She’d found a way to save her parents. Now, hopefully, she’d be able to do it.
The journey had just begun and already she couldn’t think of a single way it would end well. Finding her uncle would be the easiest, as well as the hardest part. Uncle Meical lived in The Mammoth Fields. In order to get to him, they’d have to travel almost the whole length of Central Orendor, around the Lake of Sorrows, where she would finally lay her eyes on Bertson’s Waterfall. Bertson had been a Giant. When the Frost Mages had entered Orendor to seek help in their war with the Fire Mages, Bertson attacked, thinking them there to kill his children. They didn’t take kindly to it. They turned him to icy-stone, all but his eyes, which remained open and even blinked, always watching. After, the people renamed the waterfall as Bertson’s Waterfall of Tears. Being able to see and never change a thing took its toll on the poor Giant and caused him to cry nonstop, and the water pooled below, forming the Lake of Sorrows. The story had been told to her so long ago, she didn’t even know if she remembered it right. Nobody had ever spoken of his children in any of the versions she ever heard, though.
It was funny. Only days ago, she’d wanted adventure. Now adventure had seized her, thrusted her into the craziest one of her life, and she wanted no part of it. She had no clue if Uncle Meical even knew about the curse, let alone could come up with a way to find the cure. What would her father do if he found out what she’d done? The answer came easy, with almost no thought. He’d yell at her, scream at her and let her have it like she’d never had it before. Plain and maybe not so simple.
The Forest of the Giants loomed around her, larger than she’d ever imagined. It stretched on and on. The soles of her feet ached by mid-morning. Come afternoon, she could barely stand to walk another step, but she pushed on and found that inner strength she’d sought since the beginning of this journey.
It had to be close to evening before they’d reached the cliffs looking down upon The Lake of Sorrows. Water flowed in a continuous stream and Jovi followed it with her eyes, until she took in the most amazing and most horrifying sight she’d ever seen in her life.
The stone Giant’s eyes were wide and water poured from the bottom so fast she couldn’t keep up with it. Shrouded in a blue tint, Bertson’s Waterfall of Tears stood out as beautiful, but those eyes, alive and moving, took in everything. The sadness within them shattered Jovi’s heart.
“A terrible beauty.” Cappa kept his voice at a whisper, making Jovi wonder if the thought of the Giant overhearing scared him.
She tucked her hands under her cloak, resting them on her hips over her nightgown as she examined the lake. It stretched on for miles. It had probably grown and grown over the years. The water poured from the Giant’s eyes and had nowhere to go, so it made its own place, which expanded the lake into what it had turned into.
The climb down made her limbs ache, so steep she barely kept her grip. More than once, she lost her footing and almost fell, her clumsiness showing even though she wanted nothing more than to hide it. She held on and kept moving. When her feet landed on solid, level ground, she raised her arms in the air and almost cheered, but stopped herself at the last minute. The sound of water rushing deafened her ears and made it almost impossible to hear.
There appeared to be no way to the other side of the lake. “Cappa? How do we get out of here?” she screamed as loud as she could to be heard over the roaring waves.
Cappa pointed to the Giant. “Up there. There’s a hidden bridge behind the waterfall. We just have to climb up to it.”
Great. More climbing. At least this time they’d be going up instead of down. It made it a little easier, maybe.
Jovi followed behind him, the water roaring as they stood at the base of the waterfall. She couldn’t help where her eyes landed as she walked, either. Cappa’s muscular legs stretched taut with each step, his firm buttocks bulging out and making Jovi have to tuck her hands to her side to keep from grabbing it.
Where did that come from? she wondered. She’d never thought about a man’s behind as she just had. How improper.
Stones popped out from the rock beside the flowing water. Each of her hands grabbed a rock, but as she lifted her body by stepping up onto the rock wall, she slipped and crashed straight onto her bottom. Pain radiated from her tailbone and shot up her spine, which made her cry out. Her stomach churned.
I can’t do this. There’s no way. Frustration filled Jovi’s thoughts.
A fine sheen of water covered the rocks. Could that be climbed? Maybe this would be harder than she’d first thought.
Cappa held a hand out and helped her up. She wiped her backside off and heat spread over her cheeks. Embarrassment coursed through her, but she needed to get over it. A mission hunkered in front of her and the clock ticked second by second. Almost a full day had passed already. How would she do everything she’d agreed to do, and in only a week?
As she grabbed the rocks for a second time, Cappa’s hands went around her small waist and lifted her higher. Her lips parted and her heartbeat became the only thing she could hear. Cappa smelled like the woods mingled with a soft layer of sweat. Manly. Saliva swirled around her mouth.
The rocks weren’t as wet here, because the water barely touched them. She wanted to thank him, but she knew he wouldn’t hear her right now, so instead she climbed. She kept going as if her life depended on it, and perhaps it did, until she reached the last rock she could get a grip on.
Her eyes roamed behind the rushing water, searching for the hidden bridge. Cappa should have gone first. He knew where the bridge was hidden. Hidden things had never been easy for her to find.
Ironically, her eyes landed on a small piece of brown wood that poked out from behind the water. She reached out and lunged toward it, a flutter flinging through her stomach. A thud rang out as she landed on the rickety bridge, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. Her hands wrapped around thin rope on each side of her in a vice-grip. Dropping her head showed her exactly how far up she stood. The world spun around her, the dizziness threatening to take her under. On top of that, her chest tensed so much she felt like she couldn’t breathe, which caused her to take shallow breaths with little oxygen.
She really didn’t want to fall. How did I end up here? This bridge is falling apart and I’m standing right on it, waiting to fall with it. I must be crazy. Or stupid. Or both. She couldn’t stop the irrational thoughts filling her mind.
Every muscle in her body tensed as she climbed to her feet, but lurched forward as the bridge rocked under Cappa’s increased weight, forcing her to her knees in between two wood planks and a gap. So much space lingered between her and the water below. A lump formed in the back of her throat. She tried to swallow it, but it wouldn’t dislodge. If someone opened her chest right now, her heart would soar through the sky and she wouldn’t be able to stop it. The thumping felt like it moved her whole body with each beat.
Get a grip, Jovi. You have to do this. Think about your parents. Do it for them, Jovi tried her best to encourage herself.
Her mental pep talk helped. She curled her fingers around the rope, and pulled herself to her feet once again, hopefully for the last time.
Wooden planks marked each step on the bridge, gaps resting between each, large enough to fall through if Jovi missed her landing. She calculated every step before she took it and when she jumped she closed her eyes and opened them again only when her feet hit something hard. Each movement caused the bridge to sway, so she sucked in a breath and held it until the shifting bridge slowed.
About halfway across the bridge, the sun disappeared behind the horizon. A silhouette of the moon came up and she knew they had little time before full darkness fell over them. It was already difficult to see. She didn’t think it would get any easier when night creeped in.
“Princess. Turn to your right.” Cappa’s voice boomed behind her.
She did as requested and saw a small landing a slight jump from the bridge. The theme of this journey smacked her in
the face. Everything was only a jump away. Ironic.
She leaned back against the rope, and gathered her wits. Now or never, she told herself.
She leaped. Her arms landed on the ledge, but her legs fell toward the lake below. She held on, crying out. “Cappa. Help!”
Her fingernails dug into the rock below her palms and held on for dear life, but still they slipped. She felt her body moving with each breath she took.
Cappa went over her head, almost as if he had wings and flew. How he leaped like that she’d never understand, but before she knew it, he’d leaned over her and wrapped his arms over her back and around her stomach and yanked her up.
She let out the breath she’d held onto and fell in a heap in Cappa’s lap. Before she could stop herself, her hands snaked around his neck and she tackled him in a hug. “Thank you. I thought I was going to fall to my death.” If he kept saving her, it would be impossible to resist him.
Cappa’s hot breath caressed her cheek. “I won’t let that happen. I’m your guard.”
Those words felt like a bucket of frozen water dumped over her head. She pulled back and hopped to her feet. The cold ledge had a layer of thin ice, which made her feet slip, but she stayed upright this time.
“Follow me. There’s a cave.”
She listened, and soon they’d stopped in front of a small opening. “Are you sure that is a cave?”
Cappa peered over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at her. He dropped to his knees and crawled through the opening. Jovi did the same, taking her bag from her back and sliding it through first. Then, she entered the cave on her knees. They scraped over something pointy and she groaned, but kept going.
Her mouth fell open as she stood, taking in the large cavern. I didn’t think it would be this big.
A light hit her. Cappa’s candle shone toward her and highlighted the entrance where small white rocks circled the opening. “I’ve never seen white rocks before.”
“They aren’t rocks. They are teeth. We are standing inside Bertson’s mouth.”
Jovi jumped back and slammed into the cave wall. Or mouth wall. She didn’t know what to call it. A red dust covered the cave, and she saw the rough texture of the tongue below her feet. She wouldn’t have known if Cappa hadn’t told her, but she saw it plain as day now.
“I can’t sleep inside the mouth of a stone Giant.” A sick taste hit the back of her throat. She swallowed it down, but it came right back.
“Just get some rest. Bertson won’t mind. Trust me.”
“How do you know?”
Cappa set the candle on the ground between them and smirked. “Sit. I’ll tell you the story as I heard it.”
She slid down the wall.
Cappa scratched his cheek. “Bertson was the kindest Giant you would have ever met. He would have given you the shirt off his back to keep you afloat in the river. If he had protection to offer, he did. So, you see, Princess, he would have offered his mouth as cover if he had the choice.”
“That’s it?” She’d thought he’d add a bit of drama, tell a tale of sorrow and intrigue that kept her on the edge of her seat. The tale he told left her feeling flat. Cappa had never met the Giant, so he knew not if he’d been kind or gentle. Hearsay did not make a story.
Plus, she’d never met a single person, Giant or human, who fit that bill.
She pressed her lips together. “That story sucked. The worst I’ve ever heard. You may be a great guard, but you are a horrible story-teller.”
Cappa laughed. “I never said anything about being good at it, did I?”
Every time he asked one of his questions, he already knew the answer. No. So, instead of answering him, she jostled her bag around until it became a pillow, then she lowered her head atop it. “Goodnight, Cappa.”
“Goodnight.”
Sleep came slow. Jovi tossed and turned, and finally, after she’d had enough of not sleeping, she sat up with a frustrated moan and blew the candle out. After darkness encompassed her, sleep snaked its hands around her. She’d been ready and willing.
She woke to sunlight filtering through the opening of the cave. She sat up, stretched her arms over her head, and yawned. Her eyes roamed the places no longer covered in darkness, but she couldn’t find Cappa anywhere.
“Cappa. Where are you?” He sure liked to disappear.
His head peeked around the opening. “Out here. Filling a canteen up with water. I figured we would need it.”
Jovi nodded. Her dry throat screamed for water. They’d moved so fast she didn’t think about it before, but she hadn’t drunk anything since she’d brought out the meat she’d stolen from the pantry. Her stomach growled.
She thought of everything but her growing hunger pangs, stood, grabbed her bag, crawled out of the opening, and joined Cappa on the ledge. He held the container out into the waterfall until water poured into it and filled it to the top.
“We are going to drink tears? Won’t they be salty?” Hers always were. When she cried, she always tasted the salt.
“Giant’s tears are different from ours. I read that in my studies. I can’t remember how they are different, but hopefully a bit of truth hung in the words. Here. Take the first swig and let me know.” He grinned.
She met his eyes, grabbed the container from him and tipped it back. It tasted fresh and clean, like the water from the well at the castle. Not like tears at all. “It’s good.” She wiped a trickle sliding down the corner of her mouth and took another swallow. “Really good.”
After Cappa took his share, he refilled the canteen and hopped onto the bridge. Jovi followed and this time jumped from the ledge to the bridge with an ease that belied the fear that made her knees tremble. She stepped to each wood piece on the bridge until they’d crossed it. They had climbed up the other side of the cliff—easier without the rocks being soaked—and when Jovi reached the top, she stood at the other end.
Whoever designed this area should have thought about the layout a bit more. It made no sense to climb down into a ravine, cross over, and climb back up just to get around this. Of course, the Frost Mages probably had played a big part in that when they’d turned the Giant to stone.
Before Bertson’s Waterfall disappeared, she risked another glance. The sadness hit her chest like a blade struck through her heart. She had to find a way to help him. If she succeeded and acquired the cure, she’d make sure the Frost Mages reversed their spell.
It was the least she could do for the poor Giant who only watched as the world moved around him.
She faced front and jogged to catch up to Cappa.
The sun beat down on her as she pushed through the aches in her leg muscles. She would have done anything for a horse right now. Riding made her sore, but it would be a lot better than walking the whole length of Central Orendor.
She pushed those thoughts from her mind and made her feet keep moving. It didn’t take long before the trees disappeared and tall, stringy grass covered the ground. A small pond laid off in the distance behind some pine trees. She stopped and cleaned herself in the perfect place.
She also longed to change out of her nightgown.
“Cappa. Let’s take a detour over there. I want to take a bath.”
Cappa nodded and led the way over the flat land. In between the light green grass grew purple and orange flowers. Jovi picked a few and thought she’d put them in her hair after her bath. Her thoughts sickened her, so she dropped the flowers. She didn’t need to fancy herself up. No, she needed to save her parents. Who cared if her appearance might scare a normal person?
The rest of the way, she ran ahead of Cappa. She dropped her cloak on the bank, then dove into the pond and the frigid water pulled a gasp from her lungs. Perhaps it hadn’t been the wisest notion when she jumped in as she had, but the water massaged her skin and she felt the dirt as it trickled from her body.
She dunked her head and ran her fingers through her hair. When she surfaced, she noticed Cappa staring off in the opposite direction. She la
ughed. “Always the gentleman, aren’t you?”
He tipped his head forward. “Not so much. In fact, you’re lucky I’m not watching you in that water. A nightgown would do nothing to cover those curves of yours.”
Her mouth parted into a half-smile. How could he have said such a thing? And how could she have liked it so much?
She let the water cover her again and rinsed the rest of the filth from her body. Then she climbed out. “Don’t turn around. I’m changing.”
She dug through her bag until she found the pair of pants and a white shirt, and covered her naked body. She brushed her wet hair and braided it down the side of her head, fastening it with a small band she’d tucked into the front pocket of her brown bag.
“Okay. I’m dressed.”
Cappa turned.
“Ooh. But now I have to relieve myself.”
“You could have done that in the water.” He winked.
“You don’t do that in the water. It would dirty it.”
Cappa laughed loudly. “And you didn’t just dirty it by bathing in it.”
Her cheeks grew hot. “Okay, so you have a point. I’m going to duck back there into those trees. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Okay. If you get in trouble, yell. I’ll hear you and come running.”
She fanned herself, “My hero.”
“You better believe it.”
She chuckled as she walked away, around a pond, nowhere near the size of the lake they’d come from. The trip around it made her feet shout for joy after the strenuous feat they’d overcome at the Lake of Sorrows.
The trees stood in straight lines in this wooded area, which left pathways between each section. There were four lines total. When she came to the last row of trees, she pulled down her pants and squatted behind one. As she relieved her bladder, the sound of giggles floated to her ears.
She finished, pulled her hands up, and placed her palm against the tree, the tiny needles poking into her skin. Her spine stiffened as she peered around and hunted for the source of the giggles.
Land of Strength and Sorrow Page 6
