Ghost of a Forgotten Past

Chapter 9- This Is Who I Am

    

Day break was fast approaching and Lanora's spell had broken over night for she had talked in her sleep and returned herself to her normal female form. Whistling softly to Phantom she got up gathered her few possessions, stuffed them in the saddle bags and mounted, but she remembered her cloak one of the Knights had taken it through the night because it had been cold and 'Shadow' wasn't using it. She crept up beside the knight called Jim and carefully plucked the hem up slowly edging it up over and away from his face; she paused and studied his face to make sure he was still really asleep. Continuing to edge the cloak away, she went slowly and steadily trying to avoid waking Jim up but.... A stick in the fire broke and flung a red hot coal right onto Felix's leg, it burned through the cloth and as soon as it touched his skin he jumped up screaming and started to jump and dance about like a lunatic, shouting "it's hot, it's hot!." Now everyone was up and only Jim saw Lanora in her true form, she turned but a fraction too late for Jim sprang forward and caught her around the waist lifting her from the ground so she couldn't run any further. Felix had got rid of the scolding coal and was looking for water, when Jim shouted "Nathaniel I got her" they all turned to see Jim holding Lanora off the ground but she was trying to get free from his grip. "Ezra, help where are you Ezra!" she shouted so it seemed she was calling Shadow but he was gone.

"Settle down darlin please" said Jim in a gentle voice trying to charm her to quieten down. Nathaniel came forward "please stop fighting him and just let us talk to you miss" he quietly coaxed, but Lanora wasn't listening to him she had stopped and was pulling her legs up, he looked at her strangely but it all became clear within a few seconds. Lanora brought her legs right up to Jims arm and then let fly straight into both his knees his legs buckled beneath and he fell. But Jim didn't let go of her completely he fell letting his hands slide down her legs as he went, so he ended up holding her ankles, so as Lanora tried to spring away she tipped over as well and nearly hit the ground herself when Nathaniel shot forward and caught her. Lanora felt his arms close around her as she fell into them unable to stop herself and felt something pass between them it was a sort of thrilling sensation that she had never felt before, Nathaniel must have felt it to because he gasped and nearly let her fall the rest of the way. Jim letting her ankles go looked up as Lanora steadied herself and looked into Nathaniel's eyes they were sparkling and glinting as he looked into hers as she really was. "Don't call me darlin right?" Nathaniel laughed as he finally got why she attacked Jim so violently, Lanora went to pull away but Nathaniel held her fast by the arms not tight enough to hurt her but just enough to prevent her from going anywhere.

Once again Lanora called "Ezra, where are you, I need you" and this time finally pulling free from Nathaniel as he looked up as a dark form came racing across the ground it was Shadow. Lanora kept whispering under her breath as she ran, grabbed her cloak and whistled to Phantom, he came cantering from behind the other horses. She was scared and determined to get away again, Bane could see this and he stepped into her path and she ran smack into him, her head hit his shoulder and she fell on her back unconscious, the black form disappeared and Phantom went cantering away and stopped some distance away. Phantom wanted to protect her but he had been told to keep safe and not to inter fear with the affairs that happen with Nathaniel and his girl, he was told this by the dragons.

Bane wasn't able to grab her quick enough to stop her falling to the ground or hitting his shoulder so hard. They all gathered around and looked on the face of the young forest girl and took in all her features and being for the first time. Nathaniel came and knelt beside her he looked at her forehead and put his hand on her cheek and sighed, all the knights could see the tenderness that Nathaniel was showing towards her. Sliding his hands under her back and legs he picked her up and carried her over to the fire and gently put her down on the blanket which he was sleeping on and put Shadows cloak over the top of her. He ran his fingers over the seam at the bottom of the cloak and it had the holes and tear in it this was the same cloak, he thought 'how?' can they have the same cloak unless I was right about Shadow being Lanora but then she called someone called Ezra and Shadow said to Kane that his real name was Ezra. He looked upon the unconscious girl and wondered how she had survived in such a hostile environment, how could she have adapted to stay alive and under the kings radar for so long, and what sort of relationship did she share with Shadow. Nathaniel was now convinced that Shadow and Lanora were two different people because he had seen the figure coming across the plain that looked like Shadow, but the cloak still had him baffled.