Book 5, Chapter 7: The White Rider

I found a clearing in a little glade atop a hill.  The sun was getting low.  This place would do.  The foxes were running through the undergrowth, birds settling in, so it seemed safe.  Just in case, I checked for webs, hairy legs, moving, hungry trees and, finding none, decided the area was safe.  However safe one could be in this world.

Finishing my investigation, I turned my attention to preparing the campsite.  Just about to create a twister to dig the firepit for warmth and something to stare at, a pair of auburn furred foxes trotted into the glade, many more foxes behind them.  One carried a brownish rabbit in its mouth, the other a beige and white feathered grouse.

I cocked my head at them.

The first walked up to me, dropping the rabbit at my feet.  Not knowing what to do, I reached down and petted the fox.  It bowed then returned to its pack.  The next one placed the grouse at my feet, but rushed off before I could pet it.

The sun’s rays vanishing as it set, a bunch of foxes staring at me and me staring right back.  “A rabbit and a bird?”

Some of them pawed the ground, others bobbing their heads, others standing very still.

“Are these for me?”

They started yipping and whining.

This wasn’t normal.  Ok, none of it was.  Not a single thing!  I could accept that foxes were hanging out with me.  Like my birds.  And cuddling up, as they were cute and furry, big eyes and all that.  But, bringing me animals?  For food?  I stared for a bit in shock.

The dead rabbit was, thankfully, not wearing a top hat, nor a suit, and so my evening felt slightly less odd than it otherwise could have been.  Seeing it up close, its fur mostly brown, with a few splotches of white.  Just a sprinkling of winter colors remaining, and these guys caught it.

Did they know I’d given my dried rations away with my saddlebags?  The foxes scattered, leaving me in wonder.  Yes, they’d brought me something to eat.  I suddenly felt it was more than that.  These were offerings.  The foxes were mine and this was their due.

Then it all felt strange again, and I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, checked my timepiece to see if I was late for tea and discovered, rather expectedly, that I had no such device.  I admit to looking around, searching behind some deadfall, and discovering no holes leading to an underground adventure and tea.

Picking up the fluffy rabbit and feathery grouse, I put them atop a largish rock, slightly worried that I’d wake up tomorrow with a message in bunny skat that read, “STOP KILLING MY RABBITS!” which, when compounded with all the other animal messages I’d eventually receive, would force me into veganism.  Until the carrots revolted, too.

I shook my head at the thought, got on with setting up camp, excavating the firepit, moving stones around it, then starting the campfire by stacking wood and just really, really thinking about fire.  It dawned on me that I could easily protect myself from errant spider webs and branches if I walked through the forest with the energy coursing around me.

Assuming I could control it and not go on a killing and burning spree.  And it would probably frighten all my critter friends and start forest fires.  Ok, right.  Explosive and violent Cayce, destroyer, enjoying a nice hike through the woods.

On the other hand, I would be free of spider webs.

One thing about my powers bugged me.  The energy coursing around me didn’t melt my armor or jewelry or burn my clothes.  A nice perk, sure, but I didn’t know why and really needed to understand what was going on.  How these powers worked.  Though it was nice to not walk around naked.

That gave me pause.  Not the thought of a naked girl walking across a battlefield, purple fire jetting out of her eyes, throwing intense laser beams into everyone, but the clothing.  I’d previously thought myself a glass cannon – all offense and no defense.  That I didn’t destroy my clothing meant that I was wrong.  I must be somehow unconsciously protecting it.  If I could figure out how the clothing was spared, I might be able to reproduce that as protection against magical attacks.

But I faced a more immediate problem.  That nearly everyone other than me on this planet could do, that of gutting the game.  Something that I, as a princess and with the power of a deity, couldn’t do, hadn’t learned.

Morry would know.  How to prepare rabbit, grouse.  Had he been here, he’d teach me.

I lost my appetite then.  Put the fire out with a thought, slowing down those molecules.  “Hey guys,” I said to the foxes, the younger ones still racing around, but the adults sitting and grooming themselves, “you eat the rabbit.  I’m sure your little ones are hungry.”  I picked it up, dropped it off near them and they looked up with large, sad eyes, let slip a little whine.

Unless, you know, I’m anthropomorphizing.  No idea.  Never had fox friends before.

Two of the foxes were sitting by the bunny corpse.  Just kind of looking up at me.  I stared back a bit wondering how my reality had altered so much.  My army, traded in for a family of foxes.  And no little angry gnomes riding them, with tiny spears and a lot of bickering to keep me company.

Reaching into Etienne’s pack, I took his book out.  This, too, demanded attention.  I placed it beside the dead grouse and stared.

Could I hide out here somewhere?  Live off-grid as it were.  The foxes and corvids would take care of me.  Bring me rabbits, birds.  Ceasar salad.

Maybe the mages would forget about me.  Ok, yeah, they wouldn’t.  But people, everyone I knew and every other living person I didn’t, would be safe from the monster I was when pressed.  If I just randomly choose a place, or continually moved around, the mages would at least struggle to find me.  And my friends would be far away, from me, safe.

A branch cracked off in the forest, the fox near me sat up, ears alert and moving around.  The other foxes scattered into the surrounding bushes and trees.  Footsteps.  Someone or something was headed toward me.  Perhaps one of those brigands I frightened off earlier.

Or worse.  Monsters.  Mages to finish me off.

I stood, let the energy flow around, swirling balls of plasma in each hand, waiting.  Might as well face it head on.  Tan and orange foxes burst toward me from the underbrush, curving away as they ran.  Ravens cawed as they flew overheard, using the heat I put off to rise high in the sky.

“Huh?”  I dropped my hands.  My own little guys wouldn’t be escorting a monster here.  Unless they were running from it!  Put my hands back up.

Armored greaves stepped into the small clearing, dark and dirty breastplate, faceplate open, red scar running down to his lips.

“Morry?”  The energy dropping instantly away.

“Princess?”

“Morry!!!  He barely moved as I crashed into him, arms around his neck and legs around his torso.  “Morry!”

He put his arms around me and there was a smile in his voice, “Princess.  Good evening.  A good evening, indeed.”

I hugged and hugged him.  Hugged tighter, a little longer.  A few more breaths.  And found my lips on his armored neck, pulled my head back, and he set me down.  “I . . . thought you were dead.  The mages, that bitch, Aisu, she told me you were dead.  And I looked for you!  I dug up that entire hillside trying to find you.”

“Dug up the hillside?  Princess, it’s good to see you, too.”

“I can’t believe you’re alive!”  I buried my face into his chest plate.

“Hey, hey, I’m alive, you’re alive, it’s ok.”  His arms, wrapped around me, tightened.  “It is good to find you.  I worried for you, Princess.  It’s ok now.”

My face against the steel, his armor, I pulled back to look up at the big man, into his eyes, so much taller he was than me that I felt like a little girl beside him, and somehow got out, my lips quivering and not quite my own, “It is now.”

Stronger, tighter, he squeezed, “I’m here.”

We stayed like that for a while, sounds of the forest still, until a breeze lifted the leaves, the crows cawed and the ravens chattered, and I hated the protective steel he wore then so very, very badly.

“Morry oh Morry, you found me.”

“It appears we have found each other.”

After a moment that was not long enough, not nearly, I let go, stepped back and looked up at the big man.  He looked rougher around the edges, but for the slight smile in his eyes.

“Princess, let me tie up the horses.  Then, ah, I have something for you.  A few somethings, but the first is important.”

“Cloud!”  I rushed over to my horse and gave her a big hug, too.  She snorted, stamped her foot, let out happy horse noises.  “Where did you find her?  I can’t believe she’s alive!”

“Brundle had her.  He took her with him when he fled the field.”  Morry tied the reins of his horse, the lead horse, to the tree.  Cloud was tied to him.  “He told me a little of what happened.”

“Oh?  Here, come.  I was about to start a fire.”  The clearing suddenly brightened as if daytime, horses panicking and pulling at their reins, Morry covering his eyes, then back to darkness.  I’d flashed it, a little too happily and eagerly, into ash.  “Ah, whoops.  Let me get more wood.”

***

We sat not quite across from each other, angled toward the fire.  Ale in our cups from his rations.  He’d successfully made a spit for the grouse and rabbit the foxes had brought and not eaten.  Morry turned it, sprinkling salt over the roasting meats.  “The foxes brought you these?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know how to gut them.  I sorta just gave them back.  I didn’t have salt anyway.”

“Had I known you’d be out on your own, I’d have included hunting in your lessons.”

“I have so many questions!”

“Well, here I am.”

“Uh.  I don’t know!  I’m just glad you’re alive.”

“Thank you, Princess.  I’m glad you’re alive, too.”

“What happened to you?  How did you find me?  Do you know how anyone else is?  Rand?  Brundle?  What’s the state of our army?”

“Lots of questions, then.”

“Well . . . yeah!”

His face passed back to grim and he looked at the ground.  “I don’t know about Rand.  He wasn’t at the encampment.”

“I hope he made it.  Gun is dead.”

“You are certain?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.  I know he meant a lot to you.”  The big man held his mug up, “To Gun.  He was a brave man.”

I held up my ale, words stumbling out of my mouth, “To Gun.  Long may he fight in Val- rest, long may he rest.  Sorry.”

“What was that?”

Why did I say that?  Valhalla!  Shaking my head, I closed my eyes.  “Long may he rest.  I never really got to know him.  Got to get to know him.  You know what I mean.”

“I know.”

“Not like that!”

“I know.”

“And?”

“And?”

“How’s the weather?  You get enough water on your way here?  What do you think of the flora?”

“The flora?”

“Morry!  Brundle, the army, how you survived!”

“Ah, yes.  Once they attend to the remaining injured, Brundle’s going to wipe out or chase off the remaining Ketzillian forces.  They are reported to be in much worse condition than ours.  Then, he’s going to move the army back to your castle.  At Dernammouth.”

“Ours came out better than the Ketzles?  Good.  Uh, I told Maitlan he could have it, the kingdom, if I didn’t return by summer.”

“Is that what you did?  The runner was confused on that point.  I didn’t quite understand what you were exalting the young earl to.”

“Duke now, he’s a duke.”

“Princess, why are you giving up the army?”

“It’s not that.”  I shook my head.  “How long do we have until the food is ready?”

“As long as you want.  And your army?”

I picked up the ale jug to refill the big man’s cup, but it was empty, so I stood and said, “Maitlan packed me some ale.  Might as well use it up.  Wait, no, uh, I gave them away.”  I mentally berated myself for forgetting.

“You gave your saddlebags away?”

“Yeah.”

“To whom?”

“Uhm, ok I know what you’re going to say, but don’t say it.”

“You found some starving farmers and gave your supplies to ease their suffering?”

“They, uh, were trying to rob me and I sorta melted all their weapons and-”

“Brigands?  You let them go and gave them your food?  Princess, they deserve to be hanged.”

“I just felt bad for them.  One of them, an older guy, he had a seizure and collapsed.  These endless wars destroyed their homes.”

“Or those people thrive in the lawlessness that follows two kingdoms warring against each other.”

“They said-”

“Whatever came out of their mouths are probably lies.  Why would they tell you the truth?  What if they go onto attack others?”

“Well, I melted their weapons into slag.”

“It’s a wonder, Princess,” he shook his head.  “I hope they remember your kindness.”

I was thinking to myself, I hope I remember it, too, when I next lose control.  And now Morry was here.  I shook my head, trying to not follow this line of thinking.

“It’s no problem.”  He pulled another jug out of the saddlebags resting on the ground.  “I didn’t have time to round up your whiskey but managed to bring extra ale just in case I found you.”

“Extra?”

“I figured you’d be running low.”

“That’s me.  Trekking across the countryside, drinking myself silly.”

“It’s a mystery that you aren’t known as ‘The Ale Princess.’  But, you’ll be encouraging banditry if you keep rewarding them with your belongings.”

“You know, ‘The Whiskey Princess’ does have a nice ring to it.”

He took hold of the cork, twisted, and quickly broke it in half.  “It seems we have a damaged cork.”  Morry slid out his dirk, pushed the rest of the cork into the bottle, then filled a cup for me, passed it over.

“Thanks.  Neat trick, that.”

Sipping, then resting his cup on his knee, he asked, “Why did you leave your army behind?”

“Morry, that battle, it wasn’t about the army.  The mages weren’t after the army.  They were after me.  The army was just in the way.  All those people died just because of me.  I couldn’t stay.”

“Running away,” he shook his head, “Princess, I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out here alone.  We need to regroup and then work out a way to deal with everything.”

“You’re not listening.  Etienne, I don’t know how, but he fell from the sky in front of me and somehow took control of my powers.  I was . . . killing the Ketzillian army when he did that.  I don’t think I could have stopped if he hadn’t interrupted.”

“I’m not sure you should have stopped.  Destroying their army would have solved the Ketzillian problem.”

I cocked my head at him.  “Well, Etienne wiped them out for us.”

“By himself?”

“At first, when he dropped onto the battlefield, I thought he was attacking me.  He somehow drained all life around us and turned that into powerful magic.  He dropped tornadoes on the Ketzles.  But near us, well, what he did killed everything around.  People, horses, grass, nothing survived except for me.  Even Etienne died at the end.    Before his arrival, I killed half their mages.  Etienne finished off the rest when he appeared.  And attacked our own, too.”

“That must have been after I jumped into the hole.  Did he get many of the traitor mages?  They deserve dying.”

“The hole?”

“Finish your story first.  What did the wizard to do you?”

“I don’t know.  He left me nearly helpless.  It was all I could do to just breathe, could barely crawl toward him.  When he was done, spent I guess, most of the mages were dead or gone, the armies crushed on both sides.  I almost . . .”

“Princess?”

“I almost killed the remaining Ketzillian forces.  The sick and the dying, I mean.  Just lying there.  Somehow, I stopped myself and went to, maybe it was you, thinking of you.  I went to find you after that.  I killed Aisu, then a couple more mages, but I couldn’t find you.  I’m sorry, Morry!  I should have looked harder.”

“I’m here.  I’m tougher than I look.”

“That’s pretty tough, then.”

He pointed his mug at me, “You should have killed them.  The rest of the Ketzles.”

“They were pitiful, Morry.”

“But they’ll regroup.  Like our army is doing.  With luck, Brundle will catch them unready.”

I stared into my cup.  “I couldn’t.  They weren’t fighting.  They were rescuing their injured.”

“They hadn’t surrendered, Princess.”

“Damnit, Morry, I’m not going to kill helpless people!”

“They’re only helpless for so long.  And then they’re an enemy force inside of your lands, raping and pillaging your people.”

“You found me to bring me back?  So I could use my powers on the Ketzles?”

“It’s dangerous out here, Princess.  It’s unwise to be alone and apart from your army.  We can discuss what to do about the enemy later, that’s not why I came, and I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“I didn’t leave to get away from ruling the kingdom.  Or my responsibilities.  Such as they were.”

“I’m not saying that.”

“We still had the injured and the dying on that battlefield, too.  I thought, I thought the mages were recovering, regrouping.  For another attack on me.  No one would have survived another of our battles.  And,” I shook my head, “and I thought you were dead.”

“I’m worried about you.  And I’m not speaking well.  You shouldn’t be alone out here.  Princess, this is Ketzillian controlled territory.”

“What’s an army to me?  What’s an army to the mages after me?  I can’t go back.  If I do and if the mages attack – you didn’t see it, Morry!  I can’t be responsible for the deaths of so many.”

“Ah.  You’ve a kind heart, it’s true.”  He leaned forward, “And the decisions you make are good for the men.  But are they good for the kingdom?  Ketzle remains a threat.”

I didn’t think I could get across the morality I knew as a person from an advanced technological society, human rights and freedoms.  And it saddened me, for I liked the big man.  I wished he could understand.  Looking at the ground, hand on my forehead, other hand holding my ale.

“Princess?”

“No one should have this much power, Morry.  The power to kill tens of thousands with but a thought.  No one person.”

“It’s a heavy burden.  I may not have such power, but perhaps I can relate as a general who makes decisions for other men.  But you cannot mean to live out here, in this forest, alone.”

“No, I’m not out here hiding.  I mean, I’ve thought about it!  I could build a nice cabin on a lake somewhere.  Maybe the foxes would bring me food!  I’d never starve.”  Even now, foxes were poking their heads out to watch us, some sitting in the bushes just out of the campfire light.  Ravens, crows, rustling the foliage around us as they settled in.  The odd squawking over a branch.  “And all these little guys warn me of any danger.”

He cocked his head at me, “Princess.”

“Yeah, alright.  Ok.  I’m heading to a temple.  Up north.  Because those were Etienne’s last words.  He said to head north, to a temple far away.  Past Bechalle’s dukedom, up near or in Laemacia.  He, uhm, gave me his journal.  Of his research into my back, the symbol.  He must have found something important at that temple.  It may give me some answers.”

“Answers?  To what?”

“Everything!”  I wanted to tell him so badly.  Where I came from, who I was maybe, information about the deity hypothesis.  So very, very badly.  I also needed him to leave.  He was in mortal danger near me.  But I didn’t want to tell him to go – I’d just found out he was alive.  I was terrible and selfish and I couldn’t bring myself to drive him off just yet, to leave him.  I tried putting the words together, “Morry, I . . .”

“Alright.  We’re going north.  These lands are in Ketzillian hands and aren’t safe.  We need to return to the southern bridge and cross to the other side.”

I emptied my mug, set it down for now.  “If you were looking for me, where would you be?  I mean, not you, you.  Because you found me.  And here you are!  So, that question is answered.  Right in front of me.  But, like the-”

“You think the mages have the south bridge watched.”

I pulled my head out of my hands, trying not to be embarrassed.  “Yeah.”

“Princess?”

“The mages are likely hunting me, Morry, so yes, they’ve got that bridge guarded.  And if Brundle’s men are there when we cross, and the mages fight me, more soldiers are going to die.  So, I’m going north.”

“You still haven’t told me what the questions are.”  Setting his mug down, he sat back, folding his arms.  “What does it say, the journal?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did he include you a map?”

“Uhm.  Maybe.  I think so.”

Morry tilted his head, “Princess . . .”

“I know, I know!  I’m an idiot.  Morry, I couldn’t . . . just couldn’t open it.  I thought you were dead!”  I moved over and hugged his arm.  I spoke quietly, “It was like, if I opened it, I don’t know, like I’d be turning the chapter on you and Brin and Tread and all the good parts of my life.  And going on this stupid . . . dumbass . . . quest!  A goddamn quest of Etienne’s because, well, because of all these goddamn mages.”

“Why would that happen?”  He put his arm over me.  “Brin and Tread are safe.”

“Are they?”

“Unless Brin’s father became filicidal or Laemacia has attacked, those two are running the castle.”

“That’s probably true.  Brin and her mom probably have the earl doing whatever they want, without him even realizing.”

“And Tread’s quietly keeping the smithies producing weapons, the distillery producing your devil drink, and making sure the soldiers get fed.”

“Devil drink?  I thought you liked it.”

“Oh, I do.  And that’s why I know where it’s from.”

“The devil has the power to assume a pleasing taste, I guess.”

“What’s that?”

“Messing up a famous quote.  You’re probably right about Tread.  That sneaky boy.  Making him a chamberlain was a great idea.  Still, I’d like to know how they are.”

“Can’t be that famous if I’ve never heard of it.”

“Yeah, I mean, not that famous here.  Uh, outside of Breadamont.”

“I see.  A local philosopher then.”

“A genius playwright.”

“Ah.  A fine distinction.”

***

We sat like that for a while, staring into the fire.

Then I wiped my cheeks, they’d somehow gotten wet, sat up straight, sniffed, smiled, and said, “You’ll be happy to know that I found your sword.  Maitlan’s safekeeping it for you.  It was, ah, I uncovered it.  The dirt they’d thrown at you, it was under all that.”

“That is good news.  I’d thought it lost forever.  Though now you’ve given Maitlan both the kingdom and my family’s sword.”

“Uhm.”  I watched the flames dancing in the fire, “Maitlan . . . he’s just a contingency plan.  If I don’t survive.”

“Gods help us if that boy is your contingency plan.”

“He’s grown a lot over the past year.”

“May I remind you how desperate you’ve ever been to keep distance between yourself and him?  You’ve had me scare him away from you on no less than two occasions.”

“Yeah, well.  He’s a little too eager.”

“And you gave him the kingdom.”

“Potentially gave him the kingdom.  I’m not dead, yet.  And anyways, I trust him.  With the kingdom.”  He tilted his head.  “Just not romantically.  He’s a teenager and that’s all kinds of yuck.”

“You’re a teenager.”

I turned from the fire to look him in the eye.  “No, I’m not interested in him that way.”

“Not even a little?  He’s not a cute boy?”

“Morry!”

He held up his hands, palms toward me and actually had a smile on his face.  “I believe the food is ready.”

“What?  Well!  Just.  Ok, ok, that sounds good.”  I repoured my ale.  More ale sounded like a fine plan.

“Where did you find my greatsword anyway?”

“It was under a mountain of dirt and stones.  Next to your horse.  Yeah, I found your horse.  Dead, though.  I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.  How did you find these under such a great amount of earth?”

“I funneled it away with wind.”

“Funneled?”

“After Aisu told me she killed you, after I, uh, dealt with her, I created a tornado and stuck its funnel, like the bottom part of it, into the loose ground.  And it basically sucked the dirt away, tossing it over the edge, the big chasm where they’d taken all that ground from in the first place.”

He put his head back and bellowed out laughing.

“What’s so funny about that?”

“So that’s why it was raining dirt on me.”

“What?”

“Raining dirt.  I was on the receiving end of that, in the pit the wizards excavated.  The downpour of dirt could only have come from your actions, looking for me.”

“I can’t believe I was that close to finding you.”

“I’m glad to have found you, even late.”

“How did you find me?”

“I’m an amazing tracker.”

“Morry, are you smiling?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You are, you scoundrel.  Seriously, how did you find me?”

“It doesn’t make much sense.”  He looked around at the critters hanging just outside our little camp.  “But these.  The foxes led me to you.  At first, I couldn’t understand why foxes were stopping in front of me, scraping the ground and whining.  But then one of them had your earrings in its mouth.  At the least, I thought maybe they found you.  Or your body.  So, I followed them and they led me to your belongings.  Your other iron jewelry, sword, and armor.  That’s what I brought you.  Why did you strip off these?”

“You brought them here?  Because the mages can track me with those.  I tossed them away on purpose.”  And the grief and misery, but I didn’t want to bring that up again.

“If the mages are hunting you, wouldn’t it be prudent to have the perseidian iron on?  Their attacks won’t affect you then.”

“Direct attacks.  Maybe.  But I don’t want them to know where we are going.”

“We don’t know their range of sensitivity.  It seemed like Aisu’s was only affected when she was rather near us.  Have you been attacked by mages since the battle?”

“No.  Maybe you’re right.  Maybe I was foolish to leave those behind.  But, Morry, you might as well keep my sword.  It’ll be better in your hands and it’s good for killing mages if you run into any.  And, I . . . I don’t really need it anymore.  Weapons.”

“No?”

“Nothing can get close enough to me anymore.  As long as I see it coming.”

“Perhaps you should consider continuing to wear armor, just in case.”

“I thought so, too.  But then, well, look around you.  All these foxes and ravens and crows.  Circling underfoot, flying high.  They’re my armor and alarm now, I think.”

“Princess, you may have power, but you don’t know what’s out here in the wild.”

“Yeah, true.  But it feels right.  It just does.  I can’t explain it.”

“I’d feel better knowing you were protected from magical attacks with the jewelry on.”

I narrowed my eyes at the big man.  “Did you also bring dresses with you?”

He smiled.

“Seriously?  Whatever for?”

“They’re the kind you like, all rough and built for labor.  And I thought you probably need a change of clothing.”

“I have been wearing this gambeson for a few days now and it’s getting pretty gross.”

“I can see that.”

“That bad?  Alright.”  I crossed my arms, “If you’re going to make me wear a dress, you owe me a story.”

“A story?”

“How did you find me?  What happened to you at the battle?”

He took a drink of ale, paused, took a deep breath, then said, “After talking to Brundle, I set off to find you and-”

“Wait, wait, back up.  How is Brundle doing?  I trust he’s managing the army, but what state is it in?  Before coming here.”  He was about to speak, but I cut him off, “Hold on.  You know what?  Just start from the beginning.”

“Well, Princess . . .”