Emma pt. 11

Want to start at the beginning? - Emma, Part 1

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Learning to control the horse with the reigns and with her legs didn’t take Emma as long as she would have guessed. Before they were even out of the valley she was able to stop Juniper, maker her go forward, and change how fast she trotted.

In the saddle Emma could not feel Juniper’s movements as she had the night she rode with Lison, but it was easier to hold herself in place on top of the horse. While holding the reins in one hand, Emma stroked Juniper’s mane with the other, gently patting the horse on the neck.

She did feel unsteady on the horse, towering over the ground, but Lison was right there, guiding her and giving her assurances. They rode ahead of the caravan, the carts and kewel that pulled them were just visible on the road. Sil rode just ahead of them, wandering across the road, paying more attention to the view than to the road.

The farmland and green fields were behind and below them. Along the path the ground was covered in a thick, yellow-green grass and sprawling shrubbery adorned with purple and blue flowers. The slope of the mountain was dotted with twisted trees that grew denser as they followed the road up the mountain and out of the valley.

Emma was so focused on learning to ride that it almost past her notice that they had reached the valley’s edge and were ready to turn down a bend in the road that would lead into the thick forest that encircled the mountain.

“It is a hell of a view,” Sil said, his horse stopped, his arms crossed as he leaned over the pommel of his saddle. His bony face was expressionless as he looked at the valley spread below them.

Emma stopped Juniper next to Sil and looked over the scene.

Paldurain always looked small from her estate, but now it seemed little more than a slight imperfection, a place where the ground briefly changed color before green once again reclaimed the landscape. Only the Ardent stood out, stooped over his work, casting his long shadow across the valley. Even that looked so small that Emma had a hard time recognizing it as the massive figure she knew stood at the heart of the city.

“It seems so little from here,” Emma said.

“Wait till you see how it small it looks after you've had a taste of the rest of the world.” Lison watched her, smiling.

“It does seem strange that my whole life has been spent just down there.” Emma gestured to the valley.

“Some people like that,” Sil sat back as he talked, pulling the gloves off his hands, exposing long, freckled fingers, “they like the comfort of living only just as far as their eye can see. They don’t want what's beyond that to upset the things they've built.”

“Well we aren't those kind of people, are we Sil.” Lison looked to the other man.

Sil shook his head slowly, “No we are not.”

He leaned to the side, unstrapping a short bow from where it hung on his saddle. As he leaned over Emma saw the inside of his jacket, and three rows of shining metal. Small knives, each barely larger than a man’s finger, lined the jacket like teeth.

She looked away quickly. Flush ran to her cheeks, though she was not sure why.

“You off to get us a deer?” Lison asked.

“Or what passes for a deer around here,” Sil said, guiding his horse toward the bend in the road that lead to the mountain pass.

“We'll see you when we make camp,” Lison waved to him, Sil did not wave back as he rode away.

“It’s a bit of a tradition,” Lison explained to Emma, “we like to have a little feast our first night out.”

Emma nodded.

The rest of the caravan was closing on them. Emma could hear the creak of the wood and many voices echoing up the road. She was a little sorry to see them approaching so quickly, she'd been about to ask Lison about Sil and about the knives, but felt uncomfortable about doing so in front of the others.

“Have you fallen off yet?” Rilen called when her wagon was close enough. She stood on the bench, holding her floppy hat against her head.

“Not yet.” Emma said, straightening her back up and grasping the reins tightly in her hands.

"I think you're a fool for getting on that beast.” One of the dwin in the back of the wagon called.

Emma looked to the voice, confused. A dwin with narrow red eyes and dark brown hair was staring at Juniper with unease.

“Zariah?” Emma’s voice conveyed her shock and surprise, “what are you doing here.”

“Working. Ze’Manel hired me onto his crew.”

Most of the dwin seated in the cart wore durable clothes, meant for hard work, but Zariah wore a long silk wrap covered in elaborately rendered flowers and trees. Like Emma, he was from a noble dwin house.

“You?” She said skeptically.

Zariah took obvious offence, “Well you're here aren't you? If this work is good enough for a Lady of Laudriel then why not for a Lord of Raluvon.”

Emma didn't know what to say. She'd known Zariah since she'd been old enough to socialize with the other noble houses, they had almost been friends. He had been popular, gaining the respect and awe of the other children because of his ability at spellcraft. But spellcraft was a fickle talent, rarely manifesting in more than a few tricks. Crafters ended up tradesman more often than not, putting their limited skills to practical use.

Zariah had declared no such thing would happen to him, he bragged and boasted that he would become a traveling wizard, fighting evil. Emma recalled him standing on a table in the middle of his estate, shaping flame into the form of bandits and bears and monsters.

At the time she and the other children had found his proclamations exciting. But as he got older and the limits of his craft became evident, the boasting had sounded more and more desperate.

It had been a long time since Emma had seen him, at least three years. In that time he’d grown paunchy and pale. Mostly likely he'd rarely left the confines of his family estate in that time.

“It’s just a surprise to see you.” Emma said.

“Well I always said I'd be out on the road, seeking adventure, just like you. And here we both are.” He flashed a toothy smile at her.

Emma nodded, but a heavy feeling in her gut caused her to frown. Somehow hearing Zariah talk about their journey made her realize how meager her adventure was. As thrilling as it was to be on a horse, leaving home, seeing a new part of the world, in truth, they were simply accompanying a delivery to a city not far from Paldurain.

She looked around at the faces, dwin and human alike, bored, daydreaming or even napping. Most would have nothing to but guard the goods at night, tend the kewel and horses, then unload the heavy carvings once they reached Blue Coast. Ordinary people doing an ordinary job.

Rilen had returned to her seat and was holding the kewel’s reins.

“I like to have a crafter along, and ours recently left our service,” Deem said from his seat next to Rilen, turning around to look at Emma, “makes things easier, and Zariah’s got all the right skills: controlling fires, lending some strength to wood and even helping the boys lift. You can cut a crew in half with one good crafter.”

Zariah scowled and Emma knew he wanted to object, to say that such menial tasks were below him. He looked up at her and they locked eyes for moment. Then he turned away without saying a word.

“Our last crafter could work healing and such,” Lison said as he trotted next to Emma, “They don’t replace workers, but they are damn good to have around.”

The sun, and the long shadows it cast, indicated it was late afternoon. Deem ordered that they travel almost until dark, which would take them to a spot to camp. Emma listened as the workers talked, forming a mental picture of the journey, of the roads and campsites that lay between them and Blue Coast.

They rode along with the others, but as the day wore on it became hard for Emma to ignore how sore her legs were and how her thighs and hips ached from being in the same position for so long. Her rump also ached, growing tenderer each time it came down on the saddle. She shifted and twisted, trying to relieve the discomfort.

“Had enough of Juniper yet?” Lison asked.

“Oh, no, it’s just harder than I would have guessed to sit in a saddle for this long.”

“You get used to it,” he said, patting his own horse on the neck, “The clearing where Deem plans to make camp for the night isn’t too far away. Do you want to race me there?”

“Race you?” Emma blushed, but delight bubbled in her stomach, “I don’t know that I’m ready to race yet.”

“No better time to learn. You know how to kick at her sides to speed her up,” he demonstrated on his horse and jolted ahead of her, Emma kicked at Juniper to catch up, leaving the wagons behind.

“And pull back on the reins if you need to slow her down, should you need to,” he laughed and kicked at his horse again, now going fast enough that wind whipped back his dark hair.

Emma increased her speed, holding tight to the reins and leaning down by Juniper’s neck to prevent herself from feeling too lightheaded.

“All you need to do is watch the road, and be ready to stop her if there is trouble.”

The wind pulled at his voice, making it hard to hear, but Emma caught enough of it. She smiled and nodded.

Lison had a strong lead on her. She watched him, but found it hard to control Juniper that way. The horse could not make turns quickly, or keep up a steady pace without guidance from Emma.

She dropped her eyes from Lison and the quickly vanishing rump of his horse, and instead looked at the road, and felt Juniper underneath her.

The powerful muscles in the horse’s legs and back worked and the scenery flashed by in a blur. She rocked with each step the horse took, the pain and ache driving her to lift her legs in the stirrups to avoid striking Juniper's back each time she came back down. It was unstable and felt dangerous, but the horse ran even faster and Emma’s delight and exhilaration erased away any worry.

The steady, heavy breathes of the horse and the impact of hooves on the ground were the only sounds she could here. Then the impacts were joined by more and she realized she was close to Lison and gaining ground fast. Her eyes had been so fixed on the road she had almost missed seeing him.

Soon she was next to him, casting him a quick glance and seeing him smile. She kicked at Juniper again, losing her balance and gripping tightly to the reins. For one panicked heartbeat she thought she was falling to the ground, but she only hit the saddle hard, slipping some before regaining her setting.

An excited whoop erupted out of her mouth and she kicked at the horse again, not looking back to Lison as she passed him and flew down the road.

She kept going, wind hitting her, all sounds and sights past Juniper barely registering in her mind. She thought of nothing, worried about nothing, dreamed of nothing. She simply rode. She felt like she was made of air, like she was nothing more than wind being blown down the path.

A voice pulled her out of it, calling to her.

“Emma, slow down!”

Her hands pulled back on the reins without thought; Juniper slowed and the world came back into focus. Dark trees were all around and heavy shadows covered the road. The sky above was a deep blue shot with purple.

Hoof beats sounded behind her. She pulled the reins to the left and leaned instinctively as Juniper turned around. Lison stopped just behind her, his black hair a disheveled mess, his eyes wide in excitement and worry.

Emma cast a brief thought to how she must look, but she found she couldn’t care, not with the excitement of the ride still overwhelming her.

“We passed the campsite,” he said, “a little while ago.”

“Oh,” she said, only just noticing how heavily she was breathing, “sorry.”

“It’s alright,” he looked her up and down and trotted closer, “it seems you were ready for racing.” He jerked his head to the side, indicating the road behind him, “Shall we go wait for the others?”

Emma nodded, her face red from embarrassment and excitement.

The camp was a quick trot in the other direction, they had not gone too far past it. They rode in silence as Emma allowed herself to calm down. Finally Lison spoke.

“That was pretty good, I didn’t think you’d beat me.” He flattened his hair, pressing the black locks down against his skull.

“Neither did I,” she smiled at him.

“In truth I let you get ahead of me a little, but I didn’t think you’d get that far ahead.”

“Well Juniper did all the work.” She stroked the horse along the neck and took in a deep breath of the horses’ sweaty scent.

The waning sunlight did little to illuminate the landscape, leaving the area blanketed in darkness. Between the trees were large boulders, blankets of grass and flowers, and clusters of bushes.

Ahead of them a huge clearing came into view. The flowers and yellow-green grass were beaten down, and worn completely away in some places. A small stream ran through it, and the sound of running water rang through the air.

“This is the campsite?” Emma asked.

“It is, one of the nicer ones we’ll use.” He led her off the road and down the short way to the site.

“It’s so close to the road.” She looked back over her shoulder, “is that safe?”

“If you have good guards, and we do, it’s much safer to be on the road than deep in the forest.”

A form hunched near the stream, a man bent, his back to them. Lison stopped his horse and gestured for Emma to do the same. She watched the form by the stream as Lison helped her to the ground. She recognized Sil’s jacket and she saw the legs of a deer splayed out in front of him.

Ripping sounds came from the deer and Emma could see Sil was cutting the hid off it.

“Did you get a good one?” Lison asked.

“Good enough. Led me on a decent chase,” Sil said, not turning around as he worked.

The knife in his hand was large, with a bone handle and a serrated edge, not one of the small blades she’d seen in his jacket.

Lison took the saddle off Juniper and Emma pulled off the blanket that was underneath. Then he showed her how to brush the horse and rub down her legs. He took Emma’s hand in his own, guiding her as she stroked the animal.

He smiled down at her and leaned in close so her back was pressed into him.

They didn’t talk and the only sound in the clearing was the cutting and ripping from Sil’s work.

Emma lead Juniper to the stream to drink and Lison trailed behind, leading his own horse, rubbing it on the snout and smiling at Emma.

Voices and muffled sounds came from the road and the caravan appeared. Rilen jumped down from the wagon and ran to Emma.

“I saw how fast you were going,” her eyes were wide, “I was sure you would fall off.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen to my little Lady.” Lison said.

People started working around them, unyoking the kewel, setting up camp. Emma showed Rilen the horse brush and Rilen cautiously brushed Juniper down. The horse lifted her head and turned in a gesture that Emma thought looked happy, but Rilen took as irritation.

With the commotion of making camp Emma felt it was safe to talk to Lison about Sil without the other man overhearing.

“Lison, what does Sil do for Deem?”

He thought for a second, casting a glance to Sil, who was taking the deer carcass to the center of the camp.

“Security mostly, and scouting, if we need it.”

“Is that why he has dozens of daggers in his coat?”

Rilen looked up from the horse, over to Sil, then back to Emma, not speaking.

“You saw those, huh?” He grinned, “He’s pretty good with those little things. They’re throwing daggers. You should ask him to show off sometime.”

Emma watched as Zariah work with a human to set up wood. They started a campfire, which cast a dancing orange light around the darkening clearing. Sil left the deer with a man who was setting up a roasting spit.

He walked back across the campground, looking over to Emma and Lison, nodding, the orange light illuminating half his bony face, leaving the other half in shadows. 

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Continue to part 12