Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Fantasy

  Warning mild profanity Used   
      
                  Chapter 3

That night as I slept under the starry sky I felt better than I ever had and wondered how long this peace would last. 

When I awoke I was back in the carrage and we were moving. I stretch and groan from the back pain of sleeping wrong.

"Morning Kid. How'd ya sleep." He asks. He sounded as groggy as I felt.

"I was wonderful to feel the breeze and dirt under me. Best sleep i've ever had." I says joyful.

"You must have been sleeping on a log your whole life then if that was the best sleep you've had." He chuckles.

I basically was... the bed back at home was only some planks of wood with a few layers of blackets to soften it up. 

"I made some breakfast eat up and then take your medicine." He sounded rough.

"I take it you didn't sleep that well Mr.Zefire?" I giggle.

"Just call me Zee if you can't pronouce my name right." He grumps.

"I'll take that as a no." I say sourly.

He huffs and we continue on.

The breakfast was oatmeal with some really bad burnt toast. I ate it non the less, food was food when you grew up how I did. It tasted good though minus the burnt toast. Now that I thought about it brother always burnt toast too. I smile at the memory and hope I get to see him again real soon.

"So Zee when do I get to meet Shadow and Mist?" I ask curiously, remembering I hadn't met them yet.

"We'll be passing through a small town. When we get a little ways past that I'll let you meet them." He sounded really grumpy and a bit angry and decided that I'd stop talking for a bit. 

I took out the necklace and stared at it for a few. It was soothing but a bit disconcerning. I remember how it changed shape and appearence the moment I touched it. It didn't glow or shimmer when transformed it just did. I rubbed one of the steel beams till my nerves settled. When i removed my hand it was no linger silver instead it turned red. I didn't like the new change and then it turned back to silver. 

"Creepy." I mumble to myself as I put it back in a small tan satchel and take out the small glass bottle of medicine, drinking it.

"Hey Kid we got some trouble ahead. I need you to wrap yourself and come up front. Bring everything I have with you." He says urgently.

I grab the old black blanket wrapping it around myself and grabbed my satchel.

"Climb through the window here." I see him move the curtain in the front away revealing an empty a spot I could crawl through. 

I do so quickly and get myself resituated with the blacket hiding my head and satchel. 

"Don't move or make a noise while we pass through." He says as we approach a lot of men in armor on horses.

"Good morning!" Zee yells out friendly.

"Sir we'll have to ask you to stop. It's just a routine search nothing to worry about." One of the men says and approaches us.

"What are you carrying?" Another armored man asks.

"It's just me and my daughter. We like to travel." He explains plainly.

"Your daughter you say?" I smile appears on the man closest to me.

"I see so this is how it is?" Zee says very unhappy. 

"Come on old man we all know a man with a slave when we see one." Another man says.

"I'm no slave trader. Either let us pass or else." Zee says in a voice that sent shivers down my spine.

The man next to me reaches for me and I start to panic.

Suddenly I see Zee's hand grab the man's. 


"Touch her and I'll break your fucking arms." At this point Zee didn't sound like him. His voice was still deep but much, much darker. 

"Right... my apologies sir." The man says and takes his hand back returning to the formation.

Zee sits back down and looks at the other man.  "If theres nothing else we need to get going." Zee growls.

"Uh, y.. y.. yes. Go ahead sorry for bothering you." He says nervously.

We start moving again and passed all the armored men. 

"You did good kid. I know that was scary but you really did good." Zee praises. 

"What did those men want?" I said after a bit my voice still shaky. 

"Those men serve the king and town, but they're corrupt and seek pleasures for themselves not caring what others say and think. They're worthless pigs." Zee was very angry but didnt take it out on me.

"Pigs at least have manors." I say trying to lighten the mood even though i was still pretty shaken.

"Your right kid. Pigs do have manors. Those so called men are more like Vultures." He smiled at me and I smiled back, though he couldn't see me from under the blanket.

"Can I stop hiding now?" I ask getting really hot under the heavy blanket.

"Ah, yes go ahead." He says more relaxed. "Now you can meet Shadow and Mist." He says optimistically. He points at the pitch black horse and a grayish white speckled horse that were pulling the carriage. "This is Shadow and Mist." He introduces.

"Pretty. I'm glad I finally got to meet them." I says happily. I looked around and noticed that we had entered into a forest the trees obstructed the view of the sky but didnt stop the rays from coming through. I hears creatures chirping and chattering. 

"What are those noises?" I ask Zee.

"Those are birds and squirrels and if you listen closely you'll heard a pecking type noise and  thats a woodpecker." He says explaining the sounds I hear.

He was right i did hear a pecking type noise. I tries looking for the creature that made each sound but I had no such luck. The view of the forest though was amazing I felt as though I was entrappted in some magical world that was full of excitement and wonders I couldn't possibly have imagined.  Just then I saw something move between the trees at a great speed and something else following it.

"Zee what was that?" Confused.

He looks over and sees what i had. 

"Those are wolves. They must be hunting. Best to steer clear of them they can get territorial fast." He says cautiously.

They moved to fast for me to see but they looked huge. 

We moved a bit slower but we finally made it out of the woods and were greeted by a wide space of grasslands and a town in the distant.

"About another hour and we'll  be in a town. Is there anything you'd like to buy there before we leave?" Zee asks. 

I think about it but couldn't think of anything I needed. 
"I don't think I need anything." I say a but exhausted.

"Alright. Then we'll just pass right on through." He says relieved.

"Zee what is Mr.Radfield like? Brother told me a bit about his hobbies but nothing really about him." I says curiously.

"Radfield huh?" Zee sighs and Looks over at me. "He's a guy who likes to keep to himself. He's a physician and Medicineman the best there is in Shire Town. Hes a genius to say the least. He lives outside of town to be closer to nature and he's obsessed with everything and anything magical. Though its true magic exists in this world no one has seen it in centuries." When he finished talking he seemed concerned about something.

"Zee... you seem worried about something." I say as the mood seems to darken.

"It's nothing to be concerned about kid it's just an old man fretting over old stuff." He says patting my head. 
It felt nice and warm like home when he patted my head. 

"Thank you Zee you've made this trip bearable without my brother." I say truly grateful.

He didn't say anything only nodded and things stayed quite as we rode past the small bustling town. 

              Chapter 3 End