Call of Ring(Compleled)

23 The Desert

         In less than an hour, they had descended the foothills and arrived at the edge of the Desert Blanche. Princess Sophie stopped her elegant white horse and instructed them all to betake another drink of water. The horses were already well-watered from earlier that morning, prior to their departure. Blake hoped they had the stamina to last a full day’s journey through the desert.

         Blake sensed that before entering the desert, he would need a time of pause. He closed his eyes and thought of the questions from his late mentor.

         “What do you hear?”

         I hear the horses breathing, and I hear the servants drinking. Strangely, I can also hear Princess Sophie’s heart beating. It’s a steady rhythm indicating a level of peace and resolves.

         “What do you feel?”

         I feel resilient knowing that I have the necessary tools to fight any battle we might face in this desert. I also feel curious about what will happen in the future with the princess and me.

         In his subconscious, he could hear the words of Apollos scolding him.

“Stay focused and forget about the girl!”

“What do you sense?”

         There was a long pause, and then suddenly, the image of a map appeared in his mind. It was similar to the one hand-sketched by Apollos, but the map that was on display in his mind contained more detail with a writing description in each region. Blake tried to discern the small words, hoping they were clues, but he was snapped out of his subconscious suddenly by a familiar voice:

         “Blake, are you okay?” asked Princess Sophie.

         “Umm…yes, I’m fine,” replied a startled Blake.

         “There you go again, with the closing of your eyes. Am I distracting you again?” the princess asked with another flirtatious wink.

         Blake was still unsettled by the image he had sensed. This time the culprit for his distraction was not a beautiful woman. But in an attempt to conceal his inner thoughts, he blurted out:

         “As long as I am with you, you will be a welcome distraction my dear Princess Sophie.”

         She smiled at his response spreading radiance that seemed to penetrate his unsettled thoughts, suddenly helping him to regain his composure. Having gathered himself, Blake explained further.

         “I wanted to take a brief moment to focus before we enter into the wasteland of this desert.”

“Very well then, let us proceed,” she declared. 

Several hours passed before they took their first break to rest the horses and take in some water. The heat was intense, but Blake hoped they were making good progress. It was impossible to tell though. They were surrounded by desert. Blake looked back in the distance from which they had come, but all he could see was desert. Desert behind them, and desert before them. The only vegetation they had seen throughout these hours was random collections of small cacti here and there.

After a short break to sip some water, the group continued on. There wasn’t much conversation that took place. Everyone was conserving their energy for the trip. After another couple of hours, Blake seemed to spot something that looked like trees in the distance.

“Is it an oasis of some sort? Or have we reached the end of Desert Blanche already?” Blake asked these questions of himself silently. He was glad he hadn’t said anything aloud because he began to wonder if it was just a mirage.

But the image didn’t disappear. In fact, it grew larger as they went on. Blake decided to let the group in on his enthusiasm, risking the fact that he could very well be wrong.

“Does anyone else see something in the distance?”

One of the servants spoke first: “I think I see something, but I was wondering if it was just a mirage.”

Princess Sophie spoke next, “I see something too, but I’m not sure what it is. Let’s proceed cautiously.”

As they grew closer, Blake determined it was a large cluster of cacti. They were as big as trees and seemed randomly placed in a cluster in the middle of this desert. They were all in need of a break, and so the party dismounted their horses, trying to take advantage of the little shade the cacti provided. Blake looked up at one of the towering cacti, and he noticed what appeared to be fruit high up on their towering stems. Massive thorns would prevent anyone from climbing these gigantic desert plants.

By this time, Princess Sophie had noticed Blake’s focus on the upper stems of the cactus.

“I see that you can focus with your eyes open as well,” she quipped.

Blake smiled back at her, acknowledging her words. Unhindered though, he continued his quest. Blake found a rock and threw it at his intended target. A piece of fruit fell to the ground.

“Nice shot!” exclaimed one of the servants.

Blake picked up the fruit, pricking himself with a thorn that covered its rough exterior surface. He began to bleed.

“Are you okay?” asked the princess in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

But before Blake could respond, she had grabbed his finger and placed it sensually in her mouth. She sucked the blood off his fingertip and returned his finger back to him without much delay.

“I’m fine,” Blake declared with some embarrassment.

Princess Sophie grabbed the fruit from him carefully, inspecting the thorns that covered its skin.

“The locals call this fruit, ‘tuna’. If you carefully peel its exterior, the inside reveals a fruit that is both delicious and nutritious. Throw some more rocks. Retrieve some more, and I’ll peel them. It seems like your aim is good, but my attention to detail is better.”

The mood had lightened a bit after the exchange of words. Blake hunted down a half dozen pieces of fruit. The princess pealed them, and the four of them huddled under the cluster of large cacti, each of them in search of a bit of shade to relieve them from the mid-day desert sun. While sitting, they all consumed the delicious fruit.

The stop was a brief respite, but they knew they had to continue. And so they did. The four of them mounted their horses and continued the journey.

Their small procession had ordered it. One of the servants was first in line, leading the way. Blake could only hope the servant knew where he was going. Behind the first servant, rode Princess Sophie on her magnificent white horse. Blake followed next and was protected at the rear by the second servant. Most of the time, they traveled in single file, but every once in awhile, Princess Sophie’s horse slowed its pace, and Blake would ride up next to her. A smile exchanged without words, and then she speeds up riding on. Riding behind the princess, Blake became mesmerized by her long flowing white-blonde hair, but in moments of focus, he tried to recall the image of the map he had seen before they entered the desert. He was frustrated that his subconscious could not recall the detailed descriptions on the map from his mind.

“What do you sense?” the question ringed in his ears.

Blake closed his eyes, knowing the horse could follow without his guidance even for just a moment.

To his surprise, an image filled his mind that was not related to the map. It was a beautiful picture of an oasis. Literally, a place of rest in the middle of the desert. He let his mind marinate on the image, exploring the corners of its horizons when suddenly blood began polluting the water. From refreshing blue to deep red, and it happened within seconds. Blake opened his eyes quickly trying to erase the image from his mind.

After a few more minutes of riding and disturbing contemplation, Blake decided to quietly share part of his vision with the princess. This time, instead of her slowing her horse, he sped up his, coming alongside of her.

“I need to share something with you,” he commented.

“Sure Blake, but now?” she asked.

“Yes. Don’t worry, the information is not too sensitive, and I will speak discreetly,” he justified.

“Go ahead, I’m listening,” she replied seemingly satisfied.

“I can’t explain how, but I believe we are soon going to encounter an oasis. We should rest there, and possibly for the night. I do not believe we will succeed in crossing this desert today,” Blake explained.

“How did you come to know this?”, she asked somewhat perturbed.

“I can’t explain it all now,” he said defensively.

“I bet I haven’t been enough of a distraction lately. You closed your eyes again, didn’t you?” she said teasing him yet again while shaking her ass slightly ingest.

“Okay, okay, yes. I saw the vision when I closed my eyes briefly,” he confessed.

“What else did you see?” she asked now with more interest.

“I will tell you more when we arrive,” he said holding his ground.

“Well, Blake, now you have me curious. I will play along nicely and wait until you’re ready to share more. But just so you know, I also have more to share with you.” As Princess Sophie said this, she kicked her horse jolting him forward faster, kicking up a cloud of dust that Blake inadvertently breathed in. He coughed a bit but thought to himself.

“She’s too damn beautiful to be angry at!”

It had been more than a full day of riding. The sun was now setting. And although there was still plenty of light visible, the sky confirmed it would soon be night by displaying varying hues of orange and pink across the horizon. The horses were demonstrating a considerable amount of stamina. Blake hoped that this mythical oasis wasn’t something he sensed incorrectly, and he found himself trying to will it to appear as soon as possible. No sooner than did the thought come to Blake, than did he hear the servant in the lead proclaim:

“It’s an oasis in the distance! Please someone confirm to me that they see what I’m seeing. Tell me it’s not a mere mirage.”

Princess Sophie sped up a bit to ride alongside her servant. A moment later, she chimed in.

“I do believe you are correct. It appears to be an oasis.”

Princess Sophie looked back at Blake and smiled. She then shook her hips back and forth, teasing him further.

Blake spoke cautiously, trying to ignore for the moment her playful nature,

“We should approach it carefully. Up until now, we have been spared attack of any enemy on this journey.”

The servant in the lead gripped his spear and slowed his horse down to a slow gaunt studying the scene carefully. The other three horses followed behind him at a good distance. Instead of cacti, there were three palm trees. A pool of crystal-clear water lay in the center of this mystical space. Some large rock formations neatly complemented the oasis, to the west of the water. Blake guessed the direction from the map, but it was confirmed by the setting sun. Surprisingly, there were some scattered bushes and even a few patches of green grass near the water. The vegetation was presumably surviving only by the miracle of this mysterious water.

One by one, they dismounted. The servants spread out to study the scene around them, carefully assessing if there was any threat in the area. Finding none, they returned to Blake and Princess Sophie declaring the area to be safe. Without needing instructions, the servants unloaded every jug of water and re-filled them all. The light was disappearing quickly now. Princess Sophie waited until the servants had left to glean any wood they could find for fire before inviting Blake down to the pool of water with her.

“I guess we’ll have to sleep under the stars tonight. I will instruct the servants to take turns minding watch while we sleep,” she said as they walked toward the pool.

She dipped her toes in the water.

“It’s warm! Almost like a hot spring. Where I come from, we have two sets of hot springs within a day’s hike of my home village,” she said as she stepped in deeper, now in the water almost to her knees wetting the lower edge of her white gown. Blake followed her in.

A splash of water hit Blake in the face. As he wiped the water from his eyes, he noticed that it was the princess who had struck him with the water. He was surprised by her impromptu assault. Not that he minded it, especially since the weapon she used was water. He was hesitant to return the favor, but the smile on her face was one of playful invitation. As he cupped his hands in the water, the voices of the servants returning could be heard approaching. He decided against splashing her in return, remembering that her white gown was susceptible to the hazards of revealing too much when wet.

Blake left the pool after wetting his face, hair, neck, and arms. The princess followed him out of the pool. By the time they were both out, a fire had been lit. Blake still had some cheese and bread, so a few bites were shared among the group of five.

The two servants got up, one grabbing a bottle of Singani and handing it to the princess. They then excused themselves saying that they were going to bathe in the pool. It was now dark, but as Blake and Princess Sophie looked up toward the pool, they could see the bare backsides of the two servants who had just shed themselves of their gowns. The princess looked at Blake and giggled. It seemed as if it was her turn to blush, but it could have just as well been the reflection of the flames on her face.

Blakes thoughts began to wander, “Damn, she’s gorgeous!”

A piercing scream rudely interrupted his thoughts. And then a second scream came, one more violent than the first.

Blake jumped to his feet and began sprinting toward the pool of water. Even though it was dark, the first thing he noticed, thanks to the help of light from the fire just a few yards away, was the color of the water changing. It was changing from a dark blue to a deep red.