HomeComing
It was still early morning in Arden. Dew still dripped off the tips of leaves and sparkled on the petals of the summer flowers that clustered in little patches of sun between the mighty oaks that made the greenwood what it was. Fog drifted aimlessly a few feet above the ground, giving the forest an ethereal quality.
The war was over and the members of Amber's royal family were each returning to their homes and finding changes they had not expected. Julian rode between the trees with a deep sense of contentment and satisfaction. Very little had changed here--as he had expected. The trees themselves looked no different, and while those might not be the same flowers, they were no different then the ones that bloomed there every season before. All in all it looked the same as it had the day he left.
Caine rode to his right, his sorrel gelding working to keep up with Morgenstern's long strides. Gone from Amber before the others, this ride was especially pleasing. And so the two brother's chatted, relaxed and less wary then they had been in many days. And so they were not prepared for what greeted.
Brieanne was aware of the intruders the instant they crossed into her circle. The trees themselves hummed with warning, a low subsonic sound she felt rather than heard. With a little cry that sounded like any one of the hundreds of birds that populated the trees, she sent the hounds on ahead of her, grabbed her bow and headed off to intercept them.
Caine reined up short when the first of the hellhounds stepped onto the path ahead of them. Julian slowed Morgenstern's and opened his mouth to call the hounds off. Reality struck and the command died in his throat. The five hounds squaring off against them were completely unknown to him. None of them were more than four or five years old, and none of them had been running with the packs when he left.
Uneasily aware that something was wrong, Caine urged his now skittish mount closer to Morgenstern. "Brother? What's wrong?" Caine kept his voice low and eyed the encroaching hounds as warily as his mount.
"These are not mine." Julian voice was strained. Overcoming his surprise he ordered the hounds back the way he would any others and was surprised anew when they did nothing more then twitch their ears. Caine grimly loosed his sword, wishing there was room and time to get his bow.
Cautious of the wet branches, Brieanne leaped from one to another until she had the intruders in sight. The fog left over from last night was still too thick to allow her to see clearly, but the hounds had stopped them and she was confident that the riders would be easily dealt with. Smoketreadder and Briersting waited beneath her, as the rear guard they would join their packmates only if Brieanne descended from the trees.
"What do you mean to the green wood of Arden?" Both brother's started as a woman's high clear voice rang out through the trees in challenge. The hounds stopped their advance, holding in a loose horseshoe shaped formation, tensely waiting for their orders. Caine reacted first and shouted his own challenge.
"The Master of Arden owes no answer to you upstart! Show yourself." Even Morgenstern shied back a step as the branches overhead shuddered under some unseen impact and the hellhounds surged forward in answer. Smoketreadder and Briersting lunged forward with a roar, breaching the middle of the pack and sending the younger hounds out to encircle both horses.
"Arden has but one Master!" Brieanne snarled in anger and she hurtled from one branch, to another and then catapulted herself to the ground. She landed solidly amid a shower of leaves and small twigs. Her bow was nocked even before her feet hit the ground and she drew the fletching to her ear, aiming at the rider who had so foolishly spoken.
And so, Uncle and Niece found themselves regarding each other down the length of a drawn arrow.
Smoketreadder and Briersting paused in their attack as their noses told them what Brieanne's eyes had not told her, even as Julian stared senselessly at the young woman, denying what his ears had already told him. Caine openly gaped at the rather scantily clad archer curvey enough to make high speeds dangerous. Brieanne simply blinked, the whole situation being less than a complete shock for her, and lowered the bow a hair.
"Uncle Caine?" Brieanne's eyes narrowed as she stared intently at the man in front of her. It had been quite a few years, and he was supposed to be dead, but it was unmistakably him and Brieanne had little trouble making the leap of faith. "Uncle Caine it IS you!" Brieanne squealed as she dashed across the open space separating them and all but leaped into her uncle's lap. Holding her bow in one hand, she dangled from his neck with the other in an enthusiastic hug that nearly pulled him from his saddle.
"Easy lass!" Caine laughed, holding Brieanne with one arm and fumbling to catch the reins and his sword in the other. "Easy. I'm glad to see you too!" Caine caught a glimpse of his brother over Brieanne's shoulder and became keenly aware of their rather intimate position. One knee braced against the horse's saddle, and a leg draping down alongside his, she was arched back in an effort to look at him, her face inches from his. The arm around her bare waist suddenly became uncomfortable warm and Caine steered her attention toward her father.
Blending in with the fog, Julian simply sat and stared mutely at the daughter he barely recognized, his expression an odd mix of wonder and horror. What Caine was saying didn't register with him until Brieanne turned and looked directly at him, then he only had a moment to gather his wits before she was flinging herself into his arms. Morgenstern swayed, catching his rider as Brieanne's weight threatened to unbalance him.
Julian pulled Brieanne into the saddle in front of him, enveloping her in a fierce hug, and for a moment neither father nor daughter said anything remotely coherent, not that it mattered to them. After a while Brieanne sat up, blinking as her father wiped away the tears in her eyes. "The other's don't know you're home!" Brieanne sat up bolt straight. "Carl doesn't know!" Brieanne wiggled out of her father's grasp, dropped to the ground and snatched up her bow--dropped midway between her father and uncle. "They'll all want to know! We'll have a party!"
On a normal day there are few things in Arden more nimble or fleet of foot than Brieanne, but on this morning she sprouted wings on her feet. Brieanne spun around laughing as she bolted toward home. Relieved to be in motion, the younger hounds went coursing after. Smoketreadder remained behind, grayer than last Julian had seen him, white whiskers beginning to show on his muzzle. The hound stood, regarding his master with a solemn expression as if to point out that even after all this time he was still on the job. Then he too headed off after Brieanne, leaving the two brother's to deal with their shock and follow when they were able.