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Blume wasn't sure where her feet were taking her as angry tears rolled down her face. The buildings and streets of Lone Peak seem to fly past her as she ran.
The fear that her ability to perform magic was the only thing that gave her any worth was flooding over her.
It'd been that fear that had consumed every waking moment since they had left Ruyn. Without magic, what was she?
She looked up to see that she had run to the stables where they kept Snowy.
The smell of horses and freshly cut hay filled her nose and her heart yearned to ride.
Running into Snowy's stall, Blume saw that someone had already saddled him. She rushed over to the horse, led him out of his stall and leapt on top of him.
A stable hand shouted from a nearby stall. The young boy had two bags on his shoulders and a water skin on his hip. It looked like he was ready for a short trip.
"Hey! I was about to take him out for a ride!" he shouted as he saw Blume climbing onto the white horse.
Blume didn't even stop to acknowledge him as she steered Snowy out of the stall and kicked at the stirrups.
They left the stable hand shouting out for them as they galloped into the streets.
The wind stung Blume's face. She wasn't sure if the streams coming from her eyes were from the anger and resentment that had been welling up inside her and was now bursting out, or from the air that rushed past her face.
She wasn't sure for how long they rode nor where she was intending to ride. After what could have been one hour or a few, she couldn't tell, Snowy began to slow his place. The horse was sweating with exertion at being run so hard. Putting her hand on his neck, she patted him soothingly.
"I bet you're thirsty," she said with a twinge of guilt in her voice. She had run the poor horse too hard and too far without a break.
Looking around, Blume could hear the sound of a small brook that ran down the cliffs and helped to irrigate the crops of Lone Peak. Holve had shown her a map of how they managed to keep the crops well-watered despite the harsh terrain.
There was water nearby.
“Let's get us both something to drink,” Blume told Snowy, directing him with the reins towards the sound and off of the path.
She didn't know how long they had been riding. The suns had just barely peaked over the horizon when she had entered the library that morning with Holve and Ealrin. Now they seemed to be over the midday point. When had she left the library? For how long had she helped search old dusty books before she had gotten so angry at Ealrin she could burst?
Thinking about that made her upset and sad all over again, so she drove it from her mind. It was quite warm and Blume was happy to keep Snowy to the shade of the short trees that lined the path. Within minutes, she had spotted the water making its way down the cliffs and steered Snowy towards it. They arrived and Blume let herself down from the horse. They both drank greedily.
Water couldn't do much for the hunger Blume felt, however. While Snowy began to feed himself on grass, Blume looked around her to see what might be good to eat. None of the nearby crops were grown enough to eat and she didn't trust herself to choose any of the wild plants around her.
Some Speakers used herbs and plants to augment their magic and if Blume had learned anything from those books, it was eating unfamiliar plants often led to a long, painful death.
She contented herself with a few apples that looked alright from a nearby tree. Taking a bite out of one, she began thinking of how she could get herself back to the wall without having to ride underneath Ealrin's disapproving glare.
With a great sigh, she threw herself down on the ground next to the stream. Snowy was still chomping away at the grass within the reach of his rope. Blume absentmindedly handled the necklace around her neck.
Why had she been so upset with Ealrin?
Was it because he had spoken out loud what she feared most of all? That she had lost her magic? And if it was gone, could she ever relearn the skill that had once come so easily. She sat up and looked around her. Snowy gave a snort and lifted his head up, smelling the air.
Blume ignored him. She wasn't ready to return yet.
She focused her attention on a rock in front of her, almost the size of her fist. She grabbed her Rimstone and began to mutter the words of magic under her breath.
A faint green glow came from her necklace. Slowly, the rock on the ground began to fidget. Slowly, it rose just a hand's breadth off of the ground. Blume was sweating and already feeling the weight of the burden that the magic was costing her. She hadn't eaten properly at all today.
Stubbornly, she continued on. The rock rose now just to her eye level.
Exhilaration filled her. She was controlling the rock. Elements of the earth were responding to her guiding. Magic was beginning to work again for her. For the length of a breath, Blume felt like she had regained her powers and would be able to Speak again like she had before. She felt her confidence returning and could almost hear herself confronting Ealrin about his lack of faith in her.
For a glorious moment, Blume felt like all was right.
But that moment was also when she saw the bear.
The rock fell back among its fellows with a clatter that startled even Blume, though she was aware of the entire scene in great detail. She didn't know when she had gotten to her feet, but she was acutely aware of how dizzy she suddenly felt.
Even though the ground threatened to leave from underneath her, Blume kept the bear that was across the stream in her sight. She knew that to look away from the bear would mean death.
She stared into the bear's eyes and, unnervingly, the bear stared back.
For a moment, Blume considered using her magic to try to distract the bear. When she reached up to her necklace, however, the world beneath her seemed to spin in parallel circles. She did not have the energy. She knew any magic she produced would be sporadic at best. She was desperately trying to conceive what to do. Throw a rock into the creek? Back away slowly and try to ride Snowy away?
Before she could decide on a plan, the bear began to growl and take menacing steps in her direction.
It was then Blume noticed something odd about the animal across the creek. It wasn't a bear with fur alone.
Plates of metal we're strapped to its top and sides. A helmet of sorts covered its head. Blume had never seen a bear fitted for war, but if she had imagined a bear taking part in an epic battle, this creature would have been it.
She was going to run for it. The bear was only a few paces away, and it was possible he would reach her before she could throw herself onto the horse.
Her foot was about to leave the ground when she heard words she did not know or understand. The voice came from her right. It was young but strong sounding. Not daring to take her eyes off the bear, Blume spoke a warning.
"Stop moving or you might provoke it," she said, throwing out a hand to signal whomever it was walking her direction.
"The bear is mine," the voice said.
Perplexed by this statement, Blume dared to look right and saw a fully armored elf slowly walking towards her. He was tall and broader than the elves Blume had seen in her time on Ruyn. In his full plated armor, he looked fierce.
But behind the helmet, just through the visor, were soft and friendly eyes. Blume let her guard down just long enough to take a deep breath. Then the bear let out an earsplitting roar.
Snowy whinnied and, jumping madly, pulled on his rope.
The elf ran towards Blume who, not knowing any other course of action, reached down for a rock to throw at him. Perhaps those eyes hadn't been so friendly after all.
Splashing feet and a few loud but unfamiliar words confused Blume enough to make her pause. She looked and saw that the elf had climbed onto the bear and was now riding away west with the speed of the wind.
She looked out after him for what could have been several long minutes, but then a trumpet blast brought her back to her surroundings.
An army carrying purple banners with golden stars on them was now marching up the cliff road, not a stone's throw away.