Arizium

Chapter 4

 Raven nodded and followed the twins out the door. On their way back to the gates, she stuck close to them and jumped at every sudden sound. The guards had waited obediently by the gate, although they were anxious to get going. Lucius went up to where Fyair stood and mounted him swiftly while Amaria led Raven to the bay pack horse and called for a servant to rearrange the packs so that Raven could ride comfortably. Once the girl was mounted, she blushed heavily. "What's wrong?" Amaria demanded.

"I'm sorry, uh, m-my lady, but I-I don't think I've ever ridden a horse... before."

Amaria laughed at that "Never ridden a horse? Are you mad? Everyone's ridden a horse."

Raven blushed even more (if that was even possible) and shrugged, "I guess I'm the only person who hasn't."

Amaria looked up at the sun, it was already higher than she would have liked "Well, we don't have time to lecture you," She said "So you'll just have to get the hang of it. Hold the reins with two hands and kick the horse to get it moving." She whistled lightly and Frostea came galloping over to her. She mounted quickly and gave Lucius a nod, indicating that they were ready to go. He gave the command and the horses started strutting out the gate. Raven held the reins tightly and kicked her horse with the heels of her boots, but the beast flicked his ears and refused to move. Amaria sighed and grabbed the reins from Raven. She clicked her tongue lightly and Frostea trotted forward, the pack horse following obediently next to the mare. Raven yelped in alarm and hugged the saddle horn to keep from falling. Amaria laughed and clicked her tongue again, sending Frostea into a gallop, causing Raven to bounce wildly in her saddle and close her eyes. She wove both the horses to the front of the line next to Lucius.

He glanced over at them and scoffed "Of course she doesn't know how to ride."

"Shut up," Amaria said "You didn't know how to ride once. If I recall correctly, you were hanging upside-down from a pony with your feet still in the stirrups, screaming like a girl and yelling 'Mommy!' while it dragged you across the court."

His cheeks flushed to a bright crimson "That was one time." he muttered. They rode on for an hour or so, Lucius was talking politics with some of the men while Amaria admired the sceneray. It was certainly beautiful out, the azure sky was freckled with light puffy clouds and the trees sparkled in the sunlight. The wind was blowing cold air that kept the party at a comfortable temperature. They weren't sure how far they wanted to go, so they just galloped on and on, until Raven let out a cry and fell off her horse.

Lucius cursed under his breath and gave the command to stop. Amaria had dismounted as soon as she saw Raven go down and knelt by her and checked for wounds.

Lucius dismounted as well and joined them "What happened now?" he demanded curtly.

Amaria responded a little frustrated "I'm not sure. She just screamed and fell. My first thought was that an arrow hit her, but I don't see any shaft and there's no blood." The girl was curled up in a ball in the dirt, sobbing softly and wincing.

"Well ask her what the bloody matter is, would you? We don't have time for this." He huffed and stalked away with three other men to patrol the area.

Amaria turned her attention back to Raven. "Tell me what's wrong," She demanded when the girl's sobbing had seemed to recede.

"I'm not sure" Raven said, sitting up slowly "I-it felt like one of my arms snapped off. I-I felt the pain. Oh lord the pain...." She covered her face and broke down into sobs again.

Amaria was not very good at comforting people, as she hadn't any experience with crying children in the castle. So she just patted the younger girl's back and hoped that she was doing something to comfort her while her own mind swirled with confusion.

Gods be good. Have I enlisted to protect a sorceress? She thought and bit her lip. Maybe Lucius was right, they should have just thrown her in the dungeons when they found her trespassing. It was too late to turn back now, but once they got back they could just lock her in irons and be done with her. Nevertheless, Amaria was a princess, and a princess's duty was to protect her people. She helped the tall girl to her feet and got her mounted back on her horse with little trouble. Amaria was anxious to get going, but Lucius had yet to return from his patrol. Raven seemed content to sit on her horse with her head in her hands while Amaria started mentally screaming at Lucius to get going. It wouldn't do anything, she knew, but it had become a habit of hers as of late.

After what seemed to Amaria like forever, Lucius emerged from the undergrowth with a lifeless... thing in his hand. "What the hell is that?" Amaria asked incredulously. The creature was horribly mutilated, It's face smashed in so violently that you could barely tell that it was ever an avian's face. It's beak was also snapped in half vertically, the black tongue hung limply from the remains. Half of it's feathers were ripped off of the torso, exposing the bare pink skin underneath. It's wings were twisted off in a way that the skin and feathers had came right off of the bone, but the bone had stubbornly remained connected to the body. Maggots and worms swarmed over it, eating at what little meat was left of it. Raven glanced at it once and then never looked again.

"We found it not too far away from here." Lucius explained "It looks like it could be a crow or something. Whatever got to it was obviously looking to murder, not hunt."

"Why would anyone want to murder an innocent animal so... so viciously?" Amaria looked like she was going to be sick.

Lucius shook his head and said "Maybe someone had anger problems."

Raven looked up enough to glare at him with a tear stained face "How dare you be so heartless." her voice cracked with every word "Animals are being ripped apart in cold blood while you sit in your castle drinking wine and scratching your arse without a care in the world!"

Lucius practically steamed with anger, "First of all, don't ever talk to me like that again. I have more power than your pretty little head can even comprehend, so don't try it. Secondly, don't ever think that I don't care about this kingdom. I'm travelling through a hellish forest with only ten men as my entourage. The only way we would come out of a fight with a sorceror is as ashes, I'm practically risking my pathetic life to find out what is ravaging our food supply. Don't. Ever. Say. That. I. Don't. Care." He spat the last words and dropped the bird onto the ground before walking off to his horse with his men in tow.

Raven watched him go and then mumbled just loud enough for Amaria to hear "He hates me, doesn't he?"

Amaria knew the answer well enough, but didn't bother voicing it.