Kaija: Queen of Stone

21

Mara

I approached the rickety bridge, standing to the side of the entrance. I dismounted from my horse and knelt, staring into the crystal water. Even though it wasn't the same spot, it was still the river we needed to cross. Rohell brayed from behind me, stomping her hoof to the dirt. I tensed, the fear emanating from the mare rose like steam, billowing toward me. I shuddered as it encompassed my body. I brushed away the feeling with a shudder.

I focused on the water once more. It was deep. So deep that I couldn't see the bottom unlike the river I remembered. I looked down the horizon, to see if they were anywhere close to where I was before, but it didn't appear to be so. They were shrouded by gray mist, lost in the belly of the unknown.

A lump emerged in my throat as I remembered the conversation from last night when we were gathered beyond the fire. Dari asked if the bridge was magic, and I wondered if it could be too. I didn't remember seeing the mist before and wondered if the mist had been there in the first place or if it had just rolled in.

"It's real," Rodi said from behind, halting her horse. She blinked her muddy eyes, trying to suppress tears. "I didn't think it would be real." I saw the detachment on her face.

"Rodi..."

"Now I don't know what to believe," she whispered. "What to do. I have a feeling in my chest that is heavy. So heavy."

I composed myself and turned to my followers. Fear was heavy in the air and in our hearts, but I couldn't let them falter now. There was a task at hand. One that required us to be focused and agile.

"We are going to have to cross," I said. "It's too deep to ford the waters."

"Cross?" Dari said. "You listened to the same legend I did last night, didn't you? There is a monster in there and it's waiting to eat us whole! We are mad to cross!"

I shook my head. "It was just a story to keep children from leaving." I turned to Rodi. "Right?"

"I think so," she whispered, wiping her eyes. "Though my mother never told me what happened to my great uncle."

My spine twinged. "Great uncle?"

"I used to think when I was a little girl that the two siblings in the story were my grandmother and her brother," she explained. "But she passed before I could question if the story was real or not."

Arawn spoke up, cantering toward us. "Legends aren't real. I say we cross before we lose more daylight."

Lenox nodded. "The map took us this way, I say we follow it."

I weighed our options: follow the map or the bird. The bird called once more, closer than before, and sent my thoughts adrift. I looked at the water once more, then to the bridge.

"Look, even the bird agrees!" Lenox cheered with a grin.

With a deep sigh, I made my decision. "We will cross," I stated. "One at a time."

"Can the bridge even hold our weight?" Makaio asked, staring it down.

"I think if we go one at a time, yes, it can."

He nodded, returning to his silent self. From eyeing him, I saw he was quaking, his fingers turning white as they strangled the reins.

"I think the queen should go first," Rodi decided. "After all, we need to keep her safe."

"We don't know what's beyond the other side of the woods," Dari said. "Something could grab her like in the story."

"I'll go first," Lenox declared, trotting forward on his horse. "I'll leave the map with you just in case." He passed the map onto Dari, who tucked it in his boot.