A BRUSH WITH FATE

Aine Myst was fully in control of all situations, except for those times when she became angry. This was one of those times. When she was at the zenith of her anger, those around her, whether they be friend or foe, were in for quite a theatrical display of vocal and physical intensity; and woe to anyone who tried to intervene or get in her way. She had hoped a night-time ride in the dark woods near Haven on her precious stallion, Obsidian, would dissipate some of the pressure building up inside of her from the argument with her parents. This argument had to do with her intense desire of entering Haven and becoming one of the elite Guard, which her parents wanted to delay for another year. She wanted to get into the Collegium as well to learn how to become more skilled as a fighter or soldier, perhaps even eventually becoming a skilled Weaponsmaster also, but one had to be Chosen in order for that to happen.

Her parents wanted her to stay another year longer at the family business of selling leather goods, most of which was riding apparel for the many horses around. There were some fancy boots and vests available as well to the elite denizens of Haven. The last thing she wanted to do was become a merchant, much less one dealing in fancy leather goods for the rich snobs who occasionally came by the store...at least, they were snobs to her. The last thing she said to her upset parents as she stormed out the door was, "I want to do this! You can hire some lowborns to run the store, CAN'T YOU!" She really had nothing against the lowborn and even now she was beginning to have slight regrets about her angry demand. And that was that.

Realizing she had gone quite far into the woods now, near the lowborn districts, she thought of turning away; but that odd feeling or presentiment of danger encroached upon her yet again. She had been having vague premonitions for almost a month now, and she learned it usually had to do with danger; danger that hadn't happened yet. She could not exactly tell what the danger was but she usually could sense it's origin and direction. From her viewpoint, it was leading her to the western edge of the dark forest where there was an open grove and quite a tall tree all by itself. She realized, with some surprise, that someone was trying to climb the tree. She had seen the silhoutte of someone up there about a fourth of the way up. This must have been the source of the danger she had felt.

Fenix was feeling quite exhilirated and quite scared too as he navigated the treacherous branches on the way up. He was tingling with adrenaline. It was a miracle he had come this far. He figured he was a little more than a fourth of the way up. He looked out over at the moon and then back to the next branch slightly further up and judged it to be safe to climb on. He was breathing at a rapid pace and his heart was racing along with it. He wondered if he could really make it. He paused and then realized the more he thought about it, the more fearful and anxious he became. He tried to regain his composure and felt he could struggle on as long as he didn't look down, or too far up for that matter. Without warning, a breeze stirred through the tree, causing it to sway a little. It was kind of a sickening feeling losing his equilibrium, and he found himself gripping a branch and the bark of the tree with all his strength . His knuckles turned white as a result. Whatever composure he regained was quickly lost. Finally, the breeze settled down and he took in a few deep breaths. He looked at that same branch again and tentatively stepped upon it, testing it's strength. Seemed okay, he figured. He put his full weight upon it and the branch cracked and gave way as he lost his grip. Fenix slid down a few feet and roughly met some of the branches as he fell. One branch hit him full in the head. Then, he encountered a stout tree branch which luckily had caught him in the collar of his woolen shirt as he fell. In effect, the tree branch had rescued him from what could have been his immediate doom... He hung precariously from the stout branch with some of his weight being supported by the lower branches. He moaned in agony from the resulting pain. He couldn't help it; he was forced to looked down, and he felt as if he was quickly fading away. Then Fenix passed out.

Aine suddenly felt more of a sense of urgency and emerged out into the open grove. She could see that the situation had indeed taken a turn for the worse. She kicked the horse and advanced towards the tree at a faster pace. The situation didn't look right at all. It appeared to her as if the boy had fallen some and then was caught by a strong tree branch...but he wasn't moving. As she came up to the tree she really hoped that this person was still alive. What in Valdemar's name was he doing climbing a tree at this hour! She shook her head, disregarding the thought. Aine noticed the footholds ranging up the tree. Obviously this tree had been climbed before. She thought of the orphanage not too far to the west, but didn't draw any conclusions as of yet. She brought the horse to a halt, then quickly and gracefully dismounted near the tall tree and then tied Obsidian to a smaller tree nearby. As she looked up and at this situation at close range, she was even less reassured by what she saw. In the moonlit darkness it was difficult to be sure. It did seem to be a male, maybe roughly her age. His head was hung quite low and he was totally limp; not good signs at all. She couldn't tell if he was bleeding or not, but she supposed there would be. She cupped her hands and shouted, "Hey! Move if you can hear me ok!"

No movement.

Louder, "Can't you move up there?" Immediately she realized how dumb that sounded. It was a good thing no one else was around to hear her.

She decided it was high time she try to do something. First, she checked to make sure she had her dagger, and it was still in its' leather sheath. She might need it on the way up, and most certainly would need it once she got up there. Then, as quickly as her feet would allow, she began to climb the tree. She was good at this sort of thing and was already at branch level rather quickly. He was still about twenty feet higher than she was. She quickly judged a few of the branches and then made her move. Reaching for one branch, she pulled herself up and hoisted herself up to the next branch, testing them first as she proceeded upward.

Halfway up there now she yelled, "Hang on! I'm coming to help you!" It occurred to her as she made quick progress that it was a good thing she had on a long sleeve woollen shirt on and her riding pants on, else she'd be sporting a good deal of scratches and bruises by now. She saw that there were still four branches to climb at this point. Looking up at him again she realized that she was probably right about the age thing; he was probably around fifteen, which would be one year younger than she was. She still couldn't tell if he was alive yet or not, but that feeling that made her stomach twist and turn was not relenting. She climbed up to his level now and indeed, there was a fair amount of blood on him and on some of the branches. Still, no movement. Hanging on to a supporting branch, she reached over and shook his shoulder a bit, and is head kind of flopped back and forth.

The situation looked grim but Aine was determined to get this guy down from the tree, whether dead or alive. She was a tough girl and was hardly known to have ever given up on anything. Her eyes moistened a little at the thought of this young man slowly dying up there and suffering, yet she still held out a slim chance for his survival. Of course! He is only unconscious, she thought with some hope. She judged it still would be a couple hours before the moon set down ahead of the coming dawn.

Now she raised his head and shook him a little again, and his eyes flashed open! Startled, she gaped at him but it seemed more like an automatic reflex than anything, as the eyes and his face lacked any expression. Then he closed his eyes and resumed his seemingly unconscious state of being. She noticed that he probably wasn't that bad looking of a guy. He wasn't very muscular...though at least adequately so she figured. She thought with a smile that some guys had too many muscles, including the ones in their head which tried to serve as a brain. She shifted her weight again on the branches to make herself more comfortable.

She leaned carefully near him again and this time she slapped him fiercely and shouted at him. She did this twice and then when she thought she was going to have to carry him down as he was, she saw that there was movement! He groaned and stirred a little. And opened his eyes. He was still too dazed to comprehend anything. She felt more animated as she figured that now, she just might be able to bring him down. "What's your name?" she asked eagerly.

She only got a moan from him as a response. He heard her though and that was a good sign. She became more hopeful; still, it would probably be a while before he came around fully. "Would you be able to hold on to me long enough so that I could bring you down?"

He seemed to nod his head in the affirmative yet could not articulate a vocal response. She waited a bit and then he began to stir a little more. He actually looked over at Aine now, but it was obvious he couldn't focus his vision as of yet.

Fenix was coming to some sense of awareness now and could feel the resulting pain. He looked up a bit and tried to make sense of what he saw. In and out of focus he vaguely saw a dark figure near him which moved around a little but couldn't make out more than that. Had someone offered to help me get down? He couldn't seem to answer his own thought. He heard someone shouting at him as if from a distance...I must still be alive...

"I want to know if you think you could hold on to me long enough to get you down!" Aine exclaimed. She saw that he was responding a bit more now and even looked at her again and he tried to move around a little, nodding his head in the affirmative again. Though she figured he was not yet totally aware of his surroundings, perhaps he could hold on well enough to get down. She thought it would be prudent now to cut him down from his precarious position. She cut a little at the collar while holding him steady. She moved carefully a bit closer to him, mindful of the branches and her balance. She turned her back toward Fenix, then she told him to try and put his arms around his neck. Then she told him to clasp his fingers together as well...To her amazement he did just that. She took the length of the cut away collar and it was just long enough to tie his wrists together. She did this in the event he lost consciousness again. Evidently he was coming around a little more rapidly now. Then she explained to him to clamp his legs around her, thus riding her piggyback fashion. It was certain to be rough going, to say the least.

Fenix was now able to do as instructed even while he was still in pain and slightly dumbfounded by the shock of the fall. He would feel much more pain later tomorrow. He had no idea who this saviour was who seemed to come out of nowhere. All he could manage to think of right now was to hold on tight.

Aine figured this task would be almost impossible, but if anyone could do it, she could. She knew she had great agility and alacrity along with her strength. She knew though that she was going to have to pick the branches more carefully than before. She attempted standing on one of the thicker branches below, as she held on to a nearby supporting branch. She stepped down carefully upon it, testing the strength of it. Only about twenty more feet to go, she thought to herself. The thought was less than reassuring, thus she vowed to herself she wouldn't think about it. One branch at a time...she reminded herself. She was thankful as well for the moonlight, it would have been a bit more tricky going in total darkness. Trying to find room to squeeze down through the branches was going to be no easy matter either. She put their full weight upon the branch now, stepping on it as close to the tree as possible. So far, so good. She looked down again and this was going to be a tight squeeze to get down through through this set of branches. She thought for a moment, and then about the only recourse, she figured, would be to ask Fenix to temporarily let go with his legs. At this point she was doubly glad she thought of tying his wrists together with the strip from his collar that she had cut off. "Ok! As we go down to this branch below I am going to ask you to let go with your legs until I step down on that branch. Then try and put your legs back around me, okay?" Aine wasn't sure if she was going to get an answer or not, but as long as he understood and complied, it was more than she could ask for.

It was hard for him to think as clear as he would have liked, through all this pain. He wondered more now who this could be as the voice didn't sound familiar. Yet he was beginning to wonder if this voice was male or female. It was hard to tell. Whoever it was had a strong lean build, but at this point so far he had no indication of any telling factor, whether it be through touch or hearing.

He nodded his head and startling her, he whispered, "You can do it."

"I think the better question would be, could you do it, can you hang on?" She smiled a little at what he said. "I'll be just fine thank you." Aine felt a bit more relieved at his response though and thusly gained a bit more confidence. She judged her step down to the next branch and braced herself. At this point, she told him to let go with his legs. He did so, but Aine was unprepared for the sudden weight change; especially when it was all hanging from her throat. She suddenly panicked a bit. With much effort and concentration (not to mention a long held breath), she somehow managed to step down on the branch and it mercifully held. She grabbed on to a nearby branch for support. She struggled, lungs burning, trying to gain his attention before turning blue. Thankfully, she got through to him and he put his legs back around her. Her lungs were thankful. She continued in this fashion, branch by branch, struggling mightily. She began to wonder if she could hold on long enough.

After much effort, they had actually succeeded getting down near to where the footholds began. She knew this was going to be the defining moment. She figured she was roughly about ten or twelve feet above the ground. She thought maybe she could have risked having them both jump down at this point, but she wanted to get closer to the ground to avoid injury. Okay just do it! she thought to herself. It was now or never.

"We're almost there." he whispered again.

This seemed to motivate Aine a little and she carefully stepped down on the next foothold, praying it would hold. It did. She really thought that she couldn't hold on much longer. She wanted to go down one more. Holding on and stepping down she reached with her foot and began to place her weight on it when, without warning, her weight began to shift. Before she knew what was happening, she lost her equilibrium as they made a not-so-graceful decent to the ground. They tumbled down about eight feet to the ground landing in a rolling heap. Somehow Aine ended up on top of Fenix. He grimaced and moaned. How much more could he take, he wondered. As far as he could tell there were no broken bones. He looked up at Aine and realized that this person felt a little different to him. A little softer in some areas...He began to feel a little stirring down below the belt. He had felt that before, but this was a different circumstance.

"Funny we should meet like this eh?" She said , flashing a grin at him. "Aine Myst at your service!" She was breathing rapidly from all the effort and was very exhausted.

"You--you're a girl!" He tried to roll a little and shake her off.

"Oh. Want to be rid of me so quickly I see..." She rolled off, and was barely able to stand up. She proceded to dust herself off; but with an accidental glance in the wrong direction, she suddenly became a little wide eyed and pointed down at him and covered her gaping mouth with her hand.

He looked down to where she was pointing and became wide-eyed. "Wha, wha, wha?" he stammered. He turned a deep shade of red, embarassed. He quickly stood up and tried dusting himself off as if that would somehow help. He didn't know what to do or say. For some odd reason he felt compelled to salute her. "I am s-s-s-s-s sorry, very sorry my lady...for-forgive me please," he somehow managed to blurt out. He wanted to run away and hide, but he couldn't, he was paralyzed with fear.

She doubled up in laughter when he saluted her; that was it, she couldn't contain herself anymore and fell to the ground. She hadn't died from any injuries, but she felt like she could almost die laughing.

Now he turned an even brighter shade of red. He found himself fidgeting; it had been a while since he felt so...humiliated. Yet it was only yesterday that those other boys had taunted him, but this embarassment with her was somehow different, more acute in a way.

He also felt like he had suffered a terrible beating with the episode of that stupid tree...yet this Aine, she somehow rescued him...how had she known that he was in a desparate situation? She is very pretty...he noted mentally. Those cobalt blue eyes...Her short blonde hair tied back, with a lean and athletic figure, along with a sunny disposition; all combined for a nice effect...yet he had the impression it wouldn't be a good idea to cross her.

Looking at her now, it was easy to imagine her growing into a stunningly beautiful woman.

"Hey you! come back down to this side of Valdemar okay?" She smiled coyly. "Help a lady up won't you?"

He walked up to her and extended a hand, she grasped it then stood up.

Aine looked at him, still smiling. "What's your name?" she asked. She waited for a reply only to hear nothing as yet. "Hey! I just asked you what your -"

"My name is...Fenix," he finally managed to say. He looked up at the moon and felt a little panic. It would be dawn soon and Aunt Tildy would-

"Glad to meet you Fenix. Now what in Valdemar were you doing climbing that tree at this time of night?" she asked with her hands on her hips. The horse neighed a few times in the background and shook it's head impatiently.

Her question reminded him of why. How could I forget that? he thought with a slight sense of apprehension. He had promised, like a fool, that he would climb that tree...and that was now today. "Well you see I er uh...well..." he stammered. "It's a long story and its getting late. I must get back to the orphanage." He figured he had just enough time to get there to avoid discovery. The thoughts of facing Auntie with his reply to her demand about how he would show his love to her, and the climbing of that tree, loomed large in his mind right now. And I haven't had any sleep yet, he thought, feeling more miserable now.

"Ah I see, one of those longggg stories," she said mockingly. "Well next time we meet Fenix you have some explaining to do. I will very much look forward to meeting your aquaintance again soon. Now...close your eyes!"

Oddly, he found himself doing just as she instructed. Then, startling him, she kissed him on the forehead. He felt an almost instant change of feeling wash over him; somehow this was very pleasant and he could easily imagine himself drifting along helplessly into dreamland...

"Well Fenix!" Fenix jumped at her exclamation. "We will meet again, I am sure of it. And lets hope it will be under more pleasant circumstances!" she said with a smile. She turned away to go and retrieve her horse.

Still feeling a little drugged from that kiss, he replied "Yeah, I will look forward to that," he felt again that strange urge to salute her, but resisted this time.

She mounted Obsidian and the beautiful black horse rode off into the darkness towards the woods.

Fenix stood there, still kind of dazed and very sore too. Also he was becoming very tired...Well feet, no use standing here, he told himself. The moon was almost setting and maybe, just maybe, he had a candle mark or two to get back home, if luck was on his side.