Kelt's Story. Chap one: continued

Attention everyone that reads this! This is the continuation of a previous part. If you haven't read that part yet, you should to better understand where these characters are coming from. However, if you choose to read on, know that this is still a work in progress, as is the first part of this chapter. Reviews are gratefully accepted, but be gentle. A cruel review may kill my muse at so fragile a stage in this story's game. This is written like a journel entry, mind you. When you see the *, it represents a change in tense. Mostly, this will be in the past tense, but there is a time when our narrator switches to his present time. As always, I hope you enjoy, and in depth reviews are always rewarded with another in depth review of your choosing by me!! Ashley



Chap One(continued)




I ducked behind a tree once the figures grabbed the Elves. I knew I would be no help to them captured.

I watched as the figures bound the family’s hands then led them at sword point to a herd of stamping, snorting horses. They weren’t the only ones forced to mount the beasts: every captured Elf had been tied to a fussing steed.

It looked like every precaution was being taken to ensure the Elves were not killed. This made me wonder what plans the invaders had for the colonists. Being a highlander and used to seeing this happen all the time, I first assumed the poor captives would become slaves. Then I remembered Belera didn't deal in such a trade, so why had this colony been attacked? Were they to become prisoners? Possibly, but What had these peaceful people done to deserve a life behind bars?

I knew I could not stand around and allow them to be taken. I counted the invaders located on and near the horses. An easy hundred. Rushing in and trying to free the Elves by force was a good way to get myself killed. I put my forehead to the tree’s bark and tried to block out the noise around me to come up with a different approach. Think. Think!

I felt a hand grab the back of my neck.I whirled around like a wild animal, stabbing my fillet knife blindly downward. My blade clanged off my aggressor’s metal armguard and I felt someone’s knuckles smash into the side of my lower jaw.

“What in the gods are you doing?” a young man’s gruff voice hollered in incredulity. I tasted blood as I was shoved backwards into the tree and punched again, the blow snapping my face sideways. Two powerful hands then grabbed me by my cloak collar and yanked me toward a pair of critical brown eyes. “Get your act together, Soldier, or I’ll straighten you out myself!”

Soldier? I could tell the dark eyed man glaring back at me was a Human, but the greedy night held the rest of his features from me. He had, however, just given me a great idea. “'Pologies, Sir,” I mumbled.

“An apology? Is that all you have to say for yourself?” I was kneed in the gut twice before the man decided he’d had his way with me. “At least give me a reason why you feel attacking your commanding officer is more amusing than herding up a few stray dogs.”

I knew if I answered him he would know what I was, but it seemed it might be a lot less painful than not saying anything. “A thought ye ane o them Elves set on attackin me, Cap.”

Like I figured he might, the man narrowed his gaze at me when I spoke. “A highlander.” It was more a statement than a question. “Don’t get many of your kind in this stretch of the country.”

I could tell he wanted me to explain. “Came here an account o guid fightin oppartunities. Ward spreads quickly abewt the promises o war, Sir.”

“Forget promises, lad. This country’s already at war.” He looked me over again and frowned. “Why isn’t your hood pulled over your head?”

I tried to blot out the screams of the terrified and the choke of smoke. “Too stuffy, Sir. And the fabric gives me a terrible rash.”

“Well, fix it before we leave here!” He didn’t give me the chance to pick up the hood from my shoulders before doing it for me. He then cuffed me behind the ears. “We’re not supposed to be doing this right now, remember? It’s supposed to be Panderin’s men carrying out the orders to burn the village and kill everyone in it. I don’t want anyone seeing your face while we’re traveling with the Elves because it’ll be traced back to me and I can’t afford to stand in front of another counsel. Panderin can only lie so much for me. The King will find us out if we make but one mistake."

A woman was fighting her captors from my right. They struck her and carried her limp body to the horse. "Why can'Panderin dae this mission?" I asked, ignoring the violence. "It is his, right?"

The explosion of fire filled my ears. The captain had no trouble yelling over it. "If I wasn't too tired, I'd beat you senseless. You know well enough why Panderin can't do this! I told you all before." "Perhaps if you men weren't always drunk when I went over our missions you might know a thing or two about them. I'm the only one able to relocate the Elves."

I scratched at my head, impressed at how well I played dumb. "So yer impersonatin an officer?"

"I’m making us all impersonate an entire hundred and fifty troop company!" This time, I ducked the punch and held my laugher as the captain's fist hit the tree. "Let these misdemeanors get added to my standing record," --he snarled at me, shaking his inflicted hand in the air-- "and my head'll be mounted on the garrison wall for treason!”

The sounds of panic and torment died down. I glanced over and saw the entire colony mounted with the soldiers. Some were unconscious, hanging limply over their horse's back like a saddle. Most were awake and the soldiers couldn't stop them from cursing or pleading for their freedom in Elvish. I looked back to my captain and frowned. “But ware nae disabeyin orders i ware gaen ti kill the Elves, right?”

“We’re not killing them!” He slammed me against the tree again, rattling my nerves. “You haven’t been killing them, have you?” By now, our little conversation had attracted a few soldiers. Some rolled their eyes behind the captain's back, while most of them jeered and riviled in what they thought was my humiliation. I wasn't humiliated, though. I had to punch myself a few times just to keep a straight face. And I thought Leb was insane!

"If we don’ plan ti kill them," I said out loud, "what will we dae with them?”

My incredulous commanding officer looked me over a third time and scowled. “I don’t recall seeing your face before. And where is your crest?”

I pretended to grope for it on my cloak. I then looked up and shrugged. “Guess it fell off, Sir.”

I pretended to squirm under his scrutiny for another minute before he rolled his eyes and grabbed the neck of my cloak. “You’re hopeless! Dustin will make you a new one once we get back, but you’d better take care not to lose that one once he does! That piece of medal isn’t cheap. Prove to me you’re worthy to wear it by keeping an eye on it!”

“Aye, Sir.”

“Fine!” He released my collar and cuffed me a final time behind the ears for extra measure. With that he spat at the ground and stalked away. “Now get over to the horses and choose yourself a prisoner to guard. We leave now.”

The red haired girl I had met before was none too happy to see me approach her and strap my supplies to the horse her animal was being led by. We set off the moment I’d mounted, horses splashing into the river then tearing up the grassland in a thick, thundering cloud. I made sure I brought up the rear so I’d have someone to follow. I would also have a lower chance of being missed when I decided to desert.

The night was leaving. I'd never seen such a large moon! Even the hills on the horizon couldn't hide it as it sank. Two soldiers flanked me as we charged on: one was a tall, lanky young fellow, the other, a medium built lad. I couldn’t see their features due to their hoods, but I could judge their age by their voices. They just so happened to be leading the girl’s mother and father. However, the two older Elves were too involved with their own thoughts to curse me in Elvish. It was a good thing, too, for if they wanted to show their hatred of me they would have needed to wait in line behind their daughter.

Her dagger eyes had been burning my back ever since we’d left her colony. I coughed on the clouds of smoke the horses in front of me kicked up. “Woman, A can explain.”

“What is there to explain?" she hissed from the horse behind me. "You are one of them! Father was right about you. He told me he sensed your heart held too many secrets. I was a fool not to believe him.”

“Believe what ye want,” I replied with indifference.

“I will! You wanted to know where Dale was so you could drag my people there to imprison us.”

I smirked. “Believe what ye want.” I winked at my two comrades. They laughed.

“I hate you!” the girl shrieked. I was glad her hands were tied. She was within throwing distance of me and she wore boots. And after the captain had introduced himself to me, I wasn't in the mood to be stuck in the head anymore. “I hate you and I hope you die for your dishonesty!”

I shrugged. “Sarry ye feel that way.” I pretended to see something interesting in the grassland beside me and the soldiers turned to follow my gaze. Once they were distracted, I yanked my horse by the mane and braced myself for the sudden stop, lest I be thrown off.

The beast reared and made a fuss while I pretended to work futilely to calm it down. The two soldiers by then had shifted their attention back to me as my horse practically walked me around on its hind legs. They slowed their own mounts in concern.

“Hey, Jon, what’d you do to that beast?” Lanky asked.

“Hard ti say.” Though I feigned surprise, I didn’t pretend to hold on for dear life. I hadn’t expected the horse to react so well. “Easy thare, kipper. Whoa!”

“That isn’t working, man.” Medium Build's stated the obvious. “I think your ride has gone mad. We’ll have to poison it when we get back to base.”

The girl behind me took the words right out of my mouth. I didn’t know if she had caught on to my scheme and was playing along or if she truly thought she was setting me and the other soldiers straight with her lecture. I may never know. “You pucus!” she spat, fighting with her bonds like an angry mountain lion. “The poor thing probably just caught a stone between its hoof. Take the pebble out and he will be fine.”

“Well, well. Aren’t we the cocky little wench?” Lanky dropped his horse back with the girl and lashed out. The slap echoed in my head, but I didn’t let it show. Judging by the handling of the Elves so far, soldiers weren't supposed to care what happened to these Elves as long as they didn't die.

Meanwhile, my gray gelding had returned to its forelegs. I couldn’t have that, so I yanked its mane again when the other men were busy taunting the Elf girl. Up went the forelegs, flailing in the early morning air. My comrades turned from the girl to curse. Their arms flailed as they tried to grab hold of my mount’s bridle. “Take him by the bit, Man!”

“You ride like my grandma.” The two found Medium Build’s little jibe worth hiccuping over.

“Keep i dewn,” I hissed, finally getting the beast back on four hooves again. “Ye want the Cap tae hear? A’ve already been reamed into bi His Majesty once tonight. I don’ plan ti make a habit o it.” I was surprised when the men actually closed up. I guess they respect each other more in this country. By then, my horse’s tantrum and the two soldiers’ fascination of it had caused us to fall dangerously behind the rest of the company.

I could see the unease on my comrades’ faces. It wasn’t long before they started charging ahead. The two elder Elves they led behind them glanced over their shoulders at me in suspicion. I nearly ripped my horse’s mane off to get it to rear again. I screamed in actual fear as it walked me around on two legs again and nearly fell backwards on top of me.

The anxious horsemen glanced back at me and then to the black cloud on the horizon. “Hey, Jon.” Apparently they thought I looked like a Jon. “You coming?”

“Think I should stop ti check the ald geldin’s fute,” I grunted as my ride whipped me around like a leaf in a fell wind. “A’ll niver git anawhere with him, otherwise.”

Lanky bit his lip. “We’re falling behind, Jon. None of us know the way back.”

Medium Build nodded. “And I hear there are wolves out here at night. Vicious, man eating beasts, the lot of them.”

I rolled my eyes at the men’s heroics. “An' ye call yerselves saldiers.” I settled my horse, took two steps with it, and then clung to its back as it reared. The Elf girl behind me was calling me something in her own foreign tongue, but I ignored it. “Fyne. Gae on ahead. If I don’ catch up with ye soon, don’ come back fer me. I nae the way well enough ti gae it alone. An' most wolves don’ seem tae lik the way I taste.” I frowned, inwardly hoping only the first part of that was a lie.

Lanky nodded. “Right, then. We should probably take your prisoner for you.” He guided his trotter over to the girl and reached for her. She bit him. Inwardly I was impressed by her nerve, but I was forced to strike her in the face because I had seen her act out.

“Keep yer diseases ti yerself, vixen,” I rebuked. The rage she threw back at me was genuine; it helped convince the soldiers of my sincerity as I turned to them and shook my head. “No. I should probably keep her--less yer luekin tae lose a few fingers, thare. 'Sides, if A end up havin tae fin m'way back alone, A’d bi better awf carryin a prisoner with me so the Cap’n doesn’ yell at me.”

“Knowing the Cap, he’ll yell at you no matter what.”

“Maybe havin a prisoner in tow will lower the tone o his voice a bit when he gets in m'face.”

The two shrugged. I could tell they didn’t understand my reasoning, but they were more concerned of their own standings with the commanding officer. So they bade me luck and turned their mounts around. I caught the faintest hint of a smile on the elder Elves’ faces as they faded off into the sunrise behind the two soldiers. The girl had noticed her parents' reactions, too.



I watched the sun completely rise in the sky and turn the Breadbasket a bright hue of gold. The glare of the dew covered grass hurt my eyes and I still remember the annoying squawk of some deranged goose nearly driving me insane. It should consider itself lucky I never found it. Still, I waited for five more minutes, just to make sure no search party would ride out to get me. No one came.

I then dismounted and walked back to the girl. Her expression hadn’t changed, which meant neither had her feelings for me. As I struggled to untie her bonds I kept wondering what “karicate” meant. I then figured I didn’t want to know because she said it with such an acid spit to her mouth that I knew it couldn’t be good. It made me wonder just how “wholesome” she really was.

Her bonds had to be cut in many places because she was literally tied to the horse. Once I had sawed the ropes off her hands, she snatched the knife from me. Apparently she didn’t trust me with her other body parts. I waited in silence, enjoying a few bites of sweet bread from my pack. I offered some to the girl. She took it and then hurled it back at me. Apparently, she hadn't been hungry.

“Why did you help me?” she asked finally, my cheeks stuffed with bread. “And why did you not help my parents?”

“A pretty unfair question, don’ ye think. I didn’ have tae save anaone if I didn’ want ti.” I took another mouthful, chewed and swallowed. “Did ye or did ye not want ti bi rescued?”

“I have been separated from my parents,” came the reply. “I would rather suffer the same fate as them, if it would allow me to be with them instead of you.”

“Harsh.”

”It is the truth!” She then lashed out with a bit of rope.

I caught it before it whipped my cheek. “Yer welcome.”

She pulled the rope away in resentment and stroked her horse's white mane for a while in silence. “I do not thank you for saving me, because I know your decision to do so was selfishly motivated.”

Maybe she thought I was going to try defending myself or denying her accusations, because I think I disarmed her when I agreed. “Yer right.” I set my horse into an easy trot and waited for her to follow. “I need ye.”

“You ask too much of me after you and your comrades—“

“They warn’ m' comrades. I don’ care if ye believe me or not, but I didn’ even nae those men. The anly reason I rode with them was so A coud get tae ye.”

“Liar!”

“An' what would I gain bi daein that?” I glared at her in challenge. “If I truly was a soldier why woud A desert lik that an' risk gettin executed just ti prove a pynt?”

“Because you wish to find Dale.”

“A’m sure most o those soldiers nae whare Dale is, too, so I coud have . . . .” Once I said this that I wanted to punch myself. If that were true and those soldiers did know how to get to Dale, why had I gone through all the trouble of getting the girl so she could show me? And what if those soldiers had been heading for Dale all along? I made a noise of frustration as I blew air out of my mouth. The girl noticed my reaction and was smart enough to put the pieces together. She ended up throwing my exact same thoughts back at me. I continued to inhale and exhale loudly. The girl was smiling as she rode up beside me.

“You made a mistake.” She shoved my forehead with her fingertips.

I scowled and set my horse into a run. “How dae ye nae I didn'?” I called back, though, by then I no longer believed my own words. “How dae ye nae I didn’ save ye because I tuek pety on yer pathetic cryin?”

Her cynical laughter rose up behind me. “I cannot see you as one to take pity on someone. You made a mistake.”

“What if A did!” I became increasingly defensive as she and I rode on. But the more I argued, the more I realized I would not win the fight. Finally, I reverted to silence to save what little sanity I had left and to ultimately shut the girl up. The crisp morning air and rhythm of the horse under me calmed me enough to think of my mistakes at my own pace.
**************************************************


I return to my present thoughts now. I still don’t know why I took the girl with me. Why hadn’t I just continued on with those soldiers? I make my head hurt the more I puzzle over the problem.

When I think back to the moment when I’d made my decision, I remember thinking only of the girl and how she would help me. She filled my head so much, I think everything else I did at that time was done as a means of getting her. The possibility of finding Dale through the soldiers never came to me. I knew I had to get the girl. Actually, I think that meant more to me than seeing Nolan and starting my life anew.

Listen, don’t smirk as you read this and think I saved that wench because I fell in love with her! I don’t believe in love at first sight. I don’t believe in love! My past never proved to me love existed. Even Rachel, who I had looked up to, was nothing more than a good friend and confidant. We could relate to each other because of our similar hardships. I guess we gave each other strength. Yes, I cared for her, but no, I didn’t love her. She might not have looked it, but she was old enough to be my mother.

With that in mind, you'll never hear me refer to her as the “mother I never had.” I’m content with not having to call anyone my mother. As far as I'm concerned, I have no family. I like being detached, free from commitment. Besides Rachel’s memory, I depend on no one but myself.

I look at the girl again as I sit here in the forest, on the rock, and scribble. She doesn’t look at me. She stays huddled in her little ball, closed off from my presence, unable to admit she is freezing in this night chill. I don’t care. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, that gives me less to worry about. Inferno is getting impatient. I haven’t seen or heard from those creatures for a long time, so I guess it’s safe to lead him out for a graze. Besides, I have to get some fresh air. And nature calls. Hey, Magilicline said to write down everything. Once again, go blame him. I wonder if she and I will ever see him again.

I’m reminded of the stone I still clutch in my other hand, and I look at it in the moon’s light. It still looks just like an ordinary stone. But I’ll hold onto it. Magilicline said it was special. It might come in handy. If, for nothing else, it will make a good skipping stone come the next pond we reach. I have to entertain myself somehow, don’t I? There’s nothing else to do in this gods-forsaken woodland.

I really wrote this much? Already! By the gods, no wonder I have blisters on my thumb! That’s it, I’m done! I got to get out of here for a bit. I’m not a writer, remember that. I guess I just had a lot to say. I’ll finish up my story for you later. Hopefully my future entries won’t be so back-bending. And if they are, deal with it! If I have to live this journey, the least you can do is sit through it. Otherwise, if you aren’t impressed so far, put this book down and get out of here! I haven’t the time to go showing off for you.

I realize I haven’t told you my name yet. But do I really need to? If you’ve gotten this far, you already know who I am. Make up a name for me, if I’ve affected you. Otherwise, I’m okay with being nameless.

Sakes alive, do I sound like the woman I came out of? Can’t have that. They call me Kelt Hanar. You can call me something else entirely.

Mostly, I call myself a fool.

Why else would I be here if I wasn’t one?

What's that? Inferno is acting strange. Has he heard something? Have they returned? Did they ever leave? Or have they just been waiting for us to drop our guard. I don't want to frighten the girl. I'll make up some excuse for me having to leave. She won't understand. If you do, that's all that matters. And if you never read another entry in my scribble . . . . don't mourn me. The girl won't.