Raulin's Oath

Present Day

Arietta walked into the kitchen, needing a break from sitting at her desk writing. She slowly reached for the top left drawer and gently pulled it open. Cooper saw this and let out a low-pitched howl as he hurried to her side and sat, cocking his head to the right and patiently waiting. Arietta then snapped the leash onto his collar, and the two made their way to the front door. Cooper loved going on walks, but he knew that he had to travel at Mother’s pace, or he would be left at home. Arietta gently opened the front door, followed by the screen door, and locked up before heading down the sidewalk with Cooper.

Memories kept sailing in, and Arietta kept recording them. She needed to know why she was suddenly able to remember a time from her childhood that had always been shrouded in mystery. She had known that she spent time in the hospital, but really remembered little else. She was struggling to make sense of the strange tale that was unfolding as these memories resurfaced.

Arietta had to slow Cooper down so that she wouldn’t fall. The dull throb in her hip had been steadily worsening, and if she fell, she didn’t think that she could make it back home. Ibuprofen had been her savior, though she was careful of how many she took each day. Her hope had been that her hip would quit hurting after a couple of days of rest. She knew that she should be taking it easy, but one could only stay cooped up in a house for so long. She stopped at the first intersection from her house and decided that she would turn around and head home. If she went the full distance around the block, she would definitely pay for it in the morning.

Cooper let out a low growl as they approached her house. There was a car parked along the road in front, and a man stood at her door, looking through the window. Arietta gave a tug to Cooper’s leash to quiet him. If this was a visitor, there was no sense in scaring him.

Arietta yelled to the man, “Can I help you?”

The man flinched, as if he were startled. “Hello, Arietta, is that you?”

He seemed friendly enough, but the hair standing up on Cooper’s back caused her to approach with caution.

She answered, “I am Arietta. Can I help you?”

This man looked similar to the one that she had seen at the grocery store, except he had a pencil-thin mustache, though he had no eyebrows. The eyes were that same emerald green that she remembered. Cooper let out a low growl, stepping between this stranger and his mother.

The man smiled, though the look was more wicked than friendly, “I hope so. My name is Tim, and I collect antique weapons. I have heard that you may be in possession of something that I could purchase.”

A confused look came over Arietta’s face. “No, I don’t have anything like that. You must be mistaken.”

The man shook his head. “We know you have the weapon. We can make you a very wealthy woman if you would just let us have it.” He took a step toward Arietta.

Arietta looked at the man and frowned. “Tim, I don’t know what you are talking about. If you don’t leave now, two things are going to happen. First, I will let go of this leash and you will have a chance to meet the business end of Cooper, my Rottweiler. Once he finishes introducing himself to you, I am going to call the police.”

Tim smiled again. “No need to be hostile, Arietta. I was just leaving. It would be much easier if you would give us what we want, but we are patient. We will be in touch.” He then made a wide berth around Arietta so that Cooper didn’t have a chance to make his acquaintance. He got in his car and left.

Arietta limped up the stairs, unlocked her house, and wondered what would have happened if she had forgotten to lock up before she left. She let Cooper off of his leash and settled in her recliner, turning the heating pad to high and wrapping it around her hip.

The heating pad began to ease the physical pain that her hip was causing her, though it did nothing for the emotional pain that she was feeling. Tonight would not be a night of writing, but of grieving. Arietta and Joey met on this night, thirty-one years ago. She remembered it as though it were yesterday: the excitement of fireworks climbing their way into the night sky, bursting into glorious plumes of color. The vibrancy stung her eyes, the sound booming across the lake that the boat sat on. It was a dangerous night to go out on the water, so many boats crammed into the bay like sardines to watch the fireworks, but it had been worth it.

Joey had been a friend of a friend, and he had been invited to join them to watch the fireworks. It had been a magical night, and she agreed to go out with him a week from that day. Together they had twenty-seven beautiful years of marriage, the last filled with hardship and heartbreak.

She wept when they learned of the terminal cancer that was slowly but surely taking over his body, but they had come to terms with it. They vowed to make their last stretch of time together as good as it possibly could be, but they had forgotten the effect of disease could have on a person. Their first few months were lovely, filled with traveling and bittersweet moments. As time progressed, however, she watched the love of her life wither away.

A groan escaped Cooper, and she looked down to see him looking into her eyes, the top of his mouth curled under, showing his teeth in a doggy smile. She sighed wearily. “You always know how to make me feel better, Cooper.” As the loving companion Cooper had always been, he could tell when Ari was upset. He eased himself onto the chair alongside her and rested his head in her lap.

Arietta extended the legs of the recliner and floated into a restless sleep. Visions came to her mind, flooding her senses. Her family room was replaced by a vast pasture filled with lush greens. The seeds from the tall grass tickled her legs as the wind swept over and around her The same mountain range with the peaks disappearing in the dark storm clouds towered over the land. Lightning clashed as flames fell like rain, igniting the farthest reaches of the meadow. Arietta turned and began moving away from the firestorm. The first hint of smoke permeated her nostrils as the flames approached. She knew that she would not be able to outrun the storm, but she would not lie down and accept her fate. Arietta grabbed a handful of the still-green grass and held it to her nose, hoping to lessen the effect of the smoke.

Flame blocked Arietta’s path, so she turned, looking for a way out. The flames stung her skin, and smoke filled her vision.

***

1972

Gustoff wasted no time as he gathered extra ingredients for paste and tea. He quickly made Jerry and Ari both a cup, which they sipped while he made more paste for Ari’s arm. “You are a very lucky girl. If you had even touched your mouth with your hand, the swelling would have made it difficult to breathe. Men have died from one of the purple flowers being ground up and added to their food. The tea will help with the stinging, and the paste will continue to pull out the toxins. Dimitri, would you mind letting Arietta ride at least until our next break?”

“Anything for our savior.” Dimitri held still, allowing Ari to climb onto his back.

“So, Dimitri, tell me about yourself,” Ari started, beginning a conversation between the two, and Gustoff walked ahead, his mind wandering.

He sighed with worry and thought to himself, “Some wizard I am. I can’t even keep my granddaughter safe.” With that he continued walking with the herd to the west, knowing that soon they would be back at the hospital safe and sound.

The trees were thinning out the longer they walked, and by the time the traveling herd set up camp for the night, oranges of the sunlight bounced off the twilight blanket the forest was constantly wrapped in. Grandpa Gus grabbed at his knees, lowering himself slowly to rest on a nearby log. “We are less than a half day’s walk to the edge of the forest. Once we clear the trees, we will make much better time.” Raulin nodded approvingly.

“Yes, we will, wizard, but we will also lose our cover. Let us pray the Dragon King is not waiting on the other side of the forest.” Raulin then began to graze on the moss growing at the base of a large tree.

Arietta was starting to get some of the flexibility back in her arm, as the swelling was barely noticeable. Jerry already seemed to be feeling better. He had been so quiet all day. Originally, she figured he was mad at her, but after several hours of walking it became evident that he was just hurt worse than she’d realized. “Hey, you okay?”

Jerry looked her way and yawned deeply. “I will be after I get a good night’s sleep.” Gustoff approached the two and handed each a glass of tea for them to drink before lying down for the night. The minty flavor relaxed their bodies and minds. Soon, they were both sound asleep dreaming peacefully.

When Ari’s eyes opened, she stretched and took in a deep breath. There was no pain anywhere in her body. Jerry stirred and asked how he felt.

“I feel great! Nothing on my body hurts. I think that this is the first time in the past year that I woke up with absolutely no pain.”

The camp came to life. Arietta and Jerry both helped Gustoff make a breakfast stew. “Just think, kids, tomorrow at this time we will be eating breakfast at the inn after sleeping in a bed!” There was a quiet excitement that stirred in the air, and the pace of the herd reflected this. The children walked together and spent most of the morning deep in conversation. They were excited to finally see civilization after this long and dangerous walk through the forest.

“When we get to the inn, what kind of food do you think they’ll be serving?” Arietta pondered excitedly.

“I hope they have chicken… and vegetable soup. You don’t think they’d have ice cream, do you?”

Arietta lifted her brows as the boy listed several more food items, most of which she doubted they would have.

Arietta turned towards Jerry. “Someone’s hungry. Have you had your ration today?”

His face drooped, desire in his eyes. “I wish, but no. I’ve been saving them until I get so hungry I can’t stand it. It’s too bad, though, because while it lasts longer, it’s made me into this constantly hungry monster, and while everything I eat seems to give me relief… It’s never enough.”

Her own stomach turned uncomfortably. “I’d try to summon us food, but the only song I know involving food is the Candy Dance. Last time I sang that, I gorged myself on so much candy I nearly threw up, but junk food doesn’t really make you full,” she said, but his face lit up at the idea. She rolled her eyes. “I’m assuming that you want me to try the spell again?”

“Please.” And so she began singing. The results were unexpected to say the very least. In place of the wonderful candy sprouts, an egg pushed its way out of the ground on the end of a long brown stem. Arietta walked over to investigate, and as she neared the strange plant, the egg started twisting, trying to free itself from the stem. She let out a yelp of shock, and she backpedaled when a hand shot from the creamy white shell. With a moan, a bald man in a pinstriped red and white shirt freed himself from the egg.

“Who are you?!” she demanded, arms crossed.

The man looked her up and down in an assessing manner before he said, “I’m the candy man.” A wicked grin spread across his face. Upon further inspection, each of his fingernails were a different color of the rainbow, and his eyes were a startling blue. Before she could say another word, he sprinted deeper into the forest, taking refuge in its darkness.

Arietta was frazzled to say the least, her eyes wide and brows furrowed. “Well, that… that was not what I was looking for?” Her voice turned upward, suggesting the statement to be a question. Regardless of Jerry’s empty belly, he burst into laughter.

“I think we should begin training together,” he said through his laughter.

Arietta smiled and said, “Hey, I may not be experienced as a spell singer, but I get the general point across!”

Jerry did his best to look serious. “So you wanted a bald man rather than heaps of candy? Look, Ari, it’s not an insult. I need practice too. We just need to be able to sharpen our gifts, to keep us safe.”

She crossed her arms at this. “I tried getting you candy,” she said, suddenly sad.

“Hey, I know you did. It’s okay, though, soon I’ll be able to eat my ration, and not long after that we’ll be feasting on real food, right?” Jerry said hopefully.

“Yeah, I guess,” she moped, and he wrapped an arm around her.

“You’ve got to admit, that was still pretty awesome that you were able to produce a whole being with your gift,” he chuckled, and she shrugged.

“The clearing is ahead,” Raulin’s voice boomed from a few paces away. The kids looked excitedly at one another, hope glimmering in their eyes.

The sun was at its apex as the weary group stumbled out of the silent forest. The herd’s numbers were decimated both by the initial attack of the dragons and the long walk through the forest. They gathered at the edge of the tree line to wait for the stragglers, to rest, and to eat a small dinner. They would then bend their path northwest towards Waterhaven, where they would arrange travel to Belamoris.

The strength returned to what was left of the mighty Zeus herd. She counted twenty unicorns in their group. She tried to remember how many were in the herd when she had arrived in Equus. It seemed like there were thousands, but that couldn’t be right. “Grandpa Gus, how many horses were in the herd before?”

“I am not sure, honey. I do know that the herd numbered over five hundred when I was a boy. The day of the dragon attacks was the darkest day in the long history of the herd. They lost more than their families and friends; they also lost the home that had served the herd for many generations.”

The group had been under constant threat over the past several days as they crossed the Silent Forest. There had been no time to grieve for the lost. Raulin called the herd together at the edge of the forest. The three humans kept to themselves as he addressed what was left of the once mighty Zeus herd. “We are all that remains of the line of Zeus. There will be time for us to remember those who fell, but now we must continue to survive. You will travel with the humans to Belamoris, where you will find refuge. The path I must take leads through the Sword’s Edge and into Aridol. I must call a meeting of the Council of Elders. They must know of the treachery of the Dragon King. With the treaty broken, there will be open war. I must convince the great nations to stand together.”

“My King, where you go, I go. You cannot make this journey alone,” Dimitri exclaimed as he lowered his head. The rest of the herd whinnied and pranced in agreement. “This journey is too dangerous for you to make alone.” Dimitri’s voice rose to a commanding level as he looked to the others.

Raulin gazed off to the Western skyline. “Dimitri, you are a brave stallion, but you are my heir. Should I fall, you must lead.” Dimitri stamped, ready to protest. Raulin added, “It is done! Now we must part ways. I will not return until I have united the seven kingdoms of Palidonaya. Our herd will be avenged!”

With that, Raulin turned to the north, leaving Dimitri to lead the remainder of the herd west to the city of Waterhaven. Dimitri was lost without his lead stallion, but he understood that the fate of the herd of Zeus rested squarely on his back. He gathered the remnants of his kind together, and they took a moment to mourn the lost. After several minutes of silence, the herd chanted in unison. “May their legs run strong, and may they be one with the wind.”

Arietta bowed her head, tears streaming down her face as she remembered the colt that she had befriended in her first travels to Palidonaya. “May your legs run strong, and may you be one with the wind, Corrin.”