Page 19 - The Window_ A Foundations' Style Rapier

A River’s Secrets
Flannery Hipp, Class of 2026
Lily was tired. They had been riding for
hours. Iris looked like she was about to faint, and
Cortem was wiping sweat off his forehead. She
decided they needed a break.
“Okay. I think we’re far enough away that we
can stop,” she said, jumping off her horse. Cortem
and Iris looked relieved. “Let’s see what food we
have. We can divide it now, and eat a little.”
Together, they amounted to a lot of bread
and dried fruits, a little meat, and a few bottles of
water and milk. They decided to eat the meat and
milk, as the rest could last longer.
Soon, all three were lying on the ground, too
tired and sweaty to get up.
“I didn’t realize today was going to be so
hot!” Iris groaned.
“There are so many things wrong with that
saddle!” Cortem mumbled to himself.
Lily said nothing. She was thinking about
Althon. Pip was coming home in two weeks, but
Althon could be killed at any moment! She was too
worried to eat, so when she sat in silence while
Cortem and Iris were devouring the meat, they got
worried.
“What’s wrong, Lily?” asked Iris as she
drained the milk bottle.
“Nothing. Just―thinking about what we
should do next. Maybe we should journey more
south, to the Fallen Kingdom…”
“No way,” Cortem said. “We need to get to
Cente first. There we can learn more about the
Fallen Kingdom and where they keep their
prisoners.”
“We know you’re worried about Althon, but
the Fallen Kingdom is a better opponent than we
thought. They must have thousands of prisoners.
It’ll take a while for them to―well―get to Althon.
Now eat, or I’ll eat it for you.”
Lily laughed. She started eating her
provisions.
Once they were all done, they were in much
better spirits than when they started. Cortem fixed
the saddles (“Some absent-minded person put
these on backwards!”), Iris put away the food, and
Lily took out her map.
“It looks like we’re almost to the Saeven
River. That’s about halfway to Cente. In a few miles,
we should be out of the hot forest―”
“And into a stiflingly hot desert,” Cortem
moaned. “Do you know a spell that can make it
cold?”
Iris laughed. “Even I know that Cente’s
ancient magic keeps the weather in Volaria
constantly hot and dry! She could, though, make it
rain, even just for a second….Lily?”
A Sunset
Anonymous Photographer, Class
of 2026
Lily thought of cool water, of peace and
calm, and hummed a quiet note. Instantly, a
few drops of blissful rain fell on the three of
them.
“Wow, Lily, that really helped!” said Iris
with a smile. She hung her bag on her horse’s
saddle. They got back on their horses and
rode for a little longer.
“I wonder what Mim will think when she
hears that I didn’t go to Cente to be the
advocate?” said Lily, thinking out loud.
“I hope none of our parents find out,”
responded Iris, who didn’t notice Lily was
talking to herself. It was a habit Lily found she
often did, but no one else seemed to
appreciate it. She could sit and talk to herself
all day, and she would be perfectly happy.
Often she found that, when talking to herself,
she came up with solutions to things she
wouldn’t have thought of with other people
around.
“Sorry, I was thinking out loud,” Lily said
to Iris and Cortem. “Look, we’re almost at the
Saeven River! I can hear it!”
Sure enough, they were approaching
the Saeven River, the most powerful river in all
of Volaria.
“How do we cross it?” Iris said,
pondering which angle they should cross
from.
“I think our best shot is straight through
it,” Cortem replied.
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