The Dark Legend (Star Stable) (Under Editing/Re-Write)

Chapter Ten: Forgotten Fields

As the sun had started to rise from the golden and blue sky, the people of Jarlaheim had started getting ready to start their day. The sound of the birds could be heard in the morning. The adults had started heading towards nearby markets or started heading towards work. The teenagers had started working their morning jobs or meeting up with each other. While the kids had started helping their parents, playing with their older siblings or playing with their pets.
The morning sun shone down on the great fortress of Jarlaheim. The crowds were beginning to come through the marketplace as the heat of the day begun to rise. The early yellow light made the buildings and balconies gleamed like ancient silver. Locals inspected the produce and goods. But among them wandered foreigners in unique clothes and women with equally unique makeup. A little away from the crowds of the people was Erika on Nemain.
The girl scanned the crowd curiously, but a faint look of loneliness entered her blue eyes as gazed at the crowds of people. Erika sighed wearily and started riding carefully through the town without accidentally bumping into anyone.
A group of young girls stared at Erika, some with envy while others gave her looks of old admiration. The looks she received from the young men were less divisive. They stared with widened eyes and mouths opened ajar, some even winked and flexed their muscles. Erika rolled her eyes at the sight and looked away from them.
The children's reactions were more pleasant. They waved and and smiled with innocent enthusiasm. A few elderly villagers and younger people were also friendly. Her eyes softened when she saw an elderly couple sitting on a bench. The husband gifted his wife a rose.
The Trader's Market was more energetic than Erika expected. There were people coming to and from various shops and stands to sell a variety of items like handcrafted jewelry, plates, and pottery, some being made right there next to the stands as a crowd of people watched the artists at work. Jugglers entertained the locals and visitors, minstrels playing on their lutes, accordions, and pipes. The music was infectious, pulling Erika to join in the group of people who got up to dance in the town square.
People were selling cooked meat and deep-fried kabobs on sticks, cooked fish sliced up and served with lemon at an outdoor restaurant, fresh berries being squeezed into wine for the grownups and juice for the children, and of course sugary treats like caramel apples, pies, ice cream, and bars of chocolate, some molded into the form of animals like dogs, horses, and bears. A few were shaped like dragons or griffins, and even bunny rabbits. Erika's stomach grumbled as she took in the smell. Every aroma intermixing in a way that made her hunger grow with each breath.
Erika paid for her meal and let her mare eat her lunch too. Erika was amazed and happy by how good the food tasted. The oil spaghetti with shrimp was delicious and the cupcake she was offered was addictively sweet.
Erika's eyes flickered towards the other people in the area, but she looked away quickly whenever they saw her. But her eyes brightened with a hidden idea involving her and her mare. Erika mounted Nemain at the mare's paddock and rode out of the town.
Erika smiled at Nemain and started petting the mare's neck. "Ready to go out, Nemain?" Nemain whinnied excitedly at that.
The Forgotten Fields could be seen gleaming in the sunlight. Vast. Clear. Crisp. And from it, a black speck gallops fiercely across the grassy fields. The image of unbridled freedom.
The black speck, revealing Erika riding on Nemain and stopped on top of a hill that overlooks the Forgotten Fields.
The ocean shimmered in the early morning sunlight. Fresh, grassy fields with rolling hills surrounded the area, which was specked with trees and boulders. There was a dot on the plains, a mass of brown that was moving slowly across.
She gasped in amazement when she saw a herd of horses stampeding as fast as the wind, their hooves thundering against the earth like a massive thunderstorm. The mustangs varied in color — some were bay, a couple were bay roan, a few were black and black leopard, a couple were gray pinto and bay pinto, a few were palomino, and a couple were buckskin.
But Erika watched as the wild mustangs galloped out of the field and crossed the river with multiple splashes.
They were both curious about the Forgotten Fields, so despite everyone's eerie warnings about the Forgotten Fields, they both agreed to check out the Forgotten Fields. The lack of animals and the sight of the spooked horses was eerie, but checking out the danger is better than waiting for the danger to strike out without anyone expecting it. She shrugged and decided to keep riding on Nemain.
They were running together, as though they're one and the same. Erika was intensely aware of Nemain's movements underneath her. She raised herself up slightly as the grassy ground disappeared underneath them for a bit. Nemain had leapt over a log. She felt her ponytailed hair flowed behind her. She almost felt as if she and the mare were both flying. She tightened her grip on the reins and Nemain slowed down for a moment, long enough for her to regain her balance again and calm down her excitement. Erika took a deep breath, calming herself down and nodded to Nemain, who nickered softly and continued the ride.
She and Nemain both watched as the wild horses galloped across the nearby river. Erika sighed in relief and it encouraged Nemain to canter down from the grassy hill and continue the galloping ride.
But watching her from a distance was Natalia Wiseheart (my Oc/Aideen's Fifth Champion) and Linda, both astride on their respective horses. Natalia was riding on a buckskin pinto stallion and goes by the name Stormchaser. They have both went on many adventures and have helped reconnect Jorvik. But Natalia is best friends with Erika and was worried about her incoming journey ahead.
Linda was watching Erika with worry and concern, but she gave Natalia an uncertain, sidelong glance from Meteor. "Are you sure it's a good idea? I mean, you just had that vision about Galloper Thompson and... I don't know how she's going to take it."
"It's not our choice to make, Linda. It's hers." Natalia watched as Erika and Nemain continued galloping through the grassy fields. "And hers alone."
The girl and her mare both trotted towards the Sleeping Widow and glanced at the direction of the Sleeping Widow's fallen partner. Her eyes wide with amazement and Nemain nickered at the sight. Erika and Nemain both looked up at the miraculous sight before them.
The enormous tree stood in the grassy fields, above the beach. It had stood in the fields since Jon Jarl's glory days, when Jorvik Stables had served as the royal stables before it had fallen and — by a great miracle — have been reborn. Its thick branches and substantial root system had seen all sorts of things: lives kindled and extinguished, horses and riders who came and went. The tree's own seasons were capricious, impossible to predict. Fresh green leaves and white flowers have been growing rapidly on the tree's branches, some white blossoms were falling to the ground and the two unique partners, who were both looking up at the reborn tree. It was as if the tree were living its own life, just like so many other things in Jorvik.
For a moment, she could almost feel the ghost of her mother's hand on her shoulder, beaming with pride at her only daughter. New life and hope shall come forth towards the island, the Companion Tree is the living proof of that.