Well, when I got to the Dove, everybody was astonished to see Ayden, some thought he was beautiful, but others backed away from him like he was a rabid dog. They must believe that he is bad luck too. Oh, well. It's probably for the best. I don't think he's used to all these people yet.
Anyway, I put him in the stable out front and told him I would visit every hour or so. I went inside and started looking around for my apron that I couldn't find. (Did I say that I leave my apron at work? It just works better if I leave it there incase I was somewhere and was running late and I couldn't get home in time. M. Tyler told me that. Figures.)
I searched high and low for it, and when I found it, Sara was wearing it. (Sara is my afternoon hours friend, like Lili is my morning hours friend. I like her, she's funny. She likes to play games even thought she's married and has a kid. She's only about twenty, though. I hope I don't end up like that. Actually, I hope I don't stay here that long. I mean, it's hard to say where I want to be. I want to be with my friends and family, but I like it here too. Oh, well. Whatever happens, will happen.)
Anyway, she took my apron to see how long it would be for me to realize she was wearing it. It took me ten minutes. Anyway, I tried to tell her about Ayden, but she was busy with customers. I got stuck washing dishes for a while with Emma, who is also cool. She always has something to talk about, but that girl can yap your ear off if you're not careful.
When I finally was able to see Ayden it was close to sun down and he was not happy that I left him there alone for that long. But he was eating a lot. So much, in fact, that I had to tell the keeper to stop feeding him because I didn't want him to eat his way to death.
It was about eleven thirty-ish, give or take a little, (some how everyone knows the time. And they use sundials. Who'd have guessed?) when Doyle came.
"You came. I wasn't actually expecting you to come." I said.
"Yea, well, get used to seein' me. I don't get lunch or dinner for another week." He sighed.
"Harsh."
"Tell me 'bout it." He sat down at a table and laid his head down like he was tired.
"Are you tired?" It was more that I was stating the obvious then asking, but you gotta ask otherwise there is this awkward silence between two people.
"Are you kidding? Dugal has me working my ass off out there. He doubled my chores. Gave me his good-for-nothing son's chores that he hardly ever does anyway!" He looked up at me like he was blaming me. Well, actually, it was my fault, but he let me go.
"Don't look at me like that. You're the one who let me go."
"Yeah, and now I wish I hadn't."
"Oh, well, damage done. Can't change the past."
"Unfortunately, your right."
"I'll go scrap up whatever I can find for you. You came late so there's not much that's warm. I just wish I had a -. Never mind." (I'm not going to confuse these poor people about microwaves.)
"Whatever."
"Whatever, back. You better learn better manners, little boy, or you won't get any food. Let's both remember who's feeding who, here." I said, tilting my head and cocking it to one side with my arms crossed so that it seemed like I really was the older person here.
"Sorry." He said like he where the child, and I, the mother, scolding him for something. I went back, managing to salvage a steak, some potatoes, some mixed greens and a few biscuits. For myself, I got the maids dinner. Basically the same, but it was warm and better tasting. I brought my plate and his out, but when I found him, he was asleep on the table. I thought it would be funny to gently place the food on the table to wake him up. The next thing anyone heard was a Slam and an Ahhh!
"Jeaz woman! What do you think your trying to do here? Give me a heart attack?" He said trying to catch his breath.
"I'm soo sorry," I said sarcastically. "I slipped." I pulled a cheesy smile on my face as I sat down in the chair across from him. He just shook his head and put all his concentration on his plate of food. I watched him shovel his food into his mouth for about three minutes before I decided to get up and get him a special spoon. When I returned (I don't think he noticed that I left) I presented a shovel we had out back.
"Need a bigger spoon?" He looked at me oddly. "I think your fork is to small to satisfy your stomach, so I did you a favor and got you a shovel so that you can get bigger bites in." He choked down what was in his mouth with the glass of water he had.
"You think your real funny, don't you?"
"Well, actually, I don't, but they do." I jerked a thumb at two ladies and Solom who where laughing at the joke I made.
"Whatever. I'm hungry." He started to shovel in the last bit on his plate and asked for a second serving. (Solom is actually kinda cool with him coming and eating the scrapes, but I think its going to come out of my pay. Whatever. I don't use it for anything anyway.)
I finished my plate, and started to wash off the tables, then went to clean dishes. When Emma told me that Doyle wanted to see me, I went out to see what he wanted. He was standing by the door when I came to him.
" I'm going to see some friends right now, do you want to come with?" He asked.
"No. I can't, it's rude. Besides, I don't even know you. You could be trying to kill me for all I know."
"Do I really look like a murder?"
"Do I really look like someone who would steal a horse?" I beat him at his own question.
It was quiet for a moment, then he said, "Well, what if you have the advantage in the race." He looked up from his previous position on the ground.
"What do you mean?"
"You could ride your horse."
"Ayden, and how do you know I have him here?"
"I saw him in the stable. He got fatter."
"I fed him. And how would I have the advantage?"
"I don't have a horse. You could ride Ayden...by the way, good name...and I could walk." I wasn't going to go but then he said, "Besides, I know someone who wants to formally meet you." He knew that would spark my interest… Damn him.
"Who?" I asked suspiciously. I was still not clear of the death threats.
"I can't tell you. She told me not to tell you. But she did want me to ask if you believe in reincarnation?" Where had I heard that question before?
I don't know, but before I had time to think about it, something other than my voice said yes. It sounded, maybe like, like the Goddesses now that I think of it. She did it. She's the one who made me say yes. Anyway, Doyle didn't notice, which I found hard to believe.
"I can't believe I just said yes." I sighed. "Meet me by Ayden in about ten minutes." I went inside and kept to my cleaning. George went to bed early that night so he was no problem. The problem was getting away so no one suspected anything. It was actually easier then I thought, because five minutes later, Solom said I could go home. (Huh, go figure. She must really want me to meet this person.)
When I found Doyle with Ayden, he was feeding Ayden some more hay.
"Don't feed him more. He'll blow up. What are you thinking?" I said as I grabbed the hay that he had in his hand and drooped it on the floor.
"He's hungry," Doyle said. He bent down to pick up the hay that I had just dropped.
"He's had enough. He'll eat himself to death. Trust me. He's eaten a lot. He's full, he just don't know it."
Doyle sighed, then dropped the hay in his hand. "Sorry, old habit. I usually feed him whatever I can. I thought I would have to keep feeding him."
"Well, he's in good hands, so let me saddle him and you can take me where ever before I fall asleep. I'm tired...I didn't finish my nap today." I quickly saddled Ayden and mounted him. But not before I took some of the hay and stuck it in his saddlebags. Doyle just chuckled at me when I did it.
We started to head out, and after a few minutes of silence, Doyle broke the silence. "So how long have you been ridding horses?"
"If you can believe, two days." I looked over at him to see if he believe me or not.
"Tell the truth. Your to good to have only ridden for two days." ( Not.)
"I'm serious. I started ridding yesterday on that damn horse, Pepper..." I couldn't remember his name. "Piper...Pippin..."
"Peter," He never even looked up at me. "He's a woman hater." Then something crossed his face and he looked up at me. "That, that woman ridding Peter was you?" He started to laugh hysterically. That made me real secure about myself.
When he stopped laughing, he said, "Well, actually, you didn't do that bad. Like I said, he's a woman hater ..."
"Yea, I know," I started to resituate myself because my bum stated to hurt thinking of the day before.
That stopped the conversation for a moment but Doyle said, "So this horse must really like you because he seems to love you and it took me at lease a week for him to come to me. But when he did, he warmed up to me real quick. It took a few hands full of hay, but I got him." He paused and looked at me again, then at Ayden like he was pondering something. "But I've never been able to ride him like you are now."
"What do you mean?" I asked. What I was doing wasn't that hard. I was ridding on top of him.
"I mean, he's so calm when you ride him. He's always been antsy. With you he's just...calm."
"Well, there must be some supernatural reason why he's like this, but I don't really care. All I need to know is that he likes me better then you, so there!" I stuck my tongue out at him, then called : Nener nener neener, like a child making fun of someone.
When I did that, he knew I was playing and he wanted to play too. Unfortunately, the way he played ... well, I didn't know him well enough, and it scared me a bit.
The first thing I know he's gone, and then he's ridding behind me on Ayden and he has already kicked Ayden into a run before I knew what hit me. I started to scream and wail but no one could hear me. We were already out in the woods.
He covered my mouth to keep me from screaming, which frightened me more. "Shut up. Shot, you're loud. I think I'm deaf now." I calmed down a little. He let go of me, which was a mistake. I shoved him off the saddle and he fell to the ground. I jumped right next to him and pinned him down with my knee at his throat. Well, that is while he had no breath. After he regained his breath, we started to actually wrestle. Thank god(s) for my uncle that is four years older then me who always wanted to wrestle. I was at least able to hold my own for a bit. Eventually, though, he had me pinned down kicking and screaming.
"What is your problem, spaz?" I stopped resisting.
"Like you don't know! Get off of me!" I started to try and push him off.
"What, I was only playing." He moved off of me.
I realized that he was really just playing and that he was now laughing.
"Well, you know what? You scared the crap outta me. That wasn't nice." I resaddled Ayden while Doyle was still on the ground. He gave a quick, loud whistle and stood up.
"What was that for?" I asked confused.
"Just wait a moment." He looked around in the pitch-blackness of the forest.
Yes, pitch blackness, and that made me uncomfortable. You know, the dark. "The least you could do is make some light."
"You do it." He said, still looking through the trees for something unseen. ( I don't think he was paying attention to me or what I was saying.)
"I can't." He took his gaze off of the forest for a moment to look at me ( so he was paying attention.), then gave another two ear bursting whistles, one right after the other, then turned to me again.
"Fine," He put his left hand out and said, "you said that you've done magic before, so concentrate on that feel. Concentrate on what it feels like when you light a candle...You have lit a candle before, haven't you?" I nodded. "Good. Now multiply that feeling, by how ever big you want your light to be."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, reach inside yourself and find your magic and put it into your hand. But you have to be able to feel it. If you close your eyes, it might be easier." I did what he said. I closed my eyes and searched for that black pit with white sparkles deep inside myself.
I searched for a few moment before my mind went dark. Not the dark from the sky, but my mind was flooded with darkness. I didn't understand why it was only dark and not sparkly. I pushed deeper through my mind, and there came a light brighter then the sun, but there was no way I could shield myself, because I was not looking with my eyes.
I pushed my mind to run itself through the pool of light. It was almost like silk. Liquid silk. Then I grabbed what would be a hand full of the liquid and took it from the depth of my mind and put it in my physical hand. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was producing light, but nothing like Doyle had done. His was like a floating light, mine was more like a white liquid orb incased in a transparent black light. No sparkles. With the light I was producing, I could see Doyle was in aw of what I had done.
"I've never seen magic do that before. That's interesting."
"Yeah, just a little." Right after I said that, I heard a ground pounding something. I even felt the ground shake.
"Avian is here." Doyle said.
"Who?"
"Avian. She's a beautiful paint." I didn't understand until Avian was right in front of me. He had called a paint horse. She was mostly a dark chestnut color with a black mane tail and lower legs, with a few black spots on her back.
Doyle mounted her, bear back and started to trot off. He turned around and told me to follow him. Stupidly, I did.
"I thought you said you would walk."
"It's talking to long. Come on. It's only a ten minute ride from here." I just followed. I had no choice. (The goddess was willing me go, I guess. Or it was just bad judgment on account that I was tired.)
It really was a ten minute ride, but before we reached where we were going, I started to wonder who would be in the middle of the forest. When I thought that, my question was answer by light that was an abrupt break in the black expanse that we had been riding, save for the magic Doyle and I produced.
When we got closer, I could hear music that was familiar in a way, but I couldn't place it. (I really have to take more naps if I'm gunna keep staying up like this. I can't think straight.) When we finally got to a clearing in the trees, I saw what looked like a party. There where people sitting in a circle playing music by the fire while others danced. There where women making cloth, I think, and children sleeping. I also noticed some wagons. Seven of them.
Doyle dismounted and I did the same, keeping close to Ayden just incase I needed a quick get away.
Doyle walked to one on the wagons and tied up Avian to a bar like thing sticking off the wagon. He patted her a few times on the stomach, thanked her, and told me to wait a moment. He walked in the colorful ( I studied it for a moment and saw it was very colorful) wagon.
While he was gone, I looked around at the people who had stopped dancing but the music players where still playing and most of the women where still knitting. It took me a minute to realize that these people where gypsies. Traveling people, as it were. Then those warning words that George side came to mind. The words that said that the rouge didn't communicate with the gypsies. But what was I to do? I was here and I didn't know my way back home.
Doyle came out and told me tie up Ayden next to Avian and come in to the wagon. I was going to protest and say something like: I have to go home, I'll get in trouble, or I'm tired. I don't want to meet anyone tonight, but something must have shown on my face, because Doyle said, " Don't argue. Just come here and meet her." I really couldn't argue and I didn't want to use the strength I had left to do so.
When I walked in, it smelled of burnt sage, which, if you've ever smelt it, smells very nice to a person who likes the outdoors. I, for one, do. The wagon, on the inside was as colorful, if not more then the outside. It had colored fabric all over the walls for decoration and a small table covered with food, a bottle of wine, and dirty dishes. Behind the table sat a woman, not old but older then I. Maybe eighteen or twenty. She was looking at Doyle when we entered and I couldn't quiet recall who she was, but when her blue-green and honey eyes settled on me, when I had her full attention, I realized who she was: the gypsy woman who I met at the Dove the other night. The one who reminded me of Dana in so many ways.
She smiled a lazy smile, "So nice to finally meet you. You've been on my mind for a while now. And that you met Frost here is only good fortune." She called Doyle, Frost. That was odd.
"I'm sorry I can't say the same," I didn't want to upset her because I was starting to think, with what she has said, she might be the one behind my assassination attempts. "You must have slipped my mind."
"Well, you haven't slipped mine," She stood up. "My name is Kia." She waited a few moment before saying, "And yours is..."
I would have said a fake name, but Doyle (Frost?) would have known. " Gweniver." The fact that I said my whole name, and didn't give my nickname should have rung a bell in Doyle/Frost's head that I didn't trust Kia and I wanted to leave. He ignored the wanting to leave part, but acknowledged that I needed more trust then just a name to stay here.
"This is an old friend of mine, Gwen. She was the one who saved me when I fell in a lake. She took care of me and finally gave me back to Dugal. She's been my friends ever since."
"Yea," She brushed her hair back with her fingers. "All in a days work. I have to do a good deed every once and a while." They both laughed and I felt like the odd ball out that I was.
She went to pour some more wine into a cup, but didn't have enough to fill the glass, so she sent Doyle out for another bottle. I didn't want to say anything for fear of reveling something about myself, but Kia didn't have much of a problem with talking. "Now that were alone, I have to ask you: Do you remember that question I asked you in the tavern before?"
"The reincarnation one? Yeah, why?" I was suspicious of her. I didn't know what she meant by the question, but I had my fists balled up behind my back just incase she went crazy on me.
"Because you remind me of someone I knew once," she half squinted, and had a hazy look in her eyes, as if trying to remember this person I reminded her so much of. "She looked just like you." She stood up and walked toward me. When she got too close, I backed up. She laughed, "You even have the same reflexes as her." Her laughter faded and looked strait into my eyes. I now realized that with the memories she was thinking about, she also had pain in her eyes. I thought she was going to cry. Then she through her arms around me and hugged me.
I was waiting for the knife in the back, but it never came. For a minutes she stood there hugging me. I even heard what sounded like hushed sobs. When I looked down to see her, I thought I was home again, with Dana hugging me for support. ( Which might I add, hardly ever happens. It's usually the other way around. I remember once I was about to fail a French final because my video tape was ruined, and it was seventy percent of the final. Any who, I had myself composed as I walked across the campus, but when I found her, I dropped my book bag and everything else in my hands and said, "Hold me." I embraced her and let all my tears flow. And she really did hold me. She held me until the bell rang and we where late for class.) That's what I saw when I looked at her; Dana. I immediately threw my arms around her and started to sob myself, not caring if anyone would see me.
We stood there until someone quietly come in. I guess when he saw us he just walked out. When the hug had ended, I was expecting to see Dana, and we would walk to class together or got to lunch, but I didn't. I saw Kia, and we didn't walk anywhere. We stood there, alone, looking at each other wondering why the person in front of us looked like someone else. Well, that's what I was thinking, anyway.
Yeah, uhh sorry it took a long time but i just wasn't in the mood. And it will probably be a while longer because i'm gunna be gone a few days and i wont be able to start it but yeah. So i hope you enjoyed. I didn't. I feel really bad if i think i might not ever see dana again. Wouldn't you? Just think of your best friend dying or moving to Europe, or the USA depending on where you live. I can't bare the thought. I'll go away before i give you worse thoughts.