Shadows of Ash: Chapter 3

   I slowed my horse to a walk as I approached the guards. My cloak had the cypress leaf emblem clearly shown.

   The guards stuck their spears out as I approached. "Halt! Who goes there?" one of them called.

   "Samaria, daughter of Sagan of the Cypress Clan," I said in a clear voice. "I wish to have an audience with Lance of the Oak Clan."

   The sam guard nodded. "Very well. Byron will lead the way." The other guard, Byron, started walking to his horse, and mounted up. We rode through the woods silently until we reached a small fortress-like structure.

   Seeing Byron, the guards immediately let us through thye gate. I gazed around at the inside. It was an intricate city, with cobblestone streets and stone houses. Artisans worked at open stalls lining the streets, and the sounds of children laughing and playing, carts rumbling past, horses whinnying, and blacksmith's hammers filled the air. Children played in the streets while mothers watched from the doorway or the window, or shopped at different vendors.

   I paused by a group of children. They were in a circle, dancing and singing a song over and over again. I listened through the other sounds of the city.

   "And everyone 'neath their vine and fig tree

    Shall live in peace and unafraid

    And into plowshares turn their swords

    Nations shall not war no more."

   Biting my lip, I turned my horse away from the children and their haunting song, and hurried to catch up with Byron. He had stopped, and was waiting for me. His eyes studied me intently, and they seemed to soften by a fraction of a degree. Neither of us spoke as we continued through the city.

Author's Note

The song that the children sang is a song that we sing at the summer camp that I go to. The first two lines are repeated, and then the last two. It's usually sung in a round.