Finding Me (Chapter 5)

Chapter 51

Canace opened her eyes and almost screamed.  A giant monster was right in her face and was trying to eat her alive.  It was licking her face.  It was barking.  It was…Melody.  Canace sighed.  The lovely part about having a dog is the surprises they give you. 2

Canace managed to sit up and yawn while she held the energetic puppy.  Then she looked Melody in the eye and said, “Well how are you doing Melody? Hey, how did you get up here?” Canace looked around and then noticed there was a ramp near the back of the barn leading to the loft. Melody barked and squirmed until Canace put her down.  Canace watched as Melody ran right over to Jay.  Canace saw what she was about to do and quietly went over to her and picked her up.  Closing Melody’s persistent mouth, she whispered, “You’ve been bugging him a lot.  Be nice and let him sleep!”  Canace quietly tiptoed over to the ladder, climbed down it, and then placed Melody on the ground.  “Now go run around and do what ever it is dogs do in the morning.”  Canace smiled in relief when Melody ran outside.  She slowly climbed back up the ladder and sighed as she walked over to the place where she had been sleeping peacefully.  She sat down and pulled her blanket tight around her.  It was a chilly morning.  Canace shivered as she glanced over to Jay.  He was peacefully sleeping…with a Jiduscolut doll next to him.  She almost laughed aloud at the sight of a boy with a snail that had wings tucked tightly within his arms.  To play a small prank, she slowly pulled the doll away from him and replaced it with a part of his blanket.  Luckily, he did not awake when she tucked the blanket in her arms.  As she turned away to walk over to where she had left her things the night before, the floor creaked.  Canace froze and slowly turned around.  Jay murmured something about frying fish as he curled into a ball.  Canace smiled as she continued to over to her little “bench.”  She sat down next to it and started putting things away, starting with the doll.  The only thing she left out was an apple, which she immediately ate.  After finishing her nutritious meal, she reached in to her bag and pulled out a light blue shirt, a dark blue skirt, her cloak, and her necklace.  Moving over to another part of the loft, she put these on.  Next, she pulled out a comb and put her hair in two braids tying them with dark blue ribbons she had bought a few days before.  She slipped on shoes then silently walked over to the ladder.  She climbed down, gave a push, and as she pushed open the large barn door a rush of cold air and sunlight burst into her face. 3

Shading her eyes from the morning sun, she walked outside and closed the rusty door behind her.  Looking around, she spotted a well and walked over to it.  A bucket was hanging from the well, so Canace rolled it down for some water.  As she rolled it down, Canace looked at the world around her.  She and Jay had come from the southern hills.  There was not much in that direction but trees and grass that was dry from the intensity of the sun.  To the west, she saw early morning farmers trying to get a head start on their fieldwork for the day.  From the north she could barley make out smoggy clouds falling slowly from the land.  Canace raised an eyebrow and though to herself, well that is peculiar.  Dismissing the thought, she looked to where they would be traveling that day and wondered what lay ahead for her and her newly found friend.  Turning back to the well, she started rolling up the bucket.  It was heavier so she had to concentrate a bit so it would not tip over on its way back up.4

As she lifted he bucket up out of the well, she noticed Melody was running towards her at a great speed, her golden puppy ears flapping in the wind.  Canace grinned and set the bucket down so she could pick up her excited friend who immediately started licking her like there was no tomorrow.  Laughing, she put Melody down and cupped her hand so she get a drink for the little dog.  She dipped her hands in the cold water and when her hands were full of water, she put them down for Melody to drink from.  “Here you go girl.  Drink up!”  Canace was watching Melody’s tongue lap the water when she heard Jay scream, “NOOOOO!”  Melody barked in alarm as Canace just smiled a knowing smile and stood up to go see what was wrong. 5

Jay turned around frantically, “NO!”  He scrambled through his blanket, “Where is it?”  Not hearing the door open and footsteps coming, he moaned in despair, “She’s gone!  Gone forever!” 6

“Who?”  Canace asked. 7

“My-“ Jay then realized Canace was next to him and said quickly, “Uh, Canace!  You’re back!  I though you were doomed!” 8

She smiled and said, “Didn’t know you cared so much Jay.”9

Jay rubbed his head nervously, “How long have you been standing there?”10

“Long enough to hear you cry and moan about nothing.”  Canace said as she fluffed her bangs.11

“Miss Jen is not nothing!”  Jay exclaimed not realizing what he had said until it was too late, “Oops.”12

”So,” Canace said, mischief twinkling in her eyes, “ I’ll forget you lied to me if you introduce me to your girlfriend.” 13

Jay got frustrated, “She’s not my girlfriend! She’s-“ 14

“Who is she Jay?” Canace asked with the best innocent look she could muster. 15

Jay searched his head for an answer, “She’s my…good friend…whom I’ve known since…I was a small lad. Yeah.”16

Canace didn’t believe him, “A good friend who just happened to be up here in the loft with us?”17

His face was flustered, “Never mind, you wouldn’t understand.”18

Canace giggled and chanted, “Jay’s got a girlfriend! Jay’s got a girlfriend!” 19

Jay had had enough “Stop it!” 20

Canace’s smile diminished as Jay glared at her. “Sorry.” She apologized in a whisper.21

“It’s alright.” Jay sighed, “But do not bug me further.”22

“I guess I’ll never know now.” Said Canace with a secret smile, “Never the less, we should be going. Don’t want to be late do you?” 23

“How in Calder could we be late when we have two days before we must be in Abaratis?” Jay asked as he rolled his eyes.24

“Well, according to your map, it’s fourteen miles away. We could be late if we don’t start walking.”  Canace pointed out.  25

Jay grinned, “Well, I seem to know that there is a man who owes me a favor and could lend us some horses for a day or two…” 26

Canaces eyes filled with excitement, “We get to ride horses!” Then her face was worried, “Jay, I don’t recall knowing how to ride a horse, or, come to think of it, if I ever have!  And how do I ride in a skirt?”27

Jay put his arm on her shoulder and looked into her sorrowful eyes, “Do not be worried.  I am sure that with all your skills we don’t know of yet, riding is among them.  And for the skirt thing, just wear some pants under your skirt and I’m sure everything will be fine.” 28

Canace smiled and then said, “Well, make haste then.  I have already eaten and am prepared to go.  However, you are just out of bed!  Get a move on.” 29

“Yes ma’am!” replied Jay as he went to pack his things. 30

While Jay was rushing to pack, Canace climbed down the ladder to go outside.  She opened the door and looked around.  Melody was still waiting by the well as if she had never gone away. 31

When Melody eyed Canace at the barns entrance, she immediately came pouncing over and sat expectantly at Canaces feet.32

“You want to play girl?”  Canace picked up a stick that was on the ground and threw it.  Melody ran over to where the stick had fallen, picked it up, and happily trotted back.  Canace took the stick out of Melody’s mouth and yelled, “Fetch girl!” as she threw it. 33

Jay walked out just as Melody came back and said, “Ready to go?”34

“Just been waiting for you,” Canace answered as Jay lead them to a stable across town.35

Jay walked out of the stables leading two chestnut colored mares.  One had a white spot the shape of a water droplet on its forehead, and the other had a small, white leaf shape on its forehead.  Pointing to the horse with the water droplet on its head, Jay remarked fondly, “Meet Butter and this one here is Scotch.”36

Confused, Canace asked, “Jay, did you eat breakfast this morning?” 37

Jay laughed, “No my friend, I was talking about the horses’ names.”38

Canaces blank face turned into an embarrassed face as she replied sheepishly, “I knew that…”39

Jay guided Scotch over to her and said, “You’ll be riding Scotch.  He is the calmer of the two.  Let’s see how you do riding him.”  Jay helped Canace into the saddle and handed her the reins.  Canace did very well because within a few minutes the two were off riding away at full speed, Melody running closely behind. 40

They rode all morning and when they sun had been beating at their backs for around two hours, Jay motioned for her to stop.  They slowed down, stopped, got off their horses, and tied them to a tree.  Jay fed the horses and gave them water while Canace did the same with an exhausted Melody until a shaded tree. Then Canace put her cloak in her pack, seeing as though it would only make her hotter. When Jay finished feeding the horses, he went and sat next to Canace under the tree.  “So how was it?” he asked, sweat rolling down his face.  Canace was tired and just shook her head while smiling softly.  “The good news,” Jay continued, “is that we only have to go over that hill up ahead and we’re in Abaratis a day early.”  Canace smiled as excitement built up in her. With a newfound energy she stood up and said, “Well what are we waiting for then?  Let’s go.” 41

“Sit down girl, your going to be so tired tomorrow you probably won’t be awake to meet Danny if you don’t rest.”  Jay told her.42

With an impatient frown, she replied unhappily, “But I want to get into town.” 43

“Well, if you’re so impatient, will you untie the horses and tell them to go home?” 44

Shocked, Canace asked, “Why?”45

“Would you like to take them all the way back to Jamestill just to walk all the way back here, or would you rather just let them walk back themselves?”  Jay said a bit lazily. 46

Without another word, Canace untied the horses and told them to go back.  To her surprise, they started back as soon as she said the word. After watching them go off, she went and sat down under the tree again.  She noticed Melody had fallen asleep on Jay’s lap.  Jay looked at her and said a bit disgusted, “Please get your dog off of me before I throw it off.” 47

Slowly lifting Melody off Jay, Canace scolded him, “She’s just a little puppy Jay.  You could be a bit nicer.”  48

Jay rolled his eyes, “I’ll try, but I can not promise much.” 49

While glancing around at the surroundings thankful for the slight breeze that had come up, she asked, “Jay, what is it you do?”50

“What do you mean?”51

“Well, some boys become smiths, some farmers, and some knights.  However, from what I have picked up, you have been to just about every town in Calder.  You seem to just drift around wherever.  What is it you do?” 52

Caught off guard a bit, Jay stuttered, “Why do you ask?”53

“Well I’d like to know a bit more about whom I travel with.  I don’t think you could blame me for that, could you?”54

Jay thought about this for a moment.  He could tell her about all the towns he had gone to with one goal in mind.  About all the times when all he was looking for was one clue to help unlock the bigger mystery.  All the times he had walked away from place to place depressed because he could not find anything to help solve the puzzle.  He could go one for days about how many times danger had had a hold on his life, and how many times he had been warned not to meddle with other’s affairs.  How many times he had disappointed the Kyna-the group to which he belonged to along with family and friends.  Should he tell her?  What if she was one of them?  However, what if she knew something?  Would it just be easier to tell a small lie? 55

“Jay?  Are you going to tell me?”56

Why not?  He asked himself, what bad could come out of telling her? 57

“Well, I belong to a group called The Kyna.”58

“Interesting.  Go on.” 59

“You don’t know who the Kyna are?”60

“No, I don’t think so.”61

“Really!” Jay whistled, “I have never come across a person who didn’t know who they were, but I guess there’s a first time for every thing.  Do you know the story of how our king many years ago fought to save the kingdom, and afterwards the royal family disappeared?”62

“Yes, I heard it in Hollow Hills.”63

“Some people wanted the stewards to take over the throne and call themselves the royal family because no one thought the royal family would ever return.  However, others found evidence that the royal family still lives somewhere in Calder, and wants to find them so they can reclaim the throne.  But because the family hasn’t appeared in so long, we are becoming discouraged.  Then a decree was passed saying we only had three years to find the descendants who carried royal blood or they would lose their right to the throne. 64

“So for the passed two years, my family and I have been searching frantically.  We have so little to go on that we are losing hope.  We have no more then six months left until a new king is crowned.  I travel town to town looking, searching for something.”65

“Wow” Canace was stunned.  This was the last thing she had suspected to come out of this guys mouth.  “I wish there was some way I could help.66

Jay smiled, “Well, we could hurry to town.  Danny is also in the Kyna and has something important to show me.  He probably got there a little early so he wouldn’t be late.”67

Canace stood up, “You don’t have to tell me twice.  Let’s go!” Jay stood up as Canace picked up Melody (who was still sleeping) and they began walking. 68

As they entered the town, they were swarmed with people. 69

“Welcome to Abaratis!”70

“Glad you’re here!”71

“Would you like to buy some bread?”72

“Could I offer you a room?” 73

“Here, have this necklace as a souvenir!”  Someone placed a beaded necklace around Canace and Jay’s neck.  Melody awoke and was confused by all the people surrounding her and her friends.  With one bark, she made everyone back away. 74

“Good going Melody,” Jay whispered as they hurried to make their way to the Ackley Inn.   75

They burst inside with such speed, every one in the room stared at them.  Embarrassed, they smiled, dumped their necklaces in the nearest trashcan, and walked to the front desk. 76

“Can I help you two?” the woman from behind the counter asked.  She was so short that they at first did not see her there. 77

Jay stepped forward, “Do you know if a Danny from Daliyn’s Peak is here?” 78

“One moment please…Here he is.  Down the hall, room G104.”79

“Thanks” Jay said.80

“Have a nice day.”  The woman said in a bland voice. 81

Canace frowned at the woman as she followed Jay down the hall.  She set Melody on the ground and had her walk beside them.  When they stopped at a door, Canace could not help but grin big.  The door number was G104.  Jay knock, then entered the room.  Canace peeked in after him, and found no one there.  82

“Guess he’s out.”  Jay remarked looking around, “Oh well, guess we just have to wait outside.” 83

Canace sighed, this could take a while.  As she left the room and sat down next to the door, her bag accidentally fell onto the floor.  The next thing she knew, all the articles in her bag dropped out.  And the Jiduscolut doll landed on top of the pile.  She dropped to the ground to pick everything up before Melody saw her food and Jay saw…84

“Smart Cana-Wait a second!  That’s…”  Jay snatched up the Jiduscolut doll and looked at her angrily.  Holding up the doll he said, “You took it?  How did you know?  I…”85

“What do you know, Jay I can’t believe you still play with dolls.  Tsk tsk tsk.” came a voice from the hall.86

Standing up as she finished putting her things in the bag, Canace saw two young people in the hallway next to them.  There was a boy and a girl.  The boy was taller then all of them, had brown hair, and was wearing a royal green shirt with dark pants.  In addition, he had a big grin on his face.  The girl on the other hand was shorter then all three of them, had one long red braid in her hair, and was wearing a white shirt with a calico blue skirt.  Her blue eyes seemed to pierce right through Jay and stare straight at Canace.87

Jay had recognized the boy immediately and shoved the doll into Canace’s arms saying, “Danny!  I was…uh, giving this to her.  It’s her favorite animal and she just adores it.”88

The boy nodded his head in disbelief, “Sure.  What ever you say.  So, who’s your new girlfriend?”89

Turning to Canace, Jay, while ignoring Danny, said, “Canace, I’d like you to meet my friend Danny.  Danny, this is Canace and her menace-I mean puppy is Melody.” 90

“A pleasure to meet you.”  Canace curtsied as she noticed the other girls’ confusion.  91

Looking at her fondly, Danny replied as he kissed her hand, “And the same to you.” 92

Canace was a bit surprised at this gesture, Canace just nodded in a bit of a shock as Jay leaned over and whispered into her ear, “He’s a big flirt.”93

“You’re not going to kiss my dog too, are you?”  she asked.94

“Would you like me to?”  Danny joked.95

Canace rolled her eyes as Danny went on to introduce his friend, “This is my friend Melissa.  She’s going to school at Knowledge’s Point with me and I am her mentor.”96

“Hello everyone,” Melissa said shyly and a bit lost in thought. 97

“So Danny, what news do you bring from Daliyn’s Peak?”  Jay asked, getting straight to the point.98

Danny smiled and said, “Step inside my room and we can discuss our matters in there.”99