The Vanished Pearls of Orlov

"Nobody is supposed to sleep in a park."

     Lannie clung to Fen for dear life, increasingly tired, hungry, thirsty, and desperate to pee. It got darker and darker, the heavy clouds concealing the stars. She could barely see. She had no idea where they were and didn't dare complain. Fen might dump her off and she'd really be in the soup. Those darn pearls. She should have left them behind. If anyone saw them, they might think they were fake, but that wouldn't stop a mugger from beating her into a pulp to get them. Would he never stop? And his horse didn't seem to be tired at all. They were trotting down yet another poorly lit street, lined with tired buildings and grubby people on foot.

     A darker area loomed up ahead, a huge black void on the street, and she hoped Fen would pass it by at a good, brisk pace. It looked exactly like the kind of place muggers and thieves lurked, waiting to leap out and assault travelers.

     "There's where we'll spend the night," Fen said and tipped his head towards the darker, shadier, gloomier patch of night ahead of them on the right.

     "There?" Lannie squealed. She'd be dead within the hour but she'd be off the damn horse and she could pee.

     "Yeah," Fen replied. "It's some kind of park. I scouted it out a few days ago. There's a thicket where we can sleep and I can get Coppertail fresh water."

     "Okay," Lannie said, because it wasn't like she could demand a nice hotel instead. "Is there anything to eat?" she added hopefully. "And some water for us?"

     Fen felt himself wanting to smile. He was about to make this girl, who hadn't whined nonstop like he had been expecting, very happy.

     "Yeah, I got mil-rats and full waterskins."

     "Oh," Lannie said, forcing enthusiasm into her voice. What the heck were mil-rats? They did not sound appetizing. And waterskins were something peasants drank out of. But it was food and water and she didn't want to complain or she might not get anything to eat or drink at all.

     Fen steered Coppertail off the street and into the overgrown area, twisted and held out his arm. He said, "Grab hold and slide off as best you can. I've got to dismount."

     Lannie swallowed her fear, cautiously let go of Fen's waist, held his braced arm, and carefully slid to the ground, hoping and praying that Fen wouldn't gallop away as soon as her feet hit the ground.

     He didn't. He swiftly swung down and then to her surprise, tossed her back into the saddle. She grabbed at Coppertail's mane to have something to hold onto; Fen had Coppertail's reins in his hand. Just as well; it wasn't like Coppertail would obey her. He led the horse, Lannie clinging on, into an even darker part of the park, following an almost invisible trail through thick brambly bushes. After what felt like an hour but was really only minutes, he stopped in a clearing. It was slightly lighter than the surrounding dense shrubbery and open to the sky.

     "We'll camp here."

     Camping. Not one of her favorite things to do, especially when it had been threatening rain for hours. The sky overhead was a uniform mass of solid dark gray.

     "Sound's good," Lannie managed. Once off Coppertail, her legs burned from awkwardly hanging onto the horse for hours. Gleesh, but she didn't like riding. How on Mars was Fen managing when he'd been beaten up by Charlton, Walter, and Dimitri? "Is there a, uh, rest area?"

     "What? Oh! Go in the bushes," Fen said. "I'll be right back after I've gotten Coppertail some water."

     Lannie gaped at him in the dim light. She could just about make out his features. Then, to her horror, he led the gelding out of the clearing, back down the narrow path they had entered, leaving her alone in the dark.