The Exiles (32 page)

The next day started pretty much the same way, the milder weather and stunning coastal forests of the lower mountains and hills provided the perfect opportunity for the two to recover physically and mentally.

It was soon approaching late evening again and they were now only a few hours from home.

The two riders had dismounted, allowing their horses to rest and have a drink from a cool spring

‘Should we set up camp?' asked Trex. ‘It's getting sort of dark.'

Even after a whole day to thinking things through, Sara was still not eager to get back to her home, and after all, it really was getting dark; even Trex with his good night vision was starting to have trouble following the trail.

‘Yeah, I suppose so,' said Sara eventually.

Trex looked at the young wolf with concern; she had remained surprisingly depressed over the last day and a bit, despite having just achieved so much.

Later, when the two were sitting around a fire eating their evening meal, Trex finally spoke again.

‘Is everything ok?' he asked.

The fire crackled. Sara finished the mouthful she was chewing on.

‘I'm fine.'

‘I can feel that something's wrong,' Trex persisted carefully. He looked down at his own food with a frown. ‘Do you want to talk about it?'

Sara didn't respond, simply eating on.

‘I'm sure your grandfather is fine,' continued Trex, putting his travel bowl away.

Sara blinked a few times while she stared at the fire absentmindedly. She hadn't actually thought of her grandfather's condition at all, she had just assumed he was still recovering.

‘When he and your parent's hear about what you did, there's no way you'll be in the bad books; I mean you really are a hero, we saved the day,' Trex said cheerfully. ‘And remember.' Trex grinned more deviously. ‘We saved the life of a Sage. Filfia owes us one and no one is going to mess with her, not even your mother.'

Sara couldn't help but grin at this. Perhaps it wasn't going to be too bad.

‘Let's get some sleep,' said Sara eventually, her mood slightly improved.

Trex nodded, happy that he had at least somewhat made her feel better.

The next morning, Sara opened her eyes to see the sun rising into a cloudless sky. The two had camped on the ridge that separated the wilderness from the border zone. From where they were they could see clearly all the way down the foothills to RefugeCross far below. They could also see east towards the river valley, their homes and the desert beyond. It really was breathtakingly stunning.

Sara could not find Trex anywhere, his bed role was empty; nearby, the fire was re-lit, he had obviously gone to get water.

Trex returned a few minutes later with a pot of water to find Sara preparing Misha to leave.

‘You don't want breakfast?' the young lion asked.

‘No thanks,' replied Sara kindly. ‘I think I'll just head home. No need to hold off the inevitable.'

‘Do you really think your mother's going to be that angry?' Trex asked. Somehow he could not believe that Sara was in quite as much trouble as she made out. ‘I mean, I'm sure Captain Felx and Katan will probably drop by your place on the way down as well, if they haven't been there already.'

While Trex and Sara had travelled the last days through the wilderness, the others had returned via Torstberg; on the better roads, it was quite possible that Katan and Captain Felx could well have overtaken the two youngsters.

‘That's a lot of important Anthros who are all going to be saying how wonderful you are.'

‘You're not worried at all, are you?' Sara asked suddenly.

‘What? About Karthen and Sharlee? Well, a little I suppose,' Trex said, referring to his uncle and aunt. He hadn't really thought about it. Trex was bound to get into a bit of trouble, but the excitement of the last few days had been keeping his thoughts away from these negative aspects.

‘But how angry can they stay, I mean really,' he continued thoughtfully.

Sara thought about this before replying. She had remained negative throughout the last few days despite her successes; she had focused on the trouble she would be in when she finally got back home. Sara hadn't really allowed herself to see that there was possibly a positive way forward for her as well.

‘I suppose after I left to warn Sage Filfia I just didn't think about any
afterwards
… It was all such a mess, I sort of tried to forget it,' said Sara dejectedly while she continued to tie the last of her things onto Misha.

‘So when it was finally over, it all sort of came back to me. I never really thought of what I was doing as heroic,' Sara stated. ‘It was just something I had to do, somehow, to try and make things right, but it's still all such a mess.'

‘Well, at least you now know what the mess
is
, I suppose.' offered Trex. He put down the tall metal pot full of water next to the fire. ‘I mean, we know a lot more then we did a few days ago. It helps when planning out what to do in the future.'

Looking out towards RefugeCross, Trex had a faraway look in his eyes. The smile on his face was somehow infectious.

‘You are an eternal optimist aren't you,' stated Sara, unable not to smile herself.

Jumping up onto Misha, the wolf patted her horse. Rider and horse moved over towards Trex and the fire.

Trex was now gazing out towards the rising sun. It was quite beautiful against the desert horizon.

‘It's a new day, there's always a way forward,' Trex said, repeating a line his uncle Karthen loved to use.

‘I suppose you're right,' said Sara.

Misha was nibbling at some grass. Sara leaned forward to stretch a little, also admiring the sunrise; she actually saw how beautiful it was for the first time in quite a while. Sara sighed, the optimism was doing her good, but it was her persistence and duty which now called her home.

‘Thanks Trex,' Sara said suddenly.

‘For what? You're skipping breakfast'

Sara rolled her eyes.

‘For everything you nut, for sticking by me.'

‘You're the one that saved me, remember,' Trex said. Standing up, he stretched a bit.

‘I'm sure we saved each other a few times the last few days,' said Sara.

Trex grinned; it had been quite an adventure.

‘No problem than, and thanks yourself,' he replied.

Sara nodded in acknowledgement. Looking out towards her home she urged her horse Misha to start the last stretch of her trip.

‘Let me know how you get on… I'm sure you'll be fine,' called Trex.

‘I will,' called back Sara. ‘Take Care Trex… I'll see you around.'

Sara rode off without another word.

‘Yeah… see you around,' said Trex, but not really loud enough for Sara to hear.

Trex returned to cooking his breakfast, stirring the pot absentmindedly. Subconsciously his free hand went to one of his pouches on his belt, removing the small wispdew blossoms he had picked a few days ago on the cliff. The blossoms were still in remarkably good condition. Twirling the pretty flowers between his fingers, Trex looked up at RefugeCross, still far in the distance. He had no idea what would happen in the future, but suddenly it was a future that looked a lot brighter, and if nothing else, definitely more exciting.

END OF BOOK ONE

Having traveled extensively throughout the world, Sven Grams' intrigue and fascination on the development and variety of the human condition has never diminished, in particular the influence of environment on personality and the influence of emotional intelligence on shaping our common humanity.

Refuge Cross combines his passion for storytelling, history, social development and emotional intelligence through the creation of a fantastical world where contrasting groups of characters play out their individuality in a time filled with intrigue and adventure.

“The challenge of writing an engaging, well-paced adventure story has proven to be rewarding and enjoyable experience. I only hope that even if the reader receives only a fraction of the joy that I did while writing it, they will have found the book to be a worthwhile experience. And I hope that they will be just as eager as I am to find out how the story continues for its colorful cast of detailed characters.” – Sven Grams, author.

After their adventures with the exiles, Trex and Sara return to their normal lives to find that the same old problems have not gone away. Trex must not only prepare for his unusual citizenship exams but must assist with his uncle's struggle to secure a future for Trex's young halfling cousin. Sara, in the meantime, has her future path drastically altered by the influence of her mother and other adults once more, but for good or bad, she must still decide. Once again circumstance will conspire to have their different paths intertwine, as they must journey as part of a fleet to the dangerous and untamed coast of the savage Bear Clans.