Opposites: The Staff of Light [Book One]

36. I Utterly Fail

I saw how your sister fell into my offer, Annabeth Candum. I will torment you—all of you—until you turn over the Staff of Light. Good old Demetria never wanted you to give it up. But alas, I have made her to stop trying to. You have already completed a percentage of my plans. Now I'm coming for you. I have ruined your head mistress, your twin sister, and for sure, I will take your insanity.

You are only a girl, Annabeth. And you don't know who you're up against. I will grasp the joy of my triumph once I take hold of the Staff. I cannot wait for my reigning glory as the world finally falls into chaos the way it should be...

Annabeth

"Good morning, Fervor," I said in a low voice as I opened my eyes, only to see the brown horse right in front of me. He brayed, pushing my back to help me sit up. I wiped my eyes, stretched and yawned. The air was cool for that time. The faint colors of sunlight seeped through the holes and cracks of the abandoned barn. "We still have to get to Goldcrest today. Come on." I willed myself to get up. Instantly, I felt the signal of breakfast which a low rumble erupting from my stomach. "Are you hungry, Fervor?"

The horse brayed in agreement. I fell to one knee as I grabbed hold of my satchel, and produced a loaf of bread. I took off my bracelet, reheated the loaf with my bare hands, and split it into two. I took small bites of my share as I threw bite-sized pieces of toasted bread into the horse's mouth. I finished mine quick, and I gave the rest of Fervor's share to him.

From my bag, I fished out the map and placed it on the floor. I looked around, watching the arterial roads meet then separate. It turned out that the kingdom was bigger than what I had expected. I had found the location of a dragon's nest on the map, Ackerly, then suddenly, the barn, which had been about five centimeters away from the crossroads. "Wow," I remarked, "looks like this little barn of yours is pretty famous, Fervor." I darted my gaze towards the road that led straight through Barden and into Goldcrest, which, apparently, was over seven centimeters away. "That's gonna be a long journey."

I led Fervor out the barn. The mist was heavy, making it pretty hard for navigation. Heck, Fervor's a fire horse now. Surely he can have some flame-eyes for headlights. The horse brayed, his attention thrown at an old square chest of rotten wood by the left side of the barn. I turned to face it. "Please don't tell me you want me to open that thing," I begged Fervor, but it was obvious he wanted me to. I tried to turn away until he bit on my sleeve and tugged me towards the chest. "Fervor, stop! Alright, alright... I'm opening the box!" Fervor whinnied in delight.

I couldn't believe my luck when I opened the chest. It was full of horse ropes and gear. A feeling tugged at me as if Fervor used to have an owner and had left his personal gear in that very box. "Well, our journey should be easier," I uttered, "but the problem is—" I faced my horse. "—I don't know how to go horseback riding. I've never ridden a horse before." He rubbed his muzzle against my arm, and I ended up hugging him. "Alright, but I'll try. I know you won't let me fall."

To my book experience, I learned how to install the straps—the headpiece, throatlash, browband, cheek piece, noseband, bit, and reins—and the rest of the gear—the stirrup, saddle, saddle blanket and [surprisingly] the saddle bags. I even found a whip and the carrier. Once I presented it to Fervor, the poor horse backed away a few steps. "Nope, nope, nope," I said as I burned the equipment to ashes. "I'm never using a whip on you. Now come back here so I can fix up the leather straps."

Soon enough, I sat on the saddle, my arms on the reins, and Fervor walked forward. "Good job, buddy," I leaned over to brush my hand over his muzzle when suddenly, Fervor sped up, began running through the road, whinnied in delight, and left me clutching the reins, screaming at the top of my lungs, trying to stop him, as I felt the cold wind brush through my long hair.