Let the Darkness In
Eight

I woke to a stiff neck and aching back. I had found shelter beneath a large hedge bordering two fields. I had twisted all the branches and sharp offshoots away from me and around me so I could sleep without fear of being impaled.

Yawning and brushing bits of dirt, leaves and foliage from my body, I scrambled out and gazed around. Before me lay the same sight as before. This time though I spotted the faint mountains on the horizon, looking small enough to pinch between two fingers. The heart of the kingdom lay beyond those mountains. My eye roamed across the landscape and I spotted a tiny stain. From here, it was too far away to make out what it was but smaller blobs milled around it.

The air held the chill of the morning and looking up, grey clouds scudded over the sun. I set off, hoping to cover as much ground as I could before the heavens opened. I tore off some bread, drank some water as I lurched. Tiredness from a night of tossing and turning was making my eyes ache.

As I walked the clouds grew darker. Fat drops of rain landed on my hair and eyes and I felt its ice seep into my skin. More followed until they were now falling quick and strong. The landscape had fogged up so it was impossible to see anything more than a few feet ahead of me.

I pushed on for a bit but eventually was too sodden and blind. The first looming hedge I found, I crawled into, weaving the branches together to form an impenetrable barrier. In my den, I listened to the rain hammer down around me. My body was frozen from the rain and my clothes sodden but all I could do was wait for the rain to stop and the heat of my body to dry out my clothes.

I wished I could control the weather. Some days, the wind would blow, clearing away the debris and dirt. Other days, the sun would shine and I would savour its warmth on my face. Rain could be commanded but only to nourish the earth. But that was power you studied for. Ysymay had once told me there were great schools dedicated to learning this craft. They had long gone, stomped out by the king and a people with a deep distrust of magic. Perhaps, when Medb regained her powers, these schools would once more rise. I could even study there.

I just had to replace this blasted prince.

Finally, the rainstorm ceased and I crawled out of my makeshift shelter. I breathed in the iron tang of petrichor. The landscape was glistening under a weak sun. It would do. My spirits lifted and feeling refreshed, I moved onwards, determined to get to that castle.

The stain I had noticed gradually took shape the nearer I got. It appeared to be a village but it seemed much smaller. There were only a cluster of four or five houses and a long, low barn. The dots turned out to be sheep and cattle.

My stomach growled as I imagined the rich, fatty meat on the home over a fire. Perhaps someone there would be kind enough to spare a morsel. But memories of the village surfaced and I realised no help would be found here and that I needed to keep myself safe.

I waited for a while, hanging back and lying on my stomach to avoid detection. A few people emerged from the huts, pale, miserable and emaciated, as they tended to the sheep and cattle. Still I bided my time. If these people were sensible, they wouldn’t leave the animals to the wolves. Sure enough, as the sun set, a few adults came out and led their prized possessions into safety.

I waited until the last door closed before I slithered down the hill, tumbling over my own feet. Darting across to the barn, I ran my hands over the decayed wood, until I managed to replace a chunk of rotting wood that easily came loose. Using my elbows and knees and feeling like a small child again, I wormed my way in.

A wall of stench and animal heat greeted me but I was grateful for a roof over my head. I nestled down in a corner, bunching up as much hay as I could around me. This would do just fine.

Just as I began to drift off, I heard the barn door open and a stream of light scythed through the dark. My heart stopped beating and I tried not to make a sound as I sought a vantage point. The figure was tiny but from the way she moved across the barn, handing food to the animals, I knew she did this often.

My mind raced. Would she be scared and run screaming to her parents if I let her know I was here? My stomach rumbled in the darkness, quickly ending all pensiveness.

“Who’s there?” she cried, holding her lamp higher. The beam found me and I turned my face so the good side was facing her.

“I’m only a hungry traveller.” I could see the whites of her eyes now. No doubt, she had been warned against people like me. “What’s your name?”

The girl hesitated and I gave her a smile.

“Winnie.”

“Hi Winnie. Do you want to help a girl out?”

I was about to take a huge risk; placing all my faith in a young child and her smuggling skills. There was nothing stopping her run to her parents.

When she left the barn, I was in torment. Sweat laced my brow and I jumped at the slightest sound. Winnie had said her dad beat wanderers, and beggars. She had asked if I was stricken with the wasting disease. I shuddered. A single touch of that and your limbs would start to disintegrate. After promising I did not and swearing her to secrecy, she had bounded off promising food.

The door opened and I scuttled back into the furthest corner of the barn. “Hello?”

I breathed in relief as Winnie came into view. My eyes instinctively went to the bundle at the side. Her face was flushed and her eyes gleaming. “I did it. Da and Ma were fast asleep and I was as quiet as a mouse. Here,” she thrust the bundle at me. “I’d better go but Da wakes at first light to let the animals out so you need to be gone. Or he will hurt you, like he did to the man they found in here…”

I paused, waiting for her to continue but she was done.

“Thank you Winnie. Go get some sleep now.”

She nodded and skipped out the barn. My eyes felt teary as I opened the bundle. There was a hunk of lamb, a few small oatcakes and an apple.

“Bless you,” I whispered.

For a moment I forgot. I saw the light that could shine over some humans. But then the memories came back and I slammed shut the lid of whatever had been opening.

I snacked on some more bread as it was already starting to go stale. The meat would do tomorrow. Fed and finally with a roof over my head, I slept.

I woke in the early hours. As I woke, I listened to the sounds of the animals, chuffing and lowing as they started to get restless. The barn was dark, save for a few chinks of dove grey light that found its way through the cracks and holes. Winnie’s father would be along soon and I did not want to stay to meet him.

Making sure I left no traces behind, I crawled out the way I had come and began to trek towards the mountains.

By noon, I had left the farm far behind. Taking a moment’s rest, I watched the animals contentedly mill and graze. By now, small figures had emerged. I had left just in time.

There was a biting wind that nipped at my fingers and rushed at my eyes but they remained focused on the growing mountains.

It took me another day to reach the mountains and most of my supplies. By the time I neared, I was shattered and exhausted. My foot had swelled, not used to the huge amounts of walking and each time I set it down, it felt like I was standing on a red hot poker. I hissed through my teeth, ignoring the tears that came into my eyes. I dreamt of the cool water pools in the forest, imagined my foot swirling the waters, the cool liquid healing it.

I finally reached the base of the mountains, the grass fading into earth, rock and scree that made me slip. I stood at the base of these giants, tilting my head to watch them disappear into the clouds. My eyes scanned for a route. I knew that the higher I went, the less air there was. My heart started to sink as I failed to replace a single route. I would have to go around. The mountains went on for a few miles at least, and what took most people a certain amount of time would take me twice as long.

Groaning, I began the long march west. I slipped and skidded along the loose rock and stone. Somewhere to my left, I heard a shower of earth. Hunting for the source of the sound, I spied a rough path. I halted dead in my tracks and turned to examine it further.

It could be a mirage; I was dreading this long way around so perhaps my mind was seeing paths that weren’t there. One foot moved slowly before the other, expecting the ground to swallow me up or for a wall of rock to rise suddenly before me. But the path remained solid and twisted and wove before me. I sobbed in relief and my pace quickened.

It extended in a grey ribbon between huge grassy hill and crags of rock. The air was much cooler here and the wind that rushed through the corridors of stone brought with it the chill of winter. As darkness fell, I managed to replace an outcrop of rock with a small space beneath, sheltered from the wind and bite and hidden enough not to be visited by animals of the night. Settling into it, I munched on the last of my supplies and knew that the next day, I would have to start catching my own food. As my body slowed, I felt the aches spread down my back, into my limbs.

Another poor slumber and I was up with the first light of dawn. The day was bright and clear with a little warmth from the weak sun. My spirits lifted and the path led me on. It started to slope upwards until I was walking along a green hill. Below me, I could see the valley floor, tufty and sparse. Even from my high vantage point, I could see litter strewn here and there. I saw a broken cart wheel, a dark ring heralding a once blazing fire. Butterflies started to dance in my stomach. This was the first sign of civilization I had seen since the farm.

My pace quickened and my journey took another two days. I remembered some old books I had read once, teaching a boy how to lay traps to catch his dinner. I had a few mouldy crumbs of bread rattling around at the bottom of the satchel. A few scrubby trees dotted the landscape and were more than happy to part with their spindly branches. Using what I could replace, I constructed a few traps and managed to catch small rabbits., which I skinned and roasted over the fire. They were tough and gamey, but did the job.

Time passed in a haze but finally, during a heavy shower, I stumbled out of the protection of the mountains. I felt free; long days and sleepless nights had turned those mountains into a prison.