Of course the location and some of the characters belong to Tamora
Pierce. I think this chapter has a bit more action, or at least plot than
the last one. Enjoy!
Stella shifted in the saddle and craned her neck trying to see around the bend. It was late afternoon and she had been riding all day. Pinecone snorted reassuringly and she settled in the saddle again. A moment later she glanced nervously back at Lord Lucas. He was riding the pony anyone in the village had been willing to part with-a ragged eared, bony backed creature; the pony was named Tomcat in what Stella thought was a sick twist of irony.
~~~
She had tried to leave Lord Lucas behind at the inn, explaining to the innkeeper that she would be back to pick up her "cousin" in a day or two as she paid him from her magically refilling pouch. At that moment, however, he had wrapped himself about her feet and refused to let go until she agreed to bring him.
~~~
"Why did you want to come so badly?" she called back to him.
"You're kind of like what I imagined an older sister would be, even if you make me eat vegetables." Stella blinked in shock. There was something gratifying in hearing him say that after she had lugged him all this way. I hope that he shares that with his parents before they have me beheaded if we both live through this, she thought.
~~~
Stella had no reason to believe that she would be successful. She didn't even have a plan. She didn't even have an idea of what might work. Her dreams the night before had not been very specific. She had asked the innkeeper if he knew where the Night Wizards had been overcome, but his only response had been a questioning look. Stella had carefully asked him if he knew where there house had been, and he had warily given her directions. She had thanked him, bought Tomcat, and left the village quickly.
Their ride had not gone smoothly so far. Ominous winds and flashes of lightning seemed to cover the path. The sun hadn't truly risen at all that day, the world around Stella remaining in a dull gray blur. Stella had been nervous and jumpy all day, glancing behind and to the sides every few minutes.
~~~
Now they were almost to their destination. Stella felt, somehow, that she would recognize the place when she saw it, despite the poor description the man had given. A chilling wind darted through the trees, making Stella shiver and turn up her hood. She knew that it was almost time for sunset, when true not would begin, and she felt the rising power of the Night Wizards, a power opposite her Wild Magic, the very negative image of it. She sensed it the way a person in a well-lit room senses darkness outside their door. Stella closed her eyes, trying to think, but it did no good, fear pervaded all her thoughts.
They rounded the corner and Stella's head jerked upwards in astonishment. They had arrived. The land changed suddenly to a desolate wasteland, devoid of life and greenery. It was winter everywhere, but in other places the promise of spring had not been forgotten. Here it seemed as if spring would never come. This place had been winter for ages and would be winter for ages to come. It was rocky and bare except for a few ancient and gnarled trees.
But it was empty. It was desolate but not filled with darkness. It was filled with nothing. Stella squinted trying to find some great and unstoppable evil in the place. She could only find sadness, a tired ancient sadness that had lost all but the faintest traces of hope. All right, she thought, I'm here, I've rushed to meet my destiny, I've accepted fate, and now I have to do something. She wasn't sure what it was exactly that she was supposed to do.
After a moment or two of thought she sighed and decided on a course of action. "Stay here," she told Lord Lucas hoarsely. She dismounted, she couldn't ask Pinecone to walk with her, if he chose to come it would have to be of his own will. Then she stumbled across the rocky, barren ground, her steps slow and uneven. She headed straight towards the center of the empty land, her footsteps crunching and echoing. She was about halfway to the middle when she heard slow and determined hoof beats following her, she turned to see Pinecone a ways behind her. Stella smiled in relief. She hadn't felt ready to face whatever this might be alone.
Stella reached the center and stood still to wait for Pinecone. Her breath was coming fast and shallow and she was sweating and shivering at the same time. Pinecone bumped his nose into the base of her neck and whuffled for reassurance. She stroked his velvety nose and squared her shoulders.
"I am here," she yelled in as loud and as brave a voice as she could manage. She didn't think she sounded particularly loud or brave, but she thought she sounded better than she felt. Stella looked around and felt foolish; she had expected a response of some kind.
For a few minutes, after the echoes of her shout died away, there was absolute stillness and silence. Then slowly and lazily, as though it weren't really worth the effort, darkness and shadow began to circle and then to surround the barren land. Stella felt a lurch of fear in her gut. These being could kill her in an instant. She would shrivel with old age in a matter of seconds at their touch, becoming nothing more than a pile of ash and dust to be scattered by the wind.
The shadows grew larger and more palpable. Stella watched them apprehensively; she tried not to let her fear show. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lord Lucas urging Tomcat away from the shadows. She was relieved that they didn't seem to be attacking him. Maybe their power wasn't truly as great as she thought. Stella stood still and waited for her enemy to make the next move.
Footsteps began to sound across the land again, this time in the opposite direction from the way Stella had come. Stella looked around Pinecone and saw a figure coming towards her. She wasn't sure because of the distance but she thought it looked like the demon she had fought weeks ago in the inn. She glanced at the scars on her hand and felt another stab of fear.
He came closer. Stella was positive it was the demon from the inn. His form was somehow less human than it had been before, it was more bear- like, or monster-like. Her eyes widened with astonishment. He saw her face and grinned at her. His teeth were definitely fangs.
"Hello," he said in a voice that was sharp and hissing with malice. "I, the nameless servant of the Night Wizards, am here also. We are but two pawns, you and I, small insignificant pieces controlled by greater players. And here, we are brought into conflict with each other. We are mere trinkets to growl over before the real battle begins. When I defeat you it will be but the beginning of the Night Wizards' conquest, a beginning I am honored to take part in."
Stella glared at him as he spoke, horror rapidly becoming rage. When she answered him her voice was thick with fury. "I may be a pawn, I may be a servant, I may even be without free will in this matter. At least I am not without free will in all matters as you are. I can say, as I believe you cannot, that I trust the powers I defend here. I love my country and my world and I will not let them fall. I am no trinket to be trifled with. GO back to your masters and tell them the real battle begins NOW. I am not a minor irritation to be dispatched with so easily. They must face me themselves."
Stella took a deep breath after her extemporized speech. She'd said a few things that she wasn't sure if she meant. Her words hadn't as if they were her own, she felt as if they belonged to her but were not of her. They were her destiny, she had been waiting her entire life to say them and now she had found them. Stella felt oddly detached from her situation, as though it were a story a bard was singing and she were merely listening.
Quote: "I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it."
Thank you (I think it should be one word, thankyou, but spell check doesn't agree with me) for reading and please review.
Stella shifted in the saddle and craned her neck trying to see around the bend. It was late afternoon and she had been riding all day. Pinecone snorted reassuringly and she settled in the saddle again. A moment later she glanced nervously back at Lord Lucas. He was riding the pony anyone in the village had been willing to part with-a ragged eared, bony backed creature; the pony was named Tomcat in what Stella thought was a sick twist of irony.
~~~
She had tried to leave Lord Lucas behind at the inn, explaining to the innkeeper that she would be back to pick up her "cousin" in a day or two as she paid him from her magically refilling pouch. At that moment, however, he had wrapped himself about her feet and refused to let go until she agreed to bring him.
~~~
"Why did you want to come so badly?" she called back to him.
"You're kind of like what I imagined an older sister would be, even if you make me eat vegetables." Stella blinked in shock. There was something gratifying in hearing him say that after she had lugged him all this way. I hope that he shares that with his parents before they have me beheaded if we both live through this, she thought.
~~~
Stella had no reason to believe that she would be successful. She didn't even have a plan. She didn't even have an idea of what might work. Her dreams the night before had not been very specific. She had asked the innkeeper if he knew where the Night Wizards had been overcome, but his only response had been a questioning look. Stella had carefully asked him if he knew where there house had been, and he had warily given her directions. She had thanked him, bought Tomcat, and left the village quickly.
Their ride had not gone smoothly so far. Ominous winds and flashes of lightning seemed to cover the path. The sun hadn't truly risen at all that day, the world around Stella remaining in a dull gray blur. Stella had been nervous and jumpy all day, glancing behind and to the sides every few minutes.
~~~
Now they were almost to their destination. Stella felt, somehow, that she would recognize the place when she saw it, despite the poor description the man had given. A chilling wind darted through the trees, making Stella shiver and turn up her hood. She knew that it was almost time for sunset, when true not would begin, and she felt the rising power of the Night Wizards, a power opposite her Wild Magic, the very negative image of it. She sensed it the way a person in a well-lit room senses darkness outside their door. Stella closed her eyes, trying to think, but it did no good, fear pervaded all her thoughts.
They rounded the corner and Stella's head jerked upwards in astonishment. They had arrived. The land changed suddenly to a desolate wasteland, devoid of life and greenery. It was winter everywhere, but in other places the promise of spring had not been forgotten. Here it seemed as if spring would never come. This place had been winter for ages and would be winter for ages to come. It was rocky and bare except for a few ancient and gnarled trees.
But it was empty. It was desolate but not filled with darkness. It was filled with nothing. Stella squinted trying to find some great and unstoppable evil in the place. She could only find sadness, a tired ancient sadness that had lost all but the faintest traces of hope. All right, she thought, I'm here, I've rushed to meet my destiny, I've accepted fate, and now I have to do something. She wasn't sure what it was exactly that she was supposed to do.
After a moment or two of thought she sighed and decided on a course of action. "Stay here," she told Lord Lucas hoarsely. She dismounted, she couldn't ask Pinecone to walk with her, if he chose to come it would have to be of his own will. Then she stumbled across the rocky, barren ground, her steps slow and uneven. She headed straight towards the center of the empty land, her footsteps crunching and echoing. She was about halfway to the middle when she heard slow and determined hoof beats following her, she turned to see Pinecone a ways behind her. Stella smiled in relief. She hadn't felt ready to face whatever this might be alone.
Stella reached the center and stood still to wait for Pinecone. Her breath was coming fast and shallow and she was sweating and shivering at the same time. Pinecone bumped his nose into the base of her neck and whuffled for reassurance. She stroked his velvety nose and squared her shoulders.
"I am here," she yelled in as loud and as brave a voice as she could manage. She didn't think she sounded particularly loud or brave, but she thought she sounded better than she felt. Stella looked around and felt foolish; she had expected a response of some kind.
For a few minutes, after the echoes of her shout died away, there was absolute stillness and silence. Then slowly and lazily, as though it weren't really worth the effort, darkness and shadow began to circle and then to surround the barren land. Stella felt a lurch of fear in her gut. These being could kill her in an instant. She would shrivel with old age in a matter of seconds at their touch, becoming nothing more than a pile of ash and dust to be scattered by the wind.
The shadows grew larger and more palpable. Stella watched them apprehensively; she tried not to let her fear show. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lord Lucas urging Tomcat away from the shadows. She was relieved that they didn't seem to be attacking him. Maybe their power wasn't truly as great as she thought. Stella stood still and waited for her enemy to make the next move.
Footsteps began to sound across the land again, this time in the opposite direction from the way Stella had come. Stella looked around Pinecone and saw a figure coming towards her. She wasn't sure because of the distance but she thought it looked like the demon she had fought weeks ago in the inn. She glanced at the scars on her hand and felt another stab of fear.
He came closer. Stella was positive it was the demon from the inn. His form was somehow less human than it had been before, it was more bear- like, or monster-like. Her eyes widened with astonishment. He saw her face and grinned at her. His teeth were definitely fangs.
"Hello," he said in a voice that was sharp and hissing with malice. "I, the nameless servant of the Night Wizards, am here also. We are but two pawns, you and I, small insignificant pieces controlled by greater players. And here, we are brought into conflict with each other. We are mere trinkets to growl over before the real battle begins. When I defeat you it will be but the beginning of the Night Wizards' conquest, a beginning I am honored to take part in."
Stella glared at him as he spoke, horror rapidly becoming rage. When she answered him her voice was thick with fury. "I may be a pawn, I may be a servant, I may even be without free will in this matter. At least I am not without free will in all matters as you are. I can say, as I believe you cannot, that I trust the powers I defend here. I love my country and my world and I will not let them fall. I am no trinket to be trifled with. GO back to your masters and tell them the real battle begins NOW. I am not a minor irritation to be dispatched with so easily. They must face me themselves."
Stella took a deep breath after her extemporized speech. She'd said a few things that she wasn't sure if she meant. Her words hadn't as if they were her own, she felt as if they belonged to her but were not of her. They were her destiny, she had been waiting her entire life to say them and now she had found them. Stella felt oddly detached from her situation, as though it were a story a bard was singing and she were merely listening.
Quote: "I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it."
Thank you (I think it should be one word, thankyou, but spell check doesn't agree with me) for reading and please review.