Fifth Piece

     It takes us two weeks to reach the grapevine fields outside Yamin. Another few hours and we will be in the city. From my position high above the wagon, I can see the city walls and the towers of the palace. I also see a Yatalle patrol heading toward our caravan. I whistle the land signal and the four other scoots drop slowly from the sky. I am on my way down when I see one of the Yatalles throw a fireball at the wagon.

     I increase my speed, falling out of the sky as fast as an arrow. I see Milas react, deflecting the fireball to the side, toward the grapevines. I hit the ground hard, spinning, grabbing the ball and sending it up, away from the fields. When it is high enough, I pull the air out of the ball and it disappears.

     “You fool!” I look to see the Yatalle patrol caption grab one of his men. “You almost destroyed these fields!” The caption slams his fist into the guilty talle's face. “Go straight back to the palace and turn in your uniform! You are going to be on kitchen duty for the next three months!” He throws the the man behind him.

     I turn to Milas. She is on her hands and knees a few feet in front of me. Darrin and Kie are getting out of the wagon. “Milas, get on your tyskin and stay there. I will punish you later,” I say softly. She scrambles up and gets on her bird. Darrin steps forward, Kie at his left. I take my place at his right.

     “Greetings,” Darrin says as he extends his right hand. “I'm sorry if we have in anyway startled you. We are the Kamin Academy Top 20 Grads. We have come to learn of your ways. I'm Darin Kalou. This is Kie Hyzer and Rin Kasysin.” He gestures to Kie and myself as he shakes the caption's hand .

     The caption releases Darrin's hand and takes both of mine. “You have no idea how grateful we are,” he says as he kisses both my hands. I blush and pull back. He laughs and releases me. “Modest as well as powerful. And pretty to boot.” the patrol talles chuckle and he winks. I look quickly at Darrin, willing him to change the subject.

     Thankfully, he does. “What do they call you, caption?” “Oh, I'm Markus Yatallelou.” Markus looks back at Darrin.

     “The Yamin king's younger brother?” Kie asks.

     My attention focuses on him again. I had heard of Prince Markus from my nursemaid, an old woman named Mira, who had come from Yamin with my mother, Maylin Sysin. She had described him as a skinny, freckled nine year old. There is nothing skinny about the adult prince. He is lean and muscled with skin a golden tan color. His hair is a bright red streaked with gold that is long and held back by a leather tie. He is as tall as Kie.

     “The very one. You folks are the renegades King William of Kamin sent warning about?” “The only threat we pose is to him,” I say tartly. “He shouldn't act like an idiot and expect us to follow along.”

     Kie and Darrin turn to look at her, shock jumping from their faces. The other members of our caravan look at each other, worried. I keep my eyes on Markus, daring him to say something.

     The Yamin prince laughs. “Too true! So you can see what the rest of us see! Good thing in a leader. Come, I'll take you to the palace to meet my brother.”

     Darrin and Kie get back in the wagon. I clap my hands loudly and the scoots gather around me. I give them their orders and they join the Yatalles as they loosely surround our wagon. I motion for Milas to stay with Kyle, one of my scoots. I circle around to the back of the caravan and take the rear guard position.

     I feel a tug on my cloak and turn around. A group of kids has gathered behind me and a little girl with golden curls has hold of my cloak. The oldest looks around nine. Each has a bright yellow dandelion.

     “These are for you,” the blond girl says, holding up her flower.

     “Our parents work these fields,” says the tallest boy.

     “You saved them and us,” reminds another boy.

     I kneel in front of them and smile. “I could do nothing less. I wouldn't want such wonderful children to go hungry, now would I?”

     The children nod and smile.

     “I'm sorry children, but I have to steal your new friend.” Markus kneels next to me. “She needs to come with her friends to see my brother.”

     The children nod and they each give me their flower and a hug. When the last kid runs off into the grapevines, I stand and tie the flowers together with a ribbon.

     “Come on, they are getting ahead.” We stand and start walking. The wagon was a ways down the road. “I bet there will a song about you before the weeks over.”

     I blush and look down. I walk faster and my cloak flutters behind me. I hold the flowers in both hands in front of me.

     “Oh, don't be modest. You know I'm right.” He seems to have no trouble keeping up with me.

     As we get closer to the caravan, I hear a whistle.

     “Sorry, but Darrin wants to speak with me.” Before Markus can say anything, I tuck the flowers in my belt and take off. I leave him in a cloud of dust as I make my escape.

Author's Note

Enjoy.

Reviews

[Brie]

do i sense a little relation-in-the-making??? i guess we'll find out now wont we?
-Brie