The Fates

The sun had risen only an hour ago and it sat low on the sky, making the morning frost sparkle like small crystals all around them. The air had a biting chill to it, Celia hardly felt it under the new winter coat that she had been given but her cheeks were already red from the wind as they galloped away from Byrion.

For Celia saying goodbye to the people that she had come to like had been hard but not as difficult as it had been convincing Rhale that he needed to let her go with him. Amos had helped her and eventually Rhale had, reluctantly and very unhappily agreed, he had not however agreed that she should ride on her own horse. "Taurus is faster and stronger than the others, if anything happens to me he will take you to safety."

The land was open and bare before them and Taurus was galloping at an unbelievable speed, Rhale had like last time one of his arms securely around her.

It was not long before Byrion castle was out of sight but the waste land continued before them as far as her eyes could see.

The sun slowly moved higher up in the sky and midday must have come and gone when Celia finally saw the outlines of trees. She almost felt so happy that she could cry, she doubted that she would be able to stand going at this pace much longer. As they rode closer and closer Celia could feel her giddiness increase and as they reached the woodland edge her breath was caught in her throat, a beautiful stream was flowing wildly in front of the entire edge, creating a border between the waste land and the forest.

"We will stop and rest here before we continue on" Rhale said when Taurus had slowed down to a trot.

"It is breathtaking"

"It is here to serve as a warning, behind it lies the dark forest." Her happiness disappeared at Rhale's words, she had read about the dark forest in one of the few books her mother had owned and none of it had been good.

It was said to be so thick that no sunlight could penetrate the canopy of the trees, making it a natural habitat for all sorts of dangerous creatures. Celia shuddered at the thought of going in it and glanced warily at the vegetation, they would not be going through the dark forest, would they?

"Will we be going around it?" She asked hopefully but her voice was small and unsure.

"No"

His shortness, she knew, meant that he was still unhappy with her, "May I ask why?"

Rhale was quiet while he helped her dismount and he led Taurus to the water so that he could drink to his heart's content.

She did the same and gulped down the cold water greedily while waiting patiently for him to reply. It was not until he had filled the water pouches and they had sat down to eat some dried meat that he spoke.

"Going around it would mean riding for week's, the fastest way to Dianthus mountain is going through it." Celia felt foolish, she had known that they were going to The Fates but not once had she asked where that was or how they would get there.

"How exactly do we reach The Fates?"

"It is at the top of Dianthus mountain and once you are there The Fates will decide if you are allowed to enter."

"Have you ever been there?"

"No."

Rhale rose to his feet after they had finished eating their meat and held out a hand to help her up. But instead of letting her go as she was expecting he pulled her to him, Celia's chest hit his roughly and her heart started to hammer in her chest at his closeness.

Rhale was always so warm, she could feel it even through her thick clothing and when his hand cupped her chin a current rocked her entire body. She silently cursed at her own reaction to him and avoided looking into his eyes, she was afraid that he would see the turmoil within her.

"Please look at me Celia" Rhale's breath fanned her face as he spoke and Celia’s eyes found his without her consent.

"I hate that you are here, from now on the road before us will be very dangerous. If I tell you to run, you run. Trust Taurus, he will protect you just as much as I will. Promise me that you will listen to anything I say."

Celia could only nod in response, Rhale's face was so close to hers that his scent enveloped her, making her feel dizzy and light headed. He eventually released her and walked over to Taurus and removed the bow and arrows that were strapped to Taurus' side.

She had not even noticed that they had been there and she promised herself to become more aware of her surroundings.

"I will stand between anything that tries to get to you but I would feel better if you wore these." Rhale handed her the bow and arrows, and she took them carefully, securing them around herself before he helped her up on Taurus' huge form.

"It is a few hours until we reach a small cabin where we will spend the night. It's built right before we enter the most dangerous part of the forest, then it is a two day ride until we are out in the open again."

As soon as Rhale had mounted they were off, Taurus ran over the stream like it wasn't even there and he was able to keep pace, he maneuvered skilfully over the uneven ground of the forest better than she could ever dream of.

Celia could hear birds singing happily in the tree tops and small animals were rustling around in the bushes. So far the forest was not at all like she had expected, the tales had described it to be a nightmare come true but she found it to be almost peaceful. Her legs and buttocks eventually began to hurt and the weather grew colder the further they got. The trees grew thicker and the lovely sounds of the animals gradually disappeared and dread began to fill her with every step forward that Taurus took.

She had to force herself not to grab the reins from Rhale and steer them around and hurry back to where they had come from. Everything grew denser and soon there was very little light that could penetrate the crowns of the tree .

"How much further until we reach the cabin?" Celia whispered, afraid to disturb the eerie silence around them.

"Not long" Rhale whispered in her ear, his voice even lower than hers.

Taurus started to slow down, branches and stones made it difficult for him to move as fast as they had. Her anxiousness grew the slower they moved and she had the strange feeling of being watched.

Just as she heard a sound to the left of them Rhale jumped off and drew his sword. "It's forest goblins, the cabin is straight ahead. Go!" Rhale yelled at the same time as multiple goblins rushed towards them.

Taurus started to run best he could when Rhale had told them to go and she fumbled to take the reins. When she finally had a good grip on them she pulled Taurus to a stop and turned him around so that she could see what was happening.

She had never even seen goblins before and she almost gagged at the sight before her, at least a dozen horrendous looking creatures that she presumed to be the goblins were attacking Rhale.

Rhale swung his sword with deadly accuracy, kicking other goblins aside at the same time.

Goblin blood spewed out and turned the forest floor red as he used his sword to decapitate one after another.

Celia was frozen in place, unable to look away from the scene before her.

Another set of goblins ambushed him but Rhale was able to hold them back, when a third set of goblins ran forth Celia grew more worried. Rhale looked like death himself as he fought but how was he going to fight all of them at the same time?

Taurus took a couple of steps back and whined, Celia understood that Taurus wanted to take her away from the fight but she could not bring herself to leave Rhale to fight them alone. She had to do something.

"I won't leave him" She told Taurus and the horse immediately stopped struggling "Stay still for me, all right?" Celia let go of the reins and grabbed her bow and pulled out an arrow. I can do this she thought before taking aim. Celia took a couple of deep breaths and then let go of the arrow and she watched as it flew across the air and straight into the head of one of the goblins that had been the furthest away from Rhale.

As soon as that goblin fell to the ground three other goblins turned their heads to look at her, they smiled strangely, saliva foaming at the sides of their mouths as they started to run towards her with frightening speed.

"Uh oh" Celia hurriedly grabbed another arrow and shot one of them, she grabbed another one and even though her hands were shaking she hit the other one in the chest. Celia was too slow however for the third goblin, just as she had grabbed another arrow he was beside her, pulling at her roughly.

Taurus rose himself up on two legs, kicking the goblin in the process. Celia's hands were still raised in a shooting position and she had no time to grab a hold of anything before she fell backwards.

Celia landed on the ground with a big thud and the wind was momentarily knocked out of her.

The goblin was on her in an instant, squeezing her neck hard with his slimy hands, she could see his yellow uneven teeth as he smiled down on her.

She was still holding her arrow in her hand and without thinking she stabbed him with it, right into his ugly, foaming mouth.

The goblin released her throat and grabbed at the arrow, trying to pull it out and she wasted no time in scrambling backwards. Rhale swung his sword into the goblins neck, its head rolled and came to a stop right next to her. Celia muffled a scream, if her scream was for the goblin's unattached head or the angry look on Rhale’s face she did not know.

After sheathing his sword he lifted her up without saying a word and put her on top of Taurus again. She could see a heap of dead goblins where he had fought them and she turned her eyes away from the bloody scene.

They rode in deafening silence the rest of the way to the cabin. Rhale had been right, the cabin had not been very far from where they had been. She should have listened to him and just rode here, it was clear now that Rhale had not needed her help and she could feel the anger seeping out of him.

After Rhale had removed the saddle from Taurus and made sure that he was cared for they walked into the cabin.

As soon as they were inside Celia was pinned against the wall, Rhale's big body held hers captive and she could feel his chest move with every word. He spoke calmly but every word was spoken with such a force that she had preferred yelling to his icy tone. Still she did not fear him, his body pressed to hers made her feel strange things.

"What did I tell you, Celia, before we entered the forest?"

Whatever response she could have made got stuck in her throat. When she did not answer he lifted her up so that they were face to face, his big hands held her thighs and she instinctively wrapped them around him, blushing at his proximity.

"What did I tell you to do when the goblins came?"

Still Celia could not answer, she closed her eyes and willed her heart to slow down. She was still not scared, she knew that Rhale would never hurt her but she did hate the fact that she had made him this angry.

"Did I tell you to stay and fight?"

This time she managed to shake her head, no he had told her to go.

"You could have gotten yourself killed. Forest goblins are no more than a nuance to me but that goblin could have snapped your neck in a second. Please look at me Celia."

Her eyes followed Rhale’s command and met his, his eyes were angry but behind that she could see the worry that he felt.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head again, not trusting her own voice.

"If any other women under my protection had so foolishly disregarded my command I would have had her over my knee in an instant."

Celia's heart skipped a beat, Rhale wouldn't, would he? She had never been punished in her life.

"Why? Why did you stay when I told you to go?"

"I... I couldn't just leave you there... there were so many of them."

Rhale’s head came to rest on her shoulder and she slowly put her arms around him.

"I'm sorry" she said timidly and started to stroke his tousled hair, trying to calm him like she would a restless animal.

He felt more like a huge beast against her and she had never felt smaller in her life. Strange new feelings grew within her, she could feel butterflies in her lower belly and an uncomfortable throbbing between her legs. Celia's hips moved of their own accord but Rhale grabbed her hip with his hand to stop the movement.

"Do not move, let me calm down."

Celia forced her hips to be still and focused on Rhale’s breathing, after a while his breathing evened out and she could feel him relax against her.

"You did good, but next time do as I say. I could not bear it if anything happened to you."

"I promise" Celia said and she meant it.

She realized now that if Rhale could not handle whatever came at them she sure didn't stand a chance. She could even be a distraction to him and in a fight that was not a good thing.

"I'm going to get some water from the well outside so that we can wash up before the night. Do you know how to start a fire?"

"Yes, I can start a fire."

"I'll be right back." Rhale slowly lowered her to the floor, her body sliding down against his before he took a step back and walked outside.

Celia looked around, it was clear to her that the cabin wasn't used regularly but there was fire wood and fire flints next to the open fireplace.

She had started many fires in her life so she set out to do her task mindlessly while thinking about what Rhale had said.

I could not bear it if anything happened to you. Did he care about her only because he believed her to be an angel? Celia knew that she cared about Rhale more than she should and it was clear that Rhale did not feel whatever it was that her body felt whenever he was close to her.

She needed to stop feeling whatever it was that she was feeling, for whatever it was, it was embarrassing.

Rhale soon came in with water and Celia washed her face and hands roughly, ridding herself from the goblin blood that had stuck to her. Rhale made a quick meal of whatever provisions they had brought with them and she ate without tasting the food.

"Tomorrow will be a long day, try to get some sleep."

Celia thought that she would never be able to sleep after everything that had happened but as soon as she rested her head down on the makeshift bed, made from blankets that had been laying around she soon drifted off to sleep