Oh hey look, an update. :) So you know how when you start to write the next chapter of a story and you get really into it and then you stop and you don't come back to it for another few months and when you read over it you realize you're not content with what you see and you don't have any motivation to fix it but at the same time you have too much integrity just to poop out what you've got for your readers who deserve way better? ...Yeah well, that's what happened to me.
I apologize a million times for what will probably be a pretty disappointing chapter considering how long you guys have waited for it, but I promise that the next one will be much longer and way more exciting than this one (and will hopefully be up within the next week!) Thanks for your patience guys, I appreciate it sooo much! Enjoy! :)
I became more frantic and began twisting and turning in Aiden's arms, desperately trying to make myself heard through the gag. "Shmur-rn! Shmur-rn!" I cried as tears of frustration poured down my cheeks.
She turned with curiosity and confusion in her eyes just as we entered the forest and out of sight.
I soon learned that Commander Lynette had not a single compassionate bone in her body.
After departing from the pond outside of Kardia we traveled through the forest for what felt like several hours, and not once did the woman slow down as I stumbled along behind her, struggling to keep up with her brisk pace while concentrating on not tripping over the fairly short bit of rope between my ankles. Whenever I did fall she merely stopped briefly, rolled her eyes and ordered her commander-in-chief to wrench me to my feet, then continued on at the same pace.
Said brute named Aiden was no better, although I could have sworn I saw him sneak an apologetic glances in my direction once or twice. Of course these were of no real help to me, but I appreciated the sympathy nonetheless.
When we finally arrived outside the magnificent gates of the Sechs Empire, Lynette begrudgingly removed my gag and ordered me to keep silent. She and Aiden then had to go through a long and complex screening process before they were finally granted permission to enter by a menacing guard who looked as though the prospect of slaying small children wouldn't cost him a second thought.
The doors opened and all three of us stepped through, I in the middle of course. If I hadn't been so terrified of what was going to happen to me as Lynette led us through the streets of the city, I would have gasped in awe.
Despite the fact that it was less than a twenty-mile radius from Kardia, the empire was nothing like my humble hometown. The monstrously tall buildings that loomed all around me looked more like machines that could swallow hundreds of people whole than domestic residences. The city itself glistened in a sheen of silver and gold, not a brick or cobblestone in sight. Even the road I walked on was paved with an unfamiliar substance that was neither rock nor metal.
The fashion here was different as well. My peasant dress, woven with silk and considered the modern style in Kardia, seemed primitive and modest compared to the flashy attire of the people we passed, people who didn't seem to take the least bit interest in a foreigner being led through the streets like a dog on a leash. If someone walked through my hometown with a bound girl trailing behind them, you can be sure they wouldn't get far before someone stopped them.
For a moment, I felt comforted by the thought that perhaps this was all just part of a horrific nightmare that I couldn't escape from. How on earth could this place be real?
A gleaming structure that resembled something like a palace made of metal and glass was located at the top of a hill I now find myself ascending. I realized with dread building in the pit of my stomach that they must be taking me to the Sechs emperor, a man whose name I had heard whispered among the adults of Kardia as though it were a profanity.
Knowing that my father would give me a dishonest answer in order to keep me sheltered from the affairs of the outside world, I had once asked Wesley about him. He told me that Emperor Ethelberd was a cruel, power-thirsty man whose goal was to conquer the entire continent of Adonea, even if it meant sacrificing innocent lives in the process. No one knew how he had come to be the ruler of the Sechs, as the previous emperor had had no heirs that anyone knew of, and many believed that the cause of his death was not as natural and Ethelberd claimed it to be. He was feared and disliked by all except for his own people, and even they dared not question his authority for fear of the consequences that might follow.
I could still recall my godfather's exact words in my mind like they had been spoken yesterday:
"He's a very bad person, Felicity. You must never underestimate the evil that a man can possess in the inner recesses of his heart. If ever you come face-to-face with such a dangerous being, do not say or do anything that might anger him. Submit to his will in the hopes that he will spare your life, and meanwhile pray to God for rescue from his clutches, because only a miracle can save you then."
He had then given me a cookie and told me to run off and play with the other children, and I had practically dismissed his words of warning as irrelevant advice from an overly protective godparent.
Funny how I never thought I would actually have to put that advice to use.
Nine thousand, nine hundred seventy-two. Nine thousand, nine hundred seventy-three. Nine thousand, nine hundred seventy-four.
My feet felt like weights attached the bottoms of my ankles that dragged the rest of my body mercilessly along with them. It was as though I was moving in slow motion, and every step I counted was not a step towards my destination but another step away from my home, from my family, from life as I knew it forever.
What can I say, I've always been a "glass-half-empty" kinda girl.
Unlike most of Mineral Town's elders, I never mastered the skill of reading the position of the sun in the sky like a clock. Therefore I had no genuine sense of time while trekking through muddy forest paths and battling my way down freezing mountain trails for what felt like days on end, which Camus later informed me had in reality been less than three hours.
Speaking of the devil, my captor didn't seem the least bit bothered by the icy winds that howled all around us as we made our descent from Mother Hill. I, on the other hand, was shivering violently despite the fact that I had a good twenty pounds of animal fur insulating my body. Even my teeth were chattering through the gag that acted as a flimsy sort of scarf. Camus either didn't notice or didn't care (I assumed it was the latter), and I suffered like this throughout must of our journey.
The longer it went on, the more I began to regret what my mother often called my "motor mouth". Maybe if I hadn't been so feisty with Zack to begin with, I could used my mouth to my advantage and sweet-talked my way out of this situation instead of sassing him.
My thoughts began to wander, and I found myself flashing back to the last time Cliff had warned me about my quick tongue, almost an entire season ago. A season that felt more like an eternity.
"It's gonna get you in trouble one day, Claire," my fiance sighed. It was the night after his proposal and everyone in Mineral Town was already "mysteriously" aware of our engagement. We had spent half the day sorting through letters of congratulations and the rest politely receiving ecstatic, gift-toting visitors to my home. Needless to say, Cliff hadn't been pleased about all of the attention.
"You're gonna be Mineral Town's second Manna," he continued seriously. "Do you really want that reputation?"
"Oh please, babe," I said, rolling my eyes as I buried myself beneath his arms. It was a crisp fall night and we were curled up under a blanket beneath the honey tree outside my house, gazing up at the ink black sky glowing with stars. "I don't think anyone can replace Manna. I only talk about my own business. She talks about everyone else's and then some."
Cliff chuckled. Neither of us spoke for a while, both absorbed in our own thoughts.
"Cliff," I said as I untangled myself from his grasp and sat up, suddenly curious about something.
My fiance remained horizontal and silent, but turned his attentive gaze to my face as though prompting me to continue.
"What..." I chewed on my words, not really sure how to ask the question that was on my mind. "What would you do if, say..." I stopped. A nagging in the back of my head told me that the question that was about to come out of my mouth would be better left unasked. "Uh... never mind."
"What, Claire?" Cliff said, nudging me playfully. "Come on, tell me what's on your mind."
I breathed a sigh of resignation, forming a puff of steam that lingered before my eyes and then dissolved into thin air like it had never been there in the first place. "Well, I was just wondering... what would you do if... if in the future, something... something were to happen to me? Like, I died or went missing or something dramatic like that? Would you be upset and cry? Or would you move on and fi-...find someone else to replace me?"
Once the question left my lips, I realized that it did indeed sound utterly idiotic, like something a five-year-old would ask his mother. What kind of question was that to ask the man you're engaged to? I berated myself. 'Honey, do you love me?'would have sounded less ridiculous. Goddess Claire, what's wrong with you?
I covered my face with my hands, suddenly humiliated with myself. "Cliff, just... forget I asked that, okay?" I whispered.
The earth was still for a moment, and then warm fingers clasped my wrists and lowered my hands to my lap. I stared at the ground, not wanting to look Cliff in the face for fear I would see him laughing at me.
My fiance pushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear and cupped my cheek with his hand. "Claire, look at me," he commanded softly. I obeyed, blinking away the tears of embarrassment that had welled in my eyes.
He stared at me for a moment, his liquid blue eyes filled with a strange mixture of amusement and compassion, his mouth set in a straight line that was neither a smile nor a frown. This was one of those times when I wanted to know exactly what thoughts were running through his mind.
Instead he slowly closed the distance between our lips, and I reluctantly accepted it as his answer.
Because in truth, I didn't want to know his real one.
