Roses and Thorns ~ The Tale of Roses and Thorns 1.

They were nearly at the borders of Lorlea when Ivelle stopped her horse. The others noticed it and stopped too. Cirillo turned his horse and shouted at her:

“Come on, Ivelle! We don’t get to it all day.” he turned his horse. Ivelle looked back. She could still see the smoke. She took a deep breath and shouted back:

“No.”

“No?” asked Cirillo with disbelief in his voice.

“No.” she looked him in the eye. The man slowly approached her not taking his eyes off her.

“How do you mean ‘No.’?”

“I can’t go. ” she still looked in his eyes “Those people, they were innocent, and now they are dead because of us.”

“And?”

“We can’t put the casualty into drain. I can’t.” she tried to keep her feelings back, but her voice was still shaking.

“Really?” asked Cirillo mockingly “And what do you want to do? Go and resume our trip?”

“Exactly.”

“Than more people will die.” Cirillo was so angry that even he was only an inch away from her he was shouting “I’ll tell you better. You will die. You can’t do it alone and we won’t go with you.”

“Then I’ll go alone and die. But I’ll try it.”

“She won’t die, because I’ll go with her,” said Áedh while coming closer to them.

“What?” asked Cirillo once again with disbelief.

“I’ll go with her.” he reached them and stopped a few meters away, “You said, that she’ll die if she goes alone. Well then, I’ll go with her and make sure she won’t.”

Cirillo went closer to Áedh and whispered something to him that Ivelle couldn’t hear. She examined Áedh. He sat still in the saddle with straightened back. Sometimes she forgot, that the others were from the nobility. Áedh's face didn’t show emotions. On the contrary, Cirillo looked very angry. A few minutes later Cirillo gave a blaming look to Ivelle, then went back to Merle and they whirled away. Áedh went closer to her.

“Come.” it was all he said, but for her, it was enough. She set spurs to Novalie and they stormed off after Áedh.

It was nearly noon when they finally stopped. They had been riding for nearly 10 hours and they only stopped a few times, only for a few minutes. They got off the horses.

“Unharness Novalie.” said Áedh.

“What? Why?”

“She’s too conspicuous. You’ll need a new one. Let her loose and she’ll find her way back to you when it’s time.” explained Áedh. “We are only a few miles away from the next town. We’ll get a new horse for you.” Ivelle just nodded and followed Áedh’s instructions. She stroke Novali’s head for a few minutes then let her go. Áedh immediately got on his horse.

“Come, sit behind me.” he motioned to Ivelle “Amlug can take us both.” As soon as Ivelle got on Amlug they strode off. She was really grateful that she only had to sit behind Áedh. She felt extremely tired.

Nearly an hour later they reached a small town. It was a typical town from the Middle Ages. The houses were made of stones, and there was a market in the centre. Women were selling goods there, while children were playing tag and other games. Men were working in the surrounding fields. What’s most important is that there were people from every race: dwarves, nymphs, goblins even fairies and elves. This whole picture was very idyllic. They reached the stables on the other end of the market.

“Good day, my good sir.” greeted them the smiling stableman “Looking for a place for your horse?”

“Yes. And we’ll also need another horse when we leave.”

“You’re in the right place, then” he smiled “We have some great horses over there. Marcus will help you with finding the right one.” he pointed at a tall brown-haired man.

“Thank you.” said Áedh and passed a few coins to him, then turned to Ivelle “Come.”

“Good day, sir.” greeted them the man as they approached.

“Good day. Are you Marcus, the horse trader?”

“That’s me.” he smiled. “Who are you?”

“I’m Dorin. We’re in transit.”

“I see.” he took a minute to think “Come on, I’ll show you my best horse. He led them to a beautiful dark bay horse. “He’s Zandro. He’s the fastest I have.” Áedh examined the horse. He took a look at his hooves, then at his tooth.

“He’ll do it. How much?” he asked the trader.

“Seven crowns.”

“That’s a bit too much.”

“As I’ve just said, he’s the best.”

“But he’s only a standardbred.” he stepped out of the stall “I’ll give four crowns.”

“Four crowns and five shillings.” Áedh took a deep breath and took a look at the horse again.

“Fine.” they shook hands. Áedh then led Ivelle away. They didn’t talk too much. They stepped into an inn on the main square. The awful memories of the night immediately attacked Ivelle’s mind. Áedh must had noticed it because he took a step closer to her.

“It’s safe. I’ve been here many times.” she nodded but wasn’t convinced.

“Dorin!” said an old man behind the bar “I haven’t seen you for ages.”

“Reuel. It’s always great to see you.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Just give us some food.”

“Sure, go take a seat.” Áedh nodded and led Ivelle to a dark corner. They sat down. Ivelle gave a questioning look to Áedh.

“What?”

“Dorin?” she laughed.

“That’s not a joke.” said Áedh “We learnt a long time ago, that if we want to stay safe, we’ll need a disguise. That’s why you needed a new horse. You’ll also need a new name. And whatever happens do what I tell you...” he stopped and looked up. Reuel gave them the food. Áedh thanked it with a nod, and as soon as they were alone he resumed “If we want to survive you’ll have to cooperate. Clear?”

“Yes.” For the first time, Ivelle started having doubts about her decision.

“Hey,” Áedh looked into her eyes “Everything will be okay.” he gave her a weak smile. Ivelle nodded and started to eat. The food was surprisingly delicious.

“So...” started Ivelle “Where are we exactly?”

“In a small town, named Arran.”

“And how are you planning to go to Drauri? "she asked curiously. Áedh looked around, then answered in a very low voice. Ivelle had to lean closer to hear what he said.

“We can’t follow the original route. ” He explained “But I know a quicker one. ”

“Why didn’t we followed it in the first place? ”

“I counted on some kind of... Trouble... ” He looked at her. ” And it’s a bit risky, so Cirillo refused. ”

“Risky? ”

“We’ll have to spend at least a night in the woods. And the roads we’ll take usually have bandits. ”

" You’re kidding, right? ”

“Hey, you wanted to go after your own head. Bear the consequences. ” He must have seen the fear in her eyes because he quickly added “Relax! I won’t let anything happen to you. ” He kept on eating. She still wasn’t sure, but she had to trust him.

A few hours later they were ready to leave. Amlug and Zandro were saddled. Áedh bought new, more ordinary clothes. He kept his black leather pants, and his black boots, but instead of his black ornate overclothes, he now wore a white linen shirt and brown doublet. On the top of these he put on a brown hooded cloak and he got one for Ivelle too. They left the city and headed to the north. If Áedh was right -and he usually was- they would reach Drauri in 5 days. And then...another 4 days in the Dark Lands.