Chapter 5: The Temple

Thoen Stronghold, Farn

         May looked at her reflection in the large mirror. Nice. The clothes were beautiful, the long hair she now had was pretty, but also very bothersome. She was nearly strangled by it in the night. After she confirmed that she was looking quite presentable, and for the most part, unnoticeable she hurried to the castle gates. Surprisingly, she hadn’t gotten lost - perhaps she was slowly learning her way around here. She grimaced at the thought…

         May spotted a young man looking around nervously waiting by the gates of the palace. Rather a boy than a man - he looked like he was her age, perhaps a year older. He was dressed in a warrior attire, but without a chain mail – his clothing consisted mostly of leather dyed black. Even though it was spring and the days were warm, he wore a furry coat on his shoulders. He was armed with a sword, which hung from his hip. His face was round, rather boyish, but quite handsome. He had an honest look in brown eyes. His blonde hair was hanging loosely and reaching his shoulders.

         May thought, that he must be that bodyguard, her fake father had told her about – he was supposed to meet her at the gates today to accompany her to the temple. The girl was opposed to the idea of dragging some stranger with herself while looking for clues, but at least one boy was better than the whole lot of the Viking-look-a-likes trailing behind her. She decided to say greet the guy, who would have to put up with her for god knows how long.

         “Hello. Are you my bodyguard?” May asked him politely, trying to sound casual – talks with the members of the opposite sex were on no account her strength and never failed to make her feel awkward.

         The boy blushed and got even more nervous, obviously he was much more anxious than she was.

         “Lady Maewyn?” he asked unsurely.

         May nodded.

         “Yes. It’s me. And you are…”

         “Leif from the Agnar family,” he answered immediately. “I have been honored with the task of looking after your safety.”

         May smirked a little at the chivalrous nature of the boy. Somehow Leif’s nervous behavior made May feel more confident, wanting to befriend him. She might as well do it if she had to take him along with her every day when she went to the temple.

         “I can call you Leif, right? Come on, don’t fall behind!” May called to him as she already set off down the ramp, eager to continue her library research as soon as possible. Leif trailed behind her like a puppy behind his master. Apparently, the boy was both slightly scared and thrilled by being entrusted with the task of protecting the Duke’s daughter.

         As they walked across the village, May thought that it would be a good idea to ask the young warrior about this world. She knew some things from the books in the castle library, but Leif would surely tell her something from a real person’s point of view. Besides, it would be smart to develop some friendly relations between them if she was to spend at least half of her time in his company. Not that May had much experience when it came to befriending people…

         “Leif, are there a lot of dangers outside the castle?” she asked, observing the boy’s face as it slowly turned red, when Leif began focusing his gaze on his feet.

         “Umm, yes. The dukes are warring with each other, so there are the enemy’s armies, robbers in the forests and demons waiting to devour unlucky travelers.” Leif replied, before adding hastily. “Your Ladyship.”

         “Demons?” May laughed, ignoring the title. Leif’s answer amused her, making her forget about the awkwardness. God, the boy is as superstitious as my dad.

         “Have you ever seen a demon?” she asked with a mocking tone.

         “No, but I’ve heard stories about them!” he exclaimed, ready to defend himself. “And their favorite foods are little children and Ladies.”

         “I don’t believe you,” May stated, laughing slightly, folding her arms and nodding to herself. “Demons exist only in people’s imagination silly.”

         “Don’t say such things because you will be spirited away by one, Lady,” Leif warned her in a very serious tone. “Those matters are not ones to be joked with. We’re going outside the Stronghold’s walls; the protection of the Barrier Stone doesn’t reach that far!”

         “Why the heck would a demon want to kidnap me?” May said rolling her eyes.

         The girl smiled to herself and with a certain dose of surprise and discovered, that she was actually having fun bantering with Leif. She hadn’t had that long of a conversation with a peer since grade school, and she didn’t expect to get along with her new bodyguard that easily. She thought, that having to take the young warrior to the temple would be a pain, but Leif turned out to be a good companion. He was a bit too Mr. Nobility for her, when he kept insisting that he would protect her anytime, but overall he was seemed like good friend material.

         They finally reached the temple, as it was a thirty-minute  walk from the castle, on the outskirts of the farmers’ settlement beneath the stronghold’s walls. The temple building was small and unkempt, giving off the feelings as if it was about to collapse anytime. In front of the humble wooden construction was a rather ugly-looking statue of a pregnant woman embracing her huge belly, while smiling. May guessed that the smile ought to be gentle and loving, but the meager skill of the sculptor made it look rather gruesome. The peeling golden paint was reflecting the sun’s rays.

         “Goddess Illiana, the mother of us all. It is believed, that the world is a round egg, which comes from her womb. She is the creator of all life, and we worship her in return for guidance and grace,” Leif said quietly, seeing, that May was staring at the statue. He shook his head. “How foolish of me. A Lady must know more about the religion of the goddess more than me.”

          May didn’t say anything, but cast one last quizzical look at the statue and entered the temple with Leif following her.

         “Hello?” May called, looking around the spacious empty room with an exception of another large wooden statue of Illiana painted golden in the back of the room, where incense had been situated, creating a slightly hazy atmosphere to the whole place, the floor was dusty and rather dirty. The temple desperately needed some cleaning – it was hard to believe, that a place of the cult could be that unkempt. Then May noticed a fat man lying in the corner and snoring quietly. She walked up to him cautiously, Leif right behind her. She leaned over the priest and poked him gently. He snored louder, letting out a noise resembling a thunder. May gently grabbed his shoulders and shook him. The priest’s eyes snapped open, and he yelled.

         “What the hell are you doing, stupid girl?” He yelled. May opened the mouth to talk back, but Leif was faster. He swiftly drew his sword and pointed the tip of the blade at the monk’s throat.

         “Be respectful while talking to the royalty. This honorable woman is Lady Maewyn, the daughter of the great Duke…“

         “Okay, okay,” May answered abashedly and gave Leif her most threatening look. “put down the sword, Leif, And skip the introduction.”

         “So you are the Lady?” the priest asked, glancing nervously at the young warrior. “You are quite different from what I’ve heard about you. I didn’t think that the Lady… Well, I guess you can't always trust the rumors,” he said, wiping some drool away from his mouth, and scratching his head.

         “I’ll be coming here daily from now on,” May informed the priest.

         The old man arched an eyebrow, confused by the awkward statement. The girl sighed mentally – she needed to get information from the priest about the damn cursed mirrors if she ever wanted to see Baltimore again. It would be the best if there were no witnesses to tell her fake father, that she wasn’t going to pray in the temple. She looked at her companion. As friendly and nice as Leif was, she had to get rid of him, so that she could have enough time to do some research. She smiled at him, feeling horrible for taking advantage of her current status and the young warrior’s nervousness. “Leif, could you clean the temple in the meantime?”

         He looked slightly shocked by the Lady’s request but hesitantly nodded his head. May waited until the surprised young warrior got equipped with a broomstick, and the priest shoved him outside so that Leif would sweep the entire courtyard. Once the old man returned, he bowed before the girl.

         “What could I, your humble servant, do for you, Lady?” he asked.

         May bit her lower lip, considering whether she should tell him straightforwardly, what she was looking for. Sighing, she decided to take a risk hoping it wasn’t going to end up with a loss of a body part.

         “Actually, I was hoping you could help me with something. I am looking for some information on mirrors. Magical ones,” May said, feeling like an idiot for saying something that stupid. She quickly devised a fake reason for her research. “I just heard one of the legends recently and have become interested.”

         However, much to her surprise, the priest didn’t treat her, as though she just spurted some nonsense – he seemed to be startled by the request, but still serious.

         “Mirrors, you say?” the priest asked, looking baffled. “I expected you to be wanting to pray, Lady. Never mind, I should have some scrolls about magical items, so I think, that I’ll satisfy your curiosity.”

         The priest led May to the room, which served as a library. She winced, seeing the numerous scrolls drowned in dust, somewhat reminding her of the basement in her house, causing an uncomfortable swelling in her chest; she missed her parents and her bratty sister. The dark chamber was awfully messy, but the temple’s keeper seemed to know exactly, where everything was. He climbed up a  ladder that was connected to an old book self, tossing the fragile scrolls into the girl’s hands, not caring, that she was supposedly the Duke’s daughter and should perhaps show some more respect. May smiled, liking the old man more and more.

         May was quickly skimming over the yellowing scrolls, coughing because of the dust, that kept getting into her lungs. Most of them had sketches inside, but she saw nothing similar to the mirror, which was to blame for transporting her to the Callesmere Empire.

         “Only two left, Lady!” the priest shouted to her and tossed another scroll without even looking what he was doing. The scroll hit May squarely in the forehead. The girl moaned from the pain, clutching the aching spot. She glared at the priest, who just nearly had her knocked down, and bent to get the scroll. She unrolled it and gasped.

         The sketch inside was depicting a pair of mirrors, that were precisely the same as the cursed mirror, which got her into the trouble, – the characteristic pentagonal shape, plain wooden frame and the tiny markings. May unrolled the scroll and began to read the text frantically, but she didn’t understand a thing, as it was written in some weird foreign language.

          Anam lanna Scathain”. The girl flinched, when she heard the priest’s voice. She hadn’t noticed, when the man climbed down the ladder and was looking at the scroll over her shoulder. May gazed at the priest.

         “You know what it says?”

         The man furrowed his brows and took the scroll out of her hands. He squinted his eyes and began moving his lips soundlessly. Finally, he turned his attention to May.

         “Unfortunately I can understand only tiny bits. Anam lanna Scathain… I think it means something like mirror switch… soul switch… mirror and soul switch… I am not sure. There is a large part, where the word “dhoras” is mentioned. I believe that it means door or rather portal. A door to the other world,” he said slowly May’s eyes brightened at the sound of the words ‘other world’ – that definitely sounded like something that could get her home.

         “A portal,” she repeated, not really realizing, that she said it aloud. The priest arched his eyebrow, looking suspiciously at her.

         “So you are interested in the portal, Lady,” He muttered, smiling slightly. May froze, feeling, that a little slip of the tongue could cause her trouble, but the old man didn’t seem to be a threat. He sighed.

         “If you are, you found the right scroll, there’s definitely a lot of information of portals in here. However, it is written in the  old language of these lands. It’s forbidden to use it, as it’s said to be the language of the evil ones. There are few,  who could read that, but my acquaintance should be able to translate it.”

         May became intrigued. A forbidden, evil language?

         “Why is the language forbidden?” she asked, curious. The priest cleared his throat.

         “Most people don’t know it, but we’re not the native inhabitants of this land. The oldest scrolls say that we came from across the sea in great ships and claimed this land, we now call the Callesmere Empire. Before our ancestors moved here, over a thousand years ago, there were others inhabiting this land, they still live nearby actually. They used the language, the scroll is written in, but now even they have begun to forget their native language,” the priest explained to the mesmerized May.

         “Who are they?” she asked with a curious gleam in her eye. Suddenly, the man’s face became solemn.

         “Don’t ask about them, Lady. It brings bad luck.” He warned. “Pray, that you won’t ever meet any of them.”

         May felt a shiver go down her spine. Apparently, the Callesmere Empire had a darker side as well. She wanted to ask more about the mysterious fog, but she had the impression the priest wouldn’t answer them anyway. She decided to change the topic.

         “Could your acquaintance translate the scroll for me?” she asked. The priest nodded.

         “I’ll send a messenger to her right away. He’ll translate the scroll in no time. I think, that the translation should be back in few days.” He said, making hope return to May’s heart.

         “Thank you,” she said with a grateful smile on her lips.

         She sincerely hoped, that the scroll would have some information on how to get back home. If there really existed some other portal or another way to get home … she would be saved. She was about to leave the temple and head back to the castle, but there was one more thing, that was bugging her. She glanced  back at the priest, who had begun to wrap up the scrolls that had been tossed around the room “I’m just curious… how does your acquaintance know the language of those… people?”

         The priest stiffened, before giving a small smile.

         “She’s a very knowledgeable scholar,” he said. Before May had the chance to say something, he lifted his finger to his lips. “But it’s a secret between you and me, Lady. If the people from the castle found out, I’d be in trouble, just like you, if they find out, that you’re not praying.”

         May knitted her eyebrows.

         Was that a threat?

         The corpulent priest grinned widely.

         “Lady,” the fat man addressed her. “You’re welcome to come whenever you want. I would love to have my temple cleaned by your bodyguard, and you would use a little freedom, wouldn’t you?”

         “Sure,” May replied, making a deal with the priest.

         May smirked, self-satisfied as, she and Leif were returning from the temple. She felt that she was on the right track, all thanks to her wit and idea to visit the temple’s priests. Talk about mysterious portals and scrolls written in a forbidden language seemed phony, but what didn’t, here, in the Callesmere Empire? Already knowing how real the magical soul-switching mirrors were, May decided to take the occult for granted, like gravity or Lavoisier’s conservation of mass law. If the priest was correct, the map to Earth merely needed to get translated. Only a day or two and she’d be back in…

         “Curses!” Suddenly, Leif’s voice made May’s thought stray from the pleasant perspective of watching TV with her parents and sister.

         She furrowed her eyebrows, looking at her companion who was frantically patting his sides, where something was amiss. The young soldier kept cursing; his language probably could make a well-bred Lady from the Callesmere Empire blush violently and perhaps even faint, but May’s eyelid didn’t even twitch. After all, the girl from Baltimore heard worse, especially when Hailey didn’t do her hair right.

         “No, no, no!” Leif kept muttering, while searching through his pockets, not paying any attention to May, who was observing him with growing amusement. “May the demons rip me apart! Damn! I swear, if my father learns of this, he’ll chop my balls off so that I won’t sully my family name!”

         Suddenly, Leif froze, stopping the interesting display of swear words. He lifted his head and stared at May, his brown eyes wide-opened and jaw slack as he came to the realization. He covered his mouth with his hand, the palm slightly trembling. The soldier’s face went white; he looked like he just saw death in person who came to take his life.

         “Lady Maewyn…” he stuttered, the ghostly pale face changing its color to blazing red and then to white again. Leif swallowed a lump in his throat. “My Lady, my behavior was unforgivable… I… I probably deserve to…”

         The vision of an executioner’s axe reflected in the Leif’s eyes already, but May only waved her hand in a dismissive way.

         “No big deal, everyone needs to swear a bit sometimes,” she said with a smile on her lips, her reaction shocking Leif. The young warrior couldn’t utter a word, but his face expression said everything – he was grateful that May let such an unforgivable offense let slide. May sighed. “Anyway, did you lose something?”

         Leif straightened his back, attempting to act natural yet polite. He bowed his head respectively before the girl.

         “It seems I left my  seal of Agnar family in the temple. I need to get it back,” the soldier explained. “My father will punish me severely if I lose it.”

         May rested her hands on her hips, looking at the troubled soldier.

         “I guess you have to find it then,” she said and looked around; May wasn’t eager to go back to the temple right now, but the perspective of sightseeing the village at the feet of Thoen Stronghold was more than appealing. “You know what, Leif, go back alone. I’ll grab something to eat, and we’ll meet at the gates, okay?”

         Leif blinked, not being able to stop staring at the girl he believed to be the Lady of Farn.

         “I can’t leave you alone, my Lady!” the young soldier protested. “I’m responsible for your safety. You can’t just stroll around without the protection of my sword!”

         May narrowed her eyes at Leif, who was just taking a deep breath, about to preach some more. She decided to deal with her overprotective guardian swiftly.

         “Leif, what do you think the Duke would do if he found out that you hurt my delicate royal ears with your colorful cursing?” May asked him, a smug look on her face.

         The young soldier paled again, the vision of the executioner’s axe returning. May’s smile grew, turning into a full-fledged triumphant grin.

         “I thought so,” she said and cleared her throat. “I’ll be waiting at the gates.”

         “Be careful, Lady,” Leif muttered; the miserable look of defeat painted all over his face.

         May nodded.

         “Sure, what could happen anyway?”

         Once Leif was out of sight, May smiled to herself, breathing in the air. It felt so pure and fresh that it was almost intoxicating her. She locked her target on – the enormous gray silhouette of the Thoen Stronghold dominating the landscape and began walking, lazily taking in her surroundings.

         The Thoen Stronghold was surrounded by woods and fields, where the farmers were growing the crops. It was early spring, so the village under the walls was nearly empty, as its inhabitants were busy with the sowing. The plants in the Callesmere Empire were similar to the ones back in her own world, but she had never seen such a vivid green. The shade seemed to be almost unnatural. Everything about this place seemed more lively, deeper.  The wind seemed to be more pleasant, the birds sang most beautifully; the villagers seemed to be more friendly than the crowd back in Baltimore. The animals and plants were pretty much the same as in America, with the small exceptions – most of them were known to May, at least from books and Discovery Channel. However, some of the plant species looked completely unfamiliar to her – they were just another proof that she was in another world, far from home.

         May made her way through the settlement under the tall massive walls of huge Thoen Stronghold, which housed farmers and minor craftsmen. The place looked poor, but very tidy – every house was so clean that the cheap wood seemed to shine.

         Unfortunately, May hadn’t manage to conceal her identity from the villagers. Her dress had a plain design but was made of fine fabric. Of course, there was the hair reaching her knees. It was obvious that no one but a Lady would have such hair – she had learned from books in the Duke’s library that only the women of royal families were allowed to have their hair reach past waist. The peasants treated her friendly, but with reverence, careful not to disrespect her. May wished she could just cut the damn hair. It would be easier to walk, and she would look more like herself. However, if she was going to be a fake Lady, she couldn’t do it.

         May stopped by the market to buy some apples. Her stomach rumbling slightly demanded food. The sound was so loud that it was hearable even despite the noisy bustling in the village’s market where the common folks were trading the crops and mostly self-made objects. The woman selling fruit smiled at the girl cheerfully.

         “Are you hungry, my Lady? The peaches are very tasty today!” she exclaimed, out shouting other paddlers and getting the attention of the potential buyer. The woman bowed her head respectfully and with a gesture presented her wares – fruit and vegetables. As it was not the season for them yet, May assumed that they must be imported from the warmer parts of the Callesmere Empire.

         “Actually, I was wondering if I could have some apples…” May asked, and the woman was already packing peaches in a fabric bag along with apples and a couple of dried plums. May reached for a pocket in her sleeve to take out money and pay the woman for the fruit.

         “It’s a gift!” The fruit seller declined the money. “I wouldn’t take a single coin from Lady Maewyn!”

         “Look…” May began. “I have a lot of these, and you are earning your living by selling fruit. Take the money already and buy something nice for your kids.”

         May shoved the coins into the woman’s hand who stared at her with widely opened eyes. Eventually, she accepted, smiling thankfully and offered a discount for the next time.

         May took an apple from the bag and started eating. It tasted completely different than the apples from her world. It was juicier, and the flavor of the fruit was stronger. Generally, the food here was much better than at home. Plus, the air was cleaner than back in Baltimore. Perhaps it's the way it was a blessing in disguise, and she should take this experience as a small vacation. If her family was spending the holiday abroad, why couldn’t she do the same? May took another bite of the apple, and made her way toward the temple.

         She was so deep in thought she didn’t notice the commotion behind her.

         “Thief! Catch that thief!” some men yelled.

         As she turned her head to see what was going on, a small shape darted past her, knocking the fruit out of the her grasp. The apple slipped out of May’s hand and fell to the ground. She inwardly cursed as she saw her lunch lying on the dirt. Then the group of pursuers ran past her, and May struggled to keep herself on her feet as the crowd was pushing her and nearly causing her to lose her balance. Soon the men passed her in a hurry, only the cloud of dust from the road was left after them.

         “Idiots,” May mumbled and stalked in the direction where the men went. It was the same direction she was heading anyway.

         She heard the group of men shouting curses and threats as they gathered in a circle. The thief they were pursuing was presumably in the middle of it. Beside her, there were a couple of onlookers standing and encouraging the mob to deliver the justice. The men who nearly knocked May down were beating the thief, kicking him and shouting the threats. Much to her horror more and more onlookers began gathering and observing the occurrence casually with interest, as though it was just a funny show on TV. Apparently, they considered it an entertainment.

         Maybe he’s a criminal, May thought, but they are going to kill the man if they keep at it.

         May looked around, but no one was about to intervene – the children were laughing and pointing their fingers at the mob, while the others were smiling lightly. She took a deep breath and rushed forward, deciding to step on.

         “What is going on here?” she demanded, shoving the two broad-shouldered peasants aside to get a clear look at the thief, who was just being beaten up. May gasped when she saw the actual criminal.

         A little boy, no older than eight years old, was trying to shield himself with his arms from the attackers. His ruffled, blonde hair was dirty, and he wore a bluish rag which probably used to be a tunic. May could feel anger boiling in her as she observed the villagers harming the little child.

         “Are you insane?” she shouted at the men, pushing herself between them and the boy, shielding the child from the attackers. “How could you beat a little child?

         “Move aside, woman!” one of the pursuers ordered, clenching his big calloused hands in fists, as though he wanted to punch May as well. However, his confidence died down a tiny bit when he saw that the she refused to be intimidated by the obvious threat.

         May glared at him furiously, standing her ground. No way. She would never let them beat up this  little boy. The man rushed toward May, but his companions grabbed him and started dragging him back, flashing apologizing smiled at the girl.

         “You fool!” somebody from the crowd shouted. “Don’t you know who she is? You will get executed!”

         The attackers were no longer so eager anymore to beat the little thief; they must have known better than to yell at the Lady and try to punch her. May sent them another angry glare and leaned over the young boy, patting his back and hoping he didn’t have any serious injuries.

         “It’s all right now. I won’t let them hurt you,” she said gently to the kid. The boy lifted his head to look at May. He glanced hopefully with big eyes in the shade of liquid gold.

         Geez, he has the best puppy-eyes, I have ever seen, May thought.

         May stood up and looked at the crowd. They were still standing there gaping at the scene before them. One of the angriest men stepped out.

         “It’s a thief you are protecting, my Lady; the brat stole from my stall!” the man said angrily, spitting on the ground. May couldn’t believe that such an innocent-looking child could be a thief, but decided not to argue. She sighed and reached for her pocket.

         “Here you go. It should be more than enough,” she said giving him three golden coins and a scathing look. “Now let’s forget about the whole mess. The show is over!”

         The village people reluctantly began returning to their daily routine though kept glancing occasionally over at the little boy and the one, they believed to be the Lady. Soon enough the entertainment-seeking crowd dispersed.

         May kneeled in front of the child and examined him. Thankfully, he seemed to be okay, bruises at most. It didn’t escape her attention that the child’s limbs were thin, as though he wasn’t eating properly in a couple of weeks.

         “It’s not right to steal from people, you know?” May said to the kid. The little boy stared at his feet, looking ashamed.

         “I was hungry,” he said quietly. May sighed, feeling pity for this child. She fished an apple out from her bag and gave it to the boy. The child stared at the fruit and then at May, unsure whether or not to accept the fruit.

         “Come on, I am not going to let you starve, kid,” May said, smiling and trying to encourage the boy. The child eventually flashed a wide smile, muttered a quiet “thank you” and took the apple. He nearly swallowed the fruit whole.

         He must have been starving, May thought, passing another apple to the child’s hands.

         May led the boy to the steps of the temple, and they sat there eating fruit. Well, May was mostly staring at the child who ate the entire supplies.

         “Wow, you sure were hungry.” May stated. The boy nodded happily and smiled at her.

         “Thank you. It was yummy!” the kid said, smiling even wider. May thought she was the most adorable child she had ever seen. She couldn’t believe that anyone could even think of hurting him.

         “I’m glad that you liked it. Oh, and by the way, I’m May,” May cursed inwardly as she realized that she had just said her real name instead of the Lady’s.

         “Nice to meet you, May,” the kid said. “I’m Erik!”

         May shifted on the bench outside the village’s tavern and watched the little boy. He was a nice kid, polite and shy, but there was something odd about him. May scanned him with her eyes. The boy had bare feet covered in nasty blisters, a few bruises from before, was dressed in rags, and was in a desperate need of a bath. The short blonde hair looked like it hadn’t seen a comb in months. The old bluish tunic he was wearing, was nothing more than a rag hanging loosely from his bony shoulders.

         Then May saw something strange - the boy had a small pendant with a blue gem hung around his neck. The stone looked like a sapphire, but perhaps it was just a fake. The pendant’s chain was definitely made of gold though – confusing May, as something like that was way too expensive for a village kid to have, especially the one who was stealing apples to eat. Maybe he stole  it as well?

         “Erik,” May said to the boy as the sun hung low over the horizon, casting the red rays on the straw roofs of the farmers’ huts and the forest. “It was a pleasure to meet you, but it’s getting a little late. I think it’s probably time to return you to your parents. You don’t want to worry them, do you?”

         Erik looked up at May with kindle of sadness in his unusually honey-colored eyes and hung his head.

         “I don’t have parents,” he said quietly, staring back at his knees.

         May’s eyes opened wide. It turned out, that she stumbled upon an orphan... The girl felt immediate empathy for the child. It had to be horrible, being all alone in the world… she reached out and put her hand on Erik’s head. The little boy seemed to be surprised by the sudden display of affection.

         “It’s ok,” May said quietly.

         Erik stared at her. May smiled to him and ruffled his hair; the boy smiled back to her.

         “I’m not that sad anymore,” Erik said after a moment of silence. “My mother, father, my sisters and brother are dead, but at least Erik is still alive.”

         May sighed mentally, pitying the boy. He had to be a strong one; he lost all his family at such a young age... and yet he put on a brave face.

         “Do you live with someone in the village or in the Stronghold?” May asked curiously.

         “No,” Erik shook his head. “I used to live in a monastery with nice monks who took care of me, but it burnt two months ago. Now I... travel.”

         “Travel? That’s interesting,” May said. Though she thought that it was alarming for such a young child to travel alone. The girl decided to make the kid spill the beans a tiny bit.

          May soon learnt that Erik had lost his family last year, though he didn’t tell how, but by his behavior, the girl guessed, that it must have happened in some violent way – maybe someone had killed them. Erik divulged, that he came from Teig – the dukedom in the west of the Callesmere Empire. He mentioned that the monastery, where he had spent the entire winter, burnt shortly after he left it two months ago. Since then he had been a vagabond, traveling from village to village, taking shelter where he could. As May expected, the child was spending most of his nights in the woods and was stealing the food from villagers. The Erik’s tale was a very sad one, especially with all those misfortunes befell such a little kid. May couldn’t help but worry about the child.

         “Erik, where will you sleep tonight?” May asked him.

         “In the forest,” the boy answered, shrugging his shoulders as if it was the most usual thing in the world. May, on the other hand, was shocked by the thought of a child spending a night alone in the forest, even though Erik must have done it a lot if he had been a vagabond for a full two months.

         “That’s too dangerous,” May stated. “you should come with me. I can find you a nice room with a soft bed. I can convince everyone to let you stay as long as you want; you know I am a princess.” She said with a smile and poked the little boy on the forehead.

         However, to May’s surprise, Erik opposed to the idea strongly. Shaking his head violently, he nervously gripped the fabric of his thin and torn tunic. Setting his gaze on his knees, he refused to look the girl in the eye.

         “I c-can’t stay at your house,” Erik stuttered in a quiet voice, pulling his knees to his chest, so that he almost curled herself into a complete ball.

         “The forest is dangerous in the night!” May argued. Stay at the temple then.”

         “Erik will stay in the forest,” the boy repeated stubbornly, not agreeing to spend the night under a roof in a comfortable bed.

         May furrowed her eyebrows, not understanding, why the child opposed so strongly to the idea of not sleeping on the bare ground. It would be getting dark, and the forest would surely become a hostile place for the kid. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know, that a lone child was an easy prey for wild animals that prowled the forest at night; he had been lucky so far but sooner or later a misfortune would happen.

         “Kid, be reasonable,” May said in a slightly harsh tone, wanting to talk some sense into the child. “You might get eaten by some mean angry wolves  if you continue to sleep outside. Listen, I can arrange for you to live in the castle or the temple. Both are nice places. I’m sure, that you’ll like it there…”

         “No!” Erik suddenly exclaimed, interrupting May in the mid sentence.

         The child was looking at the girl with bewilderment in his golden eyes. He shook his head again. He was silent for a longer while and shifted uneasily under May’s inquisitive gaze. Erik was biting his lower lip and was nervously twisting his fingers, clearly under a certain dose of stress. He looked at his companion, as though he was battling with the thoughts. It was obvious, that the child was hiding something, and now he was probably considering whether not to share what it was with May. Finally, Erik stared back at his feet, speaking in a quite depressed voice: “You… you can’t invite me. I bring bad luck.”

         “Don’t be…” May wanted to scold the child for thinking of himself like that, but Erik reacted violently, raising his voice, so that he nearly shouted at the girl.

         “It’s true! Everyone, who let me stay with them is dead! My family, the monks, everyone…” the child’s sudden outburst ended with a depressed whimper, as his golden eyes locked with May’s green ones. “I don’t want you to die too. You're very nice.”

         May opened her mouth, as though she wanted to tell Erik that something like that wouldn’t happen, but closed it. Apparently, the child’s past was more gruesome than she imagined. Most probably Erik was blaming himself for the death of his family and the caretakers, common among orphans who had lost their parents while they were alive. Feeling a rush of compassion to the kid, she reached out and trapped a surprised Erik in a comforting embrace.

         “It’s alright now,” May said to the child gently. “it’s not your fault.”

         Erik froze, shocked by May’s display of compassion for him, but then he hesitantly returned the hug, clutching the older girl’s dress tightly.

         “I’ll stay in the forest,” he whispered, not giving up on the idea of rejecting May’s offer.

         The girl smiled to herself at the child’s stubbornness. Perhaps she needed some more time to convince Erik, and she shouldn’t pressure the child just yet. However, May couldn’t just leave the kid alone.

         ”Erik, maybe my friend could stay in the forest with you for the night. You really shouldn’t be alone,” the girl said, wanting to have Leif baby sit the kid. However, Erik firmly shook his head, solemnly looking May in the eye.

         “No,” he said shortly. May was about to try to reason with him more, but the little boy spoke first. “I’ll run away. I want to keep traveling anyway.”

         May sighed deeply, giving up, as the child resorted to blackmail. Apparently, she would have to let Erik stay alone in the forest tonight, even though she didn’t like the thought. Nevertheless, May wanted to do something for the kid - in the night then he would be cold and starving.

         Suddenly, Erik jumped onto the roughly-carved bench, crouching like a wild animal readying itself either to fight or run. The boy’s wary gaze was fixed somewhere over May’s shoulder. The girl looked in that direction, curious what made the child act so strangely.

         “My Lady!” It was Leif, who was rushing her way, breathing heavily and holding the golden medallion in his hand – the precious seal of Agnar family. His previously neatly combed shoulder-length hair was now just as ruffled as Erik’s. The young warrior sighed with relief, seeing that May was safe and sound, although sitting in front of the tavern with some suspicious beggar-like child. “My Lady, I finally found you! Why weren’t you at the gates?”

         May blinked.

         “Oh,” she muttered, realizing that she completely forgot to head back to the Duke’s palace because of the distraction in a form of a skinny blonde child. She glanced at Erik, who was still tense, suspiciously eying Leif, and then the girl set her gaze at her protector. “Sorry, I got held up. You see; I had to help this boy here, and… I forgot.”

         Leif scratched his head, trying not to sigh at the girl’s odd behavior and way of speaking.

         “Lady Maewyn, we must return to the castle before the sun sets,” the soldier reminded May, pointing his finger at the darkening sky.

         The girl bit her lower lip as she stole a peek at Erik, who was hiding behind her back. She knew she should return, but she wished to help the little boy somehow.

         “Fine,” May finally said to Leif. “but first we’ll buy Erik some food and everything he’ll need while camping.”

         Leif opened his mouth to protest, but shut it, deciding not to argue with the short head-strong girl before him. He smiled in defeat and made a gesture for her to follow him to the market. Having spent much of his gold for supplies for the orphaned boy, he handed the filled bag to May.

         May opened the bag and examined the contents. She nodded her head with approval.

         “Good job, Leif,” she praised the young soldier before turning her attention to the little boy who was still doing his best to stay hidden behind her. “Erik, there's no need to be afraid. You can stop hiding behind me.”

         At her words, Erik hesitantly stepped away from May, not taking his eyes off the young warrior, as though he was expecting Leif to attack him.

         “Erik, that’s for you,” the May said, pushing the bag towards the child. “inside are things you will need if you want to sleep in the forest. I will be going now. Don’t forget to make a fire, so that the wild animals won’t get you.”

         “Will you come tomorrow?” the boy asked quickly, hope in his voice.

         “Sure I will. I’ll come as soon as the sun rises,” May answered, ruffling his hair. “See you tomorrow, kid!”

         Erik watched as May walked away towards the Thoen Stronghold accompanied by the young man, who looked like a warrior. He smiled to himself and dragged the heavy bag to his camp through the bushes. He checked if the pendant around his neck was still there and went deeper into the woods, hiding from anyone, who could find him.

         Once he found his sleeping place, the boy took out a self-carved figurine of a horse. It was the only toy he possessed.

         “Hello, Red Wind,” Erik said to the figurine. “I’m sorry I left you. Do you know that I found a new friend today? Her name is May and she’s really nice and brave. You would like her. Tomorrow I’ll see her again!”

         As expected, the figurine of a horse was silent. Erik sighed, but then a small smile brightened his face. Today he was a little less lonely.

Rimmisth

         A small unit of soldiers slowly rode through the night, carefully choosing the path as the pale starlight made the shapes of the trees, and bushes look distorted. It was easy for a horse to break a leg and the leader of half a dozen warriors of Rimmisth wasn’t eager to report to Duke Skeye that another  fine steeds was lost because of his incompetency.

         “Let’s head back, sergeant,” one of the youngest soldiers complained, acting like a whining child. “we’ve been looking for those damn poachers for days now, but we found no one. There’re only stags and rabbits in this forest.”

         The rest of the unit grunted in response, supporting their younger colleague. However, the sergeant didn’t share the opinion of his men and their negligent attitude. He snarled and glared over his shoulder at the lazy lot who called themselves soldiers.

         “The beekeepers said that some suspicious characters had been roaming around the royal forest lately, probably poachers. Maybe, there are only stags and rabbits, but the damn stags belong to Duke Skeye, and we can’t let anyone steal them, understood?” the sergeant squinted his eyes in the dark, trying to make out the face expressions of his men.

The light was dim and he could barely see the silhouettes, but he was under a distinct impression that his speech had absolutely no effect on the youngsters. Not that he could blame them; when he joined the ranks of Rimmisth army, he expected to fight foes, slay dragons, basilisks and other demons. However, his delusions dissolved quickly, and the sergeant accepted that the most dangerous task available was hunting some poachers down.

         “Sergeant, look,” the youngest of the unit suddenly whispered, pointing into the darkness.

         The sergeant and other men set their gazes at the spot and saw a red flickering light.

         “Campfire,” the soldiers’ leader whispered and made a hand sign for everyone to dismount. Moving noiselessly as possible in chain mails, the warriors made way towards the source of light encircling it.

         When he was close enough, the sergeant peeked from behind the bushes to see who he was dealing with. The soldier of Rimmisth frowned with disappointment; he spotted two people sitting by the fire, but they definitely weren’t the poachers he was looking for. Those two wore fine armors, too expensive for minor outlaws to afford. The sergeant thought that the design of the protective gear was unusual, nothing like he had seen before, but he dismissed the doubt assuming that the men could come from one of the southern dukedoms.

         The sergeant whistled and his unit emerged from the shadows, flanking the two people sitting by the fire. Surprisingly, neither of the men looked startled by the sudden appearance of the soldiers, as though they had been expecting the Rimmisth warriors.

         “Good evening, sirs,” the sergeant addressed the strangers, who calmly observed him with wary eyes. “May I inquire what are you doing in the royal forest? It’s forbidden to enter here and hunt without permission.”

         One of the strangers, the huge muscular oaf with a shiny bald head crossed his arms on his chest, rolling his eyes. The other man gathered his long black strands in a ponytail, fastening a leather strap, not hurrying with the answer to the sergeant’s question.

         “I and my associate have not hunted anything here yet,” the stranger replied, his voice dreadfully calm. He slowly stood up, glancing at the soldiers. “I appreciate that you brought the provisions. We are a bit hungry right now.”

         The sergeant furrowed his brows in confusion.

         “Provisions?” he repeated, not understanding what the stranger meant. “I didn’t bring you any provisions.”

         The smirk on the dark-haired man made the sergeant have goose bumps. Suddenly, the soldier noticed one tiny detail he had ignored earlier. Their eyes… their eyes were golden like those of the legendary beasts, the demons every mother in the Callesmere Empire warned. The man licked his lips, feeling his throat going dry. He took a step back, realizing that he and his unit walked into a trap.

         “Too late now, human,” the stranger said quietly.

         The last thing the sergeant remembered was a glint of the blade in the pale starlight and the cold touch of steel before his head rolled off his body.

         The black-haired man effortlessly pierced the dead sergeant’s chain mail and ribcage with his bare hand, ripping the still warm heart out. He smiled slightly before taking a bite.

         “Aedain, you won’t be eating that one’s liver, will you?” asked his huge companion. The bald oaf had his hands full with livers and kidneys, torn out of the bellies of their previous owners.

         “You can have it, Baltar,” the long-haired man called Aedain replied indifferently, finishing devouring the human heart. “Hurry up though, I do not want to lose those cretins of the falcon clan.”

         Baltar nodded as he retrieved another liver and proceeded with his meal. The whole time his associate was patiently waiting for him.

         “Dear ancestors, I was hungry,” the muscular man exclaimed in a cheerful voice. He checked if his axe was firmly strapped on his back and wiped the blood out of his face. “I’m good to go, Aedain.”

         Aedain nodded and both men set off, finding their way in the darkness without even the slightest difficulty as though their golden eyes saw equally well in sunlight and the dim starlight seeping through the trees’ leaves.

         “The falcon losers decided to take a route south from Baigh Riada,” Baltar muttered, sniffing the air and examining the faint tracks on the forest floor. “So the brat heads for the sea.”

         “If so, they should find the boy easily. There are not that many bridges on An Eachain, he must have passed one of them.” Aedain was thinking aloud.

         Baltar grinned, the wide boyish smile oddly contrasting with his rough facial features.

         “We have good chances of getting it before the eclipse, we still have over one year left.” The bald man shared his optimism with his associate.

         Aedain frowned, glaring at Baltar.

“Fool,” he muttered, shaking his head. “even if we manage to lay our hands on the Guardian and the Key, we still have not the slightest clue where it is hidden. It will take us several lunar cycles to find out, probably we will be ready by the next summer. For now, we have to find the boy.”

Baltar was staring at Aedain blankly, as though his brain had trouble processing what his accomplice just said. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re the prince; you call the shots,” he muttered.

A dark silhouette of a winged horse-like creature was circling high above their heads and treetops. The beast neighed and swished its tail, which was like a whip.