Disclaimer!!! No witty responses here, 'cept that I am not as awesome as Kristen Britain, nor are my stories in any way hers. They are just mere fanfictions of her great books, and I am very glad that she isn't like Robin McKinley and not let us write fanfics of her books.
Karigan lay on her bed, her mind churning with thoughts of why Alton had rejected her. What had I done? Did I somehow hurt him in one of my blank moments? She continuously asked herself.
Even talking to Captain Mapstone hadn't helped. All she had said was to "wait for the right moment to talk to him." And then the unexpected, if not surprising, gift from Zachary. No, King Zachary, She reminded herself, not wanting to think of that night as a blush crept up her face.
With her thoughts in a chaotic mess, Karigan stared into the darkness. "Oh, Alton, what did I do?" she murmured. Karigan got up off of her bed and walked over to the arrow slit of a window that was set into the wall. She peered through the thin opening at the darkening sky and sighed. As she was looking through the window, she saw a familiar bay gelding cantering around the paddock. "Maybe it would do both of us some good if we took a bit of a ride."
And with that, the confused Green Rider strode out of her room, through the halls, and out of the castle.
Karigan untacked Condor, heaving the saddle off of his back and unbuckling the bridle. She threw an armful of hay over the stall door. A nicker of amusement escaped Condor as a bunch of it fell short of its goal and lay in a messy heap in front of the stall.
"Laugh all you want, Horse, because someday, you'll wish you had been grateful for every little thing I do to keep you happy and healthy!" Karigan was not in a very good mood since "Condor the Mocking" had galloped to the other side of the grassy pasture every time she had came near to lead him into the stable after their ride. After what seemed like hours, the Rider was fed up. With a raucous "Five Hells" and a stomp of her foot, Karigan had stalked back to the stable.
The horse must have finally realized that she was getting him a treat, because a few minutes later, Condor had trotted to the pasture gate, his nostrils flared with the scent of the crunchy oats and the sweet hay.
Back in the present, Karigan, who was currently picking up the dropped hay by hand, hadn't a clue of what terror was sneaking up on her at that very moment…
"Hiya, Karigan!" came a young male voice. Karigan whirled around, bits of straw stuck in her hair and clothes. She looked the boy over. There was something oddly familiar about him. For a long, long moment she did not recognize him. Sandy hair, hazel eyes…he looked like a miniature Alton. Then it clicked. "Marc? Is that you, you little monster?" she asked.
"Yup!" A silly grin was plastered on the young boy's face. "It's been a while, huh?"
"Yeah…" The resemblance between Marc and his older brother reminded her of her predicament that she still had yet to figure out. Karigan wondered if Marc would know anything. "Hey, Marc, has Alton been acting a bit oddly lately? Please, Marc, it's important that I know."
"Now thatcha mention it, he has been a bit weird. I was walking past his room one morning, and I heard him muttering 'How could she? I thought she loved me!'" Marc looked thoughtful for a moment. "Was he talking about you? 'Cause I'm confused then. What did you do?"
Karigan slumped her shoulders and leaned on the wall as if suddenly tired. "I don't know, Marc, I seriously don't know, but I will find out."
Marc was helping Karigan finish her tasks in the stable when the clip-clopping of shoed horse hooves could be heard outside. "Hey, Marc, who did you come here with?"
"I came with my dad. He wanted to speak with the king." As if sensing the question Karigan was about to ask, Marc added, "Alton stayed in Woodhaven to watch the wall."
"Oh," Karigan was disappointed, yet relieved at the same time. Disappointed because she really needed to speak with Alton, and relieved that she would not have to see the betrayal that glinted in his brown eyes.
Karigan went out back as Marc was called by his father and then rode away on his pony. When they were gone, Karigan came back to give Condor a friendly, yet firm, slap on the neck. "G'Night, you old scalawag," she jokingly told the mischievous horse.
Alton D'Yer stirred in his sleep, his blankets askew all over the bed and on the ground; the horrible nightmares that came to haunt him every night were at it again. This time, however, the dream had an unexpected guest…
He was riding Night Hawk through a beautiful forest. The birds were twittering and the squirrels were quarrelling over piles of shiny acorns. From the position of the sun in the sky, or at least from what he could tell through the canopy, it was probably about hour twelve.
Alton heard a faint rustling noise in the distance, and Night Hawk paused and snorted, bobbing his head up and down. The black gelding sniffed the air warily, and shook his head, making Alton tighten his grip on the leather reins. After gaining the horse's attention again, Alton squeezed his knees against Night Hawk's side, making him trot forward.
The rustling sounded again…this time closer. Night Hawk stopped in his tracks, his body quivering in fright. "What is it, boy?" Alton asked worriedly. The noise came nearer, then stopped. The gelding was obviously scared half to death, for the whites of his eyes were all you could see. Alton managed to keep Hawk from spooking – for now, at least – and held the reins with one hand, the hilt of his Rider's saber with the other.
The birds, squirrels, and other wildlife had stopped all noise, blanketing the forest in an eerie silence. As Alton spurred his steed onward again, the rustling came back, this time as if it were only in the bushes in around them. "Hello?" the cautious Rider asked the emptiness. "Is anyone or anything there?" He was answered by the rustling of leaves.
All seemed calm, so horse and Rider continued, although Alton was having a bit of trouble controlling Night Hawk. All of a sudden, the woods burst into action as a score ((about 15 or 20)) groundmites leapt at them, snarling their feral teeth and brandishing rusted, dangerously sharp, swords and heavy wooden clubs.
Night Hawk gave a shrill whinny and bucked, plunging his hooves back into the chaos and killing a 'mite. Alton unsheathed his saber, its iron blade whooshing out of its sheath and glistening in the light, and whipped it out to the side. A couple more groundmites lost their heads – figuratively and literally.
A groundmite's club came crashing into Alton's ankle, sending him forward into the saddle, his ankle broken. A leer showed on the groundmite's face, revealing rotted and missing teeth. His head soon was rolling on the ground, courteously done so by Alton's sword.
Then the most beautiful sound Alton had ever heard sounded through the forest, its lilting notes drifting in the air. A bugle. And not just any bugle; it was the Green Rider charge!
Riders streamed into the clearing, hacking off the limbs and heads of the offensive 'mites. Then her saw her. Karigan. But she was charging into the fray not only on Condor, but also with a mysterious rider next to her. He had dark blond hair; so dark it looked brown, and amber, solemn eyes.
As the two riders guided their horses towards Alton, he realized who that Rider was…
Alton awoke, his hair stuck to his forehead by a layer of sticky sweat. He sat up and shivered. Pulling an abandoned blanket around his body, D'Yer shook his head. What was King Zachary doing in his dream? Why was he with Karigan…His Karigan? Then Alton shook his head. "Oh, right, I almost forgot…" he muttered to himself. He really needed to talk to her, but he couldn't bring up the courage. What was he supposed to say? Something stupid like: "Hey, sorry, Karigan, but I had an illusion where you told me to break the wall. Can we be friends again?" or "Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that. Will you go to the ball with me?"
The future Lord of D'Yer province rolled his eyes at himself. He had really mucked up his chance of being Karigan's friend…or possibly even more. He sighed. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked himself. Then it was as if a light bulb, or in this time period's case, a lantern or candle had suddenly popped up above his head.
"I should go try and apologize, but I'll have to be smooth. Maybe go classic and get a bunch of expensive flowers?" He decided against it. "She doesn't like a lot of money being spent on her. How about I just throw together a picnic?" Alton liked that idea. "Yeah…our last picnic got ruined by Amilton's coup, so this should be perfect!"
A/N Sorry that Alton is a bit OOC…I just can't write him very well. Read and Review, fellow writers!