Raulin's Oath

Her feet floated gently through the grass blades, softly touching the ground before she sank to her knees. She winced at the pain that shot its tendrils through her, gripping her tightly. A shadow cast over her body as the largest horse that she had ever seen nudged her. The enormous stallion lowered his head so that a horn protruding from the middle of his forehead touched her leg. He closed his eyes, and a soft glow emanated from his horn. A warmth surrounded her, penetrating her flesh and heating her bones. Her heart pounded, threatening to leap out of her chest, and her body lifted from the ground, levitating above the grassy plain. Again, she floated down through the grassy blades. She was now standing without crutches in a grassy meadow. A gentle breeze lifted the hair from her face. She opened her eyes to take in the world around her. The grasses were a deep green, the sky a clear blue with little wisps of clouds adding texture. Arietta stood, breathing in the cleanest air that she had ever inhaled. She took a tentative step forward and discovered that she felt no pain. She let out a delighted squeal, startling the field’s other inhabitants.

The animals in the pasture were so beautiful. Though they looked like horses, these were no ordinary herd, for centered on each and every head was a long and delicately pointed horn, twisting towards the sky and gleaming in the sun.

The horse-like being that had placed its horn on Arietta’s leg asked, “Are you lost?”

Arietta’s eyes widened comically, jaw dropping in awe. “You… you can talk!” she proclaimed in a loud, amazed voice.

He snorted, blinking a few times before speaking once more. “As can you. I welcome you to the Land of Equus. Girl, where are you from?”

“I’m Arietta; who are you?” The girl was dazed and distracted, ignoring his previous question.

“I’m Raulin, Lead Stallion of the Zeus Herd. Where did you come from?”

Her eyes flicked back to him, as she had been scanning the vast expanse of the fields of grass. “Right… I don’t know, I was in the hospital. My Grandpa Gus should be here soon.”

The stallion did his best not to express his frustration at this. Her fingers traced the tall grass, making quiet swishing noises as the grass seed passed over her knuckles. Arietta pulled in a deep breath and was amazed by the feeling of walking once more. “This place”--she took a breath--“is paradise.”

Her appearance had drawn a lot of attention, as a small crowd had gathered around her. Whispers flooded the teen’s ears, and she drew together her brows in confusion. She didn’t understand the series of events that had led to this moment. From her perspective, the pasture and herd had appeared around her.

What she didn’t know was that it had been decades since one had appeared in the land of Zeus. The whispers that she couldn’t make out spoke of a prophecy fulfilled. The prophecy spoke of three saviors traveling from a distant land to free them from a tyrant. Nervous whinnies echoed across the herd as they wondered if there were dark times ahead of them.

A small colt hid behind his mother, trying to get a better look at the stranger. Arietta approached slowly and crouched down. His coat was light brown with large patches of white and a spot of pink in the middle of his tiny nose. She could just make out the beginnings of a single horn forming in the center of his forehead.

“It’s okay, little one. I won’t hurt you.” She held out her hand and waited patiently as the colt slowly approached her. Arietta loved the silky feel of the colt’s fur as she ran her hand along his short mane.

The colt looked up at Arietta and said, “Hi, my name is Corin.”

Arietta smiled at the colt. “Hi Corin, my name is Arietta. I’m pleased to meet you.”

Corin nodded. “It is nice to make your acquaintance. Is it true that you are one of the Chosen Ones of the prophecy?”

Arietta giggled before answering, “I don’t know anything about any prophecy. This is my first time here.”

Corin touched Arietta’s arm with the small horn that had just begun to form in the center of his forehead. Arietta could not believe how velvety the horn felt on her skin as he lifted his head to look into her blue eyes.

“You are definitely one of the Chosen.” Corin looked at her with big brown eyes, the awe coming through in his shaky voice.

Arietta began to fade, starting with the toes and then up to her fingers, then head, and finally she was back. She was back on Earth, back in the sterile hospital room that had made her forget the smell of an open field and the brilliance of the sky. Back to the bed she couldn’t leave.

Ari opened her eyes slowly to find Grandpa Gus enjoying a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper. She tentatively shifted her position judging how her body would react. The pain was instantaneous and intense. She let out a groan, which attracted Gus’s attention.

“Good morning, kid. Go slow; once you get your medicine, you will start to feel better.”

The morning nurse entered and said, “You will have to wait a few minutes before you get your meds. I am supposed to get you to your treatment as soon as you have had something to eat. I brought you some cereal so you don’t get an upset stomach.”

Once Arietta choked down her small breakfast, she was placed into a wheelchair and rolled down the hall to receive her first treatment. They had inserted a port close to her collarbone so that they could easily administer the chemotherapy. The doctor had explained the process to her after the surgery to install the port. She was not excited about losing her hair, but if it helped get her out of bed, she was willing to take that risk.

The nurse that Arietta had lovingly dubbed Nurse Ratchet rolled her to the room that was reserved for administering chemotherapy treatments. After the line was hooked up to her port, she settled down for her first three-hour treatment. Arietta sat perfectly still so that she could avoid as much pain as possible and closed her eyes in an attempt to take her mind off of the poison dripping into her veins.

“Hey, my name is Gerald, but you can call me Jerry. Do you have cancer too?”

“Hi, Gerald. If you don’t mind, I would like to sit here quietly. I’ve never had this before, and I am really not in the mood to talk.” Arietta’s stomach fluttered nervously, as she had heard far too many horror stories about chemotherapy. The boy didn’t seem to be unfriendly, but he was obnoxious, and she just wanted some quiet time.

“Suit yourself, but it will make for a looong, boring treatment. You won’t even feel sick until later tonight. So, my cancer is in my bones. Makes them break really easily. After my chemo treatments are finished, I get to look forward to them sucking all the marrow out of my bones and replacing it. It’s supposed to hurt really bad. I can’t wait!”

Ari closed her eyes. She figured that if she ignored him, he would quit talking. She was sadly mistaken.

“So, my favorite color is orange. Kind of a weird color to like so much, but it’s just a good color. I’m an only child, and I have a dog back home that I haven’t seen in months. His name’s Bucky, and if you know anything about Bucky, it’s that he’s the best dog in the world. Let’s see… I like to read.”

She huffed, looking over to the boy whose eyes were fixed on her as he blabbered away.

“You really like to hear yourself talk, don’t you?” She let out a huff of laughter, and he grinned.

“That I do, cancer girl, that I do.”

She crossed her arms tightly against her chest, looking down at the floor. “I’m not a ‘cancer girl.’ Not only do I not have cancer, but I have a name,” she insisted. He quirked an eyebrow at her, leaning forward in his seat. His hair was thinning, which she noticed at that moment. She fixated on the sallow skin and the bags under his eyes. He winced when he moved. She felt a little self-conscious. Could he see all the things she saw in him?

“Interesting. So, if not cancer, then what?” He wasn’t interested in her name yet, and Arietta found this to be very rude.

“My name is Arietta. Thank you for asking.”

The gentle amusement he felt was apparent in the subtle lift of his eyebrows. “Feisty, got it. Very nice to meet you, Arietta.” The smirk on his face nearly made her want to strangle him, but… she had to admit, it was nice. It was nice having someone to bicker with who didn’t treat her as though she was a child. Nice to have someone look at her with a face absent of pity. It was nice talking to someone her age-ish. Maybe, she thought, maybe we could be friends.

“I have juvenile arthritis. It is a very serious disease.”

He cocked his head, listening intently. Folding his hands in his lap, he took a moment to process her words.

“Very interesting. You know, it’s kind of nice having someone to talk to during this treatment.” He made quote signs with his fingers when he said the word ‘treatment.’ “It gets really boring, sitting here for hours. There is enough discomfort that I have never been able to sleep like they said I would.” While his tone was lighthearted, there was something in his eyes that told her his mood had shifted. The gleam in his eyes had gone. He looked tired. “Let’s be friends, okay?”

She paused, considering it for a breath, and he rushed on. “We don’t--we don’t have to be if you don’t want to. If not, it’s fine. I just thought, I’m not around a lot of kids my age anymore.”

“No, I think it’d be nice. But you need to know that my friends call me Ari. Shake on it?” She extended an arm, painstakingly, toward him, and he grinned. They shook on it, and that was that. That was the beginning of a friendship between two sick kids, between two adventurers.