Relax

A Chapter by Haleigh Morgan

The first chapter of my first book, The Sorcerer and The Stallion.

Arcana angrily attempted - once again - to catch the shearling. Out of all exercises! Why torture me with this? Who cares if I catch the dumb sheep! She mumbled a curse, hoping Bane hadn't somehow managed to hear her. But he always did, and she found it a bit unsettling. "What's that?" Arcana jerked her head to the sound of Bane's deep, bone-rattling voice. Sure enough, he stood on the hill just before her, his cloak billowing in the fierce highland wind like black smoke from a village set afire. The shiver that shot down Arcana's spine wasn't entirely due to the cold. Bane's charcoal hair, streaked with milky-white, laid perfectly atop his head - despite the gusts that threatened to destroy her tent back at camp, which Bane forced her to construct by hand. Arcana brushed away a strand of wheaten hair from her amethyst eyes and swallowed. "Um... Nothing! I said nothing... At all!" She struggled to shout over the wind. She caught of glimpse of the sheep she was to catch... About 50 yards away. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Perhaps I shall have you catch the beast that's been killing my livestock instead?" His brows rose questioningly, but then the corners of his mouth tugged upwards. Good, he's just joking. Bane had been teaching Arcana the skills of battle ever since he'd found her curled up under a pine in the freezing snow one winter night. Without a basic knowledge of battle, he feared, one could not make it long in the land of Naewien. But Arcana began to show exceptional skills, and he could only wonder if she were fated to something much more grand than just survival. She mastered techniques in only weeks, techniques that had taken Bane years to learn.

Arcana had quickly become a part of his family. He had had a wife once, but the brutes of King Magnus's army had long ago taken her from him. Arcana's smile erased any pain that still lingered, and so this year on her 16th birthday, he wanted to give her something special. Bane casually approached her. "Arcana, leave the sheep be. I'm sure you've tortured the poor thing quite enough by now."

"You're kidding. You brought me out here in the freezing cold to have me pointlessly attempt to catch a sheep? That thing was fast you know. And it's freezing!"

"Well, if you would like, you can stay and attempt to catch my dog for another hour or so."

"Your dog? What?"

"That sheep, was my dog dressed in wool. That's why it was so fast." Bane whistled, and sure enough, the 'sheep' came running to it's master.

"You idiot!" Arcana playfully punched Bane in the shoulder, and Bane smiled wider than he had in years. He linked arms with hers, and they started to their horse.

They rode together in silence, savoring the soft sounds of their horses' trotting and their dog's panting as they made their way to the little cabin that was their home. When the twosome reached the stone-cobbled pathway that lead to the front door, Bane halted the horse - or at least attempted too. The midnight - colored stallion stopped abruptly, almost jerking Arcana off the tough leather saddle. She had never liked Ebony, he was too wild, too unpredictable. Funny thing was, Bane had more than once said the same about Arcana. Bane dismounted first, then helped Arcana off the squirming horse before jogging inside, hoping it would be warmer there. Arcana's numb feet sank into the mud, the moisture easily soaking through her thin boots. Although the wind had subsided, the air had turned damp and the sky transformed into a murky, ominous gray. A storm was coming.

After triple knotting Ebony to one of the posts in his stall, Arcana sprinted past the pig pen and burst through the cabin door, beholding the warm air that greeted her. She threw her ivory cloak in the corner and collapsed into the nearest wooden chair. "Father, what about that shelter I made? You said it had to last a week."

"Yes, I did say that. And?"

"It's not going to last the storm, I can guarantee you that." Bane eyed her, "Okay, then. Due to the special occasion, I'll excuse you from this one task." She giggled and bane threw her an apple. "Thanks, father." She smiled and realized she was starving. Taking a bite of the ruby apple, she made her way to the wood oven. She had always loved the way bane treated her, ever since the night he'd taken her in. Arcana threw a few new logs on the fire, surprised at how the flames hadn't dulled since they left... About 8 hours ago. Odd. Now that she thought of it, was the fire poker out of place? No, she concluded, You're just being paranoid. BOOM! Arcana whirled around, her mind racing. Explosion? Gunshot? No, just thunder. Very close by, if she wasn't mistaken. Arcana released the tension in her rigid muscles. Relax.