For three days, Saria and Gretchen raced toward Faron with a fury not to be matched. They covered the most ground through each night, with only the light of the moon threatening to reveal the two women on the run. Just as the sun would begin to burst over the horizon behind them, pinks and oranges spreading across the sky that seemed to be chasing them, mixing with the deep blackness of night and the pale blues of morning, Gretchen would order for them to stop and rest. Then, after just the bare minimum of sleep, which would leave Saria in a foul mood that was steadily increase each time Gretchen roused her from wonderful, beautiful sleep, the two would once again begin their trek southwest, at a much slower pace during the day so as to keep from drawing unwanted attention, only to begin their race onward once more as soon as the blackness of night fell.
They were making much better time than Saria had been with the wagon party she had left behind at the inn. Gretchen seemed to think they would arrive at their home city in just two or three more days. The rainy weather seemed to be at an end for the time being, and though each day brought with it more chilling temperatures, Saria much preferred being constantly shivering to being drenched and miserable.
On her fourth night of riding next to Gretchen, Saria was beginning to feel lonely. Gretchen wasn't one for much conversation, and Saria had started out feeling okay with that, she still hadn't forgiven the older girl from her childhood for tricking her into that tree. But after riding in mostly silence for days, Saria was sick with how much she missed Zephyr. At the same time, she wanted desperately to reach Faron and her father, if only to beg him to offer aid to her friend. Saria could feel the sadness and urgency building inside of her, and, not wanting to cry in front of Gretchen, decided she needed to distract herself.
Saria looked about her at the lands that were quickly passing by. The entire ride so far had been a continuously boring visual. After they left behind the dense wooded ring that went for several miles outside of Bremerton, there had so far been nothing but flat, plain farmlands. Saria sighed, remember how as a child she had wanted more than anything to travel to the more exciting parts of Auros. The towering Skypeak Mountains in the north, the Doelith Mountains hundreds of miles south of them, the Avery Sea splitting the two as if it were an enormous, watery pass. She longed to travel through the seemingly unending Feiwyn Forest that stood sentry before the Doeliths. And what all was there to see beyond the two seas that bordered Auros? With enormous natural barriers on all sides, Auros had always seemed to contain everything there was to be seen, and Saria hated being contained. She wanted to cross the Sea of Mist and get a first glimpse at whatever it was those mists hid from the eyes of the Aurians.
The only out of the ordinary place that Saria had ever seen was the very edge of the Kish Ocean, which was in fact not an ocean, but a desert. That was before she was old enough to really remember the trip, and her father hadn't actually led their family into the desert for fear of attack from sand pirates. How exciting it would be to meet the infamous sand pirates! Saria unleashed a sigh, her breath whirling past as she rode onward. She gave up looking for anything interesting to think about in the scenery passing her by, and thinking about all of the places she would never see was only increasing her temper. She instead lifted her icy blue eyes to the endless sky above her.
"Gretchen," Saria began, catching the woman's attention, "Do you remember the stars?" Gretchen looked up to the heavens as she rode and took a moment before answering.
"Yes," she said solemnly. "Yes, I remember them well actually. Do you?"
"Just barely. I more remember the feeling they gave me, especially out here in the middle of nowhere with none of the light of the city to hide them," Saria said, a hint of nostalgia in her voice.
Saria had been only three years old when all of the stars had winked out. It hadn't been a large event, in fact, most people hadn't even noticed they were gone right away. One moment the night sky was filled with countless glimmering specks of light, the next, there was only the two moons, Terminas and Vaden, to break up the inky blackness. No one knew why their stars had disappeared, though many had theories. The most popular seemed to be that the sky was mourning the deaths of the Starlings, the ruling family who had been murdered when Queen Lorelei stole the throne. Saria didn't know if the sky could mourn, but the timing did make the two events look as though they were connected. The disappearing of the stars happened just days after Lorelei's coronation. Ha, Saria thought, maybe that's the queen's big, mysterious power. What a letdown. That's not even scary. It was sad though. Saria had always missed the stars, especially out here where she could see the sky for miles and miles, where it didn't seem to never end, blanketing the earth in it's embrace. With only the bright moons up there, it felt so...cold. So much farther away.
Saria shook her head, trying to dispel all of the depressing thoughts that were beginning to suffocate her. Zephyr would never let her get this way. She needed to find something else to focus on right away. Saria turned to Gretchen once more.
"So...do you have a husband waiting for you back in Faron?" Said questioned, though she hadn't noticed a ring on Gretchen's hand the few times she'd removed her thick wool gloves. Gretchen smiled wryly.
"No, no husband," Gretchen responded.
"Oh," Saria said, and began to wonder if she could coax more of a response out of her companion. While brainstorming a way to do so, Gretchen decided to continue.
"I wouldn't mind," Gretchen continued, "having a husband I mean. I even have one picked out." Gretchen laughed as she said this, and Saria gave her a funny look, not understanding the joke. Gretchen noticed her confused expression and laughed some more before continuing.
"There is somebody, I just don't think he's ever going to get around to asking me," Gretchen said, her features growing a bit wistful.
"Oh!" Saria said, somewhat shocked that Gretchen, as beautiful as she had become, didn't have men asking for her hand several times a day. Must be her personality, Saria thought, only to silently chide herself for her inner rudeness, something she rarely did. She could tell though that Gretchen was being serious and decided to go along with it.
"Is he someone I would remember from when I was in Faron?" Saria asked. Gretchen gave her a winning smile.
"I would hope that you remember him," she began, "he's your brother."
Saria was too shocked to respond for a moment. Her brother? Which one? Saria had 3 older brothers and one younger. She figured she could rule out Graham, as he was only seventeen this past summer and that would be...ew. That left Link, her oldest brother, who was still married and now with a baby on the way the last time she had heard from him. Neil, who would be twenty-five in a couple of months. And then there was Nikolai, the closest to Saria's age, born just fifteen months before she had been. Nik, who she clearly remember being embarrassed by anything female, herself included. Nik, who would have gotten along great with Zephyr, as he too always had his nose stuck between the pages of some book.
"Nik? Nik!" Saria screeched, genuine astonishment overtaking her features. Gretchen nodded, not seeming ashamed in the least, and Saria could see genuine affection in her eyes and in the happy smile that played on her lips.
"Well, I guess he's nice enough," Saria said, getting a grip on her surprise, "But you're probably right about him never getting around to asking you. He's as oblivious to the world around him as a kitchen table is. Has he even tried courting you?" Gretchen thought for a moment, then raised her shoulders in defeat and uncertainty.
"He's Nik, so he doesn't really do anything in a normal fashion. He never would have tried anything at all with me if I hadn't jumped his bones one day when I was tired of waiting for him to make a move." Saria gaped at this new Gretchen she was seeing. Not a new Gretchen, but one who knew what she wanted and had the gall to take it. Saria was a bit intimidated and, at the same time, quite impressed.
"How did he react to that?" Saria asked incredulously. Gretchen gave her a sly grin.
"At first, he stood there like a brick wall. But after the surprise wore off, your brother turned out to be quite a good kisser." Saria wanted to vomit, and made a gagging noise to emphasize that fact.
"Please, when you are talking about kissing him, please do not refer to him as my brother. Just call him Nik. Or don't tell me about kissing him, that might be better," Saria said, but smiled at Gretchen to show that she was teasing. Mostly. The other woman returned her smile.
"Do you want me to talk to him about it?" Saria asked. "I've always been good at getting him to pull his head out of his...out of the clouds, and making him pay attention to what's going on around him."
"I don't know," Gretchen replied, loosing a breath that was almost tinged with frustration. "I do think he loves me, and I'm happy with things the way they are now but...he just doesn't seem to realize that maybe I'm, we're, ready for more. You know how he is, he doesn't mean anything by it, he's just that oblivious." Gretchen paused for a moment, considering something as she looked away from Saria. When she looked back, her head was tilted slightly to the side in question.
"You would really talk to him?,"" Gretchen asked.
"Of course!" Saria exclaimed. "I'd love to see him squirm when I ask him about you two." Saria laughed mischievously and her laughter was returned by Gretchen. Saria was beginning to think that maybe Gretchen wasn't so bad after all, if she could fall in love with Nik, who, despite his many flaws, had always been the brother Saria felt closest too. Maybe it was their closeness in age, or maybe it was because once she could break through to him, Nik had always been there for Saria, had always been more willing to talk to her than her other siblings had. Not that they didn't love her just as much, and the stars knew Saria adored each of her brothers. Nik had just always known what to say to make her feel better or to calm her down. Saria found that she was beginning to like the idea of Gretchen and Nik.
For several miles of riding the two girls remained silent, lost in their own thoughts. Saria glanced over her shoulder to see the beginnings of the pink sunrise peeking just over the horizon at their backs. Gretchen looked back as well, and, when she saw the new colour in the sky, began to slow her horse to a walk. Saria did the same.
"There is a dead orchard of some kind up just a ways," Gretchen said, pointing up the road to the left. Saria could just barely make out the small grouping of trees in the darkness that still surrounded them in that direction. Gretchen continued.
"We should be safe to sleep somewhere in there for a few hours," she said, and Saria, ever one to fully display her emotions, let out a whoop of joy and began to gallop toward the orchard. Gretchen rolled her eyes at the younger woman and followed at a slower pace. Saria reached the orchard first and by the time Gretchen arrive, not a minute later, Saria had already tied her ugly horse to a tree and lay sprawled on the ground under a small blanket from her pack, which she was using as a pillow. Gretchen snorted a small laugh at the sight of her.
"We can only sleep for a few hours, so don't get too comfortable," Gretchen reminded her. Saria's only response was to grunt and squeeze her eyes more tightly shut. Just a few more days, she thought gleefully. A few more days and I can sleep for as long as I want. In a bed! With that cheerful thought that brought Saria so much joy she thought she could cry, she began to drift off into a much welcomed slumber.