I hate horses. They are disgusting animals full of dirt and slop, just eager to serve with no spirit left to run. This is why, as I strapped on Hrunting, I sighed. Liz and Patti seemed far too eager to set off and seemed to ignore my order of packing light, as another horse is led by its reigns, loaded down with cargo.
"But Kid, this is light. We could have brought MUCH more, isn't that right Patti?" She turned to her sister who was currently petting the black horse that was loaded down.
"Pretty horsey." Her voice was bubbly and distance. The sound of Liz smacking her forehead caused a snickering among the guards. They silence as an angered whinny breaks into the courtyard. A servant runs as he stumbles around the corner just in time to avoid a blast of blue lightening. I chuckle darkly as he tears behind our party and to the back wall.
The cause of the uproar comes careening around the wall, setting the cobblestone ablaze where each hoof lands. The white horse stands 25 hands high and rears up setting its flaming blue main ablaze in the warm summer wind. Rings of fire surround his hoofs and flicker under the reddened sun.
The guards ready their weapons fearfully and I just shake my head. Stepping from behind the party, the stallion calms and trots over to me, an approving nudge at my chest.
"Hello Bronte, and how are you today?" I knowingly hand hold out my hands with charcoals at the ready. With an excited whinny the animal eats the burnt wood and his mane flares.
I saddle the majestic creature myself and jump on the hell beast before making sure the girls are both prepared. Calling out to no one in particular, I steer him toward the gate. "Tell my father we have departed, and we will be back in 5 days' time. Move out!"
Hearing my command the hell equine rears up and breaks into a gallop, eager to begin the journey. The pack horse that is latched to Liz starts of at a trot before it is pulled along by the grey mare.
The thundering of Bronte's hoofs can be heard a mile away and the people are quick to clear the streets, waving and well-wishing as my party passes by. Bronte charges beyond any semblance of control and I let him, knowing he won't hurt the people. It has been a long time since he has had a run in any event. We shoot forward like lightening leaving the girls in the dust. I have no doubt they will catch up as we charge through the gates leaving only burning ground behind up.
After an hours run the animal calms from its initial freedom and slows to a trot returning to the gate where Patti and Liz wait patiently for me. I trot to the lead and nod before kicking Bronte's sides softly. We head out with the sun burning high above us as we thunder into a bare rock filled desert.
I few hours later I am not that surprise to find that somehow the girls have gotten us lost. Bronte snorts in annoyance and I find no fault with that. Especially watching the argument in front of me.
"No Patti! I said left. LEFT! Not right, LEFT!"
"But, big sis, you always get lost, it's just best you listen to me m'kay?"
"You are the reason we always get lost when I'm directing us! You go bounding off to Death knows where and we have to come find you!"
"Oh don't be silly. It's okay I will save us big sis! Now… that oasis looks pretty let's go there." Liz screams and throws her hands up in defeat. It's always ends like this, I'm not sure why she doesn't just give up.
The girls ride toward one of the oases that speckle this bare terrain. I ride more slowly, giving them time to clear out some of the lower level demons that may be squatting there. The rocky ground has been worn away into sand. The horse's hoofs leaving only the barest trace before the wind erases all evidence of us.
As the oasis draws closer I find it to be more heavily foliated than I originally thought. The dense green is inviting when faced with the hot hell sun all day. Bronte kicks into a trot, seemingly as eager as I am to make it to the green paradise.
I stare at one leaf in particular as we pull up closer to the haven. It's a light green, no, not exactly light but more pale. Pale jade. It's such a lovely color and reminds me of something. For some reason I cannot fathom a rare smile graces my face and I just shake my head. However, my eyes keep coming back to that plant, just a small little fern, yet fiery enough to secure its niche in one of the few life bearing spots in this desert. A calming green, like Maka's eyes.
I pullback too tightly on the reigns and Brotne jerks his head to show his appreciation. I pat his neck apologizing and kick him into a canter. I need to get out of this heat. It's doing things to my mind.
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Fucking heat. I left my lady mouth at home when Lord Death commanded me out here. Now sitting in the middle of a jungle I'm cursing myself for drinking all my water on the mornings walk. I almost wish I would have told him 'no' but considering his position as a Death God I may have found myself in a tight spot.
The bushels rustle in the distance and I climb the tree I had been previously leaning against. In the top most limbs, I am covered by thick leaves that obscure me from view.
"Patti, I am telling you this is the wrong way. We shouldn't be anywhere near here." The prince's voice draws a smile on my face. I don't think he's as cold of a guy as everyone thinks. He just… doesn't really understand emotions. I think he's more confused than purposely hateful.
"But it's sooo pretty look at that sky. Look at it, big sis! Blue as a butterfly!"
"Okay, first off the sky is red. It's always red. Secondly hell butterflies are black and I know you've never seen any other ones." A tall girl with muddy blond hair is riding a gray mare with a black stallion tied to her. Her cowboy hat and vest look so out of the ordinary down here that I almost fall out of the tree giggling.
"Liz, let her ramble. It's not like anything you can say will change her mind." The younger sister, I guess called Patti, is wandering toward a large purple flower on the side of the clearing. I snicker as she approaches. While waiting around for them earlier I was exploring the place. One of the first things I saw was that flower. I wandered over to smell it and was surprised to find it smelling worse than three day old day care trash.
The girl jumps off the brown horse and rushes over to the flower. I wait patiently for her to lean in. Instead of smelling it like I did she pulls out a dagger. Where she hid a dagger in the matching skimpy outfit her sister wore is beyond me but this time I watch, far more intrigued than anything.
I nearly jump out of the tree when she begins to violently stab the plants base and laughs. As she pulls away she places an empty bowl underneath the leaking flower. Sap starts to flow out slowly and collect in the waiting container. When the plant has assumedly been drained dry the girl picks up the bowl and skips back to the rest of the party. In her absence they had dismounted and are now examining different maps and charts.
"Looks like we'll have to cross the Barren's now. I don't think we can make it before nightfall though." The older girl nods before they are interrupted.
"Look! I found sweet stuff!" the prince jumps as she spins shifting some of the papers.
"Damn it Patti! You almost messed it up. It would have taken me hours to recrease the papers if you had folded them!" The girl just giggles as her sister stick her finger in the stuff. It's bright blue, sticky, and looks highly poisonous to me.
"Mmm, taste good! Like that stuff we used to get from the Egyptians. Man what a great time that was." Her eyes light up and she starts to drool as she day dreams. I decide it's time to make myself known and jump from the limb. I land on the black horse but he seems to have seen me the whole time. I watch them argue about what the name of it is before I decide to say anything.
"Oh, could I have some?" Three heads swivel towards me. That in itself is nothing to fear but I could do without the two pistols. "Hello to you too."
"What in the HELL are you doing here?" The prince is fuming and I can't help but laugh at his unintended pun. The boy really needs to get a sense of humor, he'd be much happier.
"From the look of it about to get shot." I smile my sweetest smile at the girls. Slowly they lower their guns but keep them in hand. Yeah right, as if I'm a threat. "Would you please put those away, I'm not a huge fan of violence."
The prince nods and they lower their guns as I slide off the horse. I pat his neck as I go and he nudges me in response. "Why are you out here Maka?"
The prince has placed his fingers on his temples and is rubbing them profusely. I'm guessing this is a habit for him. I didn't mean to stress him out but this is kind of fun. "Oh you know, taking pictures, hiking, tanning, you know; touristy stuff."
"Liz, Patti." I find the guns pointed at my face again and sigh.
"Alright alright, ironically I was told to come out here."
"Look you have to head back. It's dangerous out here." He turns to the girls and grabs their wrist. "Come on, we're taking her back."
"Hm, I don't think that's a good idea. Your dad would get awfully mad." The prince's eyes flash and I snicker to myself. Man, he's worse than Soul. I wonder how much I can bother him before he explodes. But, as soon as that flash appears it was gone replaced once again with the stoic expression that, I am starting to think, he wears often.
"My father sent you out here? How childish of him, if he would have asked me we could have taken you with us instead of having you wander around in this waste land." The younger girl snickers and we all look at her. Suddenly she bursts out laughing and falls to the floor, rolling and grabbing at her gut.
"Y-yeah right. You would have NEVER taken her. You'd be all like 'Father her symmetry is terribly off and would slow down the whole trip. This is work, not a vacation for some asymmetrical hooligan.'" She is still rolling around when the older girl grabs her by the collar and lifts her up to eye level.
"And just exactly how did she expect to find us here? Some place completely off the trail?" Patti's smile falls for a moment before brightening again.
"Ooooo ghost, spooky." The two girls bicker back and forth in the background as my senses seem to zoom in behind me. I have the feeling of being watched, more importantly, by amber eyes. As to when he got behind me, your guess is as good as mine, I didn't even see him move. Regardless, he now circles me with calculating eyes and a predatory feel.
"We must respect my father's wishes. He will, however, be hearing from me when we get back about the proper treatment of guest." The girls quieted when he spoke and nod. "Good, I will begin unpacking, you three find firewood and food if you can. We will have to throw out any supplies the pack horse was carrying so that Maka can keep up… Oh now what Patti?"
"The girl is once again covering her mouth and giggling. She smiles and skips over to the black stallion and reaches into a bludging bag and pulls out… hay. Hay? Of all things, hay? Her sister sighs and slaps her palm against her head leaving an angry red mark. Kid simply shakes his head and begins muttering and the horse pulls it out of her hand and begins to munch away.
"All right human, let's go get some wood. We will be camping here for the night. I'm Liz."
"Yeah, and I'm Patti, her younger sister. Together we are… DUN DUN DA DUN! The Thompson sisters!" She throws a handful of confetti in the air behind them as the older girl sighs. Where she got the confetti, I have no clue.
"Must you do that every time?"
"What's wrong with a little Pizzazz? It helps people remember."
"Patti, I swear. You're going to give me gray hair."
"Maka." The girls stop and look at me. They seem perplexed as if I had suddenly appeared out from thin air. "My name is Maka Albarn and it's nice to meet you two."
Unable to think of anything else to do I simply bow slightly. The girls look at each other before Liz shrugs and nods towards the forest. We set off at a brisk pace and Patti manages to wander off before we get too far. "Will she be okay out here on her own?"
"Of course she will. There is very little that that girl can't handle." I nod and bend down to pick up another piece of wood. I place it carefully on the pile in Liz's arms before searching for more.
"So how many years have you been friends with the prince?" I pick up another stick but as I finish the question I hear the sound of wood hitting the ground. I spin around to see what happened only to find the girl holding her hand to her mouth. "Well you two have an easy sense of humor don't you?"
She shakes her hand and waits for the giggles to subside. I wait patiently and pick up the firewood. When she has finally calmed down she explains. "Well you see, Kid and us go way back, it's been like a thousand years." She chuckles again and goes on. "But, we aren't exactly his friends. I mean we are but we aren't. We are his royal guard and have been since then. The only time we don't see him is at night when Morphus takes over. The idea is it would be weird to have a member of the opposite sex watch you sleep but Kid hardly does that."
"So… you guys aren't friends?" The girl thinks for a moment before shaking her head. "No, it's more like acquaintances. I mean we treat him like a little brother, even though he's much older than us, but he doesn't really become attached to anyone so it's sort of one sided."
"How terribly…sad. What about family? I mean I've met his dad but what about his mom?" Her face darkens and the smile fades.
"We don't talk about that." I nod dumbly as she switches the conversation. Shortly after we have collected enough firewood Patti skips back over to us and grabs the two bundles in her arms before tearing off at a far too fast speed. My shock my show because once again I find Liz explaining.
"Well we are demons."
By the time we get back Patti has already lit a roaring fire and is fanning it with a large leaf that seems to be attributing nothing to the flame but I don't say anything. Dinner conversation seems to only flow between me and the girls. The prince seems to be thinking deeply about something. Every few seconds he will stop eating and just stare into his bowl of blue goo, which I decided was honey…sort of. As night falls the girls wander off into their tent and I apologize again for making them share. Patti doesn't seem to mind but Liz looks like she wants to kill me with her eyes.
I kick some dirt on the remains of the fire and the last glowing embers sizzle out into nothing. Satisfied with my work I shiver in the now unwarmed breeze. It seems like this land is a lot like the desert outside the city, scorching hot in the day but freezing cold at night. I am tempted to run inside when I just happen to glance up at the night sky.
I find myself captured by the wonder of it all. Where the sun was a dark looming red the night seems to light up under a beautiful green moon. The color reminds me of the slime you see in really bad sci fi movies, but in a good way. It seems to light up everything in the forest around me and it all comes to life. The stars that twinkle in the sky are still a pale white and shine in the darkness. I'm not sure how long I was standing there but I suppose it was long enough.
"You'll catch a cold out here. The desert cares not for rank or names, it treats everyone at equals and will freeze you if you stay out here much longer." He tosses me a thick blanket and I realize just how cold I am. I eagerly cocoon myself and smile at him through the small face hole.
"Thanks. I just got caught up looking at the sky. It's so marvelous, I can't believe something this beautiful was hiding just around the corner. What is it that makes the color so different here?"
"From your home world? Quite simply the same thing that makes your home sky blue or the moon appear white, just using different chemicals reactions here. This is another realm, consisting of everything that was or will ever be. You never saw this simply because the chemicals here have long since died off in your world." My heart sinks a bit thinking of how far I truly am from home but I try not to show it.
"So then, is this a parallel dimension or what?"
"… The answer to that question would take millions of years to answer and we simply don't have time for that right now. Perhaps after the trip…" He trails off but it's in a way that seems to leave the statement open ended. However, I have no question that I can answer so we sit there in silence staring up at the stars. I notice him start to shiver and I clear my throat.
"Well I think I'm going to go inside. It sure is cold outside." The wind whips around us as to emphasize my point and I shiver under my thick blanket.
"Yes, I think is probably is best to retire. Good night Miss Albarn." He bows in a manner far more graceful than I could ever manage.
"Oh just call me Maka. Good night, Prince Death."
"Indeed. Good night Maka." With that he turns back to the tent and has zipped the door without another word. I unwillingly unwrap myself from the warmth and shake it out. I'll have to lay it back on my bedding, but it sure was nice of him to grab it from the tent for me. I swear, I'm so forgetful some times.
I reach my tent and unzip the door to find my blanket already lying untouched on the floor. I look at the perfectly folded edges and smile. The prince gave me his blanket how sweet… Oh shit! He'll freeze to death. I better take it back.
I stumble over to the prince's tent and try to think of how to alert him… how exactly do you knock on a tent's door. I am saved from any further thought with a voice from inside. "Just open it."
"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to steal your blanket. I brought it back so you can…" I trail off as I stare as what could possibly be the largest amount of paper work I have ever seen in my entire life. It was organized into towering stacks in perfect alignment. The princes jacket and shoes lay folded up in a neat pile at the head of the bed while he sits cross legged in just a white button down and black pants. He is holding a pen between his lips and it sways gently as he turns to face me. His golden eyes seem full of energy and life but the bags underneath betray them. I'm not sure how I missed it earlier.
"You look awful." I miss how offensive my statement could be until after it has flown out of my mouth. I wince ready to be yelled at or at least have a finger shaken at me but he just shrugs. Carefully, as to avoid the eight stacks of paperwork, I step inside and kneel down. "How long has it been since you last slept?"
"I'm not sure, perhaps a thousand years?" His eyes move back to the papers and I shake my head. Why can't he just answer a question normally?
"Well regardless of how long it's been you need some sleep."
"Death never sleeps, life is self-sustaining but death never stops, never rests, for death can never occur on its own." He signs another paper without looking up and me and pulls the next one off the pile.
"Well you are not death are you?"
"No, not yet."
"Then until you are get some god damn sleep. I even brought you back your blanket so you wouldn't freeze to death." I am tempted to throw said blanket at him but I am too worried that I will topple the leaning piles.
"I will not sleep tonight so why waste the blanket. You can put it to use and I cannot so why waste it?"
"Won't you be cold?"
"The temperature does not affect me like you do. The cold should be much more severe on your human body."
"Didn't you just say that the desert doesn't care who or what you are?"
"Something like that, yes."
"Then take your own advice and use the damn blanket. It's not that cold outside and I have my own in my tent." I toss the blanket to the side and stand while I fumble with the door.
"It only gets colder as the night goes on."
"I'm sure it's not that bad. I lived in Colorado, I can handle a little chill." I grab the zipper and pull. As the door opens I am struck with a blast of freezing air. I have to close my eyes to be sure they don't freeze over. I rezip it and look out the clear plastic pane at the top of the door.
To my surprise everything outside has frozen into a solid sheet of ice. The trees all twinkle as the leaves shutter in the breeze. Every time one cracks the fracture is quickly refilled and they are back to a pristine sheen.
"Maka?" I turn and the prince is holding the pen in midair and staring at me.
"Uh, there is ice outside… like everywhere." He cocks his head to the side then back again.
"But of course. The desert drops to nearly 100 degrees of your Kelvin. It's cold enough to freeze any water droplets in the air and on the surface.
"How are we not dead?!"
"The tents have special heat regulators, although it can still get chilly inside sometimes. Is something wrong?"
"… I can't go out there. I'm pretty sure I will die before I even make it a step out of here." I blush and look down at my shoes. I hear a shuffling of paper and look up to find the prince packing them away into a much too small bag however, I decide not to ask.
"Very well, then you will sleep here tonight." I inhale sharply as a million thoughts run through my brain the scariest being that worked out wonderfully to the loudest being HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN? Thankfully and somewhat sadly, he explains further.
"I will go sleep in your tent as you wish." I nod knowing I am stuck in the position as the prince starts to unzip the door. He makes it about a foot before I scream at him to stop. He zips it up and looks at me. I am rubbing my fingers and toes in an attempt to get feeling back in them. He seems amused as I check anything else for frost bite.
"It seems your body is far less suited to this desert than I originally thought. I cannot leave without damaging your body to some extent. What a conundrum." He sits and rests his hands on his chin and seems to think deeply. His eyes light up in realization and he lowers his hands. "How simple, we shall both just stay in this tent. With you here sleeping I won't be able to get any work done without waking out so in the end you get your wish anyway."
He seems to think this is some genius idea and I groan inwardly. This is not the way it's supposed to go. I sit in the corner as he prepares the bed. I tried to help but he insisted it be done in a certain way. When he finishes he motions for me to get. I carefully slide into the left half and he takes the right. The light is snuffed out without any further conversation and I am left in the awkwardness. In a desperate attempt to break the ice, I try to start a conversation.
"The leaves hitting against each other make a beautiful sound."
"Indeed they do." He rolls over to face the right side of the tent and I face the left. I sigh at my failed attempt and try to let the twinkling of the ice lull me to sleep.
"She wrong you know." I am started out of my hypnotic state by his quite voice. It's so small it's almost lost on the freezing wind.
"huh?"
"Patti, about your symmetry."
"Oh?"
"Yes, you are indeed perfectly symmetrical."
"Uh, thank you Prince."
"Indeed." There is a long pause again. He takes a deep breath and begins again. "You might as well call me Kid. Patti and Liz do and I think the other kingdoms would find it strange if I am more familiar with my guard than a human divine."
"Oh uh sure. Goodnight Kid."
"Goodnight Maka." And that night, despite the cold I still fell asleep warm.
Thank you see you next Friday I hope.
Notes:
hands are used to measure horses. Aka He's massive. Bronte's is white with a blue mane that flickers like fire but doesn't burn. He also has them around his hoofs.
When I say freeze I mean freeze. Like everything looks like glass outside. 100Kelvin =280Farenhite. Instant death wahhh.