Through the Portal

William woke up in the middle of the night. He couldn’t figure out what had woken him, at first, but then he heard someone whispering and splashing. He looked over to where Katherine seemed to be having a secret conversation with the stream as she ran her fingers through the water. He realized Josie was still lying beside him and carefully moved her away, so he could get up. He walked over to Katherine, his feet making almost no sound on the soft moss. He knelt beside her and whispered, “What are you doing?”

She jumped, having been completely focused on her task. She smiled and pushed a mess of curls away from her face. “I was reinforcing the spell. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He shrugged. “It’s not your fault. I’m a light sleeper.” He looked at her, curiously. “Do you sleep, at all?” He realized he’d hardly seen her lay down since they met.

She gave a small laugh. “Well, not much. It’s a gift of sorts.” She stared off towards the colorful lights, which wavered in the blackened sky. “I don’t need much sleep. Besides, it hinders my duties.”

“Your duties?” He cocked his head. “What might those be?”

She paused, as though mulling it over. It seemed like she wasn’t going to answer, but she changed her mind. “I’m what you might call a guardian.”

“And what do you guard?” he asked. A thought struck him and he looked around at the group. “It can’t just be us you’re guarding, right?” Something about the way she spoke made him think it was bigger than that.

She laughed and shook her head. She covered her mouth as she realized the laugh might have been loud, but no one stirred, so she put her hand back down and continued working in the water. She ran her finger around in it and runes formed, briefly.

“Don’t get me wrong.” She lowered her voice, trying not to disturb anyone else. “You and your friends are certainly worth protecting, but my job is much more than that.” She sighed and looked back at the lights in the sky. “Tell me, do you think this world is beautiful?”

William shrugged. “The black and white is a bit dull, but the sky is lovely.” He wasn’t sure what answer she was looking for and hoped that would be satisfactory.

It made her smile. “Not all the lands are like this one. You’ll see, soon enough.”

“This is the place from your song, isn’t it? You called it the fairest land.”

“Yes. That’s a song that was passed to me by mother; the song of the guardian.”

“Then I’ll trust we have better sights to see, soon.”

“You should get some sleep, now, William,” she said. “We have a long day ahead of us.”

He smiled, in return. “I’m not sure I can sleep. So much has happened and my mind can’t seem to rest.”

She seemed to consider him for a moment, then touched his face. Her hand was warm and made him feel very calm. She began to sing in a soft voice.

“On darkened ground,

Beneath blackened skies,

You’re safe and sound.

Now, close your eyes.”

He felt himself drifting off and lay down on the soft moss, thinking it was more comfortable than any bed he had ever used.

“Rest your head.

Sleep while you can.

I’ll keep you safe

In fairest land.”

His eyes closed and he remembered nothing else.

Katherine returned to her work in the stream. Once she was satisfied that the protection spell would hold, she drew her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. Although she didn’t need any more sleep than she’d already had, she needed to rest and focus. She couldn’t let the spell take too much energy or it would end badly for everyone.

Meredith woke up early the next morning and looked over at Katherine, who was apparently asleep with her knees pulled in and her head in her arms on top. For the first time, she noticed how small the girl was. It seemed insane that they were depending on her to protect them. Meredith realized she was still wearing her jacket from the night before. She slipped it off and walked over to Katherine, laying it over the girl’s shoulders.

Katherine lifted her head and stared at Meredith, not saying anything, for a moment. She tilted her head to look at the jacket. “What are you doing?”

Meredith stumbled over her words. “I just thought you might be more comfortable...” She frowned, wondering how it was that this young girl could make her feel so childish. She pulled the jacket away and ran a hand through her hair, thinking how much nicer Katherine’s curls looked. She wondered if it was possible that the girl just woke up like that.

Katherine blinked at her, then smiled. “That’s very sweet. Thank you.” She looked back at the rest of the group, glad that they all seemed peaceful for the moment.

The twins were lying close to each other, and Josie had gotten up at some point and crawled back to William’s side. “They seem to be sleeping well. What woke you?” She cocked her head as she returned her gaze to Meredith, who shrugged.

“I’ve always been an early riser,” she replied, simply. She took a seat beside her on the soft moss. “You don’t mind the company, do you?”

“I never mind company,” Katherine assured her. “However, you may find me a bit dull, I’m afraid.”

“I have only known you a couple of days.” Meredith smiled. “But I can already say that the last word I would use to describe you is “boring”.” She thought about all that had happened in the brief time since they’d met and she decided that a little dullness probably would have been nice. Even so, she felt happier than she could ever remember being. She was living out a dream and she could only hope that she wouldn’t have to wake up from it any time soon.

Katherine plucked a mushroom and held it out to her. “You should eat. You’ll need your strength.”

Meredith’s stomach rumbled and she realized just how hungry she was. She gratefully accepted the mushroom and took a bite. She stared at it, in wonder. Instead of bananas, this one tasted like a salted pretzel. She looked it over and realized it had spots, instead of speckles. “This mushroom is different from the ones we ate yesterday.”

Katherine nodded. “I guess I didn’t think to tell you. I’m sorry. Some things just slip my mind.” She indicated the stream. “Closer to the water, they taste saltier, even though the stream, itself, is sweet. Funny how nature works, sometimes.”

Meredith gave an amused smile and shook her head. “Funny that this seems natural to you.” She took another bite, deciding not to question how things worked around there too much. For the moment, she was just glad they were working. She pulled out her water bottle and took a swig, enjoying the contrasting flavor. “This is quite a world.”

“Indeed, it is.” Katherine smiled. She leaned forward and whispered, conspiratorially, “And you haven’t seen the half of it.”

Meredith was about to ask about her meaning when she heard people stirring. She turned to see the twins starting to rise. They yawned and stretched, so she smiled at them. “Good morning. You look like you slept well.”

Soon after, Josie woke up and the group sat around, eating mushrooms and drinking the apple-cinnamon water. It was a while before William awoke and Henry smirked as he did. “Sleeping beauty is up!”

“We thought you were dead,” Jake commented through a mouthful of mushroom. “We were about to leave you.”

William smiled, good-naturedly. “You know I would hunt you down and beat you up if you did.” He stood and walked over, taking a seat with the group as he grabbed a mushroom for himself. He noted, with interest, how quickly they had grown accustom to treating fungus as food. When he bit into the mushroom, he paused and looked at it, but decided not to point out what they had already realized. Instead, he looked around at the wide-awake faces. “How are you all up before me? That never happens.”

“It’s your fault for getting up in the middle of the night,” Katherine told him. “It interrupted your sleep cycle.” Her expression was a bit guilty, but he decided not to ask about that. “At least, you’re up, now. Finish eating and we can head out. Hopefully, we’ll cover more ground, today.”

“As long as the giant snake-man doesn’t come after us, again, right?” Josie looked at her with wide eyes.

Katherine shook her head. “He wasn’t a man, just a creature. Also, he wasn’t hunting you. He just wanted something to eat. He was hungry.” She sighed. “He’s probably weak, by now.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Henry asked, “It means he won’t be able to attack again.”

“Good, for you, I suppose.” She looked at him. “Not so good for the starving animal. I wish I had been able to lead it back where it belonged, but protecting you is more important for now, so I have to let him die.” Her voice held a great deal of sadness and nobody felt it was so positive, anymore.

“Poor snake-man,” Josie commented, softly.

William put a comforting arm around the child and looked at Katherine, thinking it would be better not to dwell on the subject. “You said we need to get going, right? It’s best not to wait, I think.” He looked at the group. “Pack up your things and get ready to move. We can’t stay here all day.” He refilled his water bottle and slipped it back in his bag. The others followed suit and looked at Katherine.

She smiled and nodded, standing up. “The sooner we start walking, the sooner we’ll reach the palace. You’ll be safe there.”

“To the palace, we go, then.” He gestured ahead. “Lead the way.” He had decided the most important thing was to keep the group alive and he would allow Katherine to lead them anywhere for the promise of safety.

They walked for about an hour and came upon a small pond. This water was so clear, it would have been difficult to see, if not for the ripples being made as fish swam around in it, having nowhere else to go. Katherine knelt by the pond and William briefly thought she was going to take a drink, but, instead, she whistled a tune. The fish responded by swimming in time to the song. Josie knelt by the pond and watched them, excitedly. She pointed at the fish, wanting the others to look and, soon, everyone was gathered around the little hole. William looked up at Katherine, who was still whistling, but she seemed focused on Josie’s excited expression. He had wondered why they were stopping, but he realized, now, she had done it just to make the child smile.

Soon, they were moving, again. Katherine spoke to the group as they started walking. “Make sure to ration your water. We have a few more miles before we come across another stream.”

“Couldn’t we just get water from the fish pond?” Henry asked.

Katherine paused, grimacing at the idea. “You are aware that the fish live in that water, right? You understand the things they do in it?”

“Oh.” He frowned as it dawned on him. “Yuck.”

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to drink still water?” Katherine gave an amused smile and resumed walking. “What are they teaching children today?” The comment was obviously more to herself, so no one answered.

“How far is this Blue Palace, anyway?” Jake asked, wondering how much more they would have to walk.

Katherine paused, as though she didn’t want to answer. “Far.” Her smile dropped as she considered the distance.

“Well, that cleared things up, don’t you think?” He looked at his brother, who nodded.

“Cleared things right up,” Henry added, sarcastically.

She gave an exasperated sighed. “I doubt you’ll like any other answer better. Not to concern you, but the Blue Palace is just about as far away as it could be and still be possible for us to reach it. The portal opened on the other side of the country, because father can be quite useless when it comes to geography, and we’re going to have to cross many lands to reach my home.” She took a breath. “Now, this journey will likely be dangerous, but I am determined to keep all of you alive, so will you let me do that, please?”

The group stared at her, feeling more anxious than ever. Even after the wyrm attacked them, they had convinced themselves that they would be alright. It was just a game. However, it was clear that she was really concerned that they might not be okay and that worried them.

“It’s okay,” Josie said. “William will protect us if anything bad happens.” She took his hand and smiled.

He did his best to smile back at her, hoping he could be as much of a hero as the child believed he was. He looked at Katherine. “You lead and we will follow.”

“Thank you.” She took another breath to calm herself. She knew it was unfair to lose her temper over such minor questions, but she was really starting to wonder if she was going to be able to protect the group. She had gone looking for heroes and gotten children, but that wasn’t their fault. She looked at the twins. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

They smiled and shrugged.

“It’s not a problem,” Henry assured her. “We all lose it, sometimes. As long as you do your best to help us out, here, we won’t hold it against you.”

Meredith paused, before asking, “If your father can open portals to travel places, couldn’t he just open another one to bring us closer?”

Katherine shook her head. “The portals are difficult to open. He used one to send me to you and it took a day for him to get up the strength to open another. Even then, he wasn’t able to open it in the right place because he didn’t take enough time to recover.” She sighed. “It wasn’t his fault. It’s just frustrating. However, if he tried to open another portal, now, there is no telling where we would end up. It’s safest to keep going on foot.”

Meredith nodded, accepting the answer. “Well, let’s keep going, then. I’m eager to see this palace.” She started walking as if she knew where they were going and the others followed.

Katherine quickly took the lead, again, feeling a little relieved that they were trusting her. After another hour of walking, she let them rest for a while, thinking they were making good time. She looked up at the sky, wondering if they would make it out of the Black Hills by nightfall. She saw them finishing off their water and felt how dry her own throat was. Sighing, she led them on a detour, knowing there would be a stream just a mile to the east. It was a little out of the way, but she couldn’t let them keep going without water and she knew the lands like the back of her hand, so she realized there wouldn’t be any more on their route for another hour, at least. It had also occurred to her that this stream ran in the direction they were going for a while, so they could follow it and she would be able to use its energy for her protection spell, that night.

As they sat down and refilled, Josie yawned, starting to doze off. William frowned as he saw her and looked at Katherine. “She doesn’t usually go so long without resting. Perhaps, we could stop for a bit?” They hadn’t run across any danger and he figured they would probably be safe, for a while.

Katherine looked at the sky, which was starting to dim. “Just a few more miles and we can set up camp, okay?” She knelt in front of Josie to make eye contact and smiled. “Think you can keep going a little while longer?”

The child nodded, clearly exhausted, but not wanting to let anyone down. “I’ll be okay.”

“You’re very strong,” Katherine told her. “You’d make an excellent warrior.”

Josie gave her a sleepy smile and William took her hand as he helped her up. He worried about her, as he always did, but they had decided to trust Katherine’s judgment and that was what he intended to do. He didn’t have much of a choice since they would be lost without her in this strange world. After a little while, Josie tripped and fell. She yawned, unable to pick herself back up. He knelt down and allowed her to climb on his back.

Katherine frowned as she watched them. “Are you going to be able to carry her very long?”

“As long as we don’t move too quickly,” he replied with more confidence than he felt. “Either way, it will be faster and safer than travelling with someone who is half-asleep.” Josie had laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Katherine nodded in agreement. “Alright. We just need to make it a little farther.” She started walking, again, with the group dragging their feet behind her, almost ready to collapse. None of them had ever walked for so long, but no one dared to complain.

It was another hour before they stopped and set up camp. Most of the sky was black and they happily collapsed onto the soft ground. Katherine knelt by the water and began setting up the ward.

William laid Josie down, gently, before taking a seat next to Katherine by the water. “I don’t know if they’ll be able to do this every day.”

She sighed, not looking up from her work. “I’m sorry. I don’t like pushing you all, but it has to be done. You won’t be safe until we get to the palace.”

“Safe from what?” he asked the question that had been troubling all of them since they’d started the journey. “You keep insisting we are in danger, but you never clarify further.” He knew the wyrm had been a threat, but the way she talked made it sound like they wouldn’t run into another one of those.

She looked around, as though afraid they may be heard. “I will explain everything at the palace, okay?” She frowned. “You’ll just have to trust me. Some things are not safe to discuss out in the open.”

He stared at her, for a moment. “What are you so afraid of, Katherine? No one is around for miles. We would have seen them.”

Katherine stared down at the water. “There is a breeze, tonight.”

He wondered if she were trying to change the subject. “I don’t see why that matters.”

“The wind can carry words very far, here.” She looked at him. “You would do well to remember that.”

He felt the night air brush over him and it raised goosebumps on his skin.

“Good night, William.” She told him, focusing again on her spell.

He nodded, swallowing. “Good night, Katherine.” He walked away and lay down, shivering each time the wind brushed against his cheek. Katherine started humming and he fell asleep much faster than he would have expected after such a revelation.

She sat up, for a while longer, staring out into the distance, where she knew her home lay. She spoke, softly, willing the wind to carry her voice there, “We’ll be home, soon. Don’t lose faith.” She encouraged the wind to move in that direction and drew her knees to her chest. “Don’t lose faith.”