The Chosen

by K. J. Nessly

  Standing she paused a moment on the edge of the rock she had been sitting on before she leapt into the snow pile below. It was what she imagined jumping onto a cloud would have been like. The snow immediately gave way before her weight and she dropped straight to the frozen ground. The snow had been piled higher than she had originally estimated and as she crouched on the ground, she craned her neck to look up. Surrounding her on all sides was a cave of snow except at the top where a large hole gaped.

  She heard Destiny call, muffled by the effects of the snow, and then her bird was diving through the opening, spreading her wings to come to an abrupt halt just above Kathryn’s right shoulder.

  “Did you miss me?” She asked, amused, as Destiny perched herself on Kathryn’s shoulder. Her bird replied with asquawk.Outside, she heard Lerina’s questioning nicker, followed by several hard hoof beats. Pulling back her left arm, Kathryn punched through the wall of snow before her. It was like being in a blizzard again.

  The snow collapsed around her, pummeling her and Destiny and covering them in fine powered snow. Several larger chunks landed on her head and shoulder and she ducked her right shoulder, throwing up her left arm to protect Destiny from being injured from them.

  And then it was over.

  Kathryn could see the glade and her puzzled horse standing before her. Snow was piled around her, burying her up to her thighs. Destiny let out a loud screech in Kathryn’s ear, informing her human of her displeasure at being pounded by the snow.

  “Really?!” Kathryn exclaimed, rubbing her ear, trying to dispel the ringing. A thought occurred to her and she grinned. Perfect. David would get what he requested, plus a little something extra.

  Destiny shook herself to rid her wings of the snow and took off. Kathryn spent the next few radians playing in the snow and practicing her tracking skills. Finally, she could ignore the growling of her stomach no longer. Destiny landed on Lerina’s saddle and called as Kathryn approached.

  Smiling, Kathryn reached into her bag and pulled out her meal. She tossed the eagle meat scraps as she munched on fruits, venison, and cheese. As she was finishing her last bite, Destiny hopped over, no doubt looking for more. Lerina had settled down on the ground and Kathryn was now resting comfortably against her back.

  “Go on you scamp!” Kathryn laughed. “You can hunt for your own food now.”

  Destiny gave her one last mournful look before taking flight.

  Feeling extremely satisfied Kathryn settled herself more against the warm body of her horse. All earlier annoyance at David and the rest of the Dragons was gone and as she thought about it, she reluctantly admitted that David had had a good point. She couldn’t control every situation, Natalie was a good example of how true that was. She probably did need to train Destiny to fly for help. What David really wanted from her was to open up and become part of the family. She wondered how long it would take for him to realize how impossible that was on many levels.

  Her jaw tightened when she thought about what Jasse and David wanted from her. What everyone wanted from her.

  Her trust.

  Trust was the one thing they wanted but it was the one thing she could not give. She’d given others her trust before, she’d given Quint her trust before, and each time the trust she had given had been betrayed. Quint had taught her to trust in no one but herself. After all, how could someone betray their own trust? Arianna was probably the only person in the kingdom who hadn’t betrayed her. Jasmine had betrayed her, willing or not, by abandoning her to the school, Amy had accidentally betrayed her when she’d reported Kathryn’s nightmares to the Guardian council…who had then spent months trying to force Kathryn to remember them. Jasse had betrayed her by knowing she’d been assigned to the Dragons and blatantly refusing to tell her when he’d had the chance. People she had known for years, people she had come to genuinely like, had willingly or unwillingly betrayed her.

  David wanted her to trust him enough to call for help if she needed it. It was far less than anyone else had ever asked of her, and as near as she could remember he was the only one who hadn’t yet asked about her past. But of David she knew little to almost nothing about him. He reminded her too much of Quint…his calm and steady — gentle even, manner reminded her so much of Quint it hurt. No. She could never give him her trust. Not when she knew the betrayal would come later.

  And it always did.

  Still she could not shake the feeling that David had a good point. For once her instincts were warring with her internal desires to hold herself apart.Later, she decided.I’ll deal with all that later. For now she brought out her sketchbook and pencil, wondering what she should sketch. Wondering if she should sketch at all. The last thing she needed was for her fingers to get frostbitten. She looked down at the blank page before her and then back at the waterfall. Her mind went back to when Jasmine had found her and how that waterfall had looked, very similar to the one before her.

  As she thought about it she could clearly see every rock, tree, shrub, and curve in the pool. She imagined the pool before her, noting how certain spots were darker in color than others and began to draw. Keeping her eyes closed she recalled the falls and the way the water fell. The right side had more volume than the left, but the left looked like a delicate curtain of water. She saw the twisted, stunted tree that grew up at the top of the falls and the small vines that clung to the rocks alongside. Her ledge came into view and path she used to climb it. She could see herself climbing up to it, reaching for handholds and pulling herself up, carefully protecting whatever treat Claude had given her.

  Kathryn came out of the memory with a start, trembling all over, and sweating despite the cold. What had just happened? She had never once thought about her life before Jasmine had rescued her, she had vowed not to. So what had persuaded her to think about it now?

  As if the memory couldn’t be stopped, her mind continued on to Blackwood Manor and she thought about Claude and wondered how he was faring? What had happened to the residents of Blackwood Manor? Were the Lord and Lady of Blackwood Manor still the same two who had made her life a living hell? Probably not, Princess Jasmine had been furious with them.

  “Enough!” Kathryn shouted to herself, pounding her fist. Snow exploded in tiny poofs as her hand punched through it to the solid ground below. She did not want to relieve her past, it was bad enough in her dreams every night, but not here next to her waterfall—

  Waterfall. That was what had brought this flashback on, thinking about her waterfall. Well, enough of that. Kathryn gripped the page in her hand, prepared to tear it out and throw it away when she looked down—

  What in the kingdom?

  She stared at the page before her in shock and bewilderment. While she had been remembering the waterfall at Blackwood Manor she had assumed she had been drawing it. Instead she was looking at a drawing of something she had never seen or heard of.

  She had drawn a village, but it was a strange village. The houses were situated in the trees instead of on the ground. Suspended bridges connected the houses to each other and they all led to a huge house that was the centerpiece of her drawing. The huge house encompassed several large trees and had soaring rooflines and arched openings. Every house in the drawing was done in same style, woody yet elegant, primitive yet advanced.

  Peering at her drawing, Kathryn attempted to determine the type of trees in the drawing— they weren’t a species she recognized.

  “How did I do this?” she asked herself. Was it possible to imagine one thing and draw something else…something you’d never seen before? She wasn’t sure but she doubted it. She supposed that she could always write to Jasmine or Jasse about had happened, but then they’d become worried and send some council member out to interrogate her. That was the last thing she needed.

  Still confused she put the sketchbook away and lay back against Lerina, her mind whirling with questions. Soon however, the warmth of the sun on her face and Lerina’s warm body at her back lulled her into a peaceful doz
e and eventually into a dangerous slumber.

  Chapter 15

  When David and the others returned to the clearing the first thing David noticed was that Lerina was not in her stall or the corral. Apparently Kathryn hadn’t been exaggerating when she said all day. He wondered if the council had known they were giving him such an uncooperative second-in-command. Probably. Supposedly they matched leaders and their family’s personalities to complement each other in order to work well together.

  Well, the council was human, so was it possible they had made a mistake. This morning was as close to an argument as he and Kathryn had come. He could only wonder what form a real argument between them would take. Would they shoot heated words at each other like sharp arrows intending to wound or maim, or would they take the argument onto the physical world of the training mats? Jasse had once warned him tonever ever fight Kathryn when she was mad. It was the way the older man had winced and rubbed his shoulders and neck when he’d given the advice right after their first night of traveling, rather than his tone, that had cautioned David to heed his words.

  He desperately needed to talk with Kathryn about the situation with Natalie. He wanted, no needed, her opinion of the situation before he went to Natalie. Whatever the situation, it needed to be resolved…and quickly. Perhaps he could talk with her tomorrow.

  Resolving to do just that, he finished his chores and challenged Luke to a fencing match. His friend readily agreed. They were joined by Jenna and Leia who had decided to practice some archery.

  “Where are the rest of the girls and Matt?” David asked as he carefully crossed the bridge to the field. The bridge was notorious for the ice sheets that covered it and several of the Dragons had slipped on the causeway, slid over the edge and into the icy waters of the river. Jenna and Tyler had kept those unlucky enough to take the plunge near the fires and constantly sipping hot broth for six radians before allowing them back on duty.

  Jenna laughed. “Rachel and Natalie are playing with fabric and Matt is getting dinner ready.”

  “But it’s still several radians until dinner!”

  “Surely you’ve noticed that Matt likes to spend radians planning and cooking a marvelous dinner for us.”

  “I thought he just came up with them a few minutes before we ate, cooking a meal can’t be that daunting a task,” David replied.

  Both Jenna and Leia laughed. “Have you ever made bread? Or noodles?”

  “No.”

  “Those are projects that take all day.”

  “All day? What on earth takes so long?”

  By now Jenna and Leia were laughing so hard it was difficult to understand them. “The dough has to rise.”

  “Seems silly to me,” David muttered as he moved to the sparring field where Luke was waiting.

  “What seems silly?”

  “Nothing, let’s spar.”

  The two boys sparred until Matt came out to watch. “I think he’s going to beat you, Luke,” he teased as David did a quick reverse attack.

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” Luke grunted as he blocked the attack.

  “You aren’t making it easy,” David countered, breathing heavily, his breath frosting painfully on his face. “You’ve improved, Luke.”

  “Thank Kathryn’s sparring sessions.”

  From the sidelines, Matt laughed. “I just thought I’d come out here and let you know dinner’s at the eighteenth radian.”

  “Thanks, Matt, can’t wait to see what you made.” Luke lunged at David, who blocked the thrust.

  “Hey, Matt, did Kathryn ever come back?”

  “Not to my knowledge.”

  “Okay, thanks.” David did a quick wrist thrust and twist, knocking Luke’s sword out of his hand. He turned to face Matt, “How about a go?”

  “No thanks. I have dinner to prepare, he turned to leave, “besides,” he added, “Kathryn gives me plenty of sparring practice when I’m with her.”

  “Kathryn spars?”

  Matt looked at him like David had just grown antlers. “Yes,” he said slowly. “You do know about the training sessions every night, right?” He turned to Luke. “Are we sure his fever’s gone?”

  Luke shrugged before David could answer. “Pretty sure.”

  “Very funny, Luke. And yes, Matt, I’ve heard about these training sessions, but I’ve never seen her carry her sword, let alone use it.” He paused before asking, “Is she any good?”

  Matt laughed. “Haven’t beat her yet, and I haven’t seen her use a sword yet either. However I can tell you that she’s wickedly fast with those knives of hers,” he called over his shoulder as he went back inside.

  As Matt walked away, David spotted a green and purple head pop over the edge of Matt's collar. Lacey stared at David for a few moments before flicking her long tongue at him and diving back out of sight. David suppressed a shudder.He certainly wouldn't find it comfortable to have a strange creature crawling around inside his shirt.

  He corralled his thoughts and turned to look at Luke. “Have you ever seen her use a sword?”

  “No, but I wouldn’t want to be at the other end of her bow. She shoots like a maniac. It’s like she doesn’t even aim she releases it so fast.”

  David nodded in agreement. “She also hits whatever she aims or for that matter doesn’t aim at,” he said thinking about how carefully placed her arrows were when they apprehended the five thieves on their first shift.

  “Like everyone knows, angering Kathryn may be the last thing you ever do, so be careful.”

  “Guess I’ll have to watch myself when I make suggestions to her,” David said, grinning. “I wonder where she is?”

  “Probably out with Destiny forgetting we exist.”

  “Probably. Come on, let’s go warm up by the fire. My fingers are freezing!” They made their way back across the bridge and into the sitting room. Natalie and Rachel were sitting in the chairs nearest the flames but as soon as she saw the boys with their red faces and fingers, Rachel stood up and ordered David into her chair. Natalie did the same for Luke after a brief hesitation. After a few minutes, Leia and Jenna joined them and they began a game of reverse dervish until Matt called them all to dinner.

  “But I was winning!” Luke complained as they all headed into the dining room.

  Kathryn felt like she was floating. All around her the trees grew so tall that they blocked out all sunlight on the ground. Looking up she didn’t recognize the tree species, nor could she remember any story of a forest where the trees were as big around as a house—or of a forest where the trees appeared blue in color.

  Glancing around, she noticed that the ground was sparse, with no grass and very little foliage covering the dirt. What did cover the ground were pine needles, millions upon millions of pine needles that were blue in hue. They formed a carpet that hid the dirt and gave the ground the appearance of being habitable.

  Taking a step she clearly felt the needles under her feet and looked down. They were soft and it felt as those she was walking on a thick carpet of moss. Barefoot in a strange forest. How often did she go barefoot?

  Never.

  Whenever she moved it felt like she was walking underwater, every motion slow and requiring a lot of energy.

  She brought her hands to mouth to call out when she noticed her sleeves. She was not dressed in her Guardian uniform or her off duty tunic. Instead she was wearing an exotic dress with narrow sleeves, split at the elbows, which hung down to brush the ground. The bodice was off the shoulder and, from the feel of it, laced up the back. Even though everything she saw was tinted in various shades of blue, as if she was looking at the forest through a piece of blue glass, she somehow knew that the dress itself really was blue. She scowled. Who, or what, had put her into a dress?

  She began to walk, not knowing what she was walking towards, just knowing that she had to walk. As she moved she felt hundreds of eyes upon her, but when she glanced around she saw no one. The forest seemed endless and deserted. She walked for
what felt like radians, eventually coming to a tree so large four houses could fit inside.

  As she approached the base of the tree, root-like tendrils began to snake their way out of the trunk, twisting and writhing amongst each other until they formed a solid wriggling mass. When she came within a few meters of the tree, another mass grew out of the trunk. Without hesitating she put her foot on the first mass of roots. Instantly the mass seemed to solidify into a misshapen, but solid, step. As she climbed upward more steps grew around and up the trunk of the tree with an alarming growth rate. Looking behind her she noticed with a start that the steps behind her were receding and growing back into the trunk, leaving her nowhere to go but up. She climbed until she reached a wooden platform. After stepping onto the platform she turned around and watched the last step retreat back into the trunk.

  Trapped high in the air she turned her attention to the platform and where it led. It led to the door of an unimaginable palace suspended high in the trees. Unable to resist its draw, Kathryn approached the wide granite-like steps that led to the heavily ornate doors. The doors appeared to disappear into the mist above and Kathryn had no way of guessing their height. They were white with translucent etchings of vines and leaves that, somehow, Kathryn knew was done in gold.

  As she approached the last step the opulently wrought doors opened smoothly on large ancient and elaborate wooden hinges that bid Kathryn enter. She did and the doors closed behind her. Before her was a magnificent hall with a pool for collecting rainwater. The ceiling was airy with large round holes cut into it and loomed high above her. Several large ornate wooden doors were placed at intervals along the walls. Directly in front of her was a dais with four seats, two of which were higher than the other two. A door behind the dais opened and Kathryn began to walk across the hall.