I gazed at the moon.
It was high in the sky bathing everything with a pale blue glow. I closed my eyes and imagined the light would make the aches in my muscles that I had aquired throughout the day cool off and disappear.
Baylor was sleeping heavily in his tent. He had me tied tightly to a tree at the back of his fort because he was far too exhausted to pitch the rope corral. As I gazed around camp, I noticed very few men had their horses in pens. I was amazed at how many horses, even the most hot-tempered, slept so quietly all at once. Even Delta was engaged in peaceful snoring.
My muscles wanted to rest. They wanted to lie down and stay down for all eternity. But I was too excited to sleep. The moon was too bright and the sounds and the smells of the forest were all too new and curious. I could even catch a whiff of that sweet, tart sap on the maple we harvested this morning.
I paused. The smell was coming from the woods, where the wind was blowing from, not the lumber pile on the other side of camp.
Stretching to the end of my leadrope, I tried to identify the source of the smell. My head jerked sideways as the rope tautened. When I turned back to the knot that was holding me in place, I saw that I could easily break free with a twist and a yank. Humans underestimate our strength.
The wind blew toward me in a gust, as if it were beckoning me forward. I looked up at the moon again. Two clouds covered opposite sides of the bright disk. Only a thin moonbeam sliver shone into the forest like a path. Though my muscles throbbed, the pain was whisked out of my mind and replaced by a growing curiosity. I began following the scent and the moonbeam into the woods.
My legs broke into a quiet trot. The moonbeam path was exactly the same as the scent; even when one faded, the other still strongly led the way. I began cantering as the sweet smell grew stronger and thicker. I caught a glimpse of a clearing up ahead with a pool sparkling in the moonlight.
Dirt and autumn leaves kicked up into my face and chest when I slid to a stop in front of the pool. Another figure was situated on the other side of the pool in the shadow of a young maple tree. The shadow disappeared before my eyes as the clouds moved away from the moon. The figure slowly gained a shape. A shimmering grey mare stood watching me with her forehead leaning into a bush. I looked closer at her shining shape and saw the impossible- her coat was not grey, but white. Slowly, she turned her head from the bush to reveal something even more bizarre. Spiraling from the center of her head was a long, thin spike that was seemingly made of some sparkling white stone.
We both sat there for a moment, staring in awe at the other, before I felt words rising in my chest. Faintly, almost to myself, I uttered, “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen...”
Her head perked up, her ears pricked, and she took off galloping away.
“Wait!” I called to her, “I didn’t mean-”
She didn’t yield. I ran after her, only catching up when she slid to a halt on a river’s edge. Turning to face me, she ran back toward the pool. I had to jump back to avoid her bobbing antler. This time, I was galloping much closer to her, almost next to her. Her legs shone as they drummed the earth with long, gracefully powerful strides. A burst of speed sent her flying ahead of me to where my legs couldn’t keep up. I tried to run through the soreness returning to my muscles, but I was out of breath and exhausted. The mare clearly was adapted more to running than I was. A twinge of jealousy crossed my mind as I made my way back to the camp.
Finally the camp clearing came into view. I realized that the shining mare had run completely around the camp, and as a result I entered on the other side of the circle. I’d have to make it through the tents, horses, and smouldering fires without waking anyone.
By the time I returned to where I was hitched, I became aware of a pair of eyes that had been following me. The bearded human leader had been watching me intently with his fierce eyes for I-don’t-know how long.
