*Hello everyone! I hope those of you who have read this far have enjoyed the beginnings of the story! Please let me know what you think! I'm trying not to make our girl too Mary Sue. Her eyes are two different colors for a reason. That's all the hint I will be giving at this time 😉. As I mentioned in the preface, I own nothing, and I am making no profit from this. I simply enjoyed the series and needed to get some of my imagination out of my head. *
Amaryllis slept poorly, as she usually did. She had nightmares of a chaos filled storm from so long ago. She remembered warm arms holding her, but then they disappeared. A familiar voice shouting her name before she inevitably woke up with a start as if she had just fallen into her body again. Sometimes she would see only eyes, cold and calculating, searching for her. Other times, it was of bandits burning her home with her in it. Her mother's screams echoing throughout the memory.
Amaryllis didn't enjoy sleeping. She never felt rested. Instead, she much preferred to stay awake for as long as possible before she inevitably passed out from exhaustion.
As usual, Amaryllis had woken up before her sister and her new employer, Onua. They had a cold breakfast: fruit, cheese, and bread. Onua said little as they ate and packed. She split a pile of lead reins with Daine, indicating she was to connect half of the ponies into a string, while she did the same with the others. They worked quickly as the fair came to life and the air filled with breakfast smells. When the ponies were ready, Onua placed their packs on the first animal in each string, while Cloud helped carry Amaryllis' packs.
"Aren't you going to put her on a lead?" Onua pointed to Cloud, who stood free of the others, wearing only a halter and a cross expression. The mare snorted and shook her head.
"She'll be fine," Daine assured the K'mir. "She's as good as a guard dog, that way."
"You know best," Onua said, dubious. "Let's move 'em out."
The K'mir led them away from the fairgrounds and the traffic coming in. They had reached open road when she called for a midmorning break. Digging apples out of her pocket, she gave Daine and Amaryllis one each. "You eat this," she ordered. "I've more in a basket for the ponies. I should've warned you both, by the way— I'm a real bear in the morning. It's no good talking to me— I'll only bite your head off. You girls didn't take it personally, did you?"
Daine had begun to wonder if the K'mir regretted hiring her. She smiled her relief. "It's all right. Ma always says"— her lips tightened—" Ma always said there was no living with me until lunchtime. Lily is usually the morning person. She always wakes up before anyone else. She also makes a great breakfast."
"You miss her," Onua said gently. Daine twisted the stem off her apple. "Her, Grandda, our farm—" Her face was grim.
"They took our life, those bandits. I was able to save things, like clothes and food, but all of our family was gone except Cloud. They wouldn't even have left her, except she was with me and we weren't there. I still have no idea how Lily made it out." She got to her feet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"
"To speak of it?" asked the K'mir. Daine nodded. "You have to, just to bleed off the poison from the memory." The girl shrugged. "Well, it doesn't have to be today." She peered at the sun. "We'll be at Coolspring by noon— a village, good-sized. Let's pass that before we stop again."
If Onua and Daine were now well awake, so were their charges. Lily tried her best to help keep them in line, but they fussed at every turn. Luckily, many who passed them were traders who knew mountain ponies: they kept a respectful distance. Only Cloud, who seemed to realize she would go into a string the moment she misbehaved, walked meekly beside Daine. The only time she offered violence to a bystander was when he, or she, was too interested in how well the strings were tied together. Daine worked on the ponies one by one, talking, pleading, cajoling. Lily tried, but she didn't have the skills that her sister did with animals. Repeatedly she explained why she wanted them to follow Onua, without making a fuss. One after another the ponies listened as she appealed to their better natures. Some people would have said these creatures had no better nature, but— as Daine told Onua— she had found most animals listened, if things were properly set out for them.
Onua had explained things to ponies and horses for twenty-eight years without the success this thirteen-year-old was having. How does she do it? the K'mir wondered, fascinated. They're ponies, by all the gods. They're wonderfully clever animals, but they don't think, not the way people do.
Past the village of Coolspring lay a rest stop, one of the springs that gave the town its name, sheltered by elms. Picketing the animals, the two women sat down to share a meal of bread and cheese.
"Tell me if you get tired," the K'mir ordered. "I can go for hours, once I get moving."
"I'm fine," Daine said. It was the truth. It was good to be in fresh air, headed away from the city. "It's easier than it was coming all the way here. The roads were muddy, you know— with the spring floods."
"Ever been to CrÃa before?"
Daine shook her head, while Lily shrugged. "Never saw a village bigger than Snowsdale, till yesterday." She sighed. "How can folk live like that, all mashed together?"
Onua shrugged. "City people. They're different, is all. They look down their noses if you didn't grow up penned in." Getting to her feet, she stretched. "Unless something goes wrong, we'll make Wishing Hollow by dark— we'll camp there. We're making wonderful time, thanks to you, Daine."
Daine looked at her, baffled. "Me?"
"This is the fastest I've gotten clear of the fair in six years of trade. That's your doing. You must have the Gift— though I never heard of it being put to such a use."
Daine laughed. "Oh, please! I've a knack with animals, but no Gift. Ma—" She stopped, then made herself go on. "She tried to teach me, but I never learned. I can't even start a fire, and Gifted babies manage that. She was so disappointed. Wanted me to follow her path, I s'pose."
Amaryllis shook her head, exasperated at her sister but loving her all the same. Neither of them tested positive for the Gift. Their mother had been sad about it but had tried to hide it from the girls.
Onua touched the girl's hair. "Your mother will be proud no matter what path you take, Daine. I don't know you well, but anyone can see that."
Daine smiled at her. "Thanks."
They sat quietly for a few moments, until Onua remembered something. "I saw you draw that bow of yours, but I don't know what kind of shot you are. As for you Lily, I'm not much one for daggers but once we get to Tortall we can find someone to test and train you."
Daine shrugged. "I'm good." Lily just shrugged and thanks Onua.
"Mind giving me a demonstration?"
Daine got up and took her longbow from her packs. "Name your target." The wood was warm from the sun and bent willingly for the string. She drew it a couple of times back to her ear, loosening her muscles.
Looking around, Onua spotted a fence that would serve. It lay well within the range of such a powerful bow, but it wasn't so close that Daine would feel insulted. Walking out to it, she fixed her handkerchief to a post with her belt-knife and returned. "How about three arrows?"
"Fair enough." Daine had already fitted one arrow to the string, and her quiver was on her back. Carefully she set her feet, and gently she brought the string back as she focused on her target. The arrow, when she loosed, flew straight and true. Two more followed it.
Onua gaped. All three arrows clustered neatly at the center of her handkerchief. Their heads were buried so deeply she had to cut them loose.
"I take it this is something else you have a 'knack' for," she said when Daine came to help.
"Grandda thought so." The girl shrugged. "It worked out for the best. His bones got to hurting him so bad he couldn't even string a bow, so I brought in all our game."
The yellow stallion screamed a challenge to a passing draft horse and reared, pawing the air. "Odd's bobs!" Daine yelled, exasperated. "Can't a person take her eye off you for a moment without you acting up?" She ran to the stallion's head and dragged him back down to all fours, holding him until the draft horse walked calmly past. Lily was laughing her head off at the scene her sister and the Pony had made, causing Onua to startle. The girl had been so quiet, so the tinkling of her free laughter was an amazing sound.
Onua came up to them, smiling. "Time to get back to work."