Yuila admits to some of her faults, and Mina realizes she may be more lost than she knows.
If you’re just joining this story, you may want to start from the beginning.
♫♪Suggested Music: on AudioNetwork
The next day they began traveling in a light mist that cleared up by late morning. Edvard had intended to let the horses graze and rest for the day further along in their trip, but decided to make it earlier when they came upon a secluded spot near where the stream joined a faster river. The trade road would branch off into a secondary road that led to another village half a day away, and he didn't want to spend an idle day too close to the division.
The horses and mule didn't stray far from where Edvard and the girls made camp. The animals rolled on the warm ground, relieved of their packs and passengers. Yuila scolded Sova for getting grass stains on her white patched rump, but the mare paid her no heed.
The sheltered spot they found was off the trade road enough to mute any camp noises, and close enough to the river that Yuila could fish and still be heard if she fell in again. Edvard kept this in mind as the girls went to bathe where the water pooled near some boulders, and busied himself with gathering wood and building a fire.
With the rest of the afternoon to let the horses feed, he unrolled a map on the grass near the fire and traced their course. So far they were a little less than halfway to Tūtu, and from there it would be another day or two to Prima Lūce. They hadn't made quite as good travel as he hoped, partly because of the detour through the widow's hill country and their stay there.
He looked back to the spot where they had first encountered Mina. There was no village or towns along the road for days, and he wondered how she'd gotten there without any recollection of travel. In fact, there was quite a bit about her that didn't make any sense. It was a little consolation, however, that she seemed to be as puzzled about her circumstance as he was.
He rolled the map and stored it in a saddle pack, then added larger pieces of wood to the fire. He looked around at the coniferous and broadleaf trees that fringed their camp, and then to where the horses and mule had wandered to the river's edge, following the voices of the girls at the concealed pool. Only Neito actually waded hock-deep into the water. The gelding pricked his ears at the sounds coming from the bouldered area of still water, then decided against further investigation and left for the bank with Sova and Makka.
Suddenly the animals' heads turned in unison in the direction of the road and Edvard looked there as well. He cautiously made his way to where the trees offered an inlet into their campsite and searched the roadway. After a moment a lone figure appeared from the grassland from the east. Edvard sighed, recognizing a donkey and rider. He watched the pair make their leisure way down the trade road, the animal's short steps and bobbing head appearing comical with the tall rider on its back. The rider's legs came down past the donkey's knees, and from the distance, Edvard couldn't tell if it was a very small donkey or a tall man. He watched them until they disappeared in the west, toward the next crossroad that would lead to the small village he and the girls would not encounter.
When they returned to the campfire, Edvard took his turn at the river, confident they were secluded enough not to attract attention from the road and that the donkey and rider were indeed gone.
Mina spent half an hour combing out Yuila's long hair, then dividing it into two pony tails to dry. When she was sure Edvard was out of sight at the river, she and Yuila stepped into the thicker bushes and tried on the second outfits of clothes they had gotten in Pantia. The young Crone's overdress was a teal blue, which only lent a deeper purple tone to her eyes, Mina noticed, and was a little less obvious than the madder red of the first dress. She watched the girl smooth the skirt, smiling and humming.
"Do you miss your homeland, Yuila?"
The girl looked to Mina, then suddenly burst into tears, sinking to her knees in the underbrush.
"Oh, Yuila, I'm sorry," she said, kneeling and putting an arm around the girl.
"I shouldn't have left, Sapo. They said I wasn't ready, and I wasn't. I got lost, and no one will find me, and they'll be so angry when I get back!"
Yuila didn't seem to notice that she had admitted to fault, or that she had despaired at not being found and being returned home after she'd been found.
She stroked the girl's damp hair, holding her closer. "Edvard found you, Yuila. He's taking you home. And they might be angry for a while, but they'll be glad you're home safe."
"You don't understand," the girl sobbed, wiping her face with the hem to her blue dress. "They really don't like strangers. They'll be angry I brought anyone to the village."
"Well, this is necessary. It has to be done." She let Yuila cry herself out for a few moments, soaking the collar of Mina's lilac overdress with tears.
"Sorry, Sapo," the girl said when she finished.
"Let's go see about those squash plants by the river." Mina stood and pulled Yuila up with her. "I think some of them are gourds, but some are squash, too."
They waved to Edvard who was now at the fire, skirting the camp area at Yuila's request. He returned the wave, watching them advance on the unsuspecting vegetable plants trellising the young trees near the water's edge.
The vines were burdened with long, light green squash of a summer variety, but those near the boulders had crossed with the gourds and were hard and inedible. They carefully selected three of the soft vegetables and carried them back to the campsite. Yuila immediately set back out to the water with her fish basket, hoping to add to their supper.
Mina shook the dried leaves from her pale skirt and rubbed the dirt off the squash. She looked to where Edvard sat nearby, sharpening arrow tips with a stone.
"Yuila all right now?" he asked, eyeing her.
She nodded. "Just a little homesick."
"She's young to be so far away."
"I think she's just noticing that." He handed her a knife and she used it to slit open the squash. She scooped out the seeds and pulp and cut the fleshy part into chunks.
"Do you think we went the wrong way to take you home, Mina?"
She nearly cut her thumb at his question. She tried to remain steady as she put the squash in the clay pot. "I've wondered that."
He set aside the sharpening stone and arrow and settled beside her with the map he had studied earlier. He spread it out and pointed to a dark red line. "Here's where we found you. And here's the closest village."
She saw the brown circle near the red line. "None of it looks familiar, Edvard."
He nodded slowly, searching her eyes. "If you were abandoned there," he said quietly, "you can tell me. It won't change anything. We'll find out where you belong."
She wanted desperately to tell him the truth. Maybe she had run away, maybe the truck had hit her, and killed her. Maybe she was dead. This wasn't heaven, she thought, glancing down at the squash. It wasn't quite hell either, she decided, looking back at Edvard. What was it, then? Was she waiting on some shinigami to escort her to the next world?
She shook her head. "I don't know. I suppose it's possible I came from the opposite way." For a moment she thought he would be upset, but instead he nodded.
"You said nothing looks familiar."
"Nothing on the map does." She sighed, dropping the squash pieces into the clay pot.
He looked up to where Yuila was dipping the basket into the river waters from the bank. "Do you want to go home, Mina? I mean, if you can't remember, maybe there's a reason."
For a moment she dared not look at him, fearing he had seen through the veneer she'd so carefully constructed. When she did look at him, he still watched her intently. "I want to go home, Edvard. More than anything."
He nodded. "Then we'll find it."
The rest of the afternoon was spent grazing the horses and watching Yuila fish. The girl caught nothing, but at least she was happy in the water, Mina determined, wading knee deep with her blue skirt pulled high. Edvard had passed the time sharpening the arrows and snaring a young goose from the brush farther up river.
The goose and squash were accompanied by three bell peppers they had brought from the previous day's camp. Mina sliced them and added them to the squash, a little wilted from the travel, but salvageable. In the early evening, as a fog settled in, Mina and Yuila gathered half a basket of gold raspberries Edvard had found when he had brought back the goose. Yuila wanted to fill the basket, but the fog coming in gave an eerie feeling to the air.
Instead they ate the berries, each growing quiet as the fog thickened and seemed to stifle the trees around them until they felt they were miles from even the trade road. Without discussing it, they found themselves within arm's reach of each other as they unrolled blankets for sleeping that night.
Yuila's fingers tightened on Mina's blue cloak as she huddled close. "The Coes move on foggy nights, Sapo."
Mina wasn't about to tell the girl it was all just fairytales, not when she was visiting a strange world where Crones disappeared and maps meant nothing to her. "Why would they bother us?"
"They don't need reasons."
Mina looked across the girl to where Edvard lay with his own blanket, still very awake in the foggy night with only the fire for hazy light. "Edvard's here. Nothing will happen to you, Yuila."
PG13, saga; teen, fantasy, fantasy world travel, teen romance, clean romance, realm, magical realism, shadow world, school/new school, high school, fiction, serial. #ReadFree with free signup. ♫♪
Future chapters may be available only to read for free subscribers. Signup for free now and join us!
Thanks to P.G. Waters for the use of her story!