The Finding of
Friends and the Making of Enemies
Cloud's
steady hoof beats seemed to lull Daine to sleep. Her heavy eyelids threatened to close, and her aching limbs
argued with her to rest. She quickly
chanced a look back to where she had come, and sighed. She breathed in the cool, fresh air and felt
more awake than she had before. The
followers were out of sight. That both
eased her mind, and terrified her.
There were some who could conceal themselves, and she had no way of
knowing whether They were hiders or seekers or both.
Could ya please stop? Daine
asked her trusted pony silently. Cloud
snorted and gradually slowed to a halt.
They always have requests, she heard Cloud mutter to herself. Daine smiled and lowered herself down from
her mount. Cloud was her only
family. They were like sisters. They had been through much together, and
they had much more to come.
When Daine touched the ground, she
knew something was not right. The
ground was damp and muddy, and it was the dry season.
Oh Dear! I'm glad I stopped when I did, Daine
said to Cloud. If this is a swamp,
we might be in trouble. I don't
remember seeing a swamp on the map we saw at Corus. The pony whinnied in agreement and looked
self-consciously around.
Daine found a dry rock and sat
down. She reached with her mind and
grasped a bit of the copper fire that burned within her. This was the one thing that linked her and
all of her friends, the creatures of Her Earth, together. She used her wild magic and searched the
surrounding land, looking for a creature that could help her to really see
her surroundings. My survival may
depend on it, she thought as she looked with her mind. Finally she caught a glimpse of a Heron not
far away. So this was a swamp,
she thought to herself.
Hello wing-sister! She spoke
with her magic, slowly and softly to show her respect to the great bird.
And what do you seek little one?
The bird spoke in reply. My name is
Blue Moon. I will do as what you ask of
me. The tales I heard of two-leggers
speaking to the People I believed were only tales. I am surprised to see those words are truth.
So I may fly with you and search the
lands for familiars? Daine
asked with a smile, awed that the great bird had agreed even before she had
spoke to her about her plan.
As Daine readied herself for the
short trip, the heron proclaimed softly, Do what you must little one. I am here to help.
* * *
Daine woke with a start, trying to
remember what had taken place and where she was. Too soon, it all flooded back to her.
It had been
time for her to journey to Pirate's Swoop.
Although it was hard to say goodbye to everyone there, she knew her
"vacation" could only last a short time.
She had to get back to her lessons with Numair, her teacher, and she
knew she missed him and her other friends more than she would admit.
Before she had gone,
she had been given a map by one of the servants. It had a note attached, stating it was from Thayet, one of
Daine's closest friends and the queen of Tortall. Daine had relied on the map once she knew she would be traveling
alone. The road was long and she had
only gone along it twice.
She was in high spirits when she started on
the trail, but things had gone down hill after that. One night their supplies had been ransacked, and they had lost
many of their medicines and food. They
could indeed hunt, but the fact that someone could steal a traveler's supplies
disgusted them.
Then,
two days after they had left Corus, the found they were being followed. Their followers stayed a good distance away,
but they were there all the same. It
was that day the Daine realized she was lost.
She had convinced a heron to help her find her way back, but that was
when she had been striked. She wasn't
sure what exactly had hit the heron, but something had. And she had fallen and fallen, right into Their
waiting hands. But that startled her
the most, because she wasn't the heron!
She was riding with the heron, in it's mind, with magic. But then how could she have
fallen? No matter how impossible it
sounded, indeed it was real. No matter
how hard it was to believe, the metal around her wrists confirmed her worst
fears: this was not a dream.
Suddenly
her train of thought was broken. She
heard the squeak of a door that needed oiled and she heard the footsteps of a
person heavy enough to be as big as her pony.
Her thoughts suddenly went to her pony. Where was cloud?? Had these people (if they even were people) caught her? Was she safe? Had she gone to get help?
A thousand questions zoomed into her mind, and then suddenly
stopped. Before her stood a man. He was a huge man, even taller than Numair
and Sarge (who were both well over 6 feet).
The idea of that had been inconceivable to Daine, but here he stood,
right before her eyes. She looked up at
his face and gasped as she saw a hard chin, a sharp nose, dark, black eyes, and
a wicked grin. His eyebrows were a
thick black, just like his hair. He
scared her. He could crush her with his
foot!
"I
am the one my people call Stayeth. And
you are the one they call Veralidaine Sarrasri?" he asked in sharp tone. Even though Daine was scared, she looked
back into his eyes, and gave him a hard look.
"That
is I you name," she said quietly but firmly.
"I am afraid you tinted it with your filth when you addressed me," she
had the nerve to further say. "You are
not fit to speak to me."
Stayeth's
rage was visible, but he strained to keep it within. It was clear that she was of importance, because if she had not
been, she would have been slain.
Suddenly
the door flung open a second time, and a tall, thin, man strode through.
"You
are too pretty to say such horrid things," he said mockingly. "And too powerful and prideful for your own
good. Don't worry darling, we will soon
fix that." As he said those words he
took Daine's hand and kissed it. Daine
immediately spat on him.
"Don't
touch me," she hissed as he recoiled and looked at her with hatred. "You are the prideful one. At least I speak the truth."
"Hmmmm,
now what exactly is truth?" he had the nerve to say. "Some would say truth is what is right. And if that is the definition, I spoke the truth, at least more
than you little one." It burned Daine
to be called little one by this monster.
"Than
speak some truth now," Daine growled as she looked up at the second man. "Who are you?"
"Oh
I'm sure you've heard of me dear," he said with a smile. "My friends and foe alike call me the same." He laughed as Daine looked confused.
"And
why one earth did you think I'd grace you with my name Love?" He asked mockingly, and with that he was
gone. The larger man spat on Daine and
left also.
Daine
was left alone with her thoughts. She
was left alone with her thoughts and magic.
She wondered if anyone else was in the dark room she was locked in. She went deep into herself and
searched. She went pasted her breathing
and past her firm heartbeat. She sensed
mice and rats but then, up against the opposite wall, she sensed something
more. Different. She opened her eyes and looked. There sat a girl, not much older than
Daine.
"Who
are you?" Daine asked after a while of thought. "What are you and what are you doing here?"
The girl laughed. Her laugh had a musical ring to it and when
she finally spoke, her voice sounded like music to Daine's ears.
"I am Moon. Or that's what some call me. I've never known another name. What am I?
Why look at me. I'm just like
you. A human."
Daine
looked at her again with her magic.
This was not a human. There was
too much of that copper fire within her.
But she surely wasn't a creature or an immortal. Then Daine thought back to when she had first
looked at her friend Onua with her magic.
There had been a sparkle of that copper fire, but not as much as there
was within this girl. Could it really
be that there was another like Daine?
"Sorry,
I couldn't see you well in the dark," Daine lied. No use in asked the girl now.
Better to get acquainted first, and let her tell me.
"And you are -?" Moon asked Daine
quietly, glancing at her hair, her eyes, and her clothes.
"Daine. Nice to meet you." Daine said, as she looked Moon over. The girl was quite beautiful. Her long, black hair had a blue glow to it,
and her eyes were perfectly almond shaped.
They were warm, even though the coloring was the same as that blasted
man. Her lips were a beautiful rouge in
color, and when she smiled, her teeth were straight and white. Her slender body was clothed in a type of
gown, which was a blue to match her tinted hair. There were some kind of marks on certain parts of the dress, and
it looked to Daine like they were animal prints. This girl was one beauty, Daine finally concluded.
"The pleasure is mine," she finally
replied, after doing the same to Daine.
Daine felt ugly next to Moon.
Her brown curly hair and her brown eyes were no match for Moon's black,
shining ones. And her clothes were not
made to be gorgeous or delicate like Moon's.
They were made to endure the rough weather and lands that she was used
to traveling. But Daine pushed away her
thoughts and decided that one friend in a dark place is better than ten friends
in a light one.
"So, how long have you resided
here?" Daine started with a grin.
