Chapter 3 - Flight to the River

"Andres!  Andres!  Wake up!"

Andres felt a vague sensation of being shaken, and he thought he heard a voice off in the distance.  His eyes shot open.  He looked to the left, and he looked to the right.  To anyone observing him, they would have thought that he was wide awake.  But they would be mistaken.  His eyes closed again, and he was gone.

But the shaking would not go away.  "Andres!  Andres!  Wake up!"  Andres opened his eyes again, and could make out the faint outline of a face.  The voice was familiar...could it be his mother?  No, not at this hour of the night.  He remembered that he had just gotten to sleep, and that it was therefore way to early to join the ranks of the conscious.  So he rolled over and went back to sleep.

Now he felt a body jump on top of his.  Then he felt some arms put him in a headlock.  These arms shook him considerably more than the first set of hands.  He knew why--because the first set of hands belonged to his mother, and these belonged to his brother.  This was the last straw.

"Get off me, Cable!" Andres cried, suddenly very much awake.  He tried to push Cable off his bed, but the headlock was firm.  To Andres' relief, their mother intervened.  Quietly but firmly she said, "Cable, there is too much to do.  Please, get dressed.  Now."

The room was faintly illuminated by the light of two candles.  Freed from the death grip of his brother, Andres rolled out of bed and started getting his clothes on.  His mind was full of questions, but his mouth was still asleep and could not voice them.  Within minutes, both boys dressed.  Their mother grasped both their hands and let them outside, behind their house.  A full moon shone, obscured by an occasional cloud rolling by.  The sun was nowhere to be seen.

It was midnight.

Finally, Cable asked the question that both were thinking: "Mama, what is going on?  Why are we up in the middle of the night?"

Hannah paused before answering her son's question.  Then she whispered, "Cable, look behind you, off to your right."  As Cable turned, she continued, "You'll see a tall oak tree at the edge of the wood, a couple of hundred yards away.  You and Andres must run there.  A friend will be waiting to take you away...for a little while."

"Why, Mama?" Andres objected.

"You have a special job to do, boys.  It's the job you've been prepared for these past ten years, ever since you first came.  Now you've got to hurry..."

Cable interrupted.  "What do you men, 'ever since you first came'?  I'm twelve years old!  I don't get it!"

Andres was similarly bewildered.  "Yeah, I don't see why we've got to go anywhere!"  Then he proceeded to lay down on the back yard.  Hannah quickly grabbed his arm and urged him back up.

"Boys, I know this is confusing.  But there is no time to explain now.  It will all become clear in time, I promise."  Then Hannah reached behind her and grabbed two small leather satchels.  She placed one over the shoulder of each of the boys.  "I put some snacks in here.  And a letter for each of you.  You can read it later."  There was another pause.  She put her arms around their shoulders and drew the boys to herself.  "Please boys, just do what I ask.  I love you more than you can imagine."

Cable looked up and into his mother's eyes.  He noticed that her voice was steady, but that tears were coming from her eyes.  He asked, "Mama, when will we come back?"

"We...will see you again soon, Cable," replied his mother.  "Now please, go!  There is no time to waste."

Andres, still fighting the urge to go to sleep, did not register the urgency in his mother's voice.  He plopped down to the ground once more.  "I'm not going anywhere, Mama," he declared.

A figure then emerged from around the front of the house.  It was their father, Torey.  His deep, whispering voice pierced the darkness.  "Andres!  Cable!  It is time to go!"  He lifted Andres off the ground and then went over the Cable.  He hugged his sons and nudged them toward the woodline.

"Where have you been, Dad?" Cable asked, again hoping to stall his departure.

"Son, I've been watching.  Trust me...you must do as you've been asked.  A friend is waiting for you, but time is growing short.  I'm telling you, go now...Aaaahhh!"

The shocked boys looked as their father fell to the ground, and arrow piercing his shoulder.  The boys looked behind him, and saw a tall figure approaching by horseback in the distance.  His bow was poised to shoot again.  Hannah cried out, "It's too late!  He's found us!"  And she tried to pull the boys inside.

But at that instant, another figure on horseback appeared from the other direction.  The rider reached down and, in one smooth motion, picked the boys up and placed them on the back of the horse.  The threesome then began a desperate dash toward the woodline.  The mysterious horseman that had shot their father veered off and started pursuing them from behind.

The rider was carrying a shield.  He handed it to Cable, who was furthest back on the horse.  "Hold this behind you!"  He ordered.  The utterly bewildered Cable obeyed without question.  It was a good thing he did.  The pursuing horsemen was relentless in his attack.  Arrows were repeatedly flung toward the fleeing boys, deflected only by the shield.

Soon the rider plunged his horse into the darkness of the forest.  The arrows stopped coming.  They were safe for the moment.  The rider declared, "He doesn't know the woods like we do, boys!"  But there was no relenting from the pace.  Andres, his eyes filled with tears, was sure that a stray branch would strike him and plummet him to the ground.  But the horse seemed to know every gap between the trees, as though following a hidden but meandering path.

Cable finally blurted out, "Will my parents be okay?"  Now that he was safe, at least temporarily, he suddenly despaired for his wounded father. 

The rider replied, "I'm sure of it.  That murderous horseman doesn't care a whit about them.  He wants us.  But he's not going to have us, if I have anything to say about it!"  And the rider spurred the horse on to even greater speeds.

An hour of silent riding ensued.  The boys wondered about the strange reply, spoken by a strangely familiar voice.  Why was someone intent on killing them?  And why was this rider helping them?  What was the "special job" their mother had talked about?  The innocent bamboo fight of a few hours ago seemed like a story from the distant past.  Their lives were in the process of changing forever.

The rider and the boys finally reigned in.  The boys looked below them, and in the moonlight saw a birchbark canoe.  Now that the riding had stopped, they could hear gently running waters below them.  They had reached a riverbank.

The rider leaped off the horse, then helped the boys down.  Without giving them a chance to speak, he directed them over to the canoe.  He placed the canoe in the water, parallel to the riverbank.  He ordered the boys into the canoe, and the boys obeyed without question.

"Boys, there is no time for questions.  We've got a headstart, but it won't last for long.  Listen to me closely now.

"You must paddle as silently yet as quickly as you can.  About 5 miles down the river, you will come to a waterfall.  Above the waterfall, on the right bank, you will find a clearing.  It is there that you will find help."

The rider pulled two items out of a bag draped over his horse.  "I am giving each of you a dagger," he said as he placed one inside each boy's satchel.  "Use them only to protect yourselves.  Don't let them out of your reach.  Do you understand?"  The boys nodded.

Then he reached and grabbed two more items.  They were bags of coins, and he handed one bag to Andres and one to Cable.  "These coins are more valuable than you can imagine.  Use them if you need them, but be prudent.  Do you understand?"  Andres wasn't sure what "prudent" meant, but he nodded anyway.

Finally, he reached around his neck and pulled off a necklace.  It was a simple leather band with a ring tied around the end of it.  He placed it around Cable's neck.

The rider spoken once more.  "Boys, listen carefully.  Your mother was right--you have a very important mission to accomplish.  You have two tasks.  First, you must search for King Maximillian's son, Prince Dorian.  He has been missing for a long time.  You must find him.  Second...above all things, you must guard the ring that is draped around Cable's neck.  No one can truly reign over the Kingdom of Aberdeen unless this ring rests on their finger.  You must guard it until the rightful king is restored."

The rider continued, "I'm sending you off now.  Your questions will be answered as your adventure unfolds.  But remember these two things.  First, use the coins if you must.  They will be good help.  But whenever you give them to someone, do not listen to his words.  Instead, observe his reaction.  This will let you know whether you can trust him.  And second, remember that things are not always as they seem.  Do you understand?  Things are not always as they seem.  Let your tasks guide you, not appearances."

The rider then made the boys repeat their two tasks, and their two things to remember.

Without allowing the boys to ask any questions, the rider then pushed their canoe into the water.  Andres took one glance back.  In the light of the moon, he observed a great scar on the left side of the rider's face.  He gasped.  But he dared not break the silence.  The boys paddled into the night.  Their adventure was just beginning.