FanStory.com - New Beginningsby davisr (Rhonda)

Background
Years after a fire took her parents lives and devastated her home, Echo worked at a small town newspaper. She's rescued from danger by her old friend, Theo, who takes her to Concorde Valley.

End of last chapter:

"If answers will help you rest, I'll assist you. To start with, I am Phoebus, King of Concorde Valley, son to Poseidon, god of the sea. I once made my Uncle Zeus angry so he turned me into a Centaur. I lived that way for more years than I care to share. It wasn't a terrible existence, but it wasn't the life I was born for. In the end, love set me free."

"That's the short version?"

"Very."

"And Georgios?"

"His mother was a Centaur, a true one, who was never my mental or physical equal. When Georgios was born more human than horse, he hung around me most of the time. I taught him to ride a horse so he could be like the rest of us.

"Later, we had a daughter. She was a Centaur. Even though she was more intelligent than her mother, there was something wild about her that never quite tamed. Still, I loved her with all my heart.

"When she was little, the house we lived in was burned to the ground. My wife and child were unable to escape."

Echo's eyes fluttered open. "I lost my family in a fire, too."

"So I heard."

Echo yawned and stretched. The wounds on her body barely protested. Turning on her right side, she looked Phoebus directly in his eyes. "If I was so sick, why didn't you come to me rather than make me travel through trees to get here?"

Phoebus placed a hand on her arm. "No outsider ever comes straight here. They must be invited, and they must fight their way in."

"Like a journey?"

"Like a mission."

Beginning of new chapter:

Echo slumbered through the night, unencumbered by any night terrors or dreams. She was vaguely aware of occasional movement and application of cream.

When morning dawned, she was urged awake by her doctor.

"How's the patient this morning?" Phoebus asked. He offered a hand to sit up.

Echo rubbed her eyes and looked around, as though just aware of where she was. The room was simply furnished with a few beds, one of which she occupied. She saw several IV poles in a corner, currently unused. There were cabinets beside each bed Echo assumed contained medical supplies. It looked a bit like a normal hospital ward, but absent were any electronic, beeping machines.

She glanced at Phoebus, King Of Concorde Valley, Son of Poseidon, father of her beloved Theo, and, currently, her physician. He was dressed simply in a white shirt and dark slacks. Covering his shirt was an open lab coat that looked the worse for wear. Emerald eyes were tired, and black curls hung limply. He looked to have been awake for some time.

"I'm better, thank you," she replied. "Am I your only patient?"

"At the moment, yes. On the whole, we're pretty healthy people. Just wait until the Summer Games, though. This place will fill to overflowing."

"There are only 4 beds."

Phoebus pointed with his eyes to a door in the back.

"Oh, sorry. More there, I guess."

Phoebus nodded. "Are you ready to see Theo?"

"I'd love to. Does this mean I'm well?"

"It means you can finish healing on your own," Phoebus said. "My son is waiting outside. I've laid out some clean clothes on the bedside table. When you're dressed, you can join him. Theo will take over from there. I have some cream you can take with you. It's on the table beside the clothes."

"Thank you," Echo said, "and I mean for everything. I think I feel better now than I did before the Spectre attack. What do I owe you?"

Phoebus cocked his head as though thinking about his response. He sighed deeply. "I'll take a gray cat for payment."

"What?"

"Just kidding. Sunny's outside with Theo, and you don't owe me a thing. We're just glad to get you here in one piece. I'll see all of you later. I have a few things to wrap up before I go home."

Echo had a feeling she was going to like Theo's dad, god or no god.

***************

"Look at you," Theo said. He watched as Echo walked out of the hospital. She was dressed as one of his people, wearing a simple soft green tunic made of flax flower and cotton with warm leggings beneath. Crowning her strawberry blonde hair was a garland of freshly woven winter flowers. That part he was responsible for. He had taken great care to make the wreath while waiting.

"Do you approve?" Echo attempted a pirouette, but was only able to pull off a bit of a stumble.

"Of your clothing or dance?" he asked back.

Echo flashed him a grin. "I guess both."

Theo rose from the bench he had been sitting on and took her hands. "I approve of all, especially the look of health on your face."

"Your father's a good doctor."

"I told you he was. He's had a lot of years to practice." Both laughed.

"How old is he?"

"I have no idea," Theo answered. "I've never asked, and he's never offered."

"How old are you?"

"I'm what I appear to be, 28, and you're 25."

"You know, the age difference doesn't seem that great now. Back when we first met, you seemed so old."

"I'm still older than you, and don't forget it. Hey, do you feel up for a bit of a ride?"

"In a car?"

"You know we don't have any here."

"On a horse?" Echo's voice squeaked. "Until I sat on the horse with your brother, I'd never been on one in my life. Can't we just do the tree walking thing? I'm getting pretty good at it."

"I noticed, but there are some things I would like for you to experience up close," he explained. "Besides, horses are a huge part of our culture."

"As big as tree walking?"

"Bigger. Remember what I told you about my father once being a Centaur."

"Yeah. He and I talked about it, but it still seems a bit far-fetched."

"Lots will seem that way here."

"Yeah, your father suggested I suspend disbelief, just like you did when we first got started on this journey."

"It helps."

"I suppose I could ride a horse if you could find an old broken down nag that would slowly tiptoe around with me on her back. I'm just really scared of falling off. I knew this little boy in Dalton once who got his head busted open when he fell off one."

"All the horses in Concorde Valley are careful," Theo explained with a bemused look in his eyes. "Few are broken down and none are slow, but they won't let you fall off and neither will I. We can ride double if it makes you feel better and I'll hold onto you."

"I would like that," Echo agreed. "Where are the stables?"

"We have very few in Concorde Valley. Most of our horses roam free," he replied. "My stallion is one of those. I'll call for him and we can wait until he gets here."

"Just like that? You call and he comes?"

"Yep, that's how we do it."

Echo raised her eyebrows as though to say, "prove it".

Theo nodded and cupped his hands over his mouth. He let out a piercing scream that seemed somewhere between a cry of pain and a yodel. He repeated the sound several times, and then paused to listen. Somewhere in the distance was an answering cry.

Echo's eyes flashed a quick surprise. "You taught him that?"

"Not at all, his mother did. The call is in horse language."

"Excellent. You'll have to teach it to me." She cut her eyes over to Theo who returned a grin. They both knew that would take a lifetime to do.

"I know you realize all of this is strange to me," Echo said. She looked in Theo's turbulent eyes. "I'm okay with that by now. I know the benefits far outweigh the weirdness, and I appreciate the patience you and your father have shown me. I want you to know I'm sorry for having acted ungrateful. I haven't even thanked you for saving my life back in Taylorville, let alone for leading me to safety through the forest."

"There's no need to thank me," Theo replied. He returned her gaze, causing Echo's heart to skip a beat. She had forgotten the vastness of those depths. "I'll always watch over you, or for as long as you'll let me."

There was that forever statement again, dropped so easily, but carrying such meaning. It didn't make her feel uncomfortable, but it did give her pause for reflection. Was forever what she had dreamed about since she had met an 8-year-old child in the woods when she was alone and afraid? Is it what consumed her now, or mere infatuation born of circumstance?

Breaking through her reverie was the appearance of a great sorrel stallion who pranced up to Theo and arched a noble neck towards his master. The light of the early morning sun lit up his cinnamon coat like tiny shimmering diamonds. Thick muscles rippled as he walked, giving him the appearance of a great, chestnut battle tank.

Theo stroked the refulgent face and spoke softly in a language that sounded as old as time itself. The horse nickered back and bobbed his head.

Echo watched in fascination. Not only was this display so remote from anything she had ever observed, but she was suddenly aware of a change in Theo's countenance.

No longer did he appear the bumbling police rookie she'd met at her office party, but a royal prince from some by-gone era.

He held his head high and pulled back shoulders that accentuated both height and powerful physique. His body moved almost like a flowing stream.

Even his face appeared changed. What before had seemed passive, was now commanding and learned. It must have been hard for him to pretend to be something he wasn't while in Taylorville.

Theo looked over at her, a beautiful smile illuminating his face. His eyes sparkled with life. He tilted his head a little to the side like he was studying her, too. "You okay?"

Echo nodded. "Just a little bewildered."

"You may find this hard to believe, but I felt the same way at first in your world. You're not the only one who has found themselves out of their element."

"I thought about that a moment ago. Here, you're a prince. There, you were just like all the rest of us."

"Worse. I didn't even understand your culture, and I had to learn as I went. I had no coaches except what animals I could get to talk to me, and they weren't too forthcoming. It seems they aren't used to talking to humans. I've never been hissed and growled at more in my life."

Echo couldn't resist a chuckle. She imagined him sitting and trying to talk to spoiled housecats and chubby dogs, only to have them treat him like he was crazy.

"Speaking of animals, what about Sunny?" Echo asked. "Your father said he was out here with you."

By means of reply, Theo held up the backpack Sunny had traveled in earlier. From the top zippered pouch, a gray head poked out and looked her straight in the eye. He meowed pointedly and pawed the air with his right foot. Turning, he looked at Theo as though waiting for him to translate.

Echo cocked an eye at Theo, who cleared his throat. "Uh, he says he'll ride in the backpack with you until you get to my house."

"Sunny isn't afraid to talk to you?"

"Not at all. We've become good friends."

Echo raised her eyebrows. "How many animal languages do you speak?"

"Not that many, really, not like my little sister, Hannah, but, aside from horse, I can make my way around dog and cat talk quite well. Or at least I can when they'll speak to me. Anyway, what do you think of my horse?"

"Beyond the fact his coat is the same color as my hair, he's the most gorgeous beast I've ever seen in my life," she said, "but where's his saddle and bridle?"

"We don't need any with our horses. We use the natural way to ride, gently guiding with words and pressure from our knees and hands."

"Cool, what else can you tell me about him?" In spite of her trepidation about horses, Echo couldn't help but stroke the beautiful animal.

"He's the son of my father's horse, Eternal, and my mother's mare, Champion." Theo continued to stroke the sorrel's neck as well. "They are my father's two most prized horses in his considerable herd. He was their firstborn foal, just like I am my parent's firstborn child. That's why they gave him to me."

"Wow, that's too cool. What's his name?"

"Magnificent," Theo replied, "but I call him Nifty. My father doesn't like me shortening the name. He thinks it's disrespectful, but I think it makes us cozier."

"Well, I like the name and the horse," Echo stated.

Theo smiled approval, then leapt onto the horse's back in one swift, fluid movement. In the next movement, he pulled Echo along with Sunny inside his backpack.

"And what about the horse's owner?" Theo asked. "What are your thoughts about him?"

Echo paused to think. "I'm glad to see you again, for sure, but I'm also still confused."

Theo nodded and placed his arms around her as he nudged Nifty forward with his knees.

"If it makes you feel any better, my life is not usually this bizarre, in spite of the things I have yet to tell you. But you aren't still scared of me are you?"

"Not any more," Echo replied. "Although I have to admit you had me going when I thought you were the serial killer back in Taylorville."

"Yeah, that was a little intense for all of us. Please know, no matter what you learn about me or my weird family, you'll never have to fear me. You have my undying promise."

Theo looked so concerned, Echo couldn't help but feel for him. "Okay, I get it."

Echo grew uncharacteristically quiet as the horse began to take them down a wooded path. She couldn't help but wonder about Theo's shrouded warning. What was she going to learn he was concerned would frighten her, and, more importantly, was it going to? She decided to be as open minded as she could when she met the rest of his family. After all, if they had produced Theo, they couldn't be too bad, could they?