ฅ/ᐠ｡ᆽ｡ᐟ Unable to relax, Mina paid close attention to the rest of the journey. The area they traveled in was now outside the forest but she saw nothing but the hilly terrain. There were gra.s.sy but dry patches on the uncultivated land. The air was warm and when the wind blew, a layer of dust whirled like small, harmless tornadoes.
Mina almost called out to Tarou to enlighten her about the area but the mouse hitched a ride with Barca. From her vantage point, Tarou is clearly having an enjoyable trip. Barca has been handling grains to the little mouse who was only too eager to reach for them. Mina could only shrug when she remembered how Tarou lectured her on separating human and animal affairs. Unable to conceal her interest, she heard her own curious meow.
"I wonder where we are."
"Barren lands," a voice answered through a grunt.
"Nightmare?" Mina asked, startled with the reply.
The horse grunted in response and suddenly Mina realized something.
"Did the horse just answered me?"
"This horse"s name is really Nightmare?!"
"Who names their horse Nightmare?"
For the first time, Mina took the time to observe the horse who was black from head to toe. Nightmare reminded her of the sky at midnight, black with a tinge of blue. The horse had muscles everywhere and probably not even an ounce of fat. If the animal was human, he would be one of the lean guys with six-pack abs.
"Nightmare is the perfect picture of tall, dark, and oozing hot horse. He should have been called Dreamy. Or something."
While evaluating Nightmare"s a.s.sets, Mina couldn"t help but be curious about someone else too but she stopped the urge to feel the human behind her.
"What am I doing?!"
She has been acting like a little lady from the modern era all day.
"It"s all because of that dream. Right now I am a cat and I should act like one." After slapping herself mentally, she couldn"t help but ask another question.
"Have you been with the general for a long time?"
"Five years," the horse grunted.
"How long will it take to reach the capital?"
"Before nightfall."
"What is the general like?"
Just when she asked the question, the horse continued to trot leaving her wondering if Nightmare did not hear the question or merely ignored her.
***
The rest of the journey was uneventful. After taking a break to eat their meal, the group continued towards the capital. Nightmare grunted from time to time but he seems to be too focused on the road ahead that Mina did not have the heart to disturb his concentration.
When they were about to approach a village, the horse stopped abruptly bending its head towards the general as if conveying a message. Mina extended her neck to see what was going on but it was too far to see things in focus.
Nightmare became slightly unsettled before snapping at her, "You! Hide!"
Mina felt her tail arch up in confusion. She looked up at the horse who signaled her with its head to go back inside the satchel.
For the second time that day, she felt nothing but air beneath her feet. Worst of all, she was deposited back inside the most horrible place for a motion-sensitive cat.
She was about to struggle and protest her rough handling when the general warned her to stay hidden. The horse resumed its slow trot and Mina couldn"t help but peek to see what was so important that she had to hide as the horse slowly continued on a small path cutting across a small village.
"Demon! Demon!"
As they came closer, Mina could hear the crowd shouting in voices laced with hate and fear. Behind the crowd, the leader chanted, beckoning the crowd to cast stones to drive the devil away.
A child whom she thought was about nine or ten was buried up to his waist. His shirt, or at least what is visible of it, had dirt tracks. The boy"s head hung low and his dingy hair covered his eyes.
As they came closer, she saw a white cat standing on all fours trying, covering the child with its small body.
The villagers tried to come closer to the boy but the cat stood proudly challenging anyone who dares to throw the first rock. Each growl and hiss pushed the crowd away from the little boy but it did not stop people from attacking the child and the cat.
Mina felt her entire body go numb as she listened to the chants and the sound of rocks coming in contact with its victims. The cat"s white coat was caked with dirt and blood trickled down the angry gash on the animal"s right ear, making it look like a mangled beast.
With its tail and whiskers pointing downwards, the cat continued to protect the child even with a limp. The stood tall and firm in front of the pelting rocks.
Mina stared intently at the scene and she heard the child"s small voice.
"Go! Now! Go far away and never come back."
The human sound was almost drowned by the vindictive chants.
Looking up to the general, she did not see any change in his expression as the horses continued to move forward.
"How could these humans ignore the situation?"
Mina wanted the general to stop the crowd or for anyone to step out to protect the child. She wanted to do something but she was too terrified, too afraid of voicing a single meow and attracting the attention of the furious crowd.
Mina continued to take a peek at the crowd which was becoming smaller and smaller. But, for some reason, she could still hear the vindictive voices, louder and clearer than she did a while ago.
Mina remained inside the satchel for the rest of the journey, lost in her thoughts until she heard varied and lively noises. Her head popped out of the satchel to get a closer look but the general"s voice issued a firm warning.
"Stay hidden. We"re entering the capital."
"The capital."
Mina suddenly felt like she couldn"t breathe when she heard the word capital. The capital --the worst place for a cat. She felt fear creep into her spine and doubt clouded her mind.
"Did I make the wrong decision to trust this human?"