Chapter 13 Miria: The land of mosquitoes and agony

A Chapter by A.L.Exley

Chapter 13 Miria: The land of mosquitoes and agony.

How's this trip going? It's freezing, I can't feel my toes, and my rear end hurts. We've been riding non-stop all day through thick, uneven woodland. I seem to get smacked in the face by every dumb low-hanging branch in this forest. I think I'm getting horse-sick from swaying in the saddle. Now, as the sun sets, the temperature is dropping even lower.

Do you know we have mosquitoes in Sølvefalske? They are not normal mosquitoes like the ones in Midgard. These things are the size of bees. No where on Earth except here are there mosquitoes that can withstand the frigid air of early spring. So, on this night, the mosquitoes are buzzing around. And guess who they're favoring!

Chris and Alex ride in front of me, chatting happily while I have to repeatedly slap the bugs away from me--slapping myself in the process.

"Aren't the bugs bothering you two?" I say as I slap my forehead. Just as I wave one mosquito away from my ear, another one flies at my eye.

"No, not really," Alex calls over her shoulder. Chris falls back besides me and sniffs my shoulder.

I find this action incredibly strange. I lean as far away from him as I can without falling off of Frostbite.

He laughs, "Are you wearing perfume?"

"No." My voice is full of irritation. "I decided to roll around in a field of flowers this morning. Of course I'm wearing perfume!"

"Well that's you problem right there," Chris says.

I feel a mosquito crawling on my neck and slap myself again.

"Next time we pass a lake or stream, you'll have to take a dip to get that smell off you. They're really attracted to sweet smelling things."

"All the water is freezing. I'd rather not bathe in pond water." I feel a pinch and slap my arm.

Chris shrugs, then joins Alex in the front.

Before the woods become too dark, Alex decides to set up camp in a little meadow

Before the woods become too dark, Alex decides to set up camp in a little meadow. While Chris tends to the horses, I help Alex with the tent. Well, "help". After getting hit repeatedly with the tent poles, awkwardly struggling with the fabric, and accidentally pitching the tent upside down (twice), Alex sends me to gather wood for the fire while she fixes the tent.

Chris lights the fire just as the last rays of light disappear. In the eerie twilight, the tree's stand still in a grey mist. The beams of light are replaced by shadows, until the world becomes a black hole.

Only a small circular area around us can be seen in the firelight. I nervously chew on my piece of jerky, trying to identify the shapes of tree's in the darkness.

Hey, my brain says, remember that freaky story mom told you about werewolves?"

Must you think about that now? I tell my brain.

When the moon comes up, the animals of the night take their cue to come out and play. The insects buzz, and somewhere nearby, an owl hoots. It's not the sound that scares me. It's the fact that I can't see where they come from. They were voices with no bodies, like forest ghosts.

Hey! What a great time to think of ghost stories!

Shut up! I curse my imaginative brain.

Over all the chirps and hoots, the sound that sends ice through my bones is the wolf howl. It rises above the others, establishing itself as king of all night souls.

Every time a new voice starts, I jump a little.

"Haven't you ever heard a wolf howl before?" Chris says. The firelight creates unnatural shadows across his face, making him even less pleasant.

I try, and fail, to hide my fear. "It's a sound I am not familiar with. Ylvana wasn't allowed to shift, much less howl."

The words are out before I remember Ylvana's ability is suppose to be a secrete. Oops!

Chris and Alex blink at me.

"Ylvana can shift into a wolf? Are you serious?" Alex's eyes go wide.

I nod regretfully. "Yes, but you didn't hear it from me. Ylvana wasn't suppose to tell anyone."

"Now that I think about it, it makes so much sense," Alex says.

"She's been able to keep it from us all this time." Chris shakes his head in awe. For that second, I see him in a better light. Not a jerk who orders others around, but a loyal friend.

"Why couldn't she tell us? There are a lot of people who can shift," Alex asks me.

I figure since I had already blurted out everything, I might as well explain what Gwen told me.

"There are rumors that the reason she can shift is because she is chosen by Skoll to guard the runestones."

Cricket's chirped--literally.

"But it's not certain Ylvana is the Wolf Princess, right?" Alex asks.

"If she is" Chris says, "it means things are worse than we thought."

"Ylvana doesn't believe the rumors. However, the Fenrir warriors do. They want to use her to find the runestones," I add.

"If they get a hold of the runestones, it's all over for us. The first thing they'll do is destroy the island," Alex says.

"Meaning we have to get to McNeil. Assuming he will help us." I say. "My father believes McNeil stole the runestones and started the war. But something about it just doesn't make sense."

"Has it occurred to you that your father could be wrong?" Chris says.

My fists clench. "You have a lot of nerve talking about the King with such disrespect."

Chris leans back. "Why should I respect them? What has he done for us?"

"How about--kept you alive?" I reply.

Chris shakes his head. "Yeah, he had kept us alive. But at what cost? We're living in fear. Did you know school had been canceled on more than one occasion? Stores were set on fire, log cabins were raided. Did Ylvana tell you about what happened to her place?"

I shake my head.

"The window's were shattered. Furniture was destroyed. She's lucky they didn't burn it down. And she's not the only one. Our lives have stopped because of those stupid Crow's. What does the king do? He sends two guards--who aren't even shifters--to stand by the village gate. They don't even check the perimeter; they just stand their. Meanwhile, the Crow's have not stopped attacking."

I am starting to panic. I didn't agree with everything my father did, but I needed to defend him.

"What do you expect him to do? Magically make all the Fenrir Warrior's disappear? He hasn't slept in days because he's so busy going over battle plans. He's already getting enough pressure from the council. He's trying his best to keep this kingdom safe."

"His best is no where near good enough!" Chris scorns.

I open my mouth to object, but I can't think of anything to say.

"If he has done anything, he has proven what a weak leader he is." Chris gets up and disappears into his tent.

"Arg!" I muffle my scream by shoving my face into my hands.

"He's fun to be around, isn't he?" Alex smiles.

"He's been nothing but a jerk this whole trip! I can't see how you stand him!"

Alex looks down at her hands sadly.

"He's been through a lot. He lost his brother and his Mum. His father is getting older and weaker. Now, he is worried about loosing one of his best friends."

Well, when she put it like that, it was slightly more difficult to be mad at him.

"But what about my father? I know some people are frustrated with his leadership, but--I've never seen anyone more angry than Chris."

Alex sighs, and pats a spot beside her. "I think this is a good time for a story."

I sit down besides her, facing the orange glow of the fire.

Alex begins; "Basically, him, his mom, and his dad came here by shipwreck, when he was about eight years old. He had a sister back in Midgard, and of course he missed his friends and his old life. He was always frustrated because he could never see them again."

It never occurred to me that Chris is an immigrant. The amount of shipwrecks had gone down in Midgard in the past few ages because of new boat technology, but there is always new people coming to the island through the Freslakjoll portal. I always thought the portal did a great thing to allow a second chance at life. But I also knew the price; this island had to remain a secret to avoid conflict with the outside world. You could never leave; never tell the people you left behind who think you are dead that you are all right. I understand how that can take a toll on a person.

"Like all the other families," Alex explains, "the Jackson's got settled in, and Chris started school. That's where we met him. He always looked sad, so Ylvana and I took him in. I think Ylvana reminded him of the sister he left. We became inseparable."

Alex glances at the tent.

"We were always their for him, but stuff happened that we couldn't control. Do you remember the school fire a couple of years ago?"

Dread filled my heart at the thought of that day. It was the worse terrorist attack in history. On a seemingly ordinary day, all the children in the village went to school. The students were always happy to go to school. They always learned something new and interesting. But that day, the once happy environment had turned into a living hell.

Three drunk Fenrir Warrior's had somehow snuck into the school grounds, and set fire to a couple of the buildings. They only got to torching three before Wolves arrived, and the buildings were evacuated. The students from the untouched buildings didn't have a scratch on them, but no student or professor from building's that were set on fire made it out. Those building's had been teaching to younger grades--7 through 10 year-old's. Later, the Warrior's had confessed they had not been following their king's orders, but merely set the buildings on fire for the fun of it.

"Chris' little brother had been in one of those buildings," Alex says gravely. "His body could never be properly identified--they were all burnt up so bad. A few days later, Chris' mom was so overwhelmed with grief, she had a heart attack. His dad didn't do to well either. He joined the king's army, and got severely injured. Chris has never really gotten over it.

"He blames the Crow's, but he also think's the King could have done something, like put guards in the school. Don't let him know I told you this, though. He doesn't like to talk about it. He has a bad habit of keeping his feeling's locked up. He has grown up to be strong, but I don't think he can go through another loss. He's worried about Ylvana, and now he has to make sure the heir of Sølvefalske doesn't get killed along the way."

Chris' reasons for hating my father all make sense now. I can't blame him. But I also feel guilty: I am nothing but a liability to him. Now, Chris and Alex were forced to watch after me, while also putting their own lives at risk.

I look down at my hands. "I'm sorry I made you guys bring me out here. I didn't think it would be this . . . challenging. The way Ylvana talked about the woods, she made it sound so beautiful, and fun."

"Aye, it is. But before you can enjoy it, you must respect it." Alex sighs as she lays down on the ground. "Chris will warm up to you, just give him time."

I laid next to her and look up at the sky. Stars were sprinkled like glitter against varying shades of dark blue.

I hoped that somewhere, Ylvana was looking at the same stars.

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