Title: Outlanders
Authors: hbomba & lonejaguar
Rating: M
Summary: When the Dark Queen and Lauren are forced from the kingdom, they set out for the Outlands where trouble swiftly finds them.
A/N: Sequel to In Our Bedroom After The War. Please read that first or this will not make any sense.
out·land·er
noun
a foreigner; a stranger.
"For the enemy to be recognized and feared, he has to be in your home or on your doorstep." -Umberto Eco
The castle was at its calmest in the middle of the night. When darkness fell, the chorus of crickets and frogs were the backdrop to the hollow sound of his footsteps, the flicker from torch flames the only signs of warmth against the cold grey stone. It was a stark contrast to the main building, a modern addition to the ancient castle's towers. Stretching another ten stories above the existing stone structure, the castle's main tower was a testament to how far the Fae had come without forgetting their past.
At the tower's peak, the lush and casual penthouse of the Fae Queen overlooked the castle grounds to the city's gates. It was a glance into her private life, beyond her benevolent but stern reign. The living area was dark and quiet, a plate with a single cookie and a heavy blanket left abandoned on the couch. He moved carefully past a narrow table with a few photos and a vase of flowers and approached the bedroom door. He paused with his hand on the door handle, drawing in a deep breath before pushing into the room. He hadn't even taken one step when her dagger was at his throat.
"Do you mean to kill me, Dyson?" she said into his ear, soft and even.
Dyson breathed heavily, but kept still. "No, my Queen but we must leave the city. It is not safe," he whispered.
Bo looked over at Lauren who held her knees to her chest beneath a sheet. Bo shook her head. "Dyson, I don't know…" She said and finished the rest of the thought in her head: if I can trust you.
"We don't have time for arguments," he urged. We must go now."
"I will not be chased from my kingdom," she said defiantly. "This is my home."
He paced impatiently. "My Queen, there has been a threat upon your lives. Please get dressed and pack light, we must travel on horseback."
A soft click of the doorknob and he was gone. Bo stood on the other side of the bed, in the dark, speechless.
"It'll be okay." Lauren swung her legs over the side of the bed and gathered the sheet and her wits about her. Her footsteps were whispers on the rug beneath her feet. "I've got your back. You and me." She pressed her hand against Bo's cheek and her mind raced. What should she do? Could she trust Dyson or are they marching willingly into a trap of his own making? What if he means to kill Lauren? Would they ever see her empire again? Were these the last few moments of peace before her world was to be plunged into chaos once again? "Hey," Lauren said, bringing Bo back to herself.
Bo's arms reeled Lauren into her body and she hugged her tightly. "Never a dull moment," she sighed into Lauren's hair.
They packed quickly, taking only the essentials and irreplaceable items. Lauren flattened the items in a trunk and closed the lid, locking it firmly before dressing hurriedly. It wouldn't be long before Kenzi joined them in the stables where Dyson passed over the Queen's carriage for the service cart and fitted the other two horses with saddles, bits and bridles. Lauren sat beside Bo who took the reins as Dyson and Kenzi flanked the cart on horseback. It jerked forward with a flick of Bo's wrists and a click of her tongue, jumping forward into the dark. Bo drove the cart hard for miles, deep into the surrounding forests and out the other side until it was threatening to splinter into pieces. Then she pushed it a little harder. They galloped into the pitch dark of night with no real direction or end point in sight. Lauren wrapped herself around Bo's arm and lay her head against Bo's shoulder, the rhythm of the horse hooves lulling her to sleep as they made their grand getaway.
The air was different in the Outlands, call it barometric pressure or humidity or just plain insanity, Lauren knew the difference when they crossed through city limits. She inhaled the stale and dusty air and coughed herself awake. The Outlands were a barren wasteland that had once been alive with man-made structures and highways that still stretched across the country. Now they were being taken back by nature, ferns and tree roots embracing the rubble of civilization. And in this lawless habitat, outlaws met outcasts and the results were mixed. A murderous crew or two were sure to haunt any given area but the outcasts were the ones they had to watch out for. They were odd or ugly, smart or funny, weird or wily, and that unpredictability made them more dangerous.
First light was just starting to show in the sky and Dyson galloped alongside their makeshift carriage to lead them into a town, dark and seedy. It was colder now, Lauren dug around in the back of the service carriage and found a blanket which she wrapped Bo in before covering herself with the rest. Huddled together against the wind and dust, Dyson led their sad little caravan quietly through town to an abandoned parking garage. He held a hand up to the women, dismounting from his horse. He swung the shotgun hanging from his back to the front, cocking it as he walked into the structure. He returned a few moments later. "All clear," he said.
It was an effective bunker. There was camouflage enough for the horses and carriage and room enough on the inside for the four of them and then some. Dyson made a small fire from garbage and discarded wood from the service cart, Kenzi critiquing him on his survival skills, and Bo, at her most un-Queenly, sat silently beside Lauren who worried her fingernails. Dyson settled across from them and Bo's eyes searched his face, looking for any sign of betrayal in his expression. "We've come far enough, General. You owe me an explanation."
He nodded, staring into the fire. "We received information that there was an immanent threat that you and Doctor Lewis would be targeted."
"How is that different from any other day since we signed the treaty?" Bo asked, starting to feel the fire's warmth.
"This message implied that it could be your own staff who mean to assassinate you." His eyes shifted from Bo to Lauren and back again. "As for why we left the way we did, I could not risk letting anyone know where we are going."
"Where are we going?" Lauren asked.
"There's a safe house a few cities over. We can lay low until I flush the traitors out."
"Until we flush the traitors out," Kenzi interjected, clearing her throat. She sat down next to Dyson.
He looked past his shoulder to Kenzi who brushed the dirt from her pants. "We'll hide here until darkness falls again and then continue on."
"How do you know your safe house hasn't been compromised as well?" Lauren asked.
"I sent your Scout to secure the location." He nodded at Kenzi.
"It's secure," Kenzi assured her leader.
There was an unsettled silence between the four of them. Dyson watched Bo carefully, her feet tapping, her fingers squeezing her knees. "I need some air," Bo said suddenly, getting to her feet and heading for the stairs to the roof of the garage.
Dyson looked after her as Lauren clambered to her feet. "I'll go." She climbed the few flights of stairs and pushed gently at the door to the roof. The hinge barely hung on to the wall as she stepped outside. She found Bo on the top level staring into the fading twilight, its twinkling stars fading into encroaching daylight, her arms hugging her sides. "Hey," Lauren said to the Queen without a court.
"I never imagined it would be this difficult," Bo admitted.
"Hate is easily cultivated but harder to dispel."
"We just ran away. I let him convince me that my safety is more important than that of my kingdom's."
"It is, my Queen," Lauren whispered as the sun began to break in the East.
Bo sighed. "Then why do I feel as though I've let them all down?"
Lauren wrapped her arms around Bo's waist. "Because you are a good Queen."
Bo smiled sadly. "I fear that has never been the case."
Lauren released her. "Regret will not advance our cause, Bo."
"Is there a hope for peace with the odds stacked against us?"
"I've survived this long believing as much." Lauren straightened, head held high. "There is always hope."
Lauren was in her own element. Unlike Bo, she had not been privy to the royal advantages when the war started. She was used to staying on the move, always in the shadows, working stealthily. She was used to eating road kill and drinking flat beer and distilled body fluids. She was used to staying alive.
She hugged her knees, unable to sleep. Bo's head rested on her shoulder as she snoozed quietly. The waiting game was her least favorite game to play but the cover of darkness was the only way for the highly recognizable leader of the Fae to travel. It wasn't as important for Lauren because she still suffered from anonymity in the eyes of many. She was a woman and she had constructed such an effective ruse that most could not separate it from the truth.
Kenzi approached from the stairwell. She sat across from Lauren, poking the fire with a small stick. "Dyson's gathering supplies and I've been through town. Nothing really special about it. The town pervert tried his luck with me so I broke his arm."
Lauren looked up at Kenzi. "I thought we were trying to avoid making waves?"
She shrugged. "It seemed like the thing to do at the time."
"Try not to make it a habit," Lauren said.
"If he had done to you what he did to me you would have broken his nose," Kenzi said.
Lauren nodded into the fire. "That may be, but we have to be smarter than our instincts, at least until this situation settles down."
Kenzi sighed and leaned back on her hands. "With all due respect, instinct seems to have been leading the charge for awhile now." She looked at the women, Bo still fast asleep, and crossed her arms.
Lauren nodded. "I see." She lowered her voice. "You should have told me this is how you felt sooner. I would have relieved you from your post."
The younger woman looked at the dirt in front of her. "You know that's not what I want."
Lauren's voice was a harsh whisper. "Then why this sudden attack?"
"You don't always make the best decisions where the Queen is concerned," Kenzi whispered back.
Lauren tsked and rolled her eyes. "Says who? You? That's awfully bold of you to say."
Kenzi stared at Lauren, her voice no longer a whisper. "I have followed you to hell and back," she said quietly. "Don't misunderstand my intentions now."
"And sometimes you have led the way." She gestured to the parking structure surrounding them. "How is it you think our safety is improved in the Outlands versus staying in the confines of the castle walls?"
"If your own people mean to kill you…" Kenzi trailed off.
"Then we never should have trusted you or Dyson in the first place."
"Turning on your own will do nothing to help our cause, Doctor." Dyson's voice came from the direction of the stairs as he emerged from the doorway.
Kenzi breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of someone she now called 'friend'. "I meant no ill will, Lauren."
"Then worry less about your opinions of my life and more about protecting it. That's what I need right now."
The last words came out sharp, shrill, even and Bo stirred. When she lifted her head, Lauren stood quickly and retreated to the roof again. She watched clouds form above her head as they moved across the grey sky. Tonight, it would rain. Lauren knew the signs and she also knew it was not good weather to travel in, especially with a cart or carriage. One muddy patch and the cart could get stuck, leaving them vulnerable to passing bandits. That meant another day of sitting still, biding their time until they could get to safety and that made Lauren uneasy. She pushed off the concrete wall and marched back downstairs. "It looks like rain." She interrupted the other's conversation.
"Are you certain?" Dyson said, understanding its implications.
"We should wait for another night," Lauren said confidently. "We can't be too careful at this stage."
"We're sitting ducks here," Kenzi argued.
"And we'll be sitting ducks out there if we get stuck." She looked to Dyson. "What do you think, General?
Dyson looked to Kenzi and back to Lauren. "I think we should press on," he said. "We can make it by daybreak if we leave when the moon rises."
Lauren sighed. "One sink hole and we are exposed to every crazy Outlander in our vicinity." Lauren looked between Kenzi and Dyson as if waiting for the conclusion to dawn on them. She sighed again when it didn't, her arms dropping to her sides.
The Queen watched the exchange with interest, taking in both points of view but ultimately when the choice was hers, she let her own impatience guide her decision. "We shall travel when night falls."
Lauren seethed as the convoy rolled out of town and into the wide open spaces of the Outlands. She looked into the sky; clouds lit up by a concealed moon. She knew in her bones that this was a bad idea and she again found herself doubting the counsel of Dyson and her very own Kenzi. Bo was not oblivious either, she had made the decision to take their lives into their own hands, but still she smiled her most disarming smile when Lauren looked at her. And Lauren fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
Of course, the rain started just as they set out and the conditions grew worse the farther into the Outlands they ventured. Lauren tensed at the foregone conclusion. They would get stuck, it was just a matter of where and when. And at the bottom of a steep incline where the mud collected from the runoff, she had her answer. The cart would not budge. Dyson had run out of ideas trying to achieve traction and when he went to unhitch the cart and abandon their belongings, Lauren jumped out of the cart to confront him.
Her feet sunk into the mud. "What are you doing?" she called to him, trudging back to the cart.
"It's too dangerous, we must leave it." His hands worked to unfit the wooden service cart loaded with their belongings.
"You will not leave anything," she said insistently. Water beaded on her face, her hair wet and flattened against her head.
"They are just things," Dyson said. "Surely your lives are worth more than a couple of suitcases and a trunk."
"You're not leaving anything," she repeated.
"What is your problem?" Dyson growled.
"My problem is you brought us out here and I'm not leaving all of my possessions for the vultures to pick through. No." She shook her head as Bo appeared from the driver's side. "They're coming with me."
Dyson glanced at Bo. "There's no way we're getting this cart unstuck right now." Dyson raised his voice as the rain became louder, falling harder as they argued.
Bo's hand wrapped around Lauren's arm. "It'll be okay," she said. "Dyson will come back in the morning and get our things, right?"
He sighed. "Yes, my Queen."
Lauren pulled away and walked to the horses. Irritated, she stroked the horse's neck before climbing into the saddle. She looked at Kenzi who watched the scene silently from the back of her own horse. It was a wordless exchange that forced Kenzi to look away from the fire in her eyes.
When Bo joined her, mounting the other horse, Lauren began to doubt everything. She was in the middle of the Outlands with a man who had always resented her, a scout pledged to always be on her side but had shown herself as someone who begrudged her every decision and Bo. Bo, who she loved desperately but who had also disregarded her counsel. It was untenable, the situation she found herself in. And as Dyson unhitched their horses, Lauren dug in her heels and whipped the reins, taking off into the night. She rode for anger, for love, for all the questions in her heart. She rode to get some distance from the stifling misery she had begun to feel.
She didn't get far before Bo, a much better rider, caught up with her. But Lauren didn't let up, the rain pelting her face, soaking her clothes. Bo rode up next to her and snatched the reins away. The horses slipped on the mud and skidded to a stop. "What is going on with you?" Bo shouted over the cacophony of rain and wind.
"We shouldn't have come out here." She wiped the rain from her face only to have it reform a few moments later.
"I'm sorry I didn't take your advice but-"
Lauren's horse stepped closer to the other when the flash of lightning lit up the horizon. "We shouldn't have left the castle."
"We can't go back now." She smoothed the wet hair from Lauren's face.
Lauren shook her off, her eyes looking off toward Dyson and Kenzi. "I can't."
She pulled her hand away. "You can't what?"
"I can't lose what's in that trunk."
"That's what this is about?" Bo scoffed, looking over her shoulder at Kenzi and Dyson who stayed at the fringe of the bluff they found themselves on. "Your belongings?"
"My whole life is in that trunk," Lauren said, her eyes piercing, hoping it would be all she needed to convince the Queen.
"We'll get it back. I promise." Bo nodded her reassurance. "Tomorrow. Now, let's get out of the rain before you catch your death." She nodded at Dyson and Kenzi who advanced on them.
"Everything okay?" Dyson asked as he tugged on his reins and stopped beside the women.
"Fine." Lauren avoided eye contact with him, looking instead at Bo, who reached out for her once again. She leaned across the gap and kissed her rain soaked lips. Dyson looked away, still unable to watch the Queen's affections. Kenzi cleared her throat and Bo withdrew.
"Lead the way, General," she directed.
He snapped the reins and his horse galloped ahead, Kenzi following close behind. Bo returned the reins to Lauren and soon they were making up the distance. The rain was unrelenting and had slowly cooled as the night dragged on. Lauren began to shiver. Soaked through and riding hard, her only goal now was to get to that safe house.
They rode for hours, the rain letting up intermittently, for which she was grateful. Still, the wind had chilled her to the bone. This time Dyson led them into a dense outcropping of trees, along a stream and up a steep incline to a cabin. Again, Dyson dismounted and swept through the cabin with his shotgun. Kenzi checking the perimeter while Bo and Lauren waited with the horses. When he waved them in, they tied up the horses in the modest stable beside the cabin and went inside. Kenzi was lighting candles as Dyson stacked wood in the small fireplace at the center of the room.
There were two bedrooms, the larger of the two had a full-sized bed, the smaller, just a twin. When Lauren had taken the tour she sat on the sofa in front of the fire and tried to warm her weary bones. Bo unbuttoned her cloak and hung it by the door. She spoke in hushed tones to Dyson who scratched his beard thoughtfully.
Kenzi dropped onto the couch beside Lauren. "You wanna talk about it?"
Lauren rolled her eyes. "Do I look like I want to talk about it?"
"That's usually when you need to talk the most."
Lauren paused and looked at Kenzi, considering whether she wanted to continue. "Okay, you wanna talk?" She asked, peeling the buttoned shirt from her body. "Thanks for having my back today. I mean, really bang up job."
"Bittercakes," she said with a smirk. "Just because I don't agree with you all the time-"
"Kenzi, I trust you more than anyone and yet more and more I am beginning to see that you don't trust me as I trust you."
Kenzi straightened. "That's not fair. I followed you for seven years."
"And what about now?"
Kenzi looked around as if searching for an answer. "What do you want me to say? I'm at the bottom of the totem pole. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't whenever I open my mouth."
"And where am I on this totem pole of yours or do I even need to ask?"
Kenzi's eyes grew cold, her face hardened. "You knew this would happen."
Lauren nodded. "Right. It's no wonder why half the Resistance decline my leadership."
"Lauren…"
"It's fine." She shook her head. "I just thought this would solve our problems, you know? I really thought we would be better off than we were before."
"We are!" She reassured. "You're happy, I mean, really happy and we are safe and well-fed."
"Then why are we here? And what about all of the other Humans still slogging it out because they think I am a plant, put in place to confuse and draw them out? What about them, Kenzi?"
She sighed. "It's late. Perhaps we should take this up in the morning." She patted Lauren on the knee. "Get some rest." Kenzi stood and walked into the small bedroom, closing the door behind her.
When Bo came to sit beside her, Lauren felt hostility bubbling up in her chest. She was so angry with Kenzi, with Dyson, and yes, with Bo for taking them out in the god forsakened rainstorm, for losing that trunk, for making her a figurehead with little power to achieve the things she swore she would when the war ended. But she loved Bo in spite of herself, she even loved Kenzi in a little sister sort of way and when she thought about it, that's why it stung so much. She watched as Bo blew on her hands and held them out to the fire to warm them. When she looked back at Lauren, a smile softened her features and the sting faded.
"I'll be tending to the horses," Dyson said before leaving the cabin for the stables.
Bo waited for the door to close before she turned back to Lauren. "Now that we're alone, you want to tell me what's really going on?"
Lauren looked at her lap. "Bo…"
"This isn't about some clothes and keepsakes, is it?" The Queen moved to the couch, sitting next to Lauren carefully.
"No," she admitted. "It isn't."
"Then, what?"
"Nevermind that," Lauren said, capturing Bo's hands with her own. "I've had enough talking for one evening."
Bo looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure? You seem preoccupied."
"It's been a tough couple of days as I'm sure you can understand."
Bo pulled at the damp cotton camisole that clung to Lauren's skin. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes and get some rest. You've burnt the candle at both ends, my love and it shows."
Lauren chuckled ironically. "Such a way with words." She kissed Bo's hands and released them in her lap.
"You're freezing," she said, flattening her hands on Lauren's thighs and rubbing them.
Lauren reached out for her. "Take me to bed, my Queen."
Bo stood, pulling Lauren to her feet and leading her into the bedroom. She watched Lauren as she undressed, stripping away her own top and pants before gathering the garments and walking back into the living area. As Lauren crawled beneath the sheets, shivering, Bo laid their clothes out by the fire before returning. When she crawled into bed beside Lauren, her body was warm and inviting. She moved closer, tangling her legs between Bo's and curling into her. In a few minutes her body temperature had normalized and sleep beckoned. Her head rested on Bo's chest, her heartbeat ringing in her ears, it's even rhythm drawing her in and soon sweet slumber was hers.