Ariella and the Blood Curse

by Owen Crane

  Esme"s marigolds were bleeding.” He nodded towards the rolling pin lady. She

  gave a loud sniff and wiped her teary eyes at the thought of her bleeding

  marigolds.

  A tall, gangly man with a long wispy grey beard stepped forward from the

  crowd. He held out a long green shoot of wheat, freshly pulled from the field.

  Ariella dropped down from her saddle, Micah mirroring her movements, hand

  ever on the pommel of his sword. She stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the

  roots. What should"ve been fresh, healthy roots were tangled and matted.

  Matted with something that looked exactly like dark, dried blood.

  Ariella reached out to take the shoot but Micah was quicker, stepping

  forward before she could touch it he took it in his gloved hand. He lifted it close

  to Ariella, allowing her to examine it. She leant it to look at it but the smell made

  her gag.

  “What is that smell?” she said out loud to no one in particular.

  “Blood” Micah spoke grimly, eyes narrowed, turning the shoot over in his

  fingers. “It"s smells exactly like blood”

  “But how? Plants don"t bleed, not wheat, turnips or marigolds, it"s got to be a

  trick, right?” She realised how uncertain she sounded as she looked up at Micah

  trying to get some form of reassurance.

  “No, Your Highness, they don"t, but.” He paused looking over to Robert

  “You said this is all over the village?”

  “Yes, every field we"ve checked.”

  “See! I told you, poisonous little imp, let"s hang him and put a stop to this!”

  Esme was wielding her rolling pin again.

  There was a murmur of consent from the crowd.

  “Bring him here” called Esme, desperate to get on with the hanging.

  The crowd began to part and two burly men, who looked like farm hands,

  walked forward. Between them, arms pinned behind his back, was a boy,

  roughly the same age as Ariella, with hair as white as driven snow.

  Ariella leaned towards Micah and whispered. “Go and get the Captain.” He

  looked at her, his face serious, and nodded.

  The two men half marched, half dragged the boy to where Ariella was

  standing with Robert and Esme.

  “This is him, didn"t I tell you? Poisoner! Look at that hair, unnatural it is, he"s

  an evil little grunt!”

  The boy lifted his head and gave Esme a filthy look. His white hair was

  matted with dirt and blood from a gash just above his left ear. His face was

  drawn and filthy, there were a few bruises starting to swell up. But in spite of all

  this Ariella recognised him instantly.

  “Oh no.”

  She hadn"t meant to say it out loud. As soon as she spoke the boy flicked his

  head towards her, the recognition showing immediately in his face. He grinned.

  “Hello Ariella, fancy meeting you here and under such wonderful

  circumstances.”

  The two men holding the boy shook him when he spoke and shoved his

  head forward. Esme and Robert gasped and looked at Ariella.

  “You know him?” Stunned, Robert was looking back and forth between the

  boy and Ariella.

  “I told you she was one of them!” Esme"s rolling pin was swinging again

  “They"re here to finish us all off, they want us dead, and our children!”

  The crowd was glaring now; some of the men were flexing their muscles and

  slamming fists down into open palms.

  Ariella took a step back and stumbled. She bumped right into the returning

  Micah, who caught her easily. She looked up at him hoping to see those brown

  eyes looking down on her. Micah was looking ahead, eyes on the crowd. He

  returned her to her feet simply, professionally. Ariella flushed.

  Well, that was awkward and wonderful all at the same time, not had many moments

  I can say that about.

  The Captain stepped in front of them, facing down the crowd. His sword

  remained in its sheath and his cold, hard stare was enough to keep them back for

  the time being.

  “This is Princess Ariella of Lightharbour, she is not here to poison you and

  she certainly is not here with this young tramp. She does not associate with such

  people, whoever he is.” The captain"s tone was threatening.

  Ariella coughed lightly, “Captain, that is not entirely true.”

  “Your Highness?” It was the captain"s turn to look shocked. “You know this

  boy?”

  “Well, sort of. He was at the announcement; he"s one of the ten. He"s a

  Sojourner too”

  “This one? A Sojourner? Have the Guardians let their standards slip?” The

  Captain was incredulous.

  Esme was spluttering. “This one can"t be a Guardian, he"s a poisoner I tell

  you! We caught him by the river looking suspicious, he was all shifty, keeping to

  the shadows and trying not to be seen.”

  The boy laughed at that. “Of course I was trying not to be seen, I was

  trespassing! I was trying to water my horse without getting set upon by you

  bunch of nutters!”

  “Did you find the poison when you searched him?” It was Micah, asking

  calmly, but deliberately.

  “Of course not” Esme snapped “He hid it didn"t he?”

  “Did he? Where? You"ve found his horse I assume? No poison anywhere

  around?”

  “Er, no” Esme was starting to look unsure of herself, so Micah pushed his

  advantage.

  “Robert, you mentioned that the fields have been looking weak for a while

  now, and you found the fish dead yesterday morning?”

  “Yes, that"s right” Esme was glaring at Robert as he answered.

  “Well that settles it” smiled Micah.

  “It settles nothing!” she was pointing her rolling pin at Micah now.

  “This boy was with us two days ago in Lightharbour. He couldn"t have got

  here yesterday morning. From what Robert has said, whatever has been

  wreaking your crops has been going on for a few months now. There"s no way

  the boy was involved.”

  The villagers looked uncertain now, a few of them were nodding with

  Micah"s logic.

  “Well he was still trespassing! We can put him the stocks.” Esme was getting

  desperate.

  “Oh shut up Esme.” Robert motioned to the two men holding the boy and

  they dumped him, unceremoniously, on the ground.

  The villagers drifted away as the boy slowly got to his feet, rubbing some life

  back into his arms.

  “Thanks for that” he nodded at Micah who returned it without a smile.

  “Now, where have they put my horse?” He started to walk away.

  “Wait!” Ariella called after him.

  “What"s up Ari?”

  The captain moved towards the boy and raised his hand. “You address her

  as Princess Ariella or your Royal Highness, boy!”

  “Nope, not anymore,” the boy met the Captain"s stare without flinching.

  “She"s a Sojourner now. There are no titles in the Guardians, no hierarchy; we

  are all one and the same. Guardians.” He turned to look at Ariella “She better

  get used to it. Now where is that bloody horse?”

  The boy turned and walked away.

  “Impudent brat, if we weren"t in a hurry, I"d beat him for speaking like that!”

  The Captain was furious.

  Ariella shook her head. “Thank you captain. It"s best to let h
im go. I

  suppose, technically, he"s right. After High Summer, Princess Ariella will be

  gone, it"ll just be Ariella from then on.”

  The Captain bowed low “Your Highness, you will always be my Princess,

  Guardian or no Guardian.”

  Ariella smiled kindly and they made their way back to the rest of the guards

  and their horses.

  “It"s a good job you recognised him Your Highness, or that could"ve ended

  badly” Micah helped her on to horse.

  “Indeed. It was the hair… it stands out a mile. The problem is I can"t

  remember his name. There were nine others at the announcement and I was, er,

  pre-occupied. I can"t remember any of their names.”

  They turned their horses and trotted back up the gentle slope towards the

  main road through the village.

  “Micah, take point,” the Captain ordered.

  He nodded and kicked his horse into a canter. As he rode past Ariella he

  spoke so quietly she almost missed it.

  “His name is Eleazar.”

  Chapter 6

  Ariella didn’t think she’d like Trevena. She was used to the bustle of

  Lightharbour. The noise and smells. Lightharbour was an assault on the senses;

  everywhere you looked there was something new to take in. The countryside of

  Trevena was as far removed from that as Ariella could imagine.

  Trevena was renowned as the garden of Dawnhaven. It seemed that

  everywhere she looked something was growing. They passed wheat and barley

  fields next to fields of corn. There were vast fields growing a dizzying array of

  vegetables.

  Off to the south, away in the distance, they caught a glimpse of the great

  vineyards. All of the wine of Dawnhaven was grown in Southern Trevena. One

  of Ariella’s tutors spent a whole week describing to her the soils, drainage and

  grape varieties used for the growers. She wasn’t interested in knowing about

  wine until she slipped a glass of her mother’s from the table one day. She could

  remember the ruby red wine splashing in the crystal as she took a sip. It seemed

  beautiful to her, heavy with fruit and fabulous aroma. She could still remember

  the taste. She managed only a sip before her mother caught her and whisked the

  glass away. From then on she paid more attention to her tutors when they

  taught about wine.

  As they passed that last day riding along the roads of Trevena she found

  herself growing to like the countryside there. The people seemed calmer here

  than in Lightharbour, the pace of life was slower, more peaceful.

  Peaceful? We’re not exactly adding to the peace with fifty five palace guards trotting by. What am I thinking? I can’t ride into Stonegard like this…I’ll look a total idiot.

  She called out to the Captain, riding a little way ahead of her. “How long

  until we arrive in Stonegard Captain?”

  “We"ll be there before sunset, Your Highness, all being well.”

  The sun was high in the sky. She guessed it was just passed midday.

  “Do you think we could send some of these Guards back to Lightharbour?

  I"d rather not ride into Stonegard with a small army at my back. My uncle

  might get suspicious. He"ll think I"m trying to capture the city.”

  The Captain pulled up his horse and looked up and down at the ranks of

  riders. He seemed to be weighing up his options.

  “Come on, we"ll be safe now. I promise not to go riding off on my own or

  anything else stupid.”

  The Captain tried to suppress his smile at her honesty.

  “Okay, Your Highness, we"re close enough to Stonegard to be safe now. I"ll

  get the fifty to stay behind us, out of sight but within earshot of the bugle if we

  need them. How"s that for a compromise?”

  “Thank you Captain, I appreciated it.”

  The Captain halted the column then turned his horse and trotted down the

  line to the leader of the fifty. After a brief conversation the fifty riders peeled off to the side of the road and dismounted. The original five riders arranged

  themselves in formation around Ariella.

  Next stop, Stonegard and The Journey. You better be ready Ari, this is going to be a hell of a year.

  The escort prepared to set off again, their princess safely in the middle of

  them, for the final stage of their journey to Stonegard. The guards carried out

  one last check of the surrounding countryside when Lukas spoke up.

  “Hello, our young friend is back”

  Ariella turned in her saddle, looking in the direction Lukas was facing.

  Several hundred meters in the distance was a figure riding a tall black horse.

  Lukas must have better eyes than me, I can’t tell who that is, could be anyone.

  The rider and horse were travelling slowly, almost tentatively. When he saw

  the guards staring down the road towards him, he stopped, returning the stares

  for a moment. Then, kicking his horse into a trot, he closed the gap between

  them.

  “He"s been with us since the village” Micah remarked. “Most of the time,

  just out of sight.”

  As he drew nearer, Ariella saw the stark white hair and knew that Lukas"

  eyes had been true. Eleazar rode confidently, an easy smile on his face. The

  Captain rode out to meet him and held up his hand, signalling Eleazar to stop. A

  signal he completely ignored. His horse was almost past the captain when he

  was yanked back in his saddle, the Captain"s strong hand having taken a grip on

  his collar and holding him firm.

  “Hey!” Eleazar squirmed in the Captain"s grip. “What do you think you"re

  doing? We"re not in Lightharbour, you ape, you can"t go assaulting people

  whenever you feel like it!”

  “You"re following us” the Captain replied, still holding onto Eleazar"s collar.

  “What do you want boy?”

  “Following you? What are you talking about? I"m going to Stonegard, where

  are you going?”

  Eleazar asked so innocently that Ariella had to cover her mouth with her

  hand to hide her smile.

  “Don"t play games with me”

  “My dear Captain, I assure you I haven"t the faintest idea what you"re

  talking about. Tomorrow is High Summer and I need to be in Stonegard to begin

  The Journey. It"s hardly my problem if you"re on the same road as me. There

  doesn"t appear to be an assortment of roads from Lightharbour to Stonegard, just

  this one.”

  Eleazar gave the Captain a large, innocent smile. The Captain let him go, but

  kept his eyes fixed on him.

  “Alright then boy, on you go. We"re going to take a short break. We"ll see

  you in the city.”

  “Splendid idea Captain, maybe we can share a drink together? Farewell!”

  Eleazar walked his horse on past the remaining guards and Ariella.

  “It"s been a wonderful trip from Lightharbour” Eleazar remarked as he rode

  past. “Plenty of wildlife in the fields, and butterflies, lots of butterflies.”

  When Eleazar was out of earshot, Ariella spoke out loud, to no one in

  particular.

  “Butterflies? I don"t remember seeing a single butterfly the whole journey.

  What is he talking about?”

  She looked around the other guards but they were ignoring her. Some had

  dismounted for the „short break" the Captain spoke of them, but not Micah. His

  face had gone pale
, his brown eyes scanning the fields on either side of them.

  “Micah? Are you alright?”

  “Your Highness?” he replied, eyes still the scanning the fields.

  “I asked, are you alright? You like you"ve seen a ghost.”

  “No Your Highness, no ghosts. I"m well. Thank you for asking.” Their eyes

  met, momentarily. They weren"t the calm eyes that she was used to seeing. His

  eyes were scared.

  He quickly dismounted and led his horse to the grass on the side of the road

  but he didn"t look at ease at all.

  I wonder what he saw? Was there something in the fields? I’ve never seen him

  scared before. That’s weird.

  “Your Highness.”

  The Captain"s call broke into her thoughts.

  “Your Highness, I suggest we rest the horses here for a while and then set off

  again.”

  “Will we still make it before sunset?

  “I believe so, just, we may have to pick up the pace a little”

  “Very good Captain.” Ariella climbed down from Crispin and led him to the

  grass by Micah. It felt good to stretch her legs after the long ride. The blood had

  returned to Micah"s face but he still looked nervous, his eyes constantly on the

  fields and the road behind them. Ariella took a step towards him.

  “Eleazar.”

  “Your Highness?”

  “You said his name was Eleazar.”

  “Yes, Your Highness, that"s right.”

  “How did you know?” It was a simple question but she was probing and

  Micah knew it.

  “We"re from the same part of the city.”

  “So you know him?”

  Micah looked awkward. “Yes”

  There was no „Your Highness" this time.

  Very strange, I wonder what he’s hiding?

  “That"s a beautiful horse, Your Highness” Micah reached out his hand and

  patted Crispin"s broad flanks.

  Wow that was a clumsy subject change, don’t think I’m going to let this go.

  “Yes, he was a gift from my mother. Did you notice Eleazar"s horse, striking

  wasn"t it? I wonder where he got him from?”

  Micah was getting flustered. “I"ve no idea Your Highness. If you"ll excuse

  me I must speak to the Captain.”

  “Something wrong?”

  “No, no, Your Highness, just want to ensure that we"re making plans for the

  journey back.”

  Micah turned and walked the short distance to where the Captain was

  grazing his horse.