Ascension (8 page)

The only thing to distract me from
my aching behind was the sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking.
The trees broke to reveal a pink sky, the sun casting long shadows
on the trees below as it disappeared behind the mountains in the
distance. I stood there, as I certainly couldn't sit, until the sun
disappeared completely. Within a few minutes, the sky began to fade
into a dark blue.

Watching the
sunset gave me a pang of homesickness. I thought back to the time
when I had told my mother that I would be sad when the sun set, and
I couldn
’
t help
but smile as I corrected my seven year old self in my mind. Yes,
the departure of the sun was sad, because all the wonderful things
it revealed would soon be clad in darkness, but it gave such a
beautiful goodbye that I couldn
’
t help but feel like a wonderful
gift would come with the new day.

Before I could even begin to miss
the sun, small, bright lights began to dot the sky. I watched as
more and more appeared, and I connected them in my head, forming
pictures in the night sky.

“
Fara, I lit a
fire. Now that the sun is down, it will begin to get much colder.
Not to mention the predators start to come out,
”
Croxley said, coming up from behind me and pulling my
attention from the sunset.

Giving one last
glance towards the sky, I turned away from the ledge and walked to
the fire. Croxley had tied Sir Thunder and Sam to a tree next to
our supplies and was sitting on his cloak near the fire. He was
eating some kind of dried meat with a loaf of bread. Having
rationed my food throughout the day, I still had some roots and
bread left, but I couldn
’
t say that I was excited to eat
it.

To be honest, I
missed my mother
’
s
stew.

Following
Croxley
’
s
example, I sat near the fire, wincing as my rear end touched the
ground.
“
How can you sit so easily?
Aren
’
t you
sore, you know, here,
”
I asked, motioning
to my rear area.

“
No, I
’
m used to riding.
I
’
m very good
at it, you know. Hence, messenger.
”
He
gestured towards his apparel, and then added suggestively,
“
But if you
’
d like, I can massage you, make
it feel better, get you nice and loosened up.
”
I glared at him, and he shrugged in response, ripping apart
another piece of meat. I tore a piece of my potato loaf and put it
in my mouth, taking a drink of water to wash the dry bread down.
Then I picked up the root, about to take a bite, but stopped at the
bewildered look on Croxley
’
s
face.

“
What?
”

“
What on earth
are you eating? It looks some form of animal
waste.
”

“
It
’
s a tuber. When the King forced
us all underground, we had to breed special vegetables that could
survive with little light. We mostly eat root vegetables, and we
have some livestock for milk, eggs, and cheese. I did have some
carrots, but your mule stole them.
”
Sam
grunted from his tether as if he understood me.
“Yes,
I
’
m talking about
you,
”
I called back to him. I took
another bite of the tuber, making a performance of it, keeping eye
contact with Croxley the whole time. I celebrated a mini-victory
when he shuddered and looked away.

“
I
don’
t care what you say. It still looks
like you
’
re
eating poop. I
’
ll stick to my meat.
”

Our banter faded
into silence, the forest sounds taking over. Croxley added another
log to the fire, and laid down on his cloak.
“
Be up early tomorrow.
”
With that,
he rolled over with his back to me, and within minutes, I could
hear the steady breathing of a restful sleep.

Without his
company, as obnoxious as it was, I had little to distract myself
from the pang of homesickness that came with the sunset. Sitting
alone by the fire, a sudden wave of fear, loneliness, and
hopelessness settled over me. I had no plan. Let
’
s say I get to the King. Then
what? Who says he will listen to anything I say?
I
’
m just
another Nether with a fair face.

Alongside the homesickness came a
sense of guilt as well. I left without telling either of my parents
goodbye, with my father looking for me and my mother worrying about
my safety. If there was any way I could tell them that I was safe,
I would. With the pain of a sharp knife, I realized that part of
what my mother had said was right. I was selfish. I failed to
realize how my decisions impacted other people.

But I also knew
that I have been more happy today than I can remember being for a
very long time. I had no future down in Cethin, where I
couldn
’
t even
leave the den for fear of attracting unwanted attention. Up here,
I
’
m more likely
to blend in. But more than the respite from the spotlight is the
chance to prove myself worthy to my people. Even if I must be a
slave, I know that I made the right choice in coming to the
surface.

I will try and save my people. I
will do my best. Repeating this mantra over and over in my mind, I
finally drifted off to sleep.

Ξ

I suddenly awoke to a blood-curdling
scream. I had grown accustomed to the sounds of the forest during
the day; the beautiful birdcalls, occasional snaps of twigs, the
sound of running water, they had all turned into a dull roar in the
background of my thoughts, only audible if I focused in on them. In
comparison, the sudden harsh silence sounded sinister. Pulling my
knife from my boot and holding it in front of me, I surveyed the
forest, but the fire was reduced to a small pile of glowing coals,
leaving the edges of the camp shrouded in complete darkness.
Suddenly, another scream echoed through our camp, this one sounding
much closer. I felt the hairs raise on the back of my neck, my
senses now on full alert. When a sudden whoosh of wind swept over
my head, I screamed louder than I ever had before.

“
What? Fara, what
is it?
”
Croxley jerked up, woken by my
scream, to find me trembling with my knees pulled to my chest. He
ran up next to me and crouched down, grasping me by the shoulders,
lowering my hand with the knife in its grip and gently taking it
from me. He set it down at his side and looked into my pale face,
trying to track my darting eyes for the source of what had
frightened me.
“
Fara!
What
’
s
wrong?
”

“
There was a
phantom! I saw it! It swept over the camp, howling and
screaming!
”
As I looked up, I saw it
sitting in the nearby tree, its pale white body reflecting the
moonlight, starkly contrasting two bottomless black which were
undoubtedly staring straight at me. I pointed it out
“
There! There it is! Just watching
us!
”

Croxley
’
s tight grip on my shoulders
relaxed, and he sat back down with a sigh as he explained,
“
That
’
s not a phantom, Fara. It is an
owl. To be more specific, a barn owl. They are very common in this
forest.
”

“
But the scream!
I heard it!
”
I couldn
’
t tear my gaze away from the
barn owl sitting in the tree. It looked menacing, its shoulders
hunched over, wings spread open behind it, its beak slowly clashing
open and shut while its head moved in a slow circle. It was equally
as mesmerizing as it was terrorizing.

“
That was just
its call. Don
’
t
worry. Owls are completely safe. This one is probably
hunting.
”
He slid his hands off my
shoulders, pressing them against his thighs as he stood up,
obviously tired.
“
You know, many say that
the owl is a good omen,
”
he said, still
peering into the forest.

Just as suddenly
as it appeared, it left with a silent swoop of its wings. The only
sound to give it away was another scream, which left my heart
racing at an irregular, rapid cadence. Finally dragging my eyes
away from the now empty branch, I caught Croxley
’
s gaze, and felt my heart leap
in different direction when I saw the concern in his expression. He
looked away as soon as his eyes met mine, keeping himself busy with
the task of rolling up his mat.

“
Well, now that
you
’
re awake,
we may as well get going. The sun should be rising soon.
”
He began to gather his things, leaving me
sitting there, feeling my heart slowly come back down to a normal
cadence. Although every time I looked at Croxley, it seemed to
speed up again.

I was confused
about what had just passed between us. Yesterday, Croxley was a
rude, arrogant man who believed that I was just a mindless pretty
face with no feelings and no thoughts. But now, I
wasn
’
t entirely
sure where we stood, or what I thought about it. Shaking my head as
if it would shake all these thoughts out of my mind, I began to
gather my things as well. In a short matter of time, we had packed
up all of our supplies and loaded them on Samuel and Sir Thunder.
Croxley kicked sand on the fire, and with the rise of the sun, we
were off.

Chapter
9

Woken with such a
start, I didn
’
t
realize how cold it had gotten overnight. But now, as we slowly
made our way through the forest, I wished I had something warmer to
cover my arms. Cethin didn
’
t have what one could consider
weather. It consistently ranged from humid warmth near the
underground springs to a cooler dampness in the mines and the dens.
For this reason, I had little use for thick coats or furs. Our thin
tunics served us fine underground.

Here on the
surface, however, the biting chill penetrated through the thin
fabric and found its way deep into my bones. I kept rubbing my
hands up and down Sam
’
s neck, managing to keep them warm in his thick fur. My
face, however, did not fare as well, and soon my lips were dry and
chapped. Wrapping my cloak tighter around my shoulders, I
considered asking Croxley for an extra blanket, but quickly turned
that thought down. Most likely, he would mock me and accuse me of
not bringing the proper supplies. And even if he did lend me a
blanket, he probably wouldn
’
t let me forget that I owe him a
favor. And the last thing I wanted was to be even further in his
debt. So instead, I sat in silence, shivering in the frigid
wind.

Ξ

As the sun rose higher in the sky, I
warmed up considerably. With the sun on my skin, I was quickly able
to shake my chill and pay more attention to my surroundings. Now
that I understood a little bit more about the forest, I was able to
find birds where I had only seen leaves before. I was able to
recognize some trees and flowers, and even spot a few squirrels
scurrying up the trees as Sam and Sir Thunder wove their way
through the forest.

Out of the blue, I spotted another
berry bush, this one with large, purple berries. Remembering what
had happened yesterday, I pointed the leaves out to Croxley and
asked if they were edible. After a moment of consideration, he
nodded.

Eager to taste the sweet fruit, I
jumped off Sam and ran to the bush. Reaching out to grab a handful,
I cursed when all I ended with was a bunch of scratches from its
thorns. Frowning, I reached out again, slower this time, and
managed to grab a large, plump berry. I looked closely, examining
it for any obvious indication that it might kill me on the spot.
Finding none, I popped it in my mouth.

I nearly swooned
at the rush of sweet juice that burst from the berry. It had a
faint sourness to it, just enough to be refreshing. I reached out
again, careful to mind the thorns, and soon I had collected nearly
all of the berries from the small bush, holding them with the skirt
of my frock. I glanced over at Croxley, who was still on his horse,
and held up my findings.
“Don
’
t eat too many at a time! Your
stomach won
’
t
be too grateful,
”
he cautioned through
cupped hands as he moved Sir Thunder closer to where I
stood.
“
Give some here!
”
He held out his hand, but I firmly protected my
bounty.

“
Bring your own
supplies, remember? I can
’
t take care of you! Get your own
berries!
”
Turning around, I searched the
bush for any purple orbs that I may have missed, when suddenly I
spotted two animals across the way, emerging from a wall of tall
bushes, heading towards the pond a few steps ahead of us. They had
smooth. short brown fur, thin legs, and atop their long, slender
necks were narrow heads that were scanning the forest for any signs
of potential danger. One, which was slightly larger, had what
looked like branches growing out of the top of its head. Crouching
below the now-bare berry bush, I turned around towards Croxley and
gestured for him to stay there.