––––––––
I couldn't tell if it was the light streaming in from the small window in the kitchen that woke me up, or if it was Charis rustling different items into leather satchels and bags. Either way it took me a few moments to remember exactly where I was, and to remember everything that had transpired the day before. I decided to give myself a few minutes to nestle in my blankets and reflect. When I had closed my eyes the night before, I was certain I would wake up back in my bed in my small house and that everything had been just one very elaborate dream. But lying here close to the empty fireplace, the truth—an extremely odd truth—finally sank in. This was real, this was actually happening.
I looked past the small table toward the door on the other side of the room where Shaw had been sleeping, but he was gone and his blankets had been moved. I started to wonder if I had imagined him, and just how gorgeous he was, when Charis interrupted my time of introspection.
"Good morning," she said with a smile.
"Morning," I replied, sitting up. The hard wooden floor of the cabin had done a number on my tired joints, and my hips screamed with pain and stiffness as I tried to move them.
"I took the liberty of setting out some clothing for you. We want you to be as inconspicuous as possible, and you certainly will stand out if you stay dressed like that."
"Thanks," I said. I meant it, until I saw what she wanted me to wear. The top wasn't too much different from what I had on. The material was cotton-like and it was a pale blue color. The shirt was open at the collar and laced up with a silky blue ribbon that tied just below my collarbone. The sleeves were long and frilled out at the cuffs. The part the vexed me was the long velvety looking charcoal gray skirt. I absolutely hate wearing skirts.
"You will get use to them," Charis said with a smile. She must have been able to tell my opinion. I returned her smile sheepishly and stepped into the back room to change clothes. Along with the new shirt and the skirt, my new outfit contained soft black boots and a black hooded cloak. I made sure I removed my watch and neatly folded up my clothing placing them on the chair I sat in last night.
Shaw came in the house from outside. He had changed his pants and shoes to the dark brown pants I had spotted last night and a pair of brown boots. I knew I gawked at him, but I couldn't help it. I think during my sleep I had forgotten just how handsome he was.
"Ah you're awake," he said. "Let's grab some breakfast and be on our way."
Breakfast was simply more tea and leftover chicken and bread. We ate quietly, and then headed outside to begin our journey. It was still pretty early because there was a whitish foggy haze hanging low to the ground. It was warm, and I could tell once the sun managed to completely rise it would burn this fog off pretty quickly. Other than the light fog, the day was cloudless. Good weather to start our quest.
I stopped short when I saw what Charis had said was a horse. The beast resembled any other horse, but with two major differences. He was a dark brown color with a black tail and mane, which isn't out of the ordinary, but he was huge. He was probably the biggest horse I had ever seen, and he had two horns—like a goat's horns—jutting out of his head. They were about as long as my forearm. How strange. But then again Shaw told me that the animals here would be different.
Charis informed me the horse's name was Gunther. I walked up to pat the marvelous animal on the nose. He brushed his head up against me and nearly knocked me over, but I took that to be a sign he liked me, and I scratched between his large ears. Gunther snorted happily and I figured I just made a new friend.
Shaw was loading the last of our equipment on to Gunther, so I decided to run around to the back of the cottage. I wanted to see the green chickens for myself. Sure enough, they looked exactly like any other chicken I had ever seen, except they were dark green. This whole adventure excited me, and I couldn't wait to see what else Meric had in store. Of course, I was a bit apprehensive remembering the story about the Vaipes, but I was hoping to see more animals like Gunther and the green chickens.
The direction we took once we left the cottage had us walking right into the rising sun so I assumed we were heading eastward. I was guessing, of course, because I wasn't sure the sun rose in the east in Meric. Maybe even the sun was backwards in this crazy place. We stayed right inside the edge of the forest, keeping the river on our left side. Shaw told us that if we stayed with the river for too long it would lead us too far south so he was keeping his eyes open for a safe place to cross.
We quickly inherited a particular marching order. Shaw was in the lead with his sword constantly drawn. He didn't necessarily walk with the sword in the ready position, but he had it out in case he needed it. I wondered if we could be in that much danger, but then again I was reminded of the Vaipes, and I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, Shaw certainly would know better than me on how to act in Meric. Who was I to question him?
Charis walked in the back leading Gunther by the reins. She had her white staff, and sometimes I caught her humming a pretty melody to herself. As for me, I lingered in the middle. We walked like this in silence for about an hour or so. It didn't take me too long to realize that Shaw and Charis were walking like this to keep me in the middle, to keep me safe. I really began to wonder what was going to happen to me. How could they possibly believe I would be able to stop Leticia, or her dark army? I've never even held a sword before, how was I supposed to battle an army? Plus, there was this Rayliex character to deal with. Not to mention the horde of other dark creatures they had talked about. How was I supposed to do this? How was I supposed to help these people? There was nothing fantastic about me. Supposedly my father had all these wonderful gifts and powers, but I don't. I have nothing.
I was so distracted by my self-doubt and worry that I walked right into the back of Shaw. He had stopped dead in front of me. "Oh my gosh. I am so sorry," I blubbered.
"Shhhhhh," Shaw hissed, raising his sword.
I scanned the area and perked up my ears. The forest we were walking in had crept down toward the riverbank, so now we were just a few yards away from the water. Above the sound of the rushing water I heard a distant rustling, but I had no idea what it was. I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"Charis," Shaw hissed in a strained whisper, and Charis scurried with Gunther in tow, stopping when she was by our sides. "I need the two of you to get on Gunther and cross the river right there." He pointed to a slightly narrower looking part of the water, though it still seemed to gush with a fierce intensity. Judging by the size of Gunther, we should be able to cross it without much difficulty.
"Why? What's going on?" I asked, matching his hushed tones. The rustling grew louder. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
"There's a Leviathan in the woods, maybe a mile off. There only seems to be one, but it heard us and it's moving this way," Shaw explained. How could he have deciphered all of that from some rustling sounds? A mile away? Either my ears were getting even more acute, or a Leviathan makes a lot of noise for me to be able to hear it from that far off.
"Come on, Christina," Charis urged, and placed a hand on my back to push me toward Gunther.
"Wait," I said, focusing on Shaw. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm staying here until you two are safely across." With that, he grabbed me around the waist and flung me onto Gunther with such strength and speed it surprised me. Charis rearranged some of our equipment to make space, then pulled herself up in front of me and using the reigns she urged Gunther forward.
I stared back at Shaw as Gunther made his way into the cold water of the river. The rustling I had heard was no longer faint. In fact, it sounded like something ripped up small trees by their roots. Shaw stood firm just out of reach of the foreboding trees. I watched the muscles in his arms flex as he tightened and relaxed his hold on the hilt of his raised sword. He looked powerful and menacing, and for the first time, he looked frightening. He had his back to me so I couldn't see his face. I was glad for this because if he was frightening from behind, I'm sure the front would be all the more terrifying.
Gunther bounded across the river, and I leapt from his back as soon as dry land was beneath my feet. I stepped to the edge of the water to call out to Shaw so he could join us, when I spotted some trees close to the edge of the forest being snapped in half and falling to the ground.
I screamed as the Leviathan emerged through the trees and charged at Shaw, a deep growl rumbling through the forest. The creature was enormous. No wonder the trees were toppling. Instant fear flooded my veins. The Leviathan stood roughly twice as tall as Shaw, putting it near twelve feet. It had to be three times as wide as a man. One of its arms alone was as thick as my entire body. The beast carried a four-foot round, six-foot long tree to wield as a weapon. Its skin was a dark murky brown color that reminded me of swamp mud, and it had thick black hair that was similar to the hair of a man, but it was woollier, fuller. It wore a tan animal hide for pants but no shirt.
The Leviathan stopped just feet in front of Shaw, who stood his ground. The beast howled a deafening roar, exposing large teeth, each one as big as my fist. It raised its tree trunk club with the obvious intent to bring it crashing down on Shaw's skull. In one swift pirouette of a move, Shaw spun away from the falling tree while slashing the creature through the thigh with his sword.
A pained snarl came from the Leviathan. I was surprised to see the blow Shaw had given it wasn't enough to topple the brute. Abandoning the tree trunk, and with blood gushing from its leg, it lunged at Shaw with speed I would never have expected from something so large and lumbering. Shaw answered with his own lightning speed. He quickly moved out of the creatures grasp and attacked again, this time slicing deep into the Leviathan's shoulder.
Storm clouds rolled in, as quickly as the battle on the other shore, and the sky turned gunmetal grey. There was a chill in the air now, and I wrapped my black cloak around me. I was locked in place from shock, staring across the river at the battle. I thought nothing else could surprise me until the Leviathan, loosing blood from both its left leg and right arm, spoke.
It was really hard to discern what the creature said because it was interlaced with grunts, snorts, growls, and other animal like sounds. It was a very disjointed slow sort of talk, very infantile, but I was able to make out through the babble a bit of what the Leviathan said.
"You are quick for a human," snarled the Leviathan.
Shaw did not answer. His focus was clearly on the fight. The creature growled again and rushed toward Shaw, its black narrow eyes filled with rage. When the creature was less than a foot from him, Shaw thrust forward with his sword, piercing the beast straight through the center of its massive chest. The Leviathan gasped for breath, wheezed, and snarled one last time before dying right where it stood. I was about to cheer for Shaw's victory when the creature's momentum sent it crashing forward, toppling onto Shaw.
"Shaw!" I screamed, running into the river.
That creature had to have crushed him. It had to weigh at least five hundred pounds. I didn't know how I was going to help, but I knew I had to get to Shaw. I had to do something. I was waist deep in the water when a swift gush of wind rushed past me toward the side of the river Shaw was on, and Shaw heaved off the brute himself. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at him in disbelief as he wrenched his sword out of the Leviathan, and thrust the blade into the dirt to clean off the blood and gore.
Wiping a small amount of sweat from his brow, Shaw yelled across the river, "Christina, what are you doing? Get out of the water."
I looked down and realized the strong current and already pulled me ten feet down river. I scrambled to get back on shore. Once I was safe, Shaw whistled and Gunther ran across the river to him. Shaw mounted Gunther and together they joined us on the northern bank.
I plopped myself down in the green grass lining the river and proceeded to wring the water out of my skirt and cloak. The dark storm clouds were now almost completely gone and the sun was shining again. It was strange how quickly they had passed overhead. Shaw jumped down from Gunther in a single, fluid motion and joined me in the grass. Charis busied herself by rearranging the jumbled equipment on Gunther's back.
"Are you all right?" Shaw asked.
"You're asking me if I'm all right? You're the one who just killed some gigantic beast and you're asking about me? What about you? Are you okay? How did that thing not crush you?"
He smiled, and squeezed my hand, letting it go so quickly I wasn't even sure he had done it. He sighed and focused those amazing blue eyes on me.
"I am fine," he said as he studied me with an expression of contemplation. He started to say something else, but he paused, clearing his throat. His expression changed to concern. "You need to understand, Christina. No matter what, you need to stay safe. It does not matter what happens to me. Above all else, you must stay safe." With that, he jumped to his feet and walked up river again so fast I didn't have a chance to argue with him. How could he not realize that I cared what happened to him?
I rushed after him. I wanted to tell him he mattered to me.
Charis grabbed me by the shoulder. "Let him go for a moment," she said in her amazingly soothing way. She had an uncanny ability to be comforting. "He will not understand if you try to tell him now."
"What do you mean?" I asked. How could she know what I was thinking? Was she able to read my mind? She seemed to know how I felt about Shaw when I wasn't even sure how I felt.
"Just give him some time, dear." Her tone brokered no argument, so I decided to change the subject.
"I was surprised that the creature... the Leviathan... was able to talk."
"Yes, remember what Shaw said to you last night. Leviathans are people as well. Unfortunately, they are a dark, twisted, evil being, not necessarily a human but a person nonetheless. Vaipes also can speak so do not be shocked if we run into any of them, although they rarely talk to their victims, only each other," Charis explained.
"Shaw is quite a warrior," I mused, finding it impossible to keep my mind off him for more than a few seconds.
Charis grinned at me. "He really is the best warrior in Meric. There is an interesting story behind it. Would you like to hear it?"
"Of course I want to hear it," I exclaimed. We were following behind Shaw by less than twenty-five yards, so I knew he could hear us, but he was either ignoring our conversation or he didn't want to acknowledge it. Either way, I tried not to worry about that. I was extremely excited to learn more about him.
"Do you remember the painting of Prince Jonus?"
"Yes."
"Well, many years ago, Prince Jonus decided to prove that he was worthy of the Elfin crown should anything happen to his father. He decided to take a small battalion of one hundred troops into the southern territories and try to wipe out one throng of evil men living just south of the Marle Desert.
"At that time, Shaw was only seventeen and living with the Elves. His mother had sent him to stay there when he was a young boy. He studied swordsmanship, strategy, and fighting techniques because he wanted to join Tornus' army. He was a fabulous student, and even though he was so young he quickly rose through the ranks of the Elfin military. The fact that he is not an Elf makes this quite an accomplishment. Shaw was part of the battalion that journeyed with Prince Jonus on his quest.
"However, the battalion never made it through the Marle Desert. An even larger army than the one they had intended on attacking ambushed them. It was comprised of men, Leviathans, and Trolls. Jonus' troops were being slaughtered and Jonus himself was captured. Shaw fought through the onslaught and managed to save a handful of his companions. He then felt it was his duty to rescue the prince. The few Elves he saved were either too frightened, or too injured, to help him so against all odds, Shaw attacked the army and singlehandedly defeated them all, rescuing Jonus. All told, that day he killed approximately one-thousand enemies by himself to save the prince.
"When they returned to Verna Mount, Shaw was hailed as a hero and his tale was told throughout the land. Everyone quickly recognized him as the greatest warrior to ever live." She paused and looked ahead to Shaw. He continued to ignore us. She smiled, and then turned to me and said in a soft whisper, "He never talks about it, and he will never proclaim himself as the best. He is very modest. He simply felt it was his duty, and duty has always been the most important thing in his life."
I stared at Shaw's back in amazement. One-thousand enemies. How could one man do all that? And at the time he wasn't even a man, he was a teenager, a boy. I thought about some of my students trying to accomplish such a feat and the idea of it made me laugh. Most of them can't even do ten push-ups without complaining. How extraordinary. I was quickly becoming intimidated and intrigued by Shaw. Perhaps with a warrior of his caliber on my side, I would at least stand a chance against Leticia. Although, if he could have defeated her, wouldn't he have done it a long time ago? Shaw's abilities seemed so incredible, and if he couldn't stop Leticia, how was I supposed to? I highly doubted she would bow to my super sarcastic wit.
"Charis, how am I supposed to defeat Leticia? I have no powers. There is nothing special about me."
Charis gave me her all-knowing smile. It was just a tad frustrating being around her, she always seemed to know more than she was letting on. But yet, there was a comfort in her that I couldn't deny. Somehow she managed to make me feel better. Her pretty turquoise eyes were kind as she said, "You do have powers. I have seen them." She tapped a slender finger to her temple. "When we stop for the evening I will start training you to find and use your powers."
Charis' mention of training made me realize that there was something I really wanted to ask Shaw. I excused myself from our conversation and ran quickly to close the gap between my two companions.
"Shaw?"
"I hope you're not going to ask me about rescuing the prince because I'm not going to talk about it."
Obviously he had heard our conversation. His voice was sharp and had just the faintest tone of agitation to it. Hearing his voice like that cut at my heart. It almost brought tears to my eyes, because I thought he may be angry at me, and that was certainly something I would never want. I tried to shrug off this emotion as quickly as I could.
"No, but I did want to ask you if you could teach me how to use a sword..." I looked at him sheepishly and then for extra measure I added, "...please?"
He drew in a slow breath and frowned at me. Then he sighed and said, "I suppose I should teach you how to defend yourself. I'm not naive enough to think I can watch you every second of everyday."