Victim of Fate (11 page)

* * * *

The sun was setting behind Alto and Winter as
they rode up to James's farm. James and Kevard were working on
fixing damaged boards on the barn. James turned and looked up,
hearing the unicorn's hooves on the hard ground. He stumbled and
called out for his boy to look.

"Hail!" Alto cried out to them as he rode up.
He slid off Winter's back and took a few awkward steps until his
muscles loosened. "I was here the other day. Yesterday, I think?
Saints above, it's been a long night and day. I've lost track of
the time."

"Alto, right? I remember you. It's good to
see you. Uh, is that...I mean, that's not the horse you rode out
on. That's not even a horse, is it? Um, what is it?"

"This is Winter," Alto said with a chuckle.
The unicorn whinnied and stomped its hoof. "And yes, he's a
unicorn. I was separated from my friends in the forest and Winter
came to me and helped guide me out."

"Ran into your friends in Fairhaven. They was
fresh out of the woods and looking worse for wear. They said the
wasps was dead."

"That all they said?" Alto asked.

"They said they lost you in the woods, too,"
James said. "They feared you was gone for. Guess they was
wrong."

"Any mention of why they didn't look for
me?"

James frowned. "What happened in there?"

Alto looked at Winter and received an
encouraging snort. He turned back to the farmer and said, "We found
the nest but before we could get close to it, a fog rose out of the
stream and killed the wasps. It made us sick but we got away. I was
closest to the fog; I think it messed with me the most. I barely
reacted when some animals came out of the trees and attacked us. I
fought them off but couldn't make it to my friends."

"They said something about some monsters in
the woods that they feared got you. Said one of their horses was
killed, too, one that belonged to the man that looks almost as
young as my boy here."

"Namitus," Alto breathed.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"So Sebas lives."

"Sebas?"

"My horse." Alto grinned with relief.

"Oh, well, I suppose that's true enough, but
the boy's riding it now. Said they was headed to Holgasford
next."

Alto nodded. "As am I."

"Be careful, son; don't go looking to do no
harm. They don't strike me as the type to steal a man's horse."

"No, they're not," Alto agreed. "They're my
friends. I don't fault them for thinking me lost. I told them to go
on and that I'd join them."

"You look no better off than they did," James
said as he came closer. "Holgasford is a long ride to the north.
Come inside. We don't have much but we can get to our root cellar
now. My wife's making dinner; it's a stew without much more than
some barley and leftover stock from the pantry."

Alto felt his stomach lurch at the thought of
a home-cooked meal. He nodded. "I could do well with some food, but
I don't want to put you out."

"You risked your life for us," James said.
"It's the least we can do. It seems my daughter is gone; it would
do my heart good to help someone I think she'd have liked."

Alto nodded. He'd forgotten about the
farmer's daughter in his ordeals. "I saw no sign of her. I'm
sorry."

James nodded. "It is what it is. I thank you
for looking. Come, Alto, inside to a warm fire. I've no livestock
left but plenty of hay and oats in the barn for your, uh,
steed."

"That okay with you?" Alto turned to
Winter.

A toss of the mane and a stomp of its foot
was his answer.

"Got any apples or carrots?"

James laughed. "He's got a bit of a sweet
tooth, has he?"

"I guess he does." Alto looked at the unicorn
and was rewarded with an approving whinny. He followed the farmer
as he walked to the house in search of the sugary vegetables. It
wasn't his home or his family, but he was looking forward to a
single night of normal.

James glanced back before entering the house.
"I thought unicorns only let maidens ride them?"

Alto woke the next morning in a strange
place. He'd grown accustomed to sleeping in new places but it took
him a moment to remember the small room. He'd slept in Rosalyn's
room, a guest of James and Willamina for the night. He wondered how
Winter had done in the barn. Or, for that matter, if the unicorn
had even bothered sticking around. Alto hoped he hadn't been
abandoned; it was a long walk to Holgasford and, as strange as it
seemed, he'd come to enjoy the unicorn's company.

Alto gathered his things and made his way out
into the farmhouse. He moved as quietly as he could but noises in
the house reassured him that he wasn't the first to rise. James was
tying his boots as Alto walked out. The farmer grunted a greeting
and flashed the young warrior a smile.

"Up at the sun—you really are a farmer's
boy!" James chuckled.

"James, leave him be," Willamina scolded.

"What?" the farmer asked. "Just seems a shame
having such a strapping young man risking life and limb when he
could be safe."

"Without him and his friends, we'd not have a
farm to live on. No farmer could have done what they did."

Alto opened his mouth to point out that they
didn't end the threat but the two continued to badger back and
forth. Alto smirked. He knew they weren't upset, just showing their
love for each other in an unusual way. He found he missed the
dialogue. Not enough to stick around, though.

"My thanks for your hospitality and for a
room. A night's rest has done me wonders. But I've far to go and
the daylight's wasting."

"The daylight's wasting," James echoed. "See
what I mean? He's a natural. Sun’s up in the swamp, my father used
to say."

Willamina shook her head and turned back to
the kitchen. "Stay for breakfast, at least."

Alto chuckled. "I would. Your cooking is
every bit as good as my mother’s, but then James would come up with
something and I'd be obliged to help. Before long I'd be here the
full day, then the week and soon enough I'd never leave."

"Sounds like a plan then, what's for
breakfast?" James chirped up.

Willamina laughed. She shook her head. "Go,
Alto, go before he gets his hooks in you!"

Alto made his way outside with James and
found Winter wandering through the farmer's barren field. The
unicorn looked up as they came out and walked over to join them.
"I'm glad you're still here," Alto said.

James shook his head and stared at Winter's
white hide and horn. "He's beautiful," the farmer admitted. "Can't
say I ever expected to see anything like him."

"I don't know what I've done to deserve
Winter helping me, but I hope I can keep doing it," Alto admitted.
He turned to the unicorn and said, "What say you, friend? I've got
many miles to go to the north. Will you bear me? I promise more
apples and carrots as soon as I can find them. Clover, too, if I
can manage it this late in the year."

Winter whickered and brushed up against Alto.
Alto grinned at the contact and rubbed the animal's neck. "Seems
I'm off then. James, I can't thank you enough for your help. You've
made me feel alive and well again."

"Stop by anytime, Alto. I can always put you
to work if you'll accept room and board as pay!"

Alto grinned. "An honest wage for honest
work, the best a man has any right to ask for."

James threw his hands up in the air. "Get
going, boy, or I'll lame your steed and keep you hostage!"

Alto climbed onto Winter's back and grimaced.
He had enough coin to buy a saddle but little more. That was
supposing he could find a town with a saddle for sale. Until then,
he would bear up under the discomfort. He just hoped he wouldn’t
need to fight from Winter's back; he'd be doomed to fall and bust
his head open.

With a final wave of farewell, Alto guided
Winter out and headed to the north and east. Holgasford was days
away, but exactly how to get there from Fairhaven he wasn't
certain. He shrugged the worries away. Sooner or later he expected
he'd cross a road and from there other travelers or a town. Alto's
stomach grumbled as they rode over a low hill and left the farm
behind. Maybe breakfast wouldn't have been such a bad idea after
all.

* * * *

"I'll walk the rest of the way," Alto told
Winter on the final morning of his trek to Holgasford. Winter
snorted and turned away from the apple Alto offered. "It's not that
far! And besides, the Kelgryn are a superstitious lot. Probably
less than a handful of them have ever seen a unicorn before."

Winter snorted again. He swung his head back
and took the apple, and then turned away from Alto again. "You
think I'm just tired of being asked if I'm a maiden?"

The unicorn whickered, a sound Alto was
beginning to suspect was laughter.

"Do I look like a maiden to you?" Alto
grumbled. "I'm tired of it, yes, but do you have any idea how
difficult it is for a man to ride bareback? I can't hardly walk or
sit down after the days we've spent together!"

Winter turned and bit at the chain links of
his shirt.

"The armor's no fun for you either? I guess
that makes sense. If you'd let me fit a saddle, you wouldn't feel
it, though, so that's your own fault!" Alto remembered when he'd
tried to put a saddle on Winter's back. The unicorn had not been
approving and he'd taken a front hoof in the stomach as punishment.
His armor had saved him from injury but the blow had knocked his
wind from him.

Winter stomped his front foot, a friendly
reminder of the incident. Alto grimaced.

"So let's walk, or, if you'd prefer, you
could return to your forest. Kind of a nasty place, though, if you
ask me."

Winter nodded and stepped sideways to give
him a gentle nudge towards the road.

"You know a proper mount would let me load a
pack and bags as well," Alto tried to reason. Winter danced away
from him. "Just as well, my horse should be waiting for me. You're
smart and amazing, but you could stand to learn a few things from
him."

Winter lifted his tail and left a steaming
suggestion of what he thought of that on the grassy floor of their
campsite. Alto sighed and picked up his pack. "All right, let's go
then."

They walked side by side down the road
towards Holgasford, joining up with a larger road busy with
merchants and other travelers. Each person they passed fell silent,
gaping at Winter. After they left them behind, Alto could hear the
whispers. A smile crept on his lips at one point when he heard a
man say to another, "Pity none of us could ride it; legend says
such a beast will only bear a maiden on them."

Winter glanced at him and Alto winked back.
Winter huffed but kept walking with his head held high. Alto
reached up to pat the unicorn on the back and then let his hand
fall to his side. In the distance, he could see the sharpened
timber logs that made up the wall around Holgasford.

The distraction of the people around them
made the time and distance pass quickly. They stood at the open
gates and waited their turn to enter. Amidst the overcast skies and
the press of humanity, Winter's white fur seemed to glow. Others
kept their distance, staring and whispering but not daring to come
within a few feet of them.

"What's this?" a guard called when the people
in front of them cleared away. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No joke, friend," Alto said. "His name is
Winter, and he's a unicorn."

"You don't look like a maiden," the guard
said.

Winter offered a horsey chuckle while Alto
scowled. "No, I'm not. My name is Alto; I'm a friend of Jarl
Teorfyr and Princess Patrina."

The guard's eyes widened. "Alto? Of the
Blades of Leander? You've changed some since I last seen you."

"We've met?"

"I was with the jarl when he marched in the
spring to Kingdom lands to help with the siege of Highpeak," the
guard said.

Alto stepped forward and offered his hand.
The guard took it and they embraced. "The honor is mine," Alto
said. "Those were interesting times."

"Seems you live in interesting times." The
guard cast a look at the unicorn. "Is this a gift for the
princess?"

Alto turned to Winter and saw the unicorn
looking suspiciously at him. He smirked. "Winter has his own wants
and goals. I have no claim to him; he's been a great friend to me
in my travels. He does what he wants, but with a sweet apple, I
find I can get him to do a little more than most."

Winter stomped the ground, earning a chuckle
from Alto. "May we enter, my friend?"

"Of course, the stables are to the right of
the gate."

Alto turned to look at Winter. The unicorn
had refused to spend time in stables before and he suspected this
would be no different. His memories flashed back to the trouble
he'd gotten in the first time he'd ridden Sebas into a Kingdom city
instead of stabling the stallion. He shrugged. "My thanks. Could
you tell me how to get to the palace? I've never been here
before."

The guard laughed. "Straight away. The jarl's
hall is in the center of the city; it's also the highest
point."

Alto nodded. "Defensible, that's smart."

The guard grinned.

Alto led Winter into the city, eschewing the
stable and walking the unicorn into the city. He hoped that
majestic nature of the beast and his own history with the jarl and
Trina would earn him some leniency. "No pooping in the city,
okay?"

Winter bumped him with his hindquarters and
sent him stumbling a few steps before he caught himself. Alto
returned to the unicorn's side with a red face.

Their journey through the city was quicker
than he expected. Holgasford, for being the second most important
Kelgryn city, was not overly large. It was smaller even than
Portland, or at least the city proper was. Buildings and merchants
were set up outside the timber walls. Inside were mostly houses and
halls, as well as a few smithies and bakeries. Alto walked past two
earthen ramps that took them past sharpened spikes driven into the
ground to act as pikes. The city was built to be defended from
attack. Alto found himself approving of the design even as he
couldn't imagine a way for an enemy army to attack without
incredible loss of life.