Firewind

Chapter 3-Althaea

I woke up panicking. Kildrak, Leshanna and Talkinn were nowhere to be seen. I called out their names. No one answered. Running my fingers through my tangled brown hair, I remembered that I had left them. Guilt overwhelms and I crumple down on my rumpled blanket. I wipe the tears from my face with the back of my sleeve and take a deep breath. I'm doing this for them. Soon we'll have our family back to normal.

I pack up what meagre stuff I had; a thin bedroll, a blanket with fraying edges and my sword. I eat a few berries, wash my face and carry on, heading east.

After walking a few hours I get the sense that someone is following me, again. I stop and listen. There is nothing but the birds singing and the breeze rustling the leaves in the trees. I see a few htraephim tending to a patch of flowers. They're tiny pixie-like creatures that take care of the forest and plants. Some live underground and help create gems from the dark rock. I try not to get too close, you don't want to upset them. They could ensure that you never get any shade in the desert or fruit from the forest.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary but I get the sense that something's off. The breeze isn't heading in one direction. It's more like its circling around the little clearing that I was in. The birds all stop singing and the htraephim retreat farther into the forest. I turn on the spot in a small semi-circle while drawing my sword. The breeze seems to circle around once more and stop. Nothing moves nor makes a sound.

"Your stance is a little off," says a voice to my left.

I turn and look to my left. No one's there I look up and there is a young man, close to my age sitting in a tree sharpening a blade on the end of a staff. It's a strange staff that has three holes of different sizes on it. They remind me of the suns. There are also several other carvings on the length of the staff.

I stare at him questioningly. I must have looked mildly confused because he sighed, rolled his eyes and casually, gracefully leaped down from the tree. He was quite tall. Taller than me, and had dark jet black hair and bright clear blue eyes. He strolled up to me and used the dull side of the blade to push my left foot a little more outwards and adjust the direction my right foot was pointing.

"There," he said, quite proud of himself. "Now you won't be as unbalanced. Oh and lower your left arm a little." I did as he said. "Perfect."

He started walking away. Heading east as I was headed. I tested my balance. It was better. I shook my head and sheathed my sword. I walked after him.

"Why were you following me?" I asked angrily. " What do you want with me?"

"Nothing," He said as if it was obvious. "And I wasn't following you. I am also heading east. Besides, I'll at least get somewhere. Or were you expecting to head into the Monlae desert too?"

"What business do you have in the Monlae desert?"

"What business do you have knowing what I am doing all the time?"

"What makes you think I care what you're doing?" I scoffed. "I was just curious."

The stranger started walking faster. I struggled to keep up with his long stride. He stayed silent.

"Besides, going around the desert would take far longer than I have to spare," I said testily. "You don't think I can make it?"

"I don't think so," he said smirking, "I know so."

I snorted.

"And what makes you think that you can?" I asked, skeptically.

"Little girl, I have years more experience than you."

"For your information, I am 18. I do not need a twenty-something year old telling me what to do. And much less call me a little girl. Besides, you could only have what? Four years on me, maybe five."

"Yes, you're right. But, I already corrected your stance," He stopped walking, "So I clearly know more than you."

"Fine. Well since we're heading the same direction, it'd be smart to travel together. And since you're 'more experienced' you can get us some dinner."

"Fine. But you'll have to make the fire to cook it. Since you're less experienced I don't know if I even want to trust you with that."

With that, he turned on his heel and strode into the forest. I was fuming. How could one person be that arrogant? I rolled my eyes and gathered some small branches for kindling and cut a large fallen branch with my sword. I used the flint from my bag and successfully lit the fire. Ha! I thought. That'll show him who's less experienced.

He came back sooner than I thought carrying a rabbit and some roots. He then expertly skinned the rabbit and cooked it in a stew along with the roots in a small tin pot over the fire.

"What's your name?" he asked as we were eating the delicious stew.

I hesitated. Giving him my name could reveal more about me. Then again, what do I have to hide that belongs to the name Althaea Helder?

"Helder," I answered, "Althaea Helder. And you are?"

"Damask," he replied, "Enialis Damask."

"Where did you learn swordplay?" I asked.

"In my hometown. What about you?"

"My father taught me."

"He must have been a patient teacher."

I glared at him.

"I was only five when he insisted that he should teach me. My mother thought I was too young. But it was a good thing I had learned then or..."

I sighed.

"Or what?" he asked.

"Nevermind. What about you? Who taught you?"

"I'm self-taught," he clenched his jaw. "We should probably carry on."

***

The next nine days were very uneventful. Enialis moved at a brisk pace barely stopping for rest. We talked very little except when necessary. The nights got colder the closer we got to the desert. But we always had a toasty fire going well into the night. Enialis always insisted on staying up to keep watch. I don't think he ever got much sleep. Even during the day he was acting shifty. He kept looking in the trees, his eyes darting back and forth along the trunks as if he expected something to jump out and say boo.

That night, we camped on the very edge of the forest. We had built up the fire and packed our bags as full as we could with dried meat, a bunch of mendid fruit and as much water as we could. The mendid fruit wouldn't last long because we didn't dry it. But it's better than nothing. The only problem with mendid is that its dark red inside stains easily and makes it look like you are drinking blood. It's also really heavy and the size of a watermelon. We'll take whatever we can get at this point. I've never been in any desert but monlae is supposedly the most brutal on all of Usnae Ari.

I don't think I'll be able to sleep. I am dreading the next leg of our journey. I told Enialis that I'd take the watch and laid on my back and stared up at the stars. The fire dimmed significantly and I began to shiver. It blazed up again. It's just the wind, I told myself. I rolled onto my side and my eyelids began to droop despite myself. I finally dozed off, my back warmed by the fire and my face kissed by the gentle breeze drifting from the desert.