Chapter Nine

Anticipation hung over the little village as the residents prepared themselves to honor their kingdom. Mido, armed and ready, joined the gathering villagers in the town square with his steed. Maria found him in the crowd and hurried to him, dragging her pudgy mare behind her.

"What are you doing?" Mido asked.

"I'm comin' with ya," the woman stated confidently.

"Like hell."

"Git ova it, Mido," she barked at him. "I come from a family of merchants an' warriors. 'S'my duty to honor 'em."

Mido raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Didn't your family try to assassinate a king?"

Maria stamped her foot angrily. "Ya made that up, ya little shit," she hissed at him.

Mido shrugged. "Can you blame me? We were kids when you came with your family."

"We were travelin' merchants," Maria said, narrowing her eyes at her friend. "Not assassins."

"But it was more fun to pretend you were," Mido pointed out.

Maria came into the village with her family as a young girl. As traveling merchants, they never stayed in one place very long, but her mother had been pregnant with Maria's younger brother when they arrived in Esmon. When both mother and child died during birth, her father decided to stay in the village with his only child, hoping to raise her and give her the life she deserved. Maria, on the other hand, always preferred to be traveling the world, and she always had a wild imagination. In fact, it was quite possible she had made up the story of assassinating a king herself in some attempt to win over the boys of the village. As a child, she was always the outsider. In every village and city they traveled too, she was looked upon with disdain. After a while, she didn't care about the other kids; she never quite enjoyed the company of them, anyway, especially the other girls.

Maria smiled up at her long-time friend and mounted her horse. Horses trotted and pranced around them anxiously as the villagers readied themselves. Ian made his way through the crowd on his own horse, ready to begin their hunt.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Maria as he approached. "You're not coming with us."

"Oh yes I am," she said stubbornly. Ian looked to Mido for help, but Mido only shrugged.

Among those gathered in the square, Mido's eye caught William and Jon, sitting tall on their own loyal, chestnut steeds. Their fathers looked to them proudly while their mothers grabbed their legs pleadingly. Mido frowned; he hoped they would stay behind. He watched the boys grow into young troublemakers over the years, and while he had no family of his own, the boys, amongst the rest of the village, felt like family to him. Brothers. Sisters. Mothers. He looked over the villagers as they said their goodbyes to one another. They were, in their own way, his family, and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to protect them, just as his father tried to do so many years ago.

William and Jon trotted to his side, large, white grins splitting their faces.

Mido shook his head and sighed. "You do as I say," he ordered them. They nodded their heads excitedly.

The rest of the villagers mounted their horses just as the morning's light broke the horizon, warming the chill from the night. Wives kissed their husbands and children hugged their fathers, wishing them good luck and safe travels on their hunt for the witch. Mido looked over the villagers one last time, his eyes catching Sera's blonde, bouncy locks. He met her gaze and watched as she approached cautiously. She cooed to Lily and patted her neck before she turned to Mido.

"Be safe," she said softly.

"I'm sorry, Sera," Mido said, sincerely this time. Despite their colliding opinions, and even though he never wanted to be the man she wanted, he was sorry for what he put her through every day. She truly cared for him, and he didn't make it any easier for her. "I'm an ass," he added. "And you deserve better."

Sera searched his eyes quietly. After a moment, she turned back to the mare and patted her nose. "Yeah," she finally said. "I do." She met his gaze one last time. "But come back safe, anyway."

Mido forced a crooked smile, feeling more anxious than ever to leave the village. "I'll try."

Sera backed away and watched as Mido and the other villagers pushed off, out of the village and across the land towards the forest that marked the kingdom's boundaries.

Mido patted Lily's neck as she galloped eagerly forward with the rest of the villagers and their horses. Ian rode beside Mido, his black horse nickering at his friends, with Maria, William, and Jon close behind. They galloped through the morning until they entered the forest. They slowed their horses as they began their search, keeping a careful eye out for any clues of the witch's whereabouts.

"We should split up to cover more ground," Mido suggested after they searched the forest for some time. The group mumbled amongst each other in agreement. Out of the safety of their village, they grew nervous and unsure if they would be able to defend themselves against the power of the witch. The group split evenly in half, eight people each, and made their way through the forest to begin their search.

Mido turned his horse around, his attention caught on a trampled bush. He pushed his horse on, drifting away from the group. Perhaps a sign of a witch, Mido thought to himself. It didn't seem like anything an animal would do.

"Mido, are you coming?" Ian asked, trotting up to his side.

"You go ahead," Mido said, kicking his horse forward. "I'll catch up."

Mido pushed his mare through the forest, his senses on full alert. He searched carefully for more signs of the witch's presence. His horse's hooves, still wet from the dew on the land outside of the forest, shuffled through the pine needles and leaves. Mido patted his horse's neck in encouragement. "Let's find this thing, Lily. I know it's out here somewhere." The mare perked her ears at her master's voice and snorted.

The man and his steed continued onward quietly. Mido examined every foot print and trampled leaf, tracing the fresh trail deep into the forest. He spoke quietly to the white and gray dappled horse, confirming his findings to her, as if to reassure her of their search. They were getting close; it was only a matter of time before they found it.