Chapter the Seventeenth

Iraella couldn’t go to sleep for the rest of the night. Luckily, there wasn’t much night left anyway, but she longed for sleep all the same. At the same time, she didn’t want sleep.
What if that was happening? Or at least something like it. Was Baeddan actually being tortured that way? Iraella shuddered. She sure hoped not.
Light started to burn through the shades, so Iraella sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. Should she and Mabon get a move on sooner rather than later? Ugh, so many questions!
She got out of bed, figuring she might as well. What was the use if you couldn’t sleep? She got to the main room, and to her surprise Mabon was there, sitting on the little bamboo chair. She jumped.
“What are you doing awake?” Iraella snapped.
Mabon chuckled. “Couldn’t sleep. And you?”
“Awful dream. I think we have to move out a little bit sooner than anticipated,” Iraella replied, looking away.
“It was just a dream,” Mabon said.
Iraella looked at him. “My dreams lately haven’t been just dreams,” she said. Mabon’s eyebrows arched. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
Iraella went and sat on the couch across from Mabon. “It means that my friend I’m questing for is in danger, and we need to go get to him as soon as possible,” she explained.
Mabon looked unsure. “Really? Well, I don’t know,” he said.
“You have to believe me,” Iraella said, her green eyes pouring into his. At last, Mabon nodded. “Okay. We’ll leave in a couple of days,” he said.
Iraella bit her lip and nodded. “You’d best start packing,” she instructed.
In reply, Mabon left down the hall to his bedroom and went to work. Iraella still sat. She didn’t have really any packing to do. She slumped in her chair. She was so concerned about Baeddan, but what if the forest wasn’t where the Darks’ hideout was? Iraella shuddered at the possibility. That would be awful.
So, Iraella stepped outside and let the cool ocean breeze blow on her face, inhaling the salty air, letting the sun’s bright light brush her cheeks. She closed her eyes, as she did every time she stepped outside. She wanted to be a part of the earth. Then she wouldn’t have to worry so desperately about everything.
“You like it too?” asked a familiar voice. Iraella squealed girlishly and jumped to the side.
It was Dai.
Iraella cleared her throat sheepishly and straightened. “My goodness! You nearly gave me a heart attack,” she said. Dai grinned. “Sorry. But do you like it?” he said.
“Yes, very much,” Iraella replied, facing the wind again. Dai faced it too.
“What is your quest for?” he asked after a while. Iraella grimaced.
“Er….it’s rather private.”
“Oh.”
The two stood in peaceful silence, nothing but the push and pull of the ocean and the occasional chirp of a seabird for noise. Iraella felt so connected to the earth when she just stood like this, even if she was only standing on a deck.
Then Mabon burst through the door. “I’m ready! Are you?” he cried.
Iraella turned to look at him, rather surprised. He carried two full bags that looked barely buttoned they were so full. “I thought we weren’t going to leave for a couple of days!” she said.
Mabon shook his head, his eyes wide. “Ello, she didn’t tell you? She said that…That who you were searching for…..The boy---- Erm, wha’ tis his name?” he babbled.
“Baeddan! What about him?” Iraella asked, now alert.
“She said he was being tortured, and something was t’ happen to him. It wasn’t good,” Mabon said gravely.
“Oh!” Iraella cried. She threw her face into her hands. “What? What will happen?”
“Ello said she couldn’t see clearly enough,” he told her, his eyes sad. “I figured you would want t’ get out of here as soon as possible.”
Tears were welling up in Iraella’s eyes. “No more tears,” she thought. “Okay. We must move out now. Let’s go!”
“Don’t you want anything?”
“No! Just move!”
“Yes ma’am, I’m going,” Mabon said, bustling off the deck. “Farewell, Dai. I hope t’ see you soon,” he said to his brother. Dai’s eyes were sad and concerned. He could only hope he would see his brother soon.
Iraella didn’t even bother to say goodbye, she was in such a hurry. She leapt off the deck after Mabon, already sprinting when she landed. “We will travel by water, correct?” Iraella confirmed.
Mabon just nodded and kept hurrying, carrying all the luggage he could. Iraella couldn’t think about anything except for getting to that forest.
They headed to the shore and walked in, Mabon creating a bubble around them. “I thought that Bellord was on a lake,” said Iraella.
Mabon smiled and kept walking on deeper. “Don’t stop moving unless I stop moving. You’ll walk right out of the bubble,” he instructed. Iraella nodded.
“How far away is the forest?”
“Close to a week’s travel.”
“Mmmm.”
A week. Iraella couldn’t help thinking about how long that week would be. Long. Long. Long.