"Wall of Astrid--chapters 2 & 3" by Holly Knobloch

Chapter 2 two

 The cold night air bit at Nia’s nose and she regretted leaving so soon. Tiredness overcame her. Each stride became harder and harder. The only thing that made her go on was the thought her mother. Deep down she knew there was nothing she could do, but she had to try she wasn’t one to give up.

Unshed tears flowed down her cheeks and grief spread through her like poison running through her veins taking control of her. Thunder roared overhead and rain fell to the ground. As if the world was crying with her. Nia cursed at the sky, “Why!” she screamed, “Why!” Thunder bellowed in response to a flash of lightning. 

Nia knew she had to find shelter. She stopped and looked around her as a bright flash of lightning brought light to the forest and Nia recognized the path she was on. She traveled it many times before, it led to Raghnall’s house. 

Raghnall was like a grandfather to Nia. He had taught her many things and always found time to be with her. Nia and her mother had visited him often, for her mother had the healing gift and a man as old as Raghnall needed healing a lot. 

A dim light of happiness flickered inside of her. She smiled as she thought of the old man. He would know just the right thing to say to her to make her feel better. Maybe he would even know what to do about Nia’s mother. Hope gave her renewed strength and she quickened her pace and hurried to the old man’s cabin. 

She could smell his cooking once she found the path up to his house and for the first time she realized how hungry she was. Her mouth watered for a treat and her stomach rumbled loudly. Ignoring her aching feet she hurried up the door. Not having enough energy to knock on the door she through it open and called, “Raghnall!” she waited, no answer.

“Raghnall!” She called again. “Maybe he’s outside tending to the horses,” she thought out loud. 

“Nia,” a weak voice called to her from the kitchen. Worry flooded through her, that wasn’t the voice of the cheerful old man she knew and loved.

Nia followed the voice into the other room where she paused a wave of shock rushed through her for the second time that day. Lying in the middle of the floor was Raghnall. Nia could hear his faint breathing coming slowly and she could tell he was struggling. He called to her, “Nia,” 

She ran over to him kneeling next to him. For the first time she noticed the blood and scrapes that decorated his frail body. “W-what happened?” she stammered.

“O-ogre,” he told her grabbing her hand and looking deep into her eyes, “But that is not important now,” 

He released her hand and reached for a book that lay beside him, “Read this after I am gone and it will explain… everything.”

She took the book and sat it aside, “Please don’t leave me,” she cried.

“I must, it is,” he paused and pain adorned his wrinkled face, “my time,” he managed. 

“Please don’t leave me, not you and my mother,” she begged. 

She could feel him tense beside her, “What happened to… your mother?” he whispered so low that if Nia hadn’t been sitting right next to him she wondered if she would have known what he said.

“She turned to stone,” she told him. Tears stung her eyes.

“A basilisk,” he whispered.  

Nia had heard of them, but they were creatures from the dark times before the Great Wall was made.

Raghnall saw the confused look on Nia face and he told her, “The Great Wall has been broken.” 

Nia shuddered. The Great Wall was made thousands of years before her time locking away millions of creatures that brought harm to the human race. “I-is she dead?” Nia asked not wanting to hear the answer. She could see the answer on his scarred face.

“I’m afraid so,” He whispered sympathetically. Nia’s hopes and strength dropped she shuddered and wiped away a tear that had found its way down her cheek. But she wasn’t surprised the least bit. Deep down she knew it all along. 

“Nia,” the old man said, “listen to me, you must go to the king and tell him the Great Wall-” he paused and groaned, “Tell him the Great wall has been… broken. Y-you must hurry, you of all people are not safe here,” Nia gave a confused look and he explained, “It’s all in the book, but you must go take a horse and food and be on your way. They’re after you.” 

“Who? Who’s after me?” She demanded. But it was to late. He was gone. Another person she loved gone forever. He was the only other person that loved her even though she was a bastard. She kneeled over him and cried harder then she ever cried before. She cried for her mother, and now Raghnall. 

She picked up the book beside her and read the cover: NIA it said.

Her hands trembled as she opened it. She recognized Raghnall’s handwriting and began reading it;

Nia,

I haven’t always been honest with you, though I love you very much I am not just a man your mother came to heal every so often, I am indeed more then that. I am your grandfather.

Nia almost dropped the book. She looked at the man lying on the floor next to her. She never realized the resemblance between them they shared the same blue eyes and dark hair. Nia had his upturned nose and the same full lips. “Grandpa,” she whispered to the corpse beside her. Despite the coldness she felt earlier warmth filled her body. A tiny smile formed her lips and she read on:

            Please don’t be angry with me for not telling you, but it was for the best. I am your father’s father and although I know how much you want to know who he is it is not for me to tell but for you to find.

            Nia tried not to feel angry with him for keeping the secret but she could feel a little resilience toward him. How would she ever find a man she knew nothing of not even his name. She sighed angrily and read on. 

            But I can, however, tell you about him. Your father was one of the greatest mages in the whole kingdom. 

            Nia gazed at her ring and understood its weird reaction now. She never would have guessed and a burst of pride overflowed inside of her, she had to read on find out more. An inner light within her flickered with hope. It felt like she was going back in time gazing at her past. 

            He was the most powerful mage that lived, except for one who had much more power then him, that mage is you. 

            The last sentence brought a tremor through her body she looked down at her hands, “it can’t be true,” she told herself. They were hard and callused from many days of hard labor at home and school. She had forgotten about school. She realized how much she would miss it the endless hours of swordplay, archery, riding, and the arts.

            She wondered why she never seemed to do anything magical if she was really a mage. She had always grown up wishing for things and wanting them so bad she would cry at night. But nothing she ever wished for ever came true. The man must have been going daft when he wrote this, she decided. A test, she thought. She looked over at a vase full of flowers in the corner of the room and concentrated as hard as she could. “Break,” she said aloud in a clear firm voice. A flash of brilliant blue light struck the vase and it shattered into billions of pieces. Nia nearly had a heart attack. She could feel herself tremble beneath herself she looked down at her hands again and saw that they were glowing a radiant rich blue color. She turned her attention back to the book and read on.

            Your probably wondering why nothing magical happened before when you were younger, the answer to that is the ring. It held all your powers while you grew up the last thing your father wanted was you to do something in public and reveal yourself. So Amaya held the ring close to her as long as she could. 

            Nia looked at the ring again and noticed it was glowing with the same blue light she had just seen strike the vase. She was glad they didn’t let her use her magic, it was enough getting called names such as bastard and dirty blood. But magic was really looked down upon by the villagers. And yet she was angry they didn’t tell her, it was like they were hiding a big chunk of her. She gritted her teeth and calmed herself down, there was no reason to get mad, they were all gone now and it was no use holding a grudge. She sighed and read on, 

            And to conclude this letter I must tell you the truth abut Amaya, your mother. Amaya is not really your mother. 

            Nia dropped the book she was breathing hard and sweat fell down her forehead. She didn’t want to read another sentence. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t. “It’s not true none of it!” She decided, “The old man was daft!” She went into Raghnall, her grandfather’s room and changed into some of his breaches and a nice woolen shirt. She found a brown cape for warmth and headed out to the stables. 

            Drowsiness was overwhelming her but she knew there was no way she could sleep. She had wandered into a dream and she couldn’t get out. She yelled to the sky raining down on her, “How could you!” she sobbed, “Why me!” 

Chapter 3

            Nia walked down the endless rows of stalls each holding beautiful horses of all kinds. She examined each one carefully from head to toe. But each had at least one downfall. She grunted angrily and let her thoughts wander. Now I understand why I didn’t look like my mother, she thought, how could I be so daft as to not see it! She stomped her foot and kicked the door to the next stall. 

            She gazed inside it and was met with a pair of big brown eyes Nia could see something in them like a fire burning within. She examined the mare from head to rear. It wasn’t the best looking but she could see muscles jutting out where other horses didn’t. Nia stuck out her hand to pet it slowly she could see it was untrained by the way it held itself. “Hey girl,” she cooed. The horse shoved it face into her hand showing Nia she was friendly. 

            Nia smiled and found a saddle and fresh food and water. She brushed the horse and fed it all the while humming the tune of her past. The horse joined in naying along with her. Nia giggled and almost forgot the traumas of the day that hung over her like a shadow.

            She began to saddle up when her stomach growled for food. She realized she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She remembered the delicious food her mother had prepared and how they ate together laughing and joking through the meal. She remembered the smell that hung in the air just before she entered Raghnall’s house. She couldn’t ignore the emptiness in her stomach and decided to quickly grab a bite to eat. 

            She entered the house quietly and tip-toed to the kitchen she paid no heed to the deceased body in the middle of the floor. And quickly grabbed a bowl of soup. She walked over to the table stumbling over the book that still lay in the middle of the floor. She picked it up and examined it once again. It was a thick book full of empty pages except for those few where he wrote to her. She wasn’t ready to read it yet but she knew eventually she would want to and so she placed it in her potato sack and finished her soup.

                                           *****************

            The air was cold and Nia shivered beneath her cape. The rain had stopped and the storm settled all except a flash of lightning in the distance every now and then. Nia gripped the reins as hard as she could until she felt blood drip down her hands. Every now and then she would hear a rustle in the bushes or an owl in the trees. Each time she clutched the bow that hung on her back. She had taken it from Raghnall along with other helpful weapons. The horse trotted on and Nia felt her eyes grow heavy she struggled to keep them open until finally she gave in to the tiredness that filled her body and she fell into a deep sleep.  

            Nia opened her eyes to the morning sun hanging low in the sky. She looked down questionably at the horse and the day before came flashing back into her mind like an unwanted gift. She choked back a sob and dug her heals in the horse’s side for it to gallop. 

            The horse leaped into an uncanny speed and Nia’s mood lifted. She sniffed the cool morning air and beckoned the horse to stop. Almost suddenly the horse was still and Nia flew forward into a large mud puddle. 

            “Why I ought a!” she threatened. The horse roared with what seemed like laughter and Nia rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. 

            She sighed angrily and said, “I saw a river back there,” she grabbed the horses rein and lead it toward the narrow river. The sun reflected off the water causing it to gleam beautifully. Without even checking the water Nia stripped off her clothes and jumped in. The water embraced her and she fell into as if it was the softest bed. She rubbed away the dirt and grime from the day before and scrubbed her scalp until she was sure it couldn’t get any cleaner. 

            She fell on her back letting herself float down stream for a few minutes. Forgetting the traumas of the day before she sighed happily and wished life could be this simple for her again. 

            So much had happened in the last day that it felt like an eternity. But yesterday around this time she was picking flowers for her mother not a care in the world. She wished she could wake from this nightmare. Looking back all this seemed so unreal her mother, Raghnall, the ring, her father. Just make sure she pinched her arm and jumped with pain, no doubt it was all real.  

            The horse whinnied in the distance and Nia knew she had to get going. “They’re after you.” Raghnall’s words echoed in her head. Who’s after me? Why? She wondered. The horse nayed again and Nia swam to shore and put her clothes back on. She got on the horse and galloped away with a sudden knew concern for what was to come of her future.