Gwinn walked up to the back door of the Inn after finishing her chores for the day, stomped the mud from her boots, and swung the door open. She came to get scraps from the kitchen for her dinner. She had spent the day working hard, scrubbing and hauling anything she could. It was her way of keeping her mind off the flying horses because it only reminded her how much she was stuck in this place.

The cook had set a plate aside for her. Gwinn’s stomach grumbled. She was hungry after all that work. She grabbed the plate and sat down at the small wooden table It wobbled as she plopped down. She took a few bites of the sweetbread and let it melt in her mouth. The door to the common room swung open while she was still savoring it. Chaney breezed through the doorway with a smug look on her face.

Gwinn swallowed her food and looked at Chaney suspiciously. “What do you want?”

“I was just wondering how you could be so hungry after eating a whole pie.” She smiled mischievously.

“I didn’t eat that pie and you know it.”

“I know nothing of the sort.” She skipped across the kitchen. “Who else would take it?”

“You would.” Gwinn said.

“Me?” Chaney flourished her hand and pointed at herself. “I have all the food I could want. Why would I take it?”

“So that you could get me in trouble and because your mother wouldn’t even let you eat the whole pie.”

Chaney’s smugness faltered for a moment but then it came back. “I saw her slap you. I bet it hurt.”

Gwinn pounded the table with her fist. “Go away and leave me alone you little weasel.”

Chaney’s face turned so red that it matched her hair. She flipped Gwinn’s plate and, it fell off the table. Her dinner scattered across the floor. “You don’t need to eat after all that pie and if, you are still hungry, you can eat off the floor.” Chaney spat at Gwinn and then skipped off with a smile on her face.

Gwinn glared at her back. Chaney knew Gwinn hadn’t eaten that pie. She came to gloat on purpose. Gwinn stared at the food on the floor. Her stomach still grumbled. She sighed then recovered what food she could and put it back on her plate. She wasn’t going to starve because of that little weasel.

Gwinn finished her meal in peace but she was still angry. The veins in her head were still pulsing when she stomped off to the barn. She kicked the side of a stall and screamed. There was nothing she could do to Chaney. The Cuthberts would kick her out on her rear end if she said one word against the little gremlin and she had nowhere else to go. She paced across the barn kicking the straw and dirt around. “That brat doesn’t even know how lucky she is. She has a family that cares about her and she doesn’t deserve it.” There was a mule in a stall and it flicked its ears. “What?” Gwinn asked it. “She doesn’t.” The mule flicked its ears again and blinked at her.

She shrugged and went back to her pacing. There was a tapping sound and she spun around. Was there someone in the barn? When she turned, there was no one there. She looked this way and that way but the mule was the only thing in the barn and, he was just standing there. Tap. Tap. Where is that sound coming from? Tap. She looked up. There were no birds in the rafters but she couldn’t see into the loft. What if there was something up there? What about my egg?!

She bolted for the ladder. Her heart raced. It could be anything. She stuck her head over the last rung as soon as she could reach. Her eyes were level with the floor as they searched wildly for the source of the tapping. She held her breath as her eyes caught on something curious. The tapping was indeed coming from the loft. It was her egg and, it was moving all by itself. It kept bumping the side of the wall as it shook back and forth.

Gwinn relaxed and pulled herself all the way up. She rushed to the corner where the egg was but she didn’t know what to do. Is there something wrong or is this normal? She sat on her knees and pursed her lips anxiously. She caressed the egg and, it shivered. Then it cracked and, she pulled her hand back. The crack stretched across the shell with hair line fractures all over the surface. The cracks glowed with an orange light and Gwinn was afraid to touch it. Something pushed at the shell and a small paw broke through the surface. Pieces of the shell flaked away and another paw appeared. The tiny paws pulled at the shell and, a nose poked through. The shell split apart completely and a slimy little thing rolled out. Its backside flipped over its head and it had a hard time righting itself.

Gwinn laughed at its awkward movement and it looked at her with a goofy grin. She was so excited to see it but, in truth, she had no idea what it was. It had light colored fur that was cream colored with reddish orange ends. It had paws that looked too big for its four legs and had a big nose with large flared nostrils like a puppy. It also had a long tail that was wagging wildly. There were also two nubs on its back. Gwinn looked closer and realized that they were wings. It was a flying creature. It tried to stand up on its legs and fell over. She laughed at him. Somehow she knew it was a boy.

She pulled the little creature toward her and brushed it off with her apron. It licked her with a long pink tongue and it tickled. “I don’t know what you are but you’re adorable.”

He rambled around the loft trying to get a feel for his legs and she watched him with delight. “You are the strangest creature I’ve ever seen.”

He turned his snout then bounded across the loft and fell down in front of her. He barked at her. It was a high pitched squeaky sound. He had never used his young voice before but it was cute. “Why am I strange?” It came out as a bark but she understood him perfectly.

“I have never seen an animal like you before. Can you really talk to me?” He barked yes. “That’s incredible.” She stared at him in disbelief. “You’re not strange. You’re amazing.”

“Thank you but my name is Alcor.”

She laughed. “So it is and what are you?”

“I don’t know.” He said with a pitiful whine.

She patted him on the head. “That’s all right. I don’t know either. We’ll figure it out together.” His long floppy ears perked up then he trotted around the loft again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Kellin circled above the forest with Marshal. They had delivered a message to Glenwood and were canvassing the forest on their way back to Aerion. The Wildwood Forest looked even larger from above. The Rider’s carried messages across the forest from north to south but its eastern edge had never been reached. It was so vast that no one had ever traveled from one end of it to the other. Most people traveled around its western edge on foot but it took so much longer than flying.

Kellin looked down from the back of his mount. The limbs of ancient trees intertwined and made a dark dense canopy that was nearly impossible to see through. “I can’t see anything.” He shouted to Marshal.

“We’ll have to go down.” Marshal shouted back.

“Are you sure this is the place?”

“Yeah, this is where they tracked the egg to.” Marshal circled lower and found a space between the trees to land. Kellin follow closely and landed behind him. Marshal’s horse swished her tail at him and Markab. They had landed too close for her but there was very little room to maneuver.

They started down a forest trail toward the spot. Leaves rustled overhead and the towering pines swayed. “Why are we wasting our time?” Kellin asked.

“Quiet, I hear something and we’re not wasting our time.”

Kellin was annoyed by the delay back to Aerion but he didn’t argue with Marshal. After all, he was the First Rider. Kellin leaned forward in his saddle and looked for whatever it was Marshal heard. It was dark and hard to see but he spotted some movement by the creek.

He heard them before he could see what they were. “It was here. I can smell it.” The dark creature hissed to its companion. It jerked when hoof beats roared in their direction. “What are you doing here?” It shrieked.

“The same thing you are.” Marshal said to them.

The darkwing bared its teeth. “Where is the egg?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” He said.

The darkwing hissed and flexed its claws. Its companion did the same and prepared to attack. Their bodies moved and writhed like snakes. Marshal pulled his long sword on them and Kellin quickly drew his too.

One of them lunged at Kellin. His horse reared up and, the darkwing took a step back. It whipped its tail around which slashed the side of Kellin’s face. The horse kicked the darkwing and, it hissed. Kellin swung at it but the thing was too far away.

It grabbed its side where the horse had kicked him. “It’s not here. Let’s go.” It stretched its wings and jumped into the air. The other one bared its teeth at them but then followed its companion.

Marshal sheathed his sword and watched them fly off. “That’s good.” He said.

Kellin grabbed his face. “I don’t see what’s good about that. I’m bleeding.”

“It’s good because we know they don’t have it.” Marshal answered.

“Then it’s still lost.” Kellin said holding his face. “I don’t see why that egg is so important.”

Marshal looked at him as if he were a fool for saying such a thing. “It’s very rare and we need to find it as quickly as possible. There’s no telling what will happen if it falls into the wrong hands.”

“What if she finds is before we do?”

Marshal grunted from his saddle and turned his horse around. “We should get that looked at. Come on.” 

----------------------------------------------------------------

It was a slow day at the Inn. It was midweek and there was only one guest occupying one of the rooms. Gwinn snuck inside through the kitchen door and ducked into the hallway. She didn’t want any of the Cuthberts to see her. They would try to stop her or give her something to do and all she wanted was a little information. She crept down the hall trying to be as quiet as a mouse. When she reached the small room she pushed the door open slowly. When it creaked she winced. Hopefully, no one heard that.

She shut the door as softly as she could. The room she entered was quiet and empty. She breathed a sigh of relief. There were shelves of books lining the walls and a large paned window at the end of the room. Several sofas were scattered throughout the room for guests to recline on while enjoying a book. This was the small library that the Innkeeper kept for his guests. It wasn’t much but it might provide her with some answers.

She tip-toed around the room and searched the shelves for anything that might help her figure out what the creature was. There was a promising book on the third shelf. “The Journal of Ramon the Rider and his index of rare animals.” She pulled it from the shelf and found a comfortable sofa. Then she flipped through the pages looking for any account of a creature that looked like her hatchling.

A pair of boots clomped down the hall and, she paused with her finger on the page. The boots passed by without stopping and, she went back to her book. “The grimall is a furry animal with one large eye.” She shook her head. That’s not it.

She heard a rustling noise outside but ignored it and kept searching. “The three legged Impwich.” No. Her finger drifted over the pages as she went from one creature to the next. “The Gundersnout,” she shook her head, definitely not.

There were more boot sounds in the hall but she didn’t even pause this time. The Innkeeper had little reason to use this room and, she was quite sure he wouldn’t come inside. The door swung open and her head shot up in surprise. It was not the Innkeeper who walked into the room but Marshal the Rider.

Her eyes grew wide from the shock of the unexpected intruder. She closed her book with a snap and set it off to the side. “What are you doing here?” She said shaking off her surprise.

“I was going to ask you the same thing. This isn’t the place I would expect to find you.” He strolled across the room as he tucked his riding gloves into his belt.

His arrogance spilled off of him and she bristled. “I’m reading what does it look like I’m doing? But that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“We were passing through.” Marshal walked behind her sofa and glanced at the title of her book. He picked up the volume and thumbed through its pages then laughed ironically. “I thought you didn’t like Riders.”

She grabbed the book from his hands. “I don’t.”

“Then why are you reading that book?” His smile was still etched across his face.

She hesitated. “I…for…because I want to, that’s why.” She stammered and then crossed her arms. She wasn’t going to tell a Rider about the hatchling.

He eyed her curiously. “Right, well we left the horses in the barn.”

Her head snapped toward him. “In the barn?”

“Yes, where else would they be?”

No one else had been in the barn since her egg had hatched. It put her nerves instantly on edge. What if they see him? “I…I don’t know. I should go check on them.” She said in a rush.

“Take good care of them.” He said.

She put down the book and headed for the door. “I always do.” She said before yanking open the door and hurrying through it. Gwinn ran to the barn with more speed than she needed to but she couldn’t stop herself. She was worried.