by MidnightFox Sun Jan 23, 2011 9:37 pm
Prologue: In the Light of the Fire
The night was cool and dark. Eerie shadows danced across the sea of grass that swayed around the white horse’s legs as it galloped with ease towards its unknown destination. The only light was that of a thousand twinkling stars, strewn across the velvet black sky. There was no sound, except that of the horse’s breathing and its hoof beats on the dry earth. Tendrils of steam rose off the horse’s body and out its flared nostrils. Despite the coolness of the air, the unnatural darkness, and the silence that pressed down on the land, she still felt the warmth of the blazing fire that was burning her forest home.
It seemed odd to Amunet that only a few days earlier, she had been safe in the arms of Faolan. The comforting peace she had known for so long had since vanished. Now that she looked back on her life, Amunet should have predicted something like this would happen. Tragedy was bound to occur among the trees of her forest. The constant fear that this would happen would never be completely eradicated until all were dead and gone.
Amunet pressed her face into the horse’s neck, and closing her eyes for a moment, she remembered that night. It had been quiet however, it was not the eerie silence that now pressed down on her. It had been a calming. The kind of silence where crickets could be heard in the distance, and the rustle of leaves were like a lullaby. It had been a peace she had grown accustomed to over the years, as though she had trusted a false sense of security. The peace had been disrupted during the night, not by a hooting owl as she had come to expect, but the crashing of numerous trees. The thunderous roar of many trees being torn from the soil and crashing down was heard before further disturbance. Then came the sounds of harsh shouts and war cries as hooves were heard striking the ground and bows twanged while those fighting unsheathed their swords. It was the sound of battle that disrupted the night. As the music of war assaulted their ears, Amunet realised it was the sound they had long feared. They had thought they were safe.
Next to Amunet, Faolan had risen from his sleep as though he had never been resting at all. His face bore an expression she would never forget. It was not one of fear or confusion, but of fierce loathing and determination. It was a look she had never seen upon his fair features. Though it seemed odd to her to be worrying of such things, she found herself wishing never to see it again. In a swift movement, Faolan swept his body out of the bed, and in a few short strides, he crossed the room to pick up his bow and quiver from where it was lying, ready for such an occasion. As he strung the bow with a practiced hand, he turned to Amunet with a stony face.
“Go!” he said in a rough voice that didn’t belong to him, his speech was hoarse from the night and the horror and shock of the battle around them. “Take the child and leave!”
“No!” she cried, leaping from the bed and ignoring the goose bumps rising on her skin. She had taken a step towards him, but had hesitated to take the next. In the distance, the sounds of the other picking up arms and fighting could be heard. The battle was getting closer.
“This isn’t your fight,” Faolan replied quietly, dropping his eyes to his bow.
“It became my fight when I made my decision to live with you,” Amunet answered fiercely. She closed the gap between them, forcing him to look her in the eyes. For a moment, he had regarded her. He looked her straight in the eyes. Sadness poured out of his own, as though they formed a window to his soul. She had stared right back with fierce determination.
“You’d allow the child to die? You’d allow our one hope to fade to the blackness?” he had whispered finally.
“I will take her to a safe place. I will not have you believe that I do not care for, and love my child deeply. However, once I know she is protected, I will return and fight. This is my battle as much as it is yours, and you know it,” she replied coldly, before turning on her heel. Amunet made her way quickly towards the crib in the far corner of their small home and scooped a small child wrapped in a blanket into her arms. Although she would have never let Faolan know, fear was ravaging her. With violent thumps, her heart was trying to break free of her chest. She ignored the pain and the fear as she ran through the forest towards the barn which had already caught fire.
It took her hardly a few moments to find the horse. The white stallion was the only creature in sight. Its wild eyes were rimmed with white as it tried to escape the fire that was starting to seep into the barn. Stomping its hooves nervously, it danced around the small stall it had been locked in for the night. Amunet tried to soothe the horse with very little success. Abandoning her attempt, she put down her child and quickly threw a saddle and bridle on the horse.
As she jumped into the saddle on the tall muscular horse, with the child safely wrapped in a bundle, and held it close to her body, the heat of a raging inferno pressing on her back. Without looking behind her, she spurred the horse forward into the night, and away from the fight. Now she was miles from the fight and somewhere in the Koki plains, hoping beyond all reason that her daughter would be safe. Amunet knew she wasn’t far now from her final destination, but it would take another day to get there. In the distance, she could see the dull grey that meant day break was nearing. Another hour or two and she would have to go into hiding again. As she thought of this, she spurred the horse faster, galloping across the stretching green plains to Drayton.
Hey all... if you got this far... good on ya... please give me constructive criticism and comment all you like... please don't ask for more... I'm a uni student and I have no life... and I've been working on chapter 1 for 5 months... yeah.. I'm awesome! ^^
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