Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing associated with The Chronicles of Narnia (which really bums me out). Only original characters are mine.
AN: Oh, I'm so glad that people like this story! To thank you, here's chapter three! Thanks so much for reading, and please review.
Chapter 3: Travel Companions:
Traveling on horseback was annoying, considering that I was in a forest, traveling over uneven ground with only a blanket across Roan's back as a saddle. What made it even harder was that I was doing so without reins, and it took all of my concentration to stay on Roan's back without falling off and breaking something.
As though the riding wasn't difficult enough, it was also a silent journey, since neither Roan nor Fang made any kind of conversation as we traveled. It was even worse than the family trips I used to take with my parents and younger brother, because I had no iPod to keep me occupied. Needless to say, it wasn't long before I started getting bored, because the only scenery around me was woods, and that got dull pretty darn quick. Even if it was a forest in Narnia, trees all start looking the same after a while, and before long, it felt like my eyes were glazing over.
Fortunately for me, we didn't travel far, due to Fang's injury, and stopped after only an hour or so to give ourselves time to rest. Since Fang was clearly unable to hunt, I fed him one of the biggest strips of jerky from my food supplies.
"I don't have much of it, but hopefully it'll last until your leg heals. Then you can hunt on your own," I told him as he gnawed on the meat. He was too busy eating to reply.
Meanwhile, Roan and I kept our diet vegetarian –he nibbled the grass while I ate my way through the cherries that I had stored, and consumed half of a fruit bar, for variety. To thank him for letting me ride on his back, I pitted a few cherries and gave them to Roan. He found them delicious, and made me promise to pick more the next time we found a cherry tree, though I doubted we'd find one anytime soon.
When all of us were fed and watered, I refilled my water bottle, stored away the remaining food, and stretched. I could feel my legs beginning to ache from riding, but they weren't troublesome yet, so I decided I'd save my aspirin for when I would need it, which would most likely be before bed.
Off we went again, making sure to travel one hour, then rest for a while, for Fang's sake. If I'd been walking, I probably wouldn't have made much progress, but since I was on Roan's back, we were moving much faster, even with a hurt wolf as a traveling companion.
And it wasn't as though Fang were holding us back, either. He was walking pretty well, so I guess his wound was either healing very well, or it wasn't as bad as it appeared to be.
As darkness began to fall, we found a small glade, with a tiny trickling stream nearby, and decided to settle there for the night. I thought about trying to start a fire, but Roan told me that would be a bad idea, as we didn't know if there were any Dryads around, and they did not like fire.
"Right, good point," I said, spreading my blanket on the ground. "Well, I suppose I won't need one, given that it's a warm night."
Actually, it was only slightly warmer than it had been last night, but lucky for me, it was a large blanket. And since I really didn't want to sleep on the bare ground, I decided to spread the blanket out and fold it back over me when I went to sleep, creating a rough sleeping bag.
Fang snorted. "You will look ridiculous, trying to cover yourself that way to keep from being cold. I can keep you warm when you rest tonight, and keep my ears open for danger. You will be fine."
To hide my embarrassment at not thinking of that idea first, I broke out a strip of jerky for Fang, who quickly tore into it while Roan and I finished off the last remnants of the cherries. Roan then went to munch on a nearby patch of clover while I consumed the other half of the fruit bar I had started earlier. After all of the riding I'd done, I was famished, but didn't dare eat much, since there was no other way for me to get more food.
'I really miss grocery stores,' I thought longingly. There was some money in my bag, but no place to spend it. I would have killed for a sandwich, or even a bag of potato chips.
I suppose I could try and gather something to eat, but if there were Dryads around like Roan said, then I would be taking things that belonged to someone else. That would be theft, and I did not like taking things without permission.
"Ali," Roan said, nudging my shoulder, "I believe there are some nuts growing on that tree, if you would like some."
Nuts weren't a favorite of mine, but I decided to at least take a look. I followed my friend to a tree that, sure enough, had walnuts growing on it.
"I won't be upsetting any Dryads by taking these, will I?" I asked, unsure about the whole thing. "I mean, it seems wrong to take something from a tree without permission, whether or not it belongs to a Dryad."
Roan thought about it for a moment. "I think if you left the seeds from the cherries that you ate at the root of this tree, the Dryads would accept that as payment. After all, those cherries had a Dryad's blessing on them, and thus, they could grow to become the trees in which a Dryad would be born."
My mouth hung open in an "o" shape. It's a good thing I'd saved many of the seeds so far, if they could be used to appease the Dryads.
Quickly, I placed the cherry seeds at the root of the nut tree, and with Roan's help, managed to pluck from the ground one ripe nut for every cherry seed I left at the tree. It seemed a fair trade, since I had a bag full of seeds, and in the end, I ended up with a bag full of nuts, which would be more filling.
Sleep came easily for me –after all, I was completely exhausted, the aspirin I had popped for my legs was working wonders, and I had Fang to keep me nice and toasty while I slept. My stomach still grumbled a bit in hunger, but there was nothing I could do about that until morning.
And yet, in spite of my tummy, I was able to have a blissfully restful night.
It was quite a bit after dawn when I woke, but not too late, thank goodness! After stretching out, I looked around and saw Roan munching down some grass not far away. Fang, however, was nowhere in sight.
"Where's Fang?" I blurted out, wondering if he'd chosen to desert us.
I feared the worst: that Fang had played us and had gone to fetch his pack, which was probably still alive and well, waiting for a foolish girl like me to fall into their trap. Hey, in Narnia, the animals could be a tricky as humans if they needed to be, especially after millennia of Telmarine rule!
Roan finished his mouthful of grass. "He's gone hunting. He did not want to wake you, but asked if he should bring back something for you to eat, since he heard your belly groaning half the night. I told him that humans did not eat raw meat, and that it would be best for you to eat whatever food you've gathered."
I sighed in relief. "Thank you, Roan. I appreciate it."
He whuffed in reply and went back to his grazing while I helped myself to half of another fruit bar and a handful of nuts, which was surprisingly satisfying. I had just refilled the contents of my water bottle when Fang returned, his muzzle slightly bloody from his hunt.
"Ew," I said, wincing. "Would you mind rinsing off your muzzle in the stream? It's very disconcerting, seeing it smeared with blood."
Fang snorted, but went to oblige me. While he did that, I tossed my blanket over Roan, who stopped grazing and moved towards a nearby stump so that I could mount. He stood perfectly still until I was completely settled on his back, my hands holding onto his mane as we waited for Fang to finish with his little bath.
I laughed as my wolf friend shook the excess water off and licked his muzzle. Even though he was a huge wolf, and could easily bite my face off, I thought he looked adorable all dripping and slightly whiny.
"It isn't funny," Fang muttered, shaking himself off one last time.
Chuckling, I leaned over Roan's neck. "Come on, let's go."
My horse gave a low laugh and kicked off, Fang muttering complaints behind us as he followed.
Sometimes, it seemed like I was living in a dream, riding a talking horse during the day and having a wolf as a source of heat at night. And instead of things getting more uncomfortable, it got better.
To my surprise, today, our second day together, Roan began a bit of dialogue with me. We talked about the weather at first, then moved on to our families. Apparently Roan had several brothers and sisters, most of whom lived in Archenland, a kingdom to the sound of Narnia. While most of the Narnians had fled to the forests for safety, some had run to Narnia's former ally, Archenland, and sought sanctuary there instead. Roan's herd had done just that, many centuries ago, and had returned once word had spread that the Great Kings and Queens had returned to fight the Telmarines.
"It had taken us days of endless running to make it in time for King Caspian's coronation," Roan said as we traveled. "I was there just in time to see the King enter the city gates with the great rulers of our past."
Excited that he had actually seen Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, I asked what they looked like, as well as a hundred other questions about them before we stopped for lunch. Roan was more than happy to answer my questions during our meal, and in return asked me several of his own.
For the most part, Fang remained quiet, listening to our conversations. I had tried talking to him, but after being growled at for asking about his family and life, I thought it might be best to keep quiet. Besides, he was a great predator, so I decided that staying on his good side would be a nice idea, too.
After our noon rest, though, Fang began to warm up to me, at least a little. During an afternoon break in our travels, Fang told me a few stories of his life over his meal of jerky, namely how he and his pack had kept safe by moving around, keeping to the forests of Narnia, and traveling as far south as Archenland, and as far north as the realm of the Giants. He even seemed happy talking to me, and probably liked the fact that I didn't chatter at him like I did with Roan, who seemed perfectly happy to hear me talk to him and ask questions.
To my surprise, when we stopped to eat our dinner, Fang told me to save the 'salted, dried meat,' (meaning the jerky) for myself, so that I could have more to eat. It was touching, and I know that hunting caused him pain to hunt his meal, but he insisted.
As we ate our dinner on our second night together, I took an inventory of my food supplies, and knew they wouldn't last much longer. There was enough for one or two full meals -five if I ate at half rations. But there was no knowing of when we would reach the castle, so I had to stretch things as much as possible in between foraging for food.
I decided to hide this from my friends, as I didn't want them having to help me find food for me. If Fang tried to keep me fed, I could look forward to all sorts of different raw, freshly killed animals for supper. Roan would at least be of some help, since he could find nuts, fruits and other vegetation I could eat, but I felt bad at the thought of having to rely on him for food as well as transportation.
"You seem worried, Ali," Roan said, nudging my shoulder as he softly spoke in my ear. "What's wrong?"
Fang snorted. "She's taking stock of her food supplies, you fool! She's trying to see how much she has so that she can make it last until we get to the castle."
Roan sighed and pushed me over with his nose. "Silly girl," he chided me. "Fang and I can find food for you! Actually, it's something I wanted to talk to you about earlier, but did not have a chance to until now."
He gestured towards the trees with his head, and I turned, almost falling over in surprise. There in a large whirlwind of leaves were the forms of three women, their mouths turned upwards in smiles. One of them waved at me, and I knew that I waved back because my hand somehow lifted and moved back and forth without my realizing it. The Dryads giggled, causing me to blush.
"They have been following our progress for some time," Fang explained. "I've seen them as we traveled through the woods."
Roan nodded. "Apparently they have wanted to offer you food, but did not know how to approach you. They feel a sort of calling to help you, since whenever a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve arrives in Narnia, the Dryads believe it must be for a good reason."
"When you wake tomorrow, there will be enough food to fill your stomach for two days," one of the Dryads said, her voice eerily echoing in the rustle of the leaves that formed the physical shape of her and her sister Dryad. "We will also treat the wolf's wound with an herbal medicine of our own making."
Fang actually looked grateful for their offer. "For that, I thank you," he said humbly.
The Dryads laughed, a deep, cheerful sound that had me smiling at their amusement.
"Do not thank us, great hunter," the first Dryad said. "You chose wisely by befriending the Daughter of Eve as you did. I hope you know how fortunate you are in having her as a friend, for she will be as faithful to you as any pack mate."
"Or as a member of a herd," Roan put in, clearly insulted that he had been left out.
"Indeed," agreed all three Dryads.
I cleared my throat, my head finally wrapped around the fact that mythical creatures straight from legend were talking to me, and willing to help. "Thank you," I managed to squeak out. "This means a great deal to me."
They simply giggled and drifted away as the leaves caught on a passing breeze and flew off into the distance. My head was still spinning as I settled down to sleep, Fang on one side of me as my eyes closed and my mind whirled in a tangled, awed mess.
When I woke the next morning, even though I shouldn't have been surprised, I was very much so when I saw the basket of food waiting for me. It wasn't a large basket, but it was stuffed full of nuts, berries, fruit, and other eatable vegetation. I saw a few apples (which I intended to save for Roan), and pears, as well as a few handfuls of cherries.
Lucky for me, the basket was small enough for me to carry and hold onto as I rode, and there was a flip-top lid that could be secured shut, for easy travel. I put the nuts, berries, and cherries into my plastic bags, creating a rough trail mix to snack on as I rode, and put the larger fruits in my bag, which had just enough from for them to be carried, and not get crushed. I wanted to carry the empty basket in my lap, in case we came across anything I could gather as food, but didn't think it would be a good idea, since it was rather bulky and I had nothing to strap it to.
I looked over at Roan and offered him an apple. "It won't be rude of me to leave this here, would it?" I asked him, just to be sure. "It's too hard to ride and hold onto it at the same time, without a saddle."
He finished munching his treat, then shook his head. "No, I don't think it would be rude, not when they know you aren't able to take it with you. It should be fine."
Relieved, I gently set the basket aside and went to check on my other four-legged friend. True to their word, the Dryads had tended to Fang's wound in the night. I hadn't even felt him leave my side, where he served as a heat source while I slept –and yet, somehow, they had spread a mess of crushed herbs over his wound and wrapped it well in leaves and vines to keep it all in place.
"Have you eaten yet, Fang?" I asked before taking a healthy bite out of a pear.
He nodded. "I had a very tasty rabbit while you slept. I am ready to leave when you are."
I quickly finished my breakfast and tossed my vine blanket over Roan's back. After a quick boost from a nearby rock, I was able to juggle the newly heavy bag on my back, though with all the food it was holding, I had a feeling that I'd be getting a backache soon.
"Don't worry about where we can rest," Roan told me as I settled into place. "The Dryads told me that here will be safe places to stop between here and the castle."
I almost cheered in relief. We had been lucky so far in our rest spots, but I really didn't want to risk a stop where we might upset the woodland dwellers.
"Alright," I said, grabbing a bit of Roan's mane. "Let's go."
AN: A bit shorter, this chapter, but the next one will be the usual length. Thanks for reading, and please review!