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Sapphire and Cindy in -
A Dream of Meeting Friends
Story Two: I Will Pay Any Cost
Chapter Two
Fimmish suddenly moved back from his placed of directing the group through the forest to Cindy, then softly said, “Dear lady, there are people tracking us.â€
She whispered in reply, “Edward is a member of the Nixoops.â€
“What?†The man had his horse press against Sapphire to enable him to speak even softer. “Can a rider kill their mount?â€
“I could never harm Sapphire, but many magic horses were born. It is possible that some had owners that were very undeserving.â€
The situation is too desperate for answers to be given.
Sapphire and Cindy in -
A Dream of Meeting Friends
Story Two: I Will Pay Any Cost
Chapter Two
Fimmish suddenly moved back from his placed of directing the group through the forest to Cindy, then softly said, “Dear lady, there are people tracking us.â€
She whispered in reply, “Edward is a member of the Nixoops.â€
“What?†The man had his horse press against Sapphire to enable him to speak even softer. “Can a rider kill their mount?â€
“I could never harm Sapphire, but many magic horses were born. It is possible that some had owners that were very undeserving.â€
“Should we attack Edward?â€
“No, because to kill a rider will kill the horse. It allowed the Nixoops to kill the horse without inflicting any harm upon its body. The curse has been removed, so that may no longer be true, but I would prefer not to chance it.â€
Fimmish commanded his horse to break away then dart back near Ellemon before loudly saying, “That meadow is a good place for the horses to graze. Let us go up near the hills to find a place to camp.â€
Edward turned back to say to Cindy, “That does indeed look like a good meadow where our horses can graze.â€
The young lady made a pleasant response. As Sky was directed to follow the two men in the lead, Sapphire noticed something else about the lady. While he expected Cindy to make a comment about where his eyes had been looking, he still spoke her name to assure that a certain fact had been recognized.
“Sky does not have any saddlebags.â€
Again her head moved near his ears to assure that he heard her soft words. “It is possible that they are back at a campsite. We really have not given Edward or Sky a chance to tell their story.â€
While a thick growth of small trees and briars rose before Fimmish and Ellemon, the two stated that a good place to camp would be beyond. Sapphire was not too certain about the comfort the area behind the foliage might provide, but did feel that the barrier would give some protection from arrows. That thought gained support when no sooner was an opening cut in the mass of plants, than did Fimmish and Ellemon race back toward the meadow.
The rider of Sky became very anxious at the disappearance of the two men. He dismounted with his face showing alarm when the sound of men facing combat could be heard in the distance. Sapphire felt Cindy dismount, then could see her very stern face look to Edward as he moved to confront her.
“What is going on?â€
“We are not stupid, Edward. We knew that we were being followed.â€
His eyes darted in an attempt to see through the foliage, then turned back to the lady to say, “They could be regular business men.â€
“Nixoops are not regular business men. The name is a shortened form of ‘Nixamata’s Troops.’ Nixamata was the elf mage that created the curse that caused the birth of magic horses while condemning many youngsters to death.â€
“What? How do you…â€
Cindy showed no fear of invading the man’s personal space. She advance and sent out a hand toward Edward’s gut. Sapphire saw the young lady grab the sash as she made her accusation.
“I know what this is.â€
“Hey, it was silk. I took it. Thought of tying it around Sky.â€
Cindy turned to the mare to say, “Don’t you wear that, Sky. The Nixoops make their money from the trade of the parts of magic horses. There is no value in a live magic horse, only dead ones.â€
The mare turned her head to the man as she simply asked, “Edward?â€
He gruffly replied, “Don’t you listen to this, Sky. I said that I would take care of you.â€
Sapphire said, “Listen to Cindy, Sky. She has faced a number of serious situations.â€
“Don’t listen to them, Sky! I am the one that owns you!â€
Cindy did not allow the man to gain control as she returned. “AND I OWN SAPPHIRE! I however will not have him killed! I will not sell him, but will pay any price to keep him.â€
The man turned on her to ask, “What are you doing here?â€
“We came to meet more magic horses. Sapphire was lonely.â€
Sky said, “I am lonely as well.â€
Sapphire could not tell to whom she had spoken. He hoped it was he, but her eyes seemed more directed at Edward. The purple horse wanted to keep his eyes on the mare. He however looked around understanding that Sky’s owner had his own plans for his future that did not include some secluded forest. Sapphire found himself raising his head in shock when a strange figure stopped in front of the opening in the foliage.
Cindy came against him to draw her sword from the scabbard connected to his saddle. She did not make a statement. Sapphire did not even hear her tell him to stay back. He simply watched as she took the weapon and advanced.
He knew that she had practiced. While he never appreciated her spending time with Therox, he knew that the two of them had spent many hours sparring with each other. Cindy never claimed to become good with the weapon, but she boldly advanced and met the weapon of the adversary as if she knew what to do. While Sapphire was worried about Cindy, he turned to face Edward.
As if understanding the suspicions of the purple horse, the big man said, “You don’t know just how much trouble you walked into.â€
“Oh, you don’t know how much trouble we have walked into. We survived every time.â€
Sapphire found himself surprised to hear Cindy’s confident voice agree with him. “Yes, we have.â€
The voice of Ellemon however told the purple who was truly responsible for bringing down the man the young lady had taken on. “Are you okay in there, Dearie?â€
“Yes, I am. Thank you, Ellemon.â€
Edward’s voice sounded slightly subdued as he said, “You are not a normal rider of a magic horse.â€
“Why do you say that? Is it because I am still alive?â€
The man went quiet and turned around as if to inspect the area for making a camp. It truthfully did not look like a relaxing place. Detritus of rock and dirt coming down from the hill along with a thick layer of stick and leaves from the surrounding plants just made the area look dirty. Sapphire watched as Cindy carefully stepped out to grab one of the branches cut off earlier to enable them to pass into this space. He continued to watch as she began to use the leafy length to sweep the ground, and saw that Edward watched her as well.
“We are not really going to stay here,†he said with a mixture of puzzlement and strength.
The young lady kept working as she said, “I really do not know this land. Is there a town close by?†The man stayed quiet, so Cindy added, “I would not think so. I am given word that the Nixoops are not welcome in any civilized area.â€
“Sky and I have a camp about a mile from here.â€
His reply had come quickly, but Cindy kept the tone of her voice as simply conversational. “Sapphire and I both noticed that Sky did not have any saddlebags upon her.â€
The mare said, “That camp is not as well protected as this.â€
Cindy paused to look at the light-blue horse, then said, “We will wait for Fimmish and Ellemon to give their report. Until then, I am at least going to keep myself busy.â€
Sapphire saw the mare turn to him to softly say, “You have a much different rider than I do.â€
He replied, “I always thought she was special.â€
“Her name is Cindy?†Before he could nod, she added, “And your name is Sapphire.†Seeing him nod, she then asked, “Aren’t sapphires supposed to be blue?â€
The purple horse had actually planned for that question in his thoughts about finally meeting other magic horses, so quickly responded with what he had been told and shown. “Princess Alledia had a necklace with a purplish-red sapphire set into it. I was named after that gem.â€
“Oh, I don’t think my name is that special.â€
“Sapphire is a girlie name. At least Sky is a name for a girl.â€
He enjoyed the sound of her laughter before she said, “I don’t think your name is girlie at all, and you definitely are not a girl. I am glad to meet you, Sapphire.â€
Edward declared, “All right, Sky. Remember that you are mine.â€
Sapphire saw the mare glare at the man. He truthfully could not think of himself ever making such an ugly expression towards Cindy. She had done some rather embarrassing things to him in the past, but she had never done anything cruel. Even during the fight against the curses, even when it became apparent that he was responsible for bringing her to her possible death, Cindy had not ever turned against him. She had always loved and supported him. Sapphire however saw in the eyes of Sky that she had a different opinion of how Edward had treated her.
The purple horse wondered if the attitude of Sky was simply due to being cared for by a man. Sapphire definitely felt that some of his bad memories were completely due to the fact that his rider was a female. To make matters worse, she played with other females. Therox had been about the only male companion to spend time with her. Other lads did desire to spend time with Cindy, but only Therox took the initiative to do so. Sapphire did not like Therox, but had come to appreciate things about him. The purple horse however found himself wondering if his thoughts about his treatment would be different should he had instead been the pet of Therox.
He came out of his thoughts seeing Cindy look away from where she was sweeping the ground. He then realized that shouts from Fimmish and Ellemon were calling to them. The young lady smiled in what Sapphire recognized as a simple thought that two she worried about were still alive.
Fear suddenly came to the young lady’s face. She called to Edward and Sky, but Sapphire saw her race to him. Not knowing what the problem was, he turned his head in the direction the young lady was looking. Fear came to his face as well as he saw the sky above grow dark with arrows.
The situation does not improve with the next installment.
Posted by TerishD on Friday, August 13, 2010 (11:37:32) (224 reads)
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