The Fire Within
Chapter 2: Freedom?

They rode for several hours in the dark, with just a faint glow from the candle as it fought to stay lit in the wind, until Ted stirred from his mount and almost fell off. He began to tug at his hands and found them bound behind his back and then lashed to the saddle, but it didn’t stop him from trying to loosen himself. His horse slowed below him as his weight shifted around, this pulled on Adrian’s hand jerking him around periodically. When the third almost pulled him from his horse, Adrian called back to him.

“Will you stop already.”

“You can’t keep me. When I get loose I am going.” Ted yelled back.

“Lose your head. That’s what you are going to do. When I cut you loose, they are going to take you up a few stairs, bend you over a slab of wood and seperate your head from your shoulders.” Adrian said talking over him. Ted began struggling harder until his horse jerked back again. “That’s it. We will stop here for the night.”

He pulled his horse, Stalker, over to the side of the dirt road and found a small grove of trees to bed down around. He tied his horse to the branch beside Ted’s and cut him free of the saddle. With one heave, Adrian lifted Ted’s legs up, causing him to tumble from the horse and land hard on his shoulder and back.

“I am going to kill you!” Ted stumbled through as he tried to regain his breath.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve already heard that one.” Adrian said pulling Caitlin’s horse over and tieing off her reins. He took the candle in his hand as it was offered to him. “Hey there, how are you holding up.” He cooed to the fire.

“Oh no. You did not take the elemental! She will kill us all!” Ted said, pulling himself away on his elbows.

“Shut up.” Adrian said, shooting an angry look to Ted. The flame on the candle began to rise and take shape. He turned back to flame was looking at a small woman standing on the wick of the candle. “There you are.” Adrian flashed her a smile.

“I can hold her.” Caitlin said after dropping from her horse. She fixed her dress and walked over.

“We should be safe here for a bit. I’ll grab some wood and get some heat going.” Adrian said handing the candle carefully to her. On the candle the flame braced herself as she was moved, but was surprised at how carefully she was being handled. It was an experience she was unacquainted with. No one had cared for her well being since she was first captured. She sat down on the head of the wick and watched. Adrian moved around the makeshift site carefully picking up rocks and wood. He seemed at home in the dark and found what he was looking for quickly. Caitlin, looked around cautiously. Her eyes shifting from Ted to the flame.

“My name is Caitlin. Do you have a name?” She asked the flame, as they sat on the ground staring at each other.

“HA! You don’t expect it to answer you, do you?” Ted laughed from the tree he had managed to sit himself up against. They both shot him a dirty look, but softened when they returned their eyes to each other.

I forget. She said and Caitlin smiled.

“That’s ok, dear. It will come back to you. I am sorry about the ride. I tried to keep it smooth.”

Smooth. Yes. She said. Safe?

“Are we safe? Yes. Well safer than there anyways.” Caitlin smiled.

“Here we are. I’ll just get this set up and we can rest a bit.” Adrian said returning to the party and placing rocks in a circular shape, then piling wood and twigs in the middle. He arranged them to burn evenly. This was clearly something he was experienced doing. When he finished he pulled a small pieces of flint out of his pocket and struck it several times against the blade of his dagger. Sparks flew, but none lit the pile. He began to get frustrated

Closer. She said, standing up again on the wick.

“Hm? Oh, closer. Can you help him?” Caitlin said standing up as well and walking towards firepit.

Yes.

Caitlin bent the candle down until it almost touched the wood. In a flash, the candle went dark and a flame began to work its way along the bark of the wood. They stepped back as the fire grew and the warmth flowed forward.

“Well. That’s one way to do it. I would have had it eventually.” Adrian said putting the flint back in his pocket.

Faster. She said as she began to take shape into a larger version of the woman on the wick and for the first time they could get a better look at her. She stood a naked body of flames, hair flowing in the breeze and shifting from red to orange to yellow as it released and disappeared. Flames crackled and danced around the edges of her body and dripped from her fingers.

“Much faster.” Caitlin said, looking down at the dark candle.

“Yes. Yes it was definitely faster. Thank you.” Adrian said sitting down next to the pit.

Thank you?

“It means he appreciates that you lit the fire pit.”Caitlin said sitting beside Adrian.

“I appreciate what you did back there as well. Especially since you wanted to stay out of the way.” Adrian said leaning towards Caitlin

“Well, you seemed like such a nice guy. I didn’t want to see you die so soon.” She replied. “Besides, I couldn’t think of what to put on your headstone.”

He smiled and turned back to the pit.

“What do we call you then?” Adrian asked tossing a small twig to the side of the pit. The elemental looked at the twig, then let the flame rush over it, turning it to ash quickly.

“She doesn’t know her name. Poor thing.” Caitlin chimed in.

“Ok, so we will give you one. What’s a good elemental name? How about.” Adrian thought for a second. “Kaela?”

She shook her head.

“Lehia?” Adrian asked again.

She shook her head again, but then thought about it. Laeha.

“Laeha it is then. I am Adrian”

“That is a pretty name. I like it.” Caitlin agreed. Laeha beamed and jumped around the logs.

“Oh yes. It’s lovely.” Ted mocked from the tree, bringing Laeha to a stop, where she stuck her tongue out at him. Caitlin and Adrian laughed. Adrian rose and walked over to tree Ted had propped himself against. He reached down and Ted shifted out of the way. Adrian reached for him again and this time anticipated his movement, he caught him by the collar and spun him around. He pulled Ted closer to the fire and flopped him down. Laeha stood at the edge of the pit, tossing small flames at Ted. Most of them went out before reaching him, but occasionally one would land close and he would use his boot to kick out the flame. Adrian, pulled the saddles off the horses and laid them on the ground beside the horses. He rummaged through the pack and pulled out a length of cord, then struggled to tie Ted’s feet together, once he finished he stepped away and caught his breath.

“Now then.” he paused and exhaled sharply. “Behave or I’ll gag you too.” Ted rolled over on his back and glared at Adrian as he walked away.

Why? Laeha asked, pointing to Ted.

“He is a thief and a murderer. He killed several guards transporting gold from one of the towns farther north.” Adrian said sitting down beside Caitlin.

She nodded her understanding and looked back at Ted. Caitlin yawned and stretched and pulled her cloak closer. Adrian pulled some smoked meat from his pocket and a few pieces of cheese, he had stuck in there before grabbing the rope. He offered at piece to Caitlin and she gratefully accepted it. Without thinking twice she stuck it in her mouth and took a big bite. Adrian offered a piece to Laeha and she shook her head, declining. Instead she patted the log she was sitting on.

“You should get some rest, the sun will be coming up before long.” Adrian said causally.

She nodded. “You should as well. I don’t know how far you have to take him, but I doubt it is within a day’s ride.”

He smiled, she was right of course. “Laeha? Can you watch him for a bit while we rest?”

She looked over and nodded, then turned back to Ted.

“Thank you. Caitlin, you might want to sleep closer to the fire in case it gets colder. I don’t think that dress will keep you warm at all.” Adrian said, laying back on the ground.

Caitlin looked down at her clothes, she was still in the light, practically see thru dress that they had to wear at the tavern. She pulled her cloak around her tighter, all of a sudden self conscious of her clothes, but decided to play it off anyways. “You mean you aren’t going to keep me warm?”

He watched her walk away almost hurt, as she bedded down closer to the fire.

“I’ll keep you warm darlin’.” Ted called from the fire. Caitlin gave him a low scowl, and laid her head down on her hands. She was asleep quickly and Laeha watched as her chest rose and fell. Adrian pulled himself back against a stump and closed his eyes. Laeha sat alone in silence, but for the first time in a long time she did not feel alone. She watched as even Ted rolled over and went still.

For most the night was uneventful, for Laeha, however every sound brought her looking around in wonder. It had been so long and the world had changed so much. She watched as rabbit hopped into the light cautiously. She laid her head on her hands on top of the rocks, throwing more heat towards the animal. It sniffed at the air and moved in slowly. Once it had found a spot it liked it settled to the ground and began pulling at the grass.

Behind it, out in the darkness two eyes shown clearly in the night. At first Laeha didn’t know what it was, but as it closed in slowly it became apparent that it was a predator. She looked over to her sleeping companions, then to the rabbit. She panicked thinking to rouse Adrian, but instead steeled her will and looked back at the shadow in determination. Slowly she raised herself up in the pit, growing in size slowly as to not alarm the rabbit. She put her hands together and rubbed them slowly. As she pulled her hands apart a small fireball took shape. She rolled it around as the long snout crept into the fire light. She waited. The predator sniffed the air and moved slowly in. The rabbit sensed danger and began looking around. Laeha let the small fireball fly as soon as she saw the first paw of the shaggy dog like animal. The sudden shift in light spooked the rabbit and it took off into the darkness, it’s pursuer followed suit chasing after it. The fireball struck ground and burst into flames. The grassy landscape became scorched as the flames died away. Laeha put her hands to her mouth at the damage she had caused or could have caused if the flames had spread farther.

Adrian was on his feet with a start, sword already drawn and in a defensive position. He looked around as Laeha sunk back into the fire pit sheepishly. When he had calmed himself from the belief of an attack he began looking around closer. He checked Ted, still sleeping by the fire and Caitlin on the opposite side.

“Laeha?” He asked, looking at the pit directly. She impishly rose out of the flames to face him. He took a step back, thinking maybe he had dreamt her. “What’s wrong?”

Laeha pointed off into the darkness where the last smolders were dying away. Adrian moved over to the edge of the darkness and could make out the outline of scorched earth met the surrounding vegetation. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at her. She shrunk away again, growing smaller as she did.

“It’s all right. What happened?” Adrian asked sheathing his sword.

Dog.

“Dog? You mean a wolf?” Adrian asked confused. There were no dogs, even wild dogs in this part of the world. Even a wolf seemed odd, but he was willing to entertain that idea.

Wolf?

“It’s like a dog, but much more wild. Usually they are in the hills farther north. But this time of year it is possible.” He explained. The weather was probably a week maybe two from growing cold during the day, however the nights still smelled of chill.

Wolf. Yes.

“Good job. They can be dangerous, especially when we are sleeping.” Adrian said moving back to his stump and yawning deeply. Laeha beamed from the fireplace, she spun on the log, before flopping down into a sitting position. She looked at the stars in wonder and watched as they moved overhead. Wake me up in two hours and we will set out before dawn.

Laeha shook her head in acknowledgement and looked off. Adrian was fast asleep before Laeha realized she had no concept of time, and would not be able to tell two hours from ten. She sighed and went back to watching the stars move across the sky.

Hours later, the sun began to creep over the mountains in the distance. Laeha was conflicted between watching the ball of fire fly into the sky and figuring out how to wake the party, until a shift in the logs she was standing on, brought her attention to the distance. A looming cloud of dust brought her into a panic. Laeha put her hands on the dirt outside of the pit and could feel the trembling of the ground as she could feel the hooves of horses running in their direction. She looked up at Adrian and melted into the ground where her hands were. From the puddle of fire, she realigned herself and stood, reshaping herself until her female form stood on the dirt. There wasn’t much by way of fuel for her to stand on, but she was in a hurry. Three steps and she was kneeling beside him, instantly his face began to sweat. One touch and he flinched and was awake. He recoiled for a second as once again her deep blue eyes were close to his.

“What time is it? Oh no, it’s dawn. I wanted to be moving already.” He said climbing to his feet quickly, agitated. She reached up and grabbed his bracer on his arm, pulling him back to the ground. Immediately his arm caught fire and she pulled it back, leaving a scorched handprint on his armor.

Riders. She said lowly pointing to the distant cloud. His gaze followed hers and he knew what she was saying. ‘They are either after him or her, depending on the party.’ He thought, looking back to her.

“We need to move. Can you put out the fire?” He asked moving to Caitlin and shaking her urgently.

Laeha nodded and moved away towards the fire, stepping back inside the pit. Caitlin rolled over and opened her eyes. “What? What is it?”

“Search party. We need to go.” Adrian said moving away towards Ted. He didn’t bother to wake him, just kick him as he moved past him. Ted grunted and looked around, he tried to stretch and remembered he was tied up. In the pit, Laeha stood, her eyes closed and arms lifted beside her. The flames around her died down slowly until she was all that remained. Caitlin stood beside her and watched in awe. When Laeha looked over again Caitlin held the candle in her hand watching. Laeha lowered her head as Caitlin held it out towards her. Quickly Laeha disappeared and reemerged on the wick of the candle.

“Are you ready?” Caitlin asked and Laeha nodded.

“We need to go.” Adrian called saddling the last horse.

“You can’t run fast enough you bastard. Those are my men chasing you. They will run you to the ground.” Ted laughed as he rolled around in the dirt. With the last horse saddled he lifted Ted from the ground and threw him over the saddle like a sack of wheat then moved over to help Caitlin mount up. She took care, though quickly, to pull her dress around her as she slipped her legs into the stirrups. Within seconds they were heading off into the distance an hour ahead of their pursuers.

Five minutes after leaving, the horses began to spook and it didn’t take long to see why. Ahead of them sitting on the right side of the road was large wolf. Immediately Adrian shifted the party away, moving off the road as he scanned the surrounding area looking for the rest of the pack. He looked back at the wolf. ‘That can’t be real.’ He thought to himself as he eyed the beast up and down. Thick greyish white fur on its legs, sides and face, however from right between the ears to the middle of his shoulder blades was black, almost charred looking mane.

It was twice the size as any normal mountain wolf he had seen from the north and they were still too far out to be seeing them. Caitlin looked over her shoulder as they pulled away, the wolf watched them as they rode off into the brush. The last thing she saw before it disappeared from view was it turn its head south towards their pursuers and stood. They rode on for an hour before Adrian stopped looking for the pack and focused more on making their way to the treeline of the foothills.

The Theesin Mountains loomed overhead, as the rock gave way the trees took hold and surrounded the base of the mountain, this was called the Theesin forest. It was home to all manner of animals and wildlife, it was also home to the remaining tribe of Darvin Elves. Legend says their race had been nearly wiped out a thousand years ago by plague. A shaman had managed to save his people by making a deal with a spirit of the forest. The moss that grows on the mother tree is processed into an elixir that combats the disease that only survives within them. Since that day they have been bound to the trees of this forest. They are not very friendly and weary of strangers, as such very few venture into the woods and even fewer return, Adrian was one of the few that did not fear the trees.

Adrian, looked over his shoulder and scanned the horizon. There was no sign of their pursuers, however he knew they would still be behind them. He nodded to himself as if deciding on a course of action and spurred the horse.