Ok- all pumped up and ready to write another chap! Wild Mage of Tortall--you have kept me excited about writing, seeing how you are the only to review lately, along with my adorable anonymous reviewer, and peace. Thanx to all you guys!
Wild Mage--As for the paragraph definition from one part to the next part that was mainly a post problem that I am right on top of. The reason they would expect Ema in their room is because she is their assigned maid, and wakes them and brings them breakfast, when she'd there, and those sorts of things. It's her job, and when she's off with River somewhere, the other two are put off routine. See? In addition, River tries to keep his personal life a little more secluded than the other two would, mainly because he is the most reserved. Therefore, his relationship with Ema is very close, but you do not see a lot of it because River prefers to have a more private life. Any other questions about that you can ask me on IM. You know when I'm on. THANX!
Wow-that was long! Anyway, lets get going!
Chapter Eleven:
Rachel's children rode in silence for about an hour. None knew why, but they had a feeling that speaking at that time would be costly. After awhile, however, the feeling of dreaded silence passed. River checked for thought activity other than their own and Willow could see nothing unusual within her range. They all heaved a sigh of relief. Then they started what they came out to do--be together. They joked and sang silly songs taught to them by Grandam, Miztoo, or their mother. They shared stories, some of which they stared in, most others they did not. The legends told to them of great treasures being stolen, long wars won, and heroes rising as the phoenix from the ashes of defeat were all retold to eager ears. They recalled silly fights they had when they were younger, and that is where we join our young adventurers.
"Now way! That was an accident! Besides, it was mostly that Steven kids' idea! I only thought to add the goats milk," Willow defended her role in a prank long past.
"That's not what he told us," River replied in a sing-song tone.
"Are you willing to believe a kid we barely knew at the time to your own flesh and blood kin?" Willow demanded, indignant.
"Yes," chorused her brothers, grinning. Willow sulked for a moment, but quickly perked up when another tale was being told, one which always managed to bring a blush to River's cheeks.
"Ok, ok--I've had just about enough of story telling time. Can we change the subject please?" a horrible embarrassed River pleaded with his laughing siblings.
"Fine," Wind sighed. "Hey, just out of sheer curiosity, are we ever gonna stop at a campsite? You know--I just wanted to throw that out there."
Willow and River exchanged a glance, and shrugged. "Well I guess we can start looking for one. I haven't given that much thought, yet."
"Can we give it thought now? Wind replied.
"Yes, smart ass, we can. When you see a suitable spot, just holler." It seemed a simple enough task, but it was another half-hour before they spoke next, Willow having looked ahead and spied a small clearing.
They took their time making camp. About an hour later, after suffering a loss of what to do next, they each found a suitable climbing tree to in. They yelled out more jokes, tales, and songs to one another, enjoying a time without any cares or responsibilities. All they were obligated to do was enjoy probably their last time as children. when they went back, they had to realize the full weight of what being an adult meant, since they would have to leave for Galla in about two months.
They had a great bonding time over the next two days. Each learned things about one another they never before knew. They talked about their mom, and their old slave life. They were finally able to see it all and smile with the full realization that it was all behind them, and wasn't going to happen again. Fall even took in the peace of the time to himself, and let River and Wind ride him a bit, before he lost his patience for new riders and tossed them.
On the evening of the second full day they were there, they each lay in their bedrolls, staring at the top of their tent, buried in a snow cave.
"Do you guys ever wonder how different life would be if Mother never died, or we hadn't gone to slavery, or if Grandam hadn't wanted to continue training? " Wind ask after a long silence.
"I've thought about it once or twice. For one thing, we probably wont be here now. I like to think that we would be in Tortall still, maybe at Olau, but definitely not here. Maybe we would know our Da, too." River said after a moment's consideration.
"You guys think that way?" Willow asked, surprised. "I never have. It seems useless to think about the past--you know, what could have been. It makes more sense to me to think about what could happen. I dream of what will happen when we will go to Galla, and what our lives will be like after we're made Shang, if we're made Shang of course," she said. Her brothers were astonished. It never occurred to them to look at things that way. It had made sense to look back on the road, instead of looking out ahead. "I also think about what will happen if I never get to see Bowen again."
Wind and River stayed silent for a while. They knew it must be hard for her, having to leave him while the relationship was still so new. Ema took the Shang trip pretty well. River had told them when they first planned it She cried a bit, but at least they had had time to be together. Willow had only confessed everything less than a week earlier, and in a little over two months, they were gone, and who knows if they would ever get back to Corus.
"You know, I never thought that I might not see Ema after we leave. I… I may never meet another one like her ever again! What if she is the one? What if I was supposed to be with her, but since I'm leaving I will miss out and never find love again? Or what if I am supposed to find someone else and I am just wasting my time. But how can I be sure? I don't know which is worse--that I am supposed to be with her and I will miss out or that I am missing out now while the girl I am supposed to be with is waiting for me elsewhere?" River rambled on and on. "Guys, what if--"
" You keep on talking? Wind cut in. "Yea I may have to call you a girl and kill you to make you stop!" Wind screamed. "Oh Gods! You're worse than one of those airhead courtiers that talk on and on about crap no one cares about!" Everyone was very quiet for a moment before River broke the still air with words.
"Seriously though, what if I never find love again if I leave her? Or what if she won't find love and I will and I see her again with my new love and she sees and is crushed? Or--"
"AHHH! Stopitstopitstopit!!" Wind pleaded. He even pulled his blanket over his head and shouted into his pillow.
"OK ok--I got it…. But what if--"
"I am gonna KILL you!" Wind got up and chased his brother around their campsite. Willow lied there, laughing and offering no help to River at all. He, after all, had brought this upon himself, ranting like that.
Eventually that both calmed down, after Wind tackled River and they wrestled in in the snow for a few minutes before getting too cold and cluttered back in to the tent to their fur-lined bedrolls. (a/n: fur is murder, but necessary in this case, unfortunately… and no, wild mage, I will not keep your little comment in)
"Thanks for the help, Sister Mine. You are such a dear," River grumbled, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Anytime, Brother Sweet," she giggled, referring to him by a silly name she called both of them when they were mad at her for laughing at them. It was fun; she thoroughly enjoyed it.
In the pause that followed, all three heard something. Praying that it wasn't a wolf or something equally unpleasant scavenging for a meal in the depths of winter, they got very, very still. River cast out his magical Reading, finding nothing animal-like. He found human thoughts instead.
'It was a soldier. He was sent to find the source of the noise--them. This was no Royal soldier. He was from a distant country, following orders of his commander, a bitter, resentful, scarred woman. Like all the other soldiers, he wore all black which, at night ,blended with the wintery, brown trees and the darkness. They were here to capture the castle while the Progress left it almost unoccupied of Nobles. The others they would all kill, along with servants. Once the Palace was theirs, slowly Corus would fall under their command, with all of Tortall not far behind. The prophecy had said this would be so, and the Prophecies of Him, the Sage, were never wrong.
Luckily, he saw nothing but big mounds of snow in the area of the noise, so he left cursing the cold.'
River's eyes snapped open, and, for all that they slept in a snowdrift, he was covered in sweat, which sometimes happened when he used his power to Read troubled minds.
"Willow," he whispered, very hushed, "can you see anything out there?" She checked, and saw a figure clad in black walking away, disappearing into the night. She squinted and saw a him or her press a notch on a tree and…well, go into the ground. It must a have opened a hatch because she could barely make out a stairwell, but the snow dampened her Vision. If she didn't know better, he was dressed a bit like those Owls that have been an almost constant pester for about four months but had abruptly vanished.
Willow nodded her head. River swore, almost silently. Wind lied there, incredibly confused and a bit frightened. River doesn't scare easily, unless other's lives were at stake. Willow waited another minute, tapped River on the shoulder, and shook her head no. River grinned, "Ok--we have to get out of here. Pack as quickly as you can." They simply obeyed, not saying a word, reveling in River's family leadership.
They carefully slipped out of their snowdrift tent cover, collapsing the tent at the same time. Unfortunately, the snow they deftly piled and shaped in the way they were told by the Shang caved in once the tent was halfway out. It made a rather loud "wumph!" in the process, startling Glory. She reared, not knowing what had sent a blast of icy air on her rump. Nightengale was surprised by Glory's actions and started to whinny as well. Fall watched it as if amused, but thankfully did nothing. The noises froze Willow and her brothers. They were immobile, paralyzed for a moment. She knew that the noises could carry into the tunnel stairway. River knew that the noises would probably bring the whole damn rebel army if they didn't do something. All Wind knew was that Glory's bridal was going to get pulled of the branch it was tied to and she might run away.
Only that knowledge was able to make any of them move, despite the danger the others knew. Wind jogged to the mare, bringing her down and giving her a sugar lump from his pocket. He next consoled Nightengale, trying to get her calm down and stop such a racket. It was too late though.
A pair of rough hands grabbed Willow from behind, covering her mouth with his hands and the other arm around her neck. At the same time, someone seized River, and almost got Wind, but not before he unhooked Falls bridal and whispered in his ear "I know you would love to spite me, but go get help!" He slapped him on the rear, getting him to move. Fall left with knowledge, an unintentional side affect of the Wildmage's influence. The other horses were taken, fairly peacefully, but the men in black were still concerned about the Mustang that got away.
"Won't Mistress want that one too?" one asked in rough Common.
"We got the bedamned noise. Who cares about a horse?" The one holding Willow replied. All three struggled and tried to pry away from the men. Wind got a look at one of River's daggers when his sleeve came up a bit. He unhooked it with his Mind, and jammed it into the thigh of the man holding his brother. River got the idea and moved his hands from the mans arms to his sides where he kept two of his daggers. The man caught on and had two others hold River's arms and search him, cleaning him of eight of his nine daggers and sheaths. They missed one. Wind, however didn't notice they left the one at the small of his back, so he couldn't get at it.
The man looked at one as they dragged their hostages back to the underground camp. "Hey, kid, where you nab these?"
"Get your mitts off my knives!" River replied hotly, kicking and trying to get out of his captor's hold.
"That's hardly nice. Not tell me." he held the blade to River's throat, "Where did you steal these? You didn't just find Raven Armory knives lying in the gutter!"
"I got them from my mother! She was the Shang Falcon and she taught me well!" he defiantly screamed, making his siblings join him in yelling. They continued to shout, bringing more and more warriors in black. They started to break free, and were attacked, four at a time, by the men and/or women. (They still couldn't tell.) None of their real skill showed in their panic. They just lashed out. That was until everyone and everything seemed to stop. The whole mess fell into shadow. River, Willow, and Wind slowly looked up to what blocked the moonlight. It was a huge, landmass of a human. But wait--this was no human. It seemed half giant, judging by the size. It had aqua skin and yellow, beady eyes. Then it clicked to them.
It was a mix-breed of giant and an ogre. The soldier nearest to him dropped Wind's shirt and stood at attention in front of him. The rest followed in suit.
Suddenly, they were free, but still surrounded by men. However, they had the sneaking suspicion that any sudden movements would be costly. It might cost them an arm or leg, for instance.
The mass of crossbred immortal moved towards them with a muscular, well, they wouldn't call it grace, but it had a fluid, seamless way of walking. Once (he? It?) stood over them, it picked River up by his neck. He struggled, windpipe squeezed. Willow and Wind refused to stand whist their brother be suffocated. However, it was a futile attempt if their ever was one. They kicked and punched a brick wall. The giant-ogre didn't even flinch to their assaults. No, I take that back, he laughed. He slowly threw his block-like head back and let out a wheezing, part-gasping, part-grunting bellow they could only assume was a laugh. Then, when River was near passing out, he was dumped in heap of gasping in the freezing snow. The mountain of an immortal turned around. The warriors picked up River and seized his brother and sister. They dragged them behind the giant-ogre. Soon, the group came to a hole, the one Willow saw earlier. A narrow, spiral staircase led into an inky depth. The two holding the mounts did not descend, but instead walked off in another direction.
By then as you can probably tell, the triplets were exhausted and furious, mostly at themselves to have been caught off-guard. But they also were a bit scared. Their future was completely in the dark, like they were. Unfortunately, the crowd kept moving, so they were ushered along. Not too long after a dim crystal globe hung from the ceiling to cast a dull glow. It was hardly anything, but enough for the triplets to see where they were--a dirt tunnel. Impressive.
River tripped a few times and got stepped on by a perturbed black-man. The man grumbled curses at him. Willow realized how silly she was being. She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she reopened them, everything looked as clear as it would be with the noon sun overhead. She sidled along to help River.
"Don't look anyone in the face." he whispered, throat dry. When she glanced at him quizzically, he explained, "You don't realize it, but when you do that, your eyes change all cat-like. And they become golden. You can tell that you are up to something." he rasped. She nodded, and kept her head cast down, arm on River's, watching the ground so they could walk better. Wind was doing ok on his own, thankfully. Willow didn't think she could watch out for all three of them.
A loud, reverberating boom came from up ahead. River prayed it meant light, and people. He wanted to see where he walked. When the immortal dropped him, his ankle twisted under him. He didn't say anything about though, as just breathing had hurt after his windpipe was bruised by a huge, crushing hand. After what had seemed like forever of walking down that dark tunnel led by his sister, River saw more light than the dim glowing crystals hanging periodically down the passageway. The mob emerged into the largest cave River had ever seen. There were tiers covered with tents and packs. There was a huge pit in the middle full of barrels. They were clearly marked with the symbol they knew was liquid fire. It was enough to reduce the whole of Corus to a crater in the ground.
Ok, I feel like leaving this here. The next chap is already in the process. And I want to thank Wild Mage of Tortall for her help as my beta. It was a long journey Kayden, but it is over. We figured it out, at long last. Thanx….