Trying to keep up with the other riders was enough of a battle for Snappy but the little pony was also sweating profusely because of her thick coat. Every hill was a challenge, every brook they had to cross an obstacle. Desiderius tried his best to spur on his mount but the little pony kept falling behind.
They had been riding for several hours now and the sun was about to set. Desiderius prayed they would set up camp soon because his backside was aching and his legs were tired. He had never traveled this fast and this long without rest and neither had Snappy. Her fluffy ears were flattened against her neck and she kept shaking her thick mane in disapproval.
Fyen did quite well with Nightmare, that Desiderius had to admit. She seemed like a feisty girl. In fact, Desiderius feared that she was even braver and more manly than himself. He was certain he would be forced to do something bold and heroic soon or else everyone else would just make even more fun of him.
"Oi! Aren't we ever gonna rest?" he shouted to Fyen, who was riding closest to him, that was, some ten yards ahead.
She turned around on her saddle. "Probably soon. Reyn knows what he's doing."
‘Reyn knows what he's doing!' Yeah, just pour more salt in my open wounds. Bloody Reyn and his amazing camping skills! Soon that girl is not gonna lift a finger unless Reynaer says so. Stupid girls, I'll show them.
Those three, they must have a good reason for taking me with them. Maybe they see hidden strength in me and think I'd be valuable in a fight against raging and raping mountain trolls! I've read and heard many stories about all kinds of horrible, unholy beasts and none of the others has mentioned huckaboos or swamp-beasts or danglendons even once. That can only mean I'm the most knowledgeable of the dark side! Then Desiderius imagined in great detail how a slimy ten-headed snake-monster would snatch Reynaer between its teeth and snap him in half. Then it would try to take Fyen too but I would ride between her and the monster just in time and thrust my blade straight into the beast's heart. ‘Desiderius, you are the manliest!' Fyen would say and then she'd kiss me. But then I would push her away and welcome a more beautiful lady into my arms. In your face, Fyen! For taking me for granted, hah! And later I'd have her join me and the other girl for—
He felt his cheeks flush and tried to think of something else. The Book of the Sun discouraged impure thoughts as only those pure of heart would receive the heavenliest rewards. Desiderius was much intrigued by these awards but he wasn’t entirely sure how to obtain them. One way was to be a gentleman, a real chivalrous knight and in none of the stories he had read none of the knights thought dirty things about their beautiful damsels.
Desiderius had always been the one playing knight in the yard, fighting invisible beasts, and saving imagined damsels. He was convinced that he was born to do that in real life but he just hadn't gotten the chance yet.
Until he had been thrown out. As now he was to stop dreaming and learn his ropes, he was to fulfill his father’s wishes. Desiderius' father had given him an ultimatum: the boy was not allowed to come back home before he had married a woman, gotten her pregnant, and built a house. Desiderius had not fulfilled any of the conditions but he was determined to try. The journey offered him a chance to at least find himself a lady and he couldn’t help but hope that the lady was the one riding ahead of him on a crazy, bay mare.
Trying not to admire her small, bouncing backside too blatantly, Desiderius noticed that the others had slowed down to walking pace. Finally Snappy caught up with them.
"Your pony’s too small for a journey like this. You should consider buying a horse," Mirlín said, looking at Desiderius with disapproval in her eyes.
"I know I should. Maybe in the next town," Desiderius muttered.
Then he noticed that Reynaer and Fyen were talking about swords. The man agreed to hold her first lesson first thing in the morning. Desiderius did not carry a sword because, in his opinion, it was too big and clumsy. Big weapons are for wimps, he figured. He had his dagger and handled it well. They had reached the top of the hills now.
Reynaer looked around to see if the area was what he was looking for. "We should set up camp here. Likely the only suitable place we'll find within a mile."
The party dismounted their steeds and tied the animals to surrounding trees where they could graze. The big man dug out a tinderbox and used it to light the campfire while Mirlín and Fyen unsaddled the horses.
Desiderius tried to make himself useful too so he looked for food they could cook. He had a few unbroken eggs in his bag and he remembered that Fyen had bought some bacon from the village. Desiderius also found several apples from his saddlebag and urged the others to eat them before they went bad.
The sun had almost set. Dark, burgundy colors surrounded the clouds as shreds of orange and blazing red disappeared into the horizon. Desiderius had felt slightly nervous about how it would feel to camp together with the others as now they were all stark-sober and everyone still strangers to one another. Yet somehow the atmosphere was encouraging and positive, as if they all had realized they were in the same boat with a shared purpose.
Reynaer suggested that they use their saddles as pillows so they set them around the small, sparkling fire. After the sturdy meal back at the village, they ate only a light supper and soon darkness surrounded them, smooth but heavy like black velvet.
Time after time Desiderius looked over his shoulder into the shadows which unnerved him. He had never camped out before. He had never been this far away from home either. The boy looked at Fyen who was probably just as inexperienced but she looked calm, even defiant. Really surprising how well she's dealing with all this. Then something occurred to Desiderius.
"Fyen... um, where's your dad?" he asked the girl.
She shrugged without looking up, still holding a roll of bread in her hands. "Don't know, don't care."
Desiderius blushed a little. I should have guessed. "Sorry to hear that... anyway, how do you do it?"
"Do what?" Fyen blinked, munching on the roll.
"You take this all so well. You look so... I don't know... strong, I guess. How do you do it?"
Fyen chewed for a while in thought, then swallowed and shrugged. "It's the hate. The hate and the anger. Never thought about it before but I've known all of this since I was a child. I just didn't know that I knew."
"Thought about what?" Desiderius persisted. He wanted to know more about Fyen and, at this very moment, he felt bolder than before.
"About different places where you can find courage, if courage is the word. I think madness suits it better," she surmised.
"So you... it's madness you possess now? You've gone... mad?"
The raven girl chuckled. "No, not in the loony sense but I guess you could call a person intent on doing something they know is next to impossible somewhat mad, yeah?"
"It is quite mad to try this... saving your mom and all. But I think we have a chance," he said and was a bit surprised that he actually had such thoughts.
Fyen drew her sword and examined the blade. "Don't know what chance we got. But I don't think it matters much."
Desiderius didn't say it aloud, but he found himself admiring Fyen's attitude and approach. Has she accepted that her mom might be dead? I can't even imagine myself in a situation like hers. Who would ever want to kidnap my mother? He had never thought about losing his parents. They had just always been there, leading a quiet life in a forest away from all the main roads. It hadn't been until leaving home that Desiderius had seen how bad things had actually become in his own country. Until dad sent me away, I was oblivious to the things these... Sons of the Sun have been doing to my people. Isn't it my duty to try to do something meaningful for a change? A part of him wanted to go back home to play knight and forget about the fates of people like Fyen and the others around the fire. But I guess it's a bigger part of me that wants to stay and fight for people like her.
Desiderius glanced at Mirlín and Reynaer. He wondered where they had come from and whether they had families somewhere. I doubt it. Reynaer looks like he's pretty much raised himself, and Mirlín... she doesn't look like she's from around here. Is she a runaway from a wealthy family? Maybe she was forced to marry a rich but annoying man and disappeared before her wedding because she thought there was more to life than an arranged marriage. Maybe her parents still pray for her to come home but she's stuck here. Haunted by inner demons, looking for real love and acceptance... I've read about people like that. They never stop and they're never satisfied. Even though the strange wanderers and runaway princesses belonged in stories, he could see similar characteristics in the three people he was traveling with:
Fyen was a tragic heroine trying to get her life back, Mirlín was a woman lost in her heart, seeking redemption to salvage her soul, and Reynaer was... Desiderius wasn't sure in which hero-type the dark man fit. Maybe he's the one who dies fighting. Or fights dying. Regardless, they had become heroes the moment they met each other, of that Desiderius was certain.
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