Chapter Five

Jesse and Melissa looked around the maze of pillars and walls to try and find the dinning room – or place – whatever it would be. Whenever they passed a centaur it would gaze eerily at the children so they kept moving.

                Then at last they found a patch of grass surrounded by even bigger pillars with long stone tables. The children caught sight of Hanni and hurried to her side. The centaurs, it seemed, did not use chairs, but merely stood around the tables. However they were polite to their guests and found them chairs. They were sitting right at the end of the table, with Breiha standing grandly at the head. Glancing up and down, the children noticed that Breiha was the only pure white centaur. There were many different forms of brown and some black coloured ones. There were even a few other white ones, but they had blotches of other colours.

                Then the food was brought out. The children were amazed by the richness and delicious-looking food that the centaurs ate. They were very hungry by this time and they delved straight into it. Such merry feasting they had never had.

                Then some female centaurs came out. Melissa could not take her eyes off them for a time, as they were the first female centaurs she had seen yet. They were very beautiful, intelligent looking beings. They brought instruments and played tunes for the feasters.

                Soon Breiha turned to the children and started conversation with them.

                “So, young ones, tell me about the parts of the world you have seen,” he said.

                Jesse and Melissa weren’t quite sure what he meant, but began telling him all about their village. Breiha was fascinated about anything to do with Bidham as he knew so little about it. The children were starting to realise that not many people in Doria knew anything about Bidham, yet it seemed so plain and ordinary compared to Doria that they were sort of describing the traditions and festivals and the mundane way of life they had lived.

                Later in the night (for night it was, the feast went on for hours) Melissa summed up enough courage to ask Breiha, “Do you know much about your prisoners?”

                He looked a little taken aback. Lowering his goblet slowly he said, “What do you mean?”

                “Well, it’s just that there’s a girl locked up under here who we were talking to and she seemed very harmless. We were wondering whether it was really necessary to keep her in there.”

                Breiha considered it. “The girl who was trespassing yesterday? But she may be a spy of the enemy.”

                “But she said she wasn’t,” Melissa replied, convinced. “I don’t think it’s very likely that she would be. Would it be worth talking to her first to make sure she should be locked up?”

                “I don’t think it’s worth it. We won’t harm her though, we hardly ever keep prisoners for longer than a few days, and we feed them so they won’t starve.”

                “Well, could you let her out soon?” Melissa pleaded. “She was really very nice.”

                “Well, I believe I can make this exception,” he said. “But not for her sake, but in honour of having you two foreigners here.” He paused. “Do you know why you have been brought here?”

                “We’ve heard that someone had a vision of us helping you Dorians,” said Jesse, who had now joined the conversation again.

                Breiha nodded. “And what is it that you seek in Doria?”

                “Well...” Jesse said. “We know we’re supposed to be looking for something... but we don’t know what.”

                Breiha nodded again. “That’s fine. You just don’t know you’re looking for yet.”

                Feeling that they thought they understood, the children nodded.

                A chestnut female centaur in particularly fine clothes cantered up to Breiha.

                “Ah, children, this is my wife Cehani,” Breiha smiled. Cehani smiled too and put a hand on her husband’s shoulder.

                “Hello,” the children said, trying to be friendly.

                “These are the children in Raynar’s vision,” Breiha said meaningfully to her. She inspected them with a gaze then came closer to them.

                Cehani started talking to them. She also had many questions about where they’d come from in Bidham.

                “Why don’t the female centaurs eat with the men?” Jesse asked her after a while.

                “The women live very separate to the men,” she said. “We eat and stay in different places and rarely mingle. Some of the younger women come and perform here sometimes when the occasion arises.”

                “If you live such different lives then how did you and Breiha meet?” Melissa asked curiously.

                “We were matched,” she replied, “from birth. That is how it is done here. When we are old enough, two matched centaurs come together to be married.”

                “So did you know each other before you were married?” Melissa said, very interested.

                “No."

                “Wow,” Melissa said, round-eyed. She thought that this tradition sounded very odd and harsh, but didn’t dare say so out loud.

                Jesse asked, “Is this how things work in Doria – or is this just for the centaurs?”

                “Children,” Hanni said as they arrived. “I have to tell you that I will not be continuing on this journey with you any longer."

                “What?” Jesse said, just as taken aback as his sister. “Why?"

                “Breiha has asked me to stay a little while longer,” she said, “And anyway, you won’t need me any more."

                The children were bursting to say they couldn’t do anything at all without her.

                “Breiha has kindly offered you a map,” she continued, “which will help greatly."

                She pulled out a piece of rolled up parchment and unrolled it to show a map which covered the land of Doria, Bidham and two others that they had never heard of.

                “What’s Karnati and Shinghu?” Melissa asked, trying to pronounce them properly.

                “I will explain it another time,” Hanni laughed, “But here, I must show you where to go."

                She spent some time pointing out the different places on the map and the route they had to take.

                “When you get to Orstina, say you are the children from the vision, sent by me, and they’ll understand,” Hanni said. “And this is your destination over here at Silvadale Castle. Explain yourselves again to them... I trust they know of the vision by now, although I have not been there since the vision occurred, so I cannot know for sure – so if they don’t know, explain yourselves fully and they shall attend to you."

                “We will show you to the boat which you will use to aid you in the first part of your travels,” Breiha said.

                “Now?” Melissa asked, feeling that the situation was getting out of control.

                “Don’t worry child, you’ll be fine,” said Hanni, following Breiha away.

                Jesse and Melissa followed behind anxiously.

                When they got to the river bank they saw a boat a bit bigger than a common rowing boat bobbing in the clear water.

                “I suppose you know how to row a boat?” Hanni said, then didn’t wait for their answer (which was no) and said, “Breiha has kindly supplied food and water for you in your boat, and I have put in the blankets that you have been using while travelling with me. Farewell, then. Do not worry, you’ll be quite safe. It is very unlikely that I won’t see you before you return to Bidham. They’ll need me if there’s going to be any sort of uprising."

                 Jesse and Melissa clambered uncertainly into the boat. They each picked up an oar and tried rowing and found that the moment they were off the bank and into the current, they really didn’t need to use much strength to keep them going at all.

                “Farewell, destined children,” Breiha said in a creepy way that made the children shiver.

                The current was slightly overwhelming and the children had to paddle strongly when faced with rocks and weeds.

                They glanced back at Miradel and saw that Hanni and Breiha had already gone off.

                They travelled for a few hours, and then rowed over to the bank to rest. Their backs were aching and they lay on the soft grassy bank for a while.

                “Oh good,” Jesse said. “You can thank Melissa for that. She asked the head centaur to let you out."

                “Thankyou!” she beamed, “Well, I suppose that means I am in debt to you! I suppose we’re friends then, aren’t we?"

                “Err... sure,” Melissa said.

                “Wow, I love making friends! So where are you two going to go now?"

                “We’re trying to...” Jesse broke off, unsure of whether they were supposed to trust anyone with this knowledge.

                “We’re going down river,” Melissa said in Jesse’s silence.

                “In that boat?” Rhias said excitedly, “gosh, I’ve always wanted to go in a boat! Can I come with you? I may get the chance to repay you for letting me out!"

                “Well...” Jesse said, but Rhias had already scrambled into the boat and was sitting down expectantly. Jesse and Melissa followed uncertainly"

                Rhias grabbed an oar and started paddling.

                “No, you need to use both oars,” Jesse frowned as the boat slowly turned around in a circle.

                “Oh, right,” Rhias said, snatching the other from Jesse. She started paddling all by herself. “This is easy!” She cried in delight.

                “I need to row with one of the oars,” Jesse said, trying to pull it out of her grasp.

                “But I was doing it perfectly fine by myself,” Rhias snapped.

                “Well, too bad, you’ll overdo yourself. Let me take this oar and we can try together..."

                So they started again with Melissa sitting in the back, watching her brother and Rhias bicker over the rowing.

                Very soon they crashed into the opposite bank. Jesse glowered as he got out to push the boat off the shore. He said that he and Melissa had been perfectly fine without Rhias’ help but she seemed eager to row and Melissa was happy for an excuse not to row.

                In the end Jesse and Rhias found a way of rowing together and they went a lot faster.

                “We’re going too fast,” Melissa complained, and when Jesse grumbled it was Rhias paddling too fast, Rhias innocently offered to go slower if he was struggling, or to take his oar, and that kept his mouth shut.

                After sunset they rowed for a while longer then stopped for rest. Breiha had given them lots of food and their dinner was almost a small version of the one they had had the previous night.

                The next day they continued down the river. Soon they saw mountains looming ahead.

                “Will the river just run past them?” Melissa asked anxiously.

                “Yes, there should be a pass through them,” Jesse said.

                “So we won’t come to a stop?"

                “No. You’ll see."

                “I think I should check the map."

                “Oh, you have a map!” Rhias said. “I’d love to see it."

                “We don’t need the map,” Jesse said in an irritated voice. “I told you, there will be a pass between them."

                “I just want to be sure,” Melissa said, pulling it out of her bag.

                “Melissa, you don’t need to check it,” Jesse laughed. “It went all the way to the sea when I saw it. I doubt it’s changed itself."

                Melissa pulled it out and looked at it. Rhias looked keenly over her shoulder.

                “I don’t get it,” Rhias said after a moment. “Where’s the river?"

                “That’s the river,” Melissa said, pointing it out.

                “No it’s not,” Rhias objected, “That looks like a worm or something. The river is wide and blue."

                Jesse raised his eyebrows at her. “Don’t you know how to read a map?” he asked coldly. “It’s only black and white."

                “So what if I’ve never seen a map before?” Rhias snapped. “But I know that’s not a very good one."

                Melissa was frowning at it.

                “I suppose these are the Burlun Hills...” she said slowly, “But this says ‘Celnar Falls’... what does that mean?"

                Jesse shrugged.

                “Perhaps Celnar fell there,” Rhias suggested.

                “Who?"

                “I don’t know, someone called Celnar."

                They kept rowing until they passed through two of the mountains. They could hear a sound of rushing water ahead.

                “I think the current gets quicker up there,” Jesse said. “I can hear the water rushing."

                Soon the sound became louder. They saw a sort of white mist hovering above the water ahead of them.

                “What’s that?” Rhias asked curiously.

                They stopped rowing as indeed the current was quickening.

                “Maybe we should pull over,” Melissa suggested anxiously.

                The sound was still getting louder and the mist was getting closer.

                “Wait a second,” Rhias said, grabbing the map. She looked like she was trying hard to work out the squiggly lines and the names and symbols. “Quickly, row to the shore."

                “What is it?” Jesse asked, but Rhias wasn’t listening. She was trying to paddle with all her might away from the mist.

                “What’s going on?” Melissa yelled over the roar of the water.

                “Oh, no!” Jesse screamed suddenly, and started paddling along with Rhias. They were chaotic and were spinning again.

Chapter Six