Dark Clouds (NaNoWriMo 2022)

3.11.22

Chapter Three

Chann and I have been traveling with Aella, Evandor, and their horses for a few days now, and I have learned much about them. They are from Equus, a village on the Petrochian side of the border, known for breeding and training some of the best horses in the country. They are twins and the same age as me, fifteen. Every year, their best horses must be transferred to the capital to be given to the nobles. This is their first year doing this journey alone.

Traveling with the twins has some very nice perks. They have given me a tent to sleep in. They offered a horse for me to ride, but I have never ridden a horse before, so I politely declined and lied, saying that I get motion sickness.

They seem to like me. Chann has seemed to take a liking to them, too. He usually stays close to me and far away from strangers, but I found out that he has begun sneaking out of my tent at night and instead sleeping in between my tent and the twins'.

I have noticed that they refer to me as "she". It is odd, but I suppose I must live with it.

The horses are a different story. It may simply be that I'm unfamiliar with them, but they don't seem to like me, and especially not Chann.

We are still on the same path that we started on, and from the looks I have been given of the twins map say that we will be for a while, but there is a village coming up where we can spend a night. Chann ran off about a minute ago into the forest. He's done this a few times today, which is getting a little odd, but I ignore it. The twins lead the horses while I hang out behind, twiddling with my bow and the knife hidden in my sleeve.

Suddenly, Chann appears from the woods, barking loudly. The horses rear and I draw my bow.

"What is it, boy?" I ask.

His answer is the sight of a big bear appearing from the treeline. It must be a mother trying to protect her cubs. I realized that the twins and many of the horses were a lot farther up that path than I thought, but there was one trailing behind closer to me. The bear notices it, too, and comes closer. She's hungry.

I take a deep breath.

I string my bow and shoot.

The bear howls out in pain as I hit her in the shoulder, and seeing the many large horses, she returns back to the forest.

Breathing heavily, I walk up to Chann.

"You okay, boy?" I ask.

He nuzzles my hand as I pet him to check for any injuries, and besides him needing a good wash, he's alright. I look up to the horse, who is closer to me than they've ever gone before. They're a bit smaller than the other horses and have a beautiful light tan. Telling Chann to stay, I walk closer and hold my hand up. The horse sniffs my hand before nuzzling me as well. I stand stock still, scared that one wrong move will scare this beauty away.

"Thank you," Aella says, making me turn my head. The twins calmed the horses and were now closer to me.

"It's nothing," I say softly, looking back at the horse, who is now sniffing my clothes.

"That's Beauty," Evan says, motioning towards the horse.

"Fitting," I mutter, still awestruck.

For the rest of the walk that day, Beauty hung back with Chann and I, and the other horses didn't seem as scared as they were before.

After another day's travel, we made it to the village. Aella and Evan already have connections here from their father, they say, so they handle lodging while I watch the horses and observe the village. I need to know the way things work, and fast, before I accidentally do something that reveals I'm not from here.

In no time, we are unpacking our stuff for a night or two at a lodge with many pens for the horses.

"We're gonna go get the horses settled," Evan informs me. I nod. Then he holds out a little pouch. "Do you think you could go buy us some food?"

I raise an eyebrow at him. It doesn't seem very smart to ask someone you don't really know to handle your money. Still, I nod, and I take the pouch.

"Anything specific you would like?"

"Aella said she's craving soup tonight." Evan looks around before leaning in. "And, if you can, could you get me some sweets?"

Smiling, I nod. I've heard him complaining about sweets to Aella for a few days now.

My full guard is up as I enter the village. My eyes open, my hands free in case of an emergency. I feel almost bare without my bow and arrows, but I have noticed that no one carries noticeable weapons in the village, so I left them in my room. I do still have my knives, though.

Suddenly, a large figure rams into my shoulder, making me stagger backwards. Adrenaline runs through my veins--I take no disrespect. I immediately pull out my knife.

"Hey, you!" I yell. I know I'm probably drawing some attention to myself, but I don't care.

The large figure, a man, turns back to me.

I check my pocket, and I realize the pouch is gone.

"Give me my money back, you filthy bastard," I curse.

The man plays dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now kid, put that knife away."

I scan him up and down. He's holding his hand under his cloak. He's been caught red-handed.

"Give. Me. My. Money."

He scoffs and attempts to walk away, and so I attack. I grab his arm tightly to pull him back, and he seems surprised by my strength. He pulls his other arm back to swing at me, but I duck and slip the pouch back into my pocket. The A'Nuki people specialize in hand-to-hand combat, and that includes sleight of hand.

"You little bitch!"

Out of nowhere, the twins appear and pull me away from the man and out of the group of people who surrounded us.