Chapter III, Reading 5

"I love you too, Momma."  She dropped her voice to a whisper.  "If there is any possible way, I promise to stay in touch.  There has to be some way which won't endanger you."

"Don't worry about us, my child.  No one pays attention to simple people like us.  We'll be safe."

"I pray so."

"Please be careful, Flindra.  It is your destiny to accomplish great things.  You will always be with us in our thoughts and prayers.  Always remember that we love you."

"I'll remember, Momma."

Dakra held on to her daughter a little longer before she stepped back.  "It's time, my child.  The sun is nearly up and you need to be on your way."

She nodded.  "Be well, Momma.  I love you."

"Good journey, Flindra, and may the Spirit watch over you and protect you."

Flindra patted the trio of dogs, which were waiting by her horse.  They had been her companions on many an adventure, but they needed to stay behind this day.

She took the reins from Leudh and mounted the waiting horse.  "I love all of you," she said once she was settled into the saddle.  She looked once more into the faces of her family.

"We love you, too," Leudh said in a choked voice.  He had finally succumbed to his tears.

She held up her hand in parting.  "Until we meet again, be well and may the Spirit bless you."

"Good luck, Flindra," Dakra answered.

She reined the horse around and headed out of the clearing.  She turned in the saddle so she could wave as she went.

"I love you," Flindra whispered when the gelding carried her from the view of the cottage.  She wept in loss and grief and merely allowed the horse to travel down the familiar trail to the lake while she sank into her sorrow.

"Stop it," she scolded herself when she got to the lake.  "Use your head, Flindra.  Enough of these tears."  She pulled Deru to a halt and bowed her head.  "Beloved Spirit, be with me and guide my steps.  Help me to keep from feeling sorry for myself and drowning in my own tears."  She took a deep breath.  "Let it be so."

Deru was anxious to get moving so he turned around and nibbled at her boot.  He commonly did that as a way of saying it was time to move.  Flindra actually smiled as she let him walk on.  She rode quietly through the towering pines of the forest bordering the lake.  She could smell the pungent odor of the thick mat of fallen needles on the forest floor.  With every muffled step of her horse's hooves, she drew farther away from her home.  Every step beat out a steady rhythm of a mournful song that spoke the sorrow of her heart.

The loss of her home and her family opened a vast vault of loneliness and despair within her heart.  Never had Flindra experienced such intensity of emotion.  She used this intensity, this pain, to keep her mind focused on her task.  It was a knife blade that cut through the numbness of grief.

If an enemy knew her whereabouts, it would be probable that they would attack close to her home.  She remained vigilant and wary.  Her tension was translated through her body to the horse and he also scanned the countryside with alert ears.