She whistled for her horse, which came calmly over to her and leaned slightly for her to easily climb upon it. Her long cloak rustled as she mounted it and gave a gentle tug on the reigns. “Let’s go, Star.” She said softly. The horse was an unusual color of silver, with deep, pale eyes.
Ariana rode silently along a wide trail, one that was well-known in this land. While being also know for its dangers at night, it was presumably the safest route one could take. She wasn’t afraid to take another, and she surely wasn’t unaware of their existence. This trail was a simple one, and one that would probably take the least effort to travel. She didn’t have time to fight more nocturnal creatures, nor the wish to.
Suddenly another figure appeared in the middle of the trail, a few feet before Ariana and Star. It was taller than Ariana, considerably. The cloak it wore hung loosely around its shoulders, the milky face clearly visible in the moonlight. The ocean-blue eyes were illuminated among the strands of black, silken hair. “So, you’re really going then.” The male voice said.
“You know how I feel, Mezoda.” Sighed Ariana, tugging Star to a stop.
“What about how we feel? Or are the feelings of those who care for you unimportant in the face of your task?” he asked, eyes glinting spitefully at every word.
“Everything is unimportant in the face of this.” She said, almost sadly.
“Then that’s it? You ride off in the moonlight and leave us here to simply wonder what’s going on?” He was stepping forward now, ignoring all the things he’d ever been taught, such as ‘never approach a fierce warrior quickly, especially if you know you are weaker than them’.
Ariana looked him in the eye. “Mezoda, please. Just go back to the village and wait. That’s all you can do to help me. Just stay out of danger.”
“And out of your way?”
“If you wish to see it that way, then so be it. But I cannot stay here with you and ignore what’s going on, neither can I allow you or the others to come with me when I know you would end up being killed.”
Mezoda frowned. “You don’t know that. How weak do you think I am? Just because you’re stronger-“
“Don’t bring this up again!” Ariana nearly growled, “I don’t care how strong I am, or how strong you are! It doesn’t matter! Stop using your insecurities as an excuse!”
Mezoda looked horribly hurt, but he wouldn’t step aside. “Then your feelings for me, if there ever were any, are just trivial now?”
“It pains me to say this, Mezoda, but yes. Now, they are.” With that, Ariana lifted her hand and a soft yellow light came from it. Mezoda opened his mouth to say something, but he instead collapsed against Star and into Ariana’s arms. “I’m sorry. I truly am.” She whispered, kissing his forehead and dropping him slowly to the ground. “When all of this is over, perhaps then we can be happy.” And in the minutes that followed, Ariana rode out of site, the light of the moon her only guide.
When Mezoda awoke he stood up stiffly. He looked all around the darkness of the trail. The moon had shifted and its light was no longer enough to see by. He sighed and lifted his hand, a great glow emanating from his fist and lighting the path. He walked back down the trail, the way Ariana had came from, and soon approached a small wooden hut. He stepped inside and pulled off his cloak, then looked at the other figures grimly. “She left.” He said flatly.
A short girl with pale blonde hair stepped forward. “You let her go?!” she demanded, her voice squeaking.
“It’s not like I had much choice. She put a sleeper spell on me. But she made it pretty clear that this is what she wants. Even if I had tried to fight her, there’s no way she’d stay with us.”
The blonde girl looked down sadly and another girl, with long, raven hair put an arm on her shoulder. “It’s all right, Pyxen. Ariana will come back to us.” The girl looked to Mezoda. “Do you know exactly where she’s heading?”
Mezoda shook his head. “Only the general area. It has to be somewhere in the Eastern Quad. My bet would be on the Diamond City or Bloomglow. Either way, it’s a rough trip.”
A man who had been sitting silently in the corner, glancing out the window, stood up. His hair was silver, and every bit as long as the dark-haired girl who stood beside Pyxen. With shimmering silver eyes, he spoke in a quiet tone. “Then that is where we should go.”
“Yeah! If we travel fast, I’m sure we could catch up with her!” Pyxen said, yellow hair bouncing with her enthusiasm.
“Don’t you guys understand? Ariana doesn’t want to be followed! She doesn’t want our help!” Mezoda yelled, getting surprised looks from his friends.
“Then you expect us to sit here and do nothing?” the man with silver hair asked.
Pyxen looked up at the other girl. “Shabra, you think we should follow her, don’t you?”
“Well… that is what we swore to do. It’s what we left our homes to do.” Shabra said thoughtfully.
Mezoda sighed again. “Pyxen and Cuoda, the both of you wish to do this?” Pyxen and the silver boy nodded. “Very well then. Let’s be on our way.”
The four of them rushed to pack up their things into brown and black sacks and rushed out to their horses. They quickly slung bag after bag over the animals’ backs and then each person climbed onto a horse that strangely resembled them. They gave each other determined looks before tugging reigns and riding off under the stars, following the one person who had changed their lives so drastically.