The Island

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Hanna

Kirklyn told us the news when we got back from helping Fawn, practically jumping as he said we were getting Tillie back.

I put on my riding leathers as soon as I could, running down to the stables. We weren't taking the bikes, they were too loud. I often came into the stables to sit with my horse or paint his stable, Dancer written in curved letters above the gate. Butterflies and flowers covered the wood around his black and white coat, his pattern similar to mine. We both had white on one ear and the opposite eye. His white ankle matched mine.

"Hey boy," I whispered as the stable hands came to put on his saddle, "you ready to run."

I swear he whiny proved he understood me, he stomped his hooves on the ground, ready to run as soon as I jumped on and dug my heels into his side. I had one job. Meet Poma at the valley before the river pass. People cheered as I raced down the dirt road through the farmyards, not stopping until I reached Poma, Zain and Kirklyn coming when they organized the Palace for Tillie's return, Tina staying behind to lead while we were gone, to make everything seem normal.

Dancer seemed to know which way to go, weaving through the trees until we reached a deserted camp, and his ears pressed against his head.

Rubbing the back of his neck, I listened, peering into the trees, until I heard a crack of a branch from my left, and saw a blonde head duck into the trees, disappearing from my sight.

"Come out, in the name of Lady Tillie."

A small boy came out, his pale blonde hair was caked with mud, his face was smeared with dirt and tears.

"What's your name?" I asked, still on top of Dancer.

"Lance" he whispered, "Do you really know Tillie?"

I looked at the lost boy, at his simple shirt and pants, ripped in spots and, like the rest of him, coated in dirt.

"Where are you from?"

"Mark. He took me and my sister when we were going to the Palace. She wanted to help."

I could tell he had more to say, but I was running late, "Is your sister here?" He shook his head, "Get on. I have friends that can help."

I pulled him in front of me on the saddle, told him to hold on to the horn and lean forward, and we ran to meet Poma.

We got to her camp by dusk. Dancer was panting by the time I pulled him to a water trough. Getting Lance into some clean clothes and washing some of the dirt off his skin seemed to cheer him up, his fair skin finally clean after who knows how long of being stuck in the forest alone. When he was fed and clean, I left him with one of the nurses and was glad to hear them talking before I left.

Poma was in her tent, a map laid in front of her on a table, little figurines laid out around it. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she moved a figure toward a tower in the center of the map.

"What took you so long?" She asked, not looking up from her map,

"I made a detour, it was nothing."

"That boy you brought. Who is he?"

"His name is Lance, Mark has his sister."

She looked up at me that time, scanning me, searching for something.

"Lance is from my school, his sister's one of the kindest people you'll meet. I hadn't realized that she was with him," Poma said, moving another token.

"Zain and Kirklyn should be here soon, tell your archers not to shoot anything in the air."

I walked back to where I left Lance, stopping to look at the sky before I entered the tent he was in. Pushing back the flap, I saw him sitting on the ground, drawing in the dirt with a stick,