Part 1: A Difficult Road

The torches on both sides of the carriage had long gone out. Ronhaer was not happy. Accursed rain! Sure, there's a tarp above my head, but with this blasted wind it may as well be made of straw. Why is it that even on these overly pampered carriages they don't afford the driver the luxury of some shelter from the wind? My clothes are soaked right through and the chill's clawing at my very bones - while they sit there, comfortably ignorant. This better not last the night. He let out a sigh and urged the horses to make haste with a swift lash of the reins.

On occasion, whenever the wind settled for a moment, the voices from inside the carriage traveled all the way to Ronhaer's ears.

"Mother, I'm scared." It was the girl's voice. He had never learned her name.

"It's just the wind. Nothing to worry about."

"How long til we get home?"

"Soon Teia. Try to get some sleep, we should be back at the castle by morning." answered Lady Andala. "Before you know it you'll be playing in the courtyard with your cousins again, Prince Jonse and Princess Tanri, and auntie Elethia will be putting you to bed with her fairy tales."

"I miss them."

The wind picked up again. The rain became heavier, clobbering the ground mercilessly as if in retribution for some long past transgression. Ronhaer muttered out a curse under his breath.

The carriage now began voicing its own complaints. The wood was creaking painfully under the pressure of the wind. Its lavish construction was of no consequence here, there was only so much punishment it could take. The road was no friend either; the rain had dug out countless potholes whose goal seemed only to devour the carriage's wheels. With every resulting echoing thud the carriage seemed closer to breaking apart and giving up on the journey entirely. The ominous noises were almost intelligible.

I think we all share that sentiment. Ronhaer thought in reply.

The night and storm slowly rolled to an end. The sky was now clear, the stars slowly fading away, the wind settled, even the road seemed to have given up on its attacks. The only sounds now came from the carriage's wheels and horses' hooves beating against the muddy road.

Ronhaer marveled at the beasts that headed the carriage. They had made no sound throughout the whole night and were still marching on tirelessly. They were both stallions with rich black hair. Both stood high and proud. One of them seemed slightly discontent, the other overly defiant, yet both held a look of mystery, intelligence, and purpose in their eyes. They were doing this because they wanted to, not because they were forced to. He suddenly felt somewhat less significant.

There was an old abandoned mill coming up ahead, probably the only attraction on an otherwise desolate road. As they neared the mill, Ronhaer pulled on the reins to signal the horses to halt.

"Finally." A voice boomed out from behind the mill. "We were beginning to think you wouldn't make it."

Three men came out from behind the mill. Two of them hurried into the carriage. A few muffled screams made their way out into the open air before silence took over the cabin once again. Ronhaer stepped off the carriage.

"I'm here, as agreed." he answered apathetically.

"Cheer up Ron. There's a few horses back by the mill. Take one." the man said as he loosed a pouch from his belt. "Here you go, fifty rubies. The rest when we get the ransom."

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Author's note: This story came about from a psychological exercise that was meant to reveal certain aspects of your mental and physical health. The point was to draw a horse, carriage, driver, and passenger, and then write a description of the scene from the point of view of each of those characters. I decided to take some creative liberty, and ended up with what you see before you.

Unfortunately there's no beginning or ending to this. It's simply a snapshot of a story, a single scene from a play. I might pick it up again, I enjoyed writing this piece, but for now this is all there is, and the only answers available are the ones already in the story.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it in spite of the short length.

Addendum 2013: I might continue this story, so I've changed the title to include the "Part 1:".