#khaansso

Khaan let out a panicked neigh as you were pulled off of him. The Friesian dug his hooves into the dirt. He came to a hard stop. The steed almost fell forwards, but he managed to keep himself upright. Khaan spins on his back hooves trying to ride back to where you must have fallen. He lets out a snort as Anne’s horse comes crashing into him. The horse does not have a rider. Anne was pulled off her horse and she pulled you off with her.

Khaan noticed blood on Anne’s horse. Little dots of crimson covered the mane of Anne’s horse. The Friesian freaks out. He hopes you weren’t hurt. He tries to look for you, but Anne’s horse isn’t allowing him to move. The horse is freaking out in place. It bucked and threw its head back in the air. Khaan tried to use his body to move the other horse aside, but it didn’t budge. His patience was running thin. He tried again to move the horse. This time the horse kicked him during its freakout. Khaan lost his cool. He had no time for the freaked-out horse.

The Friesian let out an angry snort. He bit down on the other horse’s neck. Anne’s horse let out a shrill neigh. They looked to Khaan. Their ears pinned to the back of their head, and they tried to return the bite. While the two horses fought you struggled to get up. You tried to stand but your right leg sent a sharp pain through your whole body. It wasn’t broken you just landed on it wrong. You needed a few seconds to let your leg rest. Luckily for you, you landed in a huge bush. It covered you completely. The bush allowed you to rest safely.

You looked through little gaps in the leaves of the bush trying to see who pulled Anne off her horse. You did not see the culprit, but you did see the target. Anne was on the floor a few feet away from you and she was holding her arm. The girl was out in the open, she was not as lucky as you were. You could hear her cursing and hissing in pain. Her hissing and cursing was accompanied by the sounds of your horses fighting. Blood covered Anne’s sleeve at the forearm. At first you thought her arm was broken then you looked at it closely.

Bloody lines ran down her forearm to her elbow. Something had clawed her. The claw marks on her arm were huge. What clawed her? You heard a snort behind you. Fear pooled in your stomach. You had an idea of what could have clawed Anne. The snort sounded awfully close to the animal you thought had clawed her. You heard the snort again, and you went wide eyed. You did not want to look behind you. You stayed very still, maybe the animal would ignore you if you ignored it? You looked down at the ground. You tried to stay as still and as quiet possible.

You even slowed your breathing, so no movement could disturb the bush and give away your position. The sounds of your horses fighting gave you extra coverage. You hoped Anne would stay as still and as quiet as you. The girl was still busy with her arm. She was still cursing and hissing in pain loudly. Anne was your enemy right now but enemy or not you didn’t want her to get hurt again. You quietly tried to catch her attention. You pspsps’d at her like if she were a cat. Anne does not look at you. She doesn’t hear you. You do it again this time louder.

Anne looks to where you are, but she doesn’t do anything. She remains on the floor clutching her arm. You start to move out of the bush very slowly. You wanted to tell Anne to get away. To get on her horse and ride back to Valedale with Khaan. Pain shot through your right side as you slowly crawled your way out of the bush. You stop crawling for a second when you stop hearing the sounds of your horses fighting.

You start to move quicker. Did the animal get your horses too? You had to help them, you had to move quicker. Your vision became blurry as the pain in your leg started to get stronger. Before you can reach the edge of the bush something grabs the back of your shirt. Your heart drops all the way down to your stomach. You were definitely going to die. Your want to do a good deed ended up being your end.

You are quickly pulled out of the bush. You reach for it trying to hold onto a branch. The part of the bush you had tried to grab onto… Turned into green smoke? Suddenly the whole bush dissipated. It left you speechless. The bush shocked you enough to make you go completely still. It made the job of whatever was grabbing you easier. You remembered the danger you were in when you were sat down on something.

Being sat down made your leg hurt. The pain brought you back to reality. You looked down to where you had been seated. You were on a saddle. You looked up. You were back on Khaan. The Friesian whinnied, and you sobbed. You leaned forwards hugging the horse’s neck tightly. Quiet sobs came from you as you hugged Khaan. The horse had grabbed you, and he pulled you out of the bush. He whinnied again, and he gently nipped at your pant leg. He was trying to comfort you.

You kept holding him until you heard yelling coming your way. You let go of Khaan, and you quickly grabbed his reins getting ready to gallop again. Alex and Linda were coming. They were headed straight for you. You looked down at Khaan asking him to gallop. He doesn’t move. You start to freak out as you see the two Soul Rider’s get close to where you are. You ask Khaan to move again. The horse does nothing. You close your eyes covering your face with your arms trying your best to use your body to shield Khaan as Alex and Linda ride near where you were.

It seemed like they had planned to crash into you since they weren’t slowing down… Two seconds passed… Then four… then six… Ten long seconds passed. When no impact came you uncovered your face. Alex and Linda took a left turn, and they were riding down deeper into the forest. You were confused. Did they give up on chasing you? “Wha-“ you were about to talk to Khaan to ask him a rhetorical question, but you were interrupted “you’re terrible at keeping secrets you know that right?”

The question made you jump in the saddle. You looked to your left side where you heard the voice so quickly you felt like you had snapped your neck. A white Marwari paws at the ground and on his back a very fancily dressed rider sits. She wipes a hand on her pants. A barely seeable red stains the black suit pants. The snorts you heard weren’t from a bear they were from the Marwari. “We’re safe here I set up an illusion” the rider clicks her tongue her Marwari moves closer to Khaan’s side. “It won’t last forever so we have to be quick” she leans over to you putting a hand on your shoulder “you, okay?” You shake your head you want to keep it all in, but you fail. Jay’s small action of comfort makes everything fall apart. You burst into tears. The girl allows you to cry the illusion still has a few minutes before it fades.

Once you’re calm enough to talk and listen Jay explains to you how she found you. She talks while you rest your leg. She tells you that she was near the area looking for some of the plants you told her about. She happened to be in the right place at the right time. Sabine called her, told her you might need help, and that’s when the girl set out to look for you. Jay accidentally took longer than planned because the forest was a maze to her.

She hadn’t been in it as much as Sabine or Katja, so it took her a while to find you. Had she been more familiar with the forest you wouldn’t have gotten chased as long as you did. The girl was the one that clawed Anne, and pulled her off her horse. She didn’t mean to pull you off as well. The bush was made by her to cover you when you fell. That explained why it turned into smoke after you touched it. The current illusion you were in was made after she pulled you out of the bush. You would both be safe in the illusion for a while. It gave you enough time to rest your leg.

When you’re good enough to walk you and Jay begin to make your way out of the forest. Your horses walk calmly in the safety of Jay’s illusion. Khaan keeps his head low. His steps are shaky. It looks like every step he takes will lead to a fall. You walk by his right shoulder trying your best to support him as he walks. Arcebus walks by his left ready to be something for him to lean on.

The poor Friesian is tired. The whole walk out of the forest you thank him and praise him for all he did for you. By the time Jay’s illusion fades you both had already made it out of the forest and to Sabine and your Lipizzaner in Everwind. Thank you’s from you and Sabine are given to Jay. The girl gives you both a “you’re welcome” and a “you owe me one.” She doesn’t really mean the ‘you owe me one’ though. She just says it in hopes of lightening the mood.

Before Jay leaves her and Sabine talk privately. You stand with Khaan and your mare while you wait for them to finish talking. You can’t fully hear what they are saying but you do hear a whisper or two of an oil rig and a man named Sands. When their conversation ends Jay says she’ll meet you both back at the rig and that she’ll talk to Sands.

You had never heard of an oil rig before nor of a Mr. Sands. You want to ask Sabine about it, but you don’t want to seem nosy. You do not ask in hopes of her telling you. She doesn’t tell you about either thing, but she does drop some pretty heavy news on you. Heavy enough to make you start crying again.

You’re a traitor. The druids will now be after you and they won’t stop until you’re brought to justice.

“I’ll be back soon I promise!” You yelled to your father who watched you from the doorstep of Kora’s home. “I just have to deliver these to Rowan!” You showed him a bunch of papers in your hand. Rowan had you design some flyers for a trail ride, and now you were going to deliver them. You were already on your way to do the delivery, but you were stopped by your worried dad before you could even get on the trail to the ranger base. The man frowned he didn’t want you to go alone. Mistfall was dangerous there were wolves in the forest. Your father worried you might come across them. You also did not have a horse, if you got into trouble you would have to deal with it alone. He shook his head deciding it was best not to let you go “come back!” He yelled back to you. You were a bunch of feet away from him, so you both had to yell back and forth. “I am almost done talking to Kora! Wait for me and we can both go together!” Your father started walking towards you. You loved your dad you really did, but you also loved time alone. You walked to him as well, so you could speak and not yell. Once you got close to him you said “dad I can do it alone.” You wanted some alone time you hoped you could convince him to let you go. “I’ll be fine the ranger base is just down the road” you moved the papers in your hand towards the direction of the base. “If I get into any trouble, I can handle it alone” you grabbed your father’s hand giving it a comforting squeeze. “Go back inside and enjoy your tea with Kora I’ll be fine” you smiled when your dad squeezed your hand back. “Plus I’ve been around Mistfall many times and I have never seen a wolf” today would be no different. At least you hoped it wouldn’t. You brushed the thought away not wanting to accidentally manifest a wolf. “Can I go now?” You let go of your father’s hand. The man nodded, and you went wide eyed as he pulled you into a bone crushing hug. “Be careful” he said to you, and you managed to huff out an “I will!” Your dad was old you wondered where he got all that bone crushing strength. He was a druid his job did not require any psychical strength... Or did it? You didn’t really know what he did, he kept it all a secret from you. Maybe he was sneaking in some training sessions into his busy druid schedule to beat the shit out of Garnok himself. When your dad let you go, you took a deep breath in, and you said goodbye to him heading back to the trail. Your father headed back inside to speak to Kora leaving you alone. The walk to the ranger base was boring. You couldn’t use your phone it was low on battery, and you needed to save it. You looked around you trying to keep yourself entertained. You had seen all of Mistfall thousands of times. You had been up and down all the trails. The bad thing about having explored the whole forest was that there was nothing new to look at. You prayed to Aideen for something new. Maybe you should have allowed yourself to accidentally manifest a wolf. A nice wolf of course, so you don’t get mauled. As you walked you continued to look around. It did not take you long to notice that the forest was quiet. No birds were around. No rabbits or frogs either. No sounds as well. You were starting to feel uneasy. Why was the forest so quiet and still today? Your fear made your walk turn into a jog. You wanted to get to the ranger base quickly. It took a few minutes to get to the base and once you got there your fear grew as you saw that the base was empty. The lights were off, and the horses and people were gone. On the door you could see a paper taped to it. You walked over to the door reading the paper it said ‘Out investigating. Be back soon!’ You sighed wondering what to do. You needed to drop the papers off now while you were in Mistfall. You looked around for somewhere to put the papers. While you looked you thought about what the rangers were investigating. You heard some townspeople in Dundull say they heard an explosion last night. That same explosion was the reason why you and your father were in Mistfall.

When you asked your dad about it, he told you it was “classified druid business.” Whatever caused the explosion must be magical if your father was involved. You ended up finding a mailbox, and you neatly put the papers into it. You wished Rowan would have told you that they were going out. Maybe they could have picked the papers up from Kora’s house instead of making you come all the way out here. You reached for your phone in your back pocket. You were going to send Rowan a text saying you left the papers in the mailbox. When you touched your phone, you heard a shrill neigh. You stood still with your hand on your phone looking like an old timey western cowboy getting ready to draw. Did you imagine that neigh? You waited a few seconds, and you heard it again. It was coming from the trail leading to Wildwoods. The neighs echoed and bird calls followed after the neighs. You watched as birds quickly came flying out of the entrance. Rowan must be coming back now. You started walking down the trail to Wildwoods to meet Rowan there. The entrance to Wildwoods was covered by a bunch of bushes and vines. Some of the bushes looked like they had thorns, you would have to be really careful. As you walked into the entrance you carefully walked around the bushes with thorns. Some of the thorns came close to touching you but none of them actually did. The neighs got louder the deeper you walked into the entrance. You had never been inside the entrance of Wildwoods. It was all new to you, and it was amazing. You wished for something new while you were walking to the ranger base and you got it. You were so distracted by your surroundings that you didn’t realize you had gotten to the source of the neighs until you heard them again. You snapped your head towards the neighing. You moved your head so fast it hurt. You would have rubbed your neck in an attempt to soothe the pain, but you didn’t move. You couldn’t move you were shocked by what was in front of you. In front of you was a black horse with multiple wounds and damaged tack. Was this a new horse of the rangers? The horse neighed and bucked, and you noticed that one of its legs was not moving correctly. You feared the horse’s injuries caused lameness. Slowly you walked towards the horse “where is your rider?” You whispered to it not wanting to scare it. The horse turned to look at you, and you put a hand over your mouth quickly coming to a stop. The horse had red eyes. Blood red eyes that seemed to glow. You wanted to run you wanted to scream, but the look the horse gave you stopped you. It looked so sad… Could horses look sad? Were you imagining it? You didn’t have much horse experience. It had been a while since you last rode or had been around horses. The steed snorted, and looked away from you looking at the leg that did not move. You followed its gaze looking to its leg as well. You looked it over sighing in relief when you saw a vine wrapped on the horse’s leg. The horse was trapped that is why it wasn’t moving it was not lame, just trapped. You started moving again whispering “it’s okay” and “stay calm” to the horse. Some of those words were for you too. You were scared shitless, and you were trying to calm yourself down. The horse watched you as you walked towards it. Its red eyes watching you scared you more, and once you got close enough to the horse you slowly squatted down. “Please don’t kick me” you begged the horse, and it nickered. You hoped it was saying it would not kick you. Gently and slowly you grabbed the horse’s leg waiting for any indication that it was comfortable before proceeding. Once the horse relaxed its leg you began to try your best to remove the vine without further hurting the horse. You wanted something interesting to do today and you got it. If only the interesting thing would have been discovering a new kind of butterfly or a nice wolf and not a red-eyed horse in the woods. The vine slipped off the horse’s hoof, and you quickly moved to the side not wanting the horse to trample you.

You expected the horse to buck or to bite you or just do something crazy once it was free, but it just stood there. It snorted again, and it lowered its head to you sniffing your hair. The horse still had a medieval style bridle on it with an interesting symbol on the middle. The symbol looked like two snakes? You grabbed the reins of the bridle holding the horse still as you stood up. You examined the bridle. You hoped to find the owner’s or the horse’s name. You ended up getting lucky you found a tag on the bridle badly scribbled with sharpie that said ‘Khaan.’ You read it, and then you said it “Khaan?” The horse’s ears perked up, and you smiled “That’s your name? Khaan?” The horse neighed, and you pet them “where is your owner, Khaan? Can you lead me to them?” The horse did not move it just stood still watching you. With all the luck you were having today you expected the horse to move, and begin to lead you on some epic quest to save its owner. Luck must have run out. You thought about what to do, and while you thought it over you pet the horse. You stood there for a few seconds thinking about what to do while you patted the horse’s neck. Should you wait in place for the owner? Or go straight to the Dundull vet? Maybe report the missing horse to the rangers and hope they can find the owner? You didn’t know what to do, you were getting stressed. Khaan went stiff when he heard your name be called. It was your father he was calling you. You had taken too long, and he worried for you, so he came to find you. You panicked, you needed to find a way to hide the horse’s eyes. You looked at Khaan seeing his braided mane. He had a forelock it had been braided too and it looked long. You reached up undoing the braid. Khaan huffed as his forelock was spread evenly onto both sides of his face covering his eyes. You thanked his owner for growing out his forelock. You gently tugged on Khaan’s reins “can you walk Khaan?” The steed answered your question by taking stiff steps. The wounds on him hurt each time he took a step. You frowned, and you began to lead him out of the Wildwoods entrance “poor horse.” You pat his side “me and my dad will get you to the vet it will be okay.” Khaan nickered he trusted you to lead him through the entrance. His mane obscured his vision he was putting a lot of trust in you right now. Normally he would be very distrusting of a stranger. He would bite and kick, but right now he needed help, so he decided to trust. The ranger base was right outside and at the base was your dad. When he saw you he waved he stopped when he saw you were not alone. The man walked to you with his jaw open in disbelief “where did-.” You interrupted your dad wincing when you saw the upset look on his face “I’ll answer questions later right now we need to get this horse to the vet.” Your father saw the wounds on Khaan, and he understood your rude interruption. The horse looked… Familiar to him… Where had he seen it before? As you said before there was no time for questions, only time to help the horse, so he refocused. He could always think about where he saw the horse later. “Wait here” he said to you “I rode Kora’s horse here I’ll ride to Dundull and I’ll bring a trailer back with me.” Your father did not want the injured horse to walk further. You thanked your dad, and you watched him run back to Kora’s shire. Your dad wasted no time. He quickly got on the shire and you watched as he rode down the trail like he was in a race. Today was… Eventful you could not wait to go home and lay down. You smiled when you thought about bringing Khaan home. You knew he wasn’t your horse, but you were still excited. “You’re going to love staying with us Khaan” he huffed shaking his head to try and get his mane out of his eyes. “Don’t worry it won’t be forever” you fixed his forelock moving it away from his eyes. “Just until we find your owner… I hope they’re okay” You let out a little huff as Khaan laid his head on your shoulder.

He missed his owner, and he hoped she was alright. The explosion was bad, and from what Khaan saw his rider got the worst of it. You put a hand on his forehead, and you closed your eyes trying to provide some comfort to the poor horse.

Avalon’s hands shook. The teacup in his hand struggled to hold its tea. The plate that held the teacup threatened to slip from his hand. The man took a deep shaky breath in. He closed his eyes trying to keep his hands still. What he saw couldn’t be true. He must have imagined it. He must be mistaken. He must be wrong he needed to be wrong… The man let out a gasp as the teacup slipped from his hand. It fell down to the floor missing the table in front of him by an inch. The teacup shattered. The tea that was once inside it was now all over the floor.

Tiny pieces of porcelain decorated the tearoom floor. The man put the teacup plate on the tiny table in front of him. He didn’t want the plate to join the teacup. Avalon stood up going to the kitchen to grab some paper towels and a vroom. On his way to the kitchen he walked by the living room. In the living room he spotted your guitar. He had no idea where it came from. He just knew you got it sometime during his meeting on Friday. You also got a jacket. You got it on his second meeting the Friday after the first. Those Fridays were a month ago.

The electric guitar laid on the coffee table in front of the couches of the living room. It was right in the center of the small living room. He frowned at the guitar. Every time he looked at it, he felt uneasy and every time he looked at his living room, he felt… Threatened. Something had been in his home. In his living room. An uninvited guest left a bad vibe in the home. He suspected said person must be the owner of the guitar and the jacket. You must have had someone over while he was gone. The father shook his head trying to stop himself from being accusatory. If you had someone over, you would have told him.

You were his kid, you told him everything. You told him you wouldn’t lie anymore. He wanted to trust you he really did… But something was nagging him. It was telling him “do not believe them.” The man closed his eyes. He said a quiet prayer. “Oh Aideen what shall I do?” Avalon quickly opened his eyes when an image flashed in his mind. The image of what he saw the Friday you got the jacket. The man was headed back home after his meeting. It was late at night. The moon was too dim to shine proper light on anything. Even with the dim lit moon Avalon knew there was no way he confused what he saw.

He saw you… But you weren’t alone. When he turned the corner at Elizabeth’s house, he saw you by the stables. You were facing the road that led to Hollow woods. The man was about to ask what you were doing outside so late at night, but he stopped himself. He stood watching you in horror as Khaan walked to you. The steed was being led by someone. He couldn’t see who it was. The Friesian covered their face. It wasn’t until the person turned to leave that he saw it. He saw her face. A Dark Rider in Valedale. The man grumbled a curse as he thought about what to do. You weren’t going to tell him the truth he knew it.

If you had lied about Khaan, you were surely lying again. He had to be nosy. He hoped you would forgive him for it. It was better for you to be mad at him than for you to be in danger. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t do anything to keep you safe from the Dark Rider. Avalon turned around. His robe flowing dramatically as he took the sharp turn. He was headed for his room. He was going to call Anne. The man was old too old to ride, too old to fight, and too old to follow you.

He was going to ask the Soul Riders for help. You were out for the day. You said you were going to Firgrove. Assuming you weren’t lying then the Soul Riders would hopefully find you soon and bring you home. If you were with her then the Soul Riders would also handle her. Avalon prayed for your safety as he walked to his room. He prayed that you and your mare were alright. That she wasn’t with you.

He started to call himself a fool. He should have grounded you and told you to stay home. He should have forbid you to go. He should have been worried from the moment you got the guitar. When the man was inside his room he searched all over for his phone. He always left it in the oddest places. He never really used it, so he just threw it wherever.

Once the worried father found his phone, he made his calls. All of the Soul Riders said they would go out and look for you. They were just as worried as he was. Who knows what the Dark Rider had planned for you. He had been holding onto this for days. he prayed he wasn’t too late. He prayed that she wouldn’t harm you. May Aideen hear his prayers.

You paced back and forth outside of your home. Your arms were crossed and pressed tightly against your chest. You’re so nervous, you can’t breathe properly. You feel like you’re going to pass out. Khaan stood nearby watching you pace. He let out a soft neigh wanting your attention. You looked to him frowning and mouthing ‘what?’ Khaan walked forward with his head low. When he got to you, he pressed his head against your arms.

You uncrossed them, so you could move the horse’s head up. You laid his head on your shoulder, hugging his neck. You buried your face in his mane “what are we going to do Khaan?” You felt like crying “why did you act that way?” Khaan let out a huff. You wished he could talk you wish he would tell you why he acted the way he did. You wished he would tell you who that girl was to him. You stood outside for a few minutes hugging Khaan close to you. You let him go when you heard the door to your home open. Your dad walked outside, and he looked upset.

You feared the worst. Surely the girl had pressed charges, and now the police were coming to take Khaan. “I called Lisa” your father started “and she said her and her dad won’t press charges.” So if they weren’t pressing charges then what was your dad upset about? “And she told me more about Khaan” your dad narrowed his eyes at the horse. Khaan neighed upon hearing his name, and he walked to your dad. The man let Khaan get close, but he backed away when Khaan tried to get pats from him. You stood surprised by your dad’s denial to pet Khaan. “Da-“ you were about to ask him why he acted that way, but he spoke over you. “Khaan can’t stay here” your dad suddenly turned cold towards the Friesian.

You shook your head “what do you mean he can’t stay? Dad what happened at Starshine won’t happen again I promise.” You didn’t want your dad to take your horse away. He shook his head “that horse isn’t normal” he pointed to Khaan who walked back to you. You stood in front of Khaan shielding him from your dad. “What are you talking about? All horses have bad days and that-“ your dad raised his voice, but he wasn’t yelling “I know about the eyes now!” You stood still feeling your blood run cold. “Lisa told me” your dad walked forwards “that horse isn’t normal you knew it and kept it a secret from me!” When your dad got to Khaan, he moved his forelock aside revealing the horse’s red eyes.

“This horse cannot stay here” he looked to you, and Khaan shook his head fixing his forelock. You shook your head too, and you put your hands together. “Dad please don’t take him” you choked up “please!” Your father frowned he hated seeing you upset but this had to be done. “Lisa will come tomorrow along with her friends, and you will take Khaan to someone who knows more about him” your dad cupped your cheek. “He comes from a dangerous place with dangerous people who are surely looking for him” your father feared for your safety. “You must let him go” he wiped your tears with his thumb when you started crying. “Go and pack a bag the journey will be long, and you will need-“ you pushed your dad away from you surprising him.

“I’m not going!” You cried turning to Khaan hugging him tightly. Khaan let out a snort pressing his snout against your cheek “you can’t make me go I’m not going!” You felt like a kid again begging your dad not to make you go someplace boring. The man felt like crying too this hurt him just as much as it hurt you, but Khaan couldn’t stay.

“Listen to me” he said in a strong voice trying to be strong for you both, and to get his point across. “His rider is dangerous” he waited for you to look at him. When you did, he continued talking “she will come for him, and I have no power to protect you.” The man put a hand on your shoulder “you must go with Lisa and her friends.” He huffed when you rammed into him as you hugged him. You cried saying you didn’t want to go, or let Khaan go. Your dad couldn’t hold back his tears anymore. He kissed the top of your head hugging you close to him “I don’t want you to go either, and I don’t want Khaan to leave but this is the only way.” Your dad broke the hug, and he held your shoulders. He was trying his best to stop crying “let’s go pack you a bag.”

You sat on the side of your bed with your backpack on the floor in front of you. It was packed with things you would need on a trip. You were usually excited for trips, but you held hate for this one. You closed your eyes trying to keep the tears pricking at the sides of your eyes from falling. You were in your room waiting for Lisa and her friends. They were in your kitchen with your dad, laughing and having breakfast. Once they finished you would start the journey with them to Goldenhills. Every time you heard them laugh you got increasingly upset. How could they be so happy? You didn’t know any of the girls, but you already hated them.

They were so happy even though they knew what you were going through. You looked outside seeing Khaan. He was tacked up ready for the journey. His head hung low, and his ears were pinned to the back of his head. You knew he was feeling like you. You wished again that he could talk, so he could tell you how he felt. You stood up when you heard a knock at your door. “Come in” your voice was rough from crying. You expected your dad to walk in, but instead of your dad, a girl walked in. She was dressed in fancy riding gear. Her hair was blonde with pretty pink highlights in it. If you had met in different circumstances, you would have complimented her hair, but right now you didn’t even want to see her.

She walked to you holding her hand out when she got near you, and she gave you a confident smile “my name is Anne.” She wanted you to shake her hand “and yours is?” You told her your name, but you didn’t shake her hand making your meeting awkward for her. Anne laughed nervously, and she looked at the door. More girls stood at the door watching you two. “That’s Alex” she pointed to a girl who was dressed in a very comfy looking style. Alex waved at you giving you a smile. “That’s Linda” she pointed to a girl standing next to Alex. The girl had cute round glasses and a very comfy looking cardigan on. You wished you had met all of them in a different situation so you could have complemented their styles.

Linda was already smiling, but her smile got wider when she was introduced, and she said, “nice to meet you!” Anne pointed to the last girl in her group. “And that’s Lisa” Lisa waved standing awkwardly at your door. Anne looked back at you “but you already knew that.” She was trying to be friendly with you, you didn’t laugh or smile. You just stood with a neutral look trying to hide how much you hated everyone in your room.

Anne was hoping you were just shy, and that’s why you weren’t talking but she knew better. She nervously wiped her hands on her pants. “Well uh-“ usually Anne spoke clearly, but your anger made her nervous. “We are leaving now” she walked to the door going to her friends “we’ll wait for you to say goodbye.” Anne smiled at you again. This time her smile was nervous. She held no confidence you took it all from her “we’ll be outside.”

When you were younger you had heard a story of a boy named Justin. You heard that he had betrayed the druids. He partnered up with evil people that worshipped Garnok, and he became evil as well. You heard that he was sentenced to jail for life. The story was completely dismissed by you and the other teens of the village. You all thought it was just a story made up to scare everyone into staying away from Garnok and his worshippers. Your current situation made it clear that the story was real.

The worst part of it was that you were now currently living that story. Without the becoming evil or a Garnok devotee part. The going to jail for life part was very much a huge part in your story. Just before your phone died your dad called you. At first you thought he was calling to tell you to come back. His call was the complete opposite of a comeback call. “Don’t come back to Valedale” he said to you over the phone. “Fripp and the other druids are waiting for you and so are the Soul Riders” your dad had a shaky voice as he spoke to you.

“You are a traitor to the druids and to me” your heart still ached remembering those words. “I love you and because I love you, I call you to tell you to never come back” Valedale was no longer your home. “Stay far away from Valedale and from me” and that was all. Your dad hung up after those words. He didn’t let you get a single one in. You were now a runaway from druid law. A traitor to the druids and to their leader Fripp. You didn’t care about any of them. You just cared about your dad. You just wanted your dad.

You felt like a little kid again. You wanted him to hold you. You wanted him to tell you that it would all be okay while you apologized to him for lying. You knew he wouldn’t do any of that and he definitely wouldn’t hear you out. It very much sounded like he disowned you in that phone call. You were so scared. You just wanted to be home and back with your dad. How you wished things were different. How you wished Sabine and your dad were different people. With no involvement in Aideen or Garnok. You sighed and you covered your face with your hands.

You were in the bathroom of the inn in the fishing village standing in front of the mirror. You were trying to start the day, but you ended up breaking down instead of getting ready. You missed home and your dad so badly it made your chest ache. The constant pain in your chest kept reminding you of your current situation. It always made you want to cry. It always had your eyes watery and your vision blurry. You groaned and you removed your hands from your face coming face to face with yourself in the mirror. You looked like shit.

You had been crying so much that your eyes were red and somewhat puffy. Your hair was a mess. You had tear marks running down your cheeks. You were a huge grieving mess. You let out a sigh and you shook your head. You ran a hand through your hair trying to fix it. Your brush was outside the bathroom in your backpack. You left Valedale with nothing on hand. Everything you currently had was bought with the fifty Jorvik Shillings you had in your pocket or by your very generous girlfriend. You felt really bad about her buying you stuff. Once life got better you would definitely pay her back… But… When would it get better?

When could you start to look for a job? For another place to live? When could you stop laying low? Would the druids ever give up looking for you? You shook your head again trying to keep the tears building up in your eyes from spilling. Your thoughts continued to spiral. When will life get better? When will you be able to find a job? A place to live? A new place to- your thoughts come to a stop as your brain focuses on another thing.

There’s knocking at the bathroom door “you, okay?” It’s Sabine, the girl is worried. You’ve been in the bathroom for a while. You clear your throat it’s dry and it aches thanks to all your crying “I’m good!” You try your best to sound like you’re genuinely okay, but your voice is shaky. Sabine catches onto it there’s no hiding anything from her “you sure?” You bite your lip.

Should you talk to her? You’ve been avoiding talking about… Everything ever since you left. You don’t want to talk about it. It scares you and it makes you feel like if you do talk about it all hopes of things being okay will fade away from you. You feel like if you talk about it the situation will really settle in. You fear that you’ll realize there’s no chance of going back home. You fear your dad will never forgive you. Could you even call him dad anymore? Should you call him Avalon now?

You feel the ache in your chest get worse. “You still with me?” You blink the tears building up in your eyes away and you look at the door. You had been quiet the whole time. You quickly move to the door. You hope you didn’t freak Sabine out by being quiet. You open the door and Sabine takes a few steps back from it. You follow her you go straight to her. You hug her wanting her comfort. She gives it to you. Her left hand holds your waist and with her right she runs her fingers through your hair.

She gently combs her fingers through your hair being careful not to claw you with her nails. The girl hums when you rest your head on her chest. She moves the hand on your hair to rest on the back of your head. The girl rests her cheek on top of your head. “When you feel ready to leave, I’ll call for the ferry” she doesn’t ask you to speak on what you’re feeling. She knows you don’t want to talk about it. If you did you would have done so a long time ago. “You tell me when and I’ll do it” Sabine expects you to need a few more minutes but you’re ready to go now.

“I’ll get my stuff” you make a small movement letting her know that you want to break the hug. The girl lets you go, and you move away from her going to get your backpack. Sabine is surprised by your response. She wants to ask if you’re sure, but you beat her to it. “I’m sure” you grab your backpack, and you look to her giving her a smile. You hope your smile will make her smile too, but it does the opposite. The girl frowns and she nods “we’ll meet you outside.” When Sabine leaves, you gather the rest of your stuff.

You don’t truly feel ready to leave but you really don’t want to spend more time grieving in the inn. The inn just makes things worse. The bed makes you wish you were on your own back h-… Back in Valedale. The inn bed isn’t as comfy as the one you had in Valedale. You couldn’t find a way to get comfortable. All you did all night was toss and turn and sleep for five minutes or so. You wish you were back in your room. You missed your room. You missed so many things, your bed, your clothes, your blankets, and your cozy PJ’s.

The PJ’s you currently have on sucked. They were fluffy but not enough to be truly comfortable. They were all you could find at the Silverglade store, so they had to make do. They made the horrible uncomfortable inn bed worse. Maybe if you had comfy PJ’s, you would have slept a little more. You finish gathering your stuff which is just your dead phone and a half empty bottle of water. On your way out of the room you drink the rest of the water. There’s a trashcan near the door so you finish the water before you hit the door.

Once you’re at the door you throw the water bottle in the trash, and you walk out of the room. You put your phone in the pocket used for water bottles on the side of your backpack. The sun hits your eyes, and it hits them hard. You have to take a moment to adjust to sunlight. You squint as your eyes adjust. When they’re ready you slowly open them. The fishing village makes you feel a little better.

Watching the villagers interact, fish and walk around makes you forget about the ache a bit. You look around for Sabine. When you find her, you see her standing with Khaan and your mare at a bridge. The girl watches your mare as she curiously watches the waves move. Your mare had never seen waves up until now. She didn’t really have any time to see them last time she was in Cape West and she never saw them on her time on the oil rig. You make your way over to your girlfriend and the horses.

Sabine looks to you when she hears your steps on the wooden floors “the ferry should be here in a few minutes.” The girl gives you a weak smile when you stand next to her. “You can look around if you want to” you shake your head “look at what? Fish?” The fishing village doesn’t really have interesting stores. Sabine nods, and she jokes with you “go pick out a bass you can keep it as a pet on the oil rig.” You laugh softly, and you shake your head “there are no bass here.”

Sabine’s smile widens at the sound of your laugh. “There are cod here though” you know that because you studied fish in Jorvik at school. “Well then go pick out a cod” she looks to your mare when she whinnies as a wave gets too close to the bridge. “You can make it rig mascot name it something stupid like dog” the girl looks to Khaan when he neighs in response to your mare. “A cod named dog sounds great” you watch the waves move with your mare. “I’m sure dog will be a great mascot” you laugh again “you’ll definitely strike fear in Anne’s heart when she sees you guys carry team stuff with a cod on it.”

The conversation about a cod named dog makes you feel a lot better. “Thinking about it sure does scare me” Sabine takes her phone out of her pocket. She checks the time. The ferry should be arriving at the dock soon. “The ferry should be here soon-“ the girl pauses to grab Khaan’s reins. She continues talking once she’s got them “we should meet it at the dock.” Sabine can’t wait to get home and lay down in her bed. She’s really tired. Your tossing and turning made her get very little sleep.

She also can’t wait to show you around the rig. At least she hopes she’ll be the one showing you around. Katja or Jay will most likely steal you just to piss her off. “We’re leaving without dog?” You grab your mare’s reins she snorts. “You had your chance to get dog and you missed it” Sabine begins walking down to the docks with Khaan. You and your horse follow her “because you distracted me by talking about dog!” You laugh, and Sabine says to you “too bad so sad.” Your mind is now completely off the ache in your chest as you continue talking with Sabine about a cod named dog.

All the way down to where the docks are the cod distracts you. It works pretty well until something brings you back to the ache. While the four of you walk down to the docks a man yells “stop!” You, Sabine and the horses look back to the voice. Some villagers walking near you also look back. A very fancily dressed man that you recognize at the mayor of Cape West is pointing at you. At first you think maybe he’s mistaken you for someone else. It becomes clear you’re the right person when he says, “they’re right there!” And lightning shoots past you.

It misses you by a few inches. Suddenly you and Sabine are being chased down the docks by all of the Soul Riders. Your mare and Khaan run ahead of you both. Khaan and Sabine seem to be having fun while you and your mare are scared shitless. You apologize to fishermen and villagers as you run past them. Their yelling of “hey!”, “stop running!” and “what is your problem!?” Makes you feel awful. You didn’t mean to disturb their peace by running wildly down the docks, but you had to if you wanted to stay out of druid jail.

To the villagers you, Sabine, and the Soul Riders look like unruly teens running for fun. It pisses them off and they continue yelling at you all. The mayor recognized you thanks to a description given to him by The Soul Riders over the phone. Anne knew you might hit Goldenhills. She knew Sabine might take you with her to the rig since land wasn’t really safe for you anymore. The leader was right, and she was feeling incredibly smart and lucky for having guessed right. “Stop running!” Anne yells out to you “you can come back home!” She’s trying to trick you. You know she is, but a small sliver of hope makes you wonder if maybe what she says is true? You slow down a bit which makes Sabine panic. “Your dad is waiting for you! Just come with us!” Anne loses you with that. Your da- Avalon told you to stay away from him.

He told you to never come home. Hope vanishes and you regain your speed. Your girlfriend is glad you don’t fall for Anne’s tricks. “We need a way to lose them!” You yell to Sabine who’s already looking for a way to lose the Soul Riders before you speak. “Hold on!” Sabine looks to the sea she can see the ferry coming to the dock. “Run for the dock keep running and don’t look back!” Sabine suddenly comes to a stop.

She whistles, and Khaan stops too. He stops, he spins on his back hooves, and he runs to Sabine. You follow her instructions, and you keep running. You pray to Aideen your girlfriend knows what she’s doing. Can you even pray to Aideen anymore? Or does she hate you too? The Soul Riders keep yelling at you to stop and turn around as you run. Your mare looks back at you and she neighs. The poor Lipizzaner is freaked out. “It’s okay girl!” You try to comfort her “keep ru-.”

Now it’s your turn to freak out as a huge burst of heat followed by a blaze of light happens behind you. You can hear villagers yell “fire!” Now everyone is running. Not to you anymore but away from you as the fire continues to grow and spread down the docks. The fire follows you; you don’t look back you’re too scared to, but you know it follows thanks to the growing heat and light. You want to look back you want to make sure Sabine is okay. Who caused the fire? Did Sabine do it? Did Alex do it with lightning?

Your mare neighs again, and she looks past you. You look back you’re met with Khaan running to your side. The steed seems very energetic and not at all scared of the flames behind you. He neighs again, and he shakes his head giving you a little rear mid run. You go wide eyed when you realize his hooves are leaving burn marks on the wood in the shape of his horseshoes. You look behind him seeing Sabine running beside the flames. The further Khaan gets from her the weaker they get. You quickly understand Sabine caused the fire herself. Not with gasoline and a match but with her magic.

You knew she had magic like the Soul Riders, but you had never seen her use it until now. When the girl feels eyes on her she looks away from the fire she’s spreading and to you. “I told you not to look behind you!” She shakes her head at you, and you can tell she’s being playful. “I’m not a very good listener!” You slow down as you realize there’s no more need for running. Your mare who had been watching you the whole time also slows. She doesn’t walk to you she’s too scared of the flames.

Khaan doesn’t slow he keeps running he bucks and rears as he runs. He’s happy it’s been a while since he and his rider worked together to make a fire. Sabine stops the flames from spreading further and she walks to you. She checks you making sure none of the flames touched you. You allow her to check you. When she makes sure you’re okay she checks your mare. You watch the ferry dock as she checks up on your mare. Once docked the person driving the ferry waves to you from the control room.

You wave back letting them know you see them. Normally the people driving the ferry would ignore passengers, but Sands told them to be kind to you. You were his guest after all, and you deserved to be treated with great care. When the checkups on your mare are done you, Sabine, and the horses board the ferry. You are finally free to relax. No more running and no more worrying. You just lean against your mare and you both watch the waves as the ferry takes you to the oil rig. You can finally breathe.

As Anne watches the ferry pull away, she groans and facepalms. Linda and Lisa say nothing, they just watch the ferry pull away from the docks. The further the ferry gets the more the flames die out. Alex frowns, and she fixes her beanie it got messed up while she was running “Avalon is going to kill us.”

Arriving at the oil rig was nothing like how you had expected it to be. You expected to be greeted sure but nothing like how you were welcomed in. You were treated like royalty. Your mare was taken from you, and she too was treated like she was Jorvik royalty. Your backpack was also taken from you. A worker said it was going to your room. You were surprised by the fact that there was a room waiting for you. You were incredibly confused but very pleased.

Sabine didn’t like it at all. Something about it all felt off. She didn’t say anything to you about it. She didn’t want you to worry. You had to climb up a lot of stairs. On your way up you and Sabine talked. She told you about Mr. Sands. From her description of him you understood the man wasn’t very nice. The girl told you to leave all the talking to her. You had no problem with that. You would rather she talk, and you stay out of the way. You didn’t want to piss Mr. Sands off. When all the stair walking was over Sabine led you inside a building.

The building was dark and it was really cold, it freaked you out a bit. You walked down long metal hallways that echoed every step and every word. Sabine led you deeper into the building. She was leading you to the center of it where Sands office was. Halfway through the hallways Katja and Jay met up with you and Sabine. The two said a quick hello to you and then they started talking to Sabine.

This time you couldn’t hear anything they were saying. They were being really quiet so you wouldn’t hear anything. The echoes of your footsteps also made it hard to hear. All the Dark Riders stopped to talk, but you kept on going. You hadn’t even realized they weren’t behind you anymore. You kept walking deeper and deeper into the rig. By the time you realized you were alone it was too far to turn back. You stood in place wondering what you should do.

Should you turn back and make a double trip? Or should you stay and wait for Sabine and the others to find you? As you tried to decide you heard footsteps. They were coming your way. You looked down the hallway you assumed they were coming from. It was really hard to pinpoint where they were from. The echo was making it hard to guess. “I’ve been expecting you” you hear a voice behind you. It belongs to a man who sounds like his throat is very dry.

His tone is happy but it’s not genuine happiness. You look behind you. You’re met with a man who seems to be in his 50’s. He’s wearing a tan coat and a suit with a red bowtie underneath the coat. “I’m so happy you made it” the man smiles at you. His smile seems more like the fang bearing of a wolf than a smile. “I hope your journey here was a good one?” He walks forwards to you. He takes your hands, and he gives them a tight squeeze.

The squeeze is comforting, it reminds you of the ones your d- Avalon used to give you. The action makes your eyes water. The man tells you it’s okay to cry. He tells you he knows what you’ve gone through. The care he gives you makes your guard drop. You feel safe with him. That’s exactly what he wants. The man is just pretending. He has no real care for you. He just wants to use you for information on Valedale. “Welcome home” the man says, and he pulls you in for a hug. You allow it and you hug him back trying to replicate the hugs Avalon would give.

“Welcome to the team.”

Your first meeting with Sabine and Khaan was a bit awkward. You and Sabine talked for a bit, but since you did not know each other well you quickly ran out of topics to talk about. After you ran out of things to talk about you both awkwardly stood in front of each other. Khaan and your Lipizzaner watched as you both tried to come up with something. Nothing came up so you both stood in awkward silence. You ran out of things to say because you feared your sense of humor or interests wouldn’t match hers. She ran out of things because she felt the same way you did.

She also did not want to spill too much about herself just in case you were a spy for your dad. The second meeting wasn’t as awkward. You found more things to talk about. You talked, and she listened. By the third meeting Sabine decided to start talking more. She realized that you could not be a spy. If you were then you would have given up by the second meeting since she wasn’t talking, or you would have gotten bored. But you were still around, and you were always so full of energy. It was clear you actually cared, and you weren’t there for anyone else. You listened to everything she said, so she trusted you.

Many hang outs came after that. Most of them were in the Everwind fields. Some were in coffee shops. She learned how you liked your coffee, and you learned how she liked hers. There were a lot of things you agreed on, but coffee was definitely not one of them. After weeks of hanging out and talking over the phone you became good friends. You trusted her with everything, and she trusted you with most of her stuff. She wished she could tell you as much as you told her but what she had was heavy. She did not want to ruin the mood.

You didn’t know much about her past or about what happened the day you found Khaan. You wished to know, but you kept quiet. You wanted her to tell you when she felt ready. The stuff she could tell you always amazed you. The thing that surprised you most was that she did dressage, and she ran her own club. When you asked to join as a joke, she said you were too lame to join her club. It brought up a conversation about what would make you cool enough to join.

Which brings you to the present. You’re sitting on your couch with a guitar on your lap. In front of you Sabine kneels. She takes the hand you have on the neck of the guitar, and she gently moves it down a bit. She positions your fingers to different strings. They are now in place to form a note. When she tells you to strum you do. The guitar produces a nice sound that makes you smile “was that good?” You look at Sabine. She nods smiling back at you “good enough to join your club?”

The girl laughs she shakes her head at you “maybe learn a few more notes first.” The guitar belongs to her. Another thing you learned about Sabine was that she loved music. Her favorite band was the Miscreants. The band was highly popular in Jorvik, so it did not surprise you that she was a fan of it. She said she got her own guitar when she was younger thanks to the Miscreants inspiring her. The girl never really used it though. The guitar sat in her closet for most of its life. Only being used at random times like this one. Note learning was a first for you and a refresher for Sabine who had not picked up the guitar in a while.

“Did it take you long to learn the notes?” You watched as she grabbed your hand again. She positioned it to another note. “It took me a while but-“ she moved your fingers around “it might be different for you.” She told you to strum, and while the note played, she continued talking “you could probably learn them quickly.” She hoped you were paying attention to the placement of the notes. She had already told you which ones they were. The girl was now just showing you how to play them. “Maybe you’ll be in the Miscreants instead of my club” she watched as you went back to the other note wanting to hear how it sounded again.

“I have a good teacher, so I think I’ll learn quick” you looked at her seeing a small smile on her face. You catch a hint of pride in it. “Don’t flatter me it won’t help you join quicker” she looked down at her phone for the next note. You let out a huff resting your arm and then your chin on top of it against the end of the guitar “it was worth a shot.” You glanced at the grandfather clock in the living room seeing 7:14. Your dad was out for a meeting he wouldn’t be back until 10. You had plenty of time left to learn the notes and hang out with Sabine. You had to sneak her in, so you would also have to sneak her out it would only give you until 9:30 to hang out. The rest of the time left would be used for sneaking her back out of Valedale.

When you moved to sit up your elbow hit the tuning knobs. The knobs turned, and the strings loosened. You frowned, and you strummed the guitar. You cringed at the horrible sound of the untuned strings. Sabine looked up from her phone when she heard the ugly sound “what did you do?” She held her hands out. You handed the guitar to her “I accidentally hit the little knobs at the end.” You felt bad, you knew it could be fixed, but you still felt really bad. You hoped tuning a guitar didn’t take long. You hoped it wasn’t hard to do.

Sabine checked each string until she found the ones you untuned. “I’ll fix it” she looked up at you giving you a smile. She was letting you know it was a simple mistake. She didn’t want you to feel bad. “We can use this as a lesson for tuning” the girl stood up from where she was kneeling, and she took a seat next to you on the couch. She began twisting a knob “your stupidity ended up being useful.” She had a playful tone it let you know she was not mad, or genuinely calling you stupid. You scooted closer to her to watch her tune the strings, and she let you. The girl explained to you how to tune the guitar. You were barely listening because your heart was beating loudly in your ear. It was also beating fast, it felt like it was going to pop out of your chest. Soon all the strings were back to normal, and you listened as Sabine played each one.

“Do you know any songs?” You looked up at her hoping she did. She looked up at you answering your question with “only one.” She never bothered to learn more. Her rock star phase faded pretty quick. So quick she only learned one song before her guitar was banished to the closet. Sabine felt nervous, you were making her nervous. You were seated so close to her. Usually she didn’t really care that you were close to her, but lately it affected her more than normal. Even touching your hands and guiding them on the strings made her nervous. It felt way too intimate.

She had a guess to why she felt the way she did before she knew why. She thought maybe it was because she wasn’t used to touch. After a few sleepless nights she figured out why she was so anxious around you. She wanted to tell you she really did, but she feared it would not be mutual. The feeling was very much mutual though. If only she could hear just how loud your heart was beating. If only she knew how she made you feel. “Can you play it?” You hoped she would play it for you. Sabine nodded, and she positioned her hand to the first note in the song. “I’m a bit rusty” she played the note it made you smile.

“If I mess up don’t laugh” she moved her hand to another note. You crossed your heart it made you feel like you were on the playground again making a promise to your childhood best friend. “I promise I won’t laugh” you stayed quiet as she played the song for you. Sabine said she was rusty, but she played well. Her hands moved fluently and carefully. You felt like you were at a concert. Front row seats to- wait a minute.

You continued listening, and that was when you realized the song she was playing was a love song. Holy shit? You felt your face burn she didn’t see your blush though she was too busy playing to see it. You quickly tried to clear it while she played. The song soon ended, and the girl looked up to you “what do you think?” She went wide eyed when she saw the blush on your face. You couldn’t get it to go away.

“Was it that bad?” The girl cringed. She watched as you tried to formulate a thought. There was no way she was playing that for you, was she? You opened your mouth, and you tried to joke with her “was that for me?” You were half joking. You prayed to Aideen that it was for you. Sabine narrowed her eyes, and she tilted her head to the side a bit “huh?” She was confused by what you were asking. When she understood the question her confused look was replaced by one of understanding.

The girl laughed, and you swore you felt you felt your heart break. “Nah” she was trying to play it cool. She was freaking out as much as you were. How could she forget it was a love song? She learned that song because the guitar in the song was great. She completely forgot that there was more to the song than just the guitar part. “I just learned it for the guitar” she messed with one of the strings. She cleared her throat trying to ease the tension in the room. You frowned giving her a slow nod “that’s nice.” You felt so fucking lame. You looked down at your shoelaces.

You were about to change the subject, but Sabine felt bold. She felt brave she said, “it can be.” She took this opportunity to confess. No more dancing around it. You looked up at her “what?” Even though she was feeling brave she spoke softly. She repeated what she said this time with a stronger tone “it can be.” She wanted you to know that she was serious. She also wanted to look cool and confident. Your face got a deeper shade of red. You stared at her in shock “For me?” You mentally facepalmed. You felt like you were going to pass out. You were so shocked you stopped breathing. Maybe your reply was stupid due to your lack of oxygen. Sabine groaned “is there anyone else here?”

You yawn and shake your head as you walk with Sabine through Valedale. It’s late at night. You just finished hanging out. Now you’re sneaking her out of the village. The girl walks side by side with you. Her hand is on your waist she keeps you close to her as you walk. You rest your head on her side. Walking like this feels funny but you want to be close to her. You’d always take looking funny if it also meant you could have some proximity to your girlfriend.

It has been a week since she confessed to you. The week had been the best of your life so far. Being in a relationship was nice. You close your eyes. You let Sabine guide you out of the village. You had sneaked her in and out before once, so she knew her way around. One was enough for her to learn the way out. At least that’s what she told you. If you got lost, then that would be fine. You would get to spend a little more time with her that way. You were also wearing her jacket. It was nice so the more time spent wearing it the better.

You opened your eyes when you felt her come to a stop. You looked at her. She was already looking at you. The moon was dim today you could barely see. “Don’t fall asleep” she pats your waist “I need you to guide me out.” You raise your eyebrows in surprise “you said you knew your way out!” You look around trying to figure out where you are. Sabine laughs her laugh gently shakes you “I’m kidding!” The girl moves her hand to your lower back.

“I needed to scare you so you wouldn’t fall asleep” she gently guides you forward. You allow her to move you to be in front of her “you do need me to lead you, don’t you?” You turn back to her. She huffs at you “I already told you why I need you to walk in front” she nudges you. You start walking, and Sabine follows closely. The girl was doing fine on her own for a bit, but she did end up getting lost. She didn’t want to admit it. She says it’s because she doesn’t want you to fall asleep, but you know better.

“Well if you’re not lost-“ you turn around again. She raises an eyebrow at you. You walk behind her “then you can lead us out.” You nudge her like she nudged you. The girl looks at you over her shoulder. “I can walk behind you” you smile at her. She narrows her eyes at you. She knows your smile has pure evil behind it. You know she’s lost. She knows you’re messing with her. “Fine” Sabine looks back at the road you’re on. She starts walking which surprises you. You don’t follow her. The girl is certainly going to get you lost if you follow. You stay still, it doesn’t take her long to realize you’re not following her.

It’s now her turn to turn around. “You have zero faith in me” she puts on an offended look. You smile at her “You’re going the wrong way.” You take a step towards the right path. She was so close to going the right way. Had she taken a right turn she would have led you the right way. Sabine grumbles as she walks to you “I knew that.” She offers her hand. You take it, but you don’t hold it. You put it back on your waist. You both go back to how you were before. “I was just making sure you knew it too” she pats your waist.

You put a hand over hers giving it a squeeze “making sure I know the roads I’ve walked my whole life?” You have lived in Valedale all your life. In your opinion it was the best place to live. You wouldn’t trade it for the city or any other place. Nothing beat Valedale. Nothing beat the rose bushes covering the entire village. Nothing beat the sounds of wildlife. Nothing beat walking around the whole village. Nothing would ever beat the coziness of your home. You loved Valedale, you were glad your dad chose it as home.

When Sabine didn’t say anything, you said, “you did get lost didn’t you?” The girl moved her hand up to your side giving it a squeeze. It made you laugh “you’re so fucking annoying.” Sabine knew that if she admitted she got lost you wouldn’t let it go. She was fighting hard not to tell you the truth. Before you could say anything else to her you heard a neigh. You looked to where you heard the neigh seeing the stables. At the stables Khaan waited.

He stood in front of the closed red doors. Some light poured through gaps in the doors. The steed had been grazing around Valedale while you and Sabine walked. He bobbed his head up and down. You walked in front of Sabine going to her horse. Once you got to Khaan, you gave him a hug apologizing for taking so long. The stallion leaned against you. He safely rested some of his weight on you. The Friesian relaxed while he waited for his rider to get to you both.

Sabine walked slowly so you would have more time with Khaan. As the girl walked, she felt uneasy. She knew it was because she was in druid territory. The uneasiness made her walk a little faster. She couldn’t be seen in Valedale. She had to leave quickly. For her safety and yours. When she got to you and Khaan, she told you she had to leave. You gave Khaan a quick squeeze before letting him go. The Friesian neighed as his reins were grabbed. Sabine pats her horse telling him to be quiet “I’ll be in Silverglade tomorrow.” The girl stood side by side with Khaan.

“If you want to come by after I finish working, we can get coffee” you smiled loving the idea of a nice iced coffee. “I have to deliver some fabric for Farah tomorrow in Silverglade, so I’ll meet you at…“ You paused trying to think of a time. “Two?” You asked and Sabine shook her head “three.” You guessed evil took time “alright three it is.” You and Sabine said your goodbyes, but before Sabine got on the road to Hollow Woods she stopped. The girl turned around saying she forgot something.

You teased her saying she forgot the way to the ferry. She scoffed “I was going to be romantic and tell you to keep my jacket but never mind.” She laughed when you said, “I was kidding!” You walked closer to her “please be romantic.” You grabbed her hand “please let me keep it.” Sabine kissed your forehead “it cost me a million dollars.” She was exaggerating the price. It was expensive but not that expensive.

“Please don’t damage it” she sighed when you kissed the corner of her lips. “I promise I won’t” you let go of her hand giving her one more kiss before sending her off. You both said goodbye again. This time it was serious. You watched as Sabine and Khaan walked away. You said a prayer in your mind to Aideen for their safety. Would she protect her enemy? She most likely wouldn’t. It was worth a shot though. You frowned, turning away from the road and to the bridge that led home. Walking back alone was going to suck.

You groaned as you felt your blanket be taken from you. It was 6 in the morning you were in bed trying to sleep. It was way too early to get up, and it was a Saturday you really wanted more time in bed. “Come on!” You heard your dad whisper yell “we have a lot to do today and the earlier we do it the faster we get it done.” Your dad was always up early, and he always made you get up early too. What did druids do that required them to get up so darn early? To make getting you up easier your father opened your window. Outside your window waited Khaan, and once your father opened it he put his head through. Your horse was already up before your father and he was ready to go. He was used to being up early due to the schedule the Dark Riders had. The Friesian felt around trying to find you. He couldn’t see due to his forelock covering his eyes. When he found you he sniffed you, nipping at your shirt trying to get you to get up. When you didn’t move Khaan grabbed a mouthful of your shirt, and he pulled you up. Being taken out of bed roughly completely woke you up. You went wide eyed “okay! Okay! I’m up!” You gasped when Khaan let go of your shirt, and you face-planted onto your pillow. Your father pat Khaan thanking him for waking you up. Two months had passed since you found him. His wounds healed, and you managed to keep his eyes a secret from everyone. The rangers never found his owner, and they stopped their search after a month had passed. You kept looking for a few weeks after the search was called off. You looked all around Jorvik for Khaan’s owner, but you never found anyone so Khaan belonged to you now. You didn’t know much about riding, but you slowly learned with Khaan. “Farah has some deliveries she needs help with” you sat up as your father spoke “I told her you would help her.” You now understood why your father woke you up so early “she’s awake and waiting for you now.” The man walked out of your room, and as he walked he said “get dressed and come grab breakfast.” You shook your head trying to shake off any leftover sleepiness. Khaan neighed backing away from your window. He was going to finish the rest of his breakfast before you both got to work.

“Alright our first delivery is in… Starshine ranch” Starshine was about 10 or so minutes away from Valedale. You tightened Khaan’s girth, and then you lowered the stirrups. You had to buy a new saddle and pad, but you got to keep the bridle Khaan had when you found him. The bridle had minor cuts it was easily fixed by Farah. You were really happy when she told you it could be fixed. The design on the bridle was really cool, and you really wanted to keep it. You were glad you were able to, because now you rode with a cool gold and black, snake design bridle. Khaan let out a snort watching you get his fly mask. The mask didn’t allow anyone to see Khaan’s eyes, but it allowed him to see. “Ready?” You asked the Friesian. He responded with a whinny. Khaan stood still as you put the mask on him. Once the mask was on, you walked to his side checking the girth again before mounting. The Friesian was tall so getting on was sometimes a bit of a challenge. Today was thankfully easy for you. You clicked your tongue, and Khaan began walking. You rode through Valedale in a walk. When you were out of Valedale and in Hollow Woods you asked Khaan for a gallop. Galloping wasn’t super fun for you. Khaan ran very fast and the possibility of falling at this speed kept you on edge. Fear didn’t allow you to enjoy the ride. You only rode this fast for work though. The speed was great for deliveries which is why Farah continued to ask for you. You wondered if maybe Khaan was a race horse before you found him. He must have won a lot of races if he was. As he galloped through the woods you checked the list of deliveries you had for today. You had one for Starshine which you were going to now, one for Silverglade, and one for your dad. Your dad ordered incense which you dropped off first because you couldn't stand the smell and because you were already in Valedale. Your dad could stink up the house with the incense while you were gone. The scent he always ordered wasn’t your favorite. It was really strong it burned your nose. You tried to convince him to buy another scent like vanilla or lavender, but he always stuck with the same stinky one. Khaan neighed, and you looked up from your list seeing that you were near Firgrove now. Birds flew by and sunlight passed through gaps in leaves as you passed the trees. You felt like you were having a movie moment. A magical movie moment on a magical red-eyed horse. Maybe you already were in a movie without knowing. You could definitely write a book about your adventures with Khaan. You would make it fiction of course so no one would go crazy over your red-eyed horse. You and Khaan got to Starshine Ranch in 8 minutes. You were really early for the delivery. As you rode into the ranch you spoke to Khaan “we’re really early… I hope Josh is awake.” Josh was the guy you had to deliver the stuff to. “Maybe he’ll pay me more for being quick” Khaan huffed throwing his head back. You smiled patting his shoulder “sorry!” You began to correct yourself “maybe he’ll pay me more for how quick you were.” Khaan neighed again it was nice to receive credit where it was due “I’ll buy you as many fruit cups as you want for-.“ You paused when you saw that the person you were supposed to deliver to wasn’t in the spot he said he would be in. Shit… Now what? Should you just leave it on the floor and go? Or should you wait? You couldn’t wait you had to make the next delivery. You got off Khaan, and you looked around “hello?” You walked around the ranch with Khaan following close behind you. “Anyone awake?” You weren’t being very loud since you didn’t want to disturb anyone. “I have a delivery for this place!” You frowned when it looked like no one was going to answer your calls. You continued looking around the ranch. You had real bad luck with deliveries. First with the flyers Rowan had you make and now with this. While you looked around you spotted a house, its lights were on. You walked over to the home, and Khaan lowered his head sniffing the grass around it. You walked up the steps of the home going straight for the door.

You gently knocked on it “hello? Is josh in there? I have a delivery for him!” The house was quiet for a few seconds and then you heard messy footsteps come your way. It sounded like whoever was inside was hopping on a pogo stick. The door opened and a red haired girl with an odd marking on her cheek and a boot in hand which you hoped wasn’t for throwing at you smiled at you “how can I help you?” She looked like she had just woken up. You quickly apologized “I’m so sorry for waking you” you felt bad. She definitely had all right to throw that boot at you for being annoying and waking her up. “Is Josh here? I have a delivery for him.” The girl balanced on one foot putting her boot on the other while she talked to you “he must be asleep right now but I’m his friend I can take it for him.” You smiled and thanked the girl for accepting the delivery. You were really glad you didn’t have to stay and wait for Josh. “I’ll get it its in my saddlebag” You walked down the steps of the home and to your horse. The Friesian was busy eating the grass around the home while you talked. When you came up to him he looked up wanting to see who was coming. In the blink of an eye everything went to shit. Khaan suddenly became aggressive. His aggression wasn’t directed towards you but to the girl who answered the door. He stormed past you knocking you down. You fell on your side gasping as pain rushed through one side of your body. Khaan rushed to the door of the home destroying the steps leading to it as he stomped his way to the girl. The girl quickly reacted, and she shut the door. Instead of slamming into her Khaan slammed into the door of her home. You quickly stood up horrified by how Khaan was acting. Your side was killing you, but you couldn’t stop to rest. You had to stop Khaan before he hurt himself or the girl. The Friesian continued to angrily slam against the door as you ran over to him. Who was the girl on the other side of the door? Why did Khaan react this way upon seeing her? You ran up what was left of the steps of the home, and you reached out for Khaan’s bridle. Your horse let out an angry neigh as you led him away from the door. You guided him down the ruined steps holding his reins tightly, so he wouldn’t rush to the door again. “I’m so sorry!” You yelled so the girl could hear you over Khaan’s angry neighing. “I will pay for the damages I am really, really sorry!” You were definitely going broke after this. The girl cracked open the door staring at you with wide eyes. “It’s fine!” She yelled back at you trying to push the fear in her voice back, so she could speak with a friendly tone. You were relieved that she didn’t want to kill you. At least it seemed like she didn’t want to. Khaan bucked, and he began trying to snap at the girl over your head. “The delivery is free! Please tell Josh not to worry about paying!” You managed to get it from your saddlebag before Khaan knocked you down. You also managed to keep it safe from the fall and from your angry horse. You set the delivery down on the ruined steps of the home. “Once again I am so, so sorry about Khaan!” The girl’s eyes got wider when you said the Friesian’s name. “I’ll come back later with my father to pay for the damages!” You hoped the girl would trust you enough to let you go. She just nodded not having anything to say to you. You quickly got on Khaan thanking Aideen when he listened to what you asked of him. He galloped out of the ranch throwing his head back and neighing loudly. As Khaan angrily galloped you sat in your saddle in shock. What the hell happened back there?! And how were you going to pay for it?

The girl stood outside her home on her porch. She was looking at the destruction caused by the Friesian. She stood with her jaw open and her eyes wide. The steps of her home were completely ruined. Her door was barely hanging onto its hinges. A white horse with a blue mane rushed to her. She could see him from the corner of her eye. The horse spoke to her in a hushed voice “Lisa? What happened?” The girl looked to her horse trying to get rid of her look of shock. “A horse did this…” she narrowed her eyes “Khaan did this.” How did you have Khaan? Who were you? “Khaan?” The horse spoke his ears going back. “Sabine was here?” Lisa answered the question with a shake of her head “it was… It was Farah’s delivery person?” Lisa was extremely confused she needed answers. She turned looking inside her home seeing her father on the phone. The man was just as shaken up as she was. Lisa looked to her back pocket seeing her phone poking out “I need to call the others.”