Riley closed her eyes. It did not help. The night they left, there had been so much to worry about. Lissie had struggled with Peach. Riley never liked riding at night, for fear that they would break an ankle in a gopher hole. The excitement of running away had spurred them on. It was a few short hours until the sun rose.
The second day was a lot better. They slept until midmorning, and the ride was through familiar country. Farmlands surrounding the local villages who answered to her Father. The few people they had passed waved and smiled. She knew some of them, and they knew her.
The second night they stopped at the Red Door Lodge. She gave Hallen, the inn keep, a story that seemed to satisfy him. They were able to stay indoors. The only fear they had to deal with was that of being caught and dragged back to the castle. No soldiers had come.
They left at dawn that morning. Their ride was filled with laughter. They had ridden straight west on a rocky road toward Switforst Duchy. The great boughs of the forest, unlike those of home, hung low and shaded the ground. They were hopeful to find another inn, going longer than they should have. They stayed on until they couldn’t see past their horses’ noses.
Cora had been the voice of reason, “I don’t think we are going to find an inn tonight.” Riley looked at her, and realized how soft she was. Lissie was laying over Peach’s neck, and the horse was eating grass. Riley kept reminding her to sit up.
It was darkness all around them. The only light they could see was the sliver of stars through the trees. Riley had found a lucky clearing to set up camp. She hadn’t been excited for another night in a rucksack.
Riley had been exhilarated the first morning. It felt like a sleepover. But after two full days of travel, and an unfamiliar forest looming large around her, the thrill was gone.
Lissie built a small fire, crawled into her sack and immediately fell asleep. Cora spent a while in front of the fire examining her new broken blisters and nursing her legs. Even though Lissie was never willing to go near a horse, Riley had watched her grow strong hauling dishes and scrubbing floors. Riley knew Cora did nothing more than read and take the occasional short ride.
Riley realized that having her eyes closed was no better than having them open. It might even be worse because then she could hear distant sounds over the crackling of the fire.
I’m being ridiculous, I’ve slept rough with Father many times, Riley’s racing thoughts continued, surrounded by a company of soldiers. With swords and bows and raucous laughter.
She glanced at her friends. She was the soldier now. These two girls were relying on her. There was no one else to turn to.
Thinking of soldiers made her think of Father and his lessons.
She heard his soft voice in her mind, Set a watch.
Was it necessary? It hadn’t been needed the first night, sleeping in a sheep field. She squirmed out of her rucksack and stood up. Slipping on her boots, she took a quick circuit of the clearing, trying to remember everything she had been told about sentries. Mostly she remembered that they smoked a lot, and they were always placed in pairs.
She stopped for a moment, having completed the circle. She was unable to see anything outside the light of the fire. The bushes at the edge cast long dancing shadows onto the leaves and boughs beyond. The fire obscured more than illuminated the forest.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to listen.
She heard a rustling of some sleepy creature in the branches of a tree nearby. Maybe a squirrel?
A flutter of wings. An owl or nightjar?
A far-off lonely howl. A coyote. Hopefully, a coyote.
Riley smiled to herself; she knew the sound of a wolf. It was a coyote, and nowhere close.
Then, a throaty honking noise, and from behind her, and to her right, and then all in concert around her. Honk, honk, honk. Frogs.
Something different interrupted the chorus.
A high tenor singing “Hullaboo, hullaboo, I see you! Hullaboo, hullaboo…” Her breath caught and her heart stopped. The singing rang sharply in her ears. She had left the sword by the fire. She looked at it. Four big paces away. Still in its scabbard.
Stupid!