Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 329

Chapter 329: Circles
Mia woke just before sunup, as she usually did no matter how exhausted she was. Her hands were empty, and her heart strained with the prospect of another fruitless day tromping through the seemingly endless forest.

If she didn’t have her gift to pull her forward, she would have sworn that they were going in circles.

But her magic was better than a compass, and hadn’t failed her before, though she was growing less and less certain that it was working now.

A wide yawn escaped her lips as she rubbed the heel of her hand into her sleepy eyes. Part of her wished to go back to sleep. To give in to the hopelessness that had plagued her dreams.

But she was made of sterner stuff than that. She would get up, and keep going. Day after day, for as long as it took.

With that promise to herself, she sat up and began to prepare for the day. Breakfast was primarily foraged nuts and berries supplementing their supplies at this stage; the group didn’t want to risk angering anything magical by killing animals here.

Even if they wanted to, they saw very few animals larger than a squirrel, which wouldn’t make much of a meal for six people.

“Good Morning,” Anaisa greeted her niece. “I would ask how you slept, but it’s written on your face, isn’t it?”

“I suppose it would be,” Mia frowned. She knew there must be dark circles under her eyes.

Just then, she brightened a little. Father had agreed to let her and Ford try some strategies to help her retain her magic more. Surely that was something to be cheerful about.

“Mama!” Daniel chimed as soon as he awoke. “You’ll never guess what we saw last night!”

“What was that, sweetheart?” Anaisa smiled indulgently.

“Wights! Lots of wights! Or changers. I know Ford thinks they’re the same thing but I’m still not sure. Hundreds of them, maybe thousands came!”

“What an interesting dream,” His mother said thoughtfully. “That would be a sight for certain.”

“It wasn’t a dream, it was real!” Daniel declared. “The wights came out of the forest and they took all our whittling work one by one. Ford and I asked them to let us out of the forest today. I think they’re going to!”

Mia held her breath, not daring to believe the child’s words without some kind of corroboration. She glanced at Ford, who tiredly nodded.

“There were a lot of them for sure, though I think it was closer to dozens than hundreds or thousands. It’s hard to say whether they understood us or not, but they did take all our carvings.” Ford gestured to where the pile had formed the night before. There was nothing there now.

“Did they… like them?” Mia was rather baffled that the wights had cared so much about the simple creations.

“They loved them!” Daniel declared confidently. “I think they liked mine the best.”

“Probably,” Ford allowed graciously.

“And they promised to let us out of the forest?” Anaisa leaned forward.

“That’s hard to say, but there’s an easy way to find out.” Grandpa scratched the back of his head. “We ought to get on the road as soon as we’re able. Don’t want ’em to change their minds if they decided in our favor.”

Breakfast was hurried and full of cautious anticipation. No one except Daniel was openly optimistic about the chances of something tangibly changing today, but the fact that something different had happened in the night was encouraging after so much monotony.

By the time the group mounted up, Daniel was nearly giddy, his mother was patiently trying to set reasonable expectations, and Seth was reservedly watching Ford move his horse into formation next to Mia at the front.

But the man voiced no objection. After several moments of silence Seth worked his jaw and asked a single question.

“What’s the plan?”

As the traveling largely went the same way every day, Mia figured there could be only one change he was referring to.

“I think holding hands will preserve both our powers for when they’re most needed,” She kept her voice even.

Her father sighed and nodded. Once. Grandpa offered him a commiserating smile, and Anaisa glanced between the adults with an observant gaze.

Ford nudged his mount close to Mia, and she suddenly felt rather shy. Was it too forward of her to proclaim that they would be holding hands in the course of the day? No, that had been decided the night before.

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and bit it nervously, but said nothing as she pressed her heels gently against Harper’s flanks.

The horse obediently trod forward as she did every day, and Ford’s horse matched the pace easily. Mia thought for a moment that it would be awkward and difficult to hold another person’s hand while they rode separate horses, but Ford’s mount nickered and moved close enough that their legs were nearly touching.

Ford tentatively reached out his hand, his eyes unreadable. Blasting herself for her cowardice, Mia reached out and took it.

The secondary pull faded, and she could finally fully concentrate on the path ahead.

It was also strangely calming, having Ford so close beside her, supporting her. Wordlessly encouraging her. She closed her eyes for a moment, reveling in how it was a rest for her mind and heart to not have the pulls of a dozen directions on her mind.

Because, while Ford eliminated the secondary pull he always had for Mia, the gentle pressure of his hand also helped distract her mind from the panic and anxiety that so often prompted her to look for danger or alternate routes or a dozen other things that drained her.

Almost involuntarily, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze in thanks. His hand flinched slightly, and her head snapped towards him with worry. Had she offended him? Alienated him with the simple gesture?

“Blisters,” He grimaced. “From whittling. Sorry.”

“You’re apologizing to me… for having blisters?” She clarified.

“Your excessive apologies have been a bad influence, obviously,” He teased, but as his gaze turned back forward, his eyes widened. “Oh. Wow.”

Just ahead of them, the trees parted. They had finally come to the forest’s edge.