by A. J. Medina
I stood, admired my creation, and then went to check on the others.
Light flickered and danced from the inside of Thomas’ tent. He had started his own fire the way he had been taught to.
I dug my toes into the cold ground that wouldn’t give, and turned to Davina’s tent. No fire danced inside of her tent so I peeked inside and found it empty. I lifted my head out and wondered where Davina had gone off to. Did she have to relieve herself and went into the woods? I wished she would have told me, but they were all knights and could defend themselves if they had to, I suppose.
The last tent belonged to Aednat.
After the battle, Aednat had lost her fear of me being her captain. She had went back to her old ways. And yet we somehow had a new respect for each other. I could use my rank as first knight to put her in her place permanently and maybe I would, one day. But for now, it felt... normal. A reminder of how things used to be when Tessa was still around.
I peeked inside Aednat’s tent. There was no fire, but I was surprised to find Davina asleep on one side and Aednat on the other. Maybe Davina and Aednat had grown accustomed to each others company the way I had grown accustomed to Silas’.
When I had first moved into the palace, I felt quite alone for a while. I had grown used to their company as well. Peeking into their tent, I listened to their breathing and the sound of their breathing in the darkness felt welcoming.
I entered and knelt in the middle of the tent and built a fire. With a wave of my hand the fire came to life.
“Thank you,” a voice said.
I lifted my gaze to where the voice came from. Aednat was staring at me from across the fire. I nodded and left to return to my own tent. Me and Aednat had an interesting relationship. Interesting indeed.
Chapter 13
I stepped out of Aednat’s tent and back into the night’s cold air. My bare feet gripped the cold dirt as I made my way back to my tent. It didn’t take but a moment for my feet to chill. If I could see in the dark right then, I was sure my feet would be blue. But I didn’t care. I had worn my boots all day and I didn’t feel like wearing them anymore.
I spun around and crouched when I heard the sound of a twig break. I peered into the darkness trying to see what caused it.
I was about to turn back around, thinking it was just a small creature of the forest, maybe a squirrel, when two red dots moved in the foliage. Keeping my crouched position, I studied the red dots and then realized as they emerged from the bush, that they weren’t red dots. They were eyes. And from the direction of those eyes came a low rumble—a growl.
I stared at the eyes, hoping they wouldn’t come any closer, but they did. I could see the whites of its teeth and the dark fur that reflected the tiny amount of light there was. I lifted my hand and a stream of fire shot in its direction. I could see it clearly now. It was a wolf.
The wolf studied me and watched as I commanded the flame to hover over my hand. It didn’t appear afraid, as most animals would be. I hoped it wouldn’t challenge me. I hoped it wouldn’t attack. I didn’t want to kill it. “Go away!” I finally shouted. “Shoo!”
“What’s going on?” Neala asked, rubbing her eyes as she peeked out of the tent.
I turned to her and held out my hand, stopping Neala from coming out of the tent.
“Stay inside. There’s a wolf in the bushes.”
“A wolf!” she yelled.
The others stirred in their tents, no doubt roused awake by Neala’s loud yell.
When I turned back around, the wolf was gone.
Thomas was the first to emerge, his sword at the ready. “Where? Where’s the wolf?”
“It’s gone,” I answered.
“You probably scared it away with your face,” Aednat said to Thomas.
“Oh shut it,” he said.
“So it’s gone?” Davina asked, the last to come out of Aednat’s tent.
“Aye. It was black as night and had red glowing eyes. It seemed to be studying me... observing.”
Aednat yawned. “Well, since its gone, I’m going back to bed.” She went back into her tent.
“It’s fine. Everyone get your rest,” I ordered.
“But what if it comes back?” Neala asked. “And brings its pack?”
“Guess we’ll be standing watch tonight then,” I said.
“Ahh, Neala!” Thomas complained.
Neala slumped her shoulders. “Sorry.”
“I’ll take first watch,” I volunteered, and then went into my tent and retrieved the potion of dark to light. After drinking it I was able to see much better. I tossed on my cloak and boots and went back outside.
“Any volunteers for the second watch?” I asked. “Thomas?”
“I’ll take third,” he said.
“Aye. Davina?”
“I’ll take the last watch,” she said.
“That leaves you, Aednat. You’ve got second watch.”
“Dragon dung!” Aednat said from inside her tent. “Fine. Wake me when you’re ready to be relieved.”
Everyone went back into their tents and I stood watch over the camp. It was much too cold to sit, so I marched around the perimeter to stay warm.
The quiet night was pretty boring so I went over to where the wolf had been hiding and found a set of tracks. I focused my vision on them and they dug deep into the dirt where it had stood waiting and watching me. The next set of tracks led away from the camp.
I turned back and took one last good look around the perimeter of the camp. Something inside of me, a feeling, told me the wolf wouldn’t be back, and so when I was sure nothing was lurking, I stepped through the bushes and deeper into the forest.
I followed the tracks until something odd happened. They were wolf footprints and then all of a sudden they stopped and turned into human footprints. I had to look again since I wasn’t sure if the potion was playing tricks with my vision.
The thought occurred to me that maybe the wolf was domesticated. It was someone’s pet and that’s why it didn’t attack. I studied the human footprints again. There were five toes and it was definitely the shape of a human’s foot. I was sure of it. There was no doubt.
I looked left and then right, searching for where the wolf’s prints continued, but there weren’t any. Only the human prints remained. Curiosity setting in, I followed them until they came to an end at a cottage.
The cottage was small. Much smaller than my cottage was. It looked like it was just big enough for one person to live in it.
I crouched down and snuck up to the window closest to me. The light peeked through the curtains and they were spread just enough for me to see inside.
My guess was right. It was one large room and there was one person inside. The woman had long black hair that hung free against her back. She was wearing a white stained and tattered shirt. It looked like a sleep shirt, kind of, but its sleeves were short, revealing her dirt covered arms.
Her hands pounded on something on the table. Maybe she was making bread. I’ve seen my mother, and even Lucah’s mother, pound bread like that before, but I couldn’t see because the woman had her back to me and was blocking my view.
I wanted to see what this woman looked like from the front, so I crouched low out of site and made my way towards the front of the cottage.
On either side of the door were windows and the curtains on the one closest to me were spread wide open.
When I stood just enough so that I could peek inside, I saw what the woman was pounding on the table and it wasn’t bread. Her hand lifted up and then slammed down into it and then her other hand lifted into the air and came down with the same force.
That last punch caused the eyes of the wolf to pop out of its head. But it wasn’t the wolf I had followed. This one didn’t have red eyes. I studied the woman with the black hair closely, moving up her dirt covered arms to her hair covered face. As the woman pounded on the wolf some more, I almost got a peek of her face when her hair flung about.
My leg
s were beginning to burn. My muscles ached from my stooped position, but I fought the pain for the chance of seeing what this... this woman pounding on a wolf looked like.
The burning in my legs intensified, and just when I thought I would have to leave without knowing the woman’s identity, the woman stopped pounding. She stepped back away from the wolf and using her forearm, brushed her hair out of her face.
That’s when I saw her red eyes admiring her handiwork.
I almost gasped when I saw those eyes and one of my legs finally gave out causing the wooden porch to groan in protest.
The woman looked up and I ducked down out of her view.
My heart pounded as I wondered what would happen next. Resting on one knee with my back towards the cottage, I waited, daring not move, lest the woman with the black hair see that I was spying on her.
Seconds felt like hours, when a shadow cast onto the porch in front of me.
The outline of the woman appeared menacing all on its own.
I didn’t dare move, not with the red eyed woman watching.
The shadow appeared to take on a life of its own as it moved and then disappeared. I took the opportunity to move away from that spot. I scurried along on my hands and knees back to the window I was peeking through at first.
The woman was standing facing the door with her hand on a length of wood that secured the door shut. Her other hand held a dagger. She was being cautious, almost as if she was scared to open it. She let go of the wood and stepped back away from the door and then reached for it again. Twice she did this before lifting the wood off its metal supports and laying it off to the side.
In one swift motion she jerked the door open, stepped out, and jabbed the dagger forward.
When she realized no one was on her porch, the woman surveyed the land. “Who’s there?” she asked the night.
“Who’s there?” she asked the forest.
Nothing stirred and nothing answered her. She was focusing now, listening for any sign of movement. When she was satisfied no one was there, she turned around and went back inside her cottage. After shutting the door and securing it by placing the wood back on its supports, she walked back to the wolf on the table. She cut the wolf with the dagger and that’s when I had seen enough.
Who was this woman? She had red eyes and lived out in the middle of no where. And was she going to eat that wolf?
I wanted to know and I didn’t want to at the same time. I did know the last thing I wanted to do was watch. So when the woman with the black hair started grunting as she cut the wolf, I slid out of view and followed the tracks back the way I had come.
After making it back to my tent, I went inside, took off my cloak and boots, and went to sleep. Every time I go to sleep I wonder what nightmares will come. I can’t understand anything anymore. I don’t get happy dreams, only sad ones or scary ones. They all seem the same nowadays. When I used to dream of Silas, they were happy dreams. Now they are sad. I wake up thinking of him down in the dungeon—hungry and beaten. I wake up scared of what might happen next. Will they beat him? Will they chop off his head? Only the king knows those answers. Waiting is torturous to me. I can only imagine how Silas must feel.
The next morning, I walked out of my tent and stretched my arms towards the sky, letting out a loud moan. I looked at the other tents, no one was up yet besides me and Neala. Neala was up before all of us already hard at work making our morning meal. She busily scrambled the eggs and pushed them around the iron skillet with her wooden spoon.
“Good morn’ Alora,” Neala greeted.
“It is a good morn isn’t it?” I asked admiring the clear morning sky. The snow clouds off in the distance were no longer visible.
I watched as two birds landed on a tree branch studying the both of us. I squatted down and sat on one of the rocks Neala must’ve strategically laid out around her cooking station.
Aednat was the next to emerge from her tent with Davina on her heels.
“Good morn’,” Neala said glancing over her shoulder.
“Morn’,” Aednat answered.
“That smells delicious,” Davina said, and then she called out to Thomas. “Thomas, food is almost ready. Wake up you sleepy head.”
“I’m coming,” a voice moaned from within his tent.
“You didn’t wake me for watch,” Aednat said. “Why not?”
“Me neither,” Thomas said, sliding out between the folds of his tent.
“Nor me,” Davina added.
I thought about telling them what I had seen in the woods. About the cottage and the woman with the red eyes similar to the wolf that was watching me last night. I decided they didn’t need to know. “I knew the wolf wasn’t going to come back. After a while, I went to sleep.”
Neala gasped. “But what if the wolf had returned?”
“I would’ve protected you. Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Neala slumped her shoulders and placed some eggs in my bowl and handed it to me. “I was thinking maybe we could go to the hot springs and wash.”
“Are you crazy?” Aednat scolded. “It’s way too cold to wash out here.”
“Nay. It’s not. The hot springs will keep us warm.” Neala turned to me. “Please, Alora. It feels like ages since we were in the bath.”
“It’s only been two days,” Aednat said.
Davina stood and mimicked how Princess Evelyn made fun of the queen. She pointed and shook her finger. “A lady should wash each and every evening.”
I studied Davina again. Who was this person? Maybe it was the smaller group that had her acting differently. Maybe in the company of only the four of us she felt more comfortable. Comfortable enough to be... herself.
I laughed, but Aednat’s face tightened. “I bet she hasn’t gone more than a day without washing. Spoiled little servant.”
“Aednat!” I shouted. “On this trip she’s one of us.”
“Nay! She isn’t. She’s not a knightly.”
She had a point. “Well... you’re right. She isn’t a knightly. But on this journey she isn’t a servant either.”
Aednat squinted her eyes. “I suppose.”
“Good. Then leave her be,” I ordered.
“Fine.”
“Come Aednat, it won’t be so bad. It’ll be like in the castle.” Neala held her arms out wide. “Except with all this open air and woodland as a backdrop.”
“After we finish eating then?” Aednat asked.
“Aye,” I answered.
“But what about him?” Aednat asked, pointing at Thomas.
Thomas raised one arm and sniffed his armpit. His nose scrunched up. “I’ll wait here. I don’t need to wash.”
Davina smiled at him.
“Boys would never wash if they weren’t told to,” Neala said. “You should order him to wash after we are done.”
Thomas lifted his head and waited for my response. I could tell he was trying to force his will on me with his mind. He didn’t want me to order him to wash. Ugh... boys.
“It’s up to you, Thomas,” I said.
Thomas exhaled a sigh of relief.
“This time,” I added.
“Huh?” he asked.
“If you start to smell like a week-old, dead squirrel, then I will order you to wash. Understood?”
Thomas nodded.
The birds that were watching us let out a tweet and took off towards the west. It must be nice to be able to fly. I wish I could do it. Although, maybe not quite so high as them. When they disappeared from our view, we continued eating our meal and when we finished, us girls went to our tents and gathered what we needed to head over to the hot springs. Neala packed all of her things in a smaller satchel, while I carried mine in my hands.
When me and Neala came out of our tent, we found Aednat and Davina already waiting for us.
“What took you so long?” Aednat asked.
“We needed to collect our washcloths, soap and towels,” Neala said. “Where are yours?�
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Aednat and Davina stared at each other and then turned back to Neala. “Shut it!” Aednat said.
“Nay!” I shouted back. “Don’t talk to Neala like that.” I charged towards Aednat. “It’s not her fault you didn’t think to pack what she did.”
Aednat raised her hands in front of her, trying to calm me down and create space between us. “I’m sorry.”
I stopped charging towards her and relaxed. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Aednat said, “I thought we were done with this nonsense. At least for a little while. Ugh..., Neala and her protocols.”
“Aednat!” I scolded.
“What? I can’t speak my mind anymore.”
She was right. She should be able to say what she was thinking. “Aye, you can speak your mind. But do you have to be so rude?”
“Rude? I’m not rude. I’m just honest.”
“Honest?” Thomas asked. “That’s what you call it?”
“Aye.”
“Honesty is one thing, Aednat. I think we can all appreciate honesty. But you are rude. And sometimes disrespectful,” Thomas finished.
“Ah, shut it,” she answered him.
“Aye. Just like that,” he said.
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed at their exchange. Neala did too. Was she serious? Did Aednat really not see how rude she was most, if not all, of the time. The only time she wasn’t rude was when her lips were shut. How could she be so oblivious?
Neala walked up to my side, nodded her head as if she was thinking the same thing, and we left Thomas to relax in his own filth.
Chapter 14
After walking through the woods, we reached the hot springs we had passed before we made camp. There were a few boulders along the outskirts of the water, and steam lifted up and hovered over the hot springs. Neala was the first to remove her cloak and then began to undress.
I removed my cloak, my boots and then said the magic words so my second skin would expand. My second skin kept my body heat trapped because I didn’t even feel like I needed the cloak this morning. At least a little. After laying my second skin on the boulder closest to me, I ran into the hot springs. The contrast between the cool brisk air on my skin and then the hot water, felt so good.
