So before you read, I have a question: do you want me to update more? I could probably update once a week instead of once a month. Just review and give me your opinion.
A lot of you want more Gluxa and I'll be getting to that in due time. Plus, any ideas about what you want to happen in the plot would be appreciated. Enjoy!
Out of all the things she had been through today, this infuriated her the most. The "Uncharted" lands, meaning what?
"What does 'Uncharted' mean?" Boots asked.
"It isn't on a map and no one has ever really explored it." Lizzie had whispered to her little sister. The group had been traveling in silence for what seemed like forever. No one wanted to break the silence, fearful the others would yell at them for taking away what was probably the most peaceful moment the group would have for a long time.
This just made Boots madder. She wasn't exactly sure why, to be honest. The situation in its entirety upset her, but this? This was pushing her towards a boiling point. She swallowed what she could of her anger and slouched back on Temp. This is going to be one long journey.
Luxa's hand had somehow found its way onto Gregor's after a while. No one seemed to notice it, until Luxa herself did. She blushed, which on her, an albino, was very noticeable. Gregor looked down at her and wondered what was wrong. Luxa saw out of the corner of her eye that he was watching her and used her years of royal training to get herself back under control. This had never happened to her before; freely showing an emotion that was not anger or defiance was unknown to her. It was only this time when she got around Gregor. She tried to remember their mission, the responsibilities she would once again have when they got back. That didn't help because it forced her to recall that foolish moment when she had told Gregor of the marriage law and Tasisurie, whom she wouldn't mind marrying if Gregor refused. That was a lie; she really didn't like the guy. He had a coldness that surrounded him, even when he laughed or smiled, and the war had obviously had an effect on his mental state. She shuddered and this caused Gregor to look at her again. It took all of her will power not to let her cheeks color again.
"Here we are: The Uncharted Lands." Gregor said, sweeping his arms as if to welcome them to the desolate place. The small stretch that they were standing on was desert, but the desert soon faded into a lush forest, or what he assumed was lush since his torch light didn't stretch that far.
"Why hasn't this ever been explored?" Lizzie directed her question to Ripred and/or Luxa. Ripred shrugged his shoulders, "Remember that I haven't been dealing with royals close enough for that long."
"The people who had settled in Regalia didn't want to expand. They only know of the other land because they had ventured over it until they found the ground they wanted to settle on, or because they were interested in the other creatures that lurked in their new world. No creatures ever came far enough out and once the Regalians had settled, Sandwich didn't see a need for further expansion." Luxa said, immensely proud that she had remembered something from her days of being tutored, tortured rather, with Henry.
"I guess that makes sense, but wouldn't future leaders have been overcome by a sense of curiosity to explore the unknown?" Lizzie challenged.
"You must remember that, especially back in the beginning, they only did anything that Sandwich's prophecies had told them to do. As far as I know, and I have just about every one of his prophecies in the prophecy room memorized, the prophecies never said to do anything with the lands Bartholomew Sandwich didn't touch."
"I never realized your people relied so much on the words of a prophet. What happens when they misinterpret a prophecy and something goes horribly wrong?"
"As far as I'm concerned, that has never happened. Now, you two stop bickering in a ridiculous logic fight and catch up with the rest of us!" Ripred pulled Lizzie's arm. The two girls had been impervious to the others moving on without them; Gregor, Boots on Temp, Hazard, and even Nike, who was still flying above, were halfway across the thin stretch of barren terrain.
Boots had hopped off of Temp and ran to Gregor, eager to begin the adventure. He reached down and patted her head. He crouched down and the others stopped, wondering what he was doing. "Boots," He said, looking straight in to her eyes, "I just wanted to say sorry for always passing this place up as a dream for you. Some memories were just too hard to remember." He glanced up at Luxa, who fidgeted under his gaze, but looked into his eyes. "I just wanted you to forget the bad memories we had here, the war, the starvation, the thirst. You were already young and I knew we could just tell you it wasn't real and you would believe us. But, we're here now, so if you have any questions about your 'missing' past, any of us, perhaps with the exception of Lizzie, could tell you anything you like."
"Why not Liz; why wouldn't she be able to tell me things?" She asked, honestly curious.
"I was your age when Gregor and you fell into the Laundry Grate. You were the one who discovered this place, you know? Gregor found Daddy down here and brought him back to the surface where Mommy, Grandma, and I waited. I've only been down here one other time and I stayed sheltered in the prophecy room of the palace. This is my first prophecy adventure. You can ask about what happened at home because that is all I really know with the exception of a few, very few, things."
"Oh," Boots said quietly, "Well, I'm so excited right now; let's just keep going and I'll ask my questions later." She turned away from Gregor and began to run; they were all just a few yards away from the forest.
Boots skipped, waiting along the very edge of the forest and Temp and Hazard soon joined. Nike circled lower and lower and Ripred, Gregor, and Luxa leisurely walked to the forest. Gregor nodded towards Boots and Hazard and they headed into the woods.
No sooner had they gone in when a whooshing sound was heard, followed by Boots', Hazard's, and a few seconds later, Temp's screams.