This story was written for the 2025 April A to Z Blog Challenge. Twenty-six words, one for each letter of the alphabet, were pre-selected by a random word generator (MacChatGPT) and were included for each section of the appropriate letter in the Challenge. The chosen word is highlighted within the text. To start the story from the beginning, go to https://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=4443.
When last we met in Part 22 – Venture:
More and more animals, birds, and people are being added to Princess Alondria’s followers. Springbounder has enlisted Queen Isolara of Glandisol, who will stand ready with her forces near Tirea. Sparrow-White and Luvtrue go to seek more bird species to join in. Princess Alondria and Rowan continue to get followers as they travel from town to town. All await the signal from the princess to assemble.
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Destiny – Part 23 (wander)
Rowan and Alondria had been traveling for days. The followers of the princess’s cause continued to grow. But would their numbers be enough? King Yarek’s armies were well armed. They were not.
They reached a point where they decided to take a rest and sit down to talk.
“You’ve learned so much about me, of which I am very grateful,” Alondria said, “But what about you? What is your story? Besides, climbing mountains and saving princesses?”
Rowan was quiet for a moment and then began his story.
“Many names have I gone by, but the one that seems to have stuck is my true name, Rowan. Springbounder referred to me as Rowan the Rogue, which I guess is an apt description. I was born in a place, not unlike the home you were raised in. My birth parents were not very wealthy. My mother was a very caring woman. She worked hard to get the necessities we needed to live. My father was the true rogue. He was a thief and a trickster. Somehow, any money or supplies he acquired, he would lose just as easily before we got to see any of it, which made it harder on my mother and me.
My father took good care of me, though. He taught me all he knew about life. How to convince others to buy his wares; How to climb mountains; How to throw his voice, so that others felt a greater power was speaking to them, and of course, how to take things that didn’t belong to him.
I learned quickly.
My mother taught me things, too. How to work hard. How to care for people. How to be good.
Unfortunately, like you, both my parents died when I was young. My father was killed during one of his escapades when he was caught. My mother died from working too hard.
Following their deaths, I was fostered to many families, none of which stuck with me. I was too rebellious. I was not helpful in the ways they wanted me to be, basically wanting me to worship them. I was too much of a mouth to feed.
So when I was old enough to go out on my own, I did. I hired myself out to those who wanted something done. Some things I did were good, and others, I admit, were a bit shady. I changed my name a few times so that I wouldn’t be recognized. When I left you on the mountain, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to help you. Those villagers knew me by another name. If they saw me and heard you call me Rowan, it would have gone bad for me, and probably you too, thinking you were an associate of my schemes.”
Alondria interrupted, “That would explain why no one in the village recognized your name.”
“True. I was still hired by Yarek to dissuade you from your quest. I had never hurt anyone in the things I did. My mother’s teachings remained strong in me. I knew what kind of person Yarek was, but a job is a job, and I had no idea what he had in mind for you.
What I did know was that the moment I met you on that mountain, there was something different. You should have been just someone seeking her destiny, a job that I was being paid to do, but inside me, I felt you were more than that. I couldn’t put a finger on it then, but when I learned of Yarek’s plan, all I could think about was protecting you and being part of your life.”
“Interesting,” was her response. “When we first met, I did not know who you were, or whether I could trust you. I was very cautious as to what I asked for. I remember making you practice climbing the mountain with me before we truly ascended. But each stage of that climb, every time you grabbed my hand to pull me level with you, I felt something too. Something that I had never felt with anyone else before. When you saved me from that river, I never wanted to be parted from you ever again.”
Neither said a word for a while. They just stared deeply into each other’s eyes. He grabbed her hands, as she grabbed his. Anyone who would have watched this moment between them would clearly see an aura of love, friendship, and caring that was boundless. Their first kiss was one that historians imagine shook the earth beneath them.
But time was running short. There would be time for them to express their feelings for each other later. It was time to wander back to the path of reality and destiny. Time to head back and find King Yarek. Time to call in the troops.
To be continued in X – Xylophone
