Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue (9 page)

Carliss couldn’t imagine how, at least not yet.

“Be careful with it,” Eunice said. He’s put a batch in each of six leather pouches for you.”

Carliss took the bundle from Petolemew and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, which delighted the old fellow. It was an action that surprised even her.

“Thank you, sir,” she said, then swung into Rindy’s saddle.

Ganoaf stood beside Rindy and put his hand on the steed’s neck.

“Ganoaf come.” The large fellow said as he looked up at Carliss with pleading eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ganoaf, you must stay here.” Carliss patted the huge hand. “Thank you for all of your help.”

Ganoaf’s hand slowly fell from Rindy’s neck.

Just as they were about to leave, a hawk screeched from a nearby tree and Carliss jumped.

“It’s just a bird, deary,” Eunice said.

Carliss spotted the bird and took a deep breath as she realized that it bore no resemblance to the death ravens she had fought. “Yes, of course it is. I just don’t care much for birds… especially large ones.”

Carliss and Salina launched their steeds in a northerly direction, toward the foothills of the Northern Mountains. But they had barely crested the first knoll of the hollow when they heard Eunice shouting for Ganoaf. Carliss turned back to see him jogging toward them. Her shoulders fell slightly as she thought of the poor fellow trying to jog all the way to Moorue.

“Come, Carliss,” Salina said. “When we are out of sight he will give up and return to Pembrook. We can’t be encumbered with watching over him while we are trying to save my family and Sir Dalton.”

Carliss considered Salina’s words and knew them to be true, though Salina’s harsh tone bothered her. She turned her horse back on course and then realized that riding away from the meek and lowly was something she was incapable of doing. Something in her compelled her to respond to Ganoaf It was the same force within her bosom that had made her run to Sir Orland as a little girl and ask of the hope she saw in him. It was the same force that caused her to join with Sir Dalton and free her fellow knights—like Salina—from the evil prison of Lord Drox. It was a force she could not refuse, so she turned her horse around and galloped back.

“Carliss!” Salina shouted.

Carliss ignored her.

After another short delay, Ganoaf was sitting atop Dalton’s horse, Chaser, hanging on as if he had never ridden before. Carliss and Ganoaf joined Salina on the crest of the knoll, and Salina looked disgusted.

“He had better keep up,” she huffed, “or we’re leaving him behind.”

Ganoaf looked sheepishly at Carliss. She smiled at him and then nodded in the direction Salina was headed.

“Come along, Ganoaf,” Carliss said and kicked Rindy into a trot.

The haze of the morning had not yet lifted, making the Northern Mountains difficult to see, but they pressed forward, anticipating their passage to a strange city that hosted a mythical creature… and a mythical cure.

NORTHERN JOURNEY

Moorue was a three- to four-days’ journey, providing all went well and the foothills were kind to them. By the end of the first day, Ganoaf had learned to ride Chaser, remarkably well, much to Salina’s surprise and chagrin. In spite of the heavier load, Chaser seemed to take to Ganoaf, and Ganoaf to Chaser.

When it grew too dark to ride any farther, they made camp. Ganoaf stayed away from Salina and close to Carliss. When Carliss laid out her bedroll, Ganoaf lay down at her feet on the ground. Carliss wasn’t quite sure what to think about his apparent attachment to her. She didn’t find him annoying because he seemed always grateful that she allowed him to be near, but she did find his constant presence a bit awkward and wondered when, if ever, it would stop.

Ganoaf’s devotion, however, did seem to annoy Salina greatly. Carliss felt the tension mounting in their odd trio, and she wondered if allowing Ganoaf to come along would prove to be a serious mistake, and possibly even jeopardize their mission.

Each day that they traveled, Salina seemed to become more and more agitated by the big man’s presence. Although Carliss couldn’t understand exactly why this was so, she attributed it to the fact that Ganoaf seemed to become more anxious the closer they got to Moorue
and would hardly let Carliss out of his sight or leave her side. She constantly felt the pressure of having to smooth out the relationship between her two comrades.

In addition, she felt a bit unnerved by the presence of a hawk screeching overhead. One seemed to follow them as they traveled, and Carliss wondered if perhaps their traveling was scaring up game for it to hunt. Whatever the reason, Carliss didn’t care for the bird’s company. Her latest encounter with Lord Drox’s death ravens was still too fresh in her mind.

By evening of the third day, they had reached the eastern edge of the foothills. From here they would travel straight north along the western edge of the Altica Valley. If all went well, they would reach the land of Moorue by the following afternoon.

They rose early the next morning and rode steadily, stopping to eat lunch in a serene, grassy refuge beneath the shade of a grove of trees. They ate the last of the food that Eunice had packed, and Carliss discovered that her leather water bottle had been leaking. It was nearly empty. She wasn’t too concerned since they were almost to Moorue and could replenish their supplies there. She washed down the dry bread that composed most of their meal with the last of the water from her bottle.

They decided to rest a bit before moving on. Carliss leaned up against a tree trunk and rested her head on its smooth bark. The three-and-a-half days of travel seemed to be taking a toll on her, and in spite of the urgency to find an antidote for Dalton, she could not resist closing her eyes for a moment, lulled by what seemed to be music in the distance.

She could hear the perfect notes of instruments playing and the sounds of hundreds of people talking, laughing, and dancing as she approached the ballroom.

The ballroom?

She looked down at her drab outfit and was embarrassed, knowing the room would be filled with men and women dressed in exquisite attire. She looked about and dashed to a column for refuge.

What am I doing here?
she wondered.
This is the last place in the kingdom I should be
.

Just as she was about to flee the castle, she saw a stunning woman and a handsome gentleman coming up the stairs.

“Lady Brynn, you look beautiful this evening.” Dalton escorted Brynn past the column Carliss was hiding behind and into the ballroom. Carliss turned away, trying hard not to let the ache in her heart surface once again. But just for a moment, she allowed herself to consider how wonderful it would be if she were arrayed in such fanciful garments as Lady Brynn. She laughed at herself as she thought of the gorgeous royal blue dress she had once seen worn by a lady of the Arrethtraen nobility.

She turned to plan her escape, but then looked down to see that same beautiful gown now adorning her slender body—a perfect fit. She lifted the fabric and felt of the quality. “What is this?” she asked. “I must be dreaming, but it’s so real, too real to—”

“Lady Carliss.” A strong masculine voice spoke from behind and startled her.

Carliss turned to see a tall, handsome gentleman holding out his arm to her.

“Shall we?”

“I…I…” Carliss timidly slipped her arm through his, and they entered the ballroom. It was a fabulous event that outshone any she had ever witnessed. Despite the beautiful gown, she felt like a spectacle, completely out of her element.

“Shall we dance?” her escort asked.

“I don’t know how,” she replied sheepishly.

“Come, let us try just the same,” he whispered as he led her to the dance floor.

After an awkward start, Carliss seemed to quickly acquire the eloquent skills of dancing. Before long she was floating effortlessly around the ballroom in the arms of her handsome escort.

It was a strange sensation. Carliss knew she was dreaming. There had been a couple of times when she had experienced something similar-dreams she knew were dreams—but this was different. This seemed so real, and yet she had the power to manipulate people and events in the dream simply by wishing it to be so.

“Excuse me, sir,” Dalton asked politely. “May I cut in?”

Carliss’s escort looked to her for approval, and she nodded.

“I hardly recognized my best friend’s little sister,” Dalton said with a smile as he led her into the flowing movements of the dance.

Carliss blushed and momentarily looked away. “Won’t Lady Brynn be upset?” she asked as she turned back to look at Dalton.

His eyes seemed fastened in a gaze upon her. He just smiled and seemed all the more delighted to be with her.

As they danced and talked, the crowd in the ballroom made way and gradually disappeared until they were the only two left.

“Carliss no sleep,” Dalton said with a voice that was not his own.

“What did you say?” she asked.

“Carliss no sleep.” The words came again, but now Dalton’s face morphed into that of Ganoaf, and she felt her arm being pulled back and forth.

She resisted waking from the dream, but Ganoaf wouldn’t stop. She blinked, and realized that her eyes felt dry and scratchy.

“What?” she mumbled.

“Carliss no sleep!” he repeated, shaking her arm again. This really irritated her, and she yanked her arm from his grip.

“Enough! Leave me alone!”

Ganoaf cringed and backed away, apparently hurt by her harsh tone.

Carliss shook her head, trying hard to focus and remember where she was. Her rest had been deep and hard. She felt as though she were trying to recover from a full night’s sleep.

“What’s wrong?” she asked groggily.

Salina was packing up her horse.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” she said with a smile. “Nothing’s wrong; we just need to be on our way. I thought Ganoaf was going to rip your arm off trying to wake you, though. I don’t think he knows his own strength. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Carliss shook her head, trying to clear it.

“Must have been some dream,” Salina said. “The way your arms
were moving about, I’d guess you were dancing. I could almost hear the music,” Salina teased, then circled her horse to secure the saddle.

Ganoaf was still cowering a few steps away from her like a scolded puppy.

“It’s all right, Ganoaf.” Carliss pushed to her feet, holding on to the tree trunk. She held her head with her left hand. Everything spun about her for a moment, then settled back into place. “I’m not angry with you. I was just very tired.”

Ganoaf hung his head and came close. She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right.”

They mounted up and pressed on toward Moorue. As they traveled, Carliss’s dream lingered in her mind, and she found it difficult to focus on anything else. It was a dream she wished she could dream again. However, deep in her heart, she knew it would be best if she didn’t. The fabric of that dream seemed so much easier to deal with than the reality of the kingdom in which she lived.

How long will those images and feelings last?
she wondered. Her head and her heart had discovered a new battlefield upon which to war.