shoulders trembling. Though she couldn’t see his eyes it was impossible not to notice the tears as they dropped to the ground. The quiet sobs of the boy were like a knife to her heart each one stabbing and wrenching at her. Unconsciously Eloen stretched out her hand and place it on the boys shoulder. Kneeling down she brought her face even to the boys. “Now you’re supposed to be a strong boy.”
“But if the master finds out I let your horses eat bad hay he’s going to fire me and then my papa is going to get mad again.” The boy said the fear event in his voice.
Eloen tentatively reached out her hand and patted the boy on the head. His hair was rough and sandy on her fingers as if he hadn’t washed it in weeks and light puffs of dust rose into the hair as her hand tussled the boy’s hair. “I didn’t think men were supposed to cry.” Eloen made her voice calming but she couldn’t help but give the kid a slightly mocking smile as he looked up at her.
The boy studied her face for a few moments then a small thin smile crept onto his face. Eloen gave him a small wink. “Next time make sure to check the hay first before you feed it to the horses.” she quickly turned and walked back to finish saddling her horse.
As she cinched the straps down tight and waited for the horse to exhale so she could finish tightening everything up her mind was raging. She still wanted to save Thad but every moment she spent in Abla made her feel like she should be doing something else. She had grown up in comfort and even the orphans she had known had lived fresh food and clothing. It was true that many worked on farms to earn money but it was required it was more so they could afford treats and other pleasantries. In Abla that didn’t seem to be the case many of the children looked half-starved and clothed in things not fit for scrap rags.
She was startled from her reverie when Ballard placed his hand on her shoulder. His face showed his concern but he remained silent. That was one of the good things about Ballard he knew when to speak and when to simply let her know he knew something was bothering her.
After her horse was ready she quickly mounted and waited on her two companions to finish their preparations. Darryl looked slightly different than normal but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Then her eyes were drawn to the blood red piece of cloth that was tied around his left arm. The red cloth was nothing new he always wore one but it was always around his right arm. She wasn’t sure what the change mean and it bugged her but she was unsure about how to approach the matter.
A few of the members of her unit she knew well and spent time with them when they were otherwise unoccupied but she had to admit Darryl wasn’t one of them. She had known him for years but besides their little fireside stories she hadn’t talked to him much. It was embarrassing for her to admit but she wasn’t even sure if he was married or if he had a family at all.
CHAPTER VIII
The first few hours of travel was busy as they passed many caravans both headed to and away from the town. It made riding slow as there was little room on the dirt packed road for them to move. More than once she thought of moving off the path and riding on the grass but with the rocky terrain one misstep could be bad for their horses. She doubt that their trained mounts would make such a mistake but it wasn’t worth the risk in unfamiliar territory.
Half way through the day they stopped to have a quick meal and relax their sore muscles. Not long after they stopped they were joined by a group of marching soldiers. It wasn’t a large group no more than a platoon but more than enough to give them trouble should they decide to be unfriendly.
Eloen's stomach clenched and unclenched as she watched Ballard meet with the enemy force’s captain. She had the urge to rush over and find out what was being said but she knew that in Abla that it would look suspicious if she
“But if the master finds out I let your horses eat bad hay he’s going to fire me and then my papa is going to get mad again.” The boy said the fear event in his voice.
Eloen tentatively reached out her hand and patted the boy on the head. His hair was rough and sandy on her fingers as if he hadn’t washed it in weeks and light puffs of dust rose into the hair as her hand tussled the boy’s hair. “I didn’t think men were supposed to cry.” Eloen made her voice calming but she couldn’t help but give the kid a slightly mocking smile as he looked up at her.
The boy studied her face for a few moments then a small thin smile crept onto his face. Eloen gave him a small wink. “Next time make sure to check the hay first before you feed it to the horses.” she quickly turned and walked back to finish saddling her horse.
As she cinched the straps down tight and waited for the horse to exhale so she could finish tightening everything up her mind was raging. She still wanted to save Thad but every moment she spent in Abla made her feel like she should be doing something else. She had grown up in comfort and even the orphans she had known had lived fresh food and clothing. It was true that many worked on farms to earn money but it was required it was more so they could afford treats and other pleasantries. In Abla that didn’t seem to be the case many of the children looked half-starved and clothed in things not fit for scrap rags.
She was startled from her reverie when Ballard placed his hand on her shoulder. His face showed his concern but he remained silent. That was one of the good things about Ballard he knew when to speak and when to simply let her know he knew something was bothering her.
After her horse was ready she quickly mounted and waited on her two companions to finish their preparations. Darryl looked slightly different than normal but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Then her eyes were drawn to the blood red piece of cloth that was tied around his left arm. The red cloth was nothing new he always wore one but it was always around his right arm. She wasn’t sure what the change mean and it bugged her but she was unsure about how to approach the matter.
A few of the members of her unit she knew well and spent time with them when they were otherwise unoccupied but she had to admit Darryl wasn’t one of them. She had known him for years but besides their little fireside stories she hadn’t talked to him much. It was embarrassing for her to admit but she wasn’t even sure if he was married or if he had a family at all.
CHAPTER VIII
The first few hours of travel was busy as they passed many caravans both headed to and away from the town. It made riding slow as there was little room on the dirt packed road for them to move. More than once she thought of moving off the path and riding on the grass but with the rocky terrain one misstep could be bad for their horses. She doubt that their trained mounts would make such a mistake but it wasn’t worth the risk in unfamiliar territory.
Half way through the day they stopped to have a quick meal and relax their sore muscles. Not long after they stopped they were joined by a group of marching soldiers. It wasn’t a large group no more than a platoon but more than enough to give them trouble should they decide to be unfriendly.
Eloen's stomach clenched and unclenched as she watched Ballard meet with the enemy force’s captain. She had the urge to rush over and find out what was being said but she knew that in Abla that it would look suspicious if she
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