PART SEVEN
They had ridden all night, moving as quickly as possible in the darkness, wanting as much space between them and South East Onyx as possible. But by midmorning they knew they had to take a break, the horses were in need of a rest, and all were in need of a meal.
Stopping in a fairly secluded clearing, they let their horses graze while they ate a cold meal of bread and dried meat, washing it down with water from a nearby stream. Conversation was subdued as they concentrated on assuaging their morning hunger, until finally Jason volunteered to ride up a nearby rise to check their back trail for pursuers.
"You guys rest, I'll be back in a little while and we'll get going. I don't think any of us will feel safe until we get out of this province," the dark haired young man said as he mounted his horse.
"I can't argue with you about that," Zackary agreed heartily. His natural enthusiasm was returning as he began to relax a little, and with his hunger finally vanquished he was rapidly becoming his usual energetic self.
When Tomas asked how he obtained the Portent Orb, Zackary launched himself into the story with vigor, soon leaping to his feet so he could act it out for his enthralled audience. Using is companions as props whenever he could; he soon had both girls giggling, and playfully swatting him away when he got too close. Tomas mock threatened the hyper storyteller when he attempted to draw him into the act, so Zackary contented himself with using more willing subjects. When he reached the point where he exchanged the orange for the ruby, and chose the Orb as his prize, he got as much applause from his companions as he had from the guests the night before. Winding down, he described his desperate escape, growing humorously melodramatic.
"...and I swear, if a guard had accosted me I would have thrown myself on his mercy," he cried, dropping to one knee and pulling his shirt open, exposing his bare chest for the imaginary sword. The girls' laughter took on a mildly scandalized tone, they'd never seen anyone behave so ridiculously, yet they couldn't help but enjoy it. "Please, just make it quick!" he cried out hysterically, much to the increasing amusement of the others.
Leaping to his feet, he grabbed Will, who was standing closest to him and turned the startled young man toward the imaginary guard. "Better yet, make it quick for him!" he cried out, yanking the blond's shirt open before the startled young man could object.
The three watching teens' expressions turned from smiling to shock to angry betrayal in a space of heartbeat as Will wrenched himself out of Zackary's grasp and quickly pulled his shirt back in place, but not before they all saw the damning truth.
The flesh of his left shoulder was as smooth and unmarked as the day he was born, and the truth hit them all with the force of a physical blow. Will, who they had accepted into their group, was Outcaste.
"How...how could you?!" Kymberly cried out angrily, her normally kind face twisted into an expression of loathing.
"What do you think you were doing, pretending to be a normal person?" Tomas demanded, standing protectively in front of Kymberly, as if he expected the mild mannered young man who had traveled with them the last few days to suddenly attack.
Zackary, who'd seen the truth just as Will broke his grip, backed off from the other teen as if his social status were somehow contagious, his usually open, friendly face tight with anger.
Trini was the only one who didn't react with complete fury at the apparent betrayal of their trust, but she didn't look particularly friendly, either. They had all been raised to believe those of Outcaste status were to be avoided at all costs, that Outcastes were less than human, to be shunned and treated with suspicion. That they had been in continuous contact with such a person for days was as shocking to them as it would have been if Will had suddenly turned into a wild animal in front of their eyes.
Will saw the expressions, heard the anger, and a small part of him, which had begun to thrive in presence of seemingly kindred spirits, died a quick, and immensely painful, death. He pulled in on himself, instinctively trying to protect himself, as if from a physical blow. But, no physical blow, and he'd received many in his short life, had ever hurt as badly as this did; this wound went soul deep, tearing at his heart in ways he couldn't have imagined. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and stood straight again, forcing himself to meet their anger with as much dignity as he could manage.
It was at this moment that Jason returned from his scouting.
His greeting died on his lips as he immediately sensed the tension among the others, saw the four apparently standing against Will, who looked up at him with pain-filled eyes. That, combined with the way his friend was clutching his shirt closed, gave him all the clues he needed to understand what had happened. He dismounted hurriedly and went to Will's side as Tomas spoke with barely contained fury.
"What the hell were you playing at, bringing one of his kind with us?" the taller young man demanded, glaring at Jason.
"'His kind?'" Jason repeated back as his own temper snapped. "'His kind?' What kind of narrow-minded bigot are you, Tomas? All of you! Ten minutes ago he was your friend, now he's less than human? You know, it's only an accident of birth that separates you from 'his kind.'" The burly teen stepped in front of Will protectively, ready to take on anyone who would offer to harm his smaller friend.
As the others sputtered in anger beyond words, Jason snapped out his news. "We don't have time for this! They're following us, and closing fast. Now, mount up and move out," he ordered, his tone brooking no argument.
It was a measure of their respect for his position that they obeyed without further delay, and soon all that remained in that clearing was a small cloud of slowly settling dust.
~*~
The next hour found the six young people riding as if pursued by the hounds of hell, pushing their horses to the limits in the effort to maintain their lead on the pursuing soldiers. But, despite their efforts, it seemed they were losing ground as they paused in a narrow valley and looked back to find the riders cresting the hill behind them, a distance of no more than two miles.
"This isn't working," Kymberly griped as they prepared to move out again.
Will suddenly dismounted, tossing his reins to a startled Jason. "I can slow those guys down, Jason, and you get them out of here," he said decisively, not looking at any of the others.
"No, Will, it's way too dangerous," the dark haired young man argued, his glance shifting anxiously at the rapidly approaching group of twenty riders.
"Go! Now, Jason! Go on. You know I can do this, then I'll head on home. Get going, before it's too late!"
For a moment it looked like Jason was going to protest, then turned his horse toward the others, snapping angrily. "Come on, move out!"
He didn't need to tell them twice, they immediately spurred their mounts to a desperate gallop, leaving behind one slight figure to face the coming soldiers. They had not gotten far when an unearthly howling screech, reminiscent of a wildcat's cry, reached them, causing their horses to jump forward even faster with obvious fear.
"What the hell was that?" Zackary cried out, almost unseated by his horse's reaction.
"That was Will," Jason replied shortly.
"What's he doing?" Tomas asked, as they rapidly approached the summit of the hill they were riding up.
"Giving us a chance to escape," was the curt reply.
As they crested the hill they paused, turning to look back down on the small, grassy valley. What they saw both amused and chilled them.
The soldiers horses had not reacted any better than their horses had to the horrendous cries Will had made. All but three of the soldiers were either thrown from their mounts, or were fighting to bring their steeds under control as they raced back up the far hillside. As pandemonium reigned they could see Will beating a hasty retreat on foot, obviously depending on the soldiers being too preoccupied to pursue him.
He was unfortunately mistaken.
One particularly large soldier took out a sling and used it to bring down the fleeing figure, then hurried over to secure his prisoner, never hearing the protest from the unseen observers.
"No," Jason gasped out, turning as if to ride back down the hill.
"Jason, no! There's nothing you can do here," Trini insisted, grabbing the reins of Jason's horse to prevent his leaving. "Now is not the time."
"I can't just leave him," the burly teen ground out, glaring at Trini.
"I'm not suggesting you do. I'm just saying riding down there right now will get you captured, and that won't help Will." Sympathetic almond eyes met his gaze unwaveringly. "If you want to help him, we have to take the chance he gave us."
Hating the fact she was right, Jason nodded tersely, then turned his horse away from the scene in the valley they'd come from and led the others toward safety.
~*~
They'd finally hit the road that cut across South East Province, where a left turn would take them back to East Province, and a right turn on into South Province, where they hoped to find the third Portent Orb. The ride had been silent, and tense, with each of them lost in their own thoughts, contemplating what had happened with Will both in the clearing when they'd discovered his secret, and in the small valley when he'd sacrificed himself to let them escape safely. Occasionally one of them would cast a glance at Jason, then almost wince at the expression on the normally calm young man's face.
They stopped at a stream to let their weary horses have a drink, and stiffly dismounted, walking around to loosen tense muscles. They had seen no evidence of pursuers since they'd lost Will in that valley a couple of hours before.
"I'm going back," Jason said with calm decision when they had settled down in shady spot to rest. He turned toward Kymberly, who sat idly running one finger over the collar with a thoughtful expression. "I'm sorry, Kymberly, I realize this adds an extra day to our quest, but I cannot...I will not...leave Will in their possession. The only reason he's even here is because I asked him, and he got caught saving us. I can't leave him. I hope you understand that. You can all go on with Tomas, and I'll try to catch up," he concluded.
"That won't work, Jason," Tomas said quietly.
"Why not?" Jason asked, starting to get angry again.
"Because I'm going to go with you after Will. You were right, what you said. And at the very least, we have to get him back so I can offer him an apology," Tomas said with painful sincerely, obviously ashamed of his earlier actions. What kind of hero was he, if he could turn his back on a friend because of an accident of birth?
"You can count me in, too," Zackary added. He was confused by his feelings of guilt, having been taught to disdain Outcastes all his life by a father who had harbored an unreasonable hatred for them. But, he'd liked Will, despite the young man's reticence, and Zackary had had his own experiences with prejudice from those who thought a court jester was, by definition, stupid. He was deeply disappointed with himself when he realized he'd subjected Will to the same sort of narrow-minded prejudice.
"And me," Kym spoke up softly. She'd seen the pain in Will's eyes when they'd turned on him with their anger, and part of her was still reeling with shocked dismay that she could cause that sort of pain to anyone. It was a look she never wanted to be responsible for again.
"Looks like it's unanimous," Trini smiled at Jason, knowing he had figured she'd join him. They had worked together in the past, after all, and while she had been a bit surprised and shocked at first when Will's status was revealed, on reflection she realized it wasn't so surprising. Jason had always been one to champion the underdog, and being an Outcaste was about as 'underdog' as a person could get.
"You guys, you don't have to do this. I do," Jason responded, looking relieved despite his protest.
"Actually, I think we DO need to do this," Trini countered firmly.
"We should probably start back toward the castle slowly, to give the horses a chance to recover. And find a place to sleep before we attempt this. What do you think, Jason?" Tommy queried.
"Sounds like a good plan. Zack, did you find any hidden entrances, where we could get in without being noticed?" Jason asked.
"The delivery entrance I used may not be heavily guarded," Zackary decided after a moment's deliberation. "No one was there last night, at any rate."
"Okay, well, let's get going then," Kymberly announced decisively, standing and going to collect her horse.
They rode off together, making their way slowly back to where they'd started a few hours before.
Tbc
