My Turn

Noelani's fingers reached for me and found my stomach. She trailed her fingers up to grab my shoulders, then brought me into a big hug. I hugged her back with as much enthusiasm as I could. Noelani's scent of clean laundry and wildberry shampoo filled my nose as her hair covered my face. "I found you!" she screamed.

"Quiet!" I cautioned her. I broke away from our hug, and stared at what I thought was her face. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to come and find you." Her voice just a whisper now, broke through my fear. It was just my friend, my very best friend. There was nothing to get worked up over. I let the energy drain from my body that I had conjured up in the few seconds I had begun to panic.

A gust of wind filled the small clearing underneath the protection of the trees, stirring the embers of the fire. A small fire stirred up in the pit again and I scrambled toward it to put more debris on top to make it larger. Noelani just watched, a weird expression on her face.

Now that I could see her, I could tell I should be looking at her that way, not the other way around. She was in her pants like usual, but there was no dress to be found anywhere. A large pack was strapped on her shoulders, bulging with its contents. A pair of heavy shoes covered her feet. Men's shoes?

"What are you doing here?" I asked her again, sitting down on the ground closer to the fire than I probably should have been. She stayed still for a moment, studying me again, then sat down right next to me, pulling the pack off her back and set it in her lap.

The look Noelani gave me now, scared me a little. The look of I-should-know-this-already, was something I had seen frequently. She reached into her pack and grabbed a bundle of something wrapped in a small cloth. "I heard you were kidnapped by the fire nation." She replied. She dumped the bundle into my lap, opening it for me. There were small biscuits, three of them, small crumbs and all. My stomach responded to the food. I had eaten the portion of food I had been given.

"Go ahead," she prompted me, grabbing a biscuit for herself. Before she took a bit, she continued her explanation. "And then I heard that someone let out all of your fire nation prisoners. I figured you had taken action and I want to help you. Alton said it was a good idea when I saw him back there."

"What?" I seethed through my bit of biscuit, still warm. The fire, the food, and Noelani's company were more than I had wanted, but she thought she was coming with me?

I put down my food and wiped the crumbs off my hands.

She shrugged, undisturbed by my anger. "The air prisoners came back a few hours ago. They claimed to have escaped on their own, but I knew better."

"What?" I asked again, not finding the words to explain my confusion. I pressed my palms against my eyes to try to block out the impeding headache. "What?"

“Alton explained it to me. I want to help you. Ah…don't be upset."

I took my hands away from my eyes a little too ruffly. "I'm not upset."

She smiled at how my actions and words did not combine.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She looked at me then, her eyebrows rising. "What do you mean, by what do I mean?"

"Ah," I said, momentarily confused. "Oh whatever! You can't be here. Go back home." I leaned over toward her, taking the food and setting it back on her lap. I got to my feet and picked up my own pack. I strapped it to Windsor as he quietly tried to get a few more minutes of sleep.

"Hey," Noelani half screamed, jumping to her own feet. "I'm here to help." She grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.

"You can't!"

Her mouth turned down as she took it as an insult. "I can be helpful."

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "That's not what I meant Noelani. What I mean is that…you just need to go home. You can't come to the Earth Nation with me. Do you know what they will do if they catch us? Catch me? We'll be dead, Noelani."

"You don't think I know that?" Her voice, hard and edgy, carried some weight as she switched to her professional, I-mean-business voice. "I get the risks, I get what is at stake here. I want to help you."

I leaned against Windsor for support, but he only shuffled away from me, not ready to get back on the move. "Why?"

"Even if you think you won't need help now, you will later on. She waved her hand in front of her face, a breeze trailing from her fingertips. Then the fire went out as she went to put out the flames. "I can be useful to you."

The embers were a little hot, but I got some water from the cool air and lightly glazed over the heat to make it disappear.

"I do that on my own," I warned her. But the thought of her as my partner in this wasn't such a bad idea. I would need someone I could trust, someone I could count on to be there for me when I needed them. She would have my back.

"Yes, but don't you want to see all the cool pants I brought to wear?"

I had to laugh at that. The seriousness of this journey was slowly making me lose my mind. And in just a few short hours!

Noelani laughed too. "Am I in?" she asked.

That question reminded me of Conway and how he was so eager to do wrong, just because everyone was expecting him to do right about everything. That was true about me too…and Noelani. We were all told that we are idols of the rest of our nation, and we had to act like it. But what were we doing now? Rebelling, or acting right? Doing the wrong thing, or the just, noble thing?

"Maya?"

I sighed. I gave her a simple answer, hoping she wouldn't get too excited about this. "Get your things, we have to go before dawn."

I heard her scrambling to get her horse. "I'm in!" she whispered to herself. Had she wanted me to hear that?

I smiled and was glad I didn't have to cover it up. "We shouldn't be far," I assured her. "That cliff over there…we have to follow that. The bridge I told you about that one time I was out here? Yeah, we need to find that."

"And then what? Where will we be then?"

I jumped on Windsor's back, patting him on the side to try to get him ready to go again. "It will take us to the Earth Nation."

Noelani took a deep breath and pushed her horse forward to come stand by Windsor. "I'm ready,"

I'm not.

Once we broke free of the dense trees and shrubs, the light from the sky made it possible to see each other and where we were going. I had not ever seen a horse like Noelani's. His coat, pure white in color, almost glowed in the darkness of the night. I had a strange feeling that this horse could understand everything we were saying, just like I had the feeling Windsor could.

"He's been mine since I was eight," she commented when she caught me staring.

The horse's horn of ivory sticking out from above its eyes was almost magical. It always looked like it was changing color, like the shell on the inside of a clam. Smooth and white, but when even the smallest amount of light hit it, it was like rainbows danced on its surface, no where else.

"Kalani's a purebred Devoncore," she explained as I kept staring at him. I knew what that meant. Devoncore was the rare horse bred that was first founded in Terra Yuuna, the first Earth Nation ever built, and on the other side of the globe. They were so rare now, seeing one from a mile away was a gift. Even though I knew all about them from my father--who had had one when he was a kid--Noelani told me about them.

"They're said to have a certain power within them. Like they have their own special society of water benders, or air benders--something like that. Anyway, Devoncores are also extremely smart, with their extremely good ears, and their ability to sense what the mood is around them. Of course they are especially sensitive to their partners, or their masters if you want. I don't really like to use that term."

Neither did I. I didn't own Windsor; we worked together as a team. I could tell Windsor was happy about that. No one else was aloud to ride him, one of my only demands as being a royal. I could tell he needed to be free from the restraints of pulling a cart full of people, or pulling along a bucket of fruit. He wasn't there for that. Maybe he was just here for me.

"My dad says all the stories about them are just that…stories. But if you just look into his eyes…"

And I was. We were riding so close to each other our knees would bump every once and a while. Kalani's eyes were on me as I stared at him. He stared right back, just as intrigued with me. The wisdom in his bright blue--almost white--eyes was settling to me somehow. It was like we had another person added to our group on this journey.

Windsor's mother was a Devoncore, but I had never thought that was the reason he seemed to know what I was feeling, what I was saying when I was talking to him, and why he was just so…human.

Noelani suddenly laughed, "Your head is going to start smoking soon."

"Huh?"

"What are you thinking about?"

I reached out, almost losing my balance, to stroke her horse's mane. It felt the same as Windsor's. So smooth and soft, like they had both washed their hair with shampoo. I had thought Windsor was just special in that way, having the softest hair for a horse.

Noelani laughed again, "Are you okay?"

"Ah…Yeah. I was just thinking."

"I noticed. Hey! Wanna race?"

"Not really…" I was too distracted to race. Besides, the atmosphere that surrounded us was so thick I was sure I couldn't move any faster than I was right then. Or was that just me? Did Noelani even think about what she was really doing here?

No matter how hard I tried to get that mysterious woman out of my head, I couldn't. It was like she was always in the back of my mind, her words sounding inside my ears. Don't trust him…only yourself. So could I trust Noelani if I told her about this mysterious stranger? What was I saying, of course I could! Noelani had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. But did she need to know? I mean, I could have easily have dreamt that stupid woman up.

I pulled the medallion out from underneath my clothes to look at the symbols. The metal felt odd in my hand. Warmth pulsed from it, as did a vibe of comfort, of assurance. How odd…

"One, two, three, go!" she said in a flurry, squeezing Kalani's sides, kicking him into gear. I let her go for a few seconds, but Windsor took off after her without me asking him to. I had wanted just a few seconds to close my eyes and pretend that all we were doing was racing in the woods. Was that too much to ask?

Once I caught up with her, it wasn't much of an accomplishment. She had stopped, and was off her horse, walking towards something in front of her.

"Noel?" I used her nickname I had had for her when we were kids.

"I think we found our bridge," she whispered. She took her horse's reins in one hand. All of the fun and excitement of just riding through the forest was gone. We were entering into open territory now.

I got off Windsor and left him as I stepped to where Noelani was looking down. The drop down did not look pretty. Hundreds and hundreds of feet below, a faint glow of the running water could be seen. Stretched ahead of us, what seemed like the longest bridge ever was a rope bridge, held steady by boards that you could walk on. But it was different from when I was a kid and had found it on accident. Maybe it was the moonlight instead of the sun, or maybe it was just my mind, but it looked hundreds of years old. Not kidding. The ropes were so torn, almost broken in half, and the boards were filled with holes.

Was this supposed to be some joke?

"Do you think…you know…you could get some water to fill my canteen?"

I felt my eyebrows rise at the strange question. "Your canteen is almost full."

She shrugged. "Well yeah, but…you know. I just wanted to see if you could get the water from all the way," she pointed down the cliff, "down there."

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to get Windsor's reins. "Let's just go across."

"Okay." With no questions about it being safe, or if this was the right bridge, Noelani trudged forward, her horse following right behind her. "I bet you can't do it."

I ignored her and let her get a good distance in front of me before I placed a tentative step on the creaky boards. I jumped back immediately, Noelani shrieking in protest.

"Let me go first!"

"All right, all right," I hissed back.

Noelani's steps were deliberate and careful as she maneuvered across the boards to the other side. It wasn't very stable so it swayed slightly with every move they made. Kalani behind her seemed reluctant to go any farther, but Noelani keep his reins in her tight grip and kept him by her side.

With her final leap to the other side, looking so small all the way over on the side, she waved me forward. I followed her lead, gathering Windsor's reins into my hand and stepping onto the first board. The weight I put on it had an obvious effect of the rotting wood. The ropes holding it in place stretched and wined. And that was just my weight.

I took another step, the next board sturdier under me. My confidence rose and I took another step. Bad idea. My foot fell through the wood. I grabbed Windsor's neck before I fell on the other boards, breaking those too.

Windsor began to slip as well, his hooves making cracks in the wood.

"Run!" Noelani screamed from the other side of the bridge, "Maya, come on! Run!"

I got my footing, wrapped Windsor's reins around me hand, and charged down the wood. Noelani and Kalani obviously weakened the boards so my weight plus Windsor's wasn't working with the rotting wood. I was having an easy time jumping from board to board, but Windsor's hind legs broke through every single one. About half way there, Windsor called out and I was yanked back.

He was falling down, his hind legs disappearing through the whole he had made.

"Noelani!" I screamed over my shoulder. "Come and help me!"

Windsor leaned forward, trying to stay on top of the boards. "Hang on Windsor, don't thrash so much."

Noalani ran past me and grabbed the bags on top of Windsor's back. She unhooked them and threw them behind me. Grabbing his mane, she helped him get his balance on the boards. I didn't look to see if he was okay before I started to run again. The minute my feet touched the solid ground on the other side, I collapsed.

Noelani was laughing next to me. She clutched her gut as she laughed even harder. "That was so cool!" She coughed out in between outbursts.

Windsor huffed and puffed behind me. He sniffed my face, making sure I was okay.

I gathered energy from my adrenaline, concentrated on the water below us and brought a few gallons through the air, dropping the ball above Noelani's head. Her laughing ceased.

One look at her hair and clothes was it for me. I was the one laughing now. "There's your damn water."

She waved a few times and I was getting wet too. "Thank you for that."

I stood and got all of the water off of my clothes. I kept it in a ball between my hands, turning to see Windsor. At first glance, he was fine. But When I looked at his right hind leg, there was a deep gash along the bottom of his leg. He was leaning off of it, putting more pressure on the other three legs than his hurt one.

I leaned down next to it and brought the ball of water around his wound. It was cold and he shied away from it for a second, but realized it was more soothing than it was uncomfortable to have it there. Windsor hung his head low next to mine, nuzzling my cheek. I dropped the water onto the ground and examined his wound. The gash was deeper than I expected it to be, and almost all the way down his leg.

"Where's my bag?" I asked Noelani.

She grabbed it from the edge of the bridge and brought it over to me. "Is he okay?" she asked me, looking truly concerned.

"I don't know. I mean, he's hurt, but I don't really know anything besides that. I've never had to treat him before." I rummaged through the things in my bag until I can up with a shirt Alton had loaned me. I tore a piece off and wrapped it tightly around his leg.

"I don't think I should ride him though. Just in case."

Kalani walked over, his head held low to be level with Windsor's. Both horses looked at my face with their questioning eyes, and their forgiving blows of air.

Noelani picked up the rest of the bag that were resting on the ground and slung them over Kalani. "I guess we go on foot then," she sighed.

My body tensed. "Wait…" I turned on the spot to face the forest in front of us. It didn't look any different, nor sound different, but the atmosphere was tense and alarming. We were no longer in the confines of our own safety zone. We were fair game for anyone who came across us. Noelani and I were trespassing on land that we were not welcome on.

"Maya, look" Noelani whispered next to me.

I turned to gaze in the same direction she was. Kalani and Windsor had already seen them and had their head raised high, their ears perked in the direction of the moving figures. Two very large, undoubtedly wild, horses. As they moved through the forest, they didn't make any sounds. They kept their heads high, their ears perked toward us as they inched through the thick vegetation.

My father had told me a lot about wild horses and the breed still out in the forests of the Earth Nation. As they got closer I could make out what kind of horses they were. The darker of the two was a type of Trotter, most likely from the Northwest since his coat was so dark on his neck and lightened as it got down to his tail. His mane and tail were gray like the spots on his withers and shoulders. His head was coarse, and that made his dark eyes more prominent.

He seemed to be leading a female along to us. I could profile her in a second. Her elegant high head and tail, her small, alert eyes, and her light gray, almost white color told me she was pure Devoncore. Her muzzle was darker than the rest of her and stood out immensely in the green forest. She moved like a wild horse. The Devoncore numbers had dropped over the years and there were only a few left throughout the world. No one has seen one in over ten years.

And here, one was coming towards me like it was an old friend.

Noelani nudged me with her elbow. "Are you seeing this?"

I felt we should leave. Surely there would be people right behind these two creatures.

Kalani threw his head back and fourth, backing away from the strangers. Windsor did the opposite. He held his tail high and went towards the female while keeping distance from the other male. I went to reach for his reins, but Windsor was too fast for me. He went to the female's side as if he had been there before.

All three horses circled around us and went back through the forest the way the wild ones had come.

"Windsor!" I hissed.

Noelani clutched my arm, "What do we do?"

I latched all my bags on Kalani's back. "We follow."