Adventures: Episode Ten

The charm had been easy to reproduce. Star’s attention was directed…somewhere in the distance. Her mind flew ahead of her body and soared along the landscape. It ducked and twirled joyful and free, yet always intent on the destination. At first, Star feared that she had done something wrong–what if she were tracking the wrong creature, like a squirrel, or–worse yet–something that could harm her. Mounting Stew and hurrying the mare by digging her heels in and slapping the reins, Star tried to close the distance between her body and her mind. By dusk, her mind’s eye had reached the ogre camp and there it stayed. As much as she pushed it to go further and give her knowledge of the arduous journey her siblings must make the next day and the camp wherein her mother was incarcerated, it would stay with her quarry until she had caught up with it. Having seen the terrain in the light of day by the charm, Star could move about confidently in the night. Stew trusted her guidance, communicated by the gentle pressure of Star’s legs on the mare’s sides.

At dawn, Star was still hours away from the ogre camp. Her mind watched in agony as her brother and sister were kicked into wakefulness by the none too gentle ministrations of their captors. Each child was bound, faced outward, to an ogre and then the whole herd of them galloped off–every stride carrying them further away from rescue.