Althea

Bats and Swimming

Achan: serpent
Origin: Chaldean

It seemed as though we'd done nothing but travel since we'd met. Solomon rode behind me and Evanida, presumably to protect us from anyone following. He glanced over his shoulder so often he may as well have ridden backwards. We pushed the horses hard, running until dawn again. Just as the sun was waking up again, we splashed into the river.
"We need to be quick. We are far too exposed here." Solomon said, kneading his knuckles into Cassius' sweat drenched neck urging him further into the river.
"Solomon, we can't. Cassius was already tired. He's dead on his feet, Evanida is getting there. Let them have a few minutes. We've got the river to our back, and you didn't spot anything chasing us. We'll be fine." I assured him. Solomon nodded tiredly, and rubbed his face.
"Okay, fine, five minutes. No more." He dismounted and Cassius immediately trotted weakly to the grass and rolled over, completely ignoring his saddle. He snorted contentedly and let out a huff before closing his eyes.
Solomon lifted me off Evanida and put me on shore. She dropped her head to the river and drank like she had been stuck in a desert for a week.
"He'll be snoring in a few seconds." Solomon remarked, nodding to Cassius.
"Does he always sleep like that?" I yelled, trying to be heard over the loud rumble suddenly coming from Cassius. Solomon chuckled.
"He'd sleep all the time if he didn't have to eat." We sat in silence for awhile, and watched the rhythmic rise and fall of Cassius's' side. Eventually Evanida ambled over and cropped the already short grass with her teeth, flicking her ears back and forth.
"I'm jealous Evanida. I wish I could eat grass." I called over. She whinnied and flipped her gums up at me. "You are one sassy girl," I giggled.
"Are you hungry?" Solomon asked, looking worried.
"Kinda," I admitted. "I haven't eaten anything since... that loaf of bread we stole from the chefs at the Moss Palace." Solomons brow creased. He strode over to Evanida and dug through her saddlebags, producing some cheese wrapped in thin cloth.
"Here you go, it's not much." He said, handing me the cheese. I took it and broke it in half, handing him a piece.
"No, no, you eat it, I'm fine. I'm going scavenging when we reach the cabin anyway." Solomon protested, giving it back.
"Solomon, you haven't eaten anything since then either, I'll be fine." He broke off a piece, and started chewing begrudgingly. Once we'd finished our snack, he headed over to Cassius and tickled him just behind his ears, waking him up.
"Take a quick drink, we're heading out soon buddy." Cassius pinned his ears against his head and grunted, but got up and plodded over to the river. Solomon rolled his eyes before turning to me.
"Let's get you back on Evanida." He whistled and Evanida trotted over, swishing her tail nonchalantly.
"I'm still sore from yesterday." I whined.
"Well good, soon you'll be used to the feeling! Up you go." He lifted me effortlessly back onto Evanida's back and quickly leapt into Cassius' saddle.
"I promise that once we get to the cabin, we can all have a very long nap." He clucked to Cassius and he waded back into the river, Evanida following suit. When we reached the middle the water got rougher. Evanida started swimming, and her eyes rolled back into her head in fear, her nostrils flaring.
"It's okay Evanida, I don't like swimming either," Her ears flicked back to listen to me, "but Solomon and Cassius are up there and they won't let anything happen to us." She relaxed beneath me somewhat, and powered on. When we got to the other side, Solomon and Cassius were waiting for us.
"What took you so long?" Solomon teased.
"Some gentle persuasion and a pep talk were needed." He nodded, completely uninterested, that or too focused. Evanida ran with new strength and we disappeared into the forest again.

    When we reached the cabin I almost didn't see it. It was barely visible through the mess of trees, and the skinny path leading up to the door was overgrown with weeds. It had an unmistakable charm and experience in it's aged wood and rough shingles. The horses carefully picked their way up the path, trying their best to avoid picking up a stone. When we got there I slid awkwardly off Evanida and Solomon caught her reins.
"There's a little shed out back that should fit both of the horses. I don't know what it's like in the shed, so I may be a while fixing it up for them. Go ahead and get familiar with the cabin, I'll be in as soon as possible." He gave the reins a gentle tug and led them around a corner and out of sight.
I pushed open the door to the cabin with my hip - it had no handle - and stepped into the dimly lit room. There was one large, glass window with a few panels missing along the right side. Under it a small table with two mismatched chairs stood ready.
On the left was a rustic kitchenette with cupboards and counters made of  solid oak with small, hand crafted wood handles. The sink had a hand pump and the stove was an ancient iron potbelly number. In the farthest left corner stood a rusty wash basin with a washboard resting inside of it. The plank floors creaked as I walked across them to the single door on the far side of the room. The door led to a bedroom. The floor was covered in a hand woven, moth eaten rug. Along the back wall there was a large, heavy wardrobe and the bed was pushed into the corner. Another large window filled the left wall. I trod over to the bed, every step sending puffs of dust into the air. I rested a hand on the headboard, running my fingers over the detailed carvings.
Eventually I glanced up, trying to discern the pattern on the fading, torn wallpaper.
"It's ferns." Solomon murmured, his sudden appearance surprised me. I whirled around, almost tripping on the edge of the bed.
"Careful, careful" He smiled, steadying me.
"I'm glad I amuse you," I huffed. "but don't sneak up in me like that!"
"I didn't! As you may have noticed, it's very hard to sneak anywhere in here." He shifted his weight from leg to leg and the floors creaked, proving his point.
"Fine, I am a bit jumpy. Anyway, what did you say?"
"They're ferns. My mom painted them."
"Your mom? Was this your home?"
"I'd rather not talk about her, okay?" He said, suddenly defensive.
"Okay, I won't ask." I said gently. He sighed.
"I'm sorry. I'm just tired. Help me bring in some new straw so we can replace the ticking in the mattresses?" I nodded mutely, and followed him out back. True to his word, there was a small building, but rather than a shed it resembled a church. A steeple with an empty bell tower loomed over the cabin.
"Is that a human church?"
"Yes, my father found it and renovated it to be a stable for the horses and usually a goat or two."
We walked around the back of it, and Solomon opened a small side door. Inside were piles of hay and several pitchforks. I sneezed wildly at the clouds of hay dust that the swoosh of the door had stirred up. A few bats that were hanging in the far corners were apparently startled by my sneeze, and sped out of the shed as one dark mass. We gathered up armfuls of hay and carried it back to the bedroom. We put it in one big pile on the floor and after we emptied the old straw from the trundle bed and the big bed, we sat on the floor and began stuffing the mattresses again.
"We have lots of time now. Want to tell me who that woman was? The one with the army of Malignants?" I said while stifling another sneeze, peering at Solomon through watery eyes.
"That was the Sorceress Deirdre. She is wicked and perverse, and will stop at nothing to kill the Empress. She hates her."
"You don't say. But, why?" Solomon shrugged.
"No one knows. This feud has been going on for hundreds of years." If I had any water in my mouth I would have spit it every where.
"Hundreds of years?" I gasped.
"Well, yeah. The Empress is Royalty, they have extraordinarily long lives. The Sorceress uses Dark Magic, she can take other things and other peoples lives to save her own. I've heard it said that the Empress and Deirdre were once friends in their childhood before the sorceress went to serve in the temples and became a witch. Then she delved into the Dark Arts, thereby becoming a sorceress, and the Empress cut her off. Deirdre was so angry she killed the Empress's brother, Achan. "
"Wow. That's dramatic."
"Yeah. She's the mother of the Malignant, if you will. She's been twisting more and more dryads into those terrible creatures. Before it was maybe a dozen every year, but now it's grown to hundreds in a matter of days. The Dryad Archduchess, you met her, Arethusa, has been inconsolable. The Empress' concerns grow too. She could be planning massive scale attack." I paused, my next words tasted bitter on my tongue.
"You, you think she's the one who killed my mom? To try and get to me for some reason?" I whispered, tears pricking my eyes. Solomon's eyes softened in the response to my pain. He slid over to me and wrapped me in one of his bear hugs.
"It's not your fault, what happened to your mother. We'll figure it out. It will be okay." I nodded, and he let go, still studying my face, concern etched on his forehead..
"How long will we be here? I asked, wiping at my eyes.
"I don't know. But I think we should wait for the Empress to send someone for us. Or at least Brynhilde. Why don't you take a nap? I've finished with the main mattress." He squished it into place on the bed and I crawled into it dutifully. He pulled some old blankets that smelled of mothballs out of the wardrobe and spread them over me. I was too tired to care much anyway. He shut the curtains and closed the door as quietly as possible behind him.