Chapter 47 - A Burden Shared

Remma hadn’t traveled too far beyond the city walls when she came to a terrifying realization. The entire city was surrounded by the Black Knights of Dor-ko! How did she ever expect to get beyond the enemy’s lines and over to the pine tree? Just moments before, she had taken off with her head down, blindly confident and ready to obey her father’s command. But now that she realized just how impossible that command really was. She quickly reined her horse in, looked up, and prepared for the bitter end that she was sure to meet as she stood alone before her enemies.

To her surprise, there wasn’t a soldier around her. The entire battlefield had shifted away from her, off to her left. The noise of battle was deafening, as steel clashed with steel and as men uttered shouts of triumph and cries of anguish. But thankfully, these sounds were off to the side, not in front of her. She turned and again scanned the horizon for the pine tree. Finding it, she spurred her horse onward. She just hoped that no one noticed her solitary dash across the plain.

To her dismay, she’d scarcely gotten started when she heard a sharp whistle somewhere in front of her. Once again, she abruptly reined in her horse and listened. The whistle pierced the air once again. Remma cautiously dismounted her horse. She and the horse knelt down together, and Remma scanned the ground in front of them. The crescent moon cast very little light--enough to detect vague silhouettes in the distance, but nothing more. Remma saw nothing at first. She just hoped that she and her horse were equally hard to see.

Remma then heard the whistle a third time. She nearly jumped off the ground from surprise. It seemed to be coming from just a few yards away. A moment later, she heard hoofbeats approaching. She turned to the left and saw a horse approaching. The horse stopped a short distance to her front. As Remmaline continued to strain her eyes, she could see the figure of a man rise up from the ground. Remma couldn’t understand how she hadn’t noticed him before. He was a tall man, and he appeared to move very gingerly. The man appeared to bend over and grab a weapon from the ground. He then climbed aboard the horse and started to ride. At first, Remmaline couldn’t tell whether he was moving closer or further away. But as she gazed intently at the shadowy figures of the horse and rider, she could see that they gradually became smaller. To her relief, they were riding away from her.

Remma’s relief didn’t last for long, however. She soon realized that the mysterious horse and rider were heading straight for the same pine tree that was her destination.

Remma was despondent. How could she follow this man? He must not be one of the white knights, or else she would have recognized the silver armor in the dim moonlight. Certainly this man was an enemy! And what if she caught up to him? There is no doubt that the man would hear her, draw his weapon, and kill her! Why didn’t her father tell her about this?

Remma looked back toward the city gates. The battle continued to rage on the other side of the city. The path to the city gates was still wide open. She could turn around, re-enter the gates, and be safe in her father’s arms within a matter of minutes. Surely he would understand that she couldn’t do what he asked...wouldn’t he?

Remma sat for minutes, staring at the city walls, unsure of what to do. She finally convinced herself to return. Cautiously, she rose to her feet and nudged her horse to do the same. But this time, as she looked back at the city, she saw the towering figure of a man silhouetted against the horizon. She knew that it must be her father, standing atop the scaffolding and surveying the battle. She was sure that he would see her and wave at her to come back. She stared and noticed her father turn, as though he had seen her and was now staring at her. She waited for the signal to return. She was sure it would come any moment, as soon as he realized what grave danger she was in.

But the signal never came.

Instead, Remmaline saw her father slowly disappear from view. He evidently had gotten down from the scaffolding. Remma watched for another few minutes, hoping that he would reappear. He never did.

Remma was despondent. Her father saw her, yet he did nothing. How could he turn his back on her? How could he ask her to go on this mission, trailing behind an overpowering enemy that wouldn’t hesitate to kill her? Didn’t her father care? Remma’s mind was flooded with questions. She had no answers for any of them. Yet one thing she did know--her father had sent her on a mission. And it was her duty to fulfill it. He would expect nothing less.

With new resolve, Remmaline got back on her horse and headed once again for the great pine tree. It seemed to Remma as though her horse glided through the air as he raced to their destination. Within minutes, horse and rider arrived at the woodline. Remma then brought her horse to a stop, dismounted, and began to look for the location where the trail began. Her father said it might be difficult to find, and she was sure that the horse wouldn’t find it on his own. So she began to traipse through the bushes in an attempt to find it.

Unfortunately the trail was nearly impossible to find. Once again, Remma entertained thoughts of going back to the city. What if the man that she’d seen earlier was lurking just around the next tree? Her life could be in great danger, and she wouldn’t even realize it until that man sent an arrow flying through her heart! Surely if her father knew how truly risky this was, he would expect to return...wouldn’t he?

As Remmaline hesitated in fear, she heard footsteps coming toward her. She turned back to face the city. Sure enough, she could make out the faint outline of a horse galloping straight toward her. Remmaline was sure that this rider had seen her leave the city and was out to capture her--or worse. In the moments that followed, Remmaline cowered behind a tree in fear. She was sure that life as she’d known it was about to come to an end. She was angry with her father. How could he send a 13-year-old girl off on her own in the midst of a raging battle?

From her hiding spot, Remma saw the horse approach the woodline and come to a halt. She stared at the rider; he was not nearly as big as she had thought he would be. In fact, he seemed rather small? Of course, it really wouldn’t matter once he drew his bow and arrow. Arrows shot by a small man are just as deadly as arrows shot by a big man. Remma saw the rider look back and forth, as though searching for her. Like a little child, Remmaline closed her eyes in the hope that somehow, if she couldn’t see the rider, the rider would be unable to see her as well.

“Remma! Remma! Where are you?”

Remma heard the voice of the rider call her name. Yet it wasn’t the voice of a man; it was the voice of a young girl. Remma quicklly realized who it was--it was Kaelanna! She jumped out from behind her tree and cried out, “I’m over here, Kaelanna!” as she dashed out of the woods. Kaelanna dismounted from her horse, and the two friends embraced.

“What are you doing here?” Remma asked.

“The king sent me to you,” Kaelanna replied, talking quickly while repeatedly gasping to catch her breath. “I had fallen asleep on the ground, propped up against the inside of the city walls. Then just a few minutes ago, the king grabbed my shoulder and gently shook me awake. I couldn’t believe it was him! I mean, you’re probably used to it. But for me--well, to open my eyes and see the face of the king, that was something I think I’d dreamed of my whole life. I mean, I didn’t see it too clearly, ‘cause it’s dark and everything. But I opened my eyes and there he was! I jumped up and gave him a big hug, and he hugged me back, like he’d been waiting to see me his whole life. But he didn’t hug me for too long. Instead, he took me by the hand and led me to a horse. Then he pointed me toward the tall tree and said that you needed my help. And so I started riding. Wow--I’m so glad you’re okay!”

The two girls hugged once again. As they did so, Remmaline realized something. She had gotten her father all wrong. When he stared at her from above the city walls, he hadn’t abandoned her at all. He had seen her need and had sent her a friend and helper. Why hadn’t she just trusted him?

Kaelanna interrupted Remma’s thoughts. “We’d better get going,” she said. “The king said that the trail started just to the right of the pine tree. I’m sure if we let our horses look around a bit, they’ll find it and we’ll be off and running. Let’s go!” And at Kaelanna’s command, the two girls mounted their horses and gingerly led them into the forest. Within a minute, the horses found the trail, and the duo was racing once again through the night.

The trail scared Remmaline just a little bit. Though the horses didn’t gallop at full speed, it seemed like they were racing out of control as the branches of nearby trees whipped by her face. The trail was wide enough such that the branches never actually struck her. But Remma was sure that, just around the next bend, a big branch was waiting to knock her from her horse. Though she was thankful to have a friend with her, she couldn’t shake the sense of fear that seemed hover over her ever since she’d left the city gates.

“Wow, these branches sure are close!” Kaelanna said, breaking the silence. Remma was relieved to know that she wasn’t the only one that was just a bit fearful. Then Kaelanna continued by saying, “But at least we can be thankful that someone rode in here in front of us.”

“Did you see that guy?” asked Remma.

“I didn’t, but your father mentioned it to me,” Kaelanna replied. “It’s kind of creepy to know that someone is ahead of us. But hey--if there is a big branch somewhere across this trail, it’ll knock him off before it knocks us off. That’s pretty good, huh?”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way,” Remmaline said. She was glad to have a friend with her that took a little more cheerful view of the situation.

The girls continued to make their way through the woods. Remma had no idea how long they rode for. Time seemed to stand still as she rode silently through the woods with her new best friend behind her. The only way she knew that time was passing was by the slowly emerging light. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, Remmaline began to more clearly see the trail in front of her. The emerging light seemed to bring courage to the young girl. Yet it was a courage mixed with fatigue. She hadn’t gotten much sleep lately, and she was exhausted. She began to sink into despair once again. Even if she found her brother, how would she ever be able to get back again?

Soon after this thought crossed her mind, Remma came to a fork in the trail. One path went off gently to the left, while the other bore sharp to the right. Remma brough her horse to a halt and turned back to face Kaelanna. “Did my dad say anything about a fork?” she asked.

“No, he didn’t,” was Kaelanna’s reply.

“He didn’t mention anything to me, either,” said Remma. “I...I don’t know why he didn’t. Maybe he didn’t know about it.” Remma paused and thought for a moment before she continued. “What do you think we should do?” she asked.

“I...I don’t know.”

Just then, a groaning sound was heard. “Help...” came a low voice from what appeared to be a few feet away. “Please...help...”

This time, Remmaline didn’t react in fear. She reacted with resolve. She drew her bow and quickly notched an arrow. Remma pointed it toward the sound. “Who are you?” she cried out.

“What are you doing?” asked Kaelanna.

Remmaline ignored the question. She held her arrow steady. “I want to know who’s out there!” she cried out. Give me your name, or I will shoot!”

“Please don’t shoot!” came the voice once again. The voice was weak, but it was strangely familiar to Remma. The last thing she expected to hear was a familiar voice.

“You’d better tell me who you are, or I will shoot!” declared Remma. “Are you for the King or against him?”

“I...I am for the king,” replied the voice. “But I am about to perish. Please, have mercy on me and give me a drink. I beg of you...”

As the voice trailed off, Remmaline persisted. “What is you name?” she demanded.

“Don’t you recognize my voice?” was the reply. “It...is me. Mitch.”