The Brave One

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The days passed by slowly with the mare but William had become comfortably annoyed with Taipa’s antics. She decided when they ate, when to set up camp and yet she needed no map to show her the way. She decided when they rested for the night and where the best places were to sleep. If it rained, she would crawl under the tent and William would lie next to her.

William had never seen a horse with such abilities. He had guessed it was her being raised by Fae which gifted her. She was spoiled and demanding but he tolerated her and she helped him.

Halfway through the sixth day of their journey, Taipa came to a stop.

“Come on then. We have far to go.” He spurred her sides but she ignored his feet and stayed still. “If we keep moving, we will make it by nightfall. Hurry on!”

When the mare refused to move, William dismounted and reached for the bridle. Before he had the rope completely in his hands, Taipa moved, walking to some unknown place.

“No, no, no, no, no!” He grabbed hastily for the harness and pulled her to stay. “You are not going anywhere,” William spoke through gritted teeth. His feet began to slide with her strength causing a very comical scene.

A giggle was heard in the brush, alarming William. He saw the shadows of a face hidden behind shrubbery and let go of the horse, falling to the ground with an ‘oof’. The laughter intensified as a blue eyed adolescent, which he guessed was a girl, sprang forth from her hiding place.

“Ha, I cannot believe you would expect her to follow you.” Her laugh increased as she held her stomach. William on the other hand stared at the creature.

Unlike the Unseelie Faerie folk, this girl looked inhuman. Her skin was glossy as if she had just stepped from water and her incredibly long black hair fell below her waist. The dress she wore was pure white, almost difficult to behold and unsoiled by the ground. The lucid material draped off one shoulder, only accented by a gold chain around her hips and above her arm. Gold bracelets circled her wrists which cascaded the same silky material to the ground. She held a flat basket in her hands which held various flowers in an array of colors.

“Human?" She stared on curious. William nodded and jutted his chin toward the young girl.

“Fae?” She brushed his question off with her free hand and held it to help him stand. She stood two heads shorter than him and but her slender frame helped him up with no difficult exertion.

“Come on then, let us follow your mare which I am to assume you borrowed from Morag, am I right?” He simply nodded once more.

The young girl skipped through the forest alongside the mare, who seemed to be glad in the company of another girl. The stranger’s hair shimmered blue in the light but faded black with every bounce. Her sheer dress made him feel uncomfortable, especially with her age. She seemed to be fifteen or sixteen but held demeanor like that of a ten-year-old.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Is it not already obvious?” Every question he asked was matched with her own query that would answer his.

“What are you doing in the forest?”

“Is that not also clear?” She held her basket of flowers and kept walking a smile painted on her face.

“Am I to assume you are Sealy?”

“Only if I am to assume the equal. Either way, assuming anything is usually misjudged but in this case you are much more right than you are wrong.”

After that remark of perplexing philosophy, they walked in silence. He let the strange girl lead the way to Sileas. Taipa followed, therefore William followed. The trees began to brighten in color, their leaves like new but their height expressing their age.

When the girl came to a stop and hour later, Taipa kept walking. Only when the youth whistled, the mare halted and returned, nestling her muzzle in the girl’s hand.

“We are here.” Her ice blue eyes smiled and gave the reins to William. A cry from an unseen bird was the only sound other than the rustling wind in the trees. The young man expected an opening in a cave or a savage village but none stood here where the supposed Sileas thrived. Trees and bushes scattered the forest floor. William stared bemused at the young girl expectantly.

Answering his expression, she pointed to a vine winding around a knotted tree. “You are a strange one, did you know that?”

William chuckled and followed the tendril up. He gasped when he saw the Sealy court, strung between trees. It was an entire civilization above ground.

“I must go but I wish you safe passage.”

“Wait!” William kept glancing at the life above him as he asked, “Can I at least know your name?” The girl giggled in her hand and shook her head. She waved her glossy hand and started off, back in the direction they had came from. William mumbled to himself.

“You Fae seem to hate exchanging names.” He began to tie Taipa to the tree before he climbed. Only a few steps away the outlandish creature yelled back her response.

“You Humans seem to expect the Fae must!”

The mare whinnied and pushed William playfully with her snout.

Women. William shook his head and started to climb.