The procession had been going well and after stopping for a short lunch in one of the villages, they had only three villages remaining; Lanakila, Roshan and Kalani. His ears were beginning to ache from the sheer volume of cheering, so the short distance of fields that separated the three villages from the majority of the other settlements was a relief, they could still hear the distant noise of the villages they were yet to visit but for a while it was relatively quiet.
Entering Kalani his moment of peace was shattered like a shard of glass. The cheering seemed to be even louder than the last village and even though his ears were ringing at a painful frequency he smiled through it because he knew that was what the people wanted to see. For such a relatively small village, Zahni was surprised by the number of people, especially the number of screaming girls. He almost laughed at how enthusiastic they seemed, turning red in their faces as they cheered joyously. Everything was going well until he saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye.
A firecracker.
Before he knew what was happening an ear splitting crack rang out as bursts of light exploded in the sky. He heard Stod's squeal before he saw Ziri tumbling to the floor, unable to control the terrified horse. He leapt down off his stallion to see if Ziri was injured, a sick feeling of dread ripped through his stomach at the sight of the boy's unmoving body lying in the dry dirt. His head began to spin as people swarmed around them. A groan escaped the boys mouth and his eyes flickered open.
Relief flooded through him and once Zahni knew that the boy was going to be alright he stood up ready to grab Stod, when he saw that he was gone. Through a gap in the crowds he saw the galloping form of his rogue horse and close on his heels, a girl, her golden hair shimmering in the afternoon sun as her body moved with the rhythm of the ebony horse underneath her. He left no time for second thoughts, jumping onto his stallion and shouting for the people to move he sprinted after them.
He was impressed, not only by Stod's stamina, but for that of the girl. She was hardly tiring at all and just when he thought she would stop she dug her heels into the horse's sides and it gained pace, faster and faster, fast enough to catch up with Stod, so that the two horses were running parallel with each other. Trees blocked his view of them as they entered the side of the forest, but when they came to a clearing, he caught sight of her golden hair again. However, now, she was no longer on the black mare but on Stod, he watched her soothe him into a walk and then a stop and stared at her in wonder as she calmed his frantic horse. He was astonished, Stod was rarely friendly to anyone apart from him or Ziri. Even the Palace's livery men had problems with him. He felt a sense of respect, and a flash of jealousy at her apparent ease at handling the stubborn brute and wondered how a random village girl had such power over his horse.
Time stood still and was lost to him as he sat, watching the sun rays filter through the trees making shadows play on the girl's back, somehow making her cloak sparkle as if it had captured part of the night's sky. She seemed so peaceful and calm, perfectly happy in that moment lying on Stod's back. He could have watched her for hours, days and happily forgotten who he was and what he was supposed to be doing. The ringing in his ears seemed to fade away and all he could hear were her gentle comforting murmurs and soft humming perfectly in tune with the nature around her. He was enchanted, captivated by her and he hadn't even seen her face. A sense of embarrassment filled him when she seemed to notice his presence and turn towards him, watching him watch her.
He knew he should speak, but for the first time in a while all he wanted to do was smile. Her face seemed to radiate light, he wanted to smile with her, to her, at her, for her, even when a frown creased her brows she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"May I have my horse back please, Miss?" he asked after a beat, hoping to the Sky that his voice didn't squeak and show her how nervous he felt in that moment, like a young boy talking to a girl for the first time.
The rose blush that painted her cheeks, when he saw her squint into the sun to look him up and down, made his fingers itch to hold her face. Her eyelashes fluttered and her cheeks grew a deeper shade of crimson as she seemed to catch sight of the Kahn's seal on his saddle. He knew she'd probably realised who he was, but for once in his life he didn't care. He didn't care that he had left the procession and all his men, he didn't care that he probably looked slightly crazy after chasing her through the forest like a mad man, everything else in the Eight Lands disappeared and left the two of them alone, together. When she spoke he felt his heart squeeze and when she smiled he could only see her, everything else paled in comparison and he knew he would never be able to see someone else the way he saw her.
Like a knife slitting a cloth, a distant voice cut through their paradise, dampening the colours and chasing away the sun, their smiles fading as the world came to claim them. Reality hit him like a wall and he realised he would have to return to the procession, he could feel her slipping away from him with every rushed word that tumbled out of her mouth. He heard his name again and turned to see Kahlil and a few of his men on their horses, anxious to return him to the people. He wanted to say that he would find her, that he would see her again, but as he turned back to talk she had gone. A horrible feeling of loss poisoned his insides and with reluctance he followed the men back to the village.
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Falling Shadows (The Ellocea chronicles) [#Wattys2016]
FantasiSet just outside the village of Kalani, a small settlement in the Vallele lands, a girl lives with her loving father, longing for the day she can leave her quaint hut in the woods and see the outside world. Just when she thinks she could be free fro...