Fire in the Forest

"My Lord, your horse is missing. I don't know who took him."

"Thank you. I'll be right there."

The stable hand bowed and left.

James looked into Lilly's room and found the room empty. Running to the stables, he checked out Torta's stall. The gear still hung where it always did. Why didn't she take it? She had even left the bridle. How could she lead a horse without a bridle? Torta didn't take kindly to the rope. He was still puzzling over what she didn't take when the stable hand called for his attention.

"My Lord, look!"

James turned. Torta approached the stable. His hooves clattered on the cobblestones. He entered his stall like nothing had happened. For good measure, James checked him over for any injuries. There were none. Nor was there any dirt in his hooves, as was typical when they traveled outside of town. He pulled out Lilly's comb and ran it through Torta's coat. He nickered, his lips pulling back in pleasure to reveal his teeth.

He tried to use the brushing to not worry over Lilly any more. She was out of the city. She had returned to the forest. But how did she recover from Human noise? What if the noise at dinner was enough to make her ill? Ill enough to need a replacement? He doubted Lilly would accept his questions with how much he had likely not yet read about her people. Sighing, James put the comb down and went to bed. He'd pick up his search and study in the morning.

But morning was long in coming. The dreams he had with all of the possibilities of how being at dinner the night before would end for Lilly. James woke early and saddled up Torta. He rode through town to the outer edge. He was about to continue towards the forest, when he saw Lilly up on a ridge, struggling to walk. She reached the top and disappeared from sight. Turning Torta, he followed. On the top of the ridge, in a secluded place, Lilly lay; breathing hard, her face scrunched in pain. Several small creatures lay close to, or on, her. As James approached, the little ones scattered. She rolled away from him and coughed. It sounded like there was something in her lungs that refused to come up. Gently, he sat her up and wrapped his arms around her. Her body was heating up with fever and he had no medicines to aid her. Torta bumped his shoulder, which moved her as well.

'Get on Torta, James.' Her voice was soft, and he nearly missed it.

Picking her up, he sat her on Torta, before climbing up himself. Torta started through the trees to a river. James helped Lilly down and laid her in the shallows. She lay there with her eyes closed for a long time. He wasn't sure how long she needed to stay, but soon she crawled out on her own. He pulled a blanket from behind the saddle and offered it to her, but she shook her head.

'Thank you, both,' Lilly said. She turned to continue her walk to the forest.

'Let us give you a ride,' he said.

Lilly didn't stop walking, but she still responded. 'It will be best for me to walk out the rest of this illness.'

'So you will recover?'

'Yes, Prince.'

'You won't need a replacement?'

'No, Prince. I am the one Adremedian who will never need a replacement.'

'I don't understand.'

'Continue your reading.'

James climbed onto Torta and slowly returned to the castle. To the tutors to go through boring studies then back to his reading about the Adremedians.

When evening came, he had finished the sections of books Lilly had marked for him. He joined his father and the other courtiers for dinner. He didn't participate in the conversation at the table. He was too deep in thought about what foods Lilly had and had not eaten. She hadn't touched the meat at all; just the vegetables and bread. None of the books mentioned their diet. They lived in a diversity of places. But with how the author had written that information it inferred that only one Adremedian lived in any given area. He'd have to verify that with Lilly.

James slept better that night, knowing that Lilly would recover. That dinner hadn't made her sick enough to die. He woke early the next morning and walked into the room where Lilly had stayed briefly. Standing at the window, he watched some of the people work in the courtyard below him.

'Have you never seen a chicken get killed before?' he wondered, still thinking about her.

'That day was the first.'

James turned around, half expecting to see her. 'Lilly?'

'Yes, Prince.'

'Where are you?'

'Recovering in the place I call home.'

'The forest?' he checked.

'Yes,' she replied.

'Are you the only Adremedian that lives in the forest?'

'I am.'

'You sound tired. Are you all right?'

'Too soon to tell.'

'Lilly?...Lilly?' James sighed. "Must have fallen asleep."

He looked at the sky. The moon was nearly full and he watched as dark gray clouds slowly glided past. Soon more clouds gathered and the lightning flashed. For several minutes the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled. The forest caught fire and more lightning flashed. The rain started coming down as James rushed out to make sure Lilly was safe.

He joined several from the village rushing toward the forest with whatever buckets they could carry. Anything to help put the fire out. Many of the men needed to shout in order to be heard above the roar and cracking of the burning trees. To be heard when the sound of the thunder rumbling nearly left them deaf. A level of noise Lilly would try to get as far away from as she could. He turned Torta deeper into the trees.

'Lilly?!'

'James?' she replied, not sounding entirely aware.

'Where are you?'

'Safe and going back to sleep.'

'Are you hurt?'

'No.'

Despite the reassuring answer, James searched for her. He rode Torta until he couldn't hear them anymore. Climbing down, he searched every tree for the light blue fabric. After a few hours he found her. He climbed the tree where she was. She didn't look too well. There were no burn marks, though she smelled of smoke. Her complexion seemed pale and her breathing a little shallow. He desired very much to take her back to the castle to help her get better, but he knew it was her visit to the castle that had made her sick in the first place. Gently, he brushed the hair out of her face.

'Sleep well, beautiful.'

Then he climbed down and rode Torta back to the castle. As he rode away, he thought he heard a faint, 'You, too, Prince.'