The Secrets of Rigalda - part 3

As dawn approached the next morning, Khira sat quietly on a haystack inside of the sheep barn behind Arista’s house. She was surprisingly calm, fully confident in what she had done, in the decision she had made. She felt Enota's complete peace. He was with her and would take care of her.

She had spent the night in the forest with her horse and planned to sneak over to the palazzo at noon to see if Keifer was still in Crada. If not, she was going to find someone who could tell her where he was and then go after him. She hoped she wasn’t too late.

But before all that happened, she needed some supplies. Her parents had taken away her racing saddle because they didn’t want her astride on a horse. The sidesaddle would never do for long journeys through uneven terrain, and neither would riding bareback. So she had come here to borrow a saddle, a water canteen, a knife, and a few other favors from Will. Her fingers were crossed that he would help. He was the only one she might be able to trust to keep a secret.

“Khira?” came a voice from her right. “What are you doing here?” He eyed her up and down. “Dressed like that?”

Startled, Khira jumped off the haystack and turned to face him. As predicted, Arista’s older brother was first to the barn to start the chores. His copper-colored hair was lopsided and his blue eyes still groggy, and he looked utterly confused to see her.

“Hi…Will,” she began hesitantly. “I, um…I need your help.”

His eyes widened. “You need my help?”

“Yeah. I…I was hoping you’d lend me a few things.”

“Like what?” He regarded her with a strange combination of wariness and eagerness.

“Um…a knife, a water canteen, maybe a cloth sack, a blanket…and…” she lifted her eyes to his, “a saddle?”

“A saddle?” he echoed, and laughed a little. “Whatever would you need a saddle for, Khira? I thought you had plenty.”

“Remember that time when my parents caught me racing behind the granary with you and your friends?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, after that they took away my saddle and gave me a side-saddle instead. I can’t ride in the thing.”

“Fair enough. But what about the rest? A knife? A Water canteen? Are you running away or something?”

Khira studied him for a moment, hesitant about telling him the truth. In all honesty, she didn’t know why she should worry, because Will had always been loyal when they were younger. Compared to Liev, he’d treated her like a saint. In fact, they’d been pretty good friends as children, but over the years had grown apart. Mostly it was due to her ever-increasing dislike towards men. But that wasn’t Will’s fault, and anyway she didn’t have any other options. With a sigh she plopped down onto the hay. “Will, can you keep a secret?”

He grew serious then, and at last moved from his distant stance to approach her. “Why are you being so…nice?”

“What?”

“I mean, you’ve been ignoring me for years.”

“What’s that got to do with keeping a secret?”

“I’m just trying to figure out if you’re using me or if you’re being sincere.”

Khira couldn’t meet his gaze, for she wasn’t so sure of the answer herself. But clearly she needed his help, so she forced herself to look up. “I’ve never been more sincere in my life, Will.” She wanted to explain, to apologize, to wipe that strained expression off his face, but the words wouldn’t come. She exhaled quietly. “Can you help?”

For a long momenet he considered her words, and Khira wondered if he would refuse her. But then he drew in a breath and asked, “What’s the secret?”

The tension bled out of her. “I’m leaving. I can’t stay here anymore.”

He hardly seemed surprised. “Khira, you’ve always been rash, but this…this is big. You can’t back out halfway through and you can’t just bandage things up if it goes wrong.”

“Will, my parents are trying to turn me into someone I’m not. And they want me to marry Master Teagan.”

“Master Teagan? The old guy?”

“Yeah.”

Will relented a little. “I guess I can understand that. But think about it, Khira. You’d never survive on your own out there, even if you are resourceful. It’s dangerous.”

“I’m not going to be alone. I’m leaving with Keifer.”

His eyes widened as the name registered, and he drew back as if he’d been slapped, his face suddenly gone white. “You’re…you’re an Enotian?”

Khira cringed. “I thought you’d heard about that.”

He stared at her, speechless.

“I realized that the Erudites are wrong,” she explained, nervously averting her eyes and fingering a few strands of hay. “I believe Enota is the truth, and I want to serve him. I can’t serve him if I’m stuck here in Crada married to a Scholar.”

He ran a hand nervously through his unkempt hair, clearly distressed to hear this news. “How long have you felt this way?”

“Almost a year. I was too afraid to tell anyone, but now I can’t keep silent anymore. So I’m going with Keifer.”

“But…you’re a girl. He’d never-“

“He doesn’t know. I can be a pretty convincing boy. I mean, look at me.”

Will turned from her and began pacing the aisle. “Khira …I’m not sure I can help you do this.”

“Why not?”

“You’re lying and deceiving people who love you and going on a journey that could very well be your death.” He stopped abruptly and faced her. “Is that what you want?”

“I’m not lying, I’m just leaving. I’d be lying to myself if I stayed. And my parents don’t love me. If they did they wouldn’t treat me like they own me. And as for the journey, I’d rather die serving Enota than from depression being married to Master Teagan!”

Her passion seemed to move him, for he sighed deeply and conceeded, disappearing into the supply room down the aisle. After a few minutes he returned with a cloth sack filled with her requests. He handed it to her, unable to meet her eyes. “Here. I threw in a few extra things, too. I’ll get the saddle.”

Khira felt her eyes watering and found she couldn’t speak. She hadn’t expected this to be so difficult, but for some reason she felt like she was letting him down.

“Where’s your horse?” Will asked, saddle in his arms.

“Follow me.” She walked out the back side of the barn and led him a good fifty feet into the woods, where Magic was tied to a tree, his neck stretched upwards and teeth pulling at the leaves on a branch above him.

“He looks healthier every time I see him.” Will slung the saddle onto Magic’s strong back. The stallion’s ears flew backwards.

“Easy boy.” Khira stroked his nose.

Will snugged the cinch. “There. You’re set to go.”

“There’s one more thing.”

He raised an eyebrow.

Khira fished into her sack and drew out the knife. She pulled off the leather cover and hesitated for a minute, running her index finger over its shiny surface. Then she drew in a steady breath and handed it to Will. “Would you cut my hair?”

“Your hair? But it’s so long, and…”

“I know. But sooner or later I’ll have to take my hat off around them and they’ll realize I’m a girl. So please?” She lifted the hat off her head and her hair tumbled down her back.

He sighed reluctantly, but raised the knife anyway. “You owe me for this,” he muttered, sawing through the silky texture of her hair just below chin length.

Khira was quiet for a minute, the reality of what she was doing penetrating deep within her. She was running away. She was giving up everything that she knew, everything that was comfortable, and stepping out into the unknown. “Will?”

“Hmm?” He continued sawing through her thick hair.

“Would you like to breed Magic to one of your mares?”

He paused, blade halting mid-stroke. “Did you just say what I think you said?”

“Yeah.”

He turned his attention back to her hair. “That’s nice of you, but you don’t have to buy my help, Khira.”

“I’m not buying your help. It’s a thank you gift. I know how much you’ve wanted a colt from him.”

“You’re leaving. There’s no time.”

“Maybe not now, but the next time I come through Crada…”

“Khira,” he interrupted firmly. “We both know there probably won’t be a next time.”

They were both sober after that, and in a few minutes Will had severed off the majority of her hair. It settled into a pile on the dirt, and they both stood there for a moment just staring at it. Khira felt as though she had become a different person.

Slowly, she put her hat back on her head and tied her sack onto the side of Magic’s saddle. Then she turned to Will. She didn’t even know what to say to him, how to thank him. “Will…I…”

“It’s okay.” He shrugged. “I won’t tell anyone.”

Overwhelmed, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a quick hug. “Thank you.” Without looking back, she swung up into the saddle, touched Magic’s sides with her heels, and trotted off into the distance.

* * *

Just as she’d hoped, Keifer was at the palazzo at noon that day talking about giving and selflessness. The crowd was infinitely larger than Khira remembered, and the Scholars had increased in number, too. Keifer announced to the people that today would be his last day, and that he was leaving that afternoon. His new disciples groaned and cried their protest, but he would not listen. He told them his only purpose was to obey Enota, and when Enota told him to move on, he did. Khira hid in the bushes until the meeting was over, then ran to get Magic and waited out past the lookout tower just south of town until she saw Keifer and his followers emerge from a cluster of bright green engelwood trees. She followed them at a distance until they had cleared out of the city, then approached.

Her heart pounded as she cantered Magic toward the dots on the horizon. She was nervous, for she didn’t know whether Keifer would reject her or allow her to stay. She had nowhere else to go if he refused her, for returning to Crada would be a disaster. She had to trust that Enota would provide a way.

She caught up with them quickly on main road heading southeast. It was a well-worn path that eventually met up with the Reshat River, a branch of the massive, powerful Great Irresan, and ended at the eastern coast of Norolon.
It was Austin, bringing up the rear on his pony, who first noticed her, and he called out to his friends. “Hey, ya’ll! It’s Shay on his big beauty.”

Magic seemed to understand the compliment and pranced a little more.

“Well, well,” he drawled, reining his pony up beside Khira. “We didn’t know what happened to you.”

Khira lowered her eyes and her voice. Her skin tingled nervously. “It’s a long story.” Please, Enota, help Keifer understand that I must go with him.

Austin cocked a brow at her, and there was awkward silence.

“Shay, what are you doing here?” Keifer asked as he trotted up, Riley behind him. For some reason he looked worried.

Khira swallowed. “Um…I…I was hoping you’d let me go with you.”

She half expected him to laugh at her, or to immediately send her home, but instead he stared at her solemnly, his eyes dark with indecision. At length he glanced away, closed his eyes. Was he praying?

Khira waited impatiently, her heart still slamming against her chest. Finally he looked up at her and attempted a smile, though she could tell it was strained. “You may come with us. But I must warn you of the dangers. This will not be an easy journey.”

A wave of relief swept over her then, and she sighed heavily. “Thank you so much!”

Keifer narrowed his eyes. “This will not be easy, Shay. There will be storms and fights and blood and possible death.”

Was he trying to change her mind? “Of course I’m concerned about the danger, sir. But I believe I’d be in more danger if I did not obey Enota’s calling in my life.”

That seemed to convince him of her resolve, and he nodded with reluctant approval. “Very well. We’re heading to Raydoni. You can start by keeping watch behind with Austin.” He reined his horse around, and moved up to the front. The troupe trudged on.

“Raydoni?” Khira glanced at Austin. Shades of salt and pepper dotted his red beard.

“Good-sized town five days from here,” he explained, nudging his brown and white pony forward. Khira followed at his side.

“So what do we have to do back here?”

“Keep an eye out to the rear and sides. If we see anyone following, we tell Keifer.”

“People follow you?”

“All the time. Sometimes they’re just curious. Sometimes they’re travelin’ the same route. But sometimes they’re chasin’ us, hopin’ to attack us where no one will know what they’ve done. It’s easier to fight outside the city.”

Khira shivered.

“Don’t worry,” he chuckled. “We haven’t lost a battle yet.”

By the time the troupe stopped that evening to make camp, Khira was exhausted. They had kept an unflagging pace for hours on end, and a late afternoon heat wave made the journey almost unbearable. But she did not complain once, and when they stopped near an empty streambed for the night, she brought in two armfuls of fallen twigs for a fire. Tristan, the doctor of the group, cooked rice and beans for dinner, and they all sat around the fire, wiping the sweat from their brows and inhaling the food.

Needless to say, she slept soundly that night.

* * *

“Shay, the Reshat is just south of here.”
Riley’s voice brought her head up with a snap. Had she dozed off again?

Khira turned with an inward groan to look at Riley. He had dropped back beside her from his post up front with Keifer, a dozen empty water canteens dangling from his saddle. If he noticed that she was exhausted, he didn’t mention it. “Since your horse is the freshest, why don’t you go fill these up and meet us just outside the city when you’re through.”

“If we’re almost to the city then why do we need water?”

“Keifer gives it to whomever we stay with as a gift. A simple courtesy.”

They were still five miles outside of Raydoni, and the sun was already deepening into the hillside. Khira’s energy was beyond spent; her seat bones screamed their protest with every step Magic took, her back ached from the constant jolts, her head throbbed dully, and her stomach growled as though it hadn’t been fed in days. But the sting of dry lips and a parched throat made a trip to the stream sound heavenly.

Riley handed her the canteens and she carefully tied them to the back of her saddle, trying not to spook Magic in the process. He pinned his ears back at the strange feeling, but he, too, was more concerned about getting to the river. Almost as soon as she dropped her reins, he veered off to the left, picking his way through the trees and brambles in the direction of the faintly gurgling water.

Since my horse is the freshest…ha! Khira mumbled to herself as they walked along. She wasn’t really complaining, but after five days she already felt like the go-fer of the group, the “boy” they asked to do all the chores just because that was what young boys were expected to do. Well, you were the one who came up with this crazy idea in the first place, her inner voice reminded her.

The closer they got, the faster Magic walked, and before long he was almost trotting. Khira made no attempt to slow him; she was too tired to pull on the reins, and she wanted a drink as badly as he. The sound of the rushing water grew louder, until finally the edges of a bank appeared in view. Magic picked up his pace and dashed through a clump of wiry vines – only to trap himself and Khira right in the middle.

Khira cried out in pain as the prickly weeds slashed across her arms, tearing the sleeves of her shirt. Magic snorted nervously and began thrashing in an attempt to free his legs. For all his effort, he only managed to entangle them more.

“Easy, boy,” Khira crooned, trying to calm the stallion before he hurt himself – and her – any further. “Just be still and I’ll get us out of here.” Already she was trying to detach the tendrils from around her arms and the water canteens.

But Magic wanted nothing to do with being still. His panic escalated into a state of wild fear, and he shook and jumped and twisted every which way until finally he broke free. Khira grabbed onto his mane to stay with him, the brambles searing her flesh as they burst forward into a clearing.
Never before had Magic been so afraid. He shook with terror as he galloped forward, oblivious to the branches and dead logs in their path, blindly racing onward as though dragons were at his heels. It was all Khira could do to hang on; her bleeding arms were nothing now compared to the branches whacking her in the face and slicing across her legs. Her mind went blank; she couldn’t think, couldn’t act – could only cling to his neck for dear life and hope it would all end soon.

After what seemed like minutes Magic had only grown more frantic, and Khira had gathered her wits about her enough to know that if she didn’t slow him down soon he was going to severely hurt himself. Ignoring the pain that zapped every inch of her body, she let go with one hand and tried to grab one side of the reins, the side that hadn’t been torn from the bit. With all her strength, she pulled back on the leather, but Magic only steeled himself against her and plunged on.

In the moments that followed Khira tried everything she could think of – talking to him, turning his head, releasing the water canteens that were bumping against his flanks with every stride – but all to no avail. Magic was purposefully ignoring her, focusing only on fleeing from that horrible clump of vines.

They had gone nearly four miles when Khira spotted a huge fallen tree up ahead. Branches included, it was nearly six feet tall. There was no other way around it, and judging by the extra surge of energy Magic instantly found, she knew he was going to jump it. Not willing to bail out and unable to stop her horse, Khira closed her eyes, wrapped her fingers in his mane, and prayed for safety. Three strides later she felt him lift off the ground, grunt from the effort, and swing his hind end to the side to clear the branches.

She almost thought he had successfully jumped the tree, when suddenly his back leg caught on a branch, sending them both tumbling to the ground. The force of the impact shattered Khira’s vision into complete blackness.

When she finally awoke, stars and a moon shone down on her instead of the sun.

Where am I?

Khira sat up, blinking in the darkness. Then she remembered the fall and groaned.

Magic was nowhere to be found. Strangely enough, that comforted her more than anything else. The fact that he’d gotten up and run off meant that he was probably okay, wherever he was.

Slowly Khira leaned forward, her head spinning with a throbbing pain as she did. Her whole body ached fiercely, and she felt like one giant bruise that would never heal. Fortunately, she didn’t think anything was broken, and if a concussion was all she’d suffered, she had much to be grateful for.

It took her several minutes until she could finally stand without a wave of nausea washing over her. Even then, it was all she could do to stay erect as she stumbled forward.

Enota, please help me!

Follow the path.

The path. Khira squinted in the moonlight, and saw indeed that she was standing on a narrow path. She crouched down and discovered large hoof prints in the dirt – probably Magic’s. If she followed his prints, undoubtedly he would lead her to someplace where she could get help. Or at least a drink of water.

The thought of water made her throat burn, but she was too far now to go back, and she wanted to get to Raydoni before the troupe left her behind. She was insignificant to them; they probably wouldn’t even miss her, save for the water canteens they had lost.

Drawing in a ragged breath, Khira put one foot in front of the other and progressed slowly down the path. The longer she walked, the more her body ached and the harder her head pounded. But still she kept on, determination carrying her when her legs couldn’t. She lost all track of time, but it didn’t really matter. What was the difference whether it took her an hour or three?

Quite some time later Magic’s hoof prints departed from the path. It was clear to see why, for up ahead was another patch of those dreaded vines. Khira halted, pondering which way to go. What was more important, her horse, or the troupe?

Which way, Enota?

He said nothing, and Khira, out of sheer frustration, followed her horse. She wouldn’t be able to keep up with Keifer anyway if she didn’t have Magic. She silently thanked Enota for the moonlight, without which she never would have been able to see his tracks.

They led her slightly further south, where the trees grew sparse and eventually gave way to a freshly plowed field. There were his tracks, plain as day right straight through the middle of the pasture. Magic, I’m going to kill you for this, she thought. But she was so happy to be venturing into civilized territory that she almost didn’t care. She’d do whatever the owner required to pay for the damage, but at least she’d have her horse.

Her pace inevitably picked up now that she was getting closer. On the other side of the field there was a barn, and further up, an elegant, two-story englewood house. Lights glowed through the numerous windows, indicating its inhabitants were still awake. Perhaps they might be able to tell her where Keifer had gone – but more likely than not they knew nothing of his whereabouts and would only be annoyed if she disturbed their party. It was probably best just to find her horse and leave.

The hoof prints led her to the barn, a large, freshly built structure with room for a dozen or so horses and other livestock. The main door was latched shut, but not locked, so Khira quietly lifted the hook and pulled the door towards her. It grunted its protest rather loudly, startling Khira with its echo across the surrounding clearing. Praying nobody had heard that, she slipped through the crack she’d created and waited a moment until her eyes adjusted to the even thicker darkness.

A few horses nickered at her, and one sound in particular caught her attention – Magic! She’d know the tone of her horse’s call anywhere. Relieved, she hurried down the aisle until she saw the shape of his head peering over a stall door. He whickered again, as if to apologize for his naughty behavior, and nuzzled Khira’s shoulder.

She was so happy to see her horse she could’ve cried. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” she murmured against his cheek.

At first she could do nothing but hold her horse’s head and thank Enota for keeping him safe, but then a sense of urgency washed over her and she knew she needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

“Where’d they put your tack, hmm?” she whispered, but received no response.

Leaving Magic’s side, she searched around the barn until she came to the back where bridles and saddles hung along the wall. In the darkness it was hard to tell one from another, but every good horseman knows his own tack, and finally she saw it, up on the top hook a good two feet over her head. Even on tiptoes she couldn’t reach the saddle.

Glancing around for something useful, Khira spotted a feed barrel. She dragged it over to the wall and scrambled to the top, balancing precariously on its unstable lid. With one hand braced against the wall, she slid the saddle off its rack with her other hand. In her arm it was a lot heavier than she remembered, and no sooner had she freed it when the weight threw her off balance, sending her crashing to the floor.

Frustrated now more than hurt, Khira viciously stood to her feet and whisked the saddle off the dusty clay ground. No doubt someone had heard that, unless of course they were too noisy in the house to notice. Hoping for the latter, Khira scurried back to Magic and flung the saddle up over the stall door. He whickered again, and she reached for the latch of his door to let herself in. The moment she touched the wood, however, she felt something cold slap down on her hand – the shiny flat-edged blade of a sword.

Khira gasped and scurried back five feet to hide behind a post, though it offered little protection. Heart slamming against her chest, she peered from behind the post and sent a rush of prayers to Enota.

Out of the shadows stepped a tall, eerily dark man holding a lantern. He kept his sword leveled at her as he approached, sending her into another round of uncontrollable shudders. The dancing firelight from the lantern cast terrifying patterns of light and dark across the angles of his clean-shaven, expressionless face. If Khira hadn’t known better she would’ve thought he was a bandit or perhaps a prison escapee.

“What are you doing?” His quietly threatening voice sent chills down her spine.

It took her a minute to process the question, but he was patient. “Um…I didn’t…I mean…” Khira stopped and swallowed, trying to steady her shaking voice and resume a more masculine tone. “That’s my horse.”

The man didn’t even look in the direction of her pointed finger. “Is he now?”

Khira nodded. Did he have to make this whole experience so utterly terrifying?

“This stallion here trampled through my field, broke into my barn, startled the chickens into a frenzy, and helped himself to a quarter of a sack of grain before I caught him.”

“I…I’m terribly sorry, sir,” Khira stammered. “I meant no harm. If I could just go find my friends I’m sure we could work out some sort of repayment.”

He raised a dark eyebrow. “Am I supposed to believe that?”

Khira just stared at him, too afraid to speak.

The man took a step closer, holding the lantern up to her face. “What’s your name, boy?”

Khira squinted at the brightness. “I’m nobody, sir. Just traveling with my friends and I-“

“Your name?” he repeated a bit louder, in a tone that demanded an answer.

“S-Shay.”

Strangely enough, the name seemed to mean something to him, and he lowered and re-sheathed his sword. “You’re hurt,” he observed, his face softening.

Now that he mentioned it, Khira felt the searing pain returning in full force. If she hadn’t still been clutching the pole, she might have collapsed.

He hung the lantern from a hook in the ceiling and disappeared into the darkness for a moment, returning with a small wooden cup of water. Khira took it gratefully, gulping its entire contents in two swallows. Belatedly, she wondered if it was poisoned.

“Easy now; you’ll make yourself sick.” He took the cup from her and lifted her arm, where a huge gash ran from her elbow to the middle of her forearm. “Had quite an adventure, did you? Your horse is in about the same shape as you are.”

Khira’s eyes darted over to Magic. His head was still visible above the door; he was playing with the saddle, pushing the stirrups around with his nose. He didn’t look hurt in the least.

“His legs are all scratched up and he severed the flesh on his left hind just below the hock. Lucky he didn’t break a leg.”

Concern suddenly swept over her and she made an effort towards her horse, but the man held her back. “I bandaged him up; he’ll be fine and there’s nothing you can do for him in your condition anyway. Let’s get you up to the house and cleaned up.”

“No, really, I’m okay.” Khira pulled away from him and attempted another step forward. “I just need to take my horse and-“ Dizziness swept over her, and a loss of balance followed. She teetered to the side, and would have fallen if the man had not caught her.

“I’ll give you credit for bravado, but I’m afraid you wouldn’t even make it past the dirt road before collapsing. Don’t try to fight me, now.” He turned her around and lifted her effortlessly into his arms. Khira was far too weak to even think about protesting. Instead, she let her head loll against his chest and thanked Enota that for a moment, at least, she didn’t have to support her own weight.

“You’re lighter than a bird, lad. What have they been feeding you?”

Stars shimmered in the back of her vision and she felt herself slowly fading away. “What?” she slurred. She was quickly losing control of her muscles. The pain was unbearable.

“Never mind. Just relax.”

That was all she remembered before passing out.