“Oh, Gieaun, there’s no such thing!” her brother groaned.
Jahrra laughed and glanced back at Gieaun, who looked a little vexed.
“Don’t worry, Gieaun!” Jahrra snickered. “If it does eat us, think of it this way: at least you’ll finally know for sure it exists. And besides, you’ll be safe if you stay on Reed Island!”
“Very funny!” Gieaun chirped. “I remember you used to be afraid to put even a toe in the lake Jahrra!”
“Oh, that was ages ago!”
“Ugh, are you going to race or not?” Gieaun asked, sounding a little exasperated.
When Jahrra and Scede gave her a tense look she took a deep breath and said, “Ready . . . set . . . GO!”
They dove into the water and began swimming frantically towards the boardwalk. Gieaun watched them carefully, squealing dramatically every time something other than Scede or Jahrra broke the surface of the water.
“Look out! It’s the lake monster!” she shouted after them.
When the two friends reached their post and started making their way back, they were neck and neck. By the time they were only ten yards from the small island, however, it was clear that Scede was trailing quite a bit. Jahrra reached the small island first and was panting over the muddy bank a full thirty seconds before Scede reached the shore.
Both were out of breath, but Scede managed to say between gasps of air, “Looks . . . like . . . those lessons . . . Jaax . . . is making . . . you take . . . are paying off.”
Jahrra hadn’t realized it, but swimming to the boardwalk and back hadn’t been as hard as it used to be. It also got her thinking that maybe she should be working on swimming lessons as well as everything else. She made a mental note to herself to bring it up with Viornen and Yaraa the next time she saw them.
For the rest of the afternoon, the three of them stretched out on their blankets and watched the clouds roll by overhead. Jahrra spotted a variety of objects, everything from a mouse evading a cat to a kruel of dragons gathered in assembly. Behind them trailed a group of prancing horses and a watchful owl. Scede said he saw a centaur in one cloud, and Gieaun swore that the cloud she was looking at resembled Ellysian.
“It looks just like her!” she insisted. “You know, when she is marching around the schoolyard, telling everyone what to do.”
The children had a good laugh and were soon on the subject of the evil twins once again.
“Ugh, I can’t believe school is starting up in a week and we’ll have to see them again!” Jahrra complained as she continued to stare skyward, her hands behind her head. “I wonder where they went on vacation this year!”
The twins always came back to school with tales of how they’d visited such places as the strange and tropical shores of Torinn or the mysterious and magical lands of Felldreim.
“No one can visit Felldreim!” cried Gieaun, watching the strutting cloud that was Ellysian break up and form into another shape, a mythical mihrcor. “I’m sure they were making that one up! Father says the entire province is surrounded by magic and only those who belong there can enter!”
Jahrra wondered if this was true as she watched what looked like a herd of gelbu taking form above them. Hroombra had taught her a little about the Northern Province, but he never went into much detail, even when she begged. She’d heard many stories from the children at school about Felldreim, but everything she’d heard seemed impossible. As much as Jahrra thought what her classmates said was total nonsense, she hoped in her heart that such a place really did exist. After all, she had seen unicorns in the Wreing Florenn once.
Jahrra rested her head deeper in the soft clump of moss she was using as a pillow and allowed the unpleasant thoughts of the twins to sink to the back of her mind. Before her eyes closed she caught one more glimpse of the streaming clouds above, appropriately shaped like a herd of dancing unicorns.
***
Jahrra hadn’t been asleep long, but already she was having a terrible dream. Gieaun and Scede were with her, setting out a picnic on Reed Island. She was breathing in the warm summer air and chasing after dragonflies when an unpleasant voice shattered the peaceful atmosphere, “Hey Nesnan! What’re you doing, building your dream house? I guess reeds and mud are a step up from that dragon-infested pile of rubble you live in!”
The sound of Eydeth and his friends laughing hysterically from the boardwalk jerked her awake. She sat up, breathing harder than usual, and looked around. She was still on the island in the middle of the lake and Gieaun and Scede had fallen asleep next to her.
Jahrra closed her eyes and pulled in a deep breath. Phew! she thought, what a nightmare! But just as she was starting to relax, she heard something that made her stomach turn.
“Would you look at this place? It might be half-way decent if it wasn’t crawling with Nesnans!”
“No!” Jahrra breathed silently, rising up into a low crouch.
She quietly scurried over to the edge of the island and peered out of a small gap in the reed screen. What she saw made her heart almost stop. It was Eydeth and Ellysian, accompanied by at least five of their classmates. They were in the middle of the boardwalk, looking out over the lake. Farther down the shore a pair of horses was strapped to a fancy paddleboat.
“No!!!” Jahrra repeated a little more hoarsely, her teeth gritting together in utter frustration.
Gieaun stirred awake, along with Scede.
“We must’ve fallen asleep,” Scede said through a yawn as he sat up a little.
“Jahrra, what’re you doing?” asked Gieaun sleepily.
When Jahrra didn’t answer, they crawled up next to their friend and peeked out toward the boardwalk.
“Eydeth!!! What’s he doing here?” Scede breathed scathingly.
“And Ellysian, too!” Gieaun growled. “Oh, look at that boat! I wonder who that belongs to! Honestly, is everything they own so, so horribly expensive-looking?”
Gieaun crossed her arms and sat down rather forcefully. Jahrra was still so upset she just continued to glare angrily.
“Well,” said Scede, slumping down next to his sister, “I just hope they don’t come out here.”
Unfortunately, it seemed that’s exactly what they planned to do. The group of children walked down the boardwalk towards the boat and climbed in, Eydeth and Ellysian giving the others orders to row. As she watched, Jahrra grew sick; they were paddling right towards her small island.
Scede saw them too and scrambled to his feet, almost knocking Jahrra into the lake.
“They can’t possibly think of coming over here!” he hissed.
They quickly scuttled back to join Gieaun hampered down on the quilt, listening quietly for their classmates’ voices. Several minutes passed before they could make out Eydeth’s grating voice.
“Can you believe some of these Nesnans actually make a living fishing out here? There can’t be anything worth catching! No wonder they’re so poor!”
Jahrra held her breath, and her temper, wishing she was still dreaming.
Ellysian answered him after a while, “Speaking of Nesnans, I wonder if Jahrra and her Nesnan-lover friends are out here.”
Jahrra froze. That was the first time she had ever heard Ellysian say her name, and it sounded like it actually physically hurt her to say it.
“Oh, they are,” Eydeth said casually. “That was her horse in the clearing, I recognized it. If we can’t find them, we could always torment that stupid animal. She acts like it’s her best friend. How pathetic is that?”
Everyone in the boat snickered, and Jahrra shook with both rage and fear. Would he really do something to Phrym? If it wasn’t for Gieaun and Scede holding her down, she would’ve jumped right into their approaching boat, practicing some of the skills she’d learned from Yaraa and Viornen on them. Instead, she was forced to secretly curse the twins and their gang of bullies from afar. She only hoped that Phrym would break away if they went after him.
“Should we dock at the other shore and continue on to the
sea?” Ellysian asked in her mock-royal voice.
“No, I want to see what that clump of reeds is all about. Maybe we can find some bird nests or something,” Eydeth said boorishly.
Jahrra quickly looked at Gieaun and then Scede with large eyes, the blood draining from her face.
“Find some bird nests!” Gieaun growled. “All he’d do with some bird nests is wreck them and break the eggs!”
The three friends hunkered down in the center of their blanket and tried to think of a way to distract the group.
“We could swim to shore!” Scede breathed quietly.
“No,” Jahrra said solemnly, feeling herself turn green. “They’d chase us down in that boat and drown us before we got ten feet from here. Let’s face it, we’re trapped.”
Fortunately, the problem was solved before any drastic measures were needed.
“No way!” Ellysian whined. “That clump of weeds is probably sitting in a pile of muck and we would end up covered in mud! A queen and her royal entourage never set foot in mud!”
They continued rowing past the island, but they were close enough for Jahrra to hear Eydeth’s mumbled complaint and soon even the sound of the oars slapping the water disappeared.
“That was close!” Scede breathed, slumping onto his back.
Gieaun joined her brother in a huff, sounding as if she’d been holding her breath for the last several minutes. Jahrra, on the other hand, continued to glare after the boat now disappearing in the distance.
“What on Ethoes are they doing here?” she said so quietly it sounded like a hiss.
Gieaun and Scede both looked up at her, their relief quickly turning to apprehension.
“Maybe they ran out of people to bother in Kiniahn Kroi,” Scede offered sarcastically.
Gieaun shot her brother a sour look and tried to break Jahrra’s stern composure softly. “You know, they may just be exploring the area. I mean, it’s not like Lake Ossar is a secret.”
“They came here to torment us, I’m absolutely sure of it!” Jahrra shouted as she spun around.
Gieaun flinched and Scede quailed at his friend’s anger.
“Look, Jahrra,” Gieaun began gently, “they didn’t see us, they only saw the horses. They probably think we’re out in the dunes somewhere and I doubt they want to waste their entire day looking for us. Once they find out this place is too big to chase us down, they’ll leave.”
Jahrra was still fuming, but she saw the truth in what her friend said. Sighing, she dropped her clenched fists to her sides and took a deep breath.
“You’re probably right, Gieaun. But I think we should head home, that way they won’t run into us and have a reason to stay.”
The three companions packed up their blankets and piled them into their homemade, rickety boat. Once back on shore, they quickly hid the boat among the shore plants and approached the horses. Jahrra breathed a grateful sigh of relief when she saw that nothing had happened to Phrym. While she rubbed his mane out of his eyes and touched his forehead with her own, she risked a glance at the horses the twins had used to haul their obnoxious water craft. The poor things were shifting uneasily and puffing in slight fear, pulling at the ropes wound snuggly around a thick tree branch. I know how you feel, she thought. I would be afraid of them too. Just then, an idea sparked in her mind like flint striking stone in the dark.
“Hey Gieaun, Scede . . .” she said quietly.
They looked up from their task of getting the blankets secured to Bhun and Aimhe.
“Yeah?” Scede asked.
“How about we give Eydeth and Ellysian a little reminder not to come out here again.”
“What do you mean?” Gieaun queried, her voice hard and her green eyes narrowed.
Jahrra simply grinned and untied the lead ropes keeping the two horses in place, causing the animals to twitch and stomp their feet.
“Well, what if their horses accidentally pulled free and decided to go wandering off on their own?”
“Jahrra! No!” Gieaun gasped.
Scede, on the other hand, looked like he was quite fond of the idea.
Gieaun flashed him a threatening glare, but he brushed her gaze aside and said, “Oh come on Gieaun! How many times have the twins tormented us? Let’s give them a taste of their own medicine.”
Gieaun groaned as Jahrra dropped the ropes and Scede frightened the horses farther down the road.
“I hope you two are satisfied!” Gieaun complained on their ride back home.
“Oh, we are. Especially when I picture the twins chasing down their loose horses.”
Jahrra let loose a peel of laughter and even Gieaun, who had been so well composed earlier, gave up and joined the fun.
“I still can’t believe they came all the way out here,” Jahrra mused after some time.
Gieaun gave her friend a meaningful look and Jahrra quickly added, “I’m just wondering how they knew about Lake Ossar at all, it’s not like we talk about it at school.”
They took the path that led through Willowsflorn and wrapped around the base of the Sloping Hill. By the time they made it to the Castle Guard Ruin the western sky was painted with the red-gold hues of sunset. Jahrra watched her friends ride away over the southern hill and shivered as the heat of the day gave way to the cool of the evening. She shut her eyes and breathed in the crisp flavor of the distant fog suspended out over the ocean, allowing it to fill her entire body.
Jahrra tried to relax in the beauty that surrounded her, but no matter how hard she tried, the thoughts of the past summer were alive in her mind. School would be starting up again in one week’s time, and that meant no more daily lessons with Viornen and Yaraa. It would be hard for her to train on her own during the school year without their constant encouragement, but she was determined not to let them down.
“Even if you just practice your meditation and a few of your basic exercises, that’ll help you greatly,” Viornen had told her.
Jahrra jumped when Phrym nickered quietly from inside his stable. She’d nearly forgotten she was still standing out in the field so far from the Castle Guard Ruin. She smiled and reached out to scratch Phrym on the cheek.
“I’m not ready to go back to school yet, are you?”
Jahrra smiled tiredly and Phrym leaned his warm muzzle into her shoulder. She imagined that she could fall asleep standing right there next to him, for no one comforted her more than Phrym. After some time she reluctantly left him and walked down to the Ruin. She went to bed early, waving sluggishly to Hroombra and muttering some words of goodnight.
During the last few days of summer Jahrra didn’t do much except tend to her garden and ride across the fields with Phrym. The weather was pleasant, but she could sense the wonderful, brisk approach of autumn. The air was warm but the breeze was crisp and cold and it held a hint of distant rain and the scent of the coming harvest. Soon the leaves would turn scarlet and crimson and the fields would turn gold and orange with ripening hay, corn and gourds. Jahrra closed her eyes and relished the idea of the coming season, hoping that her time at school would be just as pleasant.
On their final day of vacation, Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede decided to visit Lake Ossar one last time. They arrived cheerful and ready for a day of relaxation only to find the twins and their friends had beaten them there.
“Not possible!” Jahrra hissed between gritted teeth from behind a screen of trees.
Both Eydeth and Ellysian were walking along the boardwalk, trailed by an even larger crowd than the last time.
“Oh, how could they?” Gieaun said miserably. “I was so sure they wouldn’t come back after last time.”
“This was our only retreat from them!” Scede groaned. “Now what’re we going to do?”
The three friends turned their horses in the direction of Lake Aldalis and fumed the whole way there. They enjoyed what they could of the day at the other lake, but Aldalis didn’t have their Reed Island and it didn’t have their boat or their boardwalk.
“If i
t’s the last thing I do,” Jahrra said angrily as they left Lake Aldalis behind later that afternoon, “I’ll find a way to keep them away from Lake Ossar.”
If being forced from her favorite retreat wasn’t bad enough, dealing with the twins’ recharged indignation at the schoolhouse was worse. Jahrra could only guess that this was Eydeth’s way of paying her back for his failed prank those few years ago in Kiniahn Kroi, and she was tempted to tell him that chasing them away from Lake Ossar was enough.
Gieaun, as usual, talked some sense into her however.
“The last thing you want to do is let him know just how much it bothers us.”
So Jahrra was left to grit her teeth and bear the twins’ daily assaults in silence, which in turn forced her and her friends dangerously close to the breaking point; the three friends barely made it through the fall months without resorting to violence.
The Solstice break offered them a chance to rise to the surface and take a breath, but it also somehow recharged Eydeth’s and Ellysian’s malice, if that was even possible. The second half of the school year was better, and in some ways worse, for Jahrra. One positive turn was the addition of Rhudedth and Pahrdh to their small group. Their presence helped increase the numbers against the twins and their fan club: it was harder to gang up on five instead of three, especially when the ginger-haired brother and sister constantly reminded the class of Eydeth’s attempt to kill Jahrra in Kiniahn Kroi.
Jahrra was unfathomably grateful to her two new friends, but despite their added support, Eydeth and his sister refused to back down, especially when it came to her favorite retreat. The twins had made it a weekly habit to visit Lake Ossar, a routine that was worse than all of their horrible deeds combined. Jahrra had to be restrained on several occasions by her friends, for she had quite a few of Yaraa’s techniques she wanted to use on Eydeth.
“No, Jahrra, it’ll only get you in trouble!” Gieaun breathed desperately as she and Scede struggled to hold her back.
“I’m going to kill him, and his sister! I could flatten both of them in less than a minute!” Jahrra was livid, for Eydeth had done a very rude impersonation of her falling from the canyon wall in Kiniahn Kroi.
The Finding Page 31
