Lonely
“Oh, yeah, thanks. Again I’m sorry about the whole thing last night.” He reluctantly walked back over to where his associate was asking around about the boy they were still looking for.
Phoebe continued to propel Tonto right up the steps until they were both hidden behind the curtain. As it dropped closed behind them she exhaled deeply. “That was a close one. It’s a good thing they don’t really know what you look like.”
The inside area was stacked very neatly, but there was no sitting area. Tonto made his way to the front where there was a bed just under the now missing window. He sat down at one end, motioning for Phoebe to sit as well. “How long do you think it will be before Sedgwick gets back with those supplies and we can leave?”
“Not much longer, we should be able to get on the road in the next hour or two.” Phoebe looked over at Tonto. “Speaking of that, I guess I should go to the stables and retrieve the horse.”
“That would probably be a good idea.” Tonto looked out the opening in the front window, toward the hitch.
“You know what else a good idea is; you changing back into a fey type.” Phoebe stood up as she spoke and jabbed a finger in his direction. “You are going to be the only one here if they decide to come back and ask any more questions, so you better not look like someone they want to talk to.”
Tonto nodded as she moved back around to the back and left. She was a very interesting person, perhaps one of the most interesting that he had ever met. He continued to sit on the bed as he tried to change forms. He concentrated really hard for a few minutes, but no matter what he did he could not change into a fey. He worried that he might be more tired than he felt. Ostgin had said that if one was not rested enough they couldn’t work with magic. The only time that Tonto had ever been tired while using it was the day before when he had done the mind meld with Nye, but he had recovered very quickly. Maybe he was not fully recovered, because he had turned into a fey and then held that all night. Any way he thought about it, he was still sitting there on the bed able to be discovered. The curtain at the back of the carriage being pulled open gave Tonto a start.
Nye walked back around the crates follow by Sedgwick. “Hey, did you get any rest?”
Tonto shook his head. “I guess not, I can’t change back.”
Nye nodded understandingly. “You’ll be fine. It usually takes one of us several months to master our first change. You got it on your first try, so you will probably learn faster, but there’s no guarantee that you will be able to do that again for a little while.”
Tonto was relieved that it was normal for something like that to happen, but he still didn’t like the idea of hiding in the carriage the rest of the time they were in the city.
“Where’s Phoebe?” Sedgwick asked.
“She went to get the horse from the stables.”
“I see.” Sedgwick shrugged and moved out the back of the cart.
“We may have a bit of trouble.” Nye was looking at Tonto, and rubbing his finger significantly. “We passed a Paladin coming into the square with two of the guys from the courtyard the other night.”
Tonto stiffened. “Which two, could you tell?”
“It was Ribew, and the one he called Akin.” Nye could see his concern reflected in Tonto’s eyes as he continued. “He gave them a very good description, and in no time they will all know exactly what you look like.”
Tonto hid his face in his hand and then rubbed it thoughtfully. “The one that was outside last night saw me again this morning. As soon as they get that description, they are going to come right back here, knowing that I’m here.” He pulled his hands away from his face. “And there’s no way for me to hide; I can’t even change forms.”
***
There was a bit of a commotion outside, interrupting the conversation of the boys. Both were startled until they realized that it was just Phoebe coming back with the horse. Before either of them could relax completely they heard the voice of Conwell.
“Good afternoon. Is your cousin inside?” There was silence, and when Phoebe didn’t answer he added. “My friends would like to talk to him if he’s here.”
There was a very brief pause before they heard Phoebe answer. “I wouldn’t tell you if he was here. The last time you talked to someone, he woke up with a bloody nose and no idea what had happened. You stole his property.” Her voice was dripping with distain. “I don’t want you talking to my cousin.”
“You don’t get to decide who we talk to or not.” Ribew answered her, and then they heard him march around to the back of the carriage.
“Don’t move.” Nye whispered to Tonto, and then disappeared from view. Seconds later Tonto heard the curtain being yanked aside.
There were several exclamations, as Nye stepped out, and Ribew jerked him down the steps. The most prominent thing that could be heard was Nye saying. “What’s all this? First you wake me up yelling, and now you throw me on the ground!” He had done his best, which was actually extremely good, to look and sound just like Tonto.
There was a rush of feet as the whole group of Paladins as well as Sedgwick and Phoebe moved to the back of the cart to see what was happening.
“I have you now boy, and this time you’re not getting away.” Ribew had grabbed Nye’s arm and pulled him to his feet. “Come with us and don’t make any trouble.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Nye said it very flatly. “Not until you tell me what is going on.”
Ribew growled something unintelligible, and roughly shoved Nye out in front of him.
Tired of being push around Nye changed to a fey sized Tonto and neatly slipped out of Ribew’s grasp. “I told you I’m not going anywhere.” He stepped just out of reach and crossed his arms.
“Why you little..!” The exclamation was not completed as Ribew made a dive for Nye, who neatly sidestepped. When he stood up and prepared to make another dive at Nye, Akin placed a hand on Ribew’s shoulder.
“This is not the boy from the other night.” Akin pointed at Nye. “Look at him; he’s full of confidence and control. The boy I saw in that courtyard was neither. He was frightened and bluffing, and had no control over himself. I know I didn’t get a really good look at him in that dark yard, but just because he looks like the boy doesn’t mean that he is.”
For a second there was a look of horror on Ribew’s face, and then he glared at Akin. “I know he’s the same boy, I had him in my shop for almost an hour. I don’t care if he has learned a little bit of control; we’re at least going to question him.”
“No, we are not. I know it’s not the same boy.” Akin proceeded to shove his instantly flaming hand in Nye’s face. Nye promptly fell over in a panicky attempt to get away from the dangerous fire. “See; the boy from your shop didn’t even flinch when we were throwing flames right at him.”
“It’s him, I swear it is.” Ribew quickly caught Nye before he could stand up again, and then jerked his shirt over his head, revealing the completely uninjured side of the little creature. “It’s not possible…” His voice trailed off as he realized that he had made a mistake.
“I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you.” Akin lead Ribew and the Paladins away from the cart.
Sedgwick quickly walked back around front to finish hitching up the horse. Nye struggled to slip back into his shirt, while Phoebe followed Sedgwick. She called back to Nye. “Go inside as quickly as you can. We are going to leave as soon as we finish hitching up. I will ride up front with Seddy until we make it out of town.” Nye nodded and mounted the steps rapidly after changing to a boy.
Once Nye had closed the door, Tonto came around from behind the crates. “Thank you. I really owe you for that.”
“No kidding. That man was off a bit I think.” Nye looked over at Tonto. “I don’t think we are getting away that easily, Akin kept looking back at the carriage like that was just a show.”
“Do you think he knows I’m in here?” Tonto sounded worried again.
“It’s a very good possibility.” Nye rubbed his finger thoughtfully. “I wonder if you could hide your scar like I can hide this scale.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know I can hide my scars when I want to, but the way he pulled up my shirt made me wonder. If the only thing that proved to him that I wasn’t you was the fact that I don’t have a scar on my side, then would you actually be able to hide it?”
“I don’t know. I could see where it was when I was a dragon, but I didn’t pay attention as a fey.”
In the few seconds of silence that followed, Phoebe yelled through the window. “You probably want to hang on to something, we’re about to start moving.” Both boys grabbed the crate nearest to them and held on while the cart started moving. It was slow progress because of the people still in and around the marketplace. They were forced to stop several times as people moved in and around their pathway.
“You said you had that scar since you were a baby?” Nye persisted.
“Yes.” Tonto answered.
“It’s still pretty visible for something that old. I don’t think you can hide it no matter what you change into.”
“So, I’m probably going to be spotted if they take off my shirt.” Tonto realized that as unlikely as it was for people to remove his shirt, there was still a chance that someone would do just what they had done to Nye today. “And you think that Akin might think I’m still in the cart.”
“I think we need to stop thinking about things and work on you changing forms again.” Nye ended the discussion. He proceeded to shift forms. “You should start by thinking about how you felt when you first shifted.”
“Well I was mostly curious, I just wanted to see if it would work the same way for me as it did for you.”
“That’s good; now, when you tried to shift this morning, were you at all curious?” Nye prompted him.
“No; I was terrified of what would happen if they recognized me.” Tonto suddenly understood. “Wait; are you saying that changing is based on how I feel? Like both times I turned into a dragon, I was scared and in danger.”
“Exactly. It’s not going to be like that all the time. Once you start using magic more, and learning to control it better, you will be able to change into whatever you want whenever you want.”
Tonto nodded. His mind was already way ahead, and as Nye finished speaking, he was curious and relaxed enough to manage a change.
The boys continued to train as the carriage bounced out of the city. Once through the gates Sedgwick sped the horse up and they moved toward the mountains at a trot. The further they got from the city the more everyone relaxed. There were far too many Paladins back there for anyone’s comfort. Even at a trot the progress was slow, so it came as no surprise when they were forced to stop for the night just after passing through the next town. Much to Tonto’s relief they were taking a more direct route to the mountains, so there was little to no chance of hitting any of the towns that he had already passed. He had actually worn himself out practicing with Nye, and was more than ready to get some sleep. They pulled off the side of the road and pushed into the grass as far as they could from the road. Everyone but Tonto was hungry, but mostly they were all tired. Since they had such a long day, they simply sliced off a little cheese, and some bread. There was a little bit of jerky that they added, and then they prepared to get some sleep. Sedgwick would be sleeping on his bed in the cart, and Tonto would stay inside as well. Nye was quite happy sleeping underneath again, and Phoebe decided to sleep in the driver box.
Phoebe continued to propel Tonto right up the steps until they were both hidden behind the curtain. As it dropped closed behind them she exhaled deeply. “That was a close one. It’s a good thing they don’t really know what you look like.”
The inside area was stacked very neatly, but there was no sitting area. Tonto made his way to the front where there was a bed just under the now missing window. He sat down at one end, motioning for Phoebe to sit as well. “How long do you think it will be before Sedgwick gets back with those supplies and we can leave?”
“Not much longer, we should be able to get on the road in the next hour or two.” Phoebe looked over at Tonto. “Speaking of that, I guess I should go to the stables and retrieve the horse.”
“That would probably be a good idea.” Tonto looked out the opening in the front window, toward the hitch.
“You know what else a good idea is; you changing back into a fey type.” Phoebe stood up as she spoke and jabbed a finger in his direction. “You are going to be the only one here if they decide to come back and ask any more questions, so you better not look like someone they want to talk to.”
Tonto nodded as she moved back around to the back and left. She was a very interesting person, perhaps one of the most interesting that he had ever met. He continued to sit on the bed as he tried to change forms. He concentrated really hard for a few minutes, but no matter what he did he could not change into a fey. He worried that he might be more tired than he felt. Ostgin had said that if one was not rested enough they couldn’t work with magic. The only time that Tonto had ever been tired while using it was the day before when he had done the mind meld with Nye, but he had recovered very quickly. Maybe he was not fully recovered, because he had turned into a fey and then held that all night. Any way he thought about it, he was still sitting there on the bed able to be discovered. The curtain at the back of the carriage being pulled open gave Tonto a start.
Nye walked back around the crates follow by Sedgwick. “Hey, did you get any rest?”
Tonto shook his head. “I guess not, I can’t change back.”
Nye nodded understandingly. “You’ll be fine. It usually takes one of us several months to master our first change. You got it on your first try, so you will probably learn faster, but there’s no guarantee that you will be able to do that again for a little while.”
Tonto was relieved that it was normal for something like that to happen, but he still didn’t like the idea of hiding in the carriage the rest of the time they were in the city.
“Where’s Phoebe?” Sedgwick asked.
“She went to get the horse from the stables.”
“I see.” Sedgwick shrugged and moved out the back of the cart.
“We may have a bit of trouble.” Nye was looking at Tonto, and rubbing his finger significantly. “We passed a Paladin coming into the square with two of the guys from the courtyard the other night.”
Tonto stiffened. “Which two, could you tell?”
“It was Ribew, and the one he called Akin.” Nye could see his concern reflected in Tonto’s eyes as he continued. “He gave them a very good description, and in no time they will all know exactly what you look like.”
Tonto hid his face in his hand and then rubbed it thoughtfully. “The one that was outside last night saw me again this morning. As soon as they get that description, they are going to come right back here, knowing that I’m here.” He pulled his hands away from his face. “And there’s no way for me to hide; I can’t even change forms.”
***
There was a bit of a commotion outside, interrupting the conversation of the boys. Both were startled until they realized that it was just Phoebe coming back with the horse. Before either of them could relax completely they heard the voice of Conwell.
“Good afternoon. Is your cousin inside?” There was silence, and when Phoebe didn’t answer he added. “My friends would like to talk to him if he’s here.”
There was a very brief pause before they heard Phoebe answer. “I wouldn’t tell you if he was here. The last time you talked to someone, he woke up with a bloody nose and no idea what had happened. You stole his property.” Her voice was dripping with distain. “I don’t want you talking to my cousin.”
“You don’t get to decide who we talk to or not.” Ribew answered her, and then they heard him march around to the back of the carriage.
“Don’t move.” Nye whispered to Tonto, and then disappeared from view. Seconds later Tonto heard the curtain being yanked aside.
There were several exclamations, as Nye stepped out, and Ribew jerked him down the steps. The most prominent thing that could be heard was Nye saying. “What’s all this? First you wake me up yelling, and now you throw me on the ground!” He had done his best, which was actually extremely good, to look and sound just like Tonto.
There was a rush of feet as the whole group of Paladins as well as Sedgwick and Phoebe moved to the back of the cart to see what was happening.
“I have you now boy, and this time you’re not getting away.” Ribew had grabbed Nye’s arm and pulled him to his feet. “Come with us and don’t make any trouble.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Nye said it very flatly. “Not until you tell me what is going on.”
Ribew growled something unintelligible, and roughly shoved Nye out in front of him.
Tired of being push around Nye changed to a fey sized Tonto and neatly slipped out of Ribew’s grasp. “I told you I’m not going anywhere.” He stepped just out of reach and crossed his arms.
“Why you little..!” The exclamation was not completed as Ribew made a dive for Nye, who neatly sidestepped. When he stood up and prepared to make another dive at Nye, Akin placed a hand on Ribew’s shoulder.
“This is not the boy from the other night.” Akin pointed at Nye. “Look at him; he’s full of confidence and control. The boy I saw in that courtyard was neither. He was frightened and bluffing, and had no control over himself. I know I didn’t get a really good look at him in that dark yard, but just because he looks like the boy doesn’t mean that he is.”
For a second there was a look of horror on Ribew’s face, and then he glared at Akin. “I know he’s the same boy, I had him in my shop for almost an hour. I don’t care if he has learned a little bit of control; we’re at least going to question him.”
“No, we are not. I know it’s not the same boy.” Akin proceeded to shove his instantly flaming hand in Nye’s face. Nye promptly fell over in a panicky attempt to get away from the dangerous fire. “See; the boy from your shop didn’t even flinch when we were throwing flames right at him.”
“It’s him, I swear it is.” Ribew quickly caught Nye before he could stand up again, and then jerked his shirt over his head, revealing the completely uninjured side of the little creature. “It’s not possible…” His voice trailed off as he realized that he had made a mistake.
“I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you.” Akin lead Ribew and the Paladins away from the cart.
Sedgwick quickly walked back around front to finish hitching up the horse. Nye struggled to slip back into his shirt, while Phoebe followed Sedgwick. She called back to Nye. “Go inside as quickly as you can. We are going to leave as soon as we finish hitching up. I will ride up front with Seddy until we make it out of town.” Nye nodded and mounted the steps rapidly after changing to a boy.
Once Nye had closed the door, Tonto came around from behind the crates. “Thank you. I really owe you for that.”
“No kidding. That man was off a bit I think.” Nye looked over at Tonto. “I don’t think we are getting away that easily, Akin kept looking back at the carriage like that was just a show.”
“Do you think he knows I’m in here?” Tonto sounded worried again.
“It’s a very good possibility.” Nye rubbed his finger thoughtfully. “I wonder if you could hide your scar like I can hide this scale.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know I can hide my scars when I want to, but the way he pulled up my shirt made me wonder. If the only thing that proved to him that I wasn’t you was the fact that I don’t have a scar on my side, then would you actually be able to hide it?”
“I don’t know. I could see where it was when I was a dragon, but I didn’t pay attention as a fey.”
In the few seconds of silence that followed, Phoebe yelled through the window. “You probably want to hang on to something, we’re about to start moving.” Both boys grabbed the crate nearest to them and held on while the cart started moving. It was slow progress because of the people still in and around the marketplace. They were forced to stop several times as people moved in and around their pathway.
“You said you had that scar since you were a baby?” Nye persisted.
“Yes.” Tonto answered.
“It’s still pretty visible for something that old. I don’t think you can hide it no matter what you change into.”
“So, I’m probably going to be spotted if they take off my shirt.” Tonto realized that as unlikely as it was for people to remove his shirt, there was still a chance that someone would do just what they had done to Nye today. “And you think that Akin might think I’m still in the cart.”
“I think we need to stop thinking about things and work on you changing forms again.” Nye ended the discussion. He proceeded to shift forms. “You should start by thinking about how you felt when you first shifted.”
“Well I was mostly curious, I just wanted to see if it would work the same way for me as it did for you.”
“That’s good; now, when you tried to shift this morning, were you at all curious?” Nye prompted him.
“No; I was terrified of what would happen if they recognized me.” Tonto suddenly understood. “Wait; are you saying that changing is based on how I feel? Like both times I turned into a dragon, I was scared and in danger.”
“Exactly. It’s not going to be like that all the time. Once you start using magic more, and learning to control it better, you will be able to change into whatever you want whenever you want.”
Tonto nodded. His mind was already way ahead, and as Nye finished speaking, he was curious and relaxed enough to manage a change.
The boys continued to train as the carriage bounced out of the city. Once through the gates Sedgwick sped the horse up and they moved toward the mountains at a trot. The further they got from the city the more everyone relaxed. There were far too many Paladins back there for anyone’s comfort. Even at a trot the progress was slow, so it came as no surprise when they were forced to stop for the night just after passing through the next town. Much to Tonto’s relief they were taking a more direct route to the mountains, so there was little to no chance of hitting any of the towns that he had already passed. He had actually worn himself out practicing with Nye, and was more than ready to get some sleep. They pulled off the side of the road and pushed into the grass as far as they could from the road. Everyone but Tonto was hungry, but mostly they were all tired. Since they had such a long day, they simply sliced off a little cheese, and some bread. There was a little bit of jerky that they added, and then they prepared to get some sleep. Sedgwick would be sleeping on his bed in the cart, and Tonto would stay inside as well. Nye was quite happy sleeping underneath again, and Phoebe decided to sleep in the driver box.