Flight of the Five Swans

Fear Chapter 6

On the final morning of their six-week voyage, Petra was woken quite suddenly from a deep sleep by the sound of a cacophonous commotion just outside of the camp. What seemed like all of the horses in their party were whinnying frantically, as though they were being led straight into the jaws of wolves.

"It's settled. Someone's dead meat." Petra grumbled angrily under her breath, grabbing her dressing gown from beside her bedroll and donning it. A low groan came from the other side of the tent. Rubbing her eyes, Eurielle sat up, her blonde hair tangled around her head like a bird's nest.

"Whassamatta?" She yawned, blearily looking around.

Petra's only response was to throw Eurielle's own dressing gown towards her, a silent command for her sister to rise and check out the commotion for herself. Not bothering to linger and see whether Eurielle had taken the hint, Petra opened the tent flap and stepped outside.

She and Eurielle had not been the only ones disturbed by the horses. Callia, Raia and Thaleia emerged from their tents as well, all shivering slightly from the early morning chill. Several guards rushed to check on the horses. Most of them still wore their nightshirts with trousers hastily pulled on over them. From the position of the sun, Petra guessed the time to be not long after dawn. Had it not been for the interruption, she could have slept for at least another hour before they resumed their journey.

'Yeah, I'm definitely killing someone.' She thought fiercely.

Behind her, Petra heard the tent flap open as Eurielle exited. The five princesses stood together in sleepy silence, watching the activity around them. After minutes that felt like hours, Alexandre finally approached. Unlike some of the other guards, the captain was already fully dressed and seemingly ready for their final day of travel. He gestured apologetically to where the horses had been tethered for the night.

"I'm sorry, Your Highnesses. It seems something bothered the horses, though I don't know yet what that could have been. MacLeary was on guard duty, but one of the mounts pulled loose from its tether, and he had to go after it. We'll get his full report when he returns."

Petra yawned, then stuffed her hands into the pockets of her dressing gown, irritated. "So, you have no thoughts at all on who's to blame for spooking the horses?" Hearing the hint of accusation in her voice, Raia shot her an exasperated look.

The captain shook his head. "As I've said, I hope MacLeary's report will shed some light on what actually happened. For now, you can all return to your tents if you like and get some more sleep. We won't be packing up to leave for another couple of hours."

Petra thought longingly of her bedroll, but then banished the thought. She was up now, for better or worse. Callia shook her head and shrugged.

"Thank you, Captain, but I believe we're all thoroughly awake now. And who knows? Now we're up, we might be able to get an early start on the day once we're all ready, and arrive that much sooner."

Alexandre nodded in approval. "I'll tell the cook to start breakfast."

Despite the intention to gain an early start, their scout did not return with the missing horse until well after they were meant to have been on the road. Shortly after MacLeary's arrival back at the camp, the captain of the guard once again sought out the princesses.

"Nothing to worry about, Your Highnesses." He reassured them. "According to MacLeary, there wasn't much of anything to report. Just some swan that got under the horses' feet. "

Thaleia glanced at Eurielle, the slightest hint of a grin on her face. Seeing the movement, Petra recalled the story her sister had told them a week prior. Two crazy swans in the course of two weeks? It was really quite a coincidence.