Chapter 3 Ala
It wasn’t easy watching his uncle ride away with the others. The six men and five women who chose to go to the lowlands to help save Ellington, rose early, before dawn. Ala helped his uncle pack his bags and though his yearning to accompany them weighed heavily on his heart, he didn’t tell Malosi. Ala hoped his uncle would change his mind on his own.
An empty wish.
And now, after watching the furry antlers bob along through the trees as the men and women rode down the mountain without him, the musty smell of deer lingered in the lonely camp. The fires smoldered with fading coals and remnants of breakfast.
Teo and Firetongue had gone ahead of the caravan, but Nana Dai lingered longer. It would take her and Laurel no time to catch up. She strapped her bags onto her dragon and eyed Ala, watching her.
In the mountain, Laurel concealed herself against the snow. Only her bright green eyes gave her away if you were close enough to her. Now, in camp, the dragon’s brilliance blinded Ala against the dark shadows of the woods.
Dai threw the last of her bundles onto Laurel’s back, but before she mounted, she turned to Ala and stretched out her hand for him to come to her. A plea to go with her was on his lips. He could easily ride on the back of Laurel. Yet, that would be begging, and Dai had already given him her answer. With the pouch he had made for Bassil snug across his chest and the hatchling resting lazily in it, he walked to Dai and let her wrap her arms around him.
“There will be time in your life that you will go to other lands with Bassil. You will be a leader someday. Like Teo. Perhaps you will ride alongside Firetongue. But that day hasn’t come yet, my dear, Ala.”
Ala nodded, though he was buried against her warm body, and he was certain she couldn’t see. Which was good, because tears leaked from his eyes, and he didn’t want her to see him cry.
“Promise me,” he whispered, and Dai took him by the shoulders, stooped down so that their eyes met. She dried his tears with her thumb.
“Promise me you will return.” He bit his lip, fearing the pain that might come if his uncle and Dai desert him.
“I will return. And so will Malosi,” she said. “You will not be alone while we’re gone. There are many people staying behind. Rena is here with you and will help you care for Bassil. Right now, he is the most important responsibility you have. Keep him safe. Feed him well but don’t let him get fat. He will sprout like a fast-growing willow, and it won’t be long before you can train him to carry you. Why, you will probably be riding him before we return.”
Her kiss was warm on his cheek, her caress comforting, and he hugged her back. He swallowed his tears.
“Be safe, Nana. May the protection of Bassil be with you and my uncle. I’ll miss you but I’ll make you proud when you return,” he whispered. She returned his smile, climbed onto Laurel’s back, and soon they were soaring off the mountain, above the trees, following the reindeer and the warriors.
He raced to the farthest point overlooking the vista, his heart pounding. Rena slipped her hand into his as she stood next to him. Together, they watched Dai and Laurel fly away.
Rena wasn’t too much older than Ala, maybe nineteen. She was a pretty girl, but quiet and polite, and had always been a friend since Ala could remember. Soft-spoken and sympathetic, he enjoyed her company and was glad that, of all the people left to watch him, Dai had chosen Rena. The two watched in silence until the caravan of people disappeared into the mist of the valley and could no longer be seen. The two dragon riders appeared as eagles circling above the fog in the lowlands. When they, too, finally vanished into the distant landscape, Rena sighed heavily.
“I hope it is a brief battle, that they’ll win, and come home satisfied. And that their service is appreciated.”