The Prince of Old Vynterra

by V F Sharp

“And if she needs cuddlin’,” he pronounced the word as if he’d never heard it before, “have her nuzzle a goat or somethin’.”

  “Will you please hurry up!” yelled a man in the back of the line. “I have somewhere I need to be!”

  “And you’ll be walkin’ there if ya don’t have patience,” said the old man loudly. He then turned to one of his stable keepers. “Retrieve the rabbit named Jewel for this young lady. Number fifty-two.” He looked at Lanzzie and winked. “On ye go, lassy. And don’t ye forget what I said. We need yer sister’s rabbit back today or it’ll be no more rabbits for the lot of ya.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’ll find my sister. You’ll have both back by tonight.”

  “I only need her rabbit.”

  “Oh, right,” she said. “I know. I mean… I meant both rabbits, mine and hers.” That wasn’t at all what she meant, but she was glad to have recovered quickly.

  She took a deep sigh, then stepped to the side and gazed down the long stable hall, waiting for Jewel to be brought to her. Finally, she could see the young stable keeper coming, holding the giant, fluffy white rabbit by the reins. It never failed to put a smile on Lanzzie’s face when she saw Jewel’s beauty.

  She smiled at the stable keeper, then grabbed the reins and walked Jewel outside to where her friends were all gathered. They were packing their saddles and getting ready for the day’s journey. She was about to say something when she heard a loud yell to her left and turned her head.

  It was Pallu. Of course.

  “Wait,” he yelled. “Guys, hold up!” She watched as he ran toward them with several oversized canvas sacks in his hands. He moved like an overweight duck.

  “Here, hold this,” he said as he dumped one of his bags in Lanzzie’s arms. “And you hold this,” he said to Zander as he dumped the other against his chest. “I’ll be back. I just have to get Thumps.”

  “You’re just now getting here?!” Lanzzie said. She could feel her face getting red, thinking about what Ezstasia might be going through in this very moment. “Pallu, I’m not holding all of your stuff, nor is anyone else,” she said, letting the bag fall to the ground. She turned to Zander.

  “Drop that… junk.”

  Zander looked back at her with a blank expression and opened his arms, letting the giant bag fall to the ground as the sounds of clinking metal echoed through the field.

  “Mom’s famous stew is not junk, Lanz!” said Pallu as he was walking to the stables. “I’ll remember that when you want to eat some.”

  “It’s famous?” said Zander. “Funny, I’ve never heard of it.”

  Pallu jogged away toward the stables and turned toward them to yell, “And I guess you don’t want my mom’s famous gooey bread?!”

  Zander looked at Lanzzie and shrugged. “I’ve never heard of that either,” he said, loudly enough for Pallu to hear. She could tell by his grin that he was teasing Pallu as usual. In reality, everyone in the Cottages knew about Pallu’s mom’s cooking. She made sure of that, generously doling out richly-scented savory platters and sweet pastries to the villagers.

  Lanzzie approached Fin, who was loading up his rabbit. “He’s too much,” she said.

  “Who?”

  “Pallu, who else? Why are we even taking him? He’ll just slow us down.”

  Fin kept packing his supplies. “Lanzzie, Lanzzie, Lanzzie,” he said without turning around. “Pallu can be—well, Pallu. But he’s part of the group and he’s our friend. And getting angry won’t get us there any faster. Plus, he’s Ezstasia’s best friend, let’s not forget that. And one other thing…” He turned to face her as he gave Zon a friendly pat on the side.

  “What’s that?”

  “His mom’s stew,” he said, grinning. “Need I say more? I’d carry Pallu around on my back for days just for a few bites of that.”

  She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of that. She really did like Pallu. It was just hard to deal with these delays when Ezstasia’s life might be at stake. “I’m sorry,” she said, suddenly feeling guilty. “I just want to find my sister.”

  “We all do,” said Fin. “You know that.”

  She nodded. “How about I head to the pasture with the twins while you and the others wait for Pallu? This way, I can at least be there in case she comes out looking for us.”

  “Fair enough,” he said.

  She motioned to Randin and Zander.

  “Time to go, boys,” she said.

  She and the twins hurriedly finished tying their equipment to their rabbits’ saddles, and rode off in the direction of the pasture.

  * * * *

  Fin tied the last sack to Zon’s saddle and headed over to Meldon, who’d just finished loading up his own rabbit, Mr. Feet. They stood, leaning back on Mr. Feet’s saddle, as they waited for Pallu.

  Fin noticed Ithron tying his supplies to the black saddle on his rabbit, Strike, who was also black, aside from a few small white spots.

  “Ithron is quite the loner, isn’t he?” said Meldon.

  “That he is,” said Fin. “If everyone says go right, he’ll go left.”

  “He’s unpredictable,” said Meldon.

  “Predictably,” said Fin.

  “I like that,” said Meldon as he laughed. “Predictably unpredictable.”

  Ithron took a drink from his water tin, tied it up and mounted his rabbit. He rode right up to them.

  “I’m heading out to meet Lanzzie and the twins in the valley. See you both there.”

  Just then, Fin noticed Pallu emerge from the stables with Thumps, though he was still pretty far back.

  “Why don’t you just wait?” he said to Ithron. “Here comes Pallu now.”

  “Well then, I guess you chaps won’t be far behind.”

  “Predictably unpredictable,” whispered Meldon to Fin.

  Ithron turned toward Jezreel, who was climbing onto her rabbit. “Are you coming with me, Jez?”

  Jezreel paused, with a tentative expression on her face. “Um, I better not. Fin said to wait for Pallu.”

  “Suit yourself,” said Ithron as he rode off.

  “He’s definitely smitten with that one,” said Meldon who was looking toward Jezreel.

  “Yeah,” said Fin. “Not even his bad boy self can hide those feelings. He has a funny way of showing them though.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t know how.”

  “Meldon, my lad. I think that’s about as good as it gets for Ithron.”

  They watched Ithron ride off.

  “Hey guys,” said Pallu, just arriving and nearly out of breath. “Thanks for waiting. What are you guys staring at?”

  “Ithron,” said Meldon.

  “Ithron? Please do tell! Me and Thumps are all ears.”

  “Thumps and I,” said Meldon.

  “Okay, all of us then,” said Pallu.

  “Nope, times up,” Fin said, smiling. “We need to go, buddy.”

  “Okay, maybe later? Maybe for tea time. I brought the best tea for a great story, so maybe—”

  “Pallu, please. Get your stuff loaded onto Thumps. I’ll help you. The others are waiting.” Fin started picking up Pallu’s things and handed them to him.

  “Fin,” said Pallu, looking more serious. “I know everyone’s anxious to get there, and I am too. But Ezstasia’s a strong girl. One time, we were camping out in some forest. We set up our tents and I made us a great dinner on the fire we started—uh, well, she started. Actually, and—well, due to, uh certain circumstances—well, anyway, she ended up camping alone, because I had to run home. And she did just fine.”

  “We know this story, Pallu,” said Meldon, his head buried in a map. “You chickened out like a chicken and went home.”

  “What? No! That’s not how it happened.”

  Fin handed him one of the supply bags, which he quickly grabbed to tie to Thumps.

  “I guess it depends whose side of the story we are listening to,” said Meldon, looking up from his map.

  “Well, I’m telling the
story at the moment,” said Pallu, “and I went home because of a stomach ache.”

  “Whatever you say,” said Meldon, climbing onto Mr. Feet’s saddle.

  “We need to go,” said Fin.

  “I’m ready,” said Pallu, trying to get onto Thumps. It took him a couple jumps until he finally mounted the chubby rabbit.

  As they headed off toward the pasture, Pallu rode between them, continuing his explanation. Jezreel followed behind.

  “It was a really bad stomach ache,” he said. “My stomach was full of air bubbles. It was horrible. I don’t think you want more details, but I can tell you, if you saw my under—”

  “Don’t tell us,” said Fin. “Please.”

  Meldon leaned into Mr. Feet’s ear. “Is Pallu still talking? What’s that? You say he’s a chicken?”

  “Yes, I’m still talking,” said Pallu. “And I’m not a chicken. I’m more like a cuddly bear. But Ezstasia? She’s a lion. She’s tough. She’s strong. And I know she’s okay. She’s the bravest person I know. And I’ll tell you another story—”

  That’s when Fin and Meldon looked over at one another and sped their rabbits ahead of Pallu. Jezreel caught up to them and Pallu lagged slightly behind, still jabbering the whole way.

  * * * *

  After traveling for what seemed like forever, they finally arrived at the large, hourglass-shaped pasture. Fin spotted the twins up ahead, staring at the tree line of the forest.

  “There’s Zander and Randin,” he said, pointing to them. “Let’s go!” He gave Zon a slight kick and shook the reins to get him to pick up speed. Meldon, Jezreel, and Pallu followed close behind.

  As they sprinted toward the twins, the tree line grew closer and closer. In an odd way, it almost seemed like it was waiting for and beckoning them as the branches gently swayed. Eerily, there wasn’t even the slightest breeze.

  “Where are Lanz and Ithron?” he said as he approached them.

  “Lanz is riding the tree line,” said Randin. “She had us stay here to wait for you, and—”

  “Ithron’s riding the tree line too,” said Zander, “but on the other side. He’s over there.” He pointed to the right.

  “Do you two always finish each other’s sentences?” said Fin.

  “Not always,” said Zander.

  “But sometimes,” said Randin.

  Fin shook his head. “Okay. I take it nobody has seen any signs of Ezstasia?”

  “No, but this place is creepy,” said Zander, riding Nee a little closer to Randin.

  “It’s just a forest,” said Fin. “All forests can look creepy.”

  It was time to round up the troops. Fin put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, a trick his father taught him as a child. It was so loud, everyone turned to face him.

  Ithron, off in the distance, turned toward him and began heading back to the pasture.

  “There’s Lanzzie,” said Meldon.

  Fin turned to see Lanzzie approaching from the other direction.

  “Any sign of Ezstasia?” he yelled to her.

  “None,” yelled Lanzzie.

  He watched as she and Ithron trotted over to meet him from opposite directions.

  “This forest is already frustrating me,” said Lanzzie. “I feel like it changes every time I go back over the tree line. The trees move or change themselves into something else. It never seems to be the same, like it has a mind of its own.”

  “Maybe your worries about your sister are making you see things,” said Fin.

  “No, I know what I saw. I was just telling Ithron about this. Can you see that giant tree trunk over there? The extra wide one?”

  Fin glanced over to where she was pointing. “Yes, what about it?”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there before.”

  “What are you talking about Lanz? Tree trunks don’t just appear. Maybe you were mixed up and in a different area.”

  “You know,” said Meldon,” I felt similarly to that when we were playing Arrows yesterday. I saw my arrow land in a patch of grass and when I went to grab it, it wasn’t there anymore. It was just gone. Then, after searching around, when I came back, there it was. It was in that exact spot that I had already looked.”

  “I think you’re all just stressed out,” said Fin. “My arrow went pretty far into those trees yesterday and I didn’t see anything like that.”

  Just then he remembered that he had seen a vine twist, which he’d later convinced himself was just a squirrel. “Wait, there was this one vine,” he said. “I could have sw—”

  “Guys, you’re really starting to make me nervous for Ezstasia,” said Jezreel. “I thought it was the most beautiful forest I’d ever seen. Now you’re making it sound dreadful.”

  “You weren’t even in the forest,” said Meldon.

  “Yes I was,” she said. “I was going toward the hills when my arrow turned and went into the trees. As soon as I crossed the tree line, I was overwhelmed by the beauty. It was unreal. Everywhere I looked, there were flowers of every color.”

  Ithron cleared his throat loudly. Fin and the group looked toward him.

  “My arrow flew just outside of the forest,” said Ithron. “Over there.” He pointed back toward the pasture. “Not much flowers there. Or trees. Or anything else, for that matter.”

  “Okay, so you saw nothing,” said Meldon. “Anyway, Fin, did you notice anything peculiar?”

  “No. I’m sure if there was anything I thought I saw, it was just animals.” Fin wasn’t exactly sure what he had seen, but the last thing he wanted to do was get everyone all worked up.

  “Well, I definitely know something happened to me in that forest,” said Meldon, pushing his eyeglasses back up on the bridge of his nose. “I’m positive. I’m not one to make things up. And you know what I think? I’ll tell you. I think someone’s been dabbling with magic.”

  “Yeah, us,” said Ithron.

  “Someone other than us,” said Meldon.

  “There hasn’t been magic in centuries,” said Fin. “I mean besides the occasional hidden stash of light magic. Nobody would dare use the strong stuff, even if they could get it.”

  “Well, there are those who are still capable of the kind of magic we’re talking about,” said Meldon. “They live in the Magiclands.”

  “Well, we’re not in the Magiclands, are we?” said Fin. “For all we know, they don’t exist anymore. Not to mention the Magiclands are on the other side of the world—an ocean away.”

  “Enough already!” said Lanzzie. “I’m sorry I even brought it up. Let’s just get on with this. We need to find my sister, so what’s the plan? Should we split up?”

  “Did anyone see where she entered the forest?” said Fin. He was glad to be able to help Lanzzie refocus everyone on the task at hand.

  “Well, I was heading toward the pasture,” said Zander. “But I thought I saw her going that way.” He pointed toward the left side of the tree line.

  “I know she was to my left,” said Fin. “But I don’t know exactly where I was. I was too focused on catching that arrow.”

  “You were to my left,” said Meldon. “And I calculate that I was precisely about 35 degrees from where I am right now, judging by the distance of those trees to my right.”

  “So, you’re saying we should search for her to the left?” said Fin.

  “Some of us should. But if we want to do this the smart way, we should split into three groups to cover more ground.”

  Fin thought for a moment while looking at the tree line. “Okay, here’s the plan,” he said. “Randin, Zander and Pallu, you guys go in straight ahead. You’ll be the right flank. Ithron, Meldon, and Jezreel, head toward that big tree to the left. You’ll be the center group. Lanzzie and I will be the left flank. This way we’ll have wide coverage. Let’s be sure to meet back here before nightfall, no matter what. Questions?”

  “What about food?” said Pallu, his forehead crinkling.

  “Are you kidding me?” said Zand
er.

  “No, seriously. Should we meet back here for lunch? We have to time these things.”

  Fin held up his hand. “Plan to eat wherever you are, whenever you want,” he said. “This isn’t your mom’s house where meals are served at certain times. Any other questions? Important ones?”

  “That is important,” said Pallu. “At least for those of us who appreciate living.”

  Zander rolled his eyes.

  “Okay, when we call for Ezstasia,” Fin said, once again addressing the group, “we need to make sure to make noise. Sing, whistle, yell her name—whatever. Anything so she can hear you. And make sure you listen for her, in case she—”

  Fin saw the nervousness in Lanzzie’s face. “—in case she’s stuck in a tree or something and needs help getting down.”

  “I can do that,” said Pallu.

  Fin could see that some of them looked apprehensive, especially Jezreel. He took her hand and squeezed it, looking around at everyone.

  “We can do this,” he said. “Remember when we lost Pallu and Thumps for half a day, only to find him having a picnic with himself near a stream?”

  The twins and Jezreel laughed. Even Ithron almost smiled, which was a rarity indeed.

  “When you’re lost, just eat,” said Zander. “That’s his motto.”

  “Hey, I wasn’t lost,” said Pallu. “I just went to take a drink from the stream and Thumps looked hungry, so I made him food and then joined him.”

  “Pallu, I’ve never seen your rabbit look hungry,” said Randin. “He always looks like he’s full. Overly full if you ask me.”

  “Busting out of its cheeks full,” Zander added.

  “Can we get on with this?!” yelled Lanzzie. The red on her face became more saturated by the second. She turned to Fin. “I’ll be in our section to begin searching, while you and everyone else continue to discuss this nonsense.”

  “Lanz is right,” he said. “We can’t waste any more time. I know we’re unsure about this forest. But we’re here, we’re prepared and our friend is counting on us. There’s strength in numbers. None of us are going in alone. If things get really weird, we can simply come out. Are you all ready?”

  He looked around, and most of them nodded their heads in agreement. The rest were silent.