Head in the Clouds

Chapter 13: Nadja!

Neigh

"Hmm?"

Neigh

"Nadja quit." 

Neigh

"Wait, Nadja?"

Deidre opened her eyes greeted by a pair much different than her own. 

"Nadja!" She cheered.

Deidre didn't think before jumping to her feet and wrapping her arms around Nadja's long neck. She closed her eyes and felt nothing but love for the animal. There was nothing but pale blue midnight moonlight flooding in through the two barn windows. For the first time in the past few days, Deidre felt... relief. Nadja was back on her feet for the first time since Callaco. Deidre hadn't lost her.

"I'm so happy you're alright," Deidre whispered. Nadja neighed in return.

It wasn't until Deidre opened her eyes that she noticed something strange had occurred. The color of Nadja's fur so close to her face stood out to her. While it used to be a sort of matte black, it was now a more sparkly- galaxy color. She tried to dust it off, but the sparkles stuck.

"Wha-"

She pulled away from the hug and looked at her horse. Nadja's eyes were now blacker than ever with only hints of purple and blue swirling around where her pupils should be. She even appeared a bit bigger than she was before.

"The dust," muttered Deidre. 

She looked up at Nadja. The horse lowered her head down to Deidre's level and rested her forehead against her owner's. Deidre's nerves were calmed by her companion's gesture.

"It's okay, Nadja," she assured her horse, "I'm gonna fix this."

She checked around her. There were no obvious injuries. Was she really alright? Would Nadja just disappear too?

"Come on," she beckoned her sweetly. 

Positioning the saddle on Nadja's back, it just barely fit. She led Nadja out into the backyard. When outside, she struggled at first but hopped onto Nadja's back.  It was weird up there, much higher than usual, but it still felt like Nadja.

"Okay," she breathed cautiously. 

She allowed Nadja to trot around the empty space around the barn at first. She seemed okay carrying her for a bit. Then, Deidre flicked her reigns forcing her forward. 

They dashed around the backyard for a while. Then, Deidre guided Nadja back into the barn.

"You seem okay," Deidre said to her, "but we can't let anyone see you, especially not Carter. I can't let anyone know we were at the cave before I can talk to the king.

She thought for a second.

"Well, maybe talking to the king isn't that bright... it's not like he likes me very much. Would he even hesitate to kill me if Ko wasn't lying? Was anything he said true?" She thought aloud, "What makes me so sure King Archibald would even know about all this? If it was something that Ko would know, then it must be passed down from generations."

She took a seat on the ladder that led to the upper level of the barn.

"If he knows about magic, which he probably does, then he must know where Dr. Apollo's lab was. Even if he didn't, he knows now. If Carter already figured out that I was at the cave, then he may have already told his father. King Archibald may be an ass, but he's not stupid," she went on, "If he knows what that lab was meant to do, and he knows I was there. It won't take long for him to put two and two together."