Chapter One "A Captive"

“Yeah, the party’s at eight o’clock at the Shone Bay Theatre. See you there? Okay, great. Bye.” Rose Daniston hung up the phone and walked over to her bureau (that was sitting to her left) and pulled open the top drawer. She then took out a planning journal, went back to her bed, propped up the pillows, laid down, and began to read.
Party Guests:
Jennifer
Ashland
Katie
Catherine
Cassie
Beth
Marie
And then added to the list Jasmine.
Oh, this is going to be so much fun! She thought as she bit the tip of the pen that she was writing with. Suddenly remembering that she actually had a life, she put her journal back in the bureau drawer, grabbed the keys that were sitting on the nightstand next to her bed, and went out to her 1986 convertible Mustang. She smiled as she got in and pulled out of the driveway, thinking about Justin, the boy she worked with, and whom she completely adored. As she drove down the highway, her hair blew in the wind on that warm sunny day; the last day that she would ever ride down that highway in her beloved car.
Rose drove into the parking lot of Starbucks where she worked. She parked and walked into the coffee shop, said a quick hello to Justin, and then put on her apron.
“You’re here early.” Justin greeted her with a smile. “Your shift doesn’t start for ten minutes.”
“Yes, I know,” Rose replied, “but I had nothing else to do.”
“And what, do you expect me to leave early and risk the chance of losing an entire fifty cents? I think not.”
“Oh and so much you could buy with that fifty cents; a sticker, a couple of gumballs, or maybe the luxury of a bit of chocolate?” She chuckled as she finished.
“Actually,” Justin continued to compete with her, “I was saving up for a chocolate bunny.” This time the two teens laughed together. Rose and Justin often had little arguments such as this one, where they would bicker for minutes on end, doing no harm, of course, but going on and on and on. And then afterwards, they would laugh at themselves, sharing a scone or cup of coffee.
“So,” said Rose, “doesn’t look very busy. How many customers have we had so far?”
“So far?” Justin repeated. “As in for today? Hmmm… I would say around… none.”
“None at all? At Starbucks?” Rose couldn’t believe it.
Justin smiled at her. “Well, we’ve had three. Now if you would add today and yesterday, we would have a total of fourteen customers.”
“Hmm. It’s not very much.”
“It’s Sunday, though. Not many people come on Sundays.”
Rose leaned up against the counter and crossed her legs. “I can’t believe finals are coming up. I’m not ready at all. Have you studied?”
“A bit.” Justin replied. There was silence for a minute as Justin took off his apron and took his keys out of the cash register where he kept them. Then he broke the silence. “Hey, uh… the prom is coming up in a couple weeks. Are… are you going with anyone?” Rose hoped he was asking her to go with him. She shook her head no.
“Well, I was wondering, since you’re not going with anyone or anything if uh… if you’d like to go with me?” Rose tried not to show that she was brimming with excitement. She looked into the blue eyes of the blonde haired surfer boy and replied a faint yes. She cleared her throat and repeated it, and Justin smiled. “Okay, so… I’ll call you,” he said as he walked backwards toward the door.
“Yeah, sure, okay.”
“Grea…” Unfortunately, Justin could not finish his sentence because he had tripped over one of the tables as he was backing up. He quickly found his keys he had dropped and picked up the table. He said a quick goodbye and waved, then speedily walked out of the shop. After he was outside, Rose covered her mouth and laughed.
The rest of the work-day went by slowly. Rose listened to the radio as she filled her empty time with doing chores such as sweeping and washing the already clean tables. At six o’clock, she turned off the “open” sign and locked up. She got into her car and drove out of the parking lot. As she was riding, she noticed that her gas was getting low, so she pulled over to a gas station. After filling up her tank, she pulled her car into a parking place, locked it, and then went inside and asked the cashier for the key to the restroom, which he gave to her. She went back outside, and then around the corner. A few feet away was a small restroom that would not have looked inviting at all if Rose had not had to go so bad.
After she came out, she took a few steps and then suddenly, out of nowhere it seemed, a man appeared in front of her. He was wearing strange clothes; boots that went up to a few inches below the knees, a dark blue jacket that went down to just above his ankles, and under that was a beautifully embroidered lighter blue shirt. In his right hand he was carrying a tall wooden staff that was a bit gnarled at the top and a bit worn looking. He had brown hair, intense blue eyes, and a and a faint smile could be seen on his lips. As he spoke he seemed to have a very cheerful way about him “Rosell Emilyn Daniston, I have been waiting for this a very long time. It’s so good to see you my princess.” My princess? Rose thought. Suddenly, the man’s expression changed from a smile to very serious frown. “We have to go,” he said quickly. “Do not let go of my hand!” Then, with his free hand, he lifted the staff to the sky, and suddenly she was winging through the air, a blur of colors all around her. Her eyes were watering from traveling so fast; she barely had enough time to breathe. The man who had grabbed her was just above her, still holding the staff high. All of a sudden, they came to a stop. Rose took in a deep inhale of air, but quickly coughed it back out, for it tasted of manure.
When she looked around, she found that she was in what seemed to be a town square, but not of her time. The square looked to be hundreds of years old; when men were still knights, and dragons roamed the earth. But it just wasn’t possible. Just moments ago she had been at her work, just said yes to Justin when he asked her to go with him to the prom, just filled her car up with gas. How could she have come to be here? And who was this man who had just kidnapped her and was still holding on to her hand? Although, she realized, that she was the one still holding onto his.
“Milady, you may let go of my hand now. Milady?” the man said. Rose was still stunned. She blinked and squeezed her eyes closed, then opened them again. She freed her hand of the man’s loose grip to pinch herself, and yet nothing happened.
“Thank you,” said her mysterious kidnapper curtly. “We’re not safe here. A horse! A horse, yes, that’s what we need! A horse!” Rose rubbed her hand to make the blood circulation flow regularly again, for she had been squeezing the man’s hand so tight that it had cut off her circulation. She watched her companion run around in a circle, and then look for something. A horse, a horse, he kept saying. Was he looking for a horse? Yes, that must be it.
“Aha!” The man finally exclaimed as his eyes rested on a pair of brown thoroughbreds and a Pinto.
“Come, Lady! We must leave this place. ‘Tis not safe! ‘Tis not safe.” He repeated. “Come!” He grabbed Rose’s hand, and she followed without complaint, for her brain was not yet thinking correctly.
Suddenly, voices came from behind her.
“There they are! Get them!” they shouted. They were men’s voices; soldier’s voices. Rose slowly turned around, but was whipped back forward by the man who was, once again, holding her hand, still running towards the horses.
“Quick! Get on!” he urged. Letting go of Rose’s hand, he clasped his own together for a leg-up for her, who stared at him blankly.
“Milady, we haven’t much time. They shall soon be here. Please, hurry!” Rose, suddenly coming to the realization that this man was trying to help her, suddenly coming to the realization that there were men chasing her, for what reason, she knew not, and suddenly coming to the realization that if she did not put her foot in this man’s hands, they would both surely be caught within moments, she did exactly this, and the man hoisted her onto the Pinto’s bare back. She thought that she would rather be in the hands of this stranger than be taken away by the likes of those men. Her captor then hoisted himself upon one of the thoroughbreds and off they rode, just escaping the soldiers’ grasp.
They rode on through the streets, the man leading, shouting for people to get out of the way, or they would be trampled. “Please move! Yes, thank you! Please! Excuse me! Coming through!” the man said in a pleasant-but-knowing voice that if they did not hurry they would be put in prison and then to the gallows they would go.
Rose was still dazed and confused, but at least she could think properly now. Questions wondered through her head. One most particularly was who is this man and why did he kidnap me? They road on, peddler’s carts nearly knocked over several times, fruit baskets dropped, spilled, and then trampled on. People backed up into merchant’s tables, knocking those over as well, and spilling all the fine fabric, or jewelry, or pottery. Whatever seemed to be in the way that could possibly get knocked over did get knocked over. And now, not only did Rose and her companion have soldiers chasing after them; they also had the entire square mad at them.
The two on horseback rode through the streets, turning this way and that, and then suddenly, there was no more town, no more pavement, but now they were on dirt… ground… a forest. Small maple trees, thinly laid out, marked the beginning of a forest, which was becoming denser on either side of the trail of which the two companions rode. The horses bounded up the hill and then stopped at the top, turned around, and looked down upon the town.
Rose could see something moving speedily through where they had just come; dark images, many of them, heading right for the two on horsebacks. Suddenly, without warning, the horses took off again and Rose was whipped forward, unable to do anything but clutch to the precious reigns tightly.
What is he doing? the girl thought, for the two were heading right back towards the square they had just come through, and right toward whatever was chasing them. When they reached the inside of the town, they were greeted by a mob of guards, spears pointed towards them in a very unwelcoming way.
“Excuse me sirs, but if you would kindly let us pass, we would be very grate…”
Rose’s companion was cut short by a very abrupt “Silence!” A man on a very tall, white horse came riding through the parade, holding his hand up high, motioning everyone to keep quiet.
“You and this Lady have been sentenced with treason. We are ordered to take you to the Captain immediately.” Now Rose had thought that this man was the captain, with his stately look, so by now she was thinking If this man is not the captain, then I don’t want to face the man who is. But unfortunately, she would have to, or so she thought, for when she turned around, she found that there were men on all sides of them; they were surrounded. Rose swallowed and then sunk into her seat.
“If you resist,” the stately looking man continued, “you shall be punished, and then kept in prison for one crow’s flight. Then you shall be taken to the captain, if she does not choose to dispose of you earlier.”
Dispose? Rose thought. We are not garbage! And the Captain is a woman? Maybe she will give us grace, then. She then leaned forward and asked her companion in a soft whisper “How long is a crow’s flight?”
“One week.” He replied, even quieter then she, “Why they call it that, I have no idea, for crows can fly for much shorter, or longer then a week.”
“Silence!” The stately man exclaimed, quite loud, and sounding very irritated. “I shall have you put in prison if you talk one more time. I demand that you pay your elders some respect!”
“Elders!” Rose’s companion suddenly protested. “You are not our elders! Maybe a few more years older then I! Your fancy spears and swords don’t scare us,” at this point, Rose was thinking us? “And your special adornments do not make you in any higher power then we, so I would not call yourselves elders, if I were you.” Why, Rose thought, is he talking to them like this? Those lovely swords hanging by their sides could probably cut him in half any time they wanted to, so what is he doing?
But Rose’s companion knew exactly what he was doing. Well, first off, he was leaving the guards with their mouths gaping with what he had just said, and second, the stately man was reaching for his sword. Rose was now panicking. Her forehead was perspiring, her hands, holding the horse’s reigns, were drenching them with sweat as well, and there was a new knot appearing in her stomach every two seconds it seemed. She was beginning to wish she had never followed her captor’s orders.
The captain now had his sword out in plain view, but it was only halfway out of its hold, showing it’s sharp edge, and gleaming, steel blade. The captain raised his eyebrows and gave a sharp smile, but behind his eyes was everything but confidence.
What Rose was also wondering was why she was charged with treason, when she had only just arrived. Besides, she had been kidnapped. Now she was thinking that perhaps she could tell the guards that this man had captured her and they would let her go. She really couldn’t care less if her captor went to prison or not, for that was his concern, and he had kidnapped her, after all.
“You may show us your sword,” Rose’s companion spoke again, interrupting her thoughts, “but it shall put no more fear into us,” once again Rose thought us? “then an ass would.” The man continued. Okay, this is really crossing the line. Rose thought.
The guard was boiling with anger. His face was turning red, his hands, holding onto his horse’s reigns, were clenched tight, turning the knuckles white, and his legs were squeezing the horse’s belly so tight, the poor animal had to whinny to let the man know he would like to stay alive. At the same moment that his horse did this, Rose’s companion made a whinnying sound, and then the stately man’s horse bucked, and the man fell off. Then the man by Rose’s side nodded his head to the right, and the horse sped off into the woods. As the guards turned to see if their leader was okay, Rose’s companion took the opportunity to get away. He lifted the palm of his hand quickly in an upward motion toward the sky, and then suddenly both his horse, and Rose’s leaped into the air, over the guards, and back into the city. The men didn’t even notice until there was the loud sound of two sets of horse’s hoofs hitting the cobblestone behind them. There were voices streaming through the wind “How’d they… but when did they… how could they have…” and so on.
Rose bumped at least a foot into the air as the force that had impacted their fall to the ground sprang quickly back up into her seat. She gasped as they were suddenly rushing, once again, through the town square, and once again, knocked several stands and several people to the ground.
They went right through the city, came out the other end, and then just kept riding down a trail, with forests on either side of them. . “How…” Rose began, “how did we do that?”
“Oh, it’s simple.” Her companion replied. “The horses ran, we sat, and all of sudden, we’re out on the other side of the city!”
“Not that.”
“Well then, what do you mean?”
“I mean, how did we jump over those guards? That was amazing!”
“Oh, simple practice will do the trick. Some of which you need quite badly, I’m afraid.”
“Practice? Practice for what?”
“Oh, do forgive me. I am a wizard. I work magic. You may call me Joseph.”
“Joseph?”
“Aye, that’s my name! How I came along with it, I’m really not sure; I suppose it just stuck to me.”
“Don’t you have parents?”
“I can’t remember; awful long time ago that was. After you’ve been alive for one hundred and eighty years you tend to forget things.”
“You mean you’re… one hundred and eighty years… old? You don’t look a day over twenty five.”
“Thank you.”
“No, I mean… how are you able to stay alive that long? And look so young?”
“It comes with the occupation, dear. And I’m afraid you’ll be my apprentice.”
“Your apprentice?” Rose was so confused. This man who she had never met before had kidnapped her, was now bossing her around, and she didn’t even know who he was or where she was. He talked with an interesting accent, though. Maybe he is from England? No Rose! Snap out of it! Who cares where he’s from? He’s taken you to a weird place that looks like it’s hundreds of years old, he himself is five hundred and sixteen, and I think I’m going loony for none of this can be real! He’s got to be crazy. Magic is unheard of.
“This land is thousands of years old, you know.” Joseph’s statement was so abrupt Rose almost thought that he had read her thoughts, but quickly disregarded the idea.
“I did.”
“What?” Rose asked.
“I did.” Joseph repeated.
“You did what?” Rose asked impatiently.
“I read your thoughts; come on now, I know your brain can’t be that slow.”
“Hey now wait a minute, why bother telling me lies? You’ve got me here, what more do you want from me?”
“It’s not a lie. You’re going to be thinking that most of what is told to you in the next few days are lies, but trust you me, what you may think is the closest thing to the truth, is really a lie, and lies are told only in the hope that they could be truth.”
“Oh stop with the riddles.” Rose rolled her eyes.
“They’re not riddles.”
“Fine, whatever. So I’ll just go along with this little joke, pretend that you’re a wizard, I’m a fairy tale princess, and we are now in a land of prancing unicorns and talking pixies.”
“Now there’s the spirit!” Joseph said happily.
Rose gawked at the man. Why was he mocking her?
“Look, I’m in no mood to be mocked right now, thank you very much. If you’re going to kill me, can you just get on with it? Why prolong it so? And if torture is in the question, just know that…”
“Hold up there, you! Torture? Death? Why think of me so? Have I ever let any harm come to you, hmm? Think about that.” Joseph raised his eyebrows dubiously as he spoke, as if he thought that what Rose said was absolutely preposterous.
“Of course you haven’t let any harm come to me! I’ve known you for what, five minutes?”
“Oh no, a bit longer then that.” Joseph said, matter-of-factly.
Rose breathed in deeply and then exhaled a long, deep breath.
“Listen, I will do whatever you want, if you want money I’m sure I could work it off, or my parents will pay you, alright?”
“I don’t want your money, girl. Just ask no more questions and all will be well. Trust me.” There was something in Joseph’s eyes that made Rose want to trust him, but considering the circumstances she simply couldn’t. Thoughts were racing through her mind and she couldn’t shut them out, no matter how hard she tried.
She kept thinking on how this man was completely crazy. She thought that maybe this was just some sort of prank, although that town they had just run through but a few minutes ago certainly looked real enough. It must’ve taken weeks, if not months to prepare such a place. But why would anyone bother to play such a meaningless prank on someone? Although, when she had first met this Joseph he had taken her through a whirl of color. It certainly looked like they had time warped. But that couldn’t be! Nothing like that could possibly happen. But she was sure she saw lights… drugs! That must be it! As soon as Joseph, if that was even his real name, caught her he must’ve given her drugs that made her go loony and start seeing things. Perhaps the drugs were still working, even now, and making her see things?
She decided that she had to escape.
More than once Rose thought of dashing off of the horse and running into the woods surrounding her, hoping perhaps that she could find a sane person in this world of fanatics. But the large trees looked dark and dense, and the girl would have no idea where to go. Of course, she thought, there are just trees in there, nothing harmful, unlike this mad-man running around, claiming he is a wizard and what-not.
But this was a foreign land, where could she possibly be? Certainly not around anywhere civilized; if the police found out about this place they would have destroyed it immediately. Perhaps the girl had been given the drugs, and had been asleep for hours and hadn’t even known it. That’s what the swirl of colors was that she saw! After all, they say when you dream it lasts but a few seconds, the girl thought. And now she’s in some country across the world, like Nova Scotia. Oh, how am I ever going to get out of this?
“You’re thinking of escaping, well don’t even try.” The man called Joseph suddenly cut through the silence. “You know that I am a wizard, whether you choose to believe it or not, you still know that I am. And I could easily bring you back to me. Please, you needn’t worry about what lay ahead.”
Rose rolled her eyes at this. The man was definitely bonkers.
“You actually believe you’re a wizard, don’t you?” She asked, disgustedly.
“Why of course!” Joseph replied without a shadow of a doubt in his tone. “What reason have I not to believe? And what reason do you have not to believe? You saw me lift our horses over those guards back there,” Joseph nodded behind him, “and you are still unconvinced?”
“Oh, some special effects, I’m sure. But I can assure you that you’re definitely not a wizard, and whatever drugs you put in me had better not do anything to me. In fact, I think I’m beginning to get a fever, and my head hurts.” Rose put the back of her hand up to her forehead dramatically.
“Drugs? Ah! You mean sedatives? I assure you, I have given you nothing, milady. And are you feeling hot? I thought it was rather chilly outside. Hmm. No matter.”
Joseph and the girl rode on in silence, for Rose felt that she had nothing more to say to this man. It was clear that he was absolutely convinced that he was a wizard, and she would simply have to deal with it. She couldn’t stand the thought of being in the presence of a madman, but it was clear that she had no choice.
After some time Joseph finally spoke up. “We are nearing the castle, Milady.”
“Quit calling me milady, it’s disgusting!”
“In my land it is a sign of respect, so you are going to have to get used to it, I’m afraid. And… people back here think that… you are not yourself, so they will be treating you… differently.” Joseph tried to choose his words carefully as he spoke.
“How differently?” Rose inquired.
“You will see.”
Rose hated those three words. It seemed those were the only words the ‘wizard’ could utter. Those three words meant uncertainty of what lay ahead; uncertainty of who or what was to come, and uncertainty of her own fate. The girl wanted to weep and laugh at the same time. She wanted to jump off the horse and run away, and yet couldn’t bring herself to even sit up strait. She wanted to fly up high into the sky in hopes of finding a way home, but alas, none of this could come true. Rose cleared her voice to speak.
“What castle are we going to?” suddenly, Rose realized that perhaps this man had given her a clue to the puzzle; a clue to where she was. Castles were certainly not in America, Australia, or even Japan. Rose guessed that she could possibly be in Ireland or England, the latter being the more likely choice, for this man did not have an Irish accent.
“We are going to Balastir, the home of our dear King Sermyan.” Joseph replied, clapping a fist onto his chest in recognition. “It will take a few days to get there, but if we travel throughout the day tomorrow, and have no interruptions, then we might be able to make it to Balastir by nightfall.”
Nightfall! Rose couldn’t believe that it was going to take that long to get to the castle. But perhaps this would give her a way out.
The two acquaintances rode on in silence for Rose couldn’t bring herself to say anything more to this man. She had questions, yes, but she was sure that anything that this Joseph said to her would be a lie, so she dare not speak.
The rest of the day went by peacefully. Rose let her mind wonder to the beautiful surroundings and kept herself from thinking of what lay ahead. The forest was strikingly abundant in wildlife and all different kinds of birds were singing songs of fancy. The sky, just above, peering brightly through the tops of the evergreen trees was happily gleaming, with the light of the sun, a light blue.
Rose noted the creatures staring through the dark trees. She saw two deer at different times, several squirrels and rabbits, and once even a large cat prowling in the shadows. When she turned to Joseph to see if he was concerned she saw no emotion on his face and so soon forgot about the cat, who, after a few minutes, disappeared.
Soon night was falling, the sky was deepening, and streaks of pink and orange clouds began to show signs of a storm. The forest surrounding the two companions was thinning, and Rose could see light directly in front of them streaming in through a few small trees. When they reached the edge of the forest the girl saw a huddle of dark clouds above an open plain in front of her and it did not look welcoming. She turned to look behind her and found that in the rear of the forest they had just come through loomed large mountains towering above them that seemed to bar the way to any other open land. Joseph noticed the girl’s curiosity and, without turning around, explained, “About thirty miles behind us is the Pass of Shannwick, directly in the middle of those mountain ranges. To your left are the Curack Mountains and to the right their sister mountains, the Tarnacks. Joseph spoke, nodding to either side of him. “They have shielded our land for hundreds of years from many invaders that live on the other side of them. The Pass of Shannwick is one of the most used, and safest, passes in those mountains. There are many other ways out of and into our large valleys, but most are guarded by the dwarves.”
Rose rolled her eyes at the sound of dwarves, but thought it was much expected, for this man Joseph was a wizard, after all.
“Dwarves?” she questioned, nonetheless.
“Aye. They live within the Curacks, scattered through and through.”
“What makes the Pass of Shannwick the safest route, then?” Rose inquired.
“It is guarded in shifts by the king’s men. Our land is but a small piece of the puzzle that we call our world, and many regions come to and from ours. Through these mountains is the shortest route, but none dare go through them for fear of the creatures that live within and the dwarves. So many years ago the king stationed a quadrant of men to guard the pass at all times, so that people may pass through it safely and easily.”
“Oh…” Rose offered, not even considering that what she heard might be true.
“To the South, behind us,” Joseph continued, “and behind Naslieth Forest, which is what we have just passed through, lies the Arraz desert; a vast expanse of nothing but flat sand and casualties none too pleasing. Behind the Arraz lies the Ravelleck.” As he stopped speaking Rose noticed the man half-grimaced and the girl found it odd.
“The Ravelleck?” Rose questioned, interested. At least this was an engrossing fiction.
“The Ravelleck are a people, or monster rather, that will eat almost anything and live in a land far too foul for dwarf, elf, or even man to live in.”
“When you speak of these… Ravelleck… what do you mean by ‘monster’?”
“They are living beings, but hardly people. Time and darkness has warped them into something unreal. They are demonic beings now, led by a king so evil that the devil himself corrupts his heart.”
Rose almost laughed at the thought of any one such as that, but she quickly stopped when Joseph scowled at her.
After a moment, the man continued. “But the Ravelleck have allies and spies everywhere, so we must keep our voices low.”
“This far north?”
“Oh, aye. They may not have disturbed our lands for years, but they are not dormant.”
“But I thought you were a wizard,” Rose mocked. “You can do anything, right?”
“Oh no, hardly. I am but one man against many; many who fear me and wish to overtake me.”
“Oh don’t speak so highly of yourself, it’s repulsive.”
“But true.”
“But why would any one want to overtake you? Wouldn’t they want to overtake the king and not some wizard?”
“Because I am the most powerful wizard in all the land;” Joseph retorted. “If they had me, then it would be much easier to take the kingdom. They used to rebel over and over again against Sermyan; try to take over his kingdom and the land. They would pillage and raid the people, killing anything and everything in their path. They care not for life or justice. All they want is power; or what their king wants, rather. It’s almost as if he’s plagued their minds with vile filth and uses them as rats for his scientific work. But then I came along.”
Rose rolled her eyes at the man’s pride in himself, but he seemed not to notice.
“I practiced myself in the art of Wizardry and soon became very powerful. I was born to but the poor husband of one of the queen’s handmaids, and so lived within the castle. My tutor was an old magician who had not used magic in many a year, but to whom the skill had not been forgotten. He taught me all I knew, but then one day died. Soon the king learned of my work and sent for me. When he saw my skills he instructed that I take classes from a private tutor, one of the best, who even I soon outgrew. Now I sit at the king’s council table, aiding him in whatever he wishes.”
“Oh… that’s… pretty great.” Said Rose, choosing not to believe a word of it, but interested more on the subject none the less. “Alright,” she said after a moment’s consideration. “If you’re such a powerful wizard, why don’t you blow away those storm clouds up ahead?”
“No.” Joseph replied simply.
“What? Why not?”
“Because magic takes a great deal out of someone. It comes from the very energy source of your body, and if you do not use it carefully it could kill you. To blow those clouds away would be a tedious task, one of which I do not have the energy at all to partake in. Now,” he said, changing the subject purposefully, “nightfall is approaching and we shall have to find some shelter if we hope to endure that storm. We shall make camp in those woods over there.” He then nodded his head to the right and clicked his tongue, pulling the reins of the horse to turn, and Rose followed.
“Alright, then if you can lift two horses over many men, then how is it you are not able to blow away a few storm clouds?”
“It is not a matter of simply ‘blowing away’, Rose. I wish not to pursue this matter further, so please you don’t.”
Rose had many other questions that she wished answered, but thought it best to keep quiet, and keep from angering her captor.
It took longer then she thought to reach the edge of the forest, they had seemed so much closer than they really were. The branches of the gnarled trees were too thick and low to pursue on horseback, and so Joseph instructed that they get off the horses and continue on foot. After a few minutes Rose could no longer see her feet, for the forest was quite dark and the sun was no longer a help in the night.
She wondered how Joseph seemed to have such sure footing when she kept stumbling over rocks and roots, struggling to keep her balance. Each time she fell Joseph turned around and politely helped her back up, but then continued on in silence.
After what seemed like eternity the two reached a clearing in the woods, where moonlight streamed down through a few patches in the forested ceiling above. There were two rocks large enough to sit on, and Rose immediately dropped the reins of her horse and sat down on one to the left. But when she noticed Joseph tying his horse’s reigns to the bough of a tree she quickly stood back up and did the same with hers.
A blazing fire was soon set and Joseph had started a stew. He uprooted a few plants that grew on the outskirts of the clearing and ground up the roots, sprinkling them into the boiling water. He added a few pieces of raw meat from his saddle bag, and then some herbs and vegetables. Once it was done cooking Joseph offered Rose a bowl but she said she wasn’t hungry. The man shrugged, said “suit yourself” and poured himself a steaming bowl of the hot soup and then left the pot to simmer.
As Joseph ate, Rose thought of how to escape. She decided to wait until the man fell asleep and then would stow away on one of the horses. By the time she had completed her plan, Joseph had finished eating and announced he was going to bed.
“I don’t think you will try to escape,” he said, “but incase you do, just remember that you don’t know this land as I do and that it will be quite easy for me to track you down. You also might want to take into consideration that my senses are extremely enhanced and if you even step on one small branch and it cracks it will alert me and I will find you. I’d hate to have to chain you up, but worst comes to worst….” He trailed off in a yawn and then added, “Well, sleep peacefully! And I do hope to see you in the morning.” He smiled goodnight, poured a bit of water on the fire to quiet it down, and then lay down on a blanket a few feet away from the blazes.
Rose soon did the same, covering herself with a cloak she found in one of Joseph’s saddle bags. She found it quite easy to stay awake, for although she was tired, she did not want to close her eyes for fear of the prowlers that could at any moment attack her in the night, the least of which she felt was Joseph. The sounds of all the animals crept through her mind like screeching maggots, portraying evil and fear wherever they went. But the girl finally came up with a solution. She found it helpful to sing to herself, which also helped her to stay awake.
All I need to do is stay awake until he falls asleep. That’s all. Stay awake, and then run away. Nothing more. Rose repeated these words in her head for quite sometime until she was saying them absentmindedly while thinking about other things. But soon weariness and sleep overtook her. Her eyes became droopy, and no matter her efforts to keep them open, she soon found herself dozing off in a guarded slumber.
It seemed only a few minutes had passed by when she woke up to loud cracks emitting from the fire and the scrape of wood on wood. She coaxed her eyes open and realized that it was light where she lay. She turned around and found Joseph across from the fire, spooning the last bits of stew into his mouth from a bowl.
Oh no! I must have slept all night! She thought.
“Oh, uh, Rose?” Joseph began, still bringing the spoon in frequent stops from the bowl to his mouth. “Were you…” he paused, set his bowl down, licked the back of his spoon and then pointed the utensil at her, “were you by any chance singing last night?” he finished.
Rose rubbed her eyes and then slid her hand from her eyes down her nose and finally over her mouth, and then combed her hair with her fingers before she answered, “I suppose I was.”
“Oh. I thought so. What were you doing that for?”
“I don’t know, but… how long have you been up?” she asked hastily, wanting to get the man off of that embarrassing subject.
“Not very long. Put the pot back on the fire and heated it up. Just finished, as I’m sure you saw. Would you like some? It’s still hot. Or I could heat it back up for you, if you like.”
Rose was about to object again, but she had not eaten for almost sixteen hours and her stomach grumbled.
“I suppose I’ll take some.”
“Good! I was beginning to worry if you were one of those creatures that never ate; of course, I’ve never seen them in your world, but no matter.”
Rose gave Joseph a look that would’ve been unbearable had the man received it.
“Would you like it heated up a bit more?” the wizard asked, a ladle hanging above the pot ready to pour hot soup into a bowl.
“No.”
“Are you sure? It’s no trouble.”
“No thank you.” Rose repeated, irritably.
Joseph mumbled something under his breath that Rose was sure was directed to her and was about to question him, but then at the last minute decided not to. Joseph handed the bowl of stew to the girl and then added, “Eat it quickly. I would like to get an early start today; no dawdling. I hope to make it to Balastir by sunset.”
Rose said nothing but simply ate her soup. By the time she had finished Joseph had gathered the supplies and readied the horses. Rose was scooping one last drop of the welcomed food into her mouth when Joseph asked, “would you like your cloak?”
It was then that Rose realized that, despite the warm soup, her arms were getting cold. She noted that she must have left her cloak by the blanket when she had gotten up that morning. Rose nodded and Joseph exchanged the cloak for Rose’s bowl and spoon.
Soon they were on their way to the castle. The horses were at a gallop and Rose was beginning to loathe the cold air that was winding her. She was too cold to speak, and felt she had nothing to say anyway, and so the ride was a silent one.
After a few hours Joseph said that they were nearing the castle. Rose warily anticipated what lay ahead for her. She wondered if there would be a telephone inside the castle or if even that would be medieval and there would be no electricity at all.
Suddenly, as the two turned a corner Rose gazed in amazement at the great spectacle of the Castle Balastir. Whoa… now this must be real. She thought ad the two neared the great monument.