Featherdemon
3rd Level Red Feather
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- Jun 17, 2003
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Hello,
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"So," Gedan said after a while. "What do you plan to do now?"
My good mood of earlier had been disrupted some what by our conversation. I felt a little bad for ruining the moment but it could not be helped. It was time for me to continue my hunt for Worzen Eccles.
I stood up and stretched. The heat from the fire had warmed the chill of the mud from me sufficiently. I took a moment to extinguish the fire. "I'm going to get back after Eccles," I said.
Gedan nodded and looked up at me from her kneeling position. "And how do you plan to track him in the dark?" she asked.
That, I realised suddenly, was a very good question. I paused, trying my best to think of a way I would stand any chance of getting after him without falling foul to the Mire or another ambush. "Honestly," I said, "I don't know but I'll think of something..."
Several minutes must have passed while I thought because after a while Gedan grinned and stood next to me. "Perhaps you should go home Dan," Gedan said softly. "You have no chance to catch him tonight and if you go running off into the heart of the Mire you'll only end up doing yourself a mischief."
I turned quickly to face her. "I can't let him get away!" I said. "I won't let him get away!"
"I'm not suggesting that you do, not even for a moment," said Gedan. "I'm suggesting that you let me go after him for you. I'm faster, stronger and I have a far greater chance of navigating this Mire than you do."
I frowned. "You know this place better than me?"
"A little," she said, "but my senses are keener and will serve me better in avoiding the dangers."
I frowned, thinking about Gedan finishing the chase that I had started. "Truth being told, I don't much like the idea of leaving him to someone else," I said, "and I mean no offense to you Gedan."
"None taken," she said.
"This man a dangerous animal and I owe it to my men, may they rest in peace, to go after him."
"And what if this duty costs you your life?" Gedan said pointedly. "Will that ease the souls of your friends?"
"You think I'm not up to this?"
"Oh no," she said, "I know you are perfectly suited to getting your duty done."
"But what?"
"But I think this Mire is dangerous enough at the best of times," Gedan said, her voice soft, "but tonight it is ridiculous to think you can navigate it alone without stepping a foot wrong. It has almost claimed you all ready Dan and I do not want it to do so again."
"Worzen seems to be doing ok!"
"His luck will not last forever. If you run off alone again the Mire will likely kill you."
As much as I hated to admit it, Gedan had a very good point: chasing Eccles through the Mire on a night like this was dangerous and getting killed was a very likely consequence - one that had crossed my mind more than once since entering the Mire. But compared to the idea of Worzen getting away, death held a lesser fear. But how do I convince Gedan of it?
"You said there were no such things as ghosts," I said thoughtfully.
Gedan nodded.
"But there are," I said. "I am haunted Gedan – by the ghosts of my men. I put their lives at risk and it killed them. At the very least they deserve me to put the same on the line for them. If I went home now, I wouldn't be able sleep again, let alone look myself in the mirror."
"It was their loyalty to you and their duty that put those men in harms way, Dan," she said. "And it is the monstrous deeds of Worzen Eccles that killed them." She sighed softly in resignation. "But I won't argue with you on this matter any more. I see in your eyes how important it is for you to see this to the end."
"Good," I said.
It was clear that Gedan wasn't happy with the idea of me continuing this chase.
"Besides," I said, "even if I chose to go home now, I'd be equally lost going back than forward, right? I'd still have to navigate the Mire to get home."
"I guess."
"And what if you go on alone, what if you get in trouble?" I said. "Who will be there to help you then? You said it yourself that this place is very dangerous to be alone."
"Stop using my words against me."
I smiled. "All in all, it is better to not go alone on this," I said. "And since you are determined to go after him, just as I am, is it not better for us to go as a team?"
"Dan…"
"I have to do this Gedan," I said. "I know it is dangerous and it could kill me. I know that I am being ridiculously carefree with my life and ignoring the wild fear this place stirs in me. But I must do this…I cannot, will not, turn back now."
Gedan smiled at me. "So brave," she said and shook her head. "Very well then, we will go after him together."
I gave a cry of triumph but she stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
"But," she said and wagged a finger at me, "before you get all excited and go running off, there are a couple conditions that I want established before we get started – and I will not be budged on either of them, clear?"
I nodded, feeling like a child who'd just been given a new freedom by over cautious parents. "What are these conditions?" I asked.
Gedan chuckled. "Firstly, you do what I say and when I say it; no arguments from you at all. I want complete obedience from you on this."
"So long as it doesn't involve letting him get away, you have a deal," I said.
"Good," said Gedan. "Secondly, when we go after Worzen...I must carry you on my back till we find him."
I was all ready nodding in agreement before I knew what she was saying. I did a double take when it clicked. "What?" I said. "Carry me? You're joking, right?!"
Gedan giggled. "Oh no," she said, "I'm absolutely serious."
"Gedan!" I said.
"No questioning on this," she said laughing merrily. "It is my way or I put you under my arm and carry you home here and now."
"But why on your back?" I moaned.
Her eyes sparkled with delight. "We'll need to move fast," she said, "if we are to catch him this night and I can't guarantee your safety if you're running on your own feet. Better if I have you on my back – at least then I know you're safe and I can move just as fast with you on my back than I can without."
I laughed out loud, thinking the idea was preposterous, but although that wonderful smile of hers never left her face I could see a deadly seriousness in her words. I got the feeling that Gedan would do exactly what she threatened if I didn't obey her.
"You seriously want to carry me?"
Gedan nodded.
"Like a child?"
She tittered. "If you say so," she said.
"All the way until we find him?" I asked.
"Mm hm."
"Fine," I muttered, "but if you tell anyone I got carried through this place…cripes, I'd never live it down."
Gedan giggled delightedly. "It will be our little secret," she said and I got the distinct impression she was trying to hide even more laughter than I could hear.
"This is so embarrassing."
"Not as embarrassing as drowning in mud, in the dark, when you could have had help and then gone home safe and sound."
"That's a mood killer," I said.
"This is about your safety, Dan, nothing else."
"Point taken," I said.
"Good," she said and let out a burst of laughter, "Though I'm tickled pink that I get to give Brickten's finest Sergeant a piggy back ride!"
"Oi!"
"Kidding," she said, a flash of merriment in her eyes. "Now jump on."
Gedan turned her back to me and then, with a blushed chuckle, I leapt up onto her back. I feared that with my weight, she might stagger forward or even worse, topple over, but she didn't even flinch. In fact, it felt like I was weightless against her strength. She hooked her arms around my legs and locked them with a firm but gentle pressure. Once I settled on her back, with no strain or sign of pressure on Gedan, I found myself laughing childishly.
"I've not had a piggy back in years," I said with a new found glee.
Gedan chuckled. "I have," she said, "but that's a totally different scenario and involved three others and a…well, never you mind."
"You're weird."
"Says a grown man getting a piggy back in the dark – now who's weird Sergeant?" she said and looking over her shoulder at me, winked cheekily.
"You don't pull your punches, do you?"
Gedan laughed and I felt a surge of almost childish wonder at what was about to happen. It was uplifting and oddly freeing to be in such a ridiculous and childishly fun position while danger lurked all around us. It was like playing games in the face of death. I felt the burden of my duty and the weight of the revenge I'd sworn lift slightly from me and all that mattered was making the most of this very silly, immensely entertaining, piggy back ride.
"Ready?" Gedan asked.
"As ready I'll ever be," I said, hugging closer to her. "I've got goose-bumps."
"Good."
"Tell me if I'm pressing too hard."
Gedan tittered, "tell me if I'm running too fast."
I had the briefest moment to brace myself.
"Hold on!" she cried, oddly gleeful and then we were off.
* * * *
The speed at which Gedan ran was breath taking, as was the ease she carried me with. It was as if I were nothing to her, barely lint in her coat pocket, such was the way she moved. I might have thought she'd forgotten she was carrying me, yet her arms always kept me pinned to her body and at the slightest feeling of me slipping back she instantly readjusted her grip.
The midnight world of Brickten Mire raced past me in a blur of silhouettes and brief snatches of trees and branches. I looked around as and when I could but it was impossible for me to keep track of where we were or how much ground we had travelled. I felt an impossible surge of joyous wonder.
Gedan leapt over sunken pools and large patches of mud; she clawed her way up near vertical slopes with me clinging to her back and skidded down squat hillocks. She skimmed across pools, dancing with nimble feet through a maze treacherous pits, skirting shallows and bogs with expert grace. Some of the dangers she avoided I wouldn't have spotted and it seemed nothing short of miraculous that we stayed free of quicksand.
"Do you know where he is?" I asked, breathing fast.
"Ahead of us still," she said, barely breaking pace. "He's heading into the very heart of the Mire."
The thought of that gave me a chill. "How can you track him? I've not seen any foot prints or even a sign of his passing."
"He hasn't left any tracks," she said. "I'm using my sense of smell to track him."
"I'm surprised he can see anything in the light," I said.
Gedan nodded. "It is a small miracle he has gotten this far," she said. "The Mire is getting thicker and trickier. It is only a matter of time before he falls foul of it." She squeezed my legs, as if to reassure me. "I am glad we agreed for you to ride on my back, Dan, you would never have made it this far on your own."
I nodded, grateful myself for having someone so at ease here.
Gedan ran on for a little while longer, skipping and leaping with breath taking grace, oblivious to the detail of the world as it rushed by. It amazed me that anyone could notice anything moving so fast. The more she ran, I grew more relaxed and the buzz it gave me reached a plateau. It didn't dip or even lessen – it just remained the same. An idiotic grin became fixed on my face. I felt a trembling urge to shout boyishly but I resisted it.
"Gedan," I said after a while, "I never asked why you are chasing him?"
Gedan's ears twitched a little. "He hurt someone very close to me," she said.
"Family?" I asked,
"Something like that," she said and her tone told me she didn't want to go into any more detail.
"I'm sorry," I said.
Gedan nodded but kept running.
"So is this revenge for you too?"
Gedan shook her head. "I do not want his life, Dan," she said, "but I cannot allow what he did to go unpunished."
"What will you do to him when we catch him?" I asked.
Gedan's pace slacked off a little and her head part turned to look at me. I saw her features crease and the carefree smile I had grown accustomed to disappear, replaced by something more disturbing – a look of anger.
"That will remain between him and me," she said, a little tight lipped.
Her tone was touched with anger, but said with such refinement you could have missed it. I might have missed it too but there was no hiding the anger that burned in her eyes. It lasted only a moment but even the slightest hint of her anger made me feel very uncomfortable. I stiffened on her back, wondering if it would not be safer for me to wait for her to do what she wanted.
Suddenly Gedan picked up speed once more and squeezed my legs gently. "You have nothing to fear from me Dan," she said.
"I know," I said, "it's just…you sounded…"
"Worzen Eccles has wronged me," she said, "but that is all. You have nothing to fret about Dan."
For the first time in my life I felt suddenly sorry for Worzen Eccles.
Gedan suddenly gave a miraculous giggle and in an instant all trace of that previous anger was gone. Without further warning she picked up speed and once more we racing through the darkness of Brickten Mire. The sudden acceleration had me clinging to her neck.
She ran at a speed that made the previous travelling seem slow and clumsy, her feet seemed to barely hit the floor as she travelled. I heard trees swish past and felt puddles ripple in her passing. The wind rushing through my hair and the roar of it in my ears soon had me grinning like a fool again, only this time it was even more.
"Laugh!" she cried. "Whoop and cheer!"
At first I resisted but the urge to do as she said grew and grew. She was running so fast that I was helpless to hold back that childish excited buzz, compelling me to shout. I let out a single shout at first and Gedan giggled. Then I let out more whoops and cries, relishing the buzz of seeing the world blur past me and each time I did it was greeted with a joyous laugh from Gedan. It was an incredible experience! Who else can say they've experienced something similar?
After a while of her running and me shouting, Gedan stopped suddenly in nest of withered trees. When she stopped I was breathless and trembling with the rush of it all. Gedan however wasn't even out of breath – her strength was clearly matched by her stamina.
"He's just ahead of us," she said in a whisper. "Time for you to climb down, Dan, we have reached a safe enough spot now."
I nodded and with trembling legs and arms, I jumped down onto the floor. I braced myself against the trees, grinning and more than a little breathless. Gedan crept forward to peer through a tangle of withered branches.
"That was…incredible!" I gasped. "My heart has never thundered so hard! Look at me, I'm trembling!"
Gedan looked at me over her shoulder, a thrilled smile on her face. "It pleases me to see you so," she said.
I laughed merrily. "I've not laughed like that since I was child," I said, "I've actually got butterflies in my stomach – I've not had that in a very long time! It made me feel less than half my age."
"Only half?" said Gedan. "Then I was doing it wrong."
Again I laughed and bent at the waist, hands on my knees to catch my breath. "I want to do that again!"
Gedan giggled. "On the way home we'll go even faster, I promise," she said and winked at me.
My heart missed a beat. "You can go faster?"
"Of course I can," she said tittering. "If you behave yourself, and if you can stomach it, I'll let you sit on my shoulders when I run you home."
I laughed, giddy with a childish excitement. It came out suddenly, louder than I expected and in a blur Gedan was next to me, covering my mouth with her hand. "Quiet now," she said, grinning at me. "You must temper your joy, Dan; we still have a quarry to catch."
I nodded, pushing down my giddiness. "I'll behave," I said.
"Only till we have finished our business here," she said and winked.
"You're amazing," I said.
Gedan removed her hand from my mouth once she was sure that I'd enough sense to remain quiet. As she moved I caught scent of her smell once again and let out an inward sigh; it was an impossibly strong and satisfying smell, unlike anything I'd encountered before. It felt like every happy memory I'd ever had mixed with the cumulative joy of every Christmas I'd had as a child. The scent filled my mind and triggered a rush of feeling, stronger than anything previously.
"You okay?" she asked looking me in the eyes.
I felt suddenly alone in the world with Gedan, as if all else was transpiring for us. So close to her, I saw the full beauty of her eyes and it overwhelmed me. It was like she was seeing everything about me – all my hopes and dreams, all the good things and bad things that I'd done and ever would do. It was the thrilling sense of someone beautiful seeing you naked multiplied a thousand times. I stood looking at Gedan, lost anew in her presence, with the exquisite bliss of knowing that she knew me more intimately and more completely in that one moment than anyone ever had before.
It was wonderful.
And in a moment of jubilant madness, I took hold of her by the shoulders and kissed her gently on the lips.
* * * *
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"So," Gedan said after a while. "What do you plan to do now?"
My good mood of earlier had been disrupted some what by our conversation. I felt a little bad for ruining the moment but it could not be helped. It was time for me to continue my hunt for Worzen Eccles.
I stood up and stretched. The heat from the fire had warmed the chill of the mud from me sufficiently. I took a moment to extinguish the fire. "I'm going to get back after Eccles," I said.
Gedan nodded and looked up at me from her kneeling position. "And how do you plan to track him in the dark?" she asked.
That, I realised suddenly, was a very good question. I paused, trying my best to think of a way I would stand any chance of getting after him without falling foul to the Mire or another ambush. "Honestly," I said, "I don't know but I'll think of something..."
Several minutes must have passed while I thought because after a while Gedan grinned and stood next to me. "Perhaps you should go home Dan," Gedan said softly. "You have no chance to catch him tonight and if you go running off into the heart of the Mire you'll only end up doing yourself a mischief."
I turned quickly to face her. "I can't let him get away!" I said. "I won't let him get away!"
"I'm not suggesting that you do, not even for a moment," said Gedan. "I'm suggesting that you let me go after him for you. I'm faster, stronger and I have a far greater chance of navigating this Mire than you do."
I frowned. "You know this place better than me?"
"A little," she said, "but my senses are keener and will serve me better in avoiding the dangers."
I frowned, thinking about Gedan finishing the chase that I had started. "Truth being told, I don't much like the idea of leaving him to someone else," I said, "and I mean no offense to you Gedan."
"None taken," she said.
"This man a dangerous animal and I owe it to my men, may they rest in peace, to go after him."
"And what if this duty costs you your life?" Gedan said pointedly. "Will that ease the souls of your friends?"
"You think I'm not up to this?"
"Oh no," she said, "I know you are perfectly suited to getting your duty done."
"But what?"
"But I think this Mire is dangerous enough at the best of times," Gedan said, her voice soft, "but tonight it is ridiculous to think you can navigate it alone without stepping a foot wrong. It has almost claimed you all ready Dan and I do not want it to do so again."
"Worzen seems to be doing ok!"
"His luck will not last forever. If you run off alone again the Mire will likely kill you."
As much as I hated to admit it, Gedan had a very good point: chasing Eccles through the Mire on a night like this was dangerous and getting killed was a very likely consequence - one that had crossed my mind more than once since entering the Mire. But compared to the idea of Worzen getting away, death held a lesser fear. But how do I convince Gedan of it?
"You said there were no such things as ghosts," I said thoughtfully.
Gedan nodded.
"But there are," I said. "I am haunted Gedan – by the ghosts of my men. I put their lives at risk and it killed them. At the very least they deserve me to put the same on the line for them. If I went home now, I wouldn't be able sleep again, let alone look myself in the mirror."
"It was their loyalty to you and their duty that put those men in harms way, Dan," she said. "And it is the monstrous deeds of Worzen Eccles that killed them." She sighed softly in resignation. "But I won't argue with you on this matter any more. I see in your eyes how important it is for you to see this to the end."
"Good," I said.
It was clear that Gedan wasn't happy with the idea of me continuing this chase.
"Besides," I said, "even if I chose to go home now, I'd be equally lost going back than forward, right? I'd still have to navigate the Mire to get home."
"I guess."
"And what if you go on alone, what if you get in trouble?" I said. "Who will be there to help you then? You said it yourself that this place is very dangerous to be alone."
"Stop using my words against me."
I smiled. "All in all, it is better to not go alone on this," I said. "And since you are determined to go after him, just as I am, is it not better for us to go as a team?"
"Dan…"
"I have to do this Gedan," I said. "I know it is dangerous and it could kill me. I know that I am being ridiculously carefree with my life and ignoring the wild fear this place stirs in me. But I must do this…I cannot, will not, turn back now."
Gedan smiled at me. "So brave," she said and shook her head. "Very well then, we will go after him together."
I gave a cry of triumph but she stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
"But," she said and wagged a finger at me, "before you get all excited and go running off, there are a couple conditions that I want established before we get started – and I will not be budged on either of them, clear?"
I nodded, feeling like a child who'd just been given a new freedom by over cautious parents. "What are these conditions?" I asked.
Gedan chuckled. "Firstly, you do what I say and when I say it; no arguments from you at all. I want complete obedience from you on this."
"So long as it doesn't involve letting him get away, you have a deal," I said.
"Good," said Gedan. "Secondly, when we go after Worzen...I must carry you on my back till we find him."
I was all ready nodding in agreement before I knew what she was saying. I did a double take when it clicked. "What?" I said. "Carry me? You're joking, right?!"
Gedan giggled. "Oh no," she said, "I'm absolutely serious."
"Gedan!" I said.
"No questioning on this," she said laughing merrily. "It is my way or I put you under my arm and carry you home here and now."
"But why on your back?" I moaned.
Her eyes sparkled with delight. "We'll need to move fast," she said, "if we are to catch him this night and I can't guarantee your safety if you're running on your own feet. Better if I have you on my back – at least then I know you're safe and I can move just as fast with you on my back than I can without."
I laughed out loud, thinking the idea was preposterous, but although that wonderful smile of hers never left her face I could see a deadly seriousness in her words. I got the feeling that Gedan would do exactly what she threatened if I didn't obey her.
"You seriously want to carry me?"
Gedan nodded.
"Like a child?"
She tittered. "If you say so," she said.
"All the way until we find him?" I asked.
"Mm hm."
"Fine," I muttered, "but if you tell anyone I got carried through this place…cripes, I'd never live it down."
Gedan giggled delightedly. "It will be our little secret," she said and I got the distinct impression she was trying to hide even more laughter than I could hear.
"This is so embarrassing."
"Not as embarrassing as drowning in mud, in the dark, when you could have had help and then gone home safe and sound."
"That's a mood killer," I said.
"This is about your safety, Dan, nothing else."
"Point taken," I said.
"Good," she said and let out a burst of laughter, "Though I'm tickled pink that I get to give Brickten's finest Sergeant a piggy back ride!"
"Oi!"
"Kidding," she said, a flash of merriment in her eyes. "Now jump on."
Gedan turned her back to me and then, with a blushed chuckle, I leapt up onto her back. I feared that with my weight, she might stagger forward or even worse, topple over, but she didn't even flinch. In fact, it felt like I was weightless against her strength. She hooked her arms around my legs and locked them with a firm but gentle pressure. Once I settled on her back, with no strain or sign of pressure on Gedan, I found myself laughing childishly.
"I've not had a piggy back in years," I said with a new found glee.
Gedan chuckled. "I have," she said, "but that's a totally different scenario and involved three others and a…well, never you mind."
"You're weird."
"Says a grown man getting a piggy back in the dark – now who's weird Sergeant?" she said and looking over her shoulder at me, winked cheekily.
"You don't pull your punches, do you?"
Gedan laughed and I felt a surge of almost childish wonder at what was about to happen. It was uplifting and oddly freeing to be in such a ridiculous and childishly fun position while danger lurked all around us. It was like playing games in the face of death. I felt the burden of my duty and the weight of the revenge I'd sworn lift slightly from me and all that mattered was making the most of this very silly, immensely entertaining, piggy back ride.
"Ready?" Gedan asked.
"As ready I'll ever be," I said, hugging closer to her. "I've got goose-bumps."
"Good."
"Tell me if I'm pressing too hard."
Gedan tittered, "tell me if I'm running too fast."
I had the briefest moment to brace myself.
"Hold on!" she cried, oddly gleeful and then we were off.
* * * *
The speed at which Gedan ran was breath taking, as was the ease she carried me with. It was as if I were nothing to her, barely lint in her coat pocket, such was the way she moved. I might have thought she'd forgotten she was carrying me, yet her arms always kept me pinned to her body and at the slightest feeling of me slipping back she instantly readjusted her grip.
The midnight world of Brickten Mire raced past me in a blur of silhouettes and brief snatches of trees and branches. I looked around as and when I could but it was impossible for me to keep track of where we were or how much ground we had travelled. I felt an impossible surge of joyous wonder.
Gedan leapt over sunken pools and large patches of mud; she clawed her way up near vertical slopes with me clinging to her back and skidded down squat hillocks. She skimmed across pools, dancing with nimble feet through a maze treacherous pits, skirting shallows and bogs with expert grace. Some of the dangers she avoided I wouldn't have spotted and it seemed nothing short of miraculous that we stayed free of quicksand.
"Do you know where he is?" I asked, breathing fast.
"Ahead of us still," she said, barely breaking pace. "He's heading into the very heart of the Mire."
The thought of that gave me a chill. "How can you track him? I've not seen any foot prints or even a sign of his passing."
"He hasn't left any tracks," she said. "I'm using my sense of smell to track him."
"I'm surprised he can see anything in the light," I said.
Gedan nodded. "It is a small miracle he has gotten this far," she said. "The Mire is getting thicker and trickier. It is only a matter of time before he falls foul of it." She squeezed my legs, as if to reassure me. "I am glad we agreed for you to ride on my back, Dan, you would never have made it this far on your own."
I nodded, grateful myself for having someone so at ease here.
Gedan ran on for a little while longer, skipping and leaping with breath taking grace, oblivious to the detail of the world as it rushed by. It amazed me that anyone could notice anything moving so fast. The more she ran, I grew more relaxed and the buzz it gave me reached a plateau. It didn't dip or even lessen – it just remained the same. An idiotic grin became fixed on my face. I felt a trembling urge to shout boyishly but I resisted it.
"Gedan," I said after a while, "I never asked why you are chasing him?"
Gedan's ears twitched a little. "He hurt someone very close to me," she said.
"Family?" I asked,
"Something like that," she said and her tone told me she didn't want to go into any more detail.
"I'm sorry," I said.
Gedan nodded but kept running.
"So is this revenge for you too?"
Gedan shook her head. "I do not want his life, Dan," she said, "but I cannot allow what he did to go unpunished."
"What will you do to him when we catch him?" I asked.
Gedan's pace slacked off a little and her head part turned to look at me. I saw her features crease and the carefree smile I had grown accustomed to disappear, replaced by something more disturbing – a look of anger.
"That will remain between him and me," she said, a little tight lipped.
Her tone was touched with anger, but said with such refinement you could have missed it. I might have missed it too but there was no hiding the anger that burned in her eyes. It lasted only a moment but even the slightest hint of her anger made me feel very uncomfortable. I stiffened on her back, wondering if it would not be safer for me to wait for her to do what she wanted.
Suddenly Gedan picked up speed once more and squeezed my legs gently. "You have nothing to fear from me Dan," she said.
"I know," I said, "it's just…you sounded…"
"Worzen Eccles has wronged me," she said, "but that is all. You have nothing to fret about Dan."
For the first time in my life I felt suddenly sorry for Worzen Eccles.
Gedan suddenly gave a miraculous giggle and in an instant all trace of that previous anger was gone. Without further warning she picked up speed and once more we racing through the darkness of Brickten Mire. The sudden acceleration had me clinging to her neck.
She ran at a speed that made the previous travelling seem slow and clumsy, her feet seemed to barely hit the floor as she travelled. I heard trees swish past and felt puddles ripple in her passing. The wind rushing through my hair and the roar of it in my ears soon had me grinning like a fool again, only this time it was even more.
"Laugh!" she cried. "Whoop and cheer!"
At first I resisted but the urge to do as she said grew and grew. She was running so fast that I was helpless to hold back that childish excited buzz, compelling me to shout. I let out a single shout at first and Gedan giggled. Then I let out more whoops and cries, relishing the buzz of seeing the world blur past me and each time I did it was greeted with a joyous laugh from Gedan. It was an incredible experience! Who else can say they've experienced something similar?
After a while of her running and me shouting, Gedan stopped suddenly in nest of withered trees. When she stopped I was breathless and trembling with the rush of it all. Gedan however wasn't even out of breath – her strength was clearly matched by her stamina.
"He's just ahead of us," she said in a whisper. "Time for you to climb down, Dan, we have reached a safe enough spot now."
I nodded and with trembling legs and arms, I jumped down onto the floor. I braced myself against the trees, grinning and more than a little breathless. Gedan crept forward to peer through a tangle of withered branches.
"That was…incredible!" I gasped. "My heart has never thundered so hard! Look at me, I'm trembling!"
Gedan looked at me over her shoulder, a thrilled smile on her face. "It pleases me to see you so," she said.
I laughed merrily. "I've not laughed like that since I was child," I said, "I've actually got butterflies in my stomach – I've not had that in a very long time! It made me feel less than half my age."
"Only half?" said Gedan. "Then I was doing it wrong."
Again I laughed and bent at the waist, hands on my knees to catch my breath. "I want to do that again!"
Gedan giggled. "On the way home we'll go even faster, I promise," she said and winked at me.
My heart missed a beat. "You can go faster?"
"Of course I can," she said tittering. "If you behave yourself, and if you can stomach it, I'll let you sit on my shoulders when I run you home."
I laughed, giddy with a childish excitement. It came out suddenly, louder than I expected and in a blur Gedan was next to me, covering my mouth with her hand. "Quiet now," she said, grinning at me. "You must temper your joy, Dan; we still have a quarry to catch."
I nodded, pushing down my giddiness. "I'll behave," I said.
"Only till we have finished our business here," she said and winked.
"You're amazing," I said.
Gedan removed her hand from my mouth once she was sure that I'd enough sense to remain quiet. As she moved I caught scent of her smell once again and let out an inward sigh; it was an impossibly strong and satisfying smell, unlike anything I'd encountered before. It felt like every happy memory I'd ever had mixed with the cumulative joy of every Christmas I'd had as a child. The scent filled my mind and triggered a rush of feeling, stronger than anything previously.
"You okay?" she asked looking me in the eyes.
I felt suddenly alone in the world with Gedan, as if all else was transpiring for us. So close to her, I saw the full beauty of her eyes and it overwhelmed me. It was like she was seeing everything about me – all my hopes and dreams, all the good things and bad things that I'd done and ever would do. It was the thrilling sense of someone beautiful seeing you naked multiplied a thousand times. I stood looking at Gedan, lost anew in her presence, with the exquisite bliss of knowing that she knew me more intimately and more completely in that one moment than anyone ever had before.
It was wonderful.
And in a moment of jubilant madness, I took hold of her by the shoulders and kissed her gently on the lips.
* * * *
