The Orchard of Hope (4 page)

“You don’t have to agree with a
decision for it to be the right one,” the king said quietly, as if
he already knew what Kelsey had been about to say.

“I know,” she said
timidly.

“I’m aware of your unhappiness,
but we have more important things than your personal
comfort.”

Kelsey opened her mouth to speak
and then changed her mind. She stared off in the distance at
Roland. He was in disguise, but she could see who he was, despite
the large feathered hat, sunglasses, and polka dot cravat. He
reminded her of one of the legendary musketeers.

The king continued, “You’re no
stranger to physical discomfort, but personal discomfort is a
challenge for you.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that
way,” Kelsey finally replied. “But you’re right. It’s a personal
discomfort, a clash of personalities instead of swords.”

“More like a clash of
personalities that can’t be resolved through a clash of swords,” he
said with a hint of a smile. Kelsey laughed because she knew it was
the truth, and the king laughed with her.

“Yes, Sire.”

“Your fighting spirit is your
greatest asset. I know this won’t be easy for you. I appreciate the
hardship that the situation will place on you in this journey, but
it’s absolutely necessary, and I know you’ll work through
it.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I’m
asking.”

Maggie walked outside to join them.
She was chomping down on a large chunk of bread with a thick layer
of cheese stuffed into a slit on one side of it. The loaf was
crusty, and Maggie scattered crumbs everywhere each time she bit
into it. As Kelsey watched, she appreciated the unladylike manner
in which Maggie was eating. For a brief moment, Kelsey looked upon
her with some amount of satisfaction.

After greeting her, Kelsey and the
king both turned to continue watching Roland approach the castle.
They stared silently into the distance as Maggie glanced around
unaware.

“What are you looking at?” Maggie
asked with her mouth full.

“Roland. He’s my friend,” Kelsey
answered indicating the figure who was nearly upon them. He looked
regal in his cloak and feathered hat.

“Where?” Maggie asked.

“Right there.” Kelsey pointed
again, wondering if the giant sandwich Maggie was holding was
obscuring her vision. They waited in silence for a few minutes as
Roland approached them.

Roland first greeted the king with
a handshake and dignified embrace before turning to Kelsey. She was
so happy to see him that her eyes welled with tears as she hugged
him. It had been more than a year since she had seen him last, but
he was the traveling companion she had loved the most.

Maggie stood still as she watched
the greeting, holding her sandwich to her frozen lips without
taking a bite. Her eyes were large as she looked uncertainly upon
the scene.

“He won’t bite,” Kelsey said with
a nod in Roland’s direction.

“Who won’t bite?”

“Roland.”

“Oh. When’s he
arriving?”

“He’s right here.” Kelsey looked
impatiently at Maggie, who slowly lowered her sandwich from her
lips and clutched it to her chest as if it were something precious
she didn’t want to lose.

“Death appears to each one of us
differently,” the king explained.

“But he’s not appearing to her. I
don’t think she can see him at all,” Kelsey whispered loudly enough
for everyone to hear.

“That’s because Maggie lives in
the moment. It’s very possible that she will never actually see
death until it’s her moment to die.”

“There’s not really anyone else
here, is there?” Maggie said as she reached out one hand and groped
blindly in Roland’s direction. Each time she reached forward,
Roland stepped out of the way to avoid being touched. “What’s his
name? Mr. Death?”

“His name is Roland,” Kelsey said
sharply.

“He’s a soul harvester,” the king
explained, “and he’s very real, but not everyone sees him the same
way or even sees him at all.”

“A soul harvester?” Maggie
asked.

“He’s like a grim reaper,” said
Kelsey.

“Please don’t call me grim. You
know I despise that title. I’m generally a very happy person,”
Roland said.

“You’re sending a grim reaper to
deal with the wolves? Is he going to reap their souls to get rid of
them?” Maggie asked the king.

“No,” the king replied. “It isn’t
that simple.”

“So he’s going to negotiate with
them?”

“Death does not negotiate,” Kelsey
announced with a small amount of pride in her voice.

“Kelsey is correct,” the king
agreed in a more patient tone. “Death doesn't negotiate. It only
teaches.”

“What will it teach the wolves? Or
us?” Maggie asked with interest.

“I don’t have the answer to that
yet. I’m not sure that Roland does, either. It’s something that
you’ll figure out on the way there. Every journey is far more than
simply getting to a destination. It’s also a time of
discovery.”

“How will we know what to do when
we get there?” Maggie asked. She wasn’t familiar with the king and
his ways, and she found the lack of specific instruction
frustrating.

“I’ve told you all you need to
know for the moment,” the king answered in a tone of authority.
“I’m sending death to restore hope.”

Chapter

Three

The Departure

They left at dawn because anyone
who wants to go anywhere usually wants to get there sooner rather
than later, and an early departure almost always means an early
arrival. That’s why the group left at the first light of day.
Kelsey was awake first, and, although she had already packed the
day before, she checked all the supplies and reweighed each pack to
ensure that everyone was carrying the same amount of
weight.

There were no long goodbyes. In
fact, the king refused to say the word “goodbye” because he
insisted they would begin talking again within a few hours. He
viewed the departure as a momentary lapse in conversation. Instead,
he wished them a safe and successful journey through the forest.
Megan and Nicholas followed the king’s example, but Nicholas wasn’t
used to not saying goodbye, and the whole situation felt awkward to
him. Regardless, the departure was early and swift, and before the
sun had fully risen, the three were making their way deep into the
forest.

“So, do you know where we’re
going?” Kelsey asked as she looked at the thick covering of trees
overhead. Through the overhead canopy, she could see that the sky
was sunny, but the branches shielded them from most of the morning
sunlight and the air in the shadows still felt cool.

“The orchard,” Roland
replied.

“Do you have a map?”

“No. I’ve been there so many
times, I don’t need one. Even if I got lost – which never happens,
by the way – I would still be able to find my way there by
smell.”

Kelsey had forgotten about Roland’s
incredible sense of smell. He could smell things that no one could
see or touch, such as the end of an event or the beginning of
something new. His vision was acute, and he could see time,
including the measure of a person’s span left on earth and how many
moments the person had left until they died.

“Are you talking to your imaginary
friend?” Maggie asked.

“He’s not imaginary,” Kelsey
replied in a biting tone.

“I’m imaginary to her,” said
Roland. “I will never be real to her until it is her time to meet
me.” He walked quietly through the forest for a few moments, his
cloak brushing over the tops of the ferns as he moved. “She’s very
perceptive, you know. She understands that you’re upset with having
her along on the journey.” He stepped over a few decomposing logs
that were blocking the path as he was thinking. “Perhaps you should
engage Maggie in some conversation so that she feels included. Try
making friends with her.”

Kelsey kicked at a spindly low
branch as she followed Roland down the path. Making friends was
easy for some people, but Kelsey knew that her talent was in
fighting, which was sort of the opposite of friendship. She knew
about camaraderie on a battlefield, but she didn’t know how to talk
about things that weren’t related to killing and avoiding being
killed. Talking with regular people she didn’t know felt awkward.
Interrogation was much easier, but usually didn’t help in making
friends. In fact, it often had the opposite effect. She felt
frustrated and irritated at the whole situation.

She wondered if Roland knew how she
felt and wanted to ask him if he could smell feelings, but she
didn’t want to ask the question in front of Maggie. After all,
Maggie might think the question was even stranger than talking to
an invisible image of death.

As she walked, Kelsey reached out
to touch a few low branches that extended over the path. The bark
was rough, but felt good against her palms. With each step she
took, she could also smell the rich earth as her feet stirred the
soil beneath her. It felt good to be out in the forest, and it
kindled her sense of adventure.

Maggie was keeping up without any
difficulty. She hadn’t been slow or complained about anything – at
least not yet. Kelsey took a deep breath and finally turned to
Maggie. She had to begin a conversation about something, so she
decided to ask a question and see if she could get Maggie to do
most of the talking.

“Do you like studying at the
Academy of Miracles?” Kelsey asked politely. Kelsey knew it was a
generic question, but at least it was an effort.

“Yes.”

“Do you know how to make miracles
yet?”

“No.”

“Are they teaching you anything of
value?”

“Yes.”

“So they have classes in sword
fighting and combat?”

“No.”

Kelsey took in another deep breath
and inhaled the damp air that smelled like the trees. She didn’t
know what kind of trees they were, but she knew they were hardwood
because they had leaves that dropped in the fall and sprouted anew
again in the spring. During her time at the castle, she had watched
the trees change with the seasons. Sometimes they had done training
exercises at the edge of the forest, and because she was very thin,
Kelsey could easily hide behind the thick tree trunks. Sometimes
she would even climb up into the overhead limbs to surprise her
opponents.

The group moved deeper into the
forest and it was getting darker as the foliage became more dense.
Maggie tripped a few times over tree roots that were difficult to
see in the darkness, and everyone could feel the air becoming
thicker with moisture. They moved quietly for several minutes
before Roland broke the silence.

“She knows you don’t like her.
You’ll have to do more than simply ask questions,” he
said.

Kelsey struggled to think of a
topic to discuss with Maggie. She wanted to like her, but it seemed
as if they had nothing in common. They were just too different. All
the subjects that Kelsey thought were interesting, such as battle
strategies or knife sharpening techniques, would be boring to
Maggie. As Kelsey continued to think about possible topics of
conversation, a gentle rain started to fall. At first she could
only hear the drops hitting the leaves overhead, but after a few
minutes, they broke through the canopy of leaves, and she started
to feel the rain dripping onto her head. Without thinking, she
reached back behind her neck and pulled up the hood of her cloak to
cover her head.

“I love the rain,” Maggie said
with a sigh. She was walking with her face turned upwards,
squinting into the gentle droplets as they fell. She opened her
mouth and caught a few on her tongue before turning to look at
Kelsey again. All Kelsey could think about was how Maggie could get
sick from not keeping herself warm and dry. If that happened, it
could really slow down their journey.

“Try to keep up,” snapped Kelsey,
as she continued to march forward with strong, deliberate
steps.