with
my heels. Not surprisingly, he didn ’ t move.
“ Harder! He would
have felt a fly before feeling that kick! ” Croxley called back, having turned Sir Thunder around to
watch me struggle.
“ Um, okay. Sorry, Sam!” With more power this time, I kicked him and was nearly
thrown off his back when he surged forward. “Ahhh!!!”
“ Fara, come
back! ” Laughing, Croxley kicked Sir
Thunder into a run to catch up to us. I grabbed onto
Sam ’ s neck as
he slowed down to a more leisurely pace, while Sir Thunder settled
beside us. Sam just huffed and resumed chewing on the grass he
still had in his mouth.
“ See?
Easy! ”
I shot him a
glare. “ Alright, I will admit this is
somewhat enjoyable. ” I tried to let my
hips sway to the rhythm of Sam ’ s gait, finding it a bit more
comfortable as I grew more relaxed. After a while, though, I could
feel a pain radiating from my tailbone into my hips. “ How long until we get to the capital? A few
hours? ” I asked
Croxley.
“ Try a few
days, ” he called back over his
shoulder.
My shock must
have been obvious, because he continued with, “Don ’ t worry, time
flies much faster here than in the tunnels. ”
Wondering what I
had signed myself up for, I realized that I really
didn ’ t think it
through before running off. Hoping that I could find a way to help
my people, I resigned myself to a long journey.
“ This
isn ’ t so bad,
is it? ” I patted Sam on the neck as I
gave one last glance towards the cave before it disappeared into
the forest.
Chapter
8
This was bad. I
don ’ t think I
have ever been in this much pain. After riding all day, I felt like
I would never be able to sit again. When Croxley finally announced
it was time to set up camp, I groaned with relief and nearly threw
myself off of Sam. Rubbing my sore end, I was baffled at
Croxley ’ s
ability to slide off Sir Thunder so gracefully, not seeming to have
any ill effects from the long ride.
The only thing to distract me from
my aching behind was the sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking.
The trees broke to reveal a pink sky, the sun casting long shadows
on the trees below as it disappeared behind the mountains in the
distance. I stood there, as I certainly couldn't sit, until the sun
disappeared completely. Within a few minutes, the sky began to fade
into a dark blue.
Watching the
sunset gave me a pang of homesickness. I thought back to the time
when I had told my mother that I would be sad when the sun set, and
I couldn ’ t help
but smile as I corrected my seven year old self in my mind. Yes,
the departure of the sun was sad, because all the wonderful things
it revealed would soon be clad in darkness, but it gave such a
beautiful goodbye that I couldn ’ t help but feel like a wonderful
gift would come with the new day.
Before I could even begin to miss
the sun, small, bright lights began to dot the sky. I watched as
more and more appeared, and I connected them in my head, forming
pictures in the night sky.
“ Fara, I lit a
fire. Now that the sun is down, it will begin to get much colder.
Not to mention the predators start to come out, ” Croxley said, coming up from behind me and pulling my
attention from the sunset.
Giving one last
glance towards the sky, I turned away from the ledge and walked to
the fire. Croxley had tied Sir Thunder and Sam to a tree next to
our supplies and was sitting on his cloak near the fire. He was
eating some kind of dried meat with a loaf of bread. Having
rationed my food throughout the day, I still had some roots and
bread left, but I couldn ’ t say that I was excited to eat
it.
To be honest, I
missed my mother ’ s
stew.
Following
Croxley ’ s
example, I sat near the fire, wincing as my rear end touched the
ground. “ How can you sit so easily?
Aren ’ t you
sore, you know, here, ” I asked, motioning
to my rear area.
“ No, I ’ m used to riding.
I ’ m very good
at it, you know. Hence, messenger. ” He
gestured towards his
my heels. Not surprisingly, he didn ’ t move.
“ Harder! He would
have felt a fly before feeling that kick! ” Croxley called back, having turned Sir Thunder around to
watch me struggle.
“ Um, okay. Sorry, Sam!” With more power this time, I kicked him and was nearly
thrown off his back when he surged forward. “Ahhh!!!”
“ Fara, come
back! ” Laughing, Croxley kicked Sir
Thunder into a run to catch up to us. I grabbed onto
Sam ’ s neck as
he slowed down to a more leisurely pace, while Sir Thunder settled
beside us. Sam just huffed and resumed chewing on the grass he
still had in his mouth.
“ See?
Easy! ”
I shot him a
glare. “ Alright, I will admit this is
somewhat enjoyable. ” I tried to let my
hips sway to the rhythm of Sam ’ s gait, finding it a bit more
comfortable as I grew more relaxed. After a while, though, I could
feel a pain radiating from my tailbone into my hips. “ How long until we get to the capital? A few
hours? ” I asked
Croxley.
“ Try a few
days, ” he called back over his
shoulder.
My shock must
have been obvious, because he continued with, “Don ’ t worry, time
flies much faster here than in the tunnels. ”
Wondering what I
had signed myself up for, I realized that I really
didn ’ t think it
through before running off. Hoping that I could find a way to help
my people, I resigned myself to a long journey.
“ This
isn ’ t so bad,
is it? ” I patted Sam on the neck as I
gave one last glance towards the cave before it disappeared into
the forest.
Chapter
8
This was bad. I
don ’ t think I
have ever been in this much pain. After riding all day, I felt like
I would never be able to sit again. When Croxley finally announced
it was time to set up camp, I groaned with relief and nearly threw
myself off of Sam. Rubbing my sore end, I was baffled at
Croxley ’ s
ability to slide off Sir Thunder so gracefully, not seeming to have
any ill effects from the long ride.
The only thing to distract me from
my aching behind was the sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking.
The trees broke to reveal a pink sky, the sun casting long shadows
on the trees below as it disappeared behind the mountains in the
distance. I stood there, as I certainly couldn't sit, until the sun
disappeared completely. Within a few minutes, the sky began to fade
into a dark blue.
Watching the
sunset gave me a pang of homesickness. I thought back to the time
when I had told my mother that I would be sad when the sun set, and
I couldn ’ t help
but smile as I corrected my seven year old self in my mind. Yes,
the departure of the sun was sad, because all the wonderful things
it revealed would soon be clad in darkness, but it gave such a
beautiful goodbye that I couldn ’ t help but feel like a wonderful
gift would come with the new day.
Before I could even begin to miss
the sun, small, bright lights began to dot the sky. I watched as
more and more appeared, and I connected them in my head, forming
pictures in the night sky.
“ Fara, I lit a
fire. Now that the sun is down, it will begin to get much colder.
Not to mention the predators start to come out, ” Croxley said, coming up from behind me and pulling my
attention from the sunset.
Giving one last
glance towards the sky, I turned away from the ledge and walked to
the fire. Croxley had tied Sir Thunder and Sam to a tree next to
our supplies and was sitting on his cloak near the fire. He was
eating some kind of dried meat with a loaf of bread. Having
rationed my food throughout the day, I still had some roots and
bread left, but I couldn ’ t say that I was excited to eat
it.
To be honest, I
missed my mother ’ s
stew.
Following
Croxley ’ s
example, I sat near the fire, wincing as my rear end touched the
ground. “ How can you sit so easily?
Aren ’ t you
sore, you know, here, ” I asked, motioning
to my rear area.
“ No, I ’ m used to riding.
I ’ m very good
at it, you know. Hence, messenger. ” He
gestured towards his
Similar Books
