Chapter 2

Sorry for making you wait for this chapter...if any one wants to tell my mother that school isn't necessary, I might post more often. :) As always, critique/criticism welcome and appreciated!

Chapter 2

'Finally' I thought. the thunder that had been continually growling since early evening dissipated. I allowed myself to relax, but I still couldn't sleep.

"Kalla!" I whispered, trying to contain myself. Kalla didn't answer, but I knew her well enough to know that she was awake, and just trying to ignore me.

"Kalla," I whispered again.

"Mm?"

"This is so cool!"

"What?" she got up on her elbow and stared at me, "That you're going to be a spy on our worst enemy that also happens to be led by a ruthless man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants?"

"C'mon Kalla. You know I've always wanted to have an adventure like in all the stories,"

"I wonder where that note came from," Kalla said.

" I bet it's from some person Sir Adam's never told us about who knows something Sir Adam doesn't and that's why he wouldn't tell us everything. And maybe in order to accomplish anything we'll have to go after him and find out whatever he knows!" I knew what Kalla was going to say before she said it.

"Rielle. Be serious,"

"Well, it could happen!"  She was probably right, but my idea was much more exciting than the idea that it was just an old friend of his.

There didn't seem much more to be said, and we drifted off to sleep. Some time later I woke up, I knew not why. Out of habit, I glanced at Kalla's bed. It was empty. I rolled over, assuming she would soon return. When she didn't, I began to wonder. Standing up, I shivered. 'Why is it so cold in here?' I wondered. Then I noticed that the window hung open. I didn't remember it being open when we went to bed. I groped my way along in the dark room heading for the door. I opened it, and poked my head out. All was silent; that special kind of quiet that comes only at night. The wood floors were cold on my feet as I walked with soft steps to the main room.

A sliver of moonlight shone into the room casting a silvery glow over everything within it's reach. The hearth stone, normally so warm and inviting, now seemed harsh and cold. As I stared into the fireplace with its dead grey ashes, I wondered where Kalla had gone. 'Could she have gone outside?' I wondered. I walked to the door, the soft swish of my feet on the floor seeming unbearably loud. I reached for the handle and hesitated.

'Why would she be outside?' I wondered. As if in slow motion, I opened the door and looked out. The full moon cast a silvery glow over everything, a strange mixture of light and shadow;blurring shapes. I could feel the dampness in the air reminding me of the recent storm.

I thought for a moment, then decided I'd go look for Kalla. I stepped out, and almost immediately slipped on the grass. I decided to go inside and get a lantern first. I went inside, and found the lantern. I backed up a few steps, but in the dark, I lost my balance, started to fall, and dropped the lantern. I winced at the loud clatter that ensued. I picked myself up, and found the lantern. Fortunately, it hadn't broken. A moment later, I saw a little bubble of light as Sir Adam walked towards me. I was immediately reminded of the candle on the table in our room, and I wanted to smack myself.

"What are you doing Rielle?" he asked, obviously surprised.

"I couldn't find Kalla," I replied, leaving out the vague feeling of uneasiness that had been creeping over me.

"So you opened the door, then decided to get the lantern instead of  a candle?"

"No-well," I decided to start from the beginning, although it seemed rather childish and ridiculous now. "I woke up earlier, and I noticed that Kalla was gone. I waited awhile, but she never came back. Then I noticed that the window was open, which it wasn't when we went to bed. I couldn't find her inside, and I was going to look outside,"

"Go get dressed," instructed Sir Adam, "I have a bad feeling about this,"

A few minutes later, I returned dressed and ready  to find my friend.

"You'll need your sword," said Sir Adam. I retrieved it, buckled it in place, and walked to the door; turning to see if Sir Adam was coming. He didn't seem to notice my impatience as he walked to the door. Once outside, he held the now lit lantern high, as if looking for something. It cast a yellow light over everything, and made the water droplets that lingered glisten. The grass appeared to be darker than normal in the half light.

Once Sir Adam made up his mind he strode towards the stable, full of purpose.

"Saddle Zenith," he said; that was all he said, he focused solely on saddling Rathlyr. I'd never seen him this way before. I tried to move quickly, but I was distracted. I wondered and (worried) about Kalla, and I studied Sir Adam. This was all so strange to me. Everything he did seemed to have a precise purpose. He was leading Rathlyr out of the stall before I had even put the bridle in Zenith's mouth. In a hurry, I finished, and we mounted our horses and rode out. The stars looked like pinpoints of light shining out behind a black cloth with tiny holes in it.

We rode in silence, and when I first looked back I could no longer see the tiny black outline that was the little house. I had an idea about where Kalla was, but I couldn't be sure. Every now and then, bands of outlaws would come to more remote villages to pillage, and every now and then, they took prisoners for ransom. I assumed that must be what happened to Kalla. But that didn't make sense. if it was simple outlaws, Sir Adam wouldn't be this agitated. These bands had come before, and he'd never acted this way. I decided to ask him about it.

"Sir Adam,"

"Hush!" This surprised me also. Very rarely did Sir Adam interrupt anyone. I was becoming more bewildered and frightened by the minute.

"Rielle," said Sir Adam after a moment, "listen closely. The men we are soon going to face are very dangerous. They are not like the outlaws; who are cowards and fools, and will flee when you show a bit of skill with a sword. The ones we are after will not think twice about killing a person, including Kalla. They are cowards in their own way, but they should not be underestimated because of that. You must be prepared."

"Who are they?" I had to ask.

"It is time you knew more," he said, more to himself than to me. Louder, he said, "They are Gurabians," I was silent for a time as I digested that piece of information.

We rode for about another hour.

"We will be approaching them soon," Sir Adam broke the silence.

"How can you tell?" I asked

"See the rising column of smoke? That's a campfire. We shall soon have to stop and asses their position and strength." True to his word, we stopped in a few minutes. We were just inside the fringes of the forest, and took advantage of the trees to hide ourselves as we crept forward on foot. I followed Sir Adam, and waited as he observed the camp.

Kalla was nowhere in sight. There were five Gurabians, all strong and hard looking. Still, we had the element of surprise. I started to step forward, but Sir Adam gave me such a look that that I stopped. Not, unfortunately, out of obedience, but curiosity.

"They are not expecting us! We should attack now!" I whispered.

"You are to impulsive. You'll get yourself killed if you continue act that way. There are five of them and only two of us. We must make use of every advantage available to us."

I gazed at the little clearing in the enormous forest of pines. The flames danced up and down, making it hard to see beyond the fire. Somewhere I heard a horse nicker, and I knew it was not one of ours. I began to listen to their conversation. I thought it might reveal what they'd done with Kalla.

"You sure that's the right one?"

"'Course I'm sure. I don't make mistakes," The man's arrogance struck me . I'd never heard that kind of ride before, and I didn't like it. Like rubbing a cat the wrong way.

"Now we just gotta find the other 'un,"

"Last I heard he was in village outside Candir," said a third man. Just then, I heard Sir Adam murmur, "Candir. He rode fast. Lad best keep himself out of trouble," 'Who on earth?' I wondered.

"Leiutenant'll be furious if we got the wrong one," said the first one who had spoken up before.

"This ain't the wrong one!" shouted the second man. Sir Adam motioned for me to back up, and he did the same. For a moment my heart froze when a twig snapped under my foot. I stood still as a frightened rabbit for a second that seemed an eternity. When no one noticed I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

We reached our horses, and I was more anxious than ever to do something.

"We must attack now, before they can meet their commander. Right now we have the element of surprise and they have let their guard down. We must move quickly. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," We crept back to the little ring of trees, but we didn't stop there. Stepping into the light cast by the fire, I took my cue from Sir Adam and drew my sword.

Immediately, I found myself engaged in a duel. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sir Adam was likewise engaged, only he fought two opponents. I tried to remember everything Sir Adam had taught me. This man was certainly not as skilled as Sir Adam, and I soon noticed that the man left his middle unguarded. I watched a moment longer; one wrong move in this fight, and it'd be the last move I'd ever make. I waited for my opportunity, and when it came I thrust my sword. I almost let go of the hilt in surprise when i felt my blade pierce flesh.I pulled my sword back without thinking and watched as the man stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding stomach. He fell, his eyes were fixed in a vacant expression, and somehow I knew: he was no more. I shifted my gaze from the man to my sword and the blood on it. Never had I sen it this way. Never had my sword been used as a weapon of death. I was snapped out of my trance when I heard, "Rielle!" Sir Adam's shout made me look up, and I caught the deadly blow with the flat of my blade in the nick of time.

This man had much more skill with the sword than did the first, and I was hard put to defend myself. I focused everything I had in me on the fight. It was exhilarating for a moment, but his blows came fast and hard. I gave up all hope of going on the offensive.

Soon my defenses cam barely in time and it was getting harder and harder to hold my own.

i didn't know how much longer I could hold on, but I refused to let myself lose. I had always been stubborn, but now a new stubbornness arose in me. A stubbornness tainted and strengthened by fear. In one sudden movement, the man disengaged himself, and spun around so his back was to me.

For a moment, I was simply relieved, but then I looked to see why the man had turned around, though I had a good idea. Sir Adam had attacked him from behind. The other four had been put out of the fight. Two were injured, two were killed. Watching, I again saw Sir Adam's mastery of the sword. I cleaned my blade on the ground and sheathed it.  I'd caught my breath by now, and went to find Kalla.

"Kalla?" I called, still afraid to be loud to my great relief, I heard a response.

"Rielle? I'm over here," It only took a moment to find her. She had a cut across her forehead, and her hands were bound behind her back. I went behind her and cut the rope. With a sigh of relief, Kalla rubbed her wrists.

"Come on," I said, and pulled her up. Then, on the same impulse, we embraced each other. We stayed like that for a moment, then we walked back to the fire. By the time we came back Sir Adam had defeated the last Gurabian, and led us back to the horses. We mounted, Kalla behind me on Zenith. The ride home seemed longer somehow.

All the time, I could not help but replay the events of the evening in my mind. I discovered that I was very ignorant. To me, Gurabia had always been a far off land shrouded in mystery. Yet I had just come from a fight with real Gurabians. That thought led to another. Before now, I'd always thought of battle in terms of the duels Sir Adam and I had. I imagined that a real battle would be just the same. I was wrong. Dead wrong. There was something fundamentally different about fighting to win and fighting to live, and I had discovered it tonight.