The Others

Chapter Eleven

To my own amazement, Jonathan and Mike bring me to a small open spot in the forest, where there are three horses waiting. They trust me to get on one of them, but Mike does take the reigns from me.

I am completely blown away when we -after just a couple of hours minor galloping- reach a camp of tents in an open field. I was expecting the trip to take days, and days. In my head I had already started to worry about my mother, being left alone, but it seems like the army has come to me. Or at least a part of it, has.

Jonathan and Mike get off their horses, and Mike helps me off of mine. I try to be brave when he comes closer to me with the snake still resting on his shoulders. The animal does not even seem to notice me, to my own relief. Jonathan and his panther are already walking towards one of the biggest tents. Most tents are brown, yet this one is completely black.

‘Let’s go’, Mike says while pushing me in my back. While still holding Lilly in my arms, I do what he says.

Inside the tent, there’s a big wooden desk. It must have weight a ton, to carry all the way here. Jonathan is standing with an older man, with a grey beard. They are standing close together, and I see Jonathan is most likely briefing him. The panther is laying down in a corner of the tent, on a big pillow. Like a cat.

On a wooden pillar in the back, I see an enormous Eagle, with white and brown colors. The animal is looking me straight into my eyes, but I can not see him move at all. It’s like he’s a statue, perfectly silent in the background.

The older man looks up, and smiles. He opens up his arms. ‘Welcome, Maya’, he says. Jonathan must’ve given him my name. ‘It’s always nice to meet new recruits. Especially since the notice of new Other’s is so rare lately.’ He lowers his hands. ‘Can I meet your Other?’

I shake my head. ‘She’s not my Other’, I hiss. The man’s smile disappears.

‘What?’ he asks me for clarification.

‘Like I told Jonathan’, I start. ‘She’s not my Other. She’s a wild animal and does not belong in the army. Neither do I. My mother needs me, and I wish to go back home.’ I hear Lilly braaping in my arms, to show that she agrees with my tone of voice.

The man laughs. ‘A very cute, wild animal’, he says. ‘Then Jonathan must have been confused. Which is not strange.’ He walks away from his desk and takes a couple steps closer to me. ‘Most Others show themselves to their soulmates at a very young age. How old was this little one when you met her first?’

I bite my lip. ‘An egg’, I say. The man raises his eyebrows.

‘An egg?’ he repeats. He takes another step closer to me, and his eyes focus on the dragon in my arms. ‘I have never met a dragon before’, he whispers, just loud enough for me to hear it.

‘I am not even sure if it’s a dragon’, I tell him honestly. The man smiles.

‘Oh, trust me. That’s a dragon.’ He says, before he walks back to his desk.

‘My name is Mart. I’m one of the three generals of the King’s army. I joined twenty-five years ago, together with my eagle, who’s called Feather.’ He points with his chin to the eagle behind him. Then he turns his eyes to Jonathan. ‘Did you introduce yourself yet, old grump?’

Jonathan shrugs. ‘Yeah’, he says simply, without saying anything else.

‘Jon joined about… eight years ago’, Mart clarifies. ‘Back when Thalia was still a kitten. Completely newborn even. We expected Jonathan to receive his Other, since it’s common in his family. Is it true that you’re the only one in your family with an Other?’

Silently I observe the man. Why is he asking me so many questions? Is he trying to be friendly to me, or is he trying to find more Others? I have not missed out on his comment of Others being rare to find lately.

‘No’, I tell him honestly. ‘My brother was the first in my family. He received his Other eight years ago as well, just like Jonathan I suppose. He joined you pretty soon after, but I have not heard from him in a long time.’

Mart spreads his arms again. ‘Then we must change that, quickly.’ He walks up to his desk, grabs a feather and dips it in ink. I swear that the pen is cut from a feather of his own Other.

‘Tell me his name’, the man says. ‘And the Other?’

I hold on tight to Lilly, when I say his name out loud. ‘Shane. He came from Qwerth, with a falcon. But I do not know what name his Other has.’

Without writing anything down, Mart puts down the pen. ‘A falcon?’ he says. He exchanges a look with Jonathan, and then the smile appears back on his face. ‘Well, I will make sure you two meet again quickly. Especially now you have too much in common.’

I snort. I feel the anger come up. ‘How often do you want me to repeat myself?’ I raise my voice. I hear Lilly growls gently, to make sure everyone knows she agrees with me. ‘She is not my Other. I do not hear her voice inside my head, and I do not have a certain connection to her. I do not feel any different, and I cannot practice magic.’

That’s where Jonathan walks up to me. In sync, Thalia jumps up and strolls to me as well. I take a step back, since he’s coming way too close to me. And a second step, and a third. Until I’m with my back against the wall. He’s still not stopping.

With his face so close to mine that I can feel his breath on my cheeks, he finally stops. The little dragon practically crushed in-between my chest, and his belly. He takes his hand, and with his finger slides down the side of my face. I feel myself getting hot and try to find confidence to struggle him. My heart’s beating faster, and faster. All I can see, are his lips, close to mine.

I try to tell him to stop, but can not get anything out of my mouth. ‘S..s…’, I hiss, but that’s all I can say. Jonathan smirks, and slides his finger down my neck, to my chest.

A blue light appears, and almost blinds me. It’s like my entire body’s glowing, and I feel almost weightless.

Jonathan takes a step back, clacks his tongue and then strolls back to the desk. Thalia follows him but does not return to her own spot. She’s staying close to him.

Every inch he moves away from me, the light settles down more and more. After a second or four, it’s completely gone.

‘What… what happened?’ I stutter.

Mart laughs. ‘It’s proof that she is your Other.’

I shake my head. ‘I do not understand.’

Mart scratches his beard, and I see him relax against the wooden desk. ‘Small version’, he starts. ‘Because we will explain everything later. There’s different types of Others. It took Thalia almost three years to start speaking to Jonathan, inside his head. Some Others are emotionally more connected, like your dragon is to you. Others are so good at communication skills that they manage to speak out loud like humans do. You getting embarrassed, and heated, for Jonathan’s touch, brought up your magic. Which shone through the dragon’s scales. Just like it did for Emeraugh.’

I shake my head. ‘I did not get heated’, I defend myself, but I also instantly change subject to try and forget the scenario for now: ‘And what do you mean, like it did for Emeraugh?’

Mart laughs. ‘I figured that would intrigue you. Emeraugh, King Morgen’s dragon, was an emotional creature too. He responded when the King was in pain, but also when he was happy. Even when they were not close together, we could see how the King was doing, by observing his dragon.’

I bite my lip. I can not believe that this means Lilly truly is my Other. ‘How can you know?’ I ask. ‘King Morgen has been dead since forever.’

Mart picks up the feather, and shows it to me. ‘We write things down, young one. Two generations might be long in your memory, but it’s not in books and stories. Although I suppose you cannot read, can you?’ I blush and shake my head. Way to go, making me feel embarrassed.

‘Well, there’s always chances for you to learn. But first we need to get you settled in, and used to life with the King’s army. You will be welcomed with open arms, child. We have always wanted a dragon in our ranks.’

I hold on tightly to Lilly, who’s still relaxed in my arms. ‘But my mother’, I sigh. It’s starting to sound like there’s no way for me to return. Mart lifts one hand, and smiles friendly to me.

‘Do not worry, we will not leave your mother alone. We will make sure she’s rewarded thoroughly for raising two Other children.’ I shake my head.

‘We never got anything for giving you Shane’, I contradict him. Mart nods once.

‘Then we will make up for it. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about.’

Jonathan and Mart stayed behind. Mike walked with me outside, and he took me to a tent, pretty close to the big black one. He opened the cloth for me, and I stepped inside. There was a bale of hay on the floor, with a sheep’s skin on it. It looked very comfortable, and also pretty warm. ‘How do you take all of this with you, when you set up camp?’ I ask while not really expecting Mike to answer.

‘What do you mean?’ he asks me for clarification. ‘Well, the tents. The hay. Even Mart’s desk, it’s insane. Do some soldiers carry them around?’

Mike laughs. ‘Well, don’t forget. Everyone you see walking around here, is a magician. And even if we do not practice, we all have Others. While mine never slithers the floor, because she’s too scared to be stepped upon, other people walk around with rhinos, horses. There’s even a couple of bears.’

My jaw drops. ‘Bears?’ I say in awe. Mike nods wildly.

‘But on the other side, there’s people with house cats, rats and I am pretty sure there’s a chihuahua running around somewhere. Not everyone’s suited for the same division. We all help out the Crown, but some do it in the capital, or even in the palace. My cousin’s Other is a beautiful, blonde Labrador. She’s maiden to the queen, who just fell in love with it.’ I chuckle. If he says it like that, the Crown does not sound that bad.

‘The queen loves animals?’

Mike shrugs. ‘As far as I know, yes. But I personally have never spoken to her. I run with Mart’s division. We’re almost always travelling, setting up camp, and picking up newbies.’ Newbies… that’s me. I bite my lip.

‘Do you know where people with falcons go?’ I ask him, hoping to find a friendly face. He nods. ‘All birds come with us. They are perfect scouts, and pretty rare to come by. Just stroll around for a bit, and you will find them quick enough. They are always huddled up.’ That’s the first good news I’ve gotten.

‘I’m allowed to stroll around?’ I ask him happy. A smirk appears on his face.

‘You’re allowed to stroll around’, he repeats after me. ‘But don’t try leaving.’ And with that, he leaves me alone in the tent.