The wind whipped through the loose strands that fell from the confines of the braid I had made in a hurry early this morning. Now, as I gripped the thick leather reins that gave me guidance over Wraith, I couldn't help the smile that crept across my face. Petyr was somewhere to the side of me, racing along the familiar forest floor. The Tiber was our backyard, as familiar to us as our own home, so maneuvering around trees and branches was no difficulty. The rocks that jutted out on to our path were easily avoided. Wraith was panting heavily, his mane whipping back as I rested the reins just behind his ears. With a harsh whinny, his hooves dug hard into the ground as he burst forward. I could hear my brother in the distance laughing as early signs of sunrise peeked through the rows of trees.
There was no way he had beaten us to the rise. We had the advantage of taking the easier path, even of getting a jump start ahead when Petyr wasn't looking. However, even as I thought about this, his laughter was not beside or behind us. It was ahead. Frustration filled my body as I squeezed Wraith's sides and urged him forward, trusting him to find the right way as I nearly laid on his neck, my body moving with his. "We're almost there. Come on."
A moment later, we were through the trees and nearing the nearly impossible sparse rise. A platform that jutted out into nothing. Often I thought of running Wraith off the ledge and him sprouting wings to carry us away to a new adventure. This, of course, was silly and the wishful thinking of a child. I could see Petyr sitting on his mount. They were both void of color on their backs as the sun cast a long shadow over them, bathing their front in warm sunlight as the mist slowly lifted from around their legs and receded into the trees. Shaking my head in disbelief, I brought us to a trot as we neared the pair. Wraith snorted harshly, a noise that made my brother's horse jump despite hearing us come up beside them.
"About time. I was wondering if you'd ever make it." Petyr smirked and dismounted, his long leg sweeping over his knapsack and bedroll as he pulled the reins from his horse's neck. Looking over his shoulder, he didn't wait for me before going to the edge and peering over. "Think you'll finally jump this time?"
"I have jumped. Thank you." I answered almost immediately back as I dismounted.
Wraith and Jackson, Petyr's horse, ambled off to a patch of sweet grass and settled in on a second breakfast. This morning we had tried to hurry before the sun was up and luckily we had made it. Walking up beside Petyr, I bumped his arm with my shoulder and looked out over the gap in front of us it dropped to a deep river that flowed lazily between the trees and providing food for the forest as it flowed into the Pollock sea, an unforgiving body of water that kept my eldest brother far from us. It circled from the east to the west side of our lands before they renamed it to some oddity that no one truly knew the name of. Mainly because of the border disputes that still raged, even after a declaration of peace. The borders were dangerous and intriguing and going to be closer now more than ever at the end of the week.
Swallowing hard, I tried to ignore that and focus on the intensely beautiful colors that spilled over us. Orange and blue and pink all mixed, pouring over the treetops, staining the clouds, and as we stood there, it began shimmering on the water's surface. We had missed the beginning and now it seemed to go far too quickly as birds flew off into the sun itself, rising steadily and without question. The sun was their guardian, as the moon had often been ours. Or at least that is what I used to think. Lately, however, I'd been finding myself being less and less observant. I didn't want to look to a goddess that never seemed to answer any of my questions, no matter how much I pleaded with her.
"Your mind is somewhere else," Petyr sighed and stretched the sleep from his limbs, walking from the edge. "Are you worried about the end of the week? You're of age now, and father won't like us staying out much longer on this camping trip, as you call it. If we are not careful, he'll send those damn eagles after us."
I snickered and took a deep breath before turning my attention to the skies. They were clear as far as the eye could see. A gentle breeze had started up, and all was normal within the trees. I could hear birds singing. Deer would soon make their way down to the river and the nighttime creatures would tuck in for the day. However, no matter how calm things seemed, the eagles he referred to could be a speck high above us while they could see everything clearly, as though they would be right in front of it.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were genuinely worried." Yawning, I turned to him just in time to catch a hunk of bread, the side torn open and stuffed with cheese. Though I didn't enjoy eating it like this, Petyr devoured it in three easy bites. I never understood how he could do it without choking. He never washed it down, not right away at least. I nearly choked, watching him before I pulled the bread apart in small pieces and ate it this way. The cheese I nibbled, keeping one eye on the sky as the sun continued to rise. "You don't think he would do something like that, do you?"
"Who? Dad?" Petyr asked pointlessly as he brushed out Jackson, having laid his saddle on the ground and airing out his blanket on a rock. "The son he sees as a failure in his little marriage web and the last child to be sent off just disappearing into the forest days before you are supposed to leave? Nope, I don't think he would over react at all."
Rolling my eyes, I finished my cheese and wondered around the clearing. The lake the king owned fed the water flowing through the Tol River. It was true, everything around us was his, but the lake was special in a sense that his own castle encased it. The river was a reminder that I would be even further from my older brother, far from my home and in a place I didn't know. Nor did I care to know it despite being there years before with my brothers and father. Nicolaus had been as decent as an adolescent boy could be. He was nervous and barely spoke to me when I was there until we were about to leave. I wondered foolishly if this had changed or not.
"Hello?" Petyr snapped his fingers and looked at me pointedly. "Did you hear anything I just said?" When I shook my head in response, he huffed and tossed the brush into his bag. "I said that if we want to get some fishing or hunting in, we'll have to go soon. We said three days, tonight will be the third."
"We said nothing. It just happens that we only stay out for three nights." I walked over to him. His pale hair shone like spider silk in the sunlight now. It looked nearly transparent with the angle I had and only aided in the complexion he had. Petyr was paler than the rest of us. His form was much like our fathers but he was at least half his weight and several inches shorter. He might look weak compared to the rest of our brothers. However, this didn't show in how he would bring in his haul. The older he got, the bigger the game he brought in. He often led hunts out into the Tiber or Spine, never coming back empty-handed. The last two days had brought with it exploration, hunting for our meals and being in solidarity. "Just because we go back after that long doesn't mean that we need to. It was always your call, not mine."
"Oh, so this is on me now?" Petyr scoffed, going to the ledge overlooking the sea of trees at his feet. "Look, it isn't my fault that Alex got hurt or lost or killed or whatever. It isn't me that arranged this whole thing. It especially isn't me that is forcing you into it. This has always been our escape from dad, our brothers. Why do you feel the need to tarnish it when we don't know if this will ever happen again?"
I rolled my eyes again. Stiffening at the mention of Alex, I fought back the anger that threatened to swell up and burst forward. Clenching my fists, I gritted my teeth before I calmed myself back down. "You can be really dramatic, you know that?"
"And you can be a massive pain in my ass. What's your point?" Petyr shrugged, picking up his fishing pole and tackle before heading down the path to the river itself.
I rose to my feet with a groan. The bread had settled heavy in my stomach. Stretching my arms over my head and releasing another yawn, I whistled for Wraith. Removing his saddle, he bobbed his midnight black head and stomped the ground. It had only been a couple of hours, but he never liked the saddle. I didn't mind bareback, but on longer trips like this, a saddle was a must. Resting the massive, though lightweight, thing on the ground, I took the bridal off, smirking as Wraith smacked his lips and nipped at the bit. Rubbing between his ears, I gave him a quick once over and checked his hooves. When I was satisfied, I turned to realize I was on my own. Petyr was already nearing halfway down as I grabbed my pole. I'd use his tackle should I need it.
As I neared the beginning of the trail, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a chill covered my body, burrowing deep into the muscle.
"Nyx."
A voice, multiple voices really were barely a whisper through the branches made me jump. Turning to the trees, I stood like a spooked deer. Watching, waiting and listening for my name again, hoping I didn't have an ambush on my hands. Petyr was too far away to help and my sword was with Wraith's saddle a good distance away at this point. Squinting, I took half a step toward the never ending rows of trees. It had grown lighter in the Tiber, streams of light flooded between branches and trunks of the ancient trees. Birds and insects darted about, trying to avoid and catch one another. Cicadas sang along with the birds posted high in the treetops. Their songs both beautiful and cruel in the silence of the great forest. Shaking it off, I turned to the path and thought nothing more of it. Days out here mixed with some rather uncomfortable sleep helped to push it from my mind as I fought the flight or fight response that tensed and relaxed my legs. Wraith hadn't been spooked when I had looked to him for any sign of danger. He munched peacefully. His hind hoof was kicked up as he enjoyed himself without a care in the world. It didn't help my urge leaving the area as quickly as possible and it didn't end when I finally reached the bottom of the path and stood just upstream from Petyr.
Petyr was standing there, his boots gracing the water as his left ear turned more toward the bank across from us. Looking across the river intently, he didn't seem to notice me being there until I grabbed the tackle bag from where he set it. The chain he used to hold live fish clinked. Wincing, I bit the bottom corner of my lip and looked up. His intense yellow eyes never faltered when he looked at me, curiosity in his expression. He looked at me like this often. Sometimes he spoke the beginnings of sentences before he trailed off entirely. Giving him a weak smirk, I mouthed an apology before making my way further down the shore. I baited the hook and tossed it out into the swirling current, all while I felt his eyes on my back. Had he heard the voice earlier? I wanted to ask, but I also didn't want him to think I was going crazy and hearing things.
Then again, as I turned back to my brother, Petyr's attention had turned back to the far bank. His eyes were unblinking and from this distance it looked as though he had ceased breathing. He said nothing; he didn't move an inch. It went on like this for the better part of ten minutes in silence, only the sound of water over rocks and the occasional jumping trout broke it.
Finally, I couldn't take it any longer and threw a rock at his boot. It skipped off of his toe and plunked into the shallow water at his feet. This at least got his attention, and I put my hands up with an expectant expression on my face. Putting a finger to his eye, Petyr then tapped his left ear and pointed into the forest across from us. Look, listen and stay quiet.
Raising to my feet slowly, I peered into the deep emerald ocean. There was nothing there. The thick trunks, branches, and leaves made it nearly impossible to see more than a foot into it. The opposite side of the Tol was also a place that was more or less off limits. There were bridges that helped you to cross, if you were impossibly light, didn't mind getting wet up to your shoulders or risking exposure to some of the magic that was said to swirl in the calmer pools. These were easy to spot, almost always close to the rapids, smooth as glass and always the last thing you wanted to even put a toe in. I had never gone into one of these. I had seen them for sure, but never waded into one. Many had told tales of those that had seen firsthand what it does to someone. Either the one in the water never resurfaced, their corpse never popping up either, or they ran, half mad, into the forest after gracing the water itself.
If they were seen or found again, they were half dead and delirious, leaving no one to believe what they said in the long run of fantastical creatures and other lands. The oddity here was that despite it being in the same river, if you waded around one of them, the person would be fine so long as they didn't touch one of these pools. I always wondered if holes like this were under the surface, leading to wanting to use a bridge or boat when I could.
After a minute or two of staring into the forest, half focused at that, I saw them. Great lumbering shapes that shifted and moved. Black against deep emerald. I didn't dare to move. I didn't have to see them up close to know exactly what they were. Their grunting and shuffling noises were unmistakable, even after all this time. Cave bears looking to be migrating from their summer homes close to the Pollock to the winter homes deep in the king's lands after fattening up for the coming winter. For their size, they were incredibly quiet, only the occasional snapping of branches as cubs gave way to playing in the trees broke any of it. The sows huffed and howled disapprovingly as they made their way along the far bank.
I was so stupid! I'd left my bow and arrows above us and unless I could scale the cliff hanging over my shoulder, I was out of luck. Petyr had a hand on his waist, his fingers wrapping around a dagger he always carried with him. That would be about as useful as throwing a rock at it. Doing nothing but pissing the sow off, thinking we would harm her cubs.
As the first of the sows broke through, she didn't notice us. Neither did the second or third after that. My pole had bounced steadily, letting me know I had my lunch on the other end. I couldn't move or care about it now, even as it threatened to be dragged from the shore and down stream. The reason being that once the fourth sow had stepped from the wall of trees; she had set her deep, hollow eyes on me. Her forelegs were stiff, looking ready to propel her across the water. Letting out a deep, warning growl as she stood tall and proud on her hind legs after we didn't move. The old girl stood well over nine feet tall. Her paws were as big as dinner plates and claws, sharp as steel blades, that could tear me to shreds in one swipe.
"Nyx." Petyr whispered harshly as water lapped my toes. The sow growled deeply. Her howling was nearly deafening even at this distance. This didn't stop me, causing him to break from his position and wade out into the water to grab me. "Nyx, what are you doing? Are you insane?"
Petyr was in front of me now, his massive head blocking my view. He searched my face for any answer, waiting rather impatiently for a verbal one. Glancing over his shoulder, the cave bear had lowered herself and moved along upstream with the rest of her group. Letting out a shaky breath, I giggled and shoved him back, feeling his chest sink on his exhale. Turning, I caught my pole just in time to keep it from disappearing into the waves.
"What was that?" Petyr demanded. "Do you have a death wish? That sow had cubs. If we were seen as a threat, we'd be done for."
"Well, we weren't, were we?" I snapped back. I didn't know what happened or why I had waded into the water. All I knew was that there were cave bears coming up early in the year. At least compared to previous years, Petyr had been sure of it. We never saw them this week. It was odd, but also a wonderful experience. The fact that my calves were soaked, however, this didn't seem to bother me nearly as much as his reaction. "Are you going to be like this the rest of the day, or can we move along with it?"
Petyr glared at me. The scar over his lip stretched oddly as he added a sneer. "You're the one that's been acting strange. I thought you were going to enjoy this last trip. That didn't happen. Then you take forever getting down here. Usually you're bothering me for taking too long."
"Oh no, I'm being a teenage girl that can't make up her mind?" I opened my eyes so wide it hurt, clutching my chest as though the realization was too much. Snorting, I stood up straight, giving him a side-long glance. "Shouldn't you be used to that with your wife, Pete?"
His eyes narrowed at this slight. He had been married nearly three years now to a girl that was my age. She was the only daughter in a family of all boys and while the father had practically thrown his sons at my father; he had kept his promise. At least until I learned the truth and realized that, after Alex had disappeared, I was never meant to be happy. Just as Petyr, they doomed me to be with someone I didn't know enough to care for. Scoffing, I rolled my eyes, reeling in my line and throwing the trout into the makeshift pen made of rock. It was shallow, fed by the river, and would keep it until we ate.
"All I am saying," Petyr sighed heavily as he grabbed my shoulders and made me face him. He squeezed tightly, enough to bruise as he didn't want to yell anymore, but his irritation was still clear. "I'm just trying to say that this might not be the best thing in your mind right now, but it will get better. Seeing them, the cave bears up here almost a full week early. It is a sign. Things are going to change, either for the better or the worse, but they are going to change. I didn't choose my wife, you didn't choose your husband. Aramis and Mikal are lucky in the thought of being happy with those they've been paired with."
My heart ached at his words. Looking past him, I twisted the wet hook between my fingers, barely registering when it caught my skin. "Can you get to your point, or are you just rambling now? I already know all of this."
Petyr pinched my earlobe and smirked. "Patience, little sister. Patience and cunning, and a touch of occasional humility. But let's forget about it for now, eh?"
I nodded easily, wanting to leave it be before it even started. There was no point in trying to go back, to change my father's mind, or to leave this marriage alliance. I had learned long ago, even if I wanted to fool myself into believing otherwise, I was a game piece to him and the lord of Alowez would move me where ever he saw fit.