Layla

Chapter 5

  After a night of joyful merriment, dancing, laughing and singing, Sweenlah and I were ready to begin our adventure. We grabbed our bags and headed outside to the carriage that would take us through the mountains. After the mountains, we would continue our trek on horseback.

  I held my carpetbag with two hands; the Beatiez had made sure it was full of everything I could possibly need. It was lighter than Sweenlah's, though. Her mother had packed hers.

  "Here we are. Clupint will be one of the horses pulling the carriage, so when we are dropped off on the other side of the mountain you will have something to ride." Sweenlah looked at the carriage, smiling. "Isn't it lovely?"

  It was so small. Despite the picturesque paintings and engravings along the sides of the doors, it could not be considered beautiful. It was doubtful that I could even manage to sit up in it!

  "Um, yes, well? is there by any chance," I stalled, nervous. I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

  Sweenlah shook her little head. "No, Layla, I am afraid that is the biggest we have." Her smile was full of unsympathetic mischief.

  I sighed and climbed in. This was sure to be one unforgettable, uncomfortable ride. But a mysterious thing happened that made me reconsider. As I sat down, the ceiling rose high above my head! Sweenlah smiled proudly as I pointed in astonishment.

  "But, what?" I stuttered, happy but confused. Then I realized that it hadn't risen above Sweenlah's head, just mine!

  "Fairies," she whispered. I questioned her no further.

  Even though I had plenty of headroom, after a while sitting became boring. I shoved my legs up on the seat beside me and laid my head down on my arms. Sitting across from me, Sweenlah looked on with amazement. Why would a princess sit like that? Because she wanted to! Finally Sweenlah gave up and lay down, too.

  Sweenlah was the sweetest partner one could wish for. She always obeyed me. She always agreed to my plans. But of course, I was still the princess. That probably had a lot to do with it. It wasn't like I was going to behead every person who disagreed with me, though! It was easy and tough at the same time. I had a hard time trying to figure out if she obeyed out of adoration or from the excitement of getting to go on the quest.

  "Did you know that you are allowed to diverge your opinion from mine?" I asked as we jostled along the bumpy road. It was only a friendly tease, but her eyes told that she didn't understand. I reached over and patted her arm. "I was just playing, but you know-" I stopped when the coach tipped over. Something had knocked us completely sideways!

  I was knocked back to my senses when Sweenlah started kicking, and I realized I was on top of her.

  "You all right?" I asked her. She nodded. My hand started for the carriage doorknob to see what was going on, but Sweenlah stopped me.

  "Look first." Her voice quiet and gentle, she pulled back the curtain.

  I gasped.

  A Faash, over eight feet tall was outside the door. He was Orange all over, scaly ochre skin, with thin tan hair that looked like wire sprouting from his head and ears. His teeth were white as sea foam, and his leather vest hung at his shoulders like a burlap sack. He sat defiantly, watching over the shoulder of a younger one. The shorter Faash had wrenched off the coachman's right leg, and the taller one was working on the footman. Called a footman for a reason. The Faash was sitting there chewing off his feet!

  I squinted my eyes, wanting to shut them, but unsure of what to do.

  The Faash then took the footman's head and held it between its two hands and crushed it, spewing blood inside the small window opening. I went pale with horror, and Sweenlah stood up, panicking.

  "No!" I whispered, pulling her down. "We don't want them to know we're in here!" But it was too late. I squeezed her hand as she started to snivel and sob. First quietly, then more loudly.

  "You have to be quiet! You don't want them to squish your head, do you?" My scolding was quieter than her moaning. But I began to scold myself as I heard a polite rap at the door. I pinched myself to make sure I was awake. Dared I touch the doorknob? Faashes don't knock. Or do they? I had most certainly never met one before. I looked to Sweenlah for counsel, but she looked already dead with fear. So much for her being prepared. I opened the tiny door, and braced myself for a whack in the head. But instead, I received a polite, but bloodstained, hairy orange hand held out for me.

  Uneasy, I took it. I did not want to make the creature mad. It led me out and did the utterly expectable. It jerked me this way and that, searching for the perfect position for devouring my arm. Reflexively, I jerked myself free and stood there wondering how I had just accomplished such a thing. So did the Faash. In fact, everybody stood there, doing nothing but sitting there in awe, trying to remember what we were doing when something amazing happened. A fly buzzed in one ear of the Faashes and out the other. We all stood there, taken aback by what had just happened, trying to remember what we were doing. And the Faash remembered first.

  "Go!" I shouted to Sweenlah as I was being yanked nearly in circles. "Meet me at the huge wild oak near the entrance of the forest! Take Clupint and tie him somewhere I can find him!"

  I wasn't able to watch her, but I could picture her jumping on her horse, grabbing mine and trotting off at an uneasy pace, looking back at me every two seconds.

  I struggled, and he struggled. I tugged at his grimy ears, and he tugged at my tender arms. It felt as if he were trying to pull them off. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity of thrashing, he jabbed me in the stomach with his knee. I crumpled to the ground with yelps of exasperated pain bounding from the depths of my throat. Then something poked at my sore stomach. My sword!

  "Kneel before royalty, you impossible imbecile!" I sunk my sword into his chest with what strength I had left, and then pulled it back out. He stooped dumbly before me, clutching his wound in pain.

  "Ha! Not bad for my first try, huh?" I swung my sword around, and then slid it back into the scabbard. I stood with my hands on my hips, my head high, proud of myself.

  Then I heard more Faashes.

  "Time to go!" I ran off through the woods, arms around my stomach.

  Once safely by myself, I examined my injury. It wasn't bad, just bruised. Then I began wishing that I had acquired something that had belonged to a Faash to prove that I had encountered them.

  "Maybe I should go to their camp tonight," I thought aloud as I wrung my shaking hands. "Then I will have more to show father, Brye and LaShebah."

  Suddenly something nudged me from the back, and I jumped up with a start and a stick in my hand.

  "Clupint!" I exclaimed. Sweenlah had left him in the perfect spot. I nuzzled his nose, and then sat back down, fingering my necklace in deep concentration. I knew that if I went to the camp, I would endanger myself and might not be able to meet worried Sweenlah. But, if I didn't go, I knew that I would regret it later. Besides, what is being a warrior all about? Is it not about taking chances and being impetuous?

  "I'm going," I decided. "And I had better not stop myself."

  After tying Clupint securely to a tree by my makeshift camp, I headed out walking as tranquilly and serenely as I could, being careful not to step on twigs and scare myself. Every time I made a noise, I stopped and looked around as if I thought someone were following me. What a comical fool I was! I wanted to be a lady-knight, yet snapping twigs scared me! I laughed out loud, then clapped my hand over my mouth. Had I been heard? I had no clue how close I was to the Faash camp. It could be miles or a mere fifty feet. I held my breath and kept moving, keeping my hand on my scabbard all the while. It gave me a feeling of safety.

  "There," I pointed towards a campfire. I was showing myself where to go.

  I didn't know why I talked to myself so much; I thought that it was because I could easily become insane. But if that was the case, then I would have gone insane long ago, when I was still living in the castle. I almost laughed aloud again, just at the thought, but I stopped myself by biting my tongue. As I approached their camp I kept biti
ng it from fear. Harder and harder. Finally blood filled my mouth, sending the chilling taste of metal to my spine.

  I didn't want to swallow it, but I knew that if I spit it out, the Faashes would smell it. It was torture keeping the red bile in my mouth for so long. Then, from behind me came a noise. Hatred started boiling on my tongue.

  "Let? me go!" I cried as huge arms surrounded my neck.

  Couldn't they let me live with one accomplishment? They should make it easier. But, no. I couldn't think like that. It was bound to get me nowhere but into the belly of a Faash. Nothing was easy. Especially not this.

  I spit the blood into the Faash's face. It smiled, and licked it off with its green scaly tongue. Its eyes were a buttery white. The blood had no negative effect on him whatsoever.

  In an attempt to control my flailing arms, it smashed my mouth up against its ear cartilage, reeking of foul sweat. The blood from my mouth rubbed over it, mixing the orange and red. It looked like fire. I screamed directly into its ear, causing it to stumble backwards, its hands clasped to the temporary throbbing damage I had done.

  I ran for the camp without a second look. I ran so fast that I didn't notice a tent until I went past it. I stopped and skidded, then ran into it. I threw the lid off a trunk and frantically started rummaging through it, throwing smelly items out until I found what I needed. I pulled a shoe, a wonderful living, and smelly proof that I had defeated a particular Faash that once had eyes to eat me.

  My first sweet victory. I could taste it. The triumph swelled in my veins, until a looming shadow appeared in the tent's doorway. Why were they so angry? Then I remembered. I was stealing from them, not only their shoe, but a dinner, too! But I did have a right to keep myself. Just no regarding the shoe. Oh well.

  I dodged past the creature without a thought. And to my surprise, it didn't run after me. Laughing like a lunatic, I rounded the bend to my hide out, where I fell asleep as soon as I hit the ground.