Ride of a Lifetime
By: Cassandra Harper
Published by Cassandra Harper at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Cassandra Harper
Smashwords Edition
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The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.
Calaerwen awoke at the first light of dawn. She stretched luxuriously, delighted in how soft a bed of pine needles could be. The boughs above her whispered quietly as a light breeze blew through them. With a sigh she rose, taking time to note the direction of the wind, and smelling rain on the western horizon. A storm was blowing in, but would not arrive before nightfall. Her day promised to be one of calm sunshine. Gathering her gear, she headed out into the wilderness.
As the youngest member of the elven emissaries, Calaerwen was always on the move travelling from city to city, relaying messages and transporting goods. So far she had been restricted to elven cities, but after her next nameday she would be given access to the nearby human and dwarven cities. She eagerly anticipated the first day she witnessed the grandeur of a dwarven city for herself. The tales of solid gold statuaries, monolithic buildings carved from the very walls of the mountains they dwelt in, and precious stones wrought into every surface played in her dreams at night.
As she walked Calaerwen let her mind wander. She thought about her upcoming nameday, both eager and nervous for its arrival. She would finally be considered an adult among the elders, and could be considered not only for a promotion, but for courting as well. The thought made her blush. While she had experimented here and there, she had never felt close to any of her partners. She fantasized for a while, remembering some of her favorite trysts. There were several advantages to constant travel; she never had to worry about having an awkward conversation the next morning. By necessity she rose early and was often out of town before the sun had fully risen. On the other hand, she had little opportunity for courting. The constant travel was a detriment in that sense. She sighed. While she loved her job, it clearly wasn’t something she could do long term; not if she wanted any chance of a real relationship.
She considered her last year abroad. Her work kept her moving between the same dozen or so cities, never staying in one for more than a few nights at a time. It gave her ample opportunity to find a short-time partner, but no time to make a deeper connection. She grinned wryly as she remembered a particularly debauched night at the Midsummer’s Festival. She had taken part in a small orgy, and while the details were hazy from wine consumption, the mere memory of tangled limbs and heated breath was enough to make her tingly. It was definitely time to take another lover. Her next destination, Rín, had a lover fencer she had always admired. Perhaps she would approach him tonight, after her visit with the steward.
At midday Calaerwen decided to stop for lunch. Well ahead of schedule, she had time for a short rest. She heard a stream burbling nearby, and followed it until she heard the soft rush of a waterfall. As she reached the water, she saw that the waterfall was only two hundred feet high, and that it fell into a small, calm pool below. From her vantage point she could just see the points of the Rangor Mountains, famous homeland of the dwarves. Their distant peaks thrust up into the sky above, nearly touching the clouds. Calaerwen paused a moment to wonder what it would be like to stand upon them, at the top of the world. She could hardly imagine it.
It took her the better part of an hour to make her way down the slope to the pool, where she intended to rest. The day was still warm and sunny, and she intended to go for a quick swim before continuing on. It would be good to wash away the inevitable buildup of dirt and be presentable for the evening.