I'm sorry for the delay in posting and for the shortness of the chapter.
I'll try to make the next one a little longer. At this point, since the
story's first birthday was a few days ago I would like to thank everyone
who has been reading and reviewing. Assuming nothing too entirely crazy
happens (ha ha) I hope to have the story finished completely by late May.
Of course the location and some of the characters belong to Tamora Pierce.
Five hours later, Pinecone ambled to a halt. He shook his shoulders until his passenger (Stella couldn't be referred to as a rider at this point in her exhausted state) slid off. She curled into a fetal position on a soft bed of pine needles. Lord Lucas pulled his pony to a halt and dismounted. He looked at Stella and sighed before untacking the animals. He opened the saddlebag and Pinecone pulled a blanket out with his teeth and spread it over Stella. She snored and snuggled into it. Lucas grabbed some dried meat and a hunk of bread and wolfed it down sitting on a log. Then he lay down next to Stella; Pinecone pulled out another blanket and spread it over him.
"You'll keep watch won't you," he said aloud, somehow sure that Pinecone would understand him. The horse nodded gravely in response. Lucas shut his eyes and surrendered to sleep.
Stella woke the next morning with an empty stomach and a throbbing head. She looked up and saw Pinecone standing over her. She realized he had been there all night. He leaned down and nuzzled her face. Then, he delicately picked up the blanket with his teeth and yanked it off her. She got the message.
"All right, I'm up, no rest for the weary." Thinking that the nearest village was only an hour's ride away, she decided that breakfast could wait until later.
A few hours later she realized that the village was just an hour's ride away. Stella stopped and unpacked some food. "Do you have a plan?" asked Lord Lucas; his question was an echo of all the voices in Stella's head.
"Um, not really. Obviously we need to tell the king about the demon- monster leftovers. So I'm heading back to Chorus, but that's going to take a while and get me in trouble so I'm open to alternative suggestions."
He nodded but appeared not to have any alternative suggestions. She wondered if she couldn't drop him off at his home on the way back and then decided against it; she didn't want to be stopped and arrested for kidnapping on her way back with such a message.
They continued on for a week and a half. Looking back, Stella was never sure where she found the strength to keep going. It seemed that an inexorable force was pushing her onwards past her exhaustion. The journey was in some ways the mirror image of her journey towards the Night Wizards only the weather seemed to be growing warmer rather than colder, and, while she felt unseen eyes watching her, only some of them seemed to have evil intentions. The other considerable difference was that she now commanded Lord Lucas's respect and adoration; he was cooperative and helpful and his vanity and arrogance seemed to have disappeared entirely.
One night they made camp in a small clearing a short ways from the main road. Stella left Lord Lucas to care for the horses while she went to gather dry firewood (this would be quite a challenge since it had been raining for the past few days).
....................................
That very same night, only about half a mile away, the Lady-Knight and her Squire Neal had just made camp. Allana was injured but in relatively good humor, and she'd had just enough brandy (for medicinal purposes) that she didn't question his sudden offer to gather herbs to flavor the stew with. After all, Neal was a much better cook than she was. He slipped his book of poetry by Sir Gelindoor the Gladhearted out of his saddle bag and slipped off through the trees. Finding a comfortable looking set of roots, he propped himself against a tree, stretched out his legs, and began to read.
....................................
Stella sighed in frustration, after twenty minutes of searching she had found only a few dry twigs. Scanning the forest, she thought she saw a dry patch. She broke into a run, hoping she could soon get back and begin cooking dinner. Wham! She tripped and was suddenly down on her knees in the mud.
"Holy Mithros !" Exclaimed a voice on her right. She turned and discovered that she had tripped of the legs of Nealan of Queenscove. She scrambled to her feet and waited for him to react.
Hope you enjoyed it. I will pick up exactly where I left off next chapter. Thank you for reading and please review.
Five hours later, Pinecone ambled to a halt. He shook his shoulders until his passenger (Stella couldn't be referred to as a rider at this point in her exhausted state) slid off. She curled into a fetal position on a soft bed of pine needles. Lord Lucas pulled his pony to a halt and dismounted. He looked at Stella and sighed before untacking the animals. He opened the saddlebag and Pinecone pulled a blanket out with his teeth and spread it over Stella. She snored and snuggled into it. Lucas grabbed some dried meat and a hunk of bread and wolfed it down sitting on a log. Then he lay down next to Stella; Pinecone pulled out another blanket and spread it over him.
"You'll keep watch won't you," he said aloud, somehow sure that Pinecone would understand him. The horse nodded gravely in response. Lucas shut his eyes and surrendered to sleep.
Stella woke the next morning with an empty stomach and a throbbing head. She looked up and saw Pinecone standing over her. She realized he had been there all night. He leaned down and nuzzled her face. Then, he delicately picked up the blanket with his teeth and yanked it off her. She got the message.
"All right, I'm up, no rest for the weary." Thinking that the nearest village was only an hour's ride away, she decided that breakfast could wait until later.
A few hours later she realized that the village was just an hour's ride away. Stella stopped and unpacked some food. "Do you have a plan?" asked Lord Lucas; his question was an echo of all the voices in Stella's head.
"Um, not really. Obviously we need to tell the king about the demon- monster leftovers. So I'm heading back to Chorus, but that's going to take a while and get me in trouble so I'm open to alternative suggestions."
He nodded but appeared not to have any alternative suggestions. She wondered if she couldn't drop him off at his home on the way back and then decided against it; she didn't want to be stopped and arrested for kidnapping on her way back with such a message.
They continued on for a week and a half. Looking back, Stella was never sure where she found the strength to keep going. It seemed that an inexorable force was pushing her onwards past her exhaustion. The journey was in some ways the mirror image of her journey towards the Night Wizards only the weather seemed to be growing warmer rather than colder, and, while she felt unseen eyes watching her, only some of them seemed to have evil intentions. The other considerable difference was that she now commanded Lord Lucas's respect and adoration; he was cooperative and helpful and his vanity and arrogance seemed to have disappeared entirely.
One night they made camp in a small clearing a short ways from the main road. Stella left Lord Lucas to care for the horses while she went to gather dry firewood (this would be quite a challenge since it had been raining for the past few days).
....................................
That very same night, only about half a mile away, the Lady-Knight and her Squire Neal had just made camp. Allana was injured but in relatively good humor, and she'd had just enough brandy (for medicinal purposes) that she didn't question his sudden offer to gather herbs to flavor the stew with. After all, Neal was a much better cook than she was. He slipped his book of poetry by Sir Gelindoor the Gladhearted out of his saddle bag and slipped off through the trees. Finding a comfortable looking set of roots, he propped himself against a tree, stretched out his legs, and began to read.
....................................
Stella sighed in frustration, after twenty minutes of searching she had found only a few dry twigs. Scanning the forest, she thought she saw a dry patch. She broke into a run, hoping she could soon get back and begin cooking dinner. Wham! She tripped and was suddenly down on her knees in the mud.
"Holy Mithros !" Exclaimed a voice on her right. She turned and discovered that she had tripped of the legs of Nealan of Queenscove. She scrambled to her feet and waited for him to react.
Hope you enjoyed it. I will pick up exactly where I left off next chapter. Thank you for reading and please review.