Behind the Tales

by Aurora Peppermint

  So he was on guard as they rode. He didn’t know how many people were in this little group of criminals who had kidnapped Fitzy, so it was impossible to really know whether they’d be coming from behind them or ahead. What he did know was that if he saw anyone suspicious coming toward them, they weren’t getting past him until his sister was out of there.

  The first few hours of the ride were blissfully uneventful—there were some grumbles from everyone, and a few times Mel had them stop because she thought she might have heard something, but luckily, none of it ended up being anything more than a small animal or just the wind. Martus was still tense, looking around nervously whenever a branch broke near them or the wind sounded too much like a sinister whisper.

  By the time they stopped again, his shoulders ached from tensing, and his head was filled with a stabbing pain from squinting into the dark woods around them. All in all, he needed to get off his horse and lie down, even if it was on some blankets on the ground. Elsaben was falling asleep, the dark circles under Hal’s eyes were more pronounced than they had been when they’d left that morning, and even Mel’s shoulders were starting to slump. They were only two hours out, and they probably could have just kept riding through, but if they were going to have a fight on their hands to get Fitzy back, they all needed their rest.

  Martus tossed his blankets on the ground in a heap and collapsed on it almost immediately. He knew he was much closer to just passing out than either Hal or Mel. Elsaben, however, was completely asleep already, and before Martus could go to bed, he had to get her settled. Reluctantly, he pushed himself off the ground and grabbed her bag. Before he could do anything else he needed to see a bit better, so he used magick to produce a little ball of light to float above the camp. It would still be hard to see, so that hopefully their pursuers wouldn’t spot it if they were on their trail. But it was better than complete darkness.

  “I can help, if you’d like. You seem incredibly tired.” Hal moved away from the sleeping spot he was setting up for himself to help Martus.

  “Says the man who has barely slept in the past three days. Worry about getting yourself some rest, all right? I’ll take care of Elsaben.” Martus waved him off lazily before lifting Elsaben in one arm and her bag in the other. It was a blessing that they’d brought her blankets along too, since they hadn’t exactly been expecting to sleep in the middle of the forest. At least the ride there had gone by without incident.

  “Mar? Are we finally here?” As Elsaben blinked her eyes open and shifted in Martus’s arms, he silently cursed himself for waking her. It would be impossible to get her back to sleep for at least an hour. Which would mean it would be impossible for Martus to get any sleep for at least an hour either.

  “We just stopped to rest. We’ll be there early tomorrow. Go back to sleep, okay? You need your sleep.” More than that, he needed his sleep. He would certainly stay up with her if he had to, and he’d spent many nights like that before, but he was just so exhausted. If he stayed up, Hal would almost certainly insist on staying up with him. Hopefully she would be exhausted enough to completely pass out again.

  “Can I have a snack?” Elsaben wriggled out of Martus’s arms, so he busied himself with setting up her blankets next to his. If she had a place already set up to sleep, he was hoping it would encourage her.

  “Of course you can, Els. I’ll make you a sandwich. Lay down for now, though, all right?” Martus patted the blankets, then rose to his feet again with a small groan.

  Hal had set up his blankets, but he was sitting on them cross-legged, and Martus could recognize the expression on his face as the one he always had when he was working on his spell. Mel had a bedroll that she’d set up by a tree, but she wasn’t asleep yet either. Martus couldn’t exactly spot what she was doing aside from the fact that she had a few sheets of paper spread out in front of her.

  “Are either of you hungry? Mel, we have some dried meat and cheese and bread. I’m going to make a sandwich for Els and one for myself, so if either of you want one, I’ll make two more.” With a small sigh, Martus headed over to the bags on the ground and started to get the food out. He could probably eat more than just a sandwich, but they’d only brought a certain amount of food, and they still had to get back home after all this.

  “I’m not hungry. Thank you, though.” Hal didn’t even open his eyes to answer Martus, and the intense look of concentration didn’t drop from his face. Mel, on the other hand, looked up from the paper in her hand and even offered Martus a small smile.

  “I could eat, thank you for offering. I have some cakes in my bag we can share for breakfast tomorrow, if you’d like.” Mel seemed to have relaxed slightly, perhaps because they weren’t in immediate danger. Or perhaps because they were almost to her brother. Either way, it was refreshing for Martus to hear her in a little bit of a better mood.

  “That would be really nice, thank you. Sandwiches are coming.” Martus flopped down on the ground to get dinner made for everyone. Of course he was making a sandwich for Hal despite any protests he might make too. Especially if he was practicing his spell right now, he would clearly end up needing it by the time he was done. Even if he didn’t, Martus wanted him to eat, and it wasn’t something he was going to let slide. He would waste away to nothing.

  “I really like your hair. Would you braid mine?”

  Martus was surprised to hear his sister’s voice. He half expected her to be asleep when he turned around with her sandwich. Instead, when he looked up he found that she was sitting next to Mel who was now clearly drawing on the papers that had been in front of her. She stared blankly at Elsaben for a second before hesitantly speaking up. Martus hadn’t heard her sound so unsure in the whole time he’d known her.

  “I can try. It won’t look like mine, exactly, though. These aren’t quite braids. They’re called dreadlocks. Your hair won’t be able to take to them, but I will braid it.” Mel shifted her papers, stacking them neatly and setting them to the side of her blankets. Her face was softer than it even had been when she was drawing, her posture much more relaxed.

  Martus was still ready to jump in at a moment’s notice, however, if Elsaben started bothering her. It had seemed to him like she didn’t much enjoy talking about her brother’s many accomplishments. Elsaben had grilled him when he came home and told her he was going to find “the Hero Jameson,” so expecting her not to ask Mel was a little bit unrealistic. For the moment he wasn’t going to bother them, though. It might be nice for Elsaben to have another girl around. Martus never had many female friends, and she didn’t see other children enough to have any consistent friendships besides himself and Hal.

  “That’s okay! Mar braids it sometimes, but he does it messy, and then it comes out.” Elsaben looked rather accusingly over at Martus, and he shrugged before going back to his work.

  He had gotten better over the years.

  “I know, my brother used to try to braid mine too. Boys just aren’t as good at it. They haven’t had the practice.” Mel even laughed a little bit as she smoothed Elsaben’s hair down and started braiding it. Yes, it would definitely be good for her to be around another girl.

  By the time Martus was finished with the sandwiches, Elsaben’s hair was braided neatly—much more so than he could have ever done it—and she was sitting next to Mel, both of them drawing on separate pieces of paper. A smile spread across his face before he could stop it. He took them their sandwiches first and then went over to sit by Hal.

  Except that his friend didn’t open his eyes or move an inch when Martus sat down next to him. Or even when he said his name a few times.

  “Hal!” Finally, when Martus laid his hand on Hal’s shoulder and shook him gently, his eyes flew open. He gasped, falling forward. His eyes were darker than usual, his face flushed very suddenly. In an instant, Martus set down their food and had one hand on Hal’s side, the other on the back of his neck. “Hey, breathe. Are you all right? Are you going to be all right?” He kept his voice hushed, eyes f
lickering up to Mel and Elsaben. They were chatting again, though, and didn’t seem to notice Hal.

  Quickly, Martus focused on him again, finding the pulse on his neck with a finger. It seemed impossibly fast. There wasn’t much he could do; he wasn’t a doctor. But he moved his hand away from Hal’s neck, gripped his face instead, and turned it so their eyes met. Hal’s pupils were blown wide, and sweat was rolling down his forehead.

  “Okay, hang on. Breathe.” Martus moved Hal so he was sitting up again, his back propped against a tree so he hopefully wouldn’t fall. Martus put his hand over his heart, pushing as much healing and calming magick into him as he knew. It was pretty weak—he was exhausted—but it was better than nothing.

  “Martus. I’m sorry. I—” Hal’s eyes closed, then snapped open again in a split second, his head thumping back against the tree.

  “Don’t. I don’t need to hear it. I just need to hear, for now, that you’re all right.” Even if he heard it from the horse’s mouth, it would be a little hard for Martus to just believe that Hal was okay after that. But for now it was the best he could do. When they went home, he would try to convince him to take a break, to look for safer alternatives, but for now there was just too much on both of their plates.

  “I… will be all right. I just pushed myself too hard. It doesn’t happen every time, Martus, I promise.” Hal turned his head away from Martus, his eyes slipping closed once again. His brows were pinched together and lines were starting to appear where he frowned. Martus felt sick.

  “Eat something. Go to sleep. Then maybe I’ll believe you.” Truly, it wasn’t his goal to make Hal feel attacked, or like his best friend was against him. The exact opposite, in fact, but it was hard when someone didn’t care about themselves as much as he cared about them. It was never something he’d had to deal with before.

  He shook his head, glancing over at the sandwich he’d been wholly looking forward to eating and seeing the most unappetizing sight of his life. Luckily, that wasn’t all he saw. Elsaben was finally asleep against her paper, everything but the crusts of her sandwich gone. Martus let out a slow sigh of relief and shifted away from Hal.

  “I have to put Elsaben to bed. Eat, please. I’ll move my blankets and sleep over here. You need to rest tonight. Hal, my friend, I am only worried about you. I swear.” There was only one person in the world who Martus cared about more than Hal, and that was Elsaben. He sighed, running a hand over his face before standing up again and going to get Elsaben.

  Mel was still up and still drawing. When Martus bent down to pick his sister up, he was incredibly surprised to see Mel’s work. It seemed to be a self-portrait, and it looked just like her. Better than anyone else’s art he’d seen before. So rather than taking Elsaben straight to bed, he picked her up and sat in her spot next to Mel.

  “Thank you for spending time with her while I made food. She seemed really happy. I always thought maybe she could do with someone who could braid her hair and handle things like that better than I could. Although that isn’t saying terribly much.” Martus laughed a little, although it sounded exhausted and forced even to his ears.

  “She’s a sweet kid. I have a younger brother, so I know how it is. Besides, she likes to draw, and I have paper. It’s a natural bond.” Mel grinned, looking back down at her paper.

  “Right! Drawing! I was just looking at yours, by the way. It’s really great. Looks just like you, if that’s what you were going for.” He hoped it was. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her. “And I want to thank you for more than just staying with my sister. You helped us. I know it’s your brother we’re trying to find, but still, you didn’t have to. I was wary at first, but it wasn’t fair of me. You’re great to have around.”

  “Thanks. It’s my mum, actually. When she was younger, I guess she must’ve looked a lot like I do now. Weird to think about.” Mel smiled softly down at her drawing and then looked up at Martus. “I did have to. He’s my baby brother. I’m sure you wouldn’t leave Elsaben to be rescued by strangers. I couldn’t either. Sitting home, waiting, that isn’t really my thing.”

  Martus could empathize with that, at least.

  “I do understand. I’ve done worse for my sister.” He glanced back over at Hal, smiling a little when he saw that he was lying underneath a few blankets now. “I think I should sleep for the night. See you tomorrow. Gerdy would like that, I think. When you get home you should take it to her.”

  “Maybe.” Mel laughed heartily at that, shaking her head a little bit. “Good night, Martus.”

  He nodded with a smile, heading over to Elsaben’s blankets and tucking her in. He paused a long moment before he went to collect his own blankets and go to sleep. She looked peaceful, incredibly so, and he believed that she was. To her, life was so pure. Even what they were doing now was just her big brother’s job. The wound on his arm was probably just an accident. He hoped she could hold on to that view of the world.

  Martus left Elsaben with a kiss on the head and then took his blankets over next to Hal. His friend wasn’t completely asleep yet, and when Martus lay down next to him, he stirred enough to wiggle under his arm.

  After only a second of lying there, Martus had creeping thoughts of paranoia and sat up again. Being as gentle as possible, he scooped Elsaben up and moved her over with him and Hal so they could all be close if anything happened.

  Sleep was so misleading. Hal looked as peaceful as Elsaben. Martus knew in his heart that he wasn’t, but for a few moments he could let himself believe the lie.

  He tightened his arm around Hal, pressed his lips to his temple. Then as soon as his eyes closed, he was gone for the night, surrendered to peace. Hopefully.

  Chapter Five

  MARTUS WAS the first to arise the next morning, much too early for him to wake everyone else. It was still dark, and he rolled over to go back to sleep as soon as he saw that Hal and Mel were both sleeping too. His little ball of light was still floating against a tree, though much dimmer now without him actively keeping it bright.

  Before he could drift off again, he was distracted by a loud crash in the woods. It couldn’t have been very far from them, and Martus hadn’t forgotten what Mel said about the kidnappers wanting to attack them while they were alone in the woods. If they were the cause of that crash, Martus counted himself lucky he’d gotten some form of warning.

  They were in the woods, though, and other things could make noises apart from murderous kidnappers. It wasn’t worth waking Hal and Mel up, especially if they were sleeping hard enough to have not woken from the sound itself. At least he hoped not. Still, he glanced over at Mel, wondering if staring long enough would make her sense how nervous he was and wake herself.

  After about two minutes, and considerably more rustling that seemed to be creeping ever closer, Martus decided he would scope it out alone. He grabbed one of Mel’s swords just in case. He was good at being sneaky, but it was very early, and he didn’t know exactly how close the cause of the ruckus was. He didn’t want to be caught not only half-asleep but also with no weapons.

  Martus blew out a slow breath as he crept around the first tree on the very edge of the camp they’d set up. He only peeked around the edge at first, sticking his weapon out in front of him so at least if someone was there, they’d meet the business end of his sword before his face.

  No one was there, though, so he pushed forward, a little more relaxed than before. If there were people trying to creep up on them, they hadn’t found the camp yet. Maybe he would have time to get Hal and Mel up so they could clear out before they were found. Having another bloody fight was something he wanted to avoid if at all possible. Especially since this time Elsaben was actually with them, instead of a mile and a half away.

  Martus was just starting to relax, his grip loosening on the sword, when he heard another crash a few feet in front of him, through some thick brush. There was something much more concerning than that, however. Something that made Martus freeze completely, his knuckles cle
nching around the sword once again and the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

  Coming from behind at least a foot of solid bushes, Martus could hear a low growl.

  Perhaps he should have been relieved that it wasn’t someone out to kill him, but to him, this was much worse. At least people could sometimes be reasoned with, maybe led away from the camp. An animal, however, would be able to hunt them down in a way no human could. Even more of a concern to Martus was the fact that animals had no way of distinguishing between adults and children. If the kidnappers had come after him, perhaps they would kill him. Maybe Hal and Mel would even die. But there was a much greater chance they would spare Elsaben. Even the worst criminals didn’t tend to kill innocent children if they could help it.

  But some sort of horrible, bloodthirsty animal didn’t leave them with much of a chance. Martus’s only hope was to slip back to the camp without enticing the animal to follow him and get Mel and Hal to help him sneak up on the beast. At least they could knock it unconscious and buy themselves time to sneak far enough away that it wouldn’t follow their scent. They really should have checked around their camp for dangerous wildlife before they’d gone to sleep there. It was a miracle he’d woken up in time to discover the animal.

  It was a miracle he’d woken up at all.

  He raced back to camp. Or raced as well as he could while being very conscious of every sound he made. There weren’t thundering animal footsteps behind him, though, so he seemed to be doing all right.

  It seemed to take a lot longer to get back to camp than it had to get to the source of the noise, but Martus supposed that was just because he was going out of his way to avoid even the smallest of twigs. It didn’t help that he glanced over his shoulder every thirty seconds either. Still, he made it eventually, and he rushed to wake Mel and Hal.