Patty Liu - Silent Reflections

The bouncing was beginning to make Tony sick to his stomach. He’d just had a huge meal at the inn they had stayed at and the constant jostling of the food in his stomach was making him quite nauseous. He had to get off the damn horse.

Tony put up his hand to halt the two guards that were next to him on their horses. Princess Wendy had insisted on riding a horse also when she’d seen the men riding. She had sold the carriage that was carrying her from the Second Kingdom and bought herself a magnificent stallion fit for battle, practically. But Tony was surprised that the princess handled herself quite well on the steed.

"What are we stopping for, Antony?" the Princess asked from atop her dark mahogany-colored horse. "You don't have to use the john again, do you? I told you not to drink all that rich cider back at the inn."

"No, it's not the cider. I just ate too much. The horse is jostling me around too hard and I'm getting a stomach cramp," Tony explained. He walked over to a large rock at the side of the road and sat down. "Let's just rest for a bit."

"Oh, all right."

The two guards helped the princess off her horse and they all stood around looking at the scenery and pointing at things off in the distance. Then they heard a chunky rattling coming closer and closer.

An old man came down the road in an old rusty wagon. He greeted the guards and tipped his straw hat to the princess and muttered a few words. One of the guards came running up to Tony and said that the old peddler had just come from up the road and that he’d said the road was blocked up ahead. A huge footstep of a giant's had made a huge dent in the middle of the road and now it was flooded with the rain from the week before. It was practically a lake, the guard explained. In order to get past it, they’d need to follow a narrow path into the Sixth Kingdom and then meander their way back out again into the Second Kingdom for they were very close to the border.

"Is that going to slow us down much?" Tony asked the guard. He knew King Wendell was eager to meet his new bride and they needed to be at the castle in just a few days.

"Not by much, sir. Maybe half a day's ride."

"Then that ain't a problem. Come on, I feel better now. Let's head off as soon as possible so we can get home as soon as possible."