Mira's View (7 page)

“I’m here,” he whispered back as he crept
over to her. He gently cupped her face and kissed the tip of her
nose.

“How long was I sleeping?”

“It’s well into the night. Dawn won’t be far
around the corner,” he murmured in her ear.

She placed her forehead against his, savoring
the comfort of having him close. “I didn’t realize how tired I
would be afterward.”

“Does your foot still bother you?”

She stretched her foot, testing it, and
noting that it was a little sore, but other than that, it felt
fine. “Back to normal,” she whispered as she sighed with relief.
Secretly, she wondered how far she could push herself before
causing permanent damage.

Elenio pulled her into his arms, kissing her
forehead, and stroking her hair. “I know Tark thinks it’s okay if
you continue using magic, but I’m not so sure. When I saw you on
the ground after growing a tree, I thought for sure something
terrible had happened. I almost considered strangling Tark for even
suggesting the idea.” He pulled her closer still, putting a finger
under her chin, tilted her face up, and kissed her soundly.

Galena felt herself melt within his arms.

When he finally stopped, he rested his head
on top of hers. “Just be really careful. If anything happens to
you, I’ll never forgive myself. Now try to get some more sleep.” He
squeezed her tightly before letting her go and standing up. He
began to walk around, stopping from time to time to examine the
depths of the forest.

Galena watched him for some time before
drifting off to sleep once more.

The sound of Tark and Elenio in the middle of
a hushed conversation caused Galena to stir the next morning.

“She really got hurt the last time,” Elenio
whispered angrily.

“She really got hurt the first couple times
she used a sword too,” Tark retorted.

She sat up and stretched, effectively putting
an end to their argument. “I know you both mean well, but
ultimately, the decision is up to me. I want to continue
practicing, but nothing like that tree until I feel a great deal
stronger. Now, what’s for breakfast? I’m starving.”

After a quick breakfast of more fruit and
bread, they started walking down the road. They discussed the old
days and how different everything must have been when the elves
could shape plants with their minds. Eventually, they fell into a
comfortable silence as they continued down the road, each one left
in their own thoughts.

Galena passed the miles away by practicing
magic on smaller plants, picking up pebbles and smaller rocks, only
to send them flying through the forests. Tark and Elenio watched
her in mild interest, commenting from time to time on different
ways she could try to use her magic.

Around noon, they stopped for lunch, finding
an area just off the road that allowed them privacy from other
possible travelers. The trio munched on dried fruit and quork once
more, talking quietly of what they could expect in the next
village. Galena couldn’t help but feel excited. She had never seen
another village. Travelers had come to Tomeka from time to time and
it was always a great occasion, with the whole village gathering to
hear the news from other parts of Tomiro. There were feasts as
well. Galena wondered if the same held true for other places. She
had always assumed that they had, because the traveling elves had
never been surprised by the food and entertainment. It was always
something that nagged at Galena.

Finishing his food, Tark stood up, and dusted
off his leggings. He stretched, taking in the forest around him. “I
think we should continue to practice. We fought well against the
torlics, but who knows what else Rau has hidden away to do his
bidding.” He removed his sheath and sword from his pack, taking the
sword out and tossing the sheath aside. Getting in a starting
stance, he went through the motions of a routine that Galena knew
like the back of her hand.

Galena sat and watched Tark for a while,
marveling at the way that he moved with effortless ease. Finishing
her fruit, she stood and dusted off the seat of her own leggings.
She reached toward her pack and removing her own sword, she
prepared herself to spar with Tark. She stood facing him, getting
into her own stance. He struck the first blow, which she deflected
easily, spinning around and swinging the blade toward his side.
They continued in this fashion for some time until they were both
breathless. Galena eyed Elenio as he stooped to retrieve his sword.
Grinning wickedly, Elenio moved in front of Galena, indicating that
he was ready for his turn to practice.

“You always have to wait until I’m worn out,
don’t you?” Galena murmured, still trying to catch her breath.

“Of course, how else will you learn to push
your limits?”

Galena grumbled as she prepared herself for
his attack. She surprised him though, stabbing out at him first. He
blocked the blow, but just narrowly. He jumped up and over her,
spinning around after he landed. He tried to strike her in the
back, but she had followed him, and was ready. She deflected the
strike, and feinted toward the right, changing directions at the
last moment. They returned blow after blow, both sweating
profusely, until Tark called a halt to their fight.

“There is no sense in wearing each other out
completely. We still have a ways to go before the next village and
I would rather get there before we run out of supplies.”

Still trying to catch their breath, they
packed up, and started on their way once again. They walked for
miles and late into the night. Galena felt as if she was going to
fall asleep standing up. Between the practicing with her sword and
magic, she was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to eat
something and curl up on her blanket. At the very thought of sleep,
she felt herself begin to sway. Elenio caught her before she could
topple to the ground though, wrapping a firm arm around her
waist.

“We need to stop. Galena can’t go much
further.”

Tark looked back and seeing Elenio supporting
Galena, nodded. They turned off the road and searched for a spot
where they could rest and keep watch easily. Finding a small
clearing among a thicket of brush, they made camp, risking a small
campfire so that Tark could make stew from the plants surrounding
them. Galena was so tired that she drifted in and out until the
food was done, gulping down the hot liquid quickly. She wrapped a
blanket around her and laid her head down on her pack. She vaguely
heard Elenio and Tark discussing who would take the first watch and
when they should switch.

“I’ll take the last watch,” Galena mumbled
loud enough for them to hear her before she drifted off into a
dreamless sleep.

Galena woke to Tark shaking her gently. She
opened eyes, noting that the forest around them was vaguely dim,
indicating that the sun would be rising soon. She sat up and rubbed
the sleep from her still tired eyes. “My turn for watch?” she
asked, stifling a yawn. Wearily, Tark nodded. He retrieved his own
blanket and stretched out under it, laying his head on his own
pack. Within seconds, Galena could hear him breathing deep and
evenly.

She got up and stretched, reaching her hands
high into the sky. She bent down, touching the ground under her
feet and effectively stretching her back and legs. Standing up, she
walked over to her pack and rummaged around for a piece or two of
dried fruit to hold her over until they ate their morning meal.
Popping both pieces into her mouth at once, she chewed as she
retrieved her sword. She unsheathed it and began to practice,
keeping alert as she went through the motions. She felt her muscles
beginning to warm up as she gracefully swung her sword this way and
arching that way. Feeling rejuvenated and ready for the day to
begin, she sat on the ground, crossing her legs and keeping her
back straight. She placed her hands on her knees, closed her eyes,
and listened to the forest around her.

Somewhere close by, she heard a rustling
noise, one that was unfamiliar. Opening her eyes, she looked around
for the creature that made such a noise. Listening hard, she was
able to detect from which direction the noise was coming from. She
grabbed her sword and making as little sound as possible, crept in
that direction. She kept low to the ground, always searching the
area for anything that could cause her harm. She kept her sword out
and ready. As she drew nearer to the rustling noise, it grew more
persistent. Slowing down even further, Galena strained her eyes to
see what was making the disturbance, but she could see nothing.

What in the world?

The rustling was a constant sound now. She
stepped over a dead, rotting log and almost stepped on the creature
that was making the racket. She jerked her foot back and crouched
low, staring at the furry little creature that had managed to
become entangled within a knot of vines that grew all over the
log.

“Well, what do we have here?” she asked in a
soothing voice. It was a small ferret. Its fur was a cinnamon color
and it had small, dark eyes. It licked its tiny mouth, eyeing
Galena suspiciously. Galena had only ever read about these
wonderful creatures, and how they had been great pets for the elves
in the old days. She thought of how sad she had been when she
learned about the disappearance of them since the elves’ capture.
No one knew exactly why, but it was yet another reason to feel
extremely bitter toward Rau.

“Where did you come from, my little friend?”
She reached her hand out slowly to the trapped creature, not
wanting to frighten it, but desperately wanting to pet it. Ferrets
were considered extremely lucky to have around and as Galena
reasoned, she would need all the luck she could get in order to
succeed on this journey.

The tiny ferret sniffed her hand cautiously,
judging whether Galena meant harm. Satisfied, it allowed her to
stroke its head. It turned and playfully nipped her on the finger,
tasting the sweet fruit that Galena had been eating earlier.
Carefully, Galena worked on freeing the tiny creature, moving
slowly, so as not to frighten it. After what felt like an extremely
long time, Galena managed to free it from its tangled mess. Lifting
the creature up, she examined its underside, looking for physical
damage, but also, to identify its gender.

“Well, a little Miss, are we?” She cradled
the ferret in her arms, stroking her wiry, cinnamon fur. She seemed
to have two different layers of hair. The hair closer to her body,
was thicker, softer and a cream color. Where the hair that was
cinnamon colored, was longer and courser. Her tiny brown nose was
in constant motion, sniffing the air for anything she found
interesting.

Standing up, Galena headed back to camp, the
ferret secure in her arms. She poked her head out, sniffing
furiously as they continued toward the camp. Finally, she turned to
give Galena a thorough going over. She climbed up Galena’s arm and
made herself comfortable on her shoulder. She sniffed Galena’s ear
and then gave it a nibble as if to say,
“I’m good here.”
Galena reached up, scratching the ferret behind her tiny little
ears.

As she approached camp, Elenio and Tark were
starting to stir. She walked over to her pack and produced a couple
pieces of the dried fruit. She had once heard that if you fed an
animal of any sorts, they were more likely to come back or even
stay around. At least she hoped this would be the case with her
tiny friend. She offered the pieces of fruit to the tiny creature,
recalling that ferrets were carnivores by nature, but as Galena was
not, she offered what she did have. The ferret took the food and
chewed it, all while regarding her surroundings. Having taken
several bites of the fruit, she began looking through Galena’s pack
for anything else that she might find interesting.

“What on Tomiro did you find?” Tark asked,
rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“A ferret.” Galena retrieved the tiny
creature from her bag and placed her in her lap. “I think I might
have a new friend.” She grinned broadly at the funny, little
creature.

“Where did you find it?” Elenio asked in
wonder. He stared in amazement at the tiny creature. “There haven’t
been ferrets around for centuries.”

“She was tangled up by a dead log over
there,” Galena said, pointing in the direction that she had found
her new little friend. “I think I should call you Twoit, especially
if you’re willing to come along for the ride.” Galena held the
ferret up so that they were face to face. Twoit nibbled the end of
Galena’s nose in response. “Then it’s settled, my little friend.
Welcome to our small group, you’re in for the journey of your
life.”

Chapter
Six

As the days wore on, a new routine developed
for the traveling trio. They rose in the morning, stopped for lunch
around noon, practiced, and then continued on until late in the
evening where they would find a relatively safe place to spend the
night. Their supplies were beginning to run low, so they searched
for berries, roots, and other edible plants along the way. Galena’s
back was tired from carrying a large pack and her legs throbbed
with the amount of walking that they had done so far, but as they
still had several days before they would reach the nearest village,
she tried not to complain, a feat that she struggled with
daily.

Twoit had taken the lack of meat into her own
tiny paws and whenever she woke up, which was surprisingly not very
often, would scamper along behind the group, catching whatever
small prey was around. Galena had decided to let her new friend
inside her pack with the top undone, so Twoit could take in the
sights as they went along. The little creature often times decided
to curl up in the pack and sleep whenever she needed rest.

Galena grew increasingly more nervous the
closer they got to the next village. Unsure what to expect, but
hoping for the best nonetheless. In Tomeka, they would get
travelers from time to time, but not often enough to feel
comfortable in their presence. She feared that they would know
their reason for coming and turn them over to Rau in hopes to avoid
his anger. She had talked to Tark and Elenio about it along the
way, but they both felt that she was overreacting.