The Fire Rose

Almera dismounted from her horse by the edge of a stream. The horse was a fine bread chestnut mare and looked like she had been galloping for a good part of the morning. Almera pushed back the mess of red curls from her face, tying them up with a leather thong she pulled from her saddle bag. Even a morning of free riding had not lifted her mood from the embarrassment that her mother had forced on her the night before. She loosened the bit from her mare's mouth so she could drink and started to loosen the saddle. Being only half a day out of the capital city in the King's Woods, she had little fear from anything here.

Her clothing was styled after a noblemen's hunting outfit, although with the way the soft blue belted tunic fit her, it was very obviously made for her body. She wore knee high riding boots and soft brown pants. On her belt there was a sword in a plan sheath, a common belt knife, as well as a curved horn. She tied the loosened reins to a branch when the horse could reach both water and the small spring shoots that were poking up along the stream. She pulled her saddle bags down and laid them a little further away from the water. Attached to her saddle bags was an unstrung bow and a small cooking pot.

Almera sighed as she set the saddle down beside the saddle bags, wiping her brow as she dug through her saddle bag for a brush. "I am sorry for the hard run this morning, Hwen," she murmured as she started to brush down the mare. The mare lifted her head for a moment to look back at her and snorted before taking another mouthful of tender grass. "I should not take out my frustrations on you."

Dareon walked through the familiar woods, his longbow at his back and the familiar weight of his sword at his hip. He had walked these woods at least half a hundred times, and he enjoyed it here. He was A day's walk away from the capital city, and he knew he would have to report back soon, there had been rumors of spies in the woods near the city, and the king had sent rangers out to investigate. He pulled the hood of his brown and green mottled cloak down and let the sun touch his face. He could hear the bubbling of a stream nearby and moved towards it.

His few days he had been searching had proved fruitless, and he wondered if the others had any luck. The king wouldn't be happy with them if they found nothing, he saw horse tracks heading towards the stream, and while he assumed it was only some small-folk going about their business, he had learned to be cautious, so he scaled a tree and moved towards the stream among the branches.

As he neared the stream he could hear a woman's voice and see the horse, for now, he decided to stay up in the tree out of sight to see what she may be doing. He had pulled his hood back up to further conceal himself, and waited.

Almera shook the hair off her hands as she finish brushing down her mare. Tossing the brush at her saddle, she kicked off her boots and wadded ankle deep into the water. She rinsed off her hands, splashed her face and took a deep drink. Shaking her head, she sighed again.

"Maybe Mother will have calmed down by the time I get back," She talked in the direction of her horse but mostly just to herself. "I brought feed this time, so we do not have to head back until tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully the weather holds out, nothings worse than coming home when she is still brooding."

She walked back up the side of the stream, and flopped herself down by her bags. She looked down at her feet and shook the water from them, setting them down on a cleaner patch of moss. For a long moment she looked around, alert and listening. If anyone had been following her from the manor, they should have caught up by now.

Dareon watched the woman cleaning her horse and then her hands and he decided she was no threat. So he dropped down and walked towards her, she was wearing clothes in the style of a noble, and he was trying to see if he knew her. He couldn't tell, she was still in the stream as he walked towards her.

He called out to her, "Don't you know it's dangerous for a lady to be out here alone?" He made sure the king's symbol clasp holding his cloak up was purely visible so she would know he wasn't a threat as he looked at her, standing at the edge of the stream by then. He had pulled his hood down and ran a hand through his very shortly cut hair. Still trying to see who she was, her hair looked familiar, he couldn't see her face yet though..

Almera was on her feet and facing him, her hand on her sword hilt by the time he was half way through his statement. Spotting the king`s symbol, she relaxed slightly, a small smile twitching on the corner of her lips. She shook her curls from her hazel eyes, "But I am not alone, I have Hwen here. Besides, my brother is sure to catch up at some point."

Almera was fairly well connected among the nobles of her age, a little of that due to the fact being friendship with her meant a chance for eligible young women to get closer to her twin brother. There was a possibility that the young men might have used her bother in the same way, as Almera's interest and knowledge of politics and fighting tactics often made her easier to talk to than her flighty friends.

"You are here on the King's business?" She nodded sightly to his cloak clasped.

He nodded at her. "I am, enemy spies have been seen in the forest, and the rangers are hunting them, your brother would do well to hurry, as the woods aren't safe to the lone traveler." He noticed the sword but didn't react in any way. "Red hair, a sword at your side, I can only assume you are Almera Ruecastle." He said with a slight bow, one of more respect for a lady than a commoner to a noble. The rangers were trained to know all nobles and their blood. Should they go missing. And he had met most of them at one time or another, sneaking into high society as a guard or as the noble bastard he was depending on what he wanted to do.

He could only wonder what a noble girl was doing this far out alone, unless she wasn't supposed to be here. He stood at the edge of the stream still, listening to it run by. Other than that, the forest was quiet, and that set him on edge. His hand subconsciously loosened his sword in the scabbard, preparing for anything.

"So tell me, what is it you're doing so far out here with just Hwen for company?"

"I did not intend to come this far out. I have friends who have an estate just a hour south of the city that I was going to visit. I wanted a longer ride than normal, so I took a round-a-bout way... I ride to clear my head; I was more upset than I thought, ending out here. I think Hwen caught my mood and we moved swifter than normal as well." That was mostly the truth, and all she needed to tell now. "But you have me at an advantage, ranger. What may I call you?"

Hwen moved uneasily, her ears twitching to listen across the stream. Almera stepped towards the horse again, loosening the rope that held her to the tree and laying her left hand on the mare's neck. Hwen was a steady animal, rarely spooking and Almera trusted her instincts; although she looked at Dareon, her attention was on the woods around them.

He looks at her, "I am Dareon Berek, 2nd ranger to the king." He said with a slight smile, he was proud of his rank, especially considering his age. He was still curious what would upset her so much as to ride so far out, but he knew better than to pry. He assumed family trouble and walked to her horse. Scanning the forest the whole way, he didn't see any trouble. But he still felt uneasy.

"She's a nice horse, you treat her well." He said, not really looking at the horse, more looking at the forest and trying to keep her from seeing his unease. "As I said... It's not safe out here alone, do you need a ranger's escort to your friend's estate?" It was at this time he saw the movement in the forest and gripped the hilt of his sword, preparing for what may or may not come.

"She's intelligent too. She was a gift and I was told that she came from a line with fey blood, if you believe those legends." Almera glanced towards the forest of the other side of the stream; Hwen nickers softly and Almera nodded a little. "I would be glad for the company, Dareon Berek." There was little more movement from the trees at the far side of the stream. The birds still were holding their song. It was not Dareon which she picked up the unease, but her mare. "I guess I should saddle her back up."

Almera took a step over the mossy rocks, heaving her saddle onto her shoulder. The horse turned, putting her body between Almera and the stream. The movement stopped in trees, but the foreboding did not lessen. She tightened the saddle straps quickly, suddenly thankful for Dareon's presence when she had come out to the forest to be alone.

There was movement again a little further down the stream.

He looked at her. "Out here all the time, you tend to find the legend's are normally more than just old stories told by a nanny." He kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, the movement had stopped, whatever was there had backed off, but wasn't gone. He watched her saddle up her horse and went to stand by the trail, staying vigilant. While he was waiting on her he decided to string up his bow. Better to be overcautious than to be dead in the forest.

He looked at her and her horse, almost hoping she knew how to use that sword she kept at her side, and really hoping if her brother was out here that they met up. At this point he knew exactly what was watching them, he just didn't know if they had friends further in the forest. He knew when he returned the king wouldn't be disappointed at his findings.

That is, if he made it home, he had a strong sense of foreboding, so strong as he hadn't felt sense storming a rebellious lord's castle. He looked at Almera again. Wondering if she knew how her being upset had put her into danger. Spies would love a noble's child to ransom. "We need to go."

As he spoke, the spies saw there opportunity and two crossbow bolts shot from the trees. One made a dull thud in the tree beside Dareon's shoulder, the other made a crack as it broke Almera's horn and sank into her thigh. She looked down at the bolt in her leg for half a second, slightly amazed that there was no pain, at least not yet. She muttered something under her breath that seemed to sound like a curse one would have heard in the lower town, mounting her horse before the pain or the shock set in fully. Hwen whipped around towards the path, Almera leaning close to her neck, offering her arm out to pull him onto the back of the horse as they came close.

There were two men that came out of the brush, starting to rush at them across the stream to try to stop her before she took off on the horse. Both had dropped their crossbows on the other side of the water and were drawing their other weapons. One had a mace and the other drew a sword.

Hwen's ears laid flat black, turning her head around to snarl at the approaching men. The mare looked as if she wished to turn at bite or kick them but being as well trained as she was, waited for her mistress' instructions to move.

Dareon had an arrow knocked and pulled back as soon as the bolt hit the tree beside him, he let it fly and saw it hit one of the men in the shoulder area, he grabbed Almera's outstretched arm and climbed onto the back of the horse, he saw the bolt in her thigh and knew her had to go with her. "Go!" he shouted before he was completely situated, hoping to get away before the men got closer.

He knew they couldn't go far, both of them on the back of this horse and with her injured, but hopefully they could get away far enough so he could treat her, and then set up his own ambush for the spies. But first they had to make it out of here, he had drawn another arrow and pulled the bow back as best he could in the awkward position on the back of the horse. He shot at the spies again, hoping to at least slow them down.

"Hold on," she replied to him, leaning forward in the saddle again. "Nornoro!" She cried to her mare. Hwen leaped forward, bolting down deer path just as the men reached them. Far more nimble than most horses, the mare darted her way through the trees like a doe but her gate surprisingly smooth. On foot there was no way the men could have kept up to them, and even if they had horses of their own it would take them far more effort to go through the dense trees.

After about five minutes, the mare started to slow to a brisk trot. Almera leaned against her neck, murmuring affirmations to the horse, almost clinging to her mane to keep herself there.

"Stop here." He told her, they hadn't moved closer to the city, but it only took him a moment to get his bearings and realize where they were. He got off the horse. "We need to do something about your thigh, and now." He said as he looked at it, it didn't look too bad, he knew herbs he could use to stop the bleeding and dull pain. Problem would be finding them, and he couldn't exactly leave her alone, especially so close to where they were ambushed.

But she was in danger, if the spies used arrowheads like he did her leg would be really torn up inside, and out here that could get very bad. He had to hurry, he pulled out his hunting horn and handed it to her. "Listen, I'm going to get herbs, I won't be far, if you see anything, anything that may be dangerous, blow the horn and I will come." He knew the tree whose flowers dulled pain grew nearby here, and he could make a makeshift tourniquet out of vines, or even worse, out of his cloak.

Almera pulled the horse to a stop, letting him dismount. "It does not seem as bad as it could have been. I do not think it hit anything but muscle." She took the horn and nodded, glancing sadly at the remains of her own horn. "I think just east of here is a large willow tree which I have gathered the medicinal plants that grow around it before. I would rather you not leave me... Hwen would let you lead her," She closed her eyes leaning forward again for more support. "This hurts much more than blunts we use in practice but it is not bleeding much yet." She murmured more to herself than to him, her fair complexion much paler that it should be.

He sighed and started leading the horse to the trees. He was still watching the forest and keeping his free hand on his sword, he moved them as quickly as he could. As they got to the tree he immediately picked several of the flowers. He crushed them up and mixed them into his water flask. It turned the clear water a deep purplish color. He also cut a a sizable vine from the tree, to make a bandage.

He walked back to Almera and handed the flask to her. "Here drink, it won't taste good, and it may be more potent than you're used too, but in a few seconds, you'll thank me." He looked at the crossbow bolt, knowing he would have to pull it out somehow, he waited for her to drink, as he knew what he would have to do would hurt a lot.

She took a deep breath then tilted the flask up, trying to drain it as fast as she could. She grimaced but kept herself from spitting it out. "Bitter..." She took a small leather bound book from her saddle bag, and she moved her leg experimentally than shifted her good leg over the saddle so she was balanced sidesaddle. "Help me down. I would rather do this on the ground where Hwen will not accidentally move at the wrong time."

"Do you think they will follow us?" She asked, already guessing some of the answer. If it had been a chance encounter without them knowing the news that had been told to the court last night and likely the public this morning, they may be too much trouble for the brigands to come after. But if they knew that her twin had been engaged to the third in line for the throne, Princess Leila, that would be a different story. Almera cursed silently for her bullheadedness.

He helps her down and sets her against a tree. He examined her leg, touching the bolt, moving it ever so slightly. "Do you feel that?" Testing to see if the potion had kicked in yet. It it had, she'd feel nothing, if it hadn't... well he'd have to apologize. But he had to be sure.

"Yes I do think they'll follow us, even if you weren't a noble they'd still seek to silence us. As it stands, they'll likely try to capture you for information and then ransom. But.. That's why I'm here." He said the last part with a half smile as he pulled out his dagger. "This will leave a scar, but that's unavoidable at this point, if you have any clean water, I'll need it in a moment." He said while looking at her.

Almera shook her head and took a deep breath, steeling herself against the blood she knew would come. "There's a water skin in the bags." She motioned towards Hwen. "I can reduce the scarring a lot. I have been helping a girl who was scarred by fire, the same techniques will likely work."

The sound of pulling the bolt was more sickening than the feeling, thanks to the potion. Thankfully the head of the bolt was not for hunting large game, nor was it one for piercing armor. It was a standard small headed bolt, the cheapest that could be bought, that came out fairly simply, and although her leg started to bleed, the wound itself was small. The angle of it was even so that it would have pass through the muscle if it had more force without touching bone or ligament.

He pulled the bolt out easily, thanking that it was simple. He went and grabbed the water skin and poured it over the wound, cleaning it. He then bandaged it up. "You're lucky they don't use arrowheads like I do." He said showing her one of his, long and barbed for piercing and tearing. "They won't get it out of the one I shot's shoulder so easily. Do you think you can ride?" He asked her. They weren't safe here, he would'ved like to return straight to the city, but even a noble's estate would be a great help to them.

The birds were singing softly, the forest was back to its normal sounds around them. They had a little time at least.

Almera pushed herself up against the tree, putting the lightest amount of weight on her bandaged leg. "I guess there is a need for different head when you want hostages instead of protection from wild animals. I will not be anyone's hostage, so I will ride whether I think I can or not. Besides, the faster we move the father we get before the pain comes back."

She could feel the potion's affects on her thought process, but she did understand that they needed to move. It felt like they would surely be forced back to the city, where she would be trapped, if in a different way. She was realizing now, that although she had not even admitted it to herself, she had not intended to go back to the city at all. There may still be some time to figure out what other direction to get this ranger to take.

"Perhaps Hwen and I should go ahead." She limped towards the horse, trying to figure away around his promise to protect her. "She can move faster with just me and we would be swift enough that we could not be caught by any danger. That would leave you free to do your duty and deal with the spies properly." She knew her boast of Hwen's speed was true, although the mare was starting to tire she still could make many miles before nightfall.

"The duty to protect nobility ranks above the duty to hunt down a few spies, besides, I am hardly the only ranger out here." He said to her. "Besides, you're injured, I can't let you just go off on your own." He had needed to go back to the city anyways, especially now that he had a report to make to the king, he would've liked to deal with the spies, but he couldn't, wouldn't leave her alone.

The forest had returned to life and that made him feel better, it gave something to listen for. And he paid close attention to it. He looked at her, waiting to see her reaction to what he said.

"Very well," She reached out to put a hand on his should. "If you wouldn't mind, I think I will need some help to mount." He was right that being injured would be a problem. Her disappointment showed on her face for just a second, although it was predominately fear that flashed on her face. There had to be a way to get out of the mess her mother had put her in, perhaps patience was needed.

Moving on her own power took more energy than she had hopped. Although she did not feel any pain yet, she was starting to shake from the effort.

He helped her into the saddle, seeing a flash of disappointment and wondering if there was more to her story than she let on. He left the thought unspoken as she sat in the saddle, debating on what exactly he should do, if they both rode the horse he doubted it would last all the way to the city and things were too uncertain for him to just send her ahead. He could follow quickly through the trees but not fast enough to keep up with the horse.

He climbed up in the saddle with her, for now at least they could both travel like that. If the horse got too tired he could always resort to his other plan, but he hoped he wouldn't have too.

Almera rubbed the mares neck as Hwen turned her nose towards the city. They started at a slower pace than earlier, but still were likely to out pace anyone who did not know the forest well.

Almera tried to keep her manner calm as they rode quietly on. If only they had not run into those spies, it may have been interesting to get to know Dareon before she disappeared further into the forest. What did she care of her mother's rants about duty? Why did she have to go back to 'duty' that choked the life out of her. She was not the eldest nor the smartest of her siblings, they were more than fitted to expand the family's influence. All the 'duty' she was cut out for was marrying some bureaucratic more than twice her age. She started to shake a little with her internal anger. While she had been galloping this morning she could pushed this all from her mind, now it threatened to take over all her thoughts. What use was her marriage in light of her twin's engagement to one of the royal family? Perhaps Father could still be persuaded. "I wish I could have the freedom you rangers have," She uttered bitterly, not realizing fully that she spoke aloud.