatever was to be seen around her. Which was not much. Trying to remember all her surroundings she often turned in her saddle to see the trail from the opposite direction. Knowing the country could be useful when the time came to return home. The Dragon hills were dangerous, that much she knew. She had heard many stories about trolls, goblins, and other dark creatures living here. None favored them with their presence and Elena was mildly disappointed. Somewhere under the surface, dwarf mines bustled with life. And there were dragons. Even though most people thought dragons were folk of the far-distant past or even just a legend, Elena knew they were there.
Once she saw a rock that, when she glanced at it in the right way, resembled a dragon. Looking directly at it, it was just a rock just like any other, the impression vanished. Then she peeked at it again, somewhat sideways, squinting slightly and all of a sudden, the rock resembled a sleeping dragon again. He was lying on something like a ledge, his tail wrapped around the body, head on front paws like a puppy. Elena watched him until he disappeared behind a bend in the road. She even turned in her saddle to take another look, but the winding trail and a cliffs obstructed her view. Had she imagined him, or was he really there? Most likely, her fantasy was running away with her, seeing dragons everywhere.
The riders disappeared behind a bend in the road and the rock Elena had been looking at opened an eye. Small cracks appeared in its surface and it took on an astonishingly accurate shape of a dragon. Unseen by the cavalcade it alighted gently from the ledge.
◆◆◆
The valley opening before her was wreathed in mist, with only a few lonely treetops emerging from its veil. Ashka remembered the day she saw this amazing part of the country for the first time. Back then, she was not much older than Elena was now and the valley was flooded in sunshine, displaying its breathtaking beauty. The cliffs they were standing on opened onto a vast plain covered with a dense carpet of ancient trees giving off an intoxicating aroma. The edge of the forest was so close to the rock face, tree branches were touching it, creeping along it. Ashka regretted that the beautiful sight she remembered so vividly from her childhood was hidden to her daughter’s eyes.
However, what Elena saw was pure beauty. Rolling about the valley, the heavy mist created marvelous smokelike patterns. Here and there, a fragment of a hidden forest peeked out, offering a hint of magnificence. Elena took a deep breath of the intoxicating smell slowly creeping up the cliffs. Her eyes were shining like stars. She could not take them off the glorious spectacle before her. This was Wasa Itacen.
Ashka dismounted, leading the little cavalcade down a steep trail cut into the almost vertical rock face. Every step was dangerous. The smallest hesitation, slipping of a foot, could mean a deadly plunge into the bottomless abyss. Ashka, nevertheless, walked surely leading her steed. Her daughter and the rest of the company followed. She was returning home. The forest was singing to her a long forgotten song, irresistibly luring her to its midst. The mist swallowed them. Elena could feel it dampening her clothes and hair. She held her face out to it.
Suddenly Elena saw the mighty treetops blended into a compact endless mass enwrapping the valley. Tree branches touched the cliffs. Where the dull gray of the sharp rock ended, vivid live green began. Each leaf separately reflected sunrays that penetrated the mist. And the forest shone!
Finally, they reached the bottom of the valley. Elena stopped, her head raised, eyes wide open in silent amazement. Despite lack of wind, the leaves moved in a play of endless shades of green, gold, and silver. And they whispered, spooking the horses. Digging their hooves into the ground, ears flat to their heads, eyes rolling wildly, they refused to go any further. Just like her mother, Elena managed to calm Ashkent quite quickly, persuading him to walk on, into the horror-filled wall of trees. However the men accompanying them were in trouble, since they shared their horses’ fears, dreading the green mysterious mass.
The forest swallowed them. When Elena turned to look back, she had an uneasy feeling the path was disappearing and the trees were closing behind them. Elena nudged Michael with her elbow. Eyes wide open, the boy gave her a terrified look. He could have sworn he saw the trees move. The trunks shifted position to block their return passage! And then, he realized someone had switched off all sound, which utterly freaked him out.
Under their feet, moss was so deep and soft that neither their footsteps nor their horses’ hoof beats were audible. Everything was silent! Even birds! Suddenly, all the leaves were still, even though most of the branches were moving.
An odd gloom surrounded them. Only a few lonely rays of the setting sun penetrated the thick treetop roof. His own breath and heartbeat were the only sounds Michael could hear. No one dared speak.
Mesmerized, Elena watched the moss-covered tree trunks. All her senses seemed to have been awakened, perceiving every single detail, burning them irreversibly into her memory. Silence. She realized that it was not only sound that was absent; there were no living things to be seen. Not even a bird, nothing alive was
in sight except for them, walking along the path huddled together in a tight group. Someone was watching them. The forest was watching them. The trees were watching them. Her consciousness registered a light impact on her protective mental barrier. She focused. Carefully, keeping her mental shields fully raised, she searched for the consciousness trying to probe her.
It felt like a bomb exploding in her brain. A rustle of leaves, birds singing, the pitter-patter of billions of bug feet, bird wings whispering, springs gurgling, the drip, drip, drip of water banging on fallen leaves, the stomping of deer hooves, growing of grass and moss the hopping of rabbits, bears growling, boars digging - their piglets squeaking, squirrels crunching, mice cheeping - all these sounds erupted inside her head at once. In an instant she felt sap running through her veins instead of blood, she was spreading branches instead of hands; her feet rooted deep into the ground.
Panic-stricken, Elena dropped Ashkent's reins and clutched her head. Falling to the ground she instinctively curled into a ball, physically and mentally. Terrified, the queen ran to her daughter. Elena finally managed to drive the racket out of her head. She peaked at Ashka through the leaves on her branches. Untangling her branches, she stood on her roots. Or was it hands and feet? It was hard to remember. Ashka watched her, concerned.
“The forest is alive!” Elena whispered. She tried to free herself from the idea of sap driving moist through her roots into her trunk, tasting of clay and rotting leaves. Her mouth was full of that foul flavor.
“Every forest is alive,” Ashka stated.
“But this one has a consciousness!” whined Elena urgently. Suddenly almost paralyzed by fear just like all the men.
“Are you all right?” worried Ashka.
“I’ll be as soon as I shed my leaves,” Elena answered. Ashka and the men stared at her in silent astonishment. Elena shook her head. Untying her water bag from the saddle, she drank deeply. The taste of sap and rotting leaves lingered still.
Ashka led them deeper and deeper into the forest, moving with the confidence of someone who knew the route well. Elena dared not ask how was that possible, but in the deepening shadows, Ashka was following subtle markings on the trees.
◆◆◆
Elena gazed at one of the tree trunks. Was she getting delusional? For quite some time now, she had had an odd feeling that not only the forest was watching them but also something alive. Someone was watching them. She halted, tilting her head left, then right and back again. The whole cavalcade stopped as if on cue.
“Someone is following us,” said Elena in answer to her mother’s unspoken question.
“What do you see?” Ashka asked with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. Elena pointed at a tree.
“Over there. There’s something strange. I can’t quite focus on it, it’s all fuzzy like. Whenever I move, it disappears. When I try to focus on it, everything around it gets unclear and I get sick to my stomach,” explained Elena, still gazing at the merely suspected shape. Ashka raised her voice in a singsong elvish greeting.
“Greetings, guardians of the forest, may we be granted admittance to your midst? I am Ashka, daughter of the Adragon. I enter thy forests accompanied by my daughter Elena, the child of Dragon blood, Michael son of Magnus, …” One by one she named each member of the group. When she finished, there was silence.
They emerged from the trees. One moment there was no one and the next they stood all around Elena’s party, as if they had been there all along. Tall, lean figures clad in forest shades of green, carrying long elegant bows in their hands, all with shiny, myrtle-green hair billowing in dead calm. Elena registered them peripherally. She dared not take her eyes off the outline still trying to evade her gaze and understanding.
“What seeks your heart in our home?” asked the commander of the patrol in a velvety tone of voice.
“The dragons had endowed my daughter with immense powers. I humbly ask your people, the lords of the forest, and the dragons, masters of the sky, to teach her.” The elf gazed at them all for a long time. However, he was most interested in Elena, still glowering at the tree, making it more nervous by the second. The forest giant was seriously considering sneaking away from under the intense, childish stare.
“Show yourself Öron, it is doubtful the child will let you off the hook,” spoke the commander in a quick staccato. There were a few seconds of stubborn, awaiting silence. And then, slowly, a young elf surfaced from the bark, a strung bow in his hands. Its arrow was aimed directly at Elena’s heart. The girl smiled at him brightly. She’d won! She has driven him out of hiding! Losing interest in this particular man, she turned her back to him and focused on the other guardians of the forest.
In the company of the elves, the horses calmed enough to be ridden again. Nolan, the commander of the watch, and young Öron accompanied our little cavalcade. They both proceeded with easy long strides as if the forest belonged to them, running so fast the riders following them had to urge their horses into canter. While Michael concentrated mostly on the elves, eying them suspiciously, Elena’s attention was with them for only a few minutes before wandering back to the forest. Right now, as far as she was concerned, the forest was far more interesting than the fair folk. It felt as if the woods were whispering to her, and they shouldn’t be doing that, should they?
The path they were traveling was so narrow they had to ride in single file. In the shadowy forest, the rout was almost invisible. The deeper they went the more interesting and faster changing was the scenery. And it was coming to life. From time to time, birds could be heard in the distance, even though the vicinity of the cavalcade silenced them temporarily. Trees were getting thicker and older, but also shinier and more colorful. Fallen leaves rustled under their horses’ hooves, but the elves ran silently. Michael was restless, trying to watch the elves and the forest all at once. It seemed to him the trees were watching him, turning to see him properly as he passed by.
“The forest is spying on us!” he announced, when the width of the trail allowed him to ride next to Elena. She nodded, keeping her eyes on the woods.
“For a while I thought I was going nuts. Some of the trees are even moving. And I don’t mean that they are swaying in the wind,” she answered her friend.
“There’s no wind at all!” moaned he.
Exchanging these few words with Elena calmed Michael down a bit. However, there was something worrying about her attitude. He had a notion that while he saw the forest as an absolutely freaky, Elena was merely interested in it. No, she was fascinated! All the men sat subconsciously huddled in their saddles, while Ashka and Elena sat their saddles surely and confidently. Also, it was getting dark, which did not improve matters either. Night was creeping under the thick forest roof. Soon, darkness veiled woodland in shadows, making it look even spookier. On top of everything else, some of the forest giants glimmered. Michael’s hair stood on end. Regardless of the fact his head was absolutely bald. He glimpsed Elena’s expression. Her furrowed brow, with the two familiar thought lines above her nose, made her seem more confused than frightened.
Apart from her mother, all the others accompanying them were scared. She could feel it, and see it. The scenery around her looked anything but normal. It was like nothing Elena had ever experienced before. But her body told her she was home. On the other hand, her brain whispered she should be scared to death. However, its quiet voice was silenced by everything she could see, hear, smell, and feel, and most of all by the fact that her mother was unafraid, happy even.
It was so dark they had to ride extremely close to one another to at least glimpse the rider before them. All feared getting lost in the dark, because that would surely mean being lost forever. The trees stood slightly more apart from each other now. All the riders noticed it, because their horses instinctively huddled into a tight group, walking in twos and threes, but otherwise, all they could see was an incomprehensible shimmering play of strange shadows. The elves, however, moved through the dark with easy confidence.
◆◆◆
Elena was tired. The soft darkness, leaves rustling quietly, the monotonous hoof-beats, everything was lulling her to sleep. She fought to stay awake. All of a sudden, a single star gleamed through the trees. Elena tried to concentrate on it. And saw another. One by one, more appeared, peeking through the night. Unexpectedly, a clearing interwoven with thousands of lights opened in front of them. It took a while for their eyes to adjust. It took quite an amazed moment for Elena to realize what she was looking at. The lights were little lanterns hung up in trees and bushes. Despite the late hour, the clearing was swarming with elves, all of whom went quiet when Ashka’s party emerged from the forest.
Miscellaneous dwellings built on trees and inside them fringed the whole clearing. All of the trees were unbelievably monumental and towering so high, the little lanterns revealed only a fragment of their magnificence. Elena could see doors, windows, terraces, staircases, ladders, and a complex web of footbridges, all mysterious and gorgeous in the lantern light. Fascinated, Elena watched the splendor surrounding her. It was marvelous!
Dozens of elves raised expectant faces towards her. Elena realized that Nolan, the commander who had brought them here, was talking to one of the important looking elves. Finally, he nodded to Ashka and stepped aside. Ashka dismounted and bowed; something Elena had never seen her do before. She was so sleepy, it was hard to follow the flow of conversation, to understand all the quick words spoken in a language she was familiar with, but not fluent in. Elena was so very, very tired, it was a struggle to keep her eyes open even though there were so many interesting things to see. She did not want to miss anything. And the scent of the forest was intoxicating.
The Witch (Dragon Eyes Book 1) Page 9