River Heart

Chapter Two - Mountains

Lyris was grateful that the rest of the journey passed in relative silence, apart from the scrabbling of their hands along the cliff and rattle of loose scree as it tumbled away from their boots. Focused on placing one foot in front of the other, straining to hear the slightest whisper that they were being followed. It felt like an age before the track curved and broke over a flatter plane of land. The pale light lit a small meadow boarded by trees and in the distance straight ahead, the orange glow of fires. The young woman hesitated, the village had been her intended target but it was also where her horse had been seized and a pair of bearded men had caught her, dragged her away from the central knoll, down the dangerous descent to the mountainside cave.

‘What are you waiting for?’

She jumped because she’d forgotten about her companion. Wishing she could melt into the midnight shadows the woman drew a deep breath. Her quest was not complete, but returning to the village was more than just dangerous, it was stupid.

‘The only way back to Milany is through the village,’ her voice dropped to a whisper. There was a pause and still, no sound that the men were following along the narrow ledge.

‘Why are you going to Staven?’ He replied.

‘My home is in Staven,’ it wasn’t the whole truth, but it was a quick answer.

‘If we go back down the cliff-’ her companion suggested until she shook her head.

‘It would take too long,’

‘What would?’ He wondered.

The tall girl bit her lip, caught with indecision and fear. Most importantly, they couldn’t stand here all night.

‘I promised I’d explain,’ she conceded and looked over her shoulder. His hair was kept longer than she was used to seeing, the breeze tugged at the strands of fine silk and she wondered how old he was, and not for the first time, what he’d been doing skulking around the cave, ‘but first we need somewhere to hide, eventually they’ll give up looking in the cave and they’ll come back home.’

‘So we go to the inn, we book a room,’ he moved towards the distant glow. Someone shut their curtains and one of the lights died.

‘No,’ Lyris looked between the bordering trees. To the North, the ground rose sharp and high into the peak of a mountain, but to the South they seemed to drop away towards a gentler rise of rolling hills. South would be the easier way to travel, at least until they reached the foot of the mountain. Then there would be no way through, not without circling the basin and going through the village.

‘North,’ she gestured to the deep shadows that rose and heard the sigh behind her, ‘you don’t have to come,’ the young woman insisted, though when he followed behind her, long strides soon outmatching her pace, she was grateful. Lyris reminded herself that she didn’t know the sandy-haired youth and had little reason to trust him, but the thought was replaced with the fact that he had saved her life. Perhaps that deserved a little respect, even if he was terrible at making plans.

‘Why North?’ His voice was a low rumble as they pushed through long swathes of summer grass, nearly dry and ready to make hay.

‘Because they don’t know about you,’ she took hold of the edges of her hood and pulled the wool up to cover her ears. They were stinging with cold, despite the promise of summer sun in the morning, the clouds were vanishing and leaving a cold night behind, ‘they’ll think I’ll take the easier road, through the village or South,’ Lyris wasn’t sure why, but she paused as they slipped between the first line of trees, sentinels that stretched into the sky and blocked out the light. The rustle of leaves sounded like rain and the whisper of grass like the crash of waves on a distant shore and she closed her eyes and pretended that she was somewhere else for just a moment. Somewhere warm and safe and far away from the insanity of the border lands.

‘Over here,’ her companion gestured towards a deer path and she followed. Away from the ledge the last of her adrenaline fled and left her tired. Her footsteps were heavy as they wound through the ancient forest and into denser brush. The smell of pine mingled with the stain of chive-grass. The youth looked back in frequent bursts, features pulled into a frown, as though he wanted to say something, but every time decided against it, then forged on again. Her bootsteps started dragging on the ground and she started wishing that they could stop, and hoping that they were far enough away from the meadow and the end of the cliff path.

Lyris stumbled over a root and her companion paused in his step, hands on hips he surveyed the impossible darkness before gesturing silently towards a lone willow tree, bent over a brook that dropped through the mountains and surfaced in the forest before vanishing again underground. If she hadn’t been so tired she’d have heard it bubbling beneath the earth but instead she sank down, and sat with her back to the coarse trunk. The forest smelt of summer rain and a soft owl hoot carried through the branches.

Her companion dropped down beside her, scattering leaves and small branches. His arms rested on his knees and he waited a handful of breaths before he spoke again. His voice a low rumble in his chest, deeper now because he was tired.

‘Can I have an explanation?’

He wasn’t wearing a cloak or hood, but he was warm. Heat seemed to radiate off him and she found it hard not to lean towards the stranger to take advantage. They couldn’t light a fire and the young woman suspected they were a long way off from daybreak and the first warm rays of sunshine. There was peace in the forest and her heart rate had almost slowed to a steady rhythm. But her mouth was dry, so she wet her lips with a careful flick of her tongue and swallowed. Where to begin?

‘My name is Lyris,’ she told the darkness and felt the man beside her shift his weight. The leaves rustled beneath him and he swore.

‘Sorry,’ he hissed, ‘sharp f*****g twig,’

All this time he’d been impatient to know more about her, and suddenly the undergrowth was distracting? The young woman would have rolled her eyes, but it was dark and he wouldn’t even see the expression. Instead she drew another patient breath.

‘Do you have a second name?’ his curiosity destroyed his manners.

‘Bakersa,’ she nodded and he interrupted again.

‘Your father is a baker?’

‘Yes,’ she gave up trying to keep the irritation form her voice and turned to stare at him, eyes narrowed in the dark. ‘Do you want to hear about my Father, or about me?’ the young woman demanded and saw a flash of white teeth.

‘You’re a serious person,’ he teased.

‘And you’re not!’ Lyris stood without thinking. Smack, the top of her head collided with the lower branch of the tree and she was dropped back to her rear into the pile of moss and dead leaves.

‘Are you alright?’ He was kneeling, reaching out to inspect her scalp.

She hissed at him, pressing her own hands against her head. Ears ringing and spots dancing white and silver in her vision.

‘Let me look at it?’ His voice was softer and she was swayed before shaking her head.

‘I’m fine,’ Lyris resisted the urge to blame him for the accident, barely.

‘Tell me about yourself,’ his knee pressed against her leg and he peered at as she cowered, rubbing the throbbing part of her skull until the initial pain faded. All day she’d managed to remain calm, uninjured and brave. Now though, Her eyes felt as though they were burning and the throb of heat in her skull sank through her spine and churned in her stomach. Lyris closed her eyes again, shutting out the dark. Anywhere but here, she promised herself, she could imagine that she was anywhere but here.

‘Tell me…’ a light touch landed on her shoulder.

Lyris sank back against the tree with one arm wrapped over her head. Would he let her finish this time? Probably not. Was it worth trying? Probably not. Was he going to give up? Probably not. Her sigh seemed to rise from the depths of the earth.

‘My name is Lyris Bakersa, and I’m a Student of the Hidden Island.’

There was uncharacteristic silence beside her and for a moment, she wondered if her companion and rescuer had fallen asleep. All she could hear was the slow inhale and exhale of air before he moved again and more leaves rustled in the natural carpet.

‘What are you doing here?’ He wasn’t asleep. He moved back, setting distance between them and she couldn’t feel the warmth from his skin any longer.

She’d spent most of the day wondering the exact same thing. Unwanted tears pricked the back of her eyes.