The 12 pages 20-28

She wondered if it was magic that had brought her to a loophole in time. She wondered if she could completely trust Lance. She asked herself if she was awake and not still asleep on Kayla’s grave stone. She pinched her arm. No, she was not’t dreaming, but how could all this be possible. She shook her head. She was here that was one thing she did know. Why? was what she needed to find out. 1

“I caught a few extra fish for breakfast tomorrow” Lance startled her so badly she jumped up off the rock. “Oh sorry my lady. Didn’t mean to surprise you.” He put up a cautioning  hand telling her she was safe like you would tell a scared wild animal2

“Stop calling me my lady. Its just Rain” She snapped “Oh.” she laughed at her rudeness. “Sorry I just don’t like to be surprised.” 3

“I can see that, Rain.” he said the name like he never had spoken it before; “you must remember that times are different from yours. Customs are different. My lady is like a term of respect. It’s a hard thing to stop saying.” He smiled and started toward the pack horse with his line of fresh fish, not giving Rain time to argue. 4

“What should I do with my shoes and clothes?” He put everything away carefully. 5

“Id bury them if I were you.” She looked at him as if he were crazy. “We don’t want much evidence of your past, Rain.”  He frowned at using her name and shook his head. Reluctantly Rain buried her favorite shoes and her watch. She wondered if anyone would discover them in the far future, she laughed at the idea. “Are you ready to leave now my lady?”  Rain gave him a sharp look which didn’t faze him so Rain didn’t answer. She bridled Gabriel with out a word excerpt to coo to the animal.6

“West” was all he said, when she mounted. And west they rode with Lance in the lead, leading the roan pack horse with Rain following deep in thought-or so it seemed.  By the time twilight started to come they entered dense forest.  A half hour after entering the forest, Lance stopped his horses next to a small stream.7

“There’s a circle of stones for a camp fire over there.” He pointed across the small stream, “maybe ten feet in.  Why don’t you find it and gather kindling for a fire.  I’ll care for these creatures”.  Rain smiled to herself and went to work.  By the time Lance brought the packs to the camp site, Rain had built a strong fire for the small circle of stones.  He smiled and shook his head.8

“Here you go My Lady” he tossed her a bedroll.  Rain caught the bundle and put it down beside her.  She watched Lance get out is cooking supplies and cook the fish.  He hummed while he worked a simple, happy sounding melody that reminded her of sunlight and wildflowers. But the songs’ playful dance slowly turned into a mourning dreg.  Rain clenched her teeth to keep from crying.  The songs’ final notes came and brought silence.  He picked up tin plate and slid a fish onto it.9

“Here eat up now.”  He handed her the plate and a mug of water.  The firelight lit his face in the night time darkness little.  Most of him was hidden in the shadows cast by the firelight.  From what Rain could see the song held bad memories for him, so she didn’t ask about why he sung such a song.  She instead asked about his plans for the next day.10

“Breakfast first, my Lady.  Then while I clean up the camp you could take care of those horses”.  He smiled and the harsh pain she had seen a few moments ago disappeared, replaced by the light of mirth. “We should be out of this forest and close to a good sized lake by noon.  We’ll rest and wash up there, and then we’ll set out again.  A few hours ride will take us into a small town by the name of Raven-cove.11

“I’ll be getting rooms for the night and getting a few supplies. You will come to and buy what ever you will need to fit in.  I’ll pick you up an hour before twilight.  It’s not always safe to be in towns when dark comes.”12

”What about this ‘Eve’ you mentioned once before?  Will she be in this town?”  Lance took a deep breath.  “She is-in a way. We won’t be able to see her until the next day.”13

“Why is that?” Rain asked cleaning her plate.  She was surprised she could finish the meal so fast.  Lance only smiled and took her plate for her.14

“All I can say is that Eve is very special.” He made a small laugh, and went to wash the dishes.  Rain frowned as to how little information she obtained from Lance.15

She prided herself on how inquisitive she can be when she finds something to question.  But maybe she was too tired to think, it had been a long day.  And the events it had brought were emotionally draining.  Rain stared into the fire for awhile thinking about her past and telling herself that she was no longer chained to those events.  She told herself that this is a new life.  That she can lead and it would be best to forget the old life.  The one that had given her nothing but pain.  A hand on her shoulder made her nearly jump out of her skin.  16

“I’m sorry my lady. I just wanted to tell you t’would be best if you got some rest”17

He looked down at her face seeing something that stirred concern in his heart.18

“Are you alright?”  Rain sighed and ran a hand through her tangled black hair19

“I’m fine” she replied.  And with a quick smile she said, “Nothing a brush wouldn’t fix” He gave a small smile in return and left her to spread out her bedroll beside the fire.  Her back to the fire, Rain closed her eyes and let herself fall into the darkness that was her dreams.20

Lance had decided on meeting the girl that she was the one he was looking for.21

Eve had explained to him how the compass would work.  And the compass had brought him straight to her to the second spirit to be gathered. She was Leo.  But the feeling of understanding he felt in her eyes is what sold him.  Anyone with that kind of pain hidden in their eyes must be the one he was searching for. Of course he hardly understood himself what it was that pulled out such feelings. Only that Eve had said it would be so, and he trusted every word that she said.  He learned long ago not to question her. If she said that it would rain spiders tomorrow, he’d be sure to buy many spider eating birds.  22

But Eve had not said such a thing; she had said that the girl was a key to the puzzle that was the prophecy of the 12 spirits.  Lance had put away the clean dishes and shook his head. The girl had already surprised him more times than he liked.  Her connection with the horses had made him smile at first.  He thought she had simply a touch with the beats, and was able to calm them with her voice.  It was as they rode through the day, that he started to think otherwise.  He had never seen so many deer hiding just beyond bow shot staring at the girl as though with great awe. He had never so many foxes cross a human’s path or heard so many birds fly above him. Their trail had been full of animals just out of sight.  He shook his head again, how could animals show reverence but he could just couldn't’t shake the feeling.  Even now as he rummaged through his packs for a brush and a leather thong for her hair; he could hear many animals within a ring around the campsite. He could hear the flap of wings and the soft crunch of paws just out of sight of the firelight.  Eve had not told him that the girl would have a connection with animals. Maybe she didn’t know.  No, Eve probably thought it wasn’t necessary that he should know.  She did that every once in awhile.  He gave a frown to the darkness thinking, of the last time he had not listened to her.  He had caused himself   more grief than he thought he could bear.  She had warned him that the war would reach his home that if he would not lead his family away that he would lose more the most mortals could stand to lose.  He had brushed the warnings aside like they were the ranting of a crazy old woman.  He had gone home to his wife of five years and hugged her in his arms and kissed her on lips.  He played with his baby boy little Darren, listened to him say his letters and smiled with pride.  And his youngest, his girl Amelia- just turning two she looked so beautiful in her new blue dress.  Looking so much like her mother, he wanted to cry.  The morning came and he went to work as usual, a personal guard for the king, a position of honor and title that kept his family feed and proud.  It was that day that the Armies attacked.  He had to stay in the castle with his king, doing nothing but listening to the reports of the land falling to the fierce enemy.  When the report came of the lands of his home were taken, his soul froze.  He wanted to fall to his knees and beg god to spare the life of his wife and children.  But the prayers would have been in vain, the messenger was reporting events that happened days before.23

“All the lands have fallen, everyone dead” the messenger had said. Including the lovely Meredith who he met at Spring Festival so long ago, and little Darren just learning his letters, his baby girl would be dead the days after turning two years old..  He had stood there standing still as stone with tears slowly rolling down his face, guarding his king in his precious castle.  When he was dismissed from his post, he packed his few belongings from the castle barracks, and walked away.  For the past three years all he had done was walk away from the pain the witch’s warnings had brought.  Last year when he had come upon her again he had tried to kill her in rage and pain.  Blaming her for the lost lives of his loved ones.  She thrown off his attempt of revenge and had chided him for acting like a fool for so many years.24

“How can acting like a lost soul help you? Do you think they would be happy in their place in the afterlife to see you here now, wasting away your life in misery?”25

She had made him see sense, open his eyes and see that he still had things to do in this life. She had told him about the prophesy of the stones, and that had become his purpose in life.  Finding the tools for each of members the prophesy was easy, each tool was some object of the Lords treasury or the Dukes prized possession.  Lance knew how to get into each keep, because of his time traveling with the king.-being his body guard against attack. He knew of every secret passage and every nook and cranny someone could hide in.  No one had caught him and half the time, they didn’t know that their treasures were gone for a month or more.  It was the compass that Lance had to steal from his own king that made Eve blink twice.  She had not known that he was such an important part of the prophesy, that he was one of the spirits himself. He was Sagittarius, and it was written that he was the one that would find all the members scattered through time and bring them together- and guard them, later as they made their way to the final battle.  Lance had placed his brush and leather thong in Rains sleeping hands; he now sat with his back to her next to the fire. Trying to forget the smile that Darren had given his dad whenever he had seen him.  He sang again the song he had chosen for them.  The song he sang to mourn the loss of a beautiful woman and two loving children.  The spirit of Sagittarius mourned.26