What Lies Beyond the Ocean

Chapter 12

We rode in an uneasy silence. The creek rippled gently. We've been riding for nearly an hour or so, but it felt so much longer. I felt something flutter in my chest. Not any other type of flutter, rather a flutter of hope. Joy even. I looked up away from the road and gazed at the horizon. The sun was sinking.  The sky was a mix of orange marmalade and red fire. Hints of purple peeked in as well. As beautiful as the sky was, something stood out to me the most. I noticed buildings. I also spotted a comely castle on top of a hill, surrounded by looming mountains. 

I heard music, joyous music. The atmosphere... it felt as if I was in Heaven. It seemed so amicable! A smile, a true one, formed onto my face as we resumed our way down the path. I glanced over Alyard, who was beaming with jubilation as well. 

"Hey, stables!" Alyard perceived. 

I looked over and saw the "Mileno Stables." There were horses whinnying. Their long manes flowed in the wind. 

Alyard came up next to me on my left. He stroked Tide's ear in affection. 

"Do you want to see if they would allow our horses to stay here the night?" he asked. 

"Might as well," I jumped off of Nyx and ran my fingers through her silky ebony strands. 

"You kids whaddya doin'?!"

I jumped out of my skin as I heard that raspy, low voice. A man, who appears to be about as tall as Alyard, walked towards us briskly. His face held annoyance as he drew nearer and nearer. 

He had very grave features. He had paler skin than porcelain, eyes that flickered with no emotion, thinning black and grey hair, and quite a small build to him. All of a sudden, he smiled. I raised an eyebrow in suspension. 

"You have quite the horses-" he glared over at Elfin. "And-erm- quite a fine pony, I say as well!"

Alyard paced his way towards me as the man launched himself towards Nyx. Alyard stood in front of me, protecting me, I suppose.  The older man stroked her mane. Nyx's eyes began to shine with fear. 

"Quite a beauty, you are!" the man chuckled, who then again took notice of us standing there awkwardly.

He coughed and proceeded his way away from Nyx, who then walked away from him too. 

"How may I help you?" he said in his raspy tone of voice. "The name's Hank, by the way."

"Er, yeah, Hank," Alyard sputtered out. "I am Alyard, and this is Erline. These are our horses and pony. We were hoping to stay the night here and were wondering if you could look over our horses for a night or two."

Hank ran his fingers through his hair and then rubbed his nonexistent beard. He shrugged. 
"Meh, sure, whatever."

"Thank you," I said, scrutinizing him. "How much shall we pay you?"

"Les' determine that when y'all come pick 'em urp..."

Alyard nodded and bit his lip. He took me by the arm, and off we went into the city of Mileno. 

"What just happened?" I asked, snickering to myself like a child does when she steals a cookie. 

"I do not even know," chortled Alyard.

"Same!"

"It's so nice here. It's great to be in a great place, for once."

"I agree with you, Al."

He looked over at me and kissed my forehead gingerly. 

I smiled and looked up to the sky that was once full of variegated colours, now superseded with a dark purple with thousands of stars gazing over the Earth. My eyes flicker close for a millisecond. 

"We should find an inn," I suggested as we trollied along Mileno's smooth, paved roads. 

"There's a Mileno Inn down the road," Alyard squinted his eyes to read a sign far off in the distance. 

Smells of food greeted my nostrils as we entered the Inn. I smiled in delight—finally comfort. We're not in some archaic structure running for our lives or out in the cold air. Out of the blue, a short lady with glowing platinum blonde appeared in front of our eyes. Her eyes were ice blue but had a gentle hue about them. 

"Hello," she said. Her voice was sweet. It reminded me of honey. "Welcome to Mileno Inn. Would you like some hot food and something to drink?"

I felt my stomach yearn for food. I glanced over at Alyard, who appeared to choke back at his laughter at the sounds of my stomach. 

"Yes, please," I smiled. I proceeded to sit down in a comfortable wooden chair. Alyard proceeded to sit down as well.

She smiled, displaying quintessential white teeth. "Okay, what would you like, madame?"

"I would like a vegetable stew, please," I insisted. "Perhaps a nice cocoa to soothe my throat."

My stomach growled once again, and with that, Alyard laughed so hard he began crying.

The waitress (I assumed) laughed along as well. I rolled my eyes. She gained control of herself and turned her gorgeous blue eyes to Alyard.

"And you, kind sir?"

He smirked.  "I would like a beef stew with some beer, please."

She nodded and walked off to the kitchen. 

"Beer?" I slapped his arm playfully. 

"What!?" He chuckled heartily. "Everyone needs a good beer every once in a while!" 

"True, I suppose."

He shrugged and rolled his eyes to the back of his skull. 

I smiled and leaned back, and closed my eyes. I breathed in the warm, welcoming air. It smelt like fresh bread, wine, and I embraced the smile of fresh fire. I was in my home country. My homeland. I can finally go and find my father and also my biological mother at that. I missed Casa so much, as she was the only motherly figure in my life. I couldn't help but wonder, what will happen if I do find my father and mother? Are they, at least my mother, still alive? Did my father die in war? Whatever was coming my way, it was bound to change my life forever.