Chapter 9- no complaint

The midday sun burned brightly overhead as a gentle breeze shifted through the bare landscape below. Here, nature was the undisputed ruler. The dampening glow of city lights did not illuminate the horizon, here. Neither did the acidic tang of steel and industrialization. For miles around, the only touch from a human hand was from the gentle till of the abundant land and the slight traffic of the simple dirt road running through it.

Slowly, a lone cart emerged on the road, gently advancing towards a deserted crossroads. Its progression was slow, the cart heavily burdened with the fruits of a bountiful market visit. Every so often, the cart would rattle and shake as it traversed over the uneven pavement, causing hay to go flying in the process. When the cart could go no further, it pulled to a stop, sending all of its contents forward jerkily.

Slowly, a figure emerged from the shade of a large, burlap sack, briskly wiping away at the slight covering of hay. Blinking her wide, brown eyes, the figure scanned the green landscape beyond, a hand absently reaching out to awaken her slightly snoring companion. It did not take much to wake him, and after a few grumbles and stretches, both figures collected their belongings and proceeded to detach themselves from the wooden cart's contents. After a few short "thank you's" and well wishes, the cart started onward once more, leaving the two on the road's green shoulder.

For a moment, they just stood there, facing the long stretch of road ahead of them.

"Well, this looks promising. When they say 'middle of nowhere' they really mean it."

Rolling her eyes, Sophie adjusted her pack. "What did you expect? That he would take us all the way to the Wastes? He was nice enough to take us this far."

"He would have, you know?" He raised his arms over his head to stretch. "Things would have been much easier if you would have just let him."

She gave him a curt stare. "And take him miles out of his way, away from his family? How could you ask such a thing? Now come on, lazybones, we have a long walk ahead of us." Sophie started onward, beckoning for him to follow.

Having the feeling that this was going to be a long day, Justin reluctantly followed down the small dirt road, leaving the crossroads deserted once more.

…….

"This road just keeps going!"

Sophie covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to stifle her laughter. "Oh come on, it is not that bad. At least the scenery is pretty enough."

"Yes, because we could not enjoy wide, unpopulated fields anywhere else." He rolled his eyes dramatically "To your left, there's grass, and what is that to your right? More grass! And look what's to come. Who would have thought it, even more grass. I swear, it is like it never ends!"

Sophie shook her head at his folly. "Well, do not get too attached to the pleasantries of green foliage. As you know, once we cross over into the Wastes, all of this will vanish." She beckoned around her with her open hand.

"I know, but still, it's enough to make you go insane. Honestly, who would ever choose to live out in a place like this? Give me the hustle and bustle of Kingsbury any day!"

Sophie raised her eyes heavenward, choosing not to respond. They walked in silence for a few minutes, the only sound the slight rustle of the foliage around them.

"So, how much further until we reach the Wastes?" Justin asked, eying the long stretch of road in front of them.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I've never been in this side of the country before."

Justin stopped in his tracks. "Are you serious? We could be going in the completely wrong direction, and you would be none the wiser."

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "We're on the right track, I promise."

"But you aren't completely certain… He took a few seconds to search her blank features. "Sophie!"

"What? It's not as if I've been everywhere. This part of the country is still a bit of a mystery to me." She replied hastily, "Mostly, I've just traveled around the Wastes or in the outskirts of Market Chipping. Even if I did travel here before, I wasn't exactly paying attention to the landscape. " She fell silent as her gaze fell to her shoes and the ground below them.

He shook his head in disbelief. "And you wanted to take this journey alone. Seriously, Sophie, how you have made it for this long, I have no clue."

"Well, you did not seem too much better off by yourself, either, if I remember correctly," she jabbed back at him. "At least I didn't end up upside down in a bush as an enchanted scare-crow."

"Well you try being a top-heavy object hopping around on a wooden pole all day. It was a miracle that I did not get stuck in more greenery then I did. "

Sophie burst into laughter, not being able to stay mad at her bristling companion. She walked with a lighter step, the gravity of their journey somewhat lifted from her shoulders.

Leisurely, she let her mind wander as they walked on in silence, trying not to brood on what was to come and what she would ultimately have to accomplish. To all appearances, the task seemed impossible. Bringing someone from the dead was no easy endeavor, and from what Mrs. Suliman implied, would probably cost dearly. At the moment, Sophie didn't want to reflect on what must be done and the heartache that it would cause. Instead, she closed her eyes and envisioned her reward, the reason she would traverse hell and earth.

Her pace quickened, the overwhelming eagerness and anticipation wining over common sense and fatigue.

"Sophie!" Justin yelled after her, still at a walk. "Slow down."

She ignored his latest comment, choosing instead to race onward, her silver hair flowing behind her. She spun around on her heals to call after him, a wide smile plastered on her face.

"Come on, Slow Poke, or I'm leaving you behind."

She didn't even give him a change to respond as she spun around once more and broke out into a leisurely run. From behind her, she could hear a fleeting bark of complaint, followed by the pounding of steps as he broke into a run to keep from being left in the dust.

"If I did not know better, I would think that you were trying to get away from me," he commented between breaths, just a few feet behind her. "I was not aware that my company was so intolerable."

Sophie couldn't help but laugh as the world raced by her, blurs of green and brown that would blend together into one. The air was chilly, holding a whisper of something ahead; however none of this fazed her.

They were finally making progress, finally one step closer to their goal. They would make it, she was sure of it.

…….

A few hours later, Sophie was not so sure…

"Great. Just what we needed!"

A clap of thunder sounded overhead, still a distance off. Though the sky was more or less cloud-free, in the distance one could make out large, black storm clouds slowly making their way across the vacant landscape.

The same landscape that they would eventually have to traverse.

"A bit ominous, isn't it," Justin muttered softly, inclining his head towards the dark, ravenous clouds just a few lengths ahead.

"Quite fitting, really," Sophie replied staring off down the road ahead of them. She pushed herself off of the tree she had been resting against. "We should best get going before the rain makes travel impossible."

Justin gave her a quizzical stare. "But wouldn't it be best if we found shelter?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "What shelter? Unless you see something that I am missing, this place seems pretty void of places to stay. No, the best option is to just keep moving forward."

A few unhappy murmurs were her only reply.

"Oh come on, it will not be too bad. It is only rain, after all. That is, unless Your Highness is afraid to get a little wet…" Sophie gave him a playful wink, gently elbowing him in his ribs.

They started onwards, each step taking them farther away from the sun's vibrant light and towards the darkness beyond. Neither said a word as they walked, the silence almost defining. Gradually, the blue skies above turned dark and menacing, the roar of thunder still a ways off, piercing through the oddly quiet landscape. The first drops of rain could be seen across the vacant landscape. The air heavily laced with the smell of rain.

One said raindrop was fortunate enough to collide with the top of Justin's head, causing him to slightly jump, a move that was not left unnoticed by his slightly snickering companion. In no time at all, the slight trickle of rain was clearly evident on the eerily calm landscape. It did not take long for the small sprinkle to turn into a full downpour and soon enough, the pair found themselves completely and utterly soaked. Spotting a nearby tree, Justin pulled Sophie towards its sheltering branches.

"What now?" Justin asked, shaking a bit of the moisture out of his clothes, "I can't even see the road anymore, the rain is so dense."

Sophie took the opportunity to wring out her shoulder-length hair, her mind calculating. When she had removed as much moisture as possible, she slowly looked out into the raging storm beyond. She sighed heavily. "We have no choice, we must move forward. There should be a town up ahead."

"But who knows how far until then…" He ran his fingers through his now drenched hair. "It'll be the death of us if we continue out there, wondering around aimlessly, hoping that we'd stumble on a wayward village."

"Then by all means, if you have any better idea, then please feel free to share it." She looked at him expectedly, her arms folded on her chest.

"Well, we could backtrack; see if there was a farm house a ways back that would take us in."

"You know as well as I that there hasn't been anything for miles. Again, we'd be stumbling around blindly. At least if we move onward we'd still be heading in the right direction."

There was a small pause. Then, Justin ran his hand through his hair once more, turning to look at the road ahead. "You have a point, it's only the sky is pretty dark over there. It feels like with every step, the weather deepens for the worse. I don't know how long we can trudge onward until we can go no further."

She closed the space between them, resting a hand on his soaked shoulder. "Come on, don't get all negative on me now. This is what you signed up for, right? Battling the elements, trudging forward without any clear indication of stopping, maybe saving us poor damsels from distress. You are not having second thoughts, are you?" Her eyes were large and doe-like as she stared up at him, a slight smile traced across her lips.

Justin's face split into a wide grin "Not for the world."

She shook her head in mock defeat. "Well, I tried. Let's get moving, then." She backed away from him turning to look over her shoulder before she reached the edge. "You don't by chance still have that umbrella with you, do you?"

His face turned quizzical. "No, I'm sorry."

"Figures." Sophie muttered under her breath as she stepped out into the raging storm, leaving her comments about a certain someone being more helpful before, even if he was top heavy, to be lost in the wind.

.......

Still, they trudged onward with hope of finding decent shelter until the storm passed.

However, the fates would not be so kind. With every step, it seemed as if the storm intensified with no hope of diminishing in sight. Soon, the heavy blanket of rain made visibility nearly impossible. The heavy gusts of wind were no help either, seeming to blow strait through to their very core. Yet, still they trudged onward, heads bent and damp clothes fixed to their shaking figures.

Just when they were about to give up, a light could be seen in the distance a striking beacon in the darkened madness around them.

Sophie could not believe her eyes. Was her mind playing tricks on her? A quick glance back at Justin told her that he could see the light as well.

With a new sense of purpose, the two continued towards the guiding light before them, desperately hoping they had found their refuge at last.


Wow, it's been a while! I know there's no excuse for the long stretch of time, except that life got in the way and I haven't even had time to think lately. Not only that, but this chapter has not been too forgiving on the account of being lost repeatedly, accidentally deleted, and then saved on a computer that had to go in for service. It's been a true nightmare.

Well, hope to hear from you soon, and as always, thank you to anyone who is still reading (especially those who have stuck with me even after so long), as well as

K. Bears: I'm glad you like Justin. You still may have to wait a little longer to see Markl, but just be patient. Not too long, I hope ;) , MooMoo-Sama , Link Fangirl01, Whispering Lotus: No worries about not finishing, though it may take me a while, I plan to see this fic through, PurpleDragonFire: Wow, I'm glad you enjoyed it., Morgain Croix, sweetlolita1234: you went though so much trouble just for my story? I don't know what to say, especially since I took so long to upload -_- RedWingedAngel002, Gingergirl63, and last but not least, Cheeto-ScorpioDimagram

I hope to hear from you soon, then.

Signed,

OneRogueAngel