The Search for Will

Chapter 2

     Cole set off on foot. He had a jump in his step, eager to get home. But the innkeeper told him not to run or he would be miserable for more than half the trip. He looked back over his shoulder at the town of Hillstead behind him. It was such a lovely place. Too bad it had to be ruined by such horrible relatives. 

     His Aunt and Uncle really weren't all that bad, but Cole thought the worst of them because of how spoiling his parents treated him. He still had to work hard on the farm, but they told him I love you every day before they went to bed. In Cole's mind, Uncle Brandulen was worse than getting kicked by a cow. Which, of course, he had no idea how that felt.

     Benjamin had also given him a map of northwestern Araulen, and he had drawn a thick black line from Hillstead to home. Now, with the fresh loaves of bread wrapped in oilskin in his pack, he walked away on foot. He couldn't wait to get out of there, lovely place or not.

     The tall corn on either side of him blocked his view of the countryside, but he knew east of him were hills and west of him was a forest. He traveled south, his soft moccasins padding away below him. Cole hooked a thumb through the straps on either shoulder, smiling  with a tilted head as he admired the way the sun gleamed through the plants around him. It was such a nice day, with big, puffy white clouds in the sky and birds chirping without a care. 

     I wish every day could be like this, Cole thought to himself. And it's just going to get better when I get home.

     He rounded a bend and the corn field died off. A dirt path wound south through the hills, the forest beside him about thirty meters away. He studied the thick trees and found himself thinking of how beautiful the canopy was. He looked back at the road in front of him. There was a fork in the road, one leading south and one turning back the way he had come but a little to the west. He kept going south.

     Soon Cole's feet began to hurt. He ignored it and kept walking. He studied the clouds and noticed one looked like the shape of a man from the shoulders up, sticking out his tongue. The tongue drew longer and longer until it became a separate cloud entirely. Cole stopped studying the tongue and looked back to the man. It was nothing more than a wispy oval now.

     Cole had thoroughly enveloped the land around him, and he quickly became bored with walking. The countryside, once beautiful, now turned drab and Cole slunched his shoulders. His feet were really hurting now. He wished he had a horse. But nobody was rich enough for a horse. He unhooked his thumbs from his straps on his bag and scratched his neck.

     He was getting hot. I should have brought lighter clothes, he thought. He found himself wishing for much more than he could ask; even for his home town to appear right around the bend. He groaned. This stinks. He was busy wallowing when Cole thought he herd hoof beats behind him. He turned around and saw a horse and rider coming down the track. By the way he was dressed, Cole thought, he must have been a Courier. But Couriers were girls. He squinted and found it was a girl, but her hair was blowing behind her, almost unseen. He gravitated to the right of the track and kept walking. The sound of the horse cantering became louder and louder until it slowed down directly behind him and to the left.

     "And what is a young boy like you doing walking down the street alone?" She said it kindly, and Cole took no offense to the words. He swept the track in front of him, found it relatively smooth, and turned around and walked backwards.

     "I'm going home to see my mom and dad. They live in Lucasville, and I'm going to see them," Cole said in a stumble. The courier looked at him suspiciously. Or maybe skeptically. Or a mix of both. The courier had long, brown hair, almost to her waist, and it hung in loose curls behind her shoulders. She came up beside him so he wouldn't have to walk backwards.

     "And why?" She asked. Cole noticed she had green eyes, like him. He realized he had been staring, and averted his gaze to the road in front of him casually. If anything, Cole was not shy.

     "Well, my parents sent me to Hillstead so I would be safe from the war. They told me my Uncle could bring me home when the war was over, and now it's over, right?"

     "Yes, the wars over. But where's your Uncle?"

     Cole shrugged. "Oh, well he decided he didn't want to come." Cole looked at the ground beneath him. It wasn't very interesting. Just dirt and a couple of rocks strewn randomly.

     "Lucasville is a days walk away. And you don't have a horse."

     Cole glared at her. "I know." He folded his arms and looked longingly at the pinto she rode. He heaved a great sigh. He realized he was being very rude looking at her horse so pointedly. But he was only ten and she kept this in mind. If he had been an adult like her, that would have been another matter.

     She looked at her own horse too. She noticed how unkind that was of her own self to state the obvious to a farm boy. She decided to make it up to him. "Do you want to ride mine?"

     He looked up at her, suprise in his expression. "Really? Of course I want to ride it!" Then his shoulders fell and he looked away. "But I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

     He couldn't see her face but he felt her disappointment. She sighed. "Well my name is Maria, and now I'm not a stranger, am I?"

     Cole pondered this for a few seconds. Then he made up his mind. His feet hurt more than ever, and she was a Courier for heaven's sakes. He could trust her. "Okay!" He said, cheerful once again.

     She smiled. She had dimples and freckles. Maria scooted back a bit in the sadle, and helped Cole on. Once they were both situated, they rode off at a steady canter. "Hold on tight to the pommel!"

     "What's that?"

     "It's this bumpy thing right here." She let go of the reins and held it for a moment with one hand. Then Cole did the same. He looked up. He couldn't see much other than the horses mane, but the wind whipped ferociously in his face, taking the heat away from his skin.

     "This is so much fun!" He shouted. He had never ridden a horse before, and the stride of the horse beneath him felt so jostling. He held on tighter, loving the game of trying to stay on at this reckless pace. They really weren't going that fast, but it was fast to him.

     Maria laughed. She had ridden a horse countless times, and she found it splendidly amusing to see this young boys reaction. Then she realized she didn't know his name. "What's your name. by the way?"

     "Oh yeah. It's Cole."

    "Cole. Okay," she shrugged. She had never met a boy named Cole before, but it seemed like a good fit for this energetic ball of happiness. She looked down at his unruly brown hair. It curled around a bit, and she sensed that if he pulled it straight it might touched his raised eyebrows. She smiled. She had a younger brother with brown hair too.

     They rode on in silence for a while. Cole looked around him as the hills gave way to flat, tall, grass. It felt strange to feel the wind on his face but not see the grass moving much. He decided he loved the horse. He patted it's neck. The action almost bumped him off the saddle, and he tugged at it's hair. It snorted in mild surprise, but other than that didn't seem to mind. He quickly transferred his hand back to the pommel.

     "Careful," Maria warned. She smiled again. She liked this kid. Unbeknownst to her, Cole was smiling too. He didn't look up and back at her for feel of falling off, but he would've if they'd been walking. 

     Enough time had passed for Cole to become thoroughly hungry by the time they got to Lucasville. On the way there, Maria had told him she was passing through Aspienne fief on her way to Redmont to visit Baron Arald, her brother. Maria was about 25, Baron Arald around 27. She planned on staying at an inn at Lucasville. It was no problem for her to drop off Cole on her way through.

     They finally could see cornfields in the distance. Cole gave out an involuntary shriek of anticipation to see his parents. Maria laughed, happy to make someones day.