Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 304

Chapter 304: Lavender
Ford blinked at the bizarre sight that opened up in the middle of a mature, dense forest.

Lavender covered most of the clearing ahead. There were no trees in a wide, perfect circle. It was nearly eerie how perfectly round the clearing was, with not a tree branch nor root breaching what seemed like an invisible barrier.

“Let’s go. There.” Mia pointed to the far side. The scent of the lavender rose like incense through the air as the horses walked across it, slowing their pace and breathing heavily.

They had been pushed hard on the way here.

“Are we safe?” Seth asked his daughter as he looked around. “What is this place?”

“I have no idea,” Mia gulped. “I was looking for the safest place to spend the night.”

Ford was only half-listening, his eyes focused on the crisp waterfall flowing out of the top of a cliff the height of two men.

Not from over the top of the land, but from a hole in the side. Like a spring that was facing the wrong direction somehow, or an aqueduct that had been cut off in the middle.

“So… this is where we’re spending the night?” Grandpa asked. “I’ve seen worse places, to be sure.”

“The water… is it water, or is it more creatures like those from before?” Anaisa pointed to the brook that formed at the base of the cliff and ran into the forest with a babbling flow.

“I don’t know.” Mia’s face crumpled. “I know a lot less than I want to, and I’m sorry for that. I can only lead you where my magic takes me, I don’t have much extra information.”

Seth leaned over and ducked his head to get her eye contact.

“You’ve done marvelously, Mia. Far better than any of us could have fared without you.”

The young woman rewarded him with a halfhearted smile.

“Hey!” Ford called as Daniel jumped down from his horse and ran towards the stream. “Daniel!”

“Daniel! Wait!” The boy’s mother scrambled off her own mount. “What are you doing?”

The boy stopped at the edge of the water and stared into it carefully before his mother caught up with him. Grabbing him by the wrist, she spun him towards herself.

“Daniel!”

“I’m just checking on the water,” He said. “The changers moved when we got close, I think this water would as well,” He pointed at it, but it moved as normal water should. “I think it’s safe to drink.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Grandpa tilted his head. “In the past day and a half, we’ve encountered things humans haven’t before, at least, not for a very long time. We shouldn’t make assumptions like that without some kind of testing.”

“What kind of testing?” Seth turned to his father curiously.

A gentle buzzing added to the muted babble of the clearing. A single, clumsy bumblebee casually flew past the family, occasionally losing altitude and regaining it in a near-comical lack of flying prowess.

“Hey Buzzster,” Grandpa smiled at the creature. “Mind checking out the water for us?”

Ford wondered at the man’s conversations with the insects he controlled. So far as he knew, the words weren’t part of the magic; the man orchestrated the bugs just as easily when he said nothing at all to them.

So it must be just oddly conversational, to name the creatures and talk to them as if they were people. Of course, he’d seen Mia do something similar and her power had nothing at all to do with animals.

The bee made its way to the stream with the remaining humans following while mounted. The horses seemed very interested in the water, but Mia held back her horse until Grandpa could investigate. Ford followed the example.

The bee landed on a rock in the shallow brook and leaned down, first dipping itself gently in the water and then seeming to drink for several moments before fluttering its wings and buzzing away, none the worse for wear.

“Does that mean you think it’s safe, too?” Daniel asked.

“At least for the animals, in all likelihood,” Grandpa responded.

Mia’s horse tossed her head, trying to pull the reins away from her rider’s hands to get closer.

“All right, I’ll let Harper drink,” The woman seemed slightly reluctant to do so, but her horse more than made up for the lack of enthusiasm. Mia dismounted before letting the horse have her head to drink greedily from the stream.

The other humans watched, restraining their horses for reasons they couldn’t quite articulate. Losing Harper would be awful, but losing all the animals would be far worse.

Harper drank while Mia anxiously watched, relaxing by slow degrees as the horse seemed to be fine. Eventually, the other animals were allowed to drink as well; they’d earned it with their journey through the woods.

“I think we made fairly good time today, despite the delay of dealing with the changers,” Grandpa patted his horse and looked around.

“I agree,” Seth said, glancing at his daughter as if to make sure she really understood how good a job she’d done. Her lower lip quivered slightly.

“I don’t know how far off course we are. I looked for the safest place to camp for the night, not the most direct path. I made a choice to prioritize us over finding Uncle Trace. I hope… That is, Aunt Annie, will you forgive me?”

“Oh, Mia,” Anaisa moved closer to wrap the girl in a tight hug. “Your father told you that you’re doing beautifully, and you are. There is nothing to forgive. You have kept us safe, and that is important.”

“That’s what I thought,” Mia sighed, “but… I’m never sure if I’m making exactly the right decision in how to balance those things.”

“If there’s an exact right way to do anything, I’ve never found it,” Seth joked.

Ford frowned. Of course there had to be a right way to do things, or at least an absolute best way. Should it not be encouraged to find it? He shook his head.

“So, do we set up tents and make a fire, or no, for tonight?”