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AMY NEARLY COLLAPSED WHEN the beast set her down. The flight that had felt like an eternity had really taken less than five minutes. Although petrified, Amy managed to keep her balance and stood trembling with her eyes tightly shut. Waiting for the first bite, she held her breath and clenched her teeth.
When nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes, sighing with relief when she saw that the beast was nowhere around. It had apparently taken flight again after setting her down. She could just see it disappearing over the trees. Well then, now was her chance. All she had to do was run south towards the gorge, and she would be sure to meet up with Walter and Airdella. But as she shifted her feet, Amy almost slipped off the edge of a tower. She shrieked and jumped back, still edgy and full of adrenaline after her last fall. Now, she made herself aware of her surroundings.
She stood on an open tower looming high above the ground and commanding a view of a large clearing scattered about with the ruins of a castle. Directly beneath the tower was a large courtyard, littered with a few stones and surrounded by a wall that appeared to be mostly intact, although the battlements were broken down and the wooden gates had long since rotted away.
As anxious as she should have been to get away, hide from the beast, and find Walter and Airdella again, an object in the middle of the courtyard caught her attention and her curiosity in a way that she had rarely felt before. Much as when she had encountered the beast that night by the End Chasm. She carefully worked her way down the tower’s staircase. Crossing the courtyard, she saw that it was a stone statue. It looked to be an old man, but then, he looked too strong and powerful to be old.
No, he really can’t be all that old, she told herself. It just looks like that because his hair is carved of gray stone.
But still, there was something about his eyes that gave him the appearance of someone ancient and young at the same time. He resembled a pillar because he was so tall and straight. He wore a crown with the symbol of the sun on his forehead and the moon at the back. Stars circled his head in between them. Across the shoulders of his great robe stretched a large bird, its wings running down along the robe’s sleeves. The branches of a great live oak tree stretched across his back while waves lapped at his ankles. One hand held the pommel of a sword, resting point first in the water at his feet, and the other held a large round shield with carved symbols on it. Amy thought that the design on the shield was very much like a map, but she did not know what the rest of the symbols were. Parts of the map she thought she recognized, but she was not quite sure. The symbols looked similar to the Olden Tongue, but she still did not know what they were supposed to be.
She did not hear the beast until it was almost directly on top of her head. When she heard the flapping of wings, she jumped back, nearly tripping over a tuft of grass. The beast circled the statue and landed beside her.
He did not seem to take notice of her at first, as he was busy panting and stretching himself. She recognized him now from pictures in her mythology book as a griffin. Body of a cougar, front talons and head of a bird. It was quite a golden color with hints of brown throughout, but what surprised her was its owlish head and wings as opposed to the eagle features she had read about.
It cocked its eye to look at her as it pruned itself. “So sorry. Long flight that. Just catching my breath.”
Being apologized to by something you think is going to eat you was entirely new to Amy, who could do nothing but stare back. To hear the speech of humans, specifically heavily accented Arualian, coming from the mouth, or in this case the beak, of a beast was unexpected. The back of her mind wondered how he was able to make the sounds required for human speech.
The griffin watched her carefully, seeming to grow either more annoyed or more worried.
“So, say something!” it finally said, a little exasperated sounding.
This almost left her flabbergasted. “Say?” she gasped. “What should I say?” Indeed, what to say in a moment like this. Airdella and Walter had always done the talking. The usually quiet girl struggled to find a voice.
“Say? Why, anything you like, of course.”
Amy stood confused for a moment. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“A nice ‘thank you’ might be a polite thing to start with.”
“What... what for?”
“Why, for saving your life, of course.”
“Saving my life?” Amy had not thought of it that way. She had been convinced that the beast had seized her as prey and was intending to eat her. But now, she realized it did not dive at her until she had fallen. If it had wanted her for food, it could have snatched her at any time, or waited until she was already dead. “Oh. Thank you. I thought you were going to – going to eat me,” she stammered, turning red.
“Did you?” the griffin asked, sounding a little dismayed. “My apologies. I did not mean to scare you, but I see now that you are merely a fledgling. Older than a nestling, for sure, but neither are you an adult. I could not see that earlier. I really do not see well in the day, you know, being nocturnal, unlike you strange human creatures or those eagle griffins. But I managed to catch you, and that is what matters. Any scratches from that? I do apologize. Although I failed to find your two companions and save them.”
“Save them from what?” Amy felt alarmed.
The griffin looked her over kindly with its large owl eyes. “Ah, young human. A fledgling trying to fly on an unfamiliar wind. Of course, you will know nothing of the dangers of this land which is new to you. Greater dangers besides falling exist here on this side of the Fury. There is a human in these parts, a man who goes by the symbol of a White Cougar. How he came to this side of the Fury and where he came from none of us have been able to figure out. He has taken over an old fortress here in the woods to the west and declared this his dominion. He has many men, soldiers who have helped him rebuild the castle and invade the forest. Some days they are out clearing the forest, pillaging, plundering, and capturing any they find living or roaming within it. Other times, we will not hear anything out of that castle for days. Where they go or what their purpose is, none of us know. That being said, it is not safe for you and your friends to wander these lands alone. Not only because of the White Cougar; those who live in these woods have not the best experiences with humans and may not be so ready to treat you kindly. Having been unable to find your companions, I fear that they may have been captured or run into some other misfortune.”
“But this White Cougar is the very same reason we’re here,” Amy cried. “We’re on a quest.” She said the word with great pride, knowing most children her age probably never went on quests.
The griffin gave a cooing whooing sound that Amy decided was probably a laugh, which she did not appreciate. “What? Were the three of you fledglings planning on attacking the castle?”
Amy scowled. “No, of course not. We didn’t even know about the castle. This White Cougar must be the same one who has invaded our country as well. We came looking for a way to save our father.”
“What has happened to him?” the griffin asked in alarm.
It was the first time Amy had actually said it out loud. The words seemed distant and unreal, as if someone else were saying them. “Our father, the King of Arualia, has been wounded in battle and fallen into an enchanted cursed sleep.”
“The Black Death,” the griffin nodded. He tilted his head and regarded her silently for a moment. “Arualia, you say? Now, that is right interesting.” There was something odd and peculiar about his expression, somewhere between confusion and amusement.
“Yes, Arualia. That’s where we’re from.”
“Is it indeed?” the creature mused, considering her for a few more moments before puffing its feathers and shaking itself. “Come, we must get you to some shelter before dark.”
“But I don’t even know your name, and what’s to be done about my brother and sister?” Amy protested. “Are they really in danger?”
The griffin gave another laugh. “We have just told each other far more about ourselves than a mere name ever could. But I guess you are correct, and we should introduce ourselves to each other so that we’re no longer strangers, eh? My name is Arundel. What is your name?”
“Amy,” she answered. “At least that’s my nickname.”
“Well then, since we’re no longer strangers, will you come with me? As to your brother and sister, chances are they are just fine. They probably just got lost looking for you. I’ve already searched for them but was unable to find them. So, I will try again when it’s dark. Easier for me to see, and they will likely have stopped moving and bedded down for the night.”
Amy stood looking at him for a moment. It was either that or spend the night here by herself, the idea of which was genuinely frightening. “Alright. I’ll go with you.”
“Then climb on my back. Easier for both of us.”
Up they went again, into the sky. Only now that Amy did not believe that she was going to be eaten, she found it a lot more enjoyable. The cold wind whipped past her, chilling her to the bones, but she did not mind. They were going at a faster speed than she had ever thought imaginable, and she felt as light as a feather whenever Arundel would glide and turn. There is really nothing quite like riding on a griffin. After a while, she tried to pull her mind off flying and to concentrate on the landscape and memorize it, but since it was mostly trees, it was not easy. Far ahead to the north, she could see where the tree line ended, and a sort of silvery ribbon snaked up into the sky.
After a few minutes, Arundel began to descend and then landed in the top branches of an enormous pecan tree. A very large messy nest of sticks and moss and bits of feathers was precariously balanced at a nice fork between branches. Amy hesitated. Although she did not want to be the one to tell Arundel, it did not actually look like a comfortable nest. Or safe for someone without wings.
Thankfully, Arundel realized this himself. “Hmmm, this may not work as well as I thought it would...”
––––––––
Airdella stood on the edge of the gorge, simply staring, the wind whipping past her. She was trying to get up the courage to cross the bridge. It stretched before her across the chasm, the bridge that had almost taken her sister’s life, the bridge that had separated her from Walter. This had not been part of the plan. She could have handled anything they might encounter if they had all been together. She was not prepared to face it alone. Who knew what had happened to them? She was the only one who could save them now. It was all up to her.
Finally, she shook herself. She hadn’t come all this way just to lose her siblings that easily. She needed to find Walter, rescue Amy from that giant beast, and get them back on track so that they could save their father. Gingerly, she inched one foot forward onto the bridge and allowed her weight on that foot to increase. The board creaked in protest.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
She jumped, nearly falling over the edge, but a hand grabbed her arm and steadied her. She turned to find a boy about the same age as her with coarse blond hair and staring blue eyes standing behind her. He was the first person, indeed the first living being besides the coyote and the winged beast, that she had seen since crossing Gaya’s Fury. At first, it surprised her to find another human being in this new wild frontier. Then again, how did she know that there were not any people living on this side of the chasm? Regardless of who he was or where he had come from, she did not at all like being snuck up on and watched.
“Well, obviously you are not me,” she said. “Who are you anyways?”
He simply stepped past her and began to inspect the bridge.
A new thought popped into Airdella’s head. “Have you been following me?” Her mind flashed back to the coyote that had so suddenly appeared and in a similar fashion, stopped them from going down a certain path.
He tested his weight carefully on one of the ropes.
“I thought you said you wouldn’t do that.”
The boy turned from the bridge. “There’s a better way to cross the gorge,” he said finally.
Airdella dismissed all other thoughts and concentrated gladly on that one. Perhaps this boy could be of some use. “Where?”
“I’ll show you,” he answered and nodded his head farther east down the gorge. He began to hurry that way, and she had to run to keep up with him.
This is stupid, she told herself. Following a boy, whom I don’t know, who won’t even give me his name. But something else deep inside of her kept telling her that it was all right to trust him. Soon, she would be on the same side of the gorge as Walter and Amy, and she clung to that thought.
Finally, they stopped where a steep path was carved into the wall of the gorge. The bottom of the gorge dropped, creating a small waterfall. The path led down the side of the gorge and disappeared behind the waterfall.
The boy scrambled nimbly down along the path, turning to give her a hand every now and then as she followed him. It was quite narrow so that one almost had to walk sideways down it. It led behind the waterfall. Because the water shot off the edge, there was a little space between the water and the rock behind it. It was damp and slippery with moss, and she almost slipped several times. Finally, they were across and climbing up the steps that had been carved into the rock on the other side.
“There,” the boy said, panting when they finally reached the top. “Told you it was a better way.”
“Yes, you did,” Airdella answered back. “Thank you very much, and now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find somebody.” She started to walk westwards down the gorge, back towards Walter.
“You shouldn’t wander around alone.”
“Well, when I find him, I won’t be alone, will I?” Airdella turned and retorted.
“Well, you don’t have to be so high and mighty about it,” the boy glared at her. “Stop acting like you’re a princess or something.”
Airdella stared at him.
“I’m trying to help you, but if you don’t want my help, then you can find your own way until you get captured by Clint Starnor. Not my problem.” He turned his back on her and marched in a very purposeful manner northwards.
Airdella whipped around, her attention completely captured by that name. Clint Starnor? Here? Clearly the boy had valuable information she needed, and he was already getting far enough ahead. She did hesitate for a moment more. Getting captured was not something that she had in mind, but if they were going to travel together, they were going to have to come to an understanding. “I really am a princess,” she called, stepping forward to follow him.
“Sure, and I’m a duke,” the boy said sarcastically over his shoulder.
––––––––
Walter was roughly shoved onto a stone floor. A heavy door clanged behind him, and the sound of a bolt being shoved into place echoed against stone walls. Reaching up with his hands, he removed the blindfold that his captors had put on him.
All around him were stone walls, broken only by narrow slits for windows that were set too high in the walls for him to see out of. If it had not been for the windows, his cell would have been pitch-dark, for no torches or lanterns adorned the rough stone.
The soldiers had come upon him very suddenly in the woods. He had just been running, shouting, trying to see the griffin through the trees, but the men had jumped him, blindfolded him, gagged him, tied his hands together, and taken him for what seemed an eternity of a ride. Then they had stopped, and he had thought he heard a drawbridge being lowered. The horses’ hooves thudded across a wooden surface. He had been lifted off a horse and made to walk blindfolded down what seemed like many corridors and up and down many stairs before having his hands untied and being shoved into this dark prison.
Now he did not know where Airdella was either. For all he knew, she might have been captured too, and Amy was probably eaten by now.
He never admitted that he cried. But his cloak and handkerchief got suspiciously wet as he curled up in the corner of his cell.