We rode out into the forest and I could feel the memories of the clearing wash over me again. Quickly, I plucked out the direction that we were heading from Lord Rico’s mind and then veered off on that course. There was a proper trail, but I knew a better one if we were going out of the forest in that direction.
“Where are you going?” Rico demanded
“In the right direction.”
“That might well be, but you’re going on the wrong path.”
“No, I’m going on a different path, one that is more efficient and time saving.”
“It is the wrong one.”
“No, it is just a different one.”
“Stupid, headstrong girl! First the bridal, now a make-believe path!”
“I am right, which is why I am sure. If you need to understand why I do not need a bridal then just watch, I will show you in a way that you can understand since you are too set in your own ways to believe just my word.” I held onto my horse, Arian’s mane. I entered her mind and calmed her as she snorted. Then I slowly commanded her to go up onto her hind legs, just lifting her front hooves off the ground. I looked at Lord Rico, seeing that I had not impressed him much, “I have seen people do this before, it’s easy to do if the horse has been trained, which I assume that it has been.”
“It hasn’t been trained by me.”
“So you tell me, but I do not know if you speak the truth and I doubt that you actually do.”
I contemplated showing him the extent of my understanding with Arian, but realised that he would turn it into something else. “As you wish. I cannot force you to believe me and I do not intend to do anything more to try and earn it. I see some people are too close minded to associate with people below their own social status.” He turned red at my words and I could sense his indignation. “I am going this way, choose to follow me if you wish, but if not, then go your own way and I will set up camp in the first site and wait for you to arrive.”
“This foolishness will be your own undoing, but if you are to be so stubborn then I will see you there, after I have set up the camp.” He said with indignant anger. I sat back down on my horse and turned her round, starting off on the path that I could see in my mind.
“Hold on one minute, you’re not going alone, take this one with you.” He said indicating at Rowan. I smiled,
“Very well, if you wish so.”
I shot Isaac an apologetic look and then rode off into the depths of the forest with Rowan. He was jumpy and I could tell that he was trying to keep something from me, two things in fact. I let him have his secrets, knowing that he would eventually share them with me. Suddenly I realised how much more patient I had become.
We walked through the forest and Rowan kept shooting looks at me as I lead in the front, going deeper and deeper into the trees, finally he could hold one of his secrets back any longer. “Are you sure of where we are going?”
I laughed and realised how flute-like it was. “Yes I am sure.”
I could tell he still did not believe me, he had his doubts about the forest; he hadn’t been in it in nine years and had only been in it six times before that. He did not know it anywhere near as well as I did and thought it strange and supernatural, almost in the same way that he saw me, but the forest seemed more menacing to him.
“I practically lived in this forest until they blocked off the gates. I know most of the glades and paths that there are, and I know of the particular place where we are meant to make camp, this path is shorter, more direct, it will take us less time, perhaps knocking off at least an hour to two hours of our journey. It would be quicker if I was able to run, but you and two horses are too big for me to be able to carry at once and I would have great difficulty seeing where I was going, but maybe it could be worth the risk.” Rowan looked at me quickly, worried about what I was thinking of doing, then he realised that I was only joking as I smiled at him playfully.
We carried on riding at an even pace and started to talk normally about simple things like the weather and food, when the path got to narrow for us to ride side by side Rowan went behind me and we travelled along in near silence. It was at this time when I got lost in my own thoughts, I was wondering about where I was going and what my training would be like, whether I would learn things like magic and to enhance my physical skills like running and my strength, or whether I would learn things like sword craft and archery, the explanation that Orion had given me was vague at best. I heard a bird in the tree nearby and listened to its song; I quickly found a melody in it and began to softly sing with it under my breath. There were no words to it, being more of a song of lowing and humming than actually singing, but I lost myself in the tune.
Arian stopped and I slowly opened my eyes, realising for the first time that I had actually closed them. All around me there were birds singing my melody, sitting in trees, perching on the ground, flying through the air, we were surrounded by them. I turned to look at Rowan and he just started at me open mouthed, his mind totally unguarded so I could see most that he was thinking, but still not all of it. I blushed and turned around asking Arian to walk forward again, I thought I had only been singing quietly. We walked in silence again after that and the birds left us alone.
After a while the path was wide enough and Rowan came to ride next to me, the sun was high in the sky and he noted it to me, “I know but we are little over half an hour away from our destination, it will take the others at least another hour and a half.” He could tell that I did not want to talk and rode quietly next to me, commenting on various things.
After a while we reached the glade and I began to take my things off Arian and left her to graze. Rowan offered to set up my tent so I let him, saying that I was going down to the stream nearby to wash and freshen up after our ride. I walked down to the stream and could hear the running water long before I could see its silver path leisurely flowing between the banks. It had a spring further up that was quite deep so I went to it and sat on the side for a moment thinking about the last time that I had sat by one; I was happy and contented and had the two people that I loved the most besides me, this time I was anxious and all on my own. Slowly I undressed and lay my clothes over a low lying branch, making sure that my leather boots and gloves could not fall in the water.
Slowly I slipped into the water in my underwear; they could dry off later, I was not naive enough to go in the spring without anything on. The spring was cold but not enough to make me want to get out, it was refreshing. I swam about in the water for a while, getting used to the temperature, I could have heated it if I had wanted to but I didn’t see the point in wasting my energy. Gradually I drifted to the side and dipped my head under the crystal clear water to wet my hair; I could see the stones and smooth pebbles beneath my feet and the small silver fish darting around at the bottom. It wasn’t a very deep spring, but it came up to the top of my shoulders, I stood up with my head out and began to softly rub my arms under the water, looking up at the light leafy canopy I could see the beams of sunlight streaming down onto the forest floor. I felt a leaf touch my back in the water and turned around playing with it between my fingers before letting it float slowly on down its course.
I unhurriedly washed my body, closing my mind so that I could only hear my own thoughts, there were so many creatures in the forest, it was as if I was standing in the middle of a large crowd and listening to every ones conversations at once. Quietly I began to sing beneath my breath, so that only I could hear, I made sure of it this time. I closed my eyes and concentrated on weaving the soft melody from my lips, I wasn’t sure on where or what part of me it was coming from but it was just so beautiful that I didn’t want to stop. I was concentrating solely on the tune, not seeing, listening and hardly even feeling the water flow gently by my body. That’s how he got so close without me noticing.
YOU ARE READING
Awoken (Ilea, Book I) (COMPLETED)
Fantasy“I have found you.” Was all he said as the blackness swallowed me. Ilea has been living with a secret that she knew nothing about, a secret so big that her whole life is being turned upside down. Torn away from her friends and thrust out into a wor...
