I am so sorry about the delay...its been over a year...I am finally getting some ideas on where to take this story...but I am going to have to edit the previous chapters so keep an eye out. For now here is another chapter, I hope it will make more sense after changes to the old stuff is made.
A week had past since she had left Corus, five days since she had last spoken to a human being. Supplies were running low and Cloud had thrown a shoe two days previously and she had had to resort to walking beside the lame pony as there were few villages in the area.
Despite every attempt to keep her mind busy, her thoughts kept crashing at the heartbreak she suffered. How could someone who said they loved you go off and try to kiss someone else? She couldn't make sense of it in her head.
The level of betrayal she felt was akin to her village turning on her, watching the people she had known all her life try to kill her. That, compared to the gaping hole that had been ripped through her heart by the one person she trusted above everyone else, the person who had made her unafraid to be human again. It was no wonder she had fled.
The night was just closing in and the rain had eased slightly when Daine heard the sound of hooves in the distance. The county side was still a dangerous place to be, bandits still roamed the remoter regions avoiding the King's Own and courtesy of the Wildmage, some immortals still roamed.
Daine quickly stamped out the poor attempt of a fire she had made, dispersing the charred branches into the undergrowth and drew her bow ready to meet any threat. She was well hidden inside a dense group of trees and Cloud had lied down as soon as they had stopped to rest, so the chances of her being spotted were slim…but there was always a chance.
The mage sent out her magic and found a Blackbird perched a branch overlooking the path where the horse was approaching. Requesting to borrow its eyes, Daine was able to watch the road and see what came round the bend.
The smaller birds and mammals in the area had picked up her tension and were readying themselves to defend the People-Speaker. The hooves drew closer and closer and as the horse rounded the corner it came to an abrupt halt.
Shocked by the location of the rider stopping Daine almost lost her connection with the blackbird. As she regained her concentration the bird fluffed its wings. The movement was just load enough to attract the rider's attention. His eyes roamed up from the ground he had been scanning to rest on the bird.
Despite the poor light and the shadows cast by the man's cloak, Daine could see a pair of red rimmed, blood shot eyes. The man looked completely and utterly exhausted, his shoulders slumped right down and he was barely keeping himself on the horse.
His cloak was torn in places, like it had been ripped by trees during fast riding. A shock of recognition flooded through her body, the long lanky limbs and the awkward riding posture, the familiar hawk shaped broach that held his cloak into place…Numair Saliman.