Chapter 100
Avalina felt Mitternacht pick his feet higher and all but prance with excitement as they headed for the border. The horse's breaths puffed quickly in anticipation, and Avalina had to keep a steadying hand on his neck as she held the reins with the other to keep him at a walk. Her own heart was racing, but she couldn't help feeling apprehensive. Would it be the same? Would he like it? Would he even let her venture out that far?
The Horned King's aura was inescapable at this range, and seeing his arms on either side of her, his hands gripping the front of the saddle, with her back pressed up against him, did a very good job of keeping her excitement in check.
At the border, Mitternacht hesitated for the briefest of moments, pausing a few feet from the fading green foliage. Avalina had never allowed him to get within several feet of the border, mostly so as not to tease him with the prospect of home. But now, at a whispered word from her, Mitternacht covered the distance in almost a leap.
"Mitternacht," Avalina murmured softly in reprimand, but said nothing more to him as she felt the trees rising up above her, the brush closing about them, hiding them from the barren wasteland they had just exited. Her heart thudded faster as adrenaline pumped through her system, and she knew Mitternacht felt the same way by the way he held himself.
They were back in their world.
The horse wasted no time in finding a deer trail at the edge of the forest and heading in the direction of home. He knew exactly where he was going, and his strides became more purposeful, but a soft command from his ride prevented him from going any faster.
Sh-sh-clop. Sh-sh-clop.
The horse's hoofbeats were all but drowned out in the swishing noise the dead leaves made as Mitternacht passed through them.
"Shh. Shh. Shh. Shh. . ."
In rhythm of his steps they whispered.
Avalina couldn't keep from looking all around, taking everything in for the first time in months. She hadn't been in the forest since spring, and it had been all green the last time she had entered its intriguing depths.
The green was rapidly fading now, everything turning shades of brown, gold, orange and red. No two leaves or bushes were alike.
Leaves skittered through the air around them to fall on the forest floor, brushing past Avalina's face. A bright orange one snagged itself in Mitternacht's mane, but Avalina did not remove it.
She wanted to ask the Horned King how he was doing, but the idea seemed pointless and her words died on her lips when she tried to speak them.
The sunlight slanted through the gaping holes in the treetops as the leaves fell all around them, and Avalina breathed a deep breath of autumn air.
She couldn't wait to get to the ridge, and neither could Mitternacht.
He had resigned himself to walking now, so she no longer had to remind him otherwise, and his steady, easy rhythm stayed the same, his head moving up and down in a contented motion.
"Shh-shh-clop. Shh-shh-clop. Clip, clop. Clip. Shh-shh-shh. Shh-shh-shh."
The Horned King could not remember the last time he had been beneath a tree, or in a woodland of any type. He had spent much of his existence either in castles or wasteland, that he could remember. He never traveled much, preferring to teleport much of the time.
This forest was so different from what he was accustomed to. He had promptly been rendered speechless when the horse stepped into the brush, so unawares of what had lain right outside his borders.
He tilted his head back to look up into the treetops. They were so much taller than the magnificent ceilings that made up the castle rooms, their branches half bare, through which warm morning sunlight streamed through to fall on his upturned face. The other half of the branches were laden with leaves of many colors that fell perpetually, spiraling through the air to land gracefully with its brethren on the sun-dappled forest floor.
The horse's hoofbeats drowned out much of the forest noise, but the Horned King could faintly hear little tinkling notes of something that sounded vaguely like music in the air under the swishing of the leaves that he could not identify. Squirrels leaped from limb over his head, their tails streaming behind them.
How such creatures could leap onto the slimmest of limbs as though they weighed nothing and sail through the air like leaves themselves was something he could not remember seeing.
Perhaps he never had.
The treetrunks were massive. Thicker than the pillars that supported the castle ceiling and walls. Three grown men combined could not reach around most of them. Moss coated many of the trunks, although it was slowly disappearing as autumn wore on.
The Horned King could not find words to express his thoughts. He wanted to speak to Avalina, to tell her. . .something, but there was no words here.
Avalina slowed the horse for a moment, before taking a side trail the lich had not noticed. After a few minutes they stepped through the end of the treeline into an open meadow, where the warmth of the sun hit them full force.
When the Horned King could take his hand away from his eyes, (he was extremely sensitive to light, hence the castle was always dim) he noticed Avalina pointing to the right, and his gaze followed.
A herd of deer grazed on the far side of the meadow, nearly obscured by the tawny grasses that came up nearly to their bellies.
One raised its head and saw them, and the Horned King felt Avalina take a small breath in excitement.
It was a stag. His ears came up upon seeing them, and his body stiffened as his tail slowly raised, taking them in.
Seconds ticked by, and neither moved. The Horned King could see all the different branches on the antlers, spreading out grandly like a crown, lending such a sense of noble pride to the creature it was breathtaking.
The stag did not move a muscle, save for the slow movement of his ribs. His nostrils flared as he puffed softly, and the rest of the herd lifted their heads as well.
They stiffened in alarm, some raising their tails and moving warily toward the treeline behind them, others frozen, watching the creatures on the other side of the meadow.
Most were does, but a button buck or two could be seen, along with a younger fawn that had only recently lost all its spots.
Some of the deer quickly lost interest in the visitors and went back to grazing, grabbing mouthfuls and raising their heads again to watch, but others stood at the very edge of the treeline, ready to flee into the depths at the slightest provocation.
The stag, sensing no danger, grabbed a bite of grass, before raising his head again, taking them in.
After several moments, however, one of the does lost their nerve and blew loudly in a danger call, leaping into the wood. The Horned King could hear her leaping steps receding into the woods, until the forest silence covered them.
The others that had been jumpy already followed suit, lifting their tails and bounding after her, disappearing in leaps and bounds.
The more relaxed deer followed at an easier pace, not really concerned, but the stag watched the horse and its riders for a long minute more before turning and disappearing slowly into the forest himself without so much as a leaf crackle to betray him.
The waving grasses showed no trace of where they had been. It was like they had never been there at all.
The Horned King and Avalina slowly released quiet breaths of awe they were not aware they had been holding, and Avalina finally turned Mitternacht back into the trees, where they headed off again.
Neither the lich nor the girl spoke, content to simply let the forest sounds fill the silence. They crossed through more meadows between the long stretches of forest trail, and when they spotted more deer, they would stop and simply watch them, until they either disappeared or Mitternacht asked to keep moving, which Avalina would grant him.
The forest was anything but flat. The ground rose and dipped in places, the trail leading them through little valleys where thickly wooded knolls rose on either side of them, up through hills where the forest stretched for miles on either side of them.
Reaching a fork in the trail, Mitternacht started to take the right one, but Avalina turned him left instead. Taken by surprise at this, Mitternacht stopped, tossing his head slightly, before trying to go right again. Avalina murmured something unintelligible to him and turned him left.
After another moment, Mitternacht obeyed, tossing his mane excitedly, attacking the distance between them and their destination with the vigor he had carried with him all day.
The Horned King looked down the trail the horse had wanted to go, watching for a moment before turning back to the front, deep in thought.
The sun was overhead, showing it was about noon, but Avalina and Mitternacht showed no sign of stopping.
A massive hill stretched up in front of them, and without even a pause Mitternacht headed up.
The Horned King gripped the pommel of the saddle tighter, leaning forward with Avalina's example. She bent over the horse's neck, gripping his mane, and held his shoulders tightly with her knees.
Up, up, up...the Horned King couldn't even see the top from here.
Farther, farther. . .massive rock bluffs reared up on either side of them, creating an unexpected atmosphere. The horse's steps as he passed them echoed and came back to replay in their ears.
The hill got even steeper, nearly going vertical, but the horse never slowed. One foot right after the other, he kept going, bobbing his head with each step. . .
The Horned King was taken by surprise when they reached the top of the hill and Mitternacht's feet hit level ground again.
They stood there for a couple of minutes, letting Mitternacht's heaving ribs slow back to normal, and the Horned King looked back from where they'd came.
The ground sloped away steeply on either side of them, going down, down, down...nothing but the woodland was visible. The massive stone bluffs looked fist-sized from here. The darker path of churned up leaves where Mitternacht had walked was the only variance in the otherwise untouched forest.
Mitternacht headed off again when he had recovered without Avalina doing anything. He was looking forward to getting to his destination and needed no commands to keep heading there.
They walked along the very top of the ridge, which varied anywhere from fifteen feet across to three in some places. It was flat up here, which made for steady, easy going.
It was early afternoon when they reached the very edge of the treeline and Avalina halted Mitternacht.
"We're here," she told the lich, who slowly dismounted. Avalina followed suit, looping Mitternacht's reins around a low hanging limb and rubbing his neck, before casually stretching to get the tightness out of her muscles.
"Did you have a good ride?" She asked her companion, smiling.
"Very much," the Horned King replied with a tiny smile, still standing by her.
"I did not fancy seeing so many squirrels."
Avalina laughed, causing the lich's smile to get faintly bigger.
"Yes!" she agreed, grinning, her next comment causing him to give a soft groan.
"They're like the Invisibles, they're just everywhere!"
Smiling, she beckoned.
"Come on, this is what I wanted to show you."
The Horned King followed, finding solid ground unusual to walk on after sitting in a saddle for so long.
Leading him out, Avalina stopped a few feet from the edge and let him see.
The Horned King's brow ridges went up as he took everything in.
They were standing on overlapping slabs of massive stone that jutted out from the ridge's face, suspended half a mile high.
And he could see everything.
All of Prydain, it seemed, stretched out before him, gradually fading into the distance as the sky swallowed it.
Endless miles of forest, with various cleared patches, spread out below them, the brilliant autumn colors all blending and clashing together seamlessly.
It looked like the Invisibles had painted it.
The grey teeth of the mountains loomed in the distance, shaped sharply by the blue sky, and although they looked so small from this distance, they still managed to make everything else look slightly insignificant in comparison.
He could not stop looking. There was so much to see. . .he wondered for a moment if this was how the gwythaint felt, able to see everything they wished, able to pick out a rabbit at this distance. . .
And the Creeper rode the gwythaint.
Some of his good mood vanished at the thought of the goblin, and he glared down, not wishing for Avalina to see his sudden change of emotion, but. . .what was that?
Easing closer to the edge, he looked down. . .
Directly below them was a tawny stretch of beach that ran along the treeline, connecting the land to the largest lake the Horned King had ever seen.
It was also the largest Prydain possessed.
It stretched out so far West that, like the forests, it was swallowed by the sky. He could not see where it ended.
The thought of being directly above such a massive span of water made him uncomfortable, and he backed up a step uneasily, only to feel his robe brush against something.
Avalina was there by him, lying on her stomach, staring out over the hills and down directly below the ledge on which he stood, her head hanging slightly over the edge, such a joy on her face that the Horned King had only seen when she rode Mitternacht.
He stiffened slightly upon seeing her that close to the edge, but realized she was safer lying down than he was standing up.
After several moments, he followed her example.
The tinkling, musical-like notes he had heard since they entered the forest were clearer from up here, and easy to distinguish different types, but he could not identify any of them.
Concentrating, he could hear a faint roar in the distance, and turning his head as far to the right as he could, he located the source of the noise.
It was the extensive waterfall that funneled the river into the lake, feeding it. It must be enormous if he could hear it all the way from up here.
After many moments, he reluctantly spoke, faintly unwilling to break the mood.
"This is what you wished to show me?" He queried.
He saw Avalina come back to herself with a faint start.
"Yes," she answered shyly, glancing at him.
"I thought you'd enjoy it."
The lich nodded softly at her.
"'Enjoy,' is a rather weak term for this."
After a moment, she shyly spoke up again.
"You're the only one I've ever shown this to. It's. . .special to me."
The Horned King gave a faint twitch of his head.
"This is. . .breathtaking. It is only natural you would wish to keep it secret, to keep unworthy eyes from seeing your sacred place. Correct?"
Avalina nodded, grateful he understood, before he furrowed his brow ridges slightly in puzzlement.
"I fail to see why you would wish for me to see this, rather than someone else. Surely there are others you think better of?"
Avalina looked down for a long moment, before returning her gaze to him.
"Because you're my friend, and I. . .I wanted to. . .share this with you."
The Horned King felt his undead heart jump faintly at her words.
"I. . .you think of me as a. . .friend?"
There was such astonishment in the lich's voice Avalina looked faintly startled.
"Well. . .yes," she admitted, before adding without thinking, "Why wouldn't I?"
The Horned King looked so completely thunderstruck at this she lowered her head.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I just thought. . .Um. . ."
She couldn't think of anything to say, and blushing furiously, she looked down at the earth-covered rocks she lay on, unable to look at him any more.
"Child. . .," the Horned King finally dredged out softly, "You. . ."
He could not bring himself to finish. Nor would he know how to finish if he could project the non-existing words out.
But that warmth inside him grew a little stronger at her words, and turning back, they watched the hills for a long time.
"What is that noise?" The Horned King asked after a while.
"What noise?" Avalina asked.
"It sounds vaguely like music."
Avalina furrowed her brows for a moment, before he heard it again.
"That. And there are many different types."
Shocked realization dawned on her face.
"Why, it's. . .birdsong. It's the birds singing."
"Oh."
"You. . .you didn't know?"
". . .No."
"I'm. . .I'm sorry, I. . .that's. . ."
"From your point of view, I am certain it is. No doubt you cannot imagine the world without. . .bird music."
Avalina couldn't help a small giggle.
"No sir, I can't. But now you don't have to exist in one, right? You're listening to them now."
". . .True."
Neither of them knew how long they lay there, just watching, til Avalina rose and went to loosen Mitternacht's girths, seeing they would be here a while.
Mitternacht rubbed her shoulder gratefully as she did so, and as an afterthought, she went ahead and slipped the equipment off completely.
He wouldn't go anywhere.
That orange leaf was now thoroughly tangled in his mane, but still added such a spark to the horse's black coloring Avalina couldn't bring herself to remove it.
Mitternacht began throwing his entire head and neck and up and down with a vigor as he scratched against a tree, shaking dead leaves out of it as he did so.
Laughing, Avalina snagged one out of midair, glancing at the growing pile beside her, before suddenly getting an idea.
Gathering an armload of them, she tiptoed towards the ledge, grinning.
Once there, she hesitated.
What she was contemplating could very well be suicide to anyone else. It was unthinkable.
Avalina released her armfuls of them, letting them cascade over the Horned King's head and shoulders.
The lich jerked at the sensation and shook his head and arms as they fell all around him, and Avalina burst into laughter at the sight, before he turned back to look at her.
Avalina froze as he slowly, deliberately, rose from the ground and dusted himself off, before fixing her with an expression she didn't like the look of at all.
"I'm sorry," she whispered fearfully as he took a step toward her, "I didn't mean to make you angry!"
She felt her eyes prickle as tears threatened to fill them. Even when he was only irritated, he could strike fear in her like nothing else.
Stopping, the lich studied her with a mixture of mild irritation, confusion and something that may have been hurt on his face, before he slowly leaned down. . .so slowly. . .Avalina couldn't help the lulled feeling that crept over her at this. . .
Before he came up and threw a handful of leaves in her face.
Coming out of her trance with a shriek, she threw up her hands as a reflex, feeling them shower over her.
Dusting them from her face, she felt his aura and started in surprise and faint fear at the Horned King, who now stood only a few feet from her. Giving a small, dark chuckle that froze her blood, he leaned over to her slightly and gave a soft growl.
"Boo."
Avalina jerked backwards as the Horned King swept another handful of leaves from the ground and threw them at her.
Yelping, more in surprise this time than fear, she jumped back, before feeling a stab of adrenaline. Grabbing her own handful, she hurled one back that flew into his face, and he promptly returned the favor.
Leaves flew between them as both of them hurled whatever they could get under their hand at the other, Avalina shrieking in laughter, the Horned King's dark chuckle music to her ears.
She had heard him chuckle before, and it had either been so malicious she could scarcely breathe for fright, or truly amused and it made her want to laugh as well.
This was one of the latter examples. She loved it when she could make him happy.
Ducking behind a tree, she swept another armful up and threw them wildly out from the side, hearing him growl as they showered him.
This gave her the warning she needed to leap out from behind the tree and throw another handful, right as a blast of them hit her.
Shrieking in laughter, she ran behind another one and swept another armful, before leaping out and throwing them at him from behind.
Turning on her, he growled and swept up an armful of his own.
Ducking behind a tree, she saw the leaves blow by her head and laughed, throwing handfuls back at him.
Running, dodging, throwing. . .it was like a windstorm on the ridge as the tide of battle constantly changed. Avalina would score points, then the Horned King would. . .
Pressed up behind a tree, she listened for his step, or the crunching of leaves to give away his presence, but there was nothing.
A black muzzle came out of nowhere and dropped on her shoulder, scaring her so badly she gave an unbidden shriek.
"Mitternacht!" She cried in relieved frustration, right as the Horned King appeared and threw a massive armload right at her.
Dusting herself off while she ran, she ducked behind another tree and threw handfuls out at the lich, who was steadily approaching.
Mitternacht, now catching on and not wanting to be left out of the fun, snorted and pawed the leaves too, before going behind the tree and running Avalina out.
"That's my hiding place!" Avalina cried in desperation as she shoved against his shoulder.
"Go find your own!"
She may as well have tried to move the tree.
Running to another one, Mitternacht followed her, throwing his head around like a colt.
"No!" Avalina shouted as the horse came after her, "Go hide somewhere Else!"
That last word came out as a scream as the Horned King appeared right in front of her.
She ducked and felt his claws just barely brush her arm.
Running madly in Mitternacht's direction, she raced past him and hid in the trees.
"Don't let him get me!" She cried to the horse.
Mitternacht snorted loudly and bucked, before feigning a charge at the lich.
The Horned King's brow ridges shot up as he slid to a halt on the leaves, taking in the massive black beast bearing down on him.
He wasn't even able to turn around and run before the creature blew past him, bucking and stamping, before throwing up his head and whinnying his joy.
The call echoed back from the trees, making him freeze for a moment, before pretending to shy at nothing and take off again, whipping past the lich once more.
It had been ages since they started. Avalina neither knew nor cared how long they had been playing, only that she was almost worn out from running from the Horned King and Mitternacht.
The horse couldn't decide which side he wanted to be on and helped both of them as much as he betrayed their hiding places to the other. He hadn't had this much fun in a very long time.
Avalina couldn't remember the last time she had played with someone, rather than simply talking. It felt so wonderful she couldn't help laughing.
Gasping, Avalina hid behind another tree as she clutched a handful of crushed leaves. She had been running solely on adrenaline for a long time now and she was about finished.
It was impossible for her to hear much over the thumping of her own heart and her own gasping breaths, but she heard the faintest of crunches before she leaped out and threw her handful in his face.
He was right in front of her.
Shrieking, she backed up as swiftly as possible, nearly bent double as she continued to hurl handfuls of leaves at him, as he continued to throw his own and steadily advance.
Mitternacht exploded between the two of them, scaring Avalina out of her skin. He whickered an equine laugh as he galloped several yards away.
But he had distracted the Horned King enough to give Avalina a chance to hide.
Pressed behind another tree, she did not dare to lean down and grab a handful of leaves, not wanting to make noise.
Willing her breaths not to be so loud, she strained her ears to listen over the sound of her wildly thudding heart, but she couldn't hear anything.
Gripping the limb above her with both hands, she eased around the tree, looking for the Horned King.
She didn't see him.
She suddenly felt his aura come over her and tried to get away, but it was too late.
He pulled her hands from the limb and pulled her backwards against him, holding her hands above her head in his grip.
Avalina jumped and struggled in panic, but she was so tired. . .she could barely fight at all.
His dark chuckle vibrated against her eardrums, making her freeze as he growled softly in her ear, "I seem to recall you making me play a particularly detestable little tune not too awfully long ago. Do you remember that?"
Avalina felt her hammering heart stop for a moment.
"You're. . .still upset about that?" She panted, ceasing her struggles for the moment.
"It. . .was just. . .easy to. . .play!"
"Perhaps," the Horned King rumbled, "But I did say you would pay for it, now didn't I?"
Avalina gave a faint, rasping gasp as it dawned on her.
"You. . .can't be. . .serious!"
"Do I say these things to simply bluff?"
"Please!" She gasped, "Don't! I'm sorry! I told you. . .I was!"
"Yes," he chuckled, "But I think you may need a little reminder."
With that, he ran his free hand lightly over her ribs.
Avalina shrieked and jerked, feeling the laughter bubble up inside her.
"Stop!" She cried in a panic.
"Stop, stop!"
The Horned King rumbled a laugh and repeated the gesture.
"Now why would I want to do that?"
Avalina kicked and spasmed uncontrollably as he continued to brush his claws over her sides, laughter pouring from her.
"Stop!" She shrieked, "Anything but that!"
He only chuckled and tickled her harder.
Writhing in his grip, she bent to the left to try and protect her side, then jerked to the right to try and prevent him from getting there too, but she couldn't protect both places at once.
Her legs, already weak from so much running and dodging, simply refused to hold her up anymore, severely limiting her range of movement and only aiding the Horned King in his goal to make her suffer for her little joke.
"Stop!" She screamed in laughter.
"Have mercy! Mercy!"
Thrashing, she fought now only out of reflex, her own muscles too exhausted by this point to do anything of their own free will. Tears of mirth came to her eyes as she gasped and twisted in his grip.
After what felt like century upon century of the horror, the sensation finally stopped and the Horned King lowered her knees to the ground, before releasing her wrists and letting her arms fall lifelessly at her sides.
Heaving, she lay there, almost on her side, fighting to get her breath back after the torture she had just suffered.
"You. . .meanie," she panted, scarcely able to project noise at all.
Over her head, she dimly heard the Horned King chuckle.
"You brought it on yourself."
She was faintly aware of him sitting down beside her, leaning against the tree, and weakly, she forced herself to move and lean up against the tree as well, still gasping for breath.
"Don't. . .do that. . .again," she rasped, glaring over at him.
The lich chuckled again and looked at her.
"No promises."
Avalina groaned and leaned back against the tree, closing her eyes as she felt him grin at her.
A muzzle sniffing her made her eyes crack open.
"Oh, great," she told Mitternacht sarcastically.
"*Now* you show up."
The horse gave the best impression of an equine snicker she had ever heard in reply.
Without the disclaimer, this chapter was 4,870 words. Beating my second longest chapter (With the disclaimer attached to it) by nearly 300 words. New Record! Whoo!
Today's my 100th chapter anniversary! I'm so tickled! I never dreamed it would end up being so long, but I am SO HAPPY IT DID! XD
I got the most beautiful review this week from someone who hasn't favorited or followed my story, but I will remember your words forever, Nearby. I hope you don't get upset at me for calling you out, but your review was absolutely touching. I *cried* the first time I read it. And the second. And the third. I never cry. But you moved me. The idea that someone would take the time to sit down and bother to write out a review for me (Particularly one of that length) is just amazing. I wanted to thank you privately, but your PM thing on here isn't activated and I couldn't wait to tell you this XD. But I just can't find the words to tell you how grateful I am. I didn't expect many readers when I started this thing, cause I knew the movie was really unpopular and stuff, but what burns me up is that the people that favorite and follow my story never review (There are exceptions though guys, you know who y'all are!). It's like my work's not good enough for them to bother with it, and it really hurts. Especially if they took the time to follow or favorite it, so I can see them, but they never say anything to me. There's readers on here too, that have never reviewed or favorited or anything, but I can see the view count go up and when it explodes I know I have a new reader. But it really, really hurts when I put so much effort and thought into something and nobody seems to care how the writer feels when they don't bother to give me their opinion after I've wracked my brains trying to figure out how to accurately put down what the characters are feeling on paper.
Again, Nearby, thank you so much. *Hugs* I just. . .can't find words to tell you how grateful I am. I sincerely hope your health improves with all haste and you get to feeling better, cause honestly, ain't nobody got TIME to be sick! XD It's just not cool, dawg! Lol