Undaunted

Boundless

I made my way back to the cabin through the dark forest. I edged out cautiously, unsure if my mom was back yet. There were no lights in the windows, and I could still hear the festival going on in the town, but she could have returned early. I went around to the front of the house and eased the door open quietly, fortunately avoiding a nasty screech from the hinges. The front rooms of the house were empty, and the door to my parents' room was open. I let out a sigh of relief. I was alone.

I moved quickly into my room and shut the door, keeping the lights off. The moonlight filtering in from the window gave me just enough light to not crash into anything. I hurriedly got into a pair of shorts and another shirt and flopped down in bed. It was too hot a night to pull up the covers, so I just lay there thinking about the past few hours, like I had when I was younger.

Most people might have just passed things like this off as a dream or blamed a lack of sleep or something for the festival, but not me. That was completely real. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell anyone about it, for multiple reasons. It just wouldn't end well for me.

I grinned in the darkness. "Amazing," I murmured. "Simply amazing." I fell asleep dreaming of all those old legends and stories once again.

***

The next morning, I hurried to finish up my chores and errands as quickly as I could. I wanted to make sure that Leona was okay (and that she was still there). After getting groceries, washing the Jeep, and depositing the mail, I began heading towards the forest. As I passed the park, I saw that the circus was still there, all packed up and ready to go, but they didn't seem like they were going anywhere fast.

I spotted the ringmaster frantically talking to the mayor, his arms flailing around as he talked. I edged closer to hear the conversation.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Liepold, but I don't have to do anything! Look, I'm sorry that one of your horses got loose, but we don't have the manpower to search for it," Mayor Locke protested, her voice frustrated. I gave her credit for standing up to a very angry circus dude.

"Then let us look for it! It won't take long!" Liepold pressed. "It's not like we'll be harming anyone."

Mayor Locke crossed her arms, her face serious. "That's private property, and I don't have the permission to give. That's up to the individuals."

"Then I'll ask them!"

Mayor Locke stamped her foot. "Mr. Liepold, that is absolutely enough! I'll not have you tromping around and disturbing the peace of our town. If we find the horse,  we'll give you a ring! You've overstayed your welcome. Please leave." Her tone got dangerously calm with her last words, as if she was daring him to object.

The man glared at her fiercely, his nostrils flaring. "Fine," he snorted. "If you see anything, anything at all that might be signs of a horse, call immediately." With a huff, he spun on his heel and stalked off, barking orders at the circus workers, who scrambled around quickly like ants.

I hurried on. It was good that the circus was moving on, but the look in that Liepold's eyes was dangerous. He didn't seem like the kind of man to take no for an answer, let alone from a tiny little mayor from Avery. He would be back. All the more reason to hurry and tell Leona what I had heard.

When I got to the overhang, I found Leona still resting. Her head and arms were resting on one of the chairs while she was lying down with her legs tucked beneath her. She was sleeping so peacefully, I hated to wake her.

I edged closer and shook her shoulder gently. "Leona. Hey, Leona!"

Her head shot up and looked at me, her expression surprised. She looked ready to bolt until she recognised me. "Drew, I'm sorry, I thought you were someone trying to get me," she apologised quickly.

"No worries. It'll probably take you a bit to settle down. I wanted to tell you that I overheard the mayor talking to Liepold."

Leona paled. "About what?"

"He wanted Mayor Locke to give them permission to search for you. He was pretty pissed when she refused and sent him packing. Unfortunately, I doubt that's the last we've seen of him. However, there's some sort of deal in place that if anyone spots you or any traces of you, he'll be notified. We're going to have to be extremely careful from now on."

"Not like it wasn't this serious before," she muttered. She rose to her feet. "Look, I feel bad about asking this, but I was in here all night hiding and I'm still sore from being tied up. Is there anywhere I can run around?"

"There's a large clearing not too far from here. It's in the middle of a gorge, so not many people go there anymore. That work for you?"

She smiled. "That should be fine. Lead the way."

***

We opted to walk there instead of another crazy ride through the forest. We still weren't quite sure if the circus had left or not, but we didn't want to give them an invitation to come back. Also, I don't think Leona was used to people riding her. It was pretty rough for me, too.

We tried to chat along the way, but it was kind of hard to keep up a conversation when you barely had anything in common. It was about as enlightening as speaking to someone who didn't understand a word you said and could only nod to feign interest. It's not that I wasn't curious about her life, it's just that none of it made any sense whatsoever.

We were saved by the arrival at the gorge. She trotted forward, spinning around to get a good look. "Wow, Drew, this is beautiful! How did you find this place?" The sides of the gorge were covered in blooming plants. Daisies, poppies, cornflowers, and all sorts of wildflowers made the rocks look like an oil painting. Leona drew in  breath.

"I tend to stumble upon some pretty neat places," I admitted.

"No kidding." She moved into a canter, and sped around the edges of the grass. I sat down, watching her. I'd never seen anything like it. I mean, I've seen horses before, but Leona was something else entirely.

I let her run around for as long as she wanted. I didn't have anywhere that I had to be, and it's not like she really had that many options either. The sun had just begun to take on an orange tint when she came over again. Her body was heaving with each breath and she was red from exertion but she looked happy. "Were you just sitting there the whole time?" she asked breathlessly.

I rose to my feet. "Yeah, but I didn't mind. I was content with watching you."

I could have sworn she got even redder.

"Well, I've gotten it all out now. We can go find something else to do if you want."

I blinked in thought. I hadn't really thought about that. I needed something that was simple to learn and didn't involve having to take a stroll through town. "Do you like cards?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What are those?"

I beckoned her with my hand. "Just come on, I'll show you."