Chapter 15: An Unexpected Guest

"You?" I demanded in disbelief, as I tore the hood from off of her face just to make sure, but my initial suspicions had been quite right, and I actually gasped in disbelief as the hood fell to reveal the smug face of… Jessica; the bitch who had made me her family slave all those years ago in D'Nalge, "What's with the getup?" I asked, backing away from her as she attempted to clap a hand on my shoulder-- maybe she still was under the impression that I wanted to be "friends." How whimsical.

"What? That Elaine woman told me to be discreet-- I did my best, you know."

"Well, there's a fine line between discreet and stupid-- and I'm pretty sure you've crossed it," I paused, still shocked by her sudden intrusion back into my life, "So, what the hell are you doing here?"

"As I said before I was-- accosted," I rolled my eyes at her use of the extremely melodramatic word given the circumstances, and began to listen, as she spun me her urgent tale, "I have news concerning your missing husband."

"Do you now?" I asked, wondering why, in God's name, Elaine had chosen her to be the messenger of all people-- the greatest dunce I had ever known…! The borderline alcoholic who had accused me of stealing away her prince, and demanded gold from me during one of the toughest moments in my life-- had Elaine hallucinated, and imagined me praising the girl instead of shunning her? I was fuming with anger, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I asked, angrily.

"Ever heard of time travel?" she asked, smirking, as I rolled my eyes once again, "Well, since you've come here, make with the news, and then get the hell away from me," I whispered, wanting to pound her face with my bare fists.

"You don't have to be so shirty with me, servant-girl… Don't use such tones when conversing with your betters."

I snorted at her smugness, as she continued-- at least Jessica's vanity was always good for a laugh-- given that she had nothing to be vain for, "Elaine came to me this evening, and told me to come here and find you to deliver her message as it is too dangerous for her to do so otherwise."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning that she can't come to you herself-- and neither can that Queen of yours, and what a common name! In all my days, I never--"

"Get to the goods, Jessica. I haven't all day."

"Anyway, Elaine told me to warn you against any dreams you might receive from now on… She said something about shaska interference," she took a dramatic pause after having used the dreaded word, "Is that all?" I asked, bluntly, breaking the over-the-top silence.

She shook her head, causing her mousy brown curls to bounce, "No, and be a bit more patient, when I'm the one doing you the favor-- just like always."

"Excuse me?" I asked, "Since when were you a perfect person towards me?"

"I rescued you from the forest, remember? I gave you a steady job, and--"

"Sorry I asked. Continue with your monologue, and be quick about it. Once again, I don't have all day."

"She told me that after you have exited the forest, you must cross the sea to find the remainder of the prophecy, and that--"

"I don't believe you," I whispered, "Matthew told me that--"

"Did you ever stop to think that it was a trick?" she asked, pulling out a folded piece of paper sealed in wax, "Even read it-- I think you would trust Elaine," I broke the seal, and quickly read over the letter. It was written in Elaine's own hand; (I knew this from looking through her several notes in the cottage when I had resided with her), so it was pretty much legitimate. The shaska had somehow tampered with Matthew, and thus had tampered with his message. It was all a trap, and had it not been for the stupid bitch standing in front of me, I probably would have wandered off into an almost sure death. I had to give her credit for that, "Thank you for this information," I grunted, not wanting to give her thanks, as I tucked the letter into my pocket.

"She also asked me to give you these," she handed me a small ax, and a length of rope, "To construct the raft, of course," she said, after seeing the look of confusion in my eyes.

"Oh, of course," I whispered, wanting to laugh at my own foolishness, as I slipped the rope away, and held onto the ax, in case the knife wouldn't be enough for future protection against the beast who was probably following my every footstep; keen on catching me off guard.

"Well then, I suppose I'll be on my way," she whispered, and she turned.

"Wait, Jessica," I whispered, grabbing her arm before she could leave, "Did you happen to have seen a man along the way?"

"Man?" she asked, turning to face me once again, "What man?"

The look of stupidity in her eyes was sincere, so I decided to believe her, "Never mind," I whispered; she lingered, "You may leave now."

"Don't be so pushy," she said, and with a wave of her hands, she disappeared in a great flash of white light-- most likely back to her parents and their manor.

I stared at the spot where she had stood only moments before, and suddenly had a twang of fear in the pit of my stomach-- for some odd reason, I had the feeling that she had been lying about meeting up with the Viscount on the way.

No, I was being stupid. She would have told me. After all, she had been sent here to protect me, and give me advice, hadn't she…? She wouldn't have betrayed--

And then, a low voice whispered my name from just a few feet behind me, and I realized that she had indeed lied.