The Enchanted Path (Book 1 of the Dreamfarers' tales)

Chapter 20 - The Journey Begins

The first half of the day passed by without a hitch. Cassidy couldn't contain her excitement and blew it off prancing happily; Birch, instead, had to swallow his reluctance when they crossed the border of the Forest for good. The young stag tried to act nonchalantly, but Dianthus caught him sending regretful glances behind their shoulders now and then until the border of the Forest was out of sight.

Red Deer, they were not to leave their woods unless something dire forced them to, and without an entire herd watching your back, leaving was considered outright folly. Then again, Birch kept repeating to himself that hanging around crazy magical creatures was enough of madness, so to set off on a journey guided only by an invisible, witless, fairy sprite was just consequential to the inescapable downfall of his judgment.

"So, what's the plan?" the fawn asked eventually.

"Well, we are following the wisp right now," Dianthus answered, observing the fairy flame floating idly in front of them. The quiet sprite hadn't given away any clue on their destination

"The point is," Dianthus continued. "I don't have the faintest idea where it's taking us...nor if it's going to stop at nightfall at all."

"Well, that's reassuring," Birch remarked, not even trying to contain the sarcasm in his voice.

"We could use a map," Cassidy chimed in; the other two just stared at her with the same blank expression. Cassidy quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"A map?" Birch said flatly.

"Indeed, Birch," Cassidy rolled her eyes. "You know, that piece of paper usually made out of rotten grass, feathers, and sap with pretty drawings featuring landmarks and dangerous stuff...and I know my geography, thank you very much."

"I know what a map is, yet I highly doubt that you could follow it according to that..." the fawn gestured to the nothing before them where the invisible wisp was likely to be. "We are not following the beaten path anymore," Birch explained. "Wisp there's been taking us across thick trees since we left the Forest. We are in the middle of nowhere!"

"Yeah, I kinda noticed that too," Cassidy said with a shrug. "Still, we need to know which direction we're taking, at the very least..." She glanced around, then upwards. The trees were so thick that it was hard to keep track of the time even.

"I'll go and see if I can determine our whereabouts," she declared. "Wait here." With a mighty flap of her wings, Cassidy disappeared beyond the treetops.

The pegasus had to squint her eyes to the sudden change of light; under that coat of leaves they really had traveled in penumbra compared to the open. She spent a few moments relishing the fresh air, free of the persistent smell of moss and rotten vegetation that littered the ground and let out a satisfied purr, stretching her aching wing muscles and popping her bones. Pegasi, they weren't built to walk that much. Hovering above the ground did little to keep the gears oiled, for she regularly had to mind her pace to avoid leaving behind her two earthbound companions.

Pegasi might have the body of a horse, but a gallop could never replace a pleasant flight. Running on the ground was nothing compared to a full-speed glide, with the wind slapping your face until it brought tears to your eyes and the thrill that possessed you during a falcon-dive, when all of sudden you were conscious of your dead weight plummeting down and down, forcing your wings to your sides against all instincts...

Cassidy threw her head up to the clear sky, then down at her wingtips barely touching the treetops. She couldn't spot a white and red spot through the dense canopy, but she knew Dianthus and Birch had to be waiting just below her. She couldn't resist. Pushing her wings harder, she climbed the warm current up, and up, and up, until the trees became an indistinct green splotch in her peripheral vision, and colder air stung her eyes. There she hovered, her tawny wings flared wide like a falcon's. From up there she saw a neat streak of darker cerulean sandwiched between pine and cornflower blue.