Goldie and Red

Chapter 14 - The Ladder to the Sky

I kept running, now under the shelter of the trees. I could feel Kai getting closer, his voice whispering incoherent threats in my head.

I tripped a couple of times in panic, having no idea which way to go. Where were Rowan and Alec? I had to find them. If they were hurt, or dead....No. They couldn't be. I couldn't think like that.

Sudden vibrations through the ground underneath my feet snapped me out of my thoughts. I whipped around and coming to a halt through the trees and in front of me, was Kai's horse. Majestic and proud, its dark fur glistening under rays of sunlight pushing through branches above. 

I smiled gleefully at the creature. 

Then jumped on its back.

Just as I settled on top of him, I heard the Piper's voice. It was soft, menacing, so calm it sent a shiver down my spine.

"Stay where you are Princess."

A breath hitched in my throat as I looked around for him, my eyes fighting his infectious green hew as I tried to keep myself together. 

"Running is futile. I'm in your mind now...There is nowhere you can go that I won't find you." His whispers hissed through the leaves, through the wind, his voice filling my ears and the air around me. I instinctively reached down and caressed the horse below me as he bucked slightly at the density of the forest, as if now under Kai's spell.

"Come back to me...Come back and I will give you more answers..."

"Easy, easy, it's ok." I lulled, patting the creature gently. 

"You lead the way, I trust you." I uttered softly.

The horse carefully started walking further into the forest. I glanced behind me one last time as I shook my head and with it, Kai's presence from my mind. I took a breath and brought my focus back to where I needed to get to, who I needed to find.

"You won't win that easily." I muttered to myself, hoping secretly that the man in black could hear me somehow. And with that, the horse began to gather confidence and started trotting, and I allowed him to lead me, keeping one hand on my scabbard. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After what must have been hours, I was starting to worry again. The horse had in fact lead me well into the forest, but where exactly in the forest I had no idea. I was too scared to dismount and climb a tree for a better look as I had a suspicion the skittish creature would bolt, leaving me completely alone. 

The sun was setting and the temperature was dropping. There was no one in sight and I had no supplies or food. I had been trained in basic survival, Alec was an expert as all huntsmen and women are. But with nothing but my sword and what I was now convinced was a semi-wild horse, I didn't have much to work with. 

I was not going to kill any creature for food, nor would I risk eating any plants without knowing whereabouts in the dense forest I was, as I knew many plants here were magical and some, lethal. My village was a safe spot for foraging, one of the reasons why it was so populated, but here, there wasn't a single soul. 

As the horse kept strolling along, I thought about Rowan and Alec. They would have kept me safe if they were here. Rowan knew all the plants and their uses, she was brilliant at herbology. She was brilliant at most things. And Alec was a master at survival and strategy. I on the other hand, could only cry silently into my sleeve as I wiped the tears that were suddenly falling like a stream down my face. I missed them. I needed them. But I had no idea how to find them.