The Panther ~ Ch.
By Pinkpanther
Disclaimer: Anything that you might recognize from the Tortall books belongs toTamora Pierce. The events and characters in this story are purely fictional and are not based on any real-life events or people. The new characters however are mine so please do NOT use without my permission.
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The horses thundered off in hot pursuit. But when they came to a place where the path split, they weren't sure which way to go. The hoofbeats were getting fainter and fainter... "You go to the left, I'll take the right!" ordered Lord Edmund. They didn't even wait to nod before rushing off. Lord Edmund galloped deeper into the forest, but gradually he slowed down as if unsure which way to go.
Meanwhile, Roald was gasping for breath. Flurrie had tried to scrape him off on a low branch and he was bleeding heavily, his clothes in tatters. The horse was racing madly through the woods now, clearing logs and other obstacles with miraculous leaps and bounds. His ears were filled with the sound of pounding hooves.
"Where is he?!" thought Kel frantically. The three thundered on ahead into....
"AHHhh! Stop! Dead end!" yelled Neal and Cleon together. The two had narrowly escaped running headlong into a giant oak. Obviously, Roald couldn't have gone here. "Turn back!"
Flurrie, stop! cried Daine. The mad scream she got in reply almost knocked her out of the air. Spotting a clearing ahead, Daine landed, and tried to mind-connect with the maddened mare. Instead, all she found was a swirling fog, filled with odious yellow gases. She pulled back out, head dizzy from the mess in the mare's head.
Why, oh why, moaned Roald. The mare had been running for a long time now, more than he had thought possible. He was starting to slip, his hands sweaty, trembling and numb. Jumping off wouldn't have been too bad, except that there were no openings in the trees ahead. Am I hallucinating or is there another set of horses' hooves? "HELP!"
Daine took off. Suddenly, she spotted the horse and boy ahead.
Was that a shadow or a tall black stallion and rider? No time to think...
"He's up ahead!" coughed Kel. She was wheezing slightly, from the fast pace and riding through a low branch. "Edmund must have found him, there's someone there!"
Roald clung on weakly. Suddenly the black stallion and its bareback rider who was all dressed in black burst out of the surrounding trees. Racing neck to neck with the running mare, they got closer and closer. They were right next to him. The rider got even closer. The black figure reached an arm out. Roald felt himself being yanked out of the saddle and into the arms of his rescuer. The mare thundered on ahead, but this person slowed the stallion to a stop. "Thank you..." wheezed Roald. The person gently lowered him to the ground. He or she sprang cat-like off the horse's back and landed on two feet on the ground. After making a quick check for injuries, the person wrapped up the worst of his injuries using his tattered shirt. Abruptly, the person jerked his or her head up, listening. There were horses coming closer and closer in the distance and a hawk circled overhead. Before Roald could say anything more, the figure gave a low whistle, calling the stallion over. The
person leaped onto the trotting horse and giving one more backward glance, galloped off into the trees.
Kel, Cleon and Neal burst from the trees! "Roald! You alive?" shouted Cleon, jumping off from the horse and running over.
"Yeah *cough* I'm alive." this was followed by a groan as he tried to turn over and couldn't.
"Where's Edmund?"
"Don't know."
"How come you're already bandaged-who did that?" asked Kel, as they gently helped him up.
He frowned. "There was this figure in black. I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, but probably a man though. You could tell he was really strong."
"Uh huh. How many fingers am I holding up?" tested Cleon, disbelieving.
"Two. And I know what I saw."
"Highness thanks be to the Gods you're alright!" Lord Edmund had just arrived, pale and breathless.
"Let's get him back to the palace. I can heal some things but the palace healers are better." Neal gently sent a pain relieving spell down towards Roald.
As they left the clearing, Kel saw something fluttering in the wind. "What's this?" Picking it up off a bush she saw that it was a piece of parchment. On it was the mark of a paw print - a panther paw print.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they arrived at the stables, they were greeted by the sounds of hysterical sobbing. Lilian, a tear-stained, red-eyed Lilian rushed over. Her clothes were all askew, as if she had wanted to tear them up in shreds like her handkerchief. "Is he alive?" she asked, tearfully.
"Yes, he is. C'mon, let's get him to the healers."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Stefan groomed the horses, he saw Myles' black horse chewing something. "Hey, give that here." he ordered.
The horse blew his nostrils out deliberately ignoring him. "Horses." he snorted. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that the horse was chewing on a bundle of straw and roses.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Whew! This story is the longest thing I've ever written! Anyway, thanks to all reviewers and I hope that you all please, please keep on reviewing. Comments, questions, you know what to do.
By the way, I picture the Palace somewhat like the chateau of Versailles in France. Follow the link below for a virtual tour.
http://nz.com/olson/gallery/versailles.htm
By Pinkpanther
Disclaimer: Anything that you might recognize from the Tortall books belongs toTamora Pierce. The events and characters in this story are purely fictional and are not based on any real-life events or people. The new characters however are mine so please do NOT use without my permission.
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The horses thundered off in hot pursuit. But when they came to a place where the path split, they weren't sure which way to go. The hoofbeats were getting fainter and fainter... "You go to the left, I'll take the right!" ordered Lord Edmund. They didn't even wait to nod before rushing off. Lord Edmund galloped deeper into the forest, but gradually he slowed down as if unsure which way to go.
Meanwhile, Roald was gasping for breath. Flurrie had tried to scrape him off on a low branch and he was bleeding heavily, his clothes in tatters. The horse was racing madly through the woods now, clearing logs and other obstacles with miraculous leaps and bounds. His ears were filled with the sound of pounding hooves.
"Where is he?!" thought Kel frantically. The three thundered on ahead into....
"AHHhh! Stop! Dead end!" yelled Neal and Cleon together. The two had narrowly escaped running headlong into a giant oak. Obviously, Roald couldn't have gone here. "Turn back!"
Flurrie, stop! cried Daine. The mad scream she got in reply almost knocked her out of the air. Spotting a clearing ahead, Daine landed, and tried to mind-connect with the maddened mare. Instead, all she found was a swirling fog, filled with odious yellow gases. She pulled back out, head dizzy from the mess in the mare's head.
Why, oh why, moaned Roald. The mare had been running for a long time now, more than he had thought possible. He was starting to slip, his hands sweaty, trembling and numb. Jumping off wouldn't have been too bad, except that there were no openings in the trees ahead. Am I hallucinating or is there another set of horses' hooves? "HELP!"
Daine took off. Suddenly, she spotted the horse and boy ahead.
Was that a shadow or a tall black stallion and rider? No time to think...
"He's up ahead!" coughed Kel. She was wheezing slightly, from the fast pace and riding through a low branch. "Edmund must have found him, there's someone there!"
Roald clung on weakly. Suddenly the black stallion and its bareback rider who was all dressed in black burst out of the surrounding trees. Racing neck to neck with the running mare, they got closer and closer. They were right next to him. The rider got even closer. The black figure reached an arm out. Roald felt himself being yanked out of the saddle and into the arms of his rescuer. The mare thundered on ahead, but this person slowed the stallion to a stop. "Thank you..." wheezed Roald. The person gently lowered him to the ground. He or she sprang cat-like off the horse's back and landed on two feet on the ground. After making a quick check for injuries, the person wrapped up the worst of his injuries using his tattered shirt. Abruptly, the person jerked his or her head up, listening. There were horses coming closer and closer in the distance and a hawk circled overhead. Before Roald could say anything more, the figure gave a low whistle, calling the stallion over. The
person leaped onto the trotting horse and giving one more backward glance, galloped off into the trees.
Kel, Cleon and Neal burst from the trees! "Roald! You alive?" shouted Cleon, jumping off from the horse and running over.
"Yeah *cough* I'm alive." this was followed by a groan as he tried to turn over and couldn't.
"Where's Edmund?"
"Don't know."
"How come you're already bandaged-who did that?" asked Kel, as they gently helped him up.
He frowned. "There was this figure in black. I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, but probably a man though. You could tell he was really strong."
"Uh huh. How many fingers am I holding up?" tested Cleon, disbelieving.
"Two. And I know what I saw."
"Highness thanks be to the Gods you're alright!" Lord Edmund had just arrived, pale and breathless.
"Let's get him back to the palace. I can heal some things but the palace healers are better." Neal gently sent a pain relieving spell down towards Roald.
As they left the clearing, Kel saw something fluttering in the wind. "What's this?" Picking it up off a bush she saw that it was a piece of parchment. On it was the mark of a paw print - a panther paw print.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they arrived at the stables, they were greeted by the sounds of hysterical sobbing. Lilian, a tear-stained, red-eyed Lilian rushed over. Her clothes were all askew, as if she had wanted to tear them up in shreds like her handkerchief. "Is he alive?" she asked, tearfully.
"Yes, he is. C'mon, let's get him to the healers."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Stefan groomed the horses, he saw Myles' black horse chewing something. "Hey, give that here." he ordered.
The horse blew his nostrils out deliberately ignoring him. "Horses." he snorted. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that the horse was chewing on a bundle of straw and roses.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Whew! This story is the longest thing I've ever written! Anyway, thanks to all reviewers and I hope that you all please, please keep on reviewing. Comments, questions, you know what to do.
By the way, I picture the Palace somewhat like the chateau of Versailles in France. Follow the link below for a virtual tour.
http://nz.com/olson/gallery/versailles.htm