LeRoy Clary
Enlightenment
The Mage’s Daughter Series - 2
CHAPTER ONE
Hannah pulled the scruffy horse she rode to a halt on the crest of a small rise, paused, and looked out over the unknown valley spreading before her. Sage, the young sorceress who had been sent to teach her to read and write, and had been drawn into her escape, pulled her horse beside Hannah and smiled in a limp attempt at displaying confidence, and failing utterly.
“The beginning of our new lives is down there,” Hannah said, trying to sound cheerful and doing her best to disguise the doubts and fears with words. She hoped they were an encouragement for the older girl, Sage, who had been innocently caught up in the venture.
Sage stopped beside her and glanced over her shoulder before returning to take in the view of the broad valley neither had ever seen or heard of. While her eyes focused on what lay at the base of the mountains, Sage said, “They’ll be pursuing us, soon, won’t they? Coming after us? I mean, after you?”
Hannah nodded. She knew the assassins sent by those seeking to keep her from the throne were sure to follow behind, perhaps in only a few hours or days, as they tried to find her trail. Then they would be after her again, asking everyone in the whole countryside if they’d seen her, following every clue, and offering rewards for information. If they knew of Sage, and then they searched for two girls traveling together. One of them would be almost twelve and the other twenty, one blonde; one raven haired that hung down her back. But it was hopeful they didn’t know about Sage, yet, and that would be a blessing.
Hannah tried to remain calm and pretended she knew what to do next, but tears suddenly streamed down her cheeks and blurred her vision. She felt like she was six-years-old again, and knew nothing of value, especially what to do next. Neither of them said anything for a long time, both lost in their own thoughts and planning. Sage had turned to her once, seen the tears, and shed a few of her own, but remained silent as if placing the blame on Hannah.
“I’m sorry to bring you into this,” Hannah sniffed, turning to face the older girl. Sage came from a small village where she made simple love spells and the other trinkets of the beginning sorceress. She was hired to teach Hannah to read and write, a skill she had not learned while tending the fires in the morning kitchen at the Earl’s castle. Now Hannah’s life was in danger, and because of her, Sage’s was too.
Sage didn’t meet her gaze this time. She kept her eyes centered on the valley and river below. Hannah glanced at Sage’s fingers holding the reins and saw the slight tremble in them, the pale face, and the worry in her brow. Hannah turned and looked out over the broad valley that would become their home, at least for a while, and ignored her tears. She had to be strong.
Sage said, as if she couldn’t capture enough breath to speak openly, “The horses need a rest. So do we.”
“They’re fine. We must keep moving,” Hannah corrected her.
Sage threw a leg over the rump of her horse and dismounted, anyhow. She stood on the ground, hands on hips, eyes angry. “Get down here, or I’ll grab you and pull you down.”
Hannah hesitated and drew back a little at the harsh tone and annoyance. Sage’s pale face had turned red, and everything about her had changed. She no longer cried, looked timid, or defeated. Hannah wearily dismounted.
Sage said, “You haven’t told me half of what’s going on. You owe me that. And more.”
“There wasn’t time.” Hannah heard the defensiveness in her voice and tried to hide it. “Okay, what do you want to know?”
“Who are you? Not your name, but who? How can a child mobilize dozens of killers to chase her? Even mages?”
The simple questions stunned Hannah. She didn’t know how to answer. Who was she? There were several answers, all correct. She pointed. “There’s a clearing over there, and a stream for the horses to drink.”
“We just need rest and to talk,” Sage said. “Here will do, fine.”
“But my story will take time. You need to get your bow and those enchanted arrows that don’t miss the target in case anyone follows behind us.”
“Not everyone who crosses that mountain pass can be after you! I won’t shoot an arrow at innocent people. I’ve had enough of this.”
Hannah shrugged and remained standing where she was, not making any effort to move to the meadow. Or to speak. Sometimes the best way to get others to talk is to say and do nothing. She’d learned that while working in the morning kitchen as a fire starter for five of her eleven years.
“Well?” Sage demanded.
“You saw the new grass growing on the trail when we crossed over that mountain pass and the lack of footprints and hoof prints. No one had crossed over it in days or weeks. If anyone comes from there today, I believe he is trying to kill me. Either you take out your bow and get ready to use it, or I go on. Alone.” Hannah lifted her chin in defiance while imagining what Sage must be thinking.
“You’re serious?”
“Do you want to die here? Because that is what is going to happen.”
Sage removed the bow and quiver from the saddle and led her horse to the clearing. Hannah followed, making sure no hoof prints showed the way for any behind. When the horses were munching on fresh grass and drinking from a clear stream, Hannah sat on a blanket where she could keep watch on the trail and hide if anyone came.
Sage sat across from her, the bow and quiver at her side. She said, “You look like a small girl, but you’re different. You scare me.”
“Good. That attitude may keep you alive another day.” Hannah had no intention of holding back on the truth or being direct about it.
“When I was your age, my mother used to play a silly game with us. To make our minds sharp, she would have us tell her a simple story in as few words as possible. Just the most important facts. We would fill in the rest. Can you do that?” Sage asked.
“Why? I thought you wanted to know all of it?”
Sage shook her head. “I’m too scared. What’s behind us scares me. All I don’t know about what’s happening and why we’re running. It’s time for you to divulge enough information so I can figure out what we need to do.”
Hannah closed her eyes. Where to start? She needed to convince the sorceress of the danger, and to do that, she needed to explain. Or did she? There might be another way. Hannah drew in a breath and let the air escape slowly. “I was a servant at the Earl’s castle until a week ago, but my dead mother was of royal blood, a very minor lady in the court, but a lady. My father was a famous mage, but a high-born Royal, of very high rank. He was fourth in line to the throne when he died.”
Sage scooted back a little, the fear and awe contrasting in her expression. “I thought you were only a budding sorceress that needed to learn to read, and you somehow cause others to be angry with you.”
Hannah continued as if she hadn’t seen the shift away from her, “You’re right, you just don’t know the whole story. My parents were married, but they had a great fight before I was born, and my father didn’t even know about me until recently. When he did, I became fifth in line to sit on the throne, moving everyone below my father down one position, one more death from taking the crown. Several below me on the list want their old position back, so I must die.”
“You’re fifth in line to be queen?” Sage gasped. “A princess?”
“Fourth. My father was murdered.”
“Fourth, I can’t believe that I’m sitting with a person who is only four away from the crown.”