The Four

Surprise!

Kalick puffed himself up as much as he was able to, which wasn’t much, and said “I followed you, to prove that I could!” His bluster was fading a bit around the edges and Starling fought to keep her face expressionless as an idea occurred to her.

“Kalick,” she said quietly. “Why do you always pop up unexpectedly around me?”

The boy looked down at the ground and at the trees around the clearing, anywhere but at her. “I do that to everyone, stupid.”

She took no offense at the insult, wondering for the first time if this too was part of his act. Instead, she smiled. “Ok, let’s say that’s true. Why did you follow me half way across a continent, away from your family and any safety that you may have had with them?”

Now the boy looked like he might cry, and he turned away from her hurriedly.

“I don’t need their protection!” He shouted, stomping back into the woods on the other side of the clearing.

Starling looked at Jacobi, who looked back at her, both shrugged. Starling stood and started off across the clearing, determined to get the truth from the brat.

With a sigh Jacobi slid back into the form that he found most comfortable, the big ambling bear, and started to follow her only to be stopped short.

“No Jacobi, you will only scare the boy. Stay here and set up a camp. I get the feeling that it’s going to be a long night.” With that she left him by the stream and gave a whistle. At this signal a very large stallion stepped into the clearing from a path to the side, it looked at him and appeared ready to bolt back into the trees. Starling, however, was having none of that and quickly vaulted her rather large frame into the saddle. 

The horse sidestepped as it took her weight and was distracted from its fear of the giant bear. After a few moments struggle Starling had the horse under her control and headed after the boy.

Jacobi shook his head and looked around for a likely camping spot, focusing all of his energy on that task and nothing else. Though he did wonder for a moment, if Starling knew just what she was getting herself into.

Starling led her horse to the path the boy had left in the underbrush of the ancient trees. His trail was easy to follow and she somehow knew that this was done on purpose.

After only a few minutes she came upon the boy in a much smaller clearing than the previous one, sitting on a log and tossing rocks at a tree. A small gelding was tied to another tree opposite, munching grass and seeming to pay no attention to his owner.

With a sigh she dismounted her horse, dropped the reins to the ground, and left him to his own devices as she approached the boy.

Kalick didn’t even look at her as she sat on the log next to him, even though she knew that he had to have seen her.

“So, you want to tell me what all this is about?” she picked at some tall weeds at her feet and began twining them into a braid as though she had all the time in the world.

The boy sniffed in derision and still not looking at her said sullenly, “I wanted to know what you were doing, so I followed you.” He then threw another rock. Starting on twining a second weed in with the first, Starling still did not look at the boy.

“What did you find out, Kalick?” her entire concentration seemed to be on the weeds in her large but nimble fingers.

“That you are a witch, and so is that man you were talking to.” He seemed almost defensive, as if she would dare deny what he had seen.

Smiling she shook her head and chuckled.

“Oh, how wrong you are boy. You know nothing of the world in which you live, go home.” She stood and made as if to leave him there.

The boys small frame shook with rage as he stood up behind her and yelled.

“I know what I saw you dumb horse! I am going to tell everyone in the village that you are a witch! They will burn down your forge, and your cottage!” The words flew at her along with all of the rage this boy had bottled up inside of his little body.

Slowly, she turned to face him. Her face was an unreadable mask, but it made Kalick back up a step. Then his lip began to tremble, and great sobs burst forth from him.

Stunned Starling stared at the boy as though seeing him for the first time, and indeed it was the first time she had seen him… or should she say, her? Slapping herself in the forehead for her stupidity she realized in that moment that Kalick was not a boy after all, but a girl.