Tristis Nox

We entered the Elder’s hut silently. When he heard us enter he stood and greeted us. “Hello everyone, how are you all doing?” everyone answered along the lines of being fine and well. He smiled at our replies and then looked at me, “Now Lady Tristis, where are you going?”
“I am going to see King Able, I need to talk to him about something important.”
“How important is it? I only ask because we do not like either kingdom. Until recently both places pulsated of hate and war.”
“But that feeling stopped?”
“Yes, at first it was only King Lucas’ kingdom, but eventually even King Able’s kingdom was a slow and more peaceful feel to it. However--”
“However, around two days ago that changed and King Lucas’ pulse was more violent or had the simmering beat of something vicious was about to happen. Am I wrong?”
The Elder looked hard at me and I stared back at him. “No, you are not. You were there recently. I can feel the kingdom’s pulse still on you, what happened to change the atmosphere so much?”
I broke my stare from his eyes and gazed at the floor. “King Lucas died recently and now his son is taking over. Carson taking over is bad because from what I could tell he loves anything that has to do with fighting… and now he’s going to be king.” I finally looked up at all the panicked faces starring at me. “So the vibe you feel is probably him ascending to power and preparing war against King Able.”
The Elder remained quiet for a moment before saying anything. “Well, that is not a good thing for the two countries or my clan. If they have a war they will start trampling through our land and more will die than is necessary.” I turned my head away at the mention of death. He gazed at me once again causing me to twitch. “Everyone but Tristis please leave for a bit I wish to speak with her alone.” Everyone nodded and quietly left. “You my dear are not from around here are you?”
I stiffened a little, not quite sure how to reply. “What do you mean?”
“I said you had trace amounts of ‘vibe’ from the kingdom on you. I know, no feel the pulses of this world. I live it every day, the people in our tribe learn to open ourselves to the world and become one with it. Over time you know the pulse that every living entity has, ranging from the individual ant to the whole of a country to even the world as a whole.” I was waiting for it the however that was hanging in the air between us. “However, for a while now I have been noticing that there is a pulse I do not know and that it is a bit different that any pulse I have felt before. Tristis.” I turned back to the Elder and suddenly felt his hand on my shoulder.
“Aaaah!” I cried out as I felt what he felt everyday; the pulse of everything around me. At first it was too much for my senses, but as he kept his hand planted on me I started to realize what he meant by different. I pulled away and stumbled back, gasping for air.
“Your pulse is calm yet chaotic.” I looked up at him confused. “As a whole your body gives of a steady beat like something breathing. But when you dissect and look deeper at the breath you find that chaos is what makes it up: sadness, happiness, anger, loneliness, basically all you feel is what makes up your unique pulse. However, there is more to you than just your pulse, there is also a second one.” He walked closer to me and stuck out his hand, but did not touch me. He ran his hand over me until it stopped over the back of my shoulders. “Here. Right here is where the second pulse is coming from. This pulse is hard and fast like a bird fluttering its wings.” I stiffened and clenched my jaw, this pulse business was making me quite uncomfortable. He dropped his hand and returned to his chair. “You are here on very important business, more important than going to King Able’s court.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up his hand. “I know nothing more than that. You are a unique creature, Lady Tristis, be sure to be very careful on your journey. I may not be a future seer, but I do know that many roads lay ahead of you. Please be very careful and know that even in the darkest of times there is always light coming to help see you through it.”
I was quiet a moment. “Thank you, sir. I will try to remember that on my long journey.”
“Good, it will help you through many difficult times. When do you plan on leaving us?”
“Probably tonight. I told the kids I would play with them, but I want to talk to King Able as soon as I can. I don’t have much time left to do so.”
“I see. Well child, know that you have friends among us if you ever need help.”
I smiled, but I knew sadness filled my eyes. “Thank you, the tribe has been too kind to my horse and me. How can I ever repay you?”
“Find happiness, child. It makes me sad that much of your pulse is dominated by sadness and loneliness. Do you have anyone that travels with you?”
I bit my lip trying desperately to resist the urge to cry in front of someone I barely knew. *Heck I barely cry in front of people I do know.* “I have one friend, but he is often unable to stay with me long. It’s good to see him, I treasure the time we have together since it is kind of rare for us to hang out for more than a few days at a time.”
The Elder’s lips spread into a big crinkly smile as he walked me to the door. “What is with the big smile, sir?”
“You should make this young man stay with you longer. A young woman like you who seems to have to take on the world should have a friend by her side. Force him, child, it is the least he could do for you.”
I laughed despite knowing that I could never force Vay to do anything, “I’ll try, sir. God knows I’ve tried. Thank you for everything. I don’t think I’ll see you before I leave, so this is where I’ll say good-bye.”
I bent down a bit to hug the Elder and he firmly hugged me back. “Good-bye, Lady Tristis. May happiness shine down upon you and good luck ever be on your side.” I smiled and left the hut and went in search of the kids.
I played with them until dinner time. I said good-bye to the kids as they scampered off to get ready to eat. The tribe had a large feast and everyone was caught up in it, so it was easy for me to slip into the stables unseen. I whistled and Aries quickly popped his head out to see who had called him. I smiled and walked over to him, where I proceeded to scratch his forehead and around his ears. “Ready to go?” he whinnied in reply as I unlatched the stable door. He gracefully trotted out and waited as I saddled him. I got all my things hooked onto him, grabbed his reigns, and walked out of the stable. After I quietly shut the door behind us, I got onto his back and galloped towards King Able’s kingdom.