Chapter Thirteen

They rode throughout the night and into the morning with only the thunder of hooves to keep pace with their thoughts. Calliope clutched Mido's waist awkwardly as they galloped. No one dared to say a word as they rode. Only the horses spoke to each other in whinnies and snorts as they pushed onwards, their hooves breaking the forest's eerie silence. Calliope strained her body in an attempt to keep as far away from Mido as possible. But with each turn and small jump over a fallen tree, she found herself pressing up closer to him. She cringed with each bump, hoping her presence wouldn't upset him even more.

Mido felt her body against him as they rode through the forest. He replayed the group's arguments over in his mind. Maybe Maria was right. Maybe she was different. She certainly didn't seem to pose a threat to them. She did help them fight off Scarletta's Nequam. Mido felt Calliope's arms around his waist. Lily slowed beneath him until they were at the rear of the group. Calliope shifted behind him, her hair brushing against him. Mido's mind drifted to his childhood once more, taking his younger sister riding on their older gelding when Lily was just a yearling. They would gallop over the hills until they came to the river where they let the gentle gelding drink. Selene let her head rest against his back as she watched the water ripple away from their horse's muzzle.

Mido found himself sympathizing with the witch. Perhaps it was the ache in his chest for his long-gone sister; maybe the emptiness he felt when he thought of the family he once had. Calliope only knew the torment of an evil master. Maybe there were such things as good witches.

Midday arrived and they dismounted and unbridled their horses, allowing them to graze. Mido helped Calliope down; her legs felt weak from the long ride. She sat on the ground and let her head fall back against a tree. She closed her eyes and listened in on the conversations around her.

Mido turned away from the witch disgustedly and caught Maria's gaze.

"Be nice to'er, Mido," Maria growled. "She didn't 'af ta risk 'er life like that."

"I'm being nice," Mido muttered. "But I don't trust her."

Ian approached them as they spoke.

"Barric and Carsen will tell the king we're hiding her," he reminded them. "He'll hang us all for this."

"'Ave a little faith in ya king," Maria said, her voice hushed.

Mido shook his head, uncertain. "We'll have to convince him that she can help us," he said. He looked past Ian and Maria to where William and Jon stood, cautiously watching the witch. They whispered and smiled to each other. Mido didn't like the idea of them being around; maybe he could send them away. "Send William and Jon to the king. They're our fastest riders. They can explain the situation and maybe convince the king. We need King Sloan on our side, and we'll need the assistance of his army if we're going to do this."

"He'll hang us, Mido. He won't believe us," Ian said.

"She's the key to gettin' rid of Scarletta," Maria argued. "King Sloan's a reasonable man. If 'e knows we 'ave a way in, 'e'll take advantage of that."

"You better be sure of that," Ian said with a sigh.

"You got us into this mess," Mido shot at his friend. "We could have just taken her back to the kingdom and let the king deal with her. Hell, I could have killed her myself."

"She doesn't deserve to die," Ian mumbled. "And King Sloan just might. Her death would not be just."

"Well, now we have to deal with the consequences of harboring a witch."

Calliope peeked at the two arguing men. Mido turned away from Ian, his eyebrows knit together and his arms crossed over his chest. His gaze met Calliope's. His face was emotionless; he seemed to be deep in thought. He turned and walked away. Ian's sympathetic eyes met Calliope's for a moment. He smiled to her, then turned to William and Jon.

"Can you get to the king?" Ian asked them.

William rolled his eyes and Jon scoffed at him. "Of course," they said together.

"Good," Ian said. "Quickly. We need him on our side."

They wasted no time mounting their horses and galloping off into the forest. Their voices, encouraging their horses to go faster, faded into silence. Maria approached Ian's side and watched the young men disappear into the forest.

"I hope they can get to 'im in time," she muttered. She turned and watched Mido busy himself with his horse.

"I'm sure they will," Ian replied.

"Ya don't seem to 'ave much fait' in-'at."

"I have complete faith that they will reach the king quickly. I have complete faith in Calliope."

"But not in ya king?"

Ian hesitated. "I can't say I'd blame him for wanting to kill her. He has to do what's best for his kingdom."

"I think 'e will see that she can be trusted. S'long as Mido don't kill her 'imself in the meantime."

"I'm surprised he didn't kill her right when he found her."

"I'm surprised he took ya side. You two don't agree on much."

Ian nodded and smiled to himself. They were certainly unlikely friends. He, a hopeless romantic, while Mido loved women in quite a different way.

"Maybe you can get him to stop sleepin' 'round," Maria suggested, a look of disgust on her face.

"That's wishful thinking."

Maria turned to him and smiled. "Well, 'least there are still some decent men out 'ere." She met Calliope's watchful eyes and gave her a wink before leaving Ian's side. Ian joined Mido with the horses and patted his horse's neck. Calliope watched as the two men talked casually amongst themselves. She watched Mido with curiosity. The villagers seemed to trust in him. He certainly didn't appear to be any different from them. She supposed he was an attractive man. But there was an aura of power around him, and despite the fact that Calliope could easily do away with him, she felt intimidated by him. Perhaps his friends and neighbors felt the same way. Or maybe they knew better of him. He seemed to take their best interests into consideration. He was only protecting them from her threatening presence.

Calliope watched as the villagers tried to build a fire without the help of magic. She watched in wonder as they went about their lives in that moment. How could they possibly live without magic to help them? It seemed impossible; they'd never get a fire going. And then suddenly, they did. They did not cheer or congratulate each other, but simply stared into the flames as it caught and grew.

Calliope noticed Mido watching her. She dared a small smile in hopes of establishing the same kind of trusting relationship he shared with the others. An unsure, half-hearted smile broke across his stern face in return but only for a moment.

Mido grew weary of their fate as he watched the witch, unsure of how King Sloan would react when he found out his own people were trusting a witch.

Maybe Ian was right; her death would not be just. They owed her their lives, and he would see that she would not be harmed, as long as she remained loyal.