“Can you believe some of these Nesnans actually make a living fishing out here? There can’t be anything worth catching! No wonder they’re so poor!”
Jahrra held her breath, and her temper, wishing she was still dreaming.
Ellysian answered him after a while, “Speaking of Nesnans, I wonder if Jahrra and her Nesnan-lover friends are out here.”
Jahrra froze. That was the first time she had ever heard Ellysian say her name, and it sounded like it actually physically hurt her to say it.
“Oh, they are,” Eydeth said casually. “That was her horse in the clearing, I recognized it. If we can’t find them, we could always torment that stupid animal. She acts like it’s her best friend. How pathetic is that?”
Everyone in the boat snickered, and Jahrra shook with both rage and fear. Would he really do something to Phrym? If it wasn’t for Gieaun and Scede holding her down, she would’ve jumped right into their approaching boat, practicing some of the skills she’d learned from Yaraa and Viornen on them. Instead, she was forced to secretly curse the twins and their gang of bullies from afar. She only hoped that Phrym would break away if they went after him.
“Should we dock at the other shore and continue on to the sea?” Ellysian asked in her mock-royal voice.
“No, I want to see what that clump of reeds is all about. Maybe we can find some bird nests or something,” Eydeth said boorishly.
Jahrra quickly looked at Gieaun and then Scede with large eyes, the blood draining from her face.
“Find some bird nests!” Gieaun growled. “All he’d do with some bird nests is wreck them and break the eggs!”
The three friends hunkered down in the center of their blanket and tried to think of a way to distract the group.
“We could swim to shore!” Scede breathed quietly.
“No,” Jahrra said solemnly, feeling herself turn green. “They’d chase us down in that boat and drown us before we got ten feet from here. Let’s face it, we’re trapped.”
Fortunately, the problem was solved before any drastic measures were needed.
“No way!” Ellysian whined. “That clump of weeds is probably sitting in a pile of muck and we would end up covered in mud! A queen and her royal entourage never set foot in mud!”
They continued rowing past the island, but they were close enough for Jahrra to hear Eydeth’s mumbled complaint and soon even the sound of the oars slapping the water disappeared.
“That was close!” Scede breathed, slumping onto his back.
Gieaun joined her brother in a huff, sounding as if she’d been holding her breath for the last several minutes. Jahrra, on the other hand, continued to glare after the boat now disappearing in the distance.
“What on Ethoes are they doing here?” she said so quietly it sounded like a hiss.
Gieaun and Scede both looked up at her, their relief quickly turning to apprehension.
“Maybe they ran out of people to bother in Kiniahn Kroi,” Scede offered sarcastically.
Gieaun shot her brother a sour look and tried to break Jahrra’s stern composure softly. “You know, they may just be exploring the area. I mean, it’s not like Lake Ossar is a secret.”
“They came here to torment us, I’m absolutely sure of it!” Jahrra shouted as she spun around.
Gieaun flinched and Scede quailed at his friend’s anger.
“Look, Jahrra,” Gieaun began gently, “they didn’t see us, they only saw the horses. They probably think we’re out in the dunes somewhere and I doubt they want to waste their entire day looking for us. Once they find out this place is too big to chase us down, they’ll leave.”
Jahrra was still fuming, but she saw the truth in what her friend said. Sighing, she dropped her clenched fists to her sides and took a deep breath.
“You’re probably right, Gieaun. But I think we should head home, that way they won’t run into us and have a reason to stay.”
The three companions packed up their blankets and piled them into their homemade, rickety boat. Once back on shore, they quickly hid the boat among the shore plants and approached the horses. Jahrra breathed a grateful sigh of relief when she saw that nothing had happened to Phrym. While she rubbed his mane out of his eyes and touched his forehead with her own, she risked a glance at the horses the twins had used to haul their obnoxious water craft. The poor things were shifting uneasily and puffing in slight fear, pulling at the ropes wound snuggly around a thick tree branch. I know how you feel, she thought. I would be afraid of them too. Just then, an idea sparked in her mind like flint striking stone in the dark.
“Hey Gieaun, Scede . . .” she said quietly.
They looked up from their task of getting the blankets secured to Bhun and Aimhe.
“Yeah?” Scede asked.
“How about we give Eydeth and Ellysian a little reminder not to come out here again.”
“What do you mean?” Gieaun queried, her voice hard and her green eyes narrowed.
Jahrra simply grinned and untied the lead ropes keeping the two horses in place, causing the animals to twitch and stomp their feet.
“Well, what if their horses accidentally pulled free and decided to go wandering off on their own?”
“Jahrra! No!” Gieaun gasped.
Scede, on the other hand, looked like he was quite fond of the idea.
Gieaun flashed him a threatening glare, but he brushed her gaze aside and said, “Oh come on Gieaun! How many times have the twins tormented us? Let’s give them a taste of their own medicine.”
Gieaun groaned as Jahrra dropped the ropes and Scede frightened the horses farther down the road.
“I hope you two are satisfied!” Gieaun complained on their ride back home.
“Oh, we are. Especially when I picture the twins chasing down their loose horses.”
Jahrra let loose a peel of laughter and even Gieaun, who had been so well composed earlier, gave up and joined the fun.
“I still can’t believe they came all the way out here,” Jahrra mused after some time.
Gieaun gave her friend a meaningful look and Jahrra quickly added, “I’m just wondering how they knew about Lake Ossar at all, it’s not like we talk about it at school.”
They took the path that led through Willowsflorn and wrapped around the base of the Sloping Hill. By the time they made it to the Castle Guard Ruin the western sky was painted with the red-gold hues of sunset. Jahrra watched her friends ride away over the southern hill and shivered as the heat of the day gave way to the cool of the evening. She shut her eyes and breathed in the crisp flavor of the distant fog suspended out over the ocean, allowing it to fill her entire body.
Jahrra tried to relax in the beauty that surrounded her, but no matter how hard she tried, the thoughts of the past summer were alive in her mind. School would be starting up again in one week’s time, and that meant no more daily lessons with Viornen and Yaraa. It would be hard for her to train on her own during the school year without their constant encouragement, but she was determined not to let them down.
“Even if you just practice your meditation and a few of your basic exercises, that’ll help you greatly,” Viornen had told her.
Jahrra jumped when Phrym nickered quietly from inside his stable. She’d nearly forgotten she was still standing out in the field so far from the Castle Guard Ruin. She smiled and reached out to scratch Phrym on the cheek.
“I’m not ready to go back to school yet, are you?”
Jahrra smiled tiredly and Phrym leaned his warm muzzle into her shoulder. She imagined that she could fall asleep standing right there next to him, for no one comforted her more than Phrym. After some time she reluctantly left him and walked down to the Ruin. She went to bed early, waving sluggishly to Hroombra and muttering some words of goodnight.