Burden of the Badge

Chapter 2***

A soft wind blew rustling leaves somewhere nearby. Tiaret's eyes fluttered open. She rolled herself up and grabbed her chest as pain shot through her. She whipped her head around gazing at her surroundings. It appeared that she had been sleeping in a tent with a side on the left open. Her eyes rested on a man sitting by a fire. She watched as he stood, scooped some soup out of a black cauldron, dumped it in a bowl, and made his way toward her.

Tiaret reached for her sword, but it was gone. She glanced down on her left and noticed her clothes had been taken off and laid to the side. Looking down below the blanket that covered her, she noticed her chest had been bound tightly with a cloth. She squinted realizing she now wore a green skirt with leaves imprinted on the material below her waist. A shirt that matched laid beside her clothes. Heat rushed to her face as she pulled the blanket tightly against her body.

A low chuckle came from beside her. The man stood from his fire and crouched next to her. Tiaret stared at the man. He wore dark brown clothing with a feather poking out of a ponytail. The man laughed as he handed her a wooden bowl filled with a mysterious green liquid with foreign chunks.

Tiaret's face turned green as she took in the substance. Sighing, she set it down on her lap. "I am Chief Lorenzo," the man introduced himself. "I hope you don't mind my healers taking liberty with your clothing. You were bleeding out and unresponsive. They had to be removed for your healing." Tiaret gave him a weary smile as she turned her head. Lorenzo cleared his throat. "Please eat. You need your strength. You have been asleep for three days. I was beginning to worry about you."

Turning toward him, her eyes widened. There was no way she had been asleep for that long! Lorenzo chuckled as he rose back to his full height. She glanced around, wondering what had happened to her. Memories of her chasing the thief danced in her mind, causing her to flap her wings and jolt out of bed. The chief laughed and backed away. "Feel free to join us when you're ready." She reached a hand out for him and watched as he closed the flap of her tent to give her privacy.

Gritting her teeth, she threw on the shirt they gave her, grabbed her sword, and flew out of the tent. Her eyes widened as she gawked about. Trees grew hundreds of feet above her head. Houses rested in their trunks and walkways coiled around them with bridges connecting tree to tree. She had never seen people like these before. People who lived in trees. Laughter escaped the man's throat so she turned his way. "My people have lived here for many years. We would have placed you in a hut of your own, however, we didn't wish to move you quite yet."

"Chief Lorenzeo," Tiaret began. The man turned to her and locked eyes with her. "I have to find my daughter. She has been taken from me and I need to find her. Is there anyone here that can help me free her?" She watched as he glanced from house to house. She was more than prepared to search on her own, but only being one woman, there was no way she could find her before Kendra was gone for good. If she wasn't already. A couple of minutes passed before Chief Lorenzo made a bird call into the stillness.

Tiaret glanced up and watched as a male half-human half-snake slithered off a nearby maple tree and down onto the path in front of them. "One name does come to mind," the Chief went on. "This is Mavo. He is a tracker. If anyone can find your daughter it will be him."

Mavo laughed and waved excitedly. A small grin tugged at the corner of her mouth, and she returned the wave. She realized that was the first time she had smiled since Kendra's disappearance. The snake man before her had bright blue hair with a tail to match. She cocked her head and gazed at the tip of his tail which was shaped like a rattler.

"Oh, you like my tail?" He burst out laughing and then shook it. She placed her hands over her ears as the rattling made her disoriented. "It's a good defense mechanism against monsters, wouldn't you agree?" Tiaret moved her hands down and nodded. Fear began tugging at her heart. She had a fear of snakes, whether they were half or not, but she fought the fear; if working with him meant saving her daughter, then it would be worth a shot.

"Remember one thing," Chief Lorenzo said. "It has been a few days since we pulled you to safety. The trail may be cold by now. But I do hope that you can find your daughter and return safely."

"I'm not ready to accept that I've lost her forever." Her voice came out more stern than she had hoped for. "I will go to the end of the galaxy if it means getting her back."

Her eyes gazed past Chief Lorenzo as leaves from behind him shifted into the form of a woman. He bowed before her as the woman handed him a small box wrapped with care in leaves. "My wife wants you to take some food for the road. There is no telling what dangers you will face out there."

Tiaret accepted the package and bowed before him. "Thank you for taking care of me in my time of need. I hope I can repay you soon."

Chief Lorenzo chuckled as Mavo rattled once more. "If you want to help me, do what you can to bring Mavo home safely. That will be enough payment."

Tiaret straightened her back, flapped her wings, and hovered into the forest with Mavo following close behind. The tree lines grew thicker the deeper they ventured. The sound of laughter faded behind them until there was nothing but silence.

Mavo slithered across the forest floor, occasionally stopping and crouching close to the ground to get a better look. After traveling for what seemed like hours, he paused. "I think I found something," he hissed.

Tiaret paused and hovered lower. "What is it?"

He smiled at her and shook his tail before pointing east. "Drag marks."

She squinted her eyes to see that Mavo was right. There was a clear sign of someone having been dragged off. She had checked the forest several times for any sign of her daughter. How could she have missed such a small detail?

Suddenly, Mavo slithers off. Tiaret stood up straight and called out to him but to no avail. Flapping her wings, she rose into the sky, followed him to a cave entrance, and watched as he slithered inside.