She headed towards the field where she was to meet Sky Dragon for her lessons, but a big black horse limped up to her and blocked her path. Recognizing Shadow she rubbed the horse's nose and asked "What are you doing out here shouldn't you be in the barn?" She began searching the wheat fields for signs of Tornjak, but the horse snorted and shook her head as if she had understood her.
She wasn't sure what possessed her to ask or why she was talking to a horse, but she asked anyway. "Do you think he's going to be ok?" the horse whinnied and bobbed her head up and down. She startled a little not having expected the response having figured the head shaking was just a horse thing with coincidental timing but at the same time wanting to test it. Feeling foolish she said, "Maybe I'm crazy but I'm starting to think you can understand me."
The horse just stared at her though and she wasn't sure if it was mocking her or just being a horse.
"Well I have to go meet someone," she said rubbing the horse's neck "so you'll have to excuse me. I'll apply more paste to your injuries later." But when she tried stepping around the horse, Shadow moved to cut her off. She tried two more times to get to the fields but Shadow just wouldn't let her pass.
"You won't let me go will you?" the horse snorted and shook its head. "Well that's just great, where am I supposed to train? The village square?" she said with frustrated sarcasm but the horsed whinnied and nodded her head. "Great now I'm being told what to do by a horse." But she turned around and walked away to the village square. Shadow also turned away and went back to grazing in the fields. Well, this would certainly make things interesting she thought.
Part 3 ~Takal~
Takal had gotten up early to talk to his horse. He told her that he was going to go back to the castle alone and that he wanted her to stay behind and watch Nieka. And to make sure she stayed in the village with all the people, where she was safe. He hugged Shadow and said, I'll be back as soon as I can and with that, he took off through the woods keeping a fast pace for hours. He stopped for a drink and a light lunch and started again, slower at first so he didn't get cramps then picking up the pace again. He pushed on exhausted and wondering when was the last time he ran that long.
He ran a lot, he liked to run with his horse just as much as ride her. Some people said it was because he was more wild than his horse, and maybe that was true, but he liked to run. It calmed him, he found it could be relaxing as well as exhilarating, and stress always seemed to lift off and he could think clearer. And today he had all day to think.
So, he thought about how to convince the council to let the girl join them, not as a maid or cook or anything but as a soldier. She wanted to fight, he could see the restlessness and the pain she felt. The same feelings had driven him to be the fighter he was today. He knew a lot of other people joined for the same reason.
He knew she could do it too, she was clever and strong, and her will was stronger than her fear. She managed to escape; a feat no one had ever accomplished before and he had seen her kill more than one with his own eyes. She could probably even teach them some things they didn't know.
Then there was the matter of her magic he reminded himself. They need healers, especially ones that can travel with them and help out on the battlefield. Master Robin was a great healer, their best healer, but he was getting too old and fragile to do lots of hard travel, let alone defend himself. His latest apprentice had very little magic, and the scrawny little teen was too skittish for a fight and was of no use for serious injuries. That left only four mid-level healers; they had lost three in the last year. Healers were hard to come by and the masters all knew how much the army needed them.
He was convinced now that she didn't know what she was, only that there was something different about how quickly she healed. And if she wasn't doing it on purpose he assumed once she learned how to use her magic she'd be a powerful healer, an asset they couldn't afford to pass up. He couldn't imagine why she was so against the idea of magic but she would have to get over it. He wondered absently if they used magic where she came from. It was rare here but he couldn't imagine there not being any.
The sun had set and the stars were out when he finally reached the tree line to the castle grounds and slowed to a light jog. About halfway across the field he slowed to a walk and thought about Nieka as she walked across the fields of her home looking up at the sky. He glanced up, and it was beautiful in a way he had never appreciated before, but it didn't last long.
As he neared the castle and was engaged in small talk by a fellow soldier he'd worked with before.
"Where are you coming from? And what happened to you?"
"Newport, the new coastal settlement." He said ignoring the second question.
"Huh?"
"Some foreigners have settled over what used to be Ocean Side City."
"Where's your horse?"
"Back in Newport with Cpt. Tornjak, his horse died."
"How the hell can you run like that? You must be almost as fast as a horse."
"No, I'm almost as fast as a horse carrying over 300 pounds pacing for a long ride, and by the Gods am I far more tired than a horse would be So do you mind letting me in?"
"Tired? You look beyond worn out." as he got to the entrance he wrinkled his nose and said "Oh gods, and you smell worse than a horse. Go shower and get some rest." He said opening the door for him.
"I will, I just need to talk to Master Tazmaine first... and hawk, have someone find him and send him to master Tazmaine's quarters immediately."
"Can't that wait 'til tomorrow?"
"No." he would give his report and request a council meeting be scheduled and he would make sure a team was sent to New port ASAP. Then he could eat, clean, and rest. The guard just shook his head like he didn't understand responsibility.