Battle Horse

Chapter Thirty One

Cassandra had been walking for at least two weeks now. Her horse had gone lame several days before, leaving her to travel the bandit filled roads on foot. She was lucky enough to have spared her pack from when the wargals attacked, but she only had one change of clothes, a pair of trousers and a loose shirt. Nothing to protect her from the cold wind that nipped at her small frame each night. She cut her hair short so she would be less recognizable as a girl. Traveling throughout Celtica, Cassandra realized the whole country was either evacuated to the South when it was still safe, or had been taken by Morgarath. She stayed clear of the roads, because bandits had overtaken them, stealing whatever was of value left by the hurried families of Celtica. Occasionally Cassandra would happen upon a farm house. She was able to dig up some rotten vegetables in the gardens left from the summer season, and find the odd cheese once in a while. She was exhausted, moving during the night, sleeping throughout the day. She couldn't sleep at night because that's when the nightmares would come. Night mares of Evanlyn and Ena being slaughtered by Wargals. Evanlyn had told her to run, and she did. Never in her life had she felt more guilty for doing what she was told. She left her two best friends to die. She didn't turn around until she was far from the scene, and when she did she saw only blood. Ena and Evanlyn were no where to be seen. Only one conclusion came to Cassandra's mind. Her two best friends were dead.

Cassandra heard horses on the road, which was new since most bandits didn't have horses. She had been following the road simply so she wouldn't loose her way back to Araluen. She eased herself over the small hill, glancing down at the road. Three horse men eased their horses to a halt, pulling off to the side.

"Set up camp here." The older one told the two younger ones. Two of them were wearing the traditional Ranger garb, a green grey mottled cloak. Cassandra felt relief as she recognized them as Araluen rangers. Rangers were loyal to her father, and meant safety. Suddenly, the older one reined his horse in and left the two younger ones by themselves. Cassandra laid down in the grass, putting her chin on her hands. She decided it would be best not to approach the two boys without the older ranger present. If he came back and found the boys chummy with her, he may be suspicious. She would wait until the older ranger came back, because he would be more helpful to her.

Cassandra ended up falling asleep, finally feeling at peace for the first time in three weeks. She was startled awake by the sound of clanking. It took her a moment to comprehend where she was, when she noticed the two boys in the small camp below her. They each held wooden sticks, the ranger boy held two, and the taller one held one stick. They seemed to be fighting with them, but all for sport. She saw no contention between the boys. Suddenly Cassandra noticed two new figures come towards the boys.

"Let's have another go." The taller boy suggested.

"Let's not, little boys. Let's put down our nasty sharp sticks and stand very still, shall us?" The two bandits were big, and Cassandra recognised them from the past three weeks. They had been raiding along the road heading north as well. The two of them were the ones she had most feared while she travelled. They looked terrible, with ragged clothes and matted hair. One wore a red hat with a feather on the brim, his hand was bandaged. He held a sharp wooden spike, that Cassandra knew could do some damage. The other held a long jagged sword, notches lining the blade from poor upkeep. Cassandra knew that the captain on her escort, sir Carl, would have been ashamed at the way the blade was kept. The Bandits were speaking once more, but the wind that had just sprung up was preventing Cassandra from listening it. The ranger boy instinctively dropped his hand to his waist, where Cassandra knew rangers kept their heavy saxe knife. She noticed the pale look on his face as he noticed the knives were across the fireplace, leaning against a rock. The bigger boy instinctively pushed the Ranger behind him, saying something that Cassandra couldn't hear. The bandits laughed, gesturing to the knives. She knew this would get out of hand fast.

The two bandits began to advance on the boys. The ranger boy was pushed to the side by the bigger one, and the bigger one spun around, grabbing his sword and pulling it swiftly out of it's sheath. The bandits mocked the boy, pretending to be scared before the boy swung the sword at them. One of the bandits barely had time to raise his sword in a sloppy parry. The two of them were stunned at the boy's accuracy and speed. All the while, Cassandra noticed the ranger boy easing towards his weapons. As the boy fought the bandits, the ranger grabbed his bow, ready to shoot. Just before he sighted in, something stopped him. Only then did Cassandra notice the eerie presence of the second ranger. The older ranger had returned, and was watching the fight with some interest. It was he who had stopped the ranger boy from helping his friend. The boy seemed to have it under control however. He had the bandits hopelessly overmatched. The boy was clearly a battle school apprentice by the amount of skill he possessed. It would explain why he was in the company of two rangers. The first bandit went down, followed by the second rather quickly.

The second fell to his knees, begging the boy to not kill him. The older ranger finally stepped in. The wind was finally dying down, allowing Cassandra to once more hear the conversations.

"Don't kill him, Horace. I want to ask him so questions." The ranger announced. Horace shrugged and kicked the bandits sword away from him, shoving him down into the dust.

"How long were you there?" Horace asked, wiping sweat off his brow.

"Long enough." The ranger answered.

"And you didn't think to give me a hand?"

"You had it under control." The ranger stepped forward, seizing the bandit by his arm and hauling him to his feet. His heavy saxe knife was slipped from it's sheath, and the cold hard edge was pressed to the bandit's throat. Insist fear gathered in the man's eyes. Cassandra decided now was as good a time as any to announce her presence. She stood and mad ever way down the hill, easing up behind them.

"It was stolen,"the Ranger said, in a very low voice. "You crept in like jackals and stole it from people who are obviously in deep trouble. It's not yours. It's theirs. Or their family's, if they're still alive." Cassandra was close enough to once again hear their conversation.

"They're still alive." She pipped up. "They've run from Morgarath, those he hasn't captured."

"Where the devil did you spring from?" The ranger asked. It wasn't exactly the reaction she had been hoping from. Upon closer review, Cassandra noticed she had no memory of this ranger or the ranger boy. She knew many of them from their visits to Castle Araluen, but these two looked rather young. The boys were around her age, maybe a little older.

"Oh..." Cassandra began. She hadn't prepared an answer.
"I've been hiding out in the hills for several weeks now." She was exhausted from the weeks of running and the mentally scarring events that had happened.

"Do you have a name?" The ranger asked. Cassandra hesitated, not sure if she should tell them who she really was or not. She came to conclusion that she shouldn't.

"Evanlyn Wheeler, Greenfield Fief." She said, taking on Evanlyn's name. The ranger noticed the hesitation in her voice, but he didn't mention it. "We were here visiting friends... Rather, my mistress was visiting friends, when the Wargals attacked."

"Wargals?" The ranger boy exclaimed.

"Where do you think everyone has gone? The Wargals have attacking Celtica for weeks now. Those who have managed to escape are held up in the south." She told him.

"I thought Morgarath had his hand in this." The ranger cursed. Cassandra felt her body trembling when she heard the man's name. Tears streamed down her face as she thought of how it was all his fault that Ena and Evanlyn were dead. The ranger made his way to her, taking her by the shoulders as her knees gave way. He settled her down on the ground, leaning her up against a rock. She drew her knees up to her chest, burying her face in them, letting out silent sobs. She felt a comforting arm wrap around her and the rangers soothing voice as he reassured her.

"It's all right, you're safe now."

***

Sorry Ena and Evanlyn aren't in this chapter. I wanted to focus on Cassandra. To clear things up, Cassandra thinks Evanlyn and Ena are dead, and she took on Evanlyn's name, just so there is no confusion. Anyway, love you lots!

~Avis