Amanda awoke the next morning with the weird feeling that something was wrong. Leaping out of bed she didn’t even bother to get dressed. She ran down the stairs, past her father who was sleeping off another long night of drinking on the couch, and out the door to the stalls.
The stalls were empty.
She ran to the fence paddock and did a rough count of their other horses. Only the pegasus was missing.
She ran back inside and shook her father awake. “Dad, the pegasus is gone!”
“Huh.” He stirred, shifting awake far too slowly for her.
She raced back upstairs and threw on some clothes and her boots. Then ran back down the stairs past her father who was groggily sitting up. Evidently it had been a bigger night than usual. It happened every now and again, usually the day after a big sale.
Amanda flew out of the house. Red hair unbrushed and twirling in the breeze. She saddled up a mare and was off galloping towards town.
She tied off outside the local pub, the one her and her father always played cards at. She dashed inside and went up to the bar. The barman’s son stood behind the counter with a broom, his father having already gone to bed. The son ran the morning shift until 10am and then they had a paid hand come on for the afternoon while the son attended his last year of school.
“I need information,” Amanda said. “A name, he’s a cowboy with dark hair and white leather hat. Rides a dapple grey. Maybe ten years older than me.”
The barman’s son nodded thoughtfully. “That’ll cost yah.”
It was common for the bars in this region to trade cash for information but Amanda had, in her rush out the door, completely forgotten about the paying part.
“Can you put it on my tab?” she asked.
The barman’s son seemed to think about it for a moment and then a look came over his face and he blushed. “No, but I’ll tell you for a kiss.”
The way he was asking suggested he didn’t think he was going to get it. But Amanda was in a hurry. “Alright,” she agreed.
The boy’s eyebrows shot up.
Amanda leaned forward over the bar. “Now or never,” she told him.
The boy blushed, if possible, an even deeper red, but he took his chance and leaned forward.
Amanda planted a fast one right on his lips. As she pulled back she asked, “The information?”
“Right.” The boy took a moment to get his bearings. She was sure he was going to tell all his friends about it later. But at least he did as he had said and gave her the information, which was all she wanted right now. “His name’s Archie. He’s not in here often, lives out the back of the plains but I’ve seen him out at The Broken Whistle.” He grabbed a paper napkin and drew her directions to the guy’s ranch.
Once he was done Amanda thanked him, memorised the directions, left the paper napkin and headed for the door. She was halfway across the room when a gravelly voice spoke.
"You won’t find him out there. He’s down at the docks. I saw him loading some horses on a boat.”
She turned to see a man old enough to be someone’s great grandfather nursing a beer at a nearby table. She recognised him as one of the semi-regular patrons. He worked on one of the routine shipments that came in, every two weeks he’d spend a few days in the bar and then head off to sea again.
She hesitated for a second taking in the information. Then she gave a nod and a reply of “Thanks,” and started to head for the door.
“Now do I get a kiss?” the old man called after her playfully.
Amanda glanced over her shoulder and gave him a roll her eyes. She could hear the old man chuckling after her as she left.
The docks were busy this morning. More ships than usual had docked up and she was starting to wish she’d asked for a description of the ship.
A few men whistled as she walked past. She paid them the barest of glances. The docks were probably the roughest part of town but enough people knew her here not to want to mess with her. She heard some whispers as she went past as well. Those that knew her would also know she was a firestarter. They wouldn’t like her near their ships.
She approached an older gentleman with a white beard, wearing what looked like cleaner looking clothing than many of the others here. “Excuse me, I’m looking for a ship that was moving some horses.”
He shook his head then nodded further down the docks “Maybe that end, ain’t seen no horses this end.”
She nodded, thanked him and continued on her way.
“You looking for something missy?” a voice called.
A rat looking man was perched on a nearby crate, sucking on what looked like a piece of dried meat.
Against her better judgment she approached him. “Horses?” was all she replied.
“Ah yeah.” He leaned back thoughtfully and took a bite of his meat. He chewed with his mouth open and then swallowed before continuing. “The pretty girl’s is looking for a pony hmm?”
She didn’t answer, just waited expectantly.
When he saw that she wasn’t going to say anything he continued more seriously “You’re too late. Dem pony ship’s already been loaded and set sail. Although I mighta heard some whinnying sounds coming from a warehouse down that way.” He pointed. “The green ones.”
Amanda nodded and took off before he could say anything more about a pretty girl and ponies.
She smelt it before she saw it, the distinct smell of manure and then she saw him, the man in the white cowboy hat talking to some shippers, probably discussing rates. A posh looking woman dressed all in black and white was standing next him with her hands on her hips.
Amanda ducked around the edge of the building and then deciding this was the best way to find her missing pegasus she continued around the back until she found a half open sliding door with no one guarding it.
Once in the building she took a nearby staircase to get a better view down into the stalls which from the sounds of it housed many different creatures, not just horses.
Half way up however she had to retreat as she heard the distinct sound of footsteps coming down from above. At the bottom she was deciding whether to venture further in or go back outside when the sounds of voices talking outside the door made the decision for her.
She headed off down one hallway and then emerged into a larger area containing crates that was home to the animal sounds. She slipped between a pair of crates. Each one was mostly wooded except for a window, which had bars with large gaps, obviously for air or to pass food through. The gaps in some were big enough that a small person could climb between them if they’d wanted.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Amanda peered into the nearest crate but the darkness made it hard to see. So she sniffed instead. This one didn’t smell like horse. She moved among the rows until she did find some that smelt like horse. She was trying to get a decent look inside, and contemplating the risks of using a flame for light when she heard footsteps approaching from both sides.
Without thinking about it she pulled herself up and scrambled between the bars just as someone rounded the corner.
“You hear something?” A man’s voice asked.
“Huh?” replied the other obviously confused.
“Eh, whatever, it was probably just one of the beasts. Anyway, Archie’s looking for you, he wants the crates moved out so they’re ready for boarding.”
“I thought we weren’t moving them until two?” the other replied.
“Apparently the damn woman won’t pay until everything’s loaded.”
The two men continued their conversation but didn’t walk away, as Amanda’s attention was taken by something moving behind her.
She turned slowly, afraid of whose cage she had climbed in to.
Not wanting to summon the attention of the men who were just outside she dare not light a flame. Instead she stood stock still as whatever it was drew nearer.
There was something familiar about the breathing coming from in front of her.
She hesitantly held out a hand and was surprised to feel a muzzle push back gently against her palm. She almost gasped out loud.
She reached another hand further back to where she thought the neck might be and as her eyes adjusted to the light in the box she saw that the box into which she had climbed housed her missing black pegasus.
Now she just had to get him out. Right now that was going to be difficult with the two men standing outside. She’d just have to be patient, then burning the door off shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Sneaking out without being seen and with a giant black pegasus in tow was going to be harder though.
Eventually one of the men left. The other however chose this crate to lean against as he lit up a smoke. She could hear things happening out there, crates were being dragged somewhere. The light shining into the crate got brighter and she took the brief chance to peak past the man outside to see what was happening. She quickly ducked back down inside the crate as she saw that many of the crates nearby had been moved outside and now there were a lot more people around.
Shit! This was going to be harder than she’d first thought.
Nearby the pegasus shifted restlessly and she stroked him gently to calm him down.
Suddenly the whole crate moved sideways. It was being moved like the others.
The pegasus whinnied nervously. She patted him soothingly. She waited until the crate came to a rest before risking another peak outside. Now they were on the docks outside. Still too many people for her to break out here. The other guy had said 2 pm though. That was a while. She hoped she wouldn’t be stuck here that long. Either way she would just have to wait until there were less people about.
As time passed, and the sun got higher in the sky she realised it was unlikely she was going to be able to sneak out of here given the crate’s current location. There was just too much foot traffic. She thought about making a break for it but knew she was unlikely to get far. Even sneaking out without the pegasus would be risky now. There was no way she was getting out here.
She decided her best option was probably to wait until boarding and then sneak herself off the ship before it set sail. She’d seen enough loading of ships to know that once the cargo was on board and tied down most eyes would be focused on actions needed to set sail instead and the cargo would be temporarily forgotten.
Eventually she felt the crate being shifted again. She resisted the urge to peer outside right now, knowing a lot of people would be watching. She waited until the outside went dark again and she knew they’d been loaded in somewhere. She waited even longer until she was sure it was quiet and no one was around.
Then with one last pat of the poor pegasus' neck she hauled herself out through the crate bars again.
She was indeed in the cargo hold of a ship, surrounded by crates of varying sizes. She spotted a staircase at one end of the room and she started to move towards it. There was no obvious open area that she could see.
As she crept towards the stairs a whinny sounded behind her. She glanced back forlornly. She didn’t want to leave him behind. There was no way she was sneaking out of here with that pegasus though. Still…
She hesitated. He did have wings. Perhaps she could ride him out. And if they moved fast enough then they could get away free.
She knew it was a long shot. That pegasus was a long way from being ridden and even riding perfectly trained pegasi was dangerous, let alone trying to do so on board an enemy occupied ship. Yet, she also hated the idea of leaving him behind. He was, after all, what she had come here for.
She stood, halfway between the stairs and the crate, undecided.
Once more approaching footsteps forced her one way. She ducked behind the crate this time, peeking out around the corner just long enough that she could see who had entered.
A thin blonde man, looking to be in his mid 30s entered the hold followed by a younger looking man, with brown hair, and aged more in his late 20s. The younger one seemed to be new to the ship and the older one was explaining some rules to him.
“We eat at seven and five. That’s when the chef cooks. You want something between then you ask, we’ve got fruit and meat but it’s rationed and we weren’t expecting you so you can’t just go helping yourself okay. Sometimes the cook makes bread. If he does the others eat before you. You can be out on deck whenever you want unless captain tells you to go down in which case you do what the captain says no questions asked. Got it?”
The brown haired man nodded.
Blondy went on to explain a few more rules and finally he finished with, “I don’t see why you needed to come, can’t be too hard to keep fed a group of animals.”
“Some of them are valuable and boss wants to make sure they’re well-cared for. I’m here to make sure that happens,” browny explained.
Amanda snuck around behind the crate and eyed the gap between her and the stairs.
Just as she was considering making a break for it blondy moved into her line of sight causing her to dash behind the crate to hide again.
As he walked towards the stairs he spoke to the other man. “Alright, well I’ll leave you to it then.”
Amanda peered around the corner again but now the brown haired man stood between her and the exit. She watched as he walked and sat right down on the steps, pulled out a lighter and lit up a smoke. She sighed and returned to the back of the crate to wait.
She’d been sitting awhile and hadn’t noticed that she’d almost dozed off when she heard a voice yell, “What the hell is that!?”
Initially she though the voice was yelling at her but when she saw nobody near by she realised they were yelling at someone else. She took a risk and peered around the crate again.
Brown hair was still sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Another man, the one who had yelled, was standing right behind him. This man was red-headed much like herself, and covered in an abundance of freckles, unlike herself.
He frowned down at the brown haired man. “Is that cigarettes I smell?” he held out a hand. “Hand em over, there’s no smoking on this ship, it’s a fire hazard. Do you know what happens when a ship catches fire in the middle of the ocean?”
The brown haired man had stood up and was holding out empty hands. He’d obviously finished his smoke awhile ago but unfortunately for him the smell was hard to hide. “Look man, I don’t know what yer…”
“You don’t know what I’m talking about?” Red was yelling louder now and he took a threatening step toward the brown haired man who given the size difference was not likely to be on the winning side in a fight.
“Hand em over,” Red commanded.
“I need…” the brown haired man started to protest.
“You need? I don’t give a damn what you need. There is no fire on this ship. Only the chef gets that privilege. Do you look like the chef?” Red grabbed Brown by the shirt and rifled though his pockets until he found what he was looking for. The lighter. No fire on this ship.” Red repeated once more and then turned and left, leaving Brown with the comfort of his cigarettes but no means to light them.
Brown breathed out a huff and then walked angrily further into the hold. Amanda heard the sound of him kicking something and then the cry of pain as whatever he had hit turned out to be harder than he’d expected.
She eyed the stairs again, more afraid than ever if they caught her. No fire probably more than extended to firestarters. She knew even a lot of passenger ships liked to refuse entry to firestarters. How long had she dozed off back there? Would they throw her out to sea if they caught her. She needed to get off this ship and soon.
She took her chance. She ran for the stairs. She heard a shout behind her but she was gone before Brown could react.
She went up the stairs and found herself in a long hallway. A surprised man stood at one end so she turned and ran the other way. Red stepped out in front of her and she was fast enough to duck beneath his arms as he made a grab for her. But then another man stepped out of a different door and suddenly Amanda found herself unable to move. She was completely frozen, held in place by someone’s magic.
“What do we have here?” she heard Red say from behind her.
“A stowaway.” The man in front of her answered. This one had long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and dark, almost black, eyes watching her with interest. He was thin with a wiry kind of muscle and he had his hand held out in front of him in such a way that Amanda had no doubt that he was the one who had frozen her.
She dared not use her powers in return. She didn’t know what the rest of them were and she could hear more footsteps and whispering from more men. She was captured. It was better they didn’t know what she was.
“Go get the captain,” a voice commanded from somewhere behind her.