Caelestis

Chapter 22 & 23

Chapter 22: I Wish I had Booked a Flight

We traveled until dusk and then settled down for the night. The sound of the camp as we set up tents was dull, yet loud. Orders from the commander barked through the air. I had rubbed down Zanzibar and put him in the paddock with the other horses.

You know, he said as I closed the gate. I can get out if I want to.

I know but the robbers don't know that, I laughed. Sleep well, buddy.

Yeah, you too. I walked back to camp and found Anne.

"Where is my tent?" I asked.

"Right next to mine." Anne smiled.

"And where's Zachary's tent?" I asked the question for my brother.

"In yours," Anne replied. "There will be a flap of cloth separating the two. The only reason it's like that is because him joining us was completely unexpected." Anne sighed and turned to her bodyguard. I hoped it wasn't to much of an inconvenience. Something wasn't quite right with Anne's response though. I walked around and found Ardennais happily gnawing on an old bone.

"Come here, girl!" I called. Ardennais jumped up and ran to my side. I laughed and rubbed her all over. A woman approached us.

"Your dinner is in your tent, Princess Adeline." she explained and left. I stood up and trotted to my scarlet tent. I opened the flap and walked in; Ardennais panting at my feet. There was, indeed, a flap in the center of the tent. I wondered if Zach was on the other side. I shrugged.

My bed was on the floor but I didn't mind at all. The table in the center of the "room" was glowing as the candle on top shimmered. I sat down and gobbled up my dinner. It wasn't as good as the dinners I had in Kritisníak but I didn't care. After my dinner, I stood up, stretched and walked back outside.

The commotion had died down and many of the soldiers were gathered around fires. The stars lit up the sky. I walked to the neLe-quint fire and sat down on a log. Ardennais sat down next to me and I hugged her close to my body for warmth. The soldiers stopped their discussion and looked at me.

"Uh...um...carry on..." I stammered. The soldiers shrugged and went back to their conversation. I felt so lonely. I felt a hand on my back and looked up to see Ben standing behind me. He smiled and sat down next to me. I sighed and looked back at the fire. The conversation of the soldiers turned to the battles of old times. An older soldier sat back and looked at the fire, nodding.

"...that battle went on for months," one of the soldiers finished with a sigh. The older man leaned forward and cleared his throat.

"I remember a battle I was in," he said with a gruff voice. "It was twenty years ago, that this happened. I was standing on the castle walls of Srëdon about midafternoon. The day was fine and I looked at the countryside below me. Suddenly, a man on horseback approached the castle walls. I called down to him, 'What do you want?' The man looked up and said, 'Prince James is coming!' I ran to tell my fellow soldiers the horrible news." The man paused and took a long breath. He stared at me for a long moment, then to the other men at the fire. "The battle was swift and deadly. Our soldiers did not know how to fight the Gramores and, at the time, Ragus was accompanied by ten thousand of them, two thousand men, and Jazûd'ran himself. The battle overwhelmed our small army. With Ragus on a dragon's back and Jazûd'ran on the fields, they were unstoppable. Only ten people escaped from the castle alive. Most of those who survived were killed before they had run a mile." I gulped and felt Ben's hand on mine. He squeezed it tightly and I pulled Ardennais closer to me and buried my face in her fur. Two of the soldiers at the fire stood and left. The older man stared at me intently. His eyes didn't move and he didn't blink once.