“Don’t, Jahrra, it’s not worth it!” Rhudedth squeaked as she and her brother ran over to help diffuse the situation.
As much as she wanted to pummel Eydeth to a pulp, Jahrra knew her friends were right. She gritted her teeth and took her anger out on a clump of grass in the corner of the schoolyard, kicking it until it ripped away from the earth. I’m going to get those two one of these days, but Gieaun and Rhudedth are right. I can’t just attack them, that’d be too easy.
Jahrra sighed deeply, kicking the pulverized lump of grass one more time before climbing atop the granite boulder and slumping on her stomach. The great stone was hard and cold and Jahrra gladly welcomed its chill against her hot skin. As her anger ebbed, she watched as Eydeth and his sister moved to the other side of the yard, finally losing the audience that had grown tired of listening to their teasing. Someday, Jahrra thought once more, her irritation slowly becoming replaced with rancorous determination, someday you’ll pay for all of this.
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Chapter Twenty -
The Dare
“Hey Nesnan . . .”
The snide remark came from Eydeth, as usual.
Jahrra sighed and rolled her eyes. It’d been a month since the end of winter break, two weeks since she’d almost attacked him after being mocked about the mishap in Kiniahn Kroi. Luckily, after that incident she’d remembered a way to deal with it. The meditation exercises she’d learned from Yaraa and Viornen had done wonders in the field of ignoring Eydeth and Ellysian, but today they’d been more resilient than usual, actually speaking to her and not about her. In fact, she’d grown rather bored with the twins’ redundant insults of late. Really, couldn’t they do any better?
Jahrra was sitting in the corner of the schoolyard with Gieaun, Scede, Pahrdh and Rhudedth, trading stories about their various adventures over the break. That is, until Eydeth’s grating voice interrupted a rather intriguing anecdote Pahrdh was telling about an unfortunate run-in with a skunk. Pahrdh stopped speaking immediately and waited tensely for Eydeth to continue, wondering what insulting thing he would say next.
As the horrible boy slowly strolled over to her side of the yard, looking like a dog ready to start a fight, Jahrra was determined to stay put on the lichen-covered boulder with her friends.
“Rumor has it you live in the Wreing Florenn,” Eydeth continued once he was within ten feet of them. “That’s worse than swimming around in a mud-puddle with the Dune People!”
A wave of laughter ensued and soon the rest of the class was drawn to what appeared to be another show put on to torture Jahrra. Jahrra tried to remain cool, desperately grasping in her mind for something smart to say. She hadn’t even bothered with her meditation exercises this time, and she could easily detect the frustration and anger in Eydeth’s voice. He’d been trying hard to break her for days, and today he seemed full of renewed determination. Well, Jahrra felt determined too. She decided to respond to him this time; she was tired of taking his verbal abuse.
Gieaun and Rhudedth tensed up beside her as she drew breath to speak.
“Actually, I lived on the edge of the forest, not in it. Past tense, Eydeth.”
Jahrra slid off of her perch and stood in front of the glowering boy, smugly reminding herself that she still had to look down at him.
“On the edge of the forest? How could you bear to live there? Mother says that only heathens and robbers live near the Wreing Florenn!” Ellysian said with delightful disgust as she joined her brother’s side, obviously paying no attention to what Jahrra had just said.
Eydeth and Ellysian were enjoying this far too much, and just as Jahrra was about to comment on how dim-witted they were, Scede slid down to stand next to her.
“I’d like to see you go within five miles of that forest, Eydeth. Jahrra lived there for eight years without being afraid, but I’ve seen the scared look on your face when Professor Tarnik describes what lurks in there.”
He stretched himself as tall as he could and laced his arms across his chest, glaring at Eydeth as he continued, “You have some nerve standing there making fun of Jahrra for living near that forest, but let’s see you go within a hundred yards of it!”
The whole class quieted down at Scede’s sudden outburst. He didn’t often speak so boldly in front of his classmates, but when he did it was to make a point.
Jahrra smiled broadly in his direction and noticed that he looked even more irritated than she felt. He glared at Eydeth and Ellysian, looking like he was about to bite if they so much as blinked.
“You couldn’t go near the Wreing Florenn if someone tied you up and dragged you there. That’s how afraid I think you are.”
Suddenly the laughter of their classmates turned from Jahrra to Eydeth, whose eyes had darkened dangerously. Gieaun, Rhudedth and Pahrdh joined their two companions, all three donning a look of determination as if Scede’s insult had recharged them.
Discomfited as he was, Eydeth wasn’t about to back down.
“Fine, so you don’t live there anymore, but the only reason you did was because your dead parents couldn’t afford to live anywhere else. Besides, it’s not like you actually went into the forest. Only someone brave would go in there, not a lame little Nesnan like you.”
Jahrra was suddenly livid, so she missed the tiny spark that flickered and vanished in Eydeth’s eyes; the hint of triumph that glimmered behind the hatred. She forced herself to calm down and drew upon her measly arsenal: Eydeth didn’t know about her little escapade with Gieaun and Scede after the unicorns. She knew she should let the evil boy’s accusation hang, but she couldn’t resist making him look like a fool in front of the entire class.
“Oh, but you’re wrong,” she crooned, examining her fingernails in a bored manner. “I have been in the Wreing Florenn. It isn’t so bad, unless you’re afraid of trees, birds and butterflies.”
A murmuring began bubbling around the crowd of children.
“You!? Going into the Wreing Florenn? A lie for sure,” Eydeth spat venomously, his look of triumph vanishing as quickly as a dry leaf thrown into a fire. “You probably only went into Willowsflorn and thought it was the Wreing Florenn. The trees in Willowsflorn barely come over my head, what could be so frightening about that?”
“Trust me, Eydeth,” Jahrra said with a sigh, her hands now placed squarely on her hips, “I would’ve noticed if I was taller than the trees.”
Everyone suddenly burst out laughing, earning a poisonous glare from a red-faced Eydeth.
Scede took advantage of the opportunity of the horrible boy’s moment of defeat.
“I’ve been in the Wreing Florenn too, and so has Gieaun!” he insisted. “We’ve all been in the forest, and Jahrra is right. You’d have to be a mouse to be afraid!”
The entire class continued sniggering at Eydeth while nodding their heads in apparent respect for the three courageous friends who had braved the Wreing Florenn.
Eydeth immediately overcame his embarrassment and snarled, “They’re obviously lying! Remember how she lied about me pulling her down when we had the climbing contest at our Solstice party!”
It was right then that Jahrra realized what he was doing. He’s trying to coax me into going back into the forest. Fine, I’m not afraid, let him challenge me then. Jahrra was partly eager to show the class that she wasn’t afraid of the twins, and she partly wanted to let out all of her pent up frustration about everything he and his sister had done to her and her friends over the years.
Instead of just walking away like she should have, Jahrra glanced around and noted that the majority of the class seemed to believe her story and not Eydeth’s. An overwhelming feeling of self-satisfaction overcame her, drowning out the tiny voice of caution in the back of her mind. For once she had Eydeth cornered, and she was going to milk it for all it was worth. Her enemy was vulnerable, and now was her chance to make him look like the buffoon for once.
“You just can’t handle the fact that I, the Nesnan, am braver than you. That’s why you
keep telling everyone I’m lying. You’re afraid and jealous, and I can prove it.” Jahrra plowed on with a sudden burst of self-confidence, “Dare me to go into the forest, Eydeth. Go on. I’m absolutely sure there isn’t one single animal or plant in there that could be even remotely dangerous. In front of the whole class I’ll prove that you aren’t as brave as a Nesnan.”
Eydeth stood there speechless for awhile, everyone’s eyes darting nervously between the Nesnan girl and Resai boy. Jahrra could feel her friends tense up next to her, but she ignored them. They would say she had been too bold, that she’d not thought this through. But what was the big deal? They’d been in the Wreing Florenn before, and it was perfectly peaceful.
After a while, Eydeth opened his mouth and said, disbelievingly, “Anywhere in the Wreing Florenn?”
Jahrra nodded. “I’ll even travel to Edyadth, taking the scary road that passes through the center of it.”
She wiggled her fingers spookily and exaggerated her voice, receiving a few more chuckles from the crowd. She smiled broadly, enjoying this far too much.
Then she saw the gleam of spiteful victory in Eydeth’s eyes and the evil grin of satisfaction on Ellysian’s face. Jahrra changed the expression on her own face immediately. She’d almost forgotten about Ellysian, who’d remained oddly silent during this whole confrontation. Why do they look so triumphant? she wondered apprehensively. I’m the one who’s going to prove them wrong!
After awhile, Eydeth spoke up, his voice quavering with anticipation, “Very well, I choose for you to travel into the Black Swamp. It’s within the borders of the Wreing Florenn, and you said anywhere. You can refuse if you want, but that just proves you were lying all along.”
Gieaun grabbed Jahrra’s arm tightly as if trying to prevent her from stepping off a cliff. Scede made a strange choking sound in the back of his throat, and Rhudedth and Pahrdh, along with the entire class, gasped in shock.
Eydeth was grinning like a jackal and Jahrra could feel her face fading to white. Oh no! she thought furiously, remembering how haughty she’d been. Oh no, oh no, oh no!!! You should’ve thought before speaking, you should’ve known they had something more devious planned! The Wreing Florenn is one thing, but the Black Swamp is quite another! she told herself, panic welling up in her stomach like a thick, oily bubble.
She now understood why Eydeth had looked so victorious earlier. It wasn’t because he was sure she hadn’t been in the Wreing Florenn, it was because he knew that if he kept at it long enough he could con her into traveling into the deepest, darkest, most fearful part of the dangerous wood. The entire time he’d been acting scared he’d really been baiting her. He wasn’t as dumb as she had so complacently convinced herself. She gave herself a mental kick. How could I have been so stupid?!
Jahrra’s internal battle was interrupted by a cold voice.
“The Black Swamp.” The words rolled off of Eydeth’s tongue like ice water. “I’ve heard that there are monsters living in there, and we all know the stories about the witch. The bravest of men won’t go within a mile of it, and I heard from the most reliable of sources that even dragons are afraid of it. Who would’ve thought, a dragon being afraid of a witch? But you aren’t afraid, Nesnan, oh no, you’re brave.”
Everyone started murmuring again, but it was a low, secretive murmur that suggested they were exchanging their own personal fears and terror tales of the swamp. Jahrra burned with humiliation and horror, coming close to tears.
No, I won’t cry in front of them! she thought, her fury suddenly engulfing her mortification. She tried hard to focus on anything else but the children sniggering and whispering about her, but all she could hear were Eydeth’s words repeating themselves in her head: I’ve heard that there are monsters living in there, and we all know the stories about the witch. The bravest of men won’t go within a mile of it, and I heard from the most reliable of sources that even dragons are afraid of it. Who would have thought, a dragon being afraid of a witch? But you aren’t afraid, Nesnan, oh no, you’re brave . . .
For some reason or another, one line in particular rung louder than the others: Even dragons are afraid of it . . . Are dragons really afraid to enter the borders of the Black Swamp? Jahrra wondered, grateful for something, anything that would distract her from the fear, aggravation and shame she felt for snaring herself in Eydeth’s trap. Her common sense told her that this was a lie invented by the twins, yet she couldn’t help but remember the time she and Hroombra had visited the Castle Ruin and his fear of lingering in the woods after dark.
Jahrra suddenly pictured Jaax being afraid of going into the dreaded swamp, but as hard as she tried, she couldn’t get a clear image of that particular dragon being afraid of anything. Has he ever gone into the Black Swamp of Oescienne? she wondered. No, she told herself with a slight tinge of bitterness left over from her last encounter with the dragon, he’s never around long enough to stretch his wings let alone explore the haunted corners of the province. But this is something he would definitely disapprove of.
Eydeth continued to stare Jahrra down, waiting for her to back out, but she was feeling braver by the minute. How bad could it be? she wondered, I’ve been taking defense lessons and I’m much more prepared than I normally would be to face anything that might be in there. Jahrra shivered when she remembered the stories about the witch, though. Those frightening tales had caused her more nightmares than any of the others combined. But they are just stories, she reminded herself firmly.
Whether her face showed it or not, she couldn’t tell, but Jahrra decided right then and there that she would accept the twins’ challenge. If there was a monster or hag in the swamp she would just have to face it; there was no way she could back down after her overdrawn display of conceit.
She looked over at Gieaun and Scede and she could almost feel their eyes begging her not to accept. They’d be angry with her for her decision, but they didn’t understand. She had to do this, she had to defeat Eydeth and Ellysian this time. As unfair as their dare might’ve been, she had to prove to herself she could be just as brave as she claimed.
“Well, Nesnan?”
The sudden question snapped her out of her train of thought. Eydeth gazed in her direction with a cold emptiness in his eyes. I can’t let him win, she thought miserably. I’ve got to see this through.
“Do you think you’re brave enough to go into the swamp?” he asked coolly. “Or are you just like all the other Nesnans around here, content with slaving away all day and giving into their superstitions? Do you think you’re braver than a dragon?”
Jahrra shot Eydeth a fiery look, despising the way that he belittled everyone who was even remotely different or less fortunate than himself. She looked again at Gieaun and Scede, and Rhudedth and Pahrdh. She could see that even though their gazes begged her not to accept, there was a glint of knowledge in their eyes; they knew exactly what she was going to do.
Jahrra returned her stormy eyes to Eydeth and tried as hard as she could to look through him as he did her, and answered, “Name the time and the place.”
The Resai twins bared their vile grins.
“Tomorrow morning,” Eydeth said sadistically, “an hour after sunup, at the forest’s edge on the bank of the Danu Creek. Don’t be late.”
***
Jahrra found it hard to sleep that night for a number of reasons. First, she was still bristling about how easily she’d fallen into the twins’ trap. Secondly, she was nervous and terrified about what she was about to do the next morning, no matter how many times she tried to convince herself the witch didn’t exist. And finally, she was feeling overwhelmingly guilty about the lie she had told Hroombra.
The old dragon had warned her so many times not to go into the Wreing Florenn, and not only had she disobeyed him once, but she was about to do it again. Worse yet, she was going to wander into the deepest part of the forest. It was a long time before she finally drifted into a restless sleep full of strange and dark dreams.
Jah
rra rose early despite her grogginess, dressing in her usual leather pants and loose tunic, adding a vest to help fight off the chill of the morning. She paused only long enough to pull her long hair into a messy braid before grabbing her thick riding cloak on the way out of her room. She hastily packed a lunch, sneaking around the Ruin so as not to disturb the great sleeping reptilian mountain that was Hroombra.
She saddled Phrym just as quickly, looking mournfully towards the Danu Creek flowing peacefully out of the Wreing Florenn. The creek was fed by a natural spring, deep within the heart of the forest. This spring also filled up the basin between the two rows of hillocks in the center of the great wood. This soggy basin was the infamous Black Swamp.
Jahrra shivered and wondered if Eydeth and Ellysian were already waiting for her on the edge of the forest. Them and the entire school, she thought, a feeling of dread slowly filling her hollow stomach. She’d been too nervous to eat breakfast. Jahrra and Phrym walked gravely across the field, still gray in the early morning light. They met up with the creek and headed east towards the forest.
As they trudged along, Jahrra thought about her friends’ offer to go along with her. Despite the fact that Gieaun was terrified out of her wits and still angry that Jahrra had actually accepted the challenge, she wouldn’t let her friend go on such a dangerous endeavor alone.
Jahrra cringed when she recalled her friend’s wrath from the day before.
“Have you gone quite mad?” the Resai girl had wheezed. “Jahrra, what’s the matter with you? You can’t go into that swamp! Don’t you know what’s in there? It’s not just any witch but an evil witch of Ciarrohn that lives in the hollow of the hills, you remember the story. Jahrra! You’ll most definitely be killed, and then Eydeth and Ellysian will have won for sure!”
Jahrra pushed Gieaun’s voice and Scede’s dark eyes to the back of her mind. In the end they had agreed to go with her, refusing to let their best friend go into dangerous territory alone. Jahrra had almost cried; she wanted to be brave, but she couldn’t imagine doing this without them.
The Finding Page 32
