Disclaimer: Anything recognized is from Kristen Britain's Green Rider, I'm not making any money off of this, you know the drill.
AN: Sorry, for some reason the format won't work and it won't let me indent.. so please bear with me... this is the new and reviewed version of the story!!
FondyCheesehead: Thanks for the constructive criticism!! You are right, I think I did portray Karigan as a young child... so I hope you like the reviewed version
The Last Ride
Prologue
The Gray One lifted his shadowy hand. In short, that was all that was left of him. A shadow. He clenched his wispy fingers into a fist. Karigan. He would get that stupid girl if it was the last thing he did. She had reduced him to a shadow of his former self. He had been near death ever since their great battle in Sacoridia, the battle which was now known as the Battle of Kanmorhan Evisk. The Battle of the Black Forest's Evil. He needed to get his revenge. The creatures of the Blackveil Forest would help him. He still had the breach in Kanmorhan Vane's wall. But first he needed a body. He was forgetting the weak mortal's body, Prince Amilton. No, he had been destroyed when the Gray One inhabited his body. No, he would need something more cunning, something stronger, and something close to the enemy's heart. He needed a green rider. And he knew just the one. Alton D'Yer.
Yes. It was all too perfect. The D'Yer boy had finally convinced his parents to let him actually ride as a Green Rider. As a new comer into battles, it would not be surprising if he disappeared for a while. Everyone gets lost once. But when he returned, Shawdell the Eletian would own him and his body. Grinning a ghastly grin, he rose his head and called for a creature of Kanmorhan Vane. A great eagle swooped down and landed at his feet. Looking into its sharp eyes, his shadowy spirit entered the eagle. It gave a great start and attempted to resist, but to no avail. The Gray One owned him. The great eagle's body slumped to the ground, as he gave into the Shadow Man and the Gray One rested after the terrible strain of using his magic.
When he awoke, the ground was wet with dew. Rising, he ruffled his feathers. Felt the large wings attached to his side. The first thing he noticed about being an eagle was the terrible hunger it always possessed. Alighting into the air, he let his keen eyesight search out a hare on the ground. Swooping down, he snatched up the rabbit in his large talons and promptly devoured it. It warmed his belly and he was full for the moment being. He rose once more into the air and instead of flying towards Sacoridia, it spread its wing and rode a thermal to the Blackveil Forest. He flew around and around the great wall, and searched for the Breach he had created. When he found it, he swooped down closer and looked about him. A creature was entering into the kingdom, but that was it. Perfect. The Sacoridians and all the other fools would not learn of the breach in the wall if animals entered it slowly. He grimaced. They had caught wind of the reoccurring groundmite attacks, but he supposed that would be unavoidable. Also, they were managing to kill many of the opposition.
Satisfied, he changed directions and flew towards the great city of Sacoridia. He would have to be careful that no Green Rider caught wind of him. No one could know he was not an eagle. When he arrived, he would momentarily take over the mind of that stable child, Mel, until he was able to get the D'Yer boy. And then… he would have the power of the brooch as well as his black magic. There was no way he could fail this time. The Old Dark Magic of Kanmorhan Vane would prevail and the world would be as it once was during what the mortal fools called the dark ages. He flew off into the distance, with the vision of his goal bright in his mind.
Pounding hooves reverberated in her head. Shaken awake, Karigan cried out in a bleating voice, "CONDOR!" Heart thumping in her chest, she sat upright for several moments and breathed heavily. She had once more dreamed of the Wild Ride. Every night she was haunted by the wild, pounding hoof beats and every night awoke in a sweat. It had not always been this way. Not since Condor had disappeared. She settled under her covers and looked at the picture beside her bed that never failed to make her cry. Condor, her beloved Horse, had disappeared a month ago and she had not heard of him since. And ever since he left, she had heard the pounding, reverberating hoof beats that rattled her soul and seemed to call to her. She tried not to believe it and pretended that she was happy as could be living in Corsa with her father, but in her heart she knew that her mind and her soul belonged to being a Green Rider. She could no longer sleep and lay in her bed until the sun rose and she heard the people of Corsa arising. As she rose to get dressed, she heard the people starting work, the Bread Boy calling out, "Your favourite type of bread, 3 coppers a loaf!" and the narrow streets begin to bustle. She looked at the green robe in her drawer that she had not worn since she left Sacoridia, the brooch still fastened tight to it.
She reached out her fingers, longing to touch it, but in the same way could not bear to lay a finger upon it. She shoved in the drawer and turned away, her face pale. Lately she had been more drawn to become a Green Rider than she had at first thought possible. She left her cabin and greeted her father, waiting as he asked if she had had any dreams, and patiently replying yes as she did everyday. Karigan kissed him on the cheeks and left to go to the well for the caravan. She walked along the path that she and Condor used to travel together and sighed sadly. The two used to enjoy their walks to the well, breathing in the sights and scents of the busy city, and once at the well they would both take huge gulps of the cool refreshing water.
Karigan continued walking, occasionally saying hello to a neighbour or two, until she reached the well. Filling the buckets to the brim, she handed the cart boy a copper and took the reins of the cart horse. Placing her buckets carefully in the back of the wagon, she filled two more buckets and with a click of her tongue began riding home with the cart horse. "Steady on, Molly," Karigan said as the small bay horse shied at a waving flag. The two rattled along the cobblestone street under arches and bridges, listening to all the sales pitches that merchants were using. "Miracle hair grow! Grows you hair immediately!"
"Fresh Cheese!"
"Quart of Milk, right from the cow this morning!"
"Karigan, Look Out!"
Karigan started as she heard her name uttered amidst the jumble of shouts. She looked to the right at a man waving his hands at her. "KARIGAN! LOOK OUT!" she whipped her head forwards and yanked the reins to the left sharply. Molly stopped in indignance at having her head so sharply pulled and stamped her foot. Karigan slumped in her seat in relief. She had been so distracted she had failed to notice a small child standing in the middle of the road. She was bawling at the top of her lungs. A concerned and flustered mother raced into the street and picked up the crying child. Once in her mother's arms, she was fine and began sucking her thumb. "I'm so sorry, m'lady," she stammered and rushed into a broken down house.
Karigan picked up the reins once more, after patting and apologizing to Molly, and carefully steered the cart once more through the busy streets. When she arrived at the caravan, her father came out quickly with a very concerned look on his face. "Kari? It took you twice as long this time to get the water," he commented. She smiled reassuringly. "It was just really busy in the streets, Papa. I'm fine." Her father's associate came out behind him. "Water! Finally! Good job, boss's daughter!" joked Sevano. Karigan unloaded the water, and got out of the cart. She patted Molly on the nose, praising her, then gave her a slap on the butt so she would head home. The little willful pony started off, manoeuvring around the many people in the street and heading in the direction of the well.
Karigan finished the rest of her chores, and told her father she was off to the stables. There she exercised the caravan's many horses and got them limber for their next merchantry trip. The horses seemed edgy today, fiddling and dropping their heads whenever possible. Karigan sharply reproved them and corrected them. She finished mucking out their stalls of the many piles of dung the huge Clydesdale's dropped and fed and watered them. Satisfied, she turned towards the door to leave for the regular mega sale in the court yard. During this time, all the merchants held an auction for the most interesting items, that ranged from lamps to flowers and everything in between. She felt it necessary to keep her eye out for any Green Rider brooch's floating around. In fact, she felt it to be her duty.
As she began to leave the stable, a ruckus broke out in the back stalls. She turned on her heel and rushed to the part of the stable. Tommy, their largest horse had broken a hole in his door. Karigan led him out and put him in the pasture, and inspected his stall. Poking her fingers around in the hay, she quickly withdrew them with a sharp cry. She had pricked her finger on something very sharp in the stall. Raking aside her hay, she saw a small dagger lying there. It was no wonder that Tommy had shied. She pulled it out and put it in the tack room.
She walked out to the pasture and inspected Tommy. She inspected his feet and noticed a large gash right above the hoof. It was not a deep cut and Karigan found him fit after applying antiseptic, so she left for the town square, still wondering about the dagger.
The smell of fresh baked bread hung in the air in the market place. The square was a mass of colourfully dressed bodies all waiting for the wondrous items they could buy. A boy wiggled up to Karigan. "Bread, m'am?" she smiled at the little blonde haired boy and accepted a piece of bread. It was deliciously moist and Karigan chewed on it as she looked at her surroundings. They sky was peacock blue and there was not a cloud in sight. Looking at the auctioneer, she observed that he looked slightly familiar.
Waiting eagerly in the crowd to hear the auctioneer, Karigan finished her bread and got out her change purse. The auctioneer's whiny voice soon began it's sales pitch. "Item 27, one brooch folks, doesn't look out of the ordinary!" he called. Karigan's heart jumped and she put up her hand. "We've got one copper, do we have 2? Two coppers, anyone for 3?" Karigan looked sharply at the person who had put up their hand but could not see their face because they were cloaked in a black cloth. She groaned at having to pay so much for what was called an ordinary brooch, but it could be that of a Green Rider, and she couldn't take that chance . "3 coppers, and it goes to Karigan G'ladheon." She made her way to the platform and took the brooch, walking back towards the caravan. At first glance, she thought it to be a lion brooch. But as she held it in her hand, its shape wavered and changed and it became a Green Rider brooch. She was saddened by this and wondered to whom it had belong. She shut it in her drawer along with her brooch and left to spend the rest of the day with her friends.
It was nearly nightfall when Karigan left the tavern. Her friends were staying for more ale, but she had had a mug as was customary for young adults, and decided it was time for her to leave. Walking down the moonlit street, she felt as if she were the only person left in the world. The moon washed everything in an eerie light, and not a sound was made. As she strode towards the alleyway that lead to her caravan, she was sharply pulled aside and a hand placed over her mouth.
"Make a sound and you won't ever see your caravan again," the dry raspy voice of her captor warned. Karigan struggled but his hand held her tight. She paused, her chest heaving. "That's more like it. Now where's the brooch. I know you've got it, Greenie. Where is the brooch!?" the captor began searching her pockets, and Karigan was so surprised at being called a Greenie once more she made no move to stop him. "Not here!" he hissed. Karigan took his moment of anger to bring her leg forward and slam it back on his shin. Howling in pain, the captor stepped away from her and Karigan fled down the streets, looking back only once to see the figure in the black cloak shrinking away into the shadows.
That night, she lay in bed and thought long and hard. Something was up. The animals knew it. The squirrels were chittering and fleeing more than usual and the horses were completely on edge. The Black Captor was the last straw. Once she had drifted off to sleep, she was once more awoken by hooves. But this time, she was not upset nor scared. She thought hard for a moment, nodded to herself, and fell asleep eager for the coming dawn. At breakfast, she sat down at the table with her father and cleared her throat. He looked up expectantly. "Papa," she started hesitantly. "Something's up. I know I'm needed. I love living here in Corsa with you, and I'm happy I'm allowed to return to Selium… but… I need… I want…
I want to be a Green Rider."