Stars
851 Words
"Stay," I told him as I patted his snout. Jordan looked at me with pointing eyes before he grunted in defeat. He laid his head down on his paws. I have him a small smile before I climbed onto the horse that had been provided for me. It was dark brown with a white nose. Felix's was a pure black horse.
"They don't like this," I said as we started down the road.
"Did you really think they would?" Felix asked as he kept his eyes forward. He looked a lot better than he had that night at the meeting. His clothes were new and clean and his dark black hair was combed back.
"No," I frowned back at them. I hated leaving them but I knew we couldn't take them.
"Come on, Alaina," Felix said as he brought his horse to a run.
"We're not in any hurry!" I called after him as my horse galloped after him.
"I am!" He yelled back as he turned the sharp corner. I rolled my eyes as we ran past the trees.
We rode for hours, stopping only for rest and the horses. It was past nightfall when we decided to set up camp. We had known that there wasn't any settlements for miles around our little village. That's why we chose it.
"What do you think he wants?" Felix asked as he started up the fire. I had gathered some wood for him.
"I don't know," I said with a shrug, "maybe it's exactly how Jade said it was. He's just trying to save himself. Maybe Erin made a grab at him and he needs help."
"The King of thieves asking for help?" Felix asked as the fire came to life.
"That's my guess," I told him.
"Thieves don't ask for help."
"Everyone asks for help when they're desperate," I responded as I started to roll out my sleeping mat. Felix seemed to think about this as he rolled out his own.
"Alaina?" Felix asked as he pulled something from his bag.
"Yeah?" I asked as I curled up on the sleeping mat. I pulled the rough fabric over me as I looked up at the stars.
"What do you think they mean?" He asked.
"What means?" I asked as I looked at him. He was sitting with his head back, looking up.
"The stars..." He muttered. I looked over at him for a moment before glancing up myself. They were beautiful, the billion little lights in the sky.
"My father said that they were our ancestors," I said, "looking over us in the afterlife."
"Yeah?" Felix asked, "you think Jasmine's up there?"
"Yeah," I told him as I looked over at his face. He had a look of awe on his face as his eyes were up towards the sky.
"She'd love it up there," he spoke softly.
"I know she would," I told him as he finally curled up on the mat.
"Night," I told him, my voice echoing in the night.
"Night," he replied and silence fell as thick as the darkness around us.
The rest of the week went by as a blur. As we neared civilization we stopped sleeping on the ground and in the inns we passed by. We heard news of attacks put on by Erin and his friends. None of them major, just mild attacks in outer villages. It seemed that the rest of our clan were putting on a good show.
Not everyone believed that though.
"Tyrants," this older man with long white hair and a matching beard told me. I was just about to leave when Felix brought up the attacks. We were just about there with only hours of riding left.
"Tyrants?" Felix asked as he sat down beside the man.
"Yeah," he said as he shook his head enthusiastically, "if they would of just stayed out of it, we'd be free and clear. It isn't all bad being ruled by a monster. Us small people just have to stay out of his way. At least that way we live and keep our houses."
"But some don't want to be ruled by a monster," I said, butting into the conversation.
"Sure," he snarled, "but they're killing us."
"And you want the killing to stop."
"Look, miss," he said with sad eyes, "this wouldn't be the first time we was ruled by a monster. I know how to deal with 'em. The Dargin Wars did more harm than good if you ask me."
"It freed you," Felix cut in angrily. I placed a hand on his arm.
"Yeah, but how many people did it kill? It took both my son and my wife," the man said bitterly.
"I'm sorry for your loss," I told him as I shoved Felix out the door.
"We're trying to help, why can't they see that?" He asked as we headed towards the horses.
I didn't answer as we started down the empty road. That was a question that I heard my father ask my aunt weeks before he died.
That seemed to be an unanswerable question.
- Writer
