A/N: If the last chapter was an early Christmas present, then this chapter is an early New Year's present. For those of you who are still here, thank you so much for reading! I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter! This chapter is super intense, especially for Damiana, so I know you're going to enjoy this one too. Thank you again for sticking with this story. Enjoy the chapter!
Shoutout: Smile like me - Thank you for your reviews! They are appreciated! Seeing your reviews in my email inbox makes my day! :)
Note: The old lady in the last section of the chapter, Rinka, appeared in a previous chapter. She had an argument with Tenna at the smokehouse. So, no. I did not pull this character out of nowhere.
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, but the planet Dabnod and all of it's inhabitants (with the exception of Roy/Speedy) are of my own creation.
Part IV: Unraveled: Chapter Forty-Two
The Next Day
Today has been an endless, repetitive, journey of toting crates and barrels from the root cellar to the yertkitz. It took an entire day, but crates of smoked meat, barrels of dry goods, barrels of pickled vegetables, and barrels of berries preserved in syrup were moved to the storage area inside of the yertkitz. Damiana had asked why the journey couldn't be made during the frost, seeing as the root cellar isn't far from the yertkitz. Tenna had merely gawped at her as if she were suffering from insanity.
"Lady Fire Phoenix, the moment the frost strikes, nobody from our village is permitted to exit the yertkitz. Leaving shelter during the frost, even for a brief period, can be fatal. The only Dabnodians who can survive outside during the frost are the wanderers from the tenth province. They are highly accustomed to extreme temperatures, and as long as they are not exposed to the frost's harsh elements for more than a couple of days, they generally survive without much difficulty."
Damiana had thought that Tenna was exaggerating about the extreme temperatures, but as the girl walks alongside the archer in the evening light, it is very clear that the mountaineer's words of caution were fully true. Although the breeze is gentle, it has an icy edge that cuts through the brown, animal skin, dress and leaves her shuddering. She releases several puffs of fire while focusing on her second heart with precision, the cold diminishing after about thirty seconds. Meanwhile, the archer shudders.
"You've been outside all day, Roy. Maybe we should go back to the cabin. You can sit in front of the fire and have a hot meal."
He shrugs apathetically despite his quivering. "It's only for a few minutes, Dami. Besides, a little cold is worth it to have you explain this belt thing to me. I wanted you to explain it earlier, but everyone was too busy congratulating me."
The girl does not envy the confusion that her fellow Titan must be feeling. Everyone has been cheering each time they arrive somewhere, he is given embraces, and he receives constant congratulatory wishes. All because of a belt. Roy must be completely and utterly baffled.
"I don't think you get how huge this is. It isn't just a belt, Roy. Remember that 'Planets of the Past' exhibit at the museum back in Metropolis? At the age of twelve, each Dabnodian child is given an ornament bearing their family symbol. For a girl, their family symbol is engraved into an arm band, like my Fire Phoenix arm band. For a boy, their family symbol is engraved on a belt. When they're given the ornament with their Clan Symbol, this is performed at a ceremony called the crossover ceremony. This is special because it means that they have crossed over from childhood to adulthood and that they are equal to adults."
The bafflement on his face increases. "But that doesn't make any sense. I don't have a clan. I'm human."
"See, that's what you're not getting. You don't have a clan, so you were granted a clan and named its founding member. Didn't you hear Raezik last night? You're the founder of the Flying Arrow Clan. You've been accepted by my people."
Suddenly, it seems as if he fully understands. "This belt means that I've been accepted by your people?! Are you serious?!"
"I'm completely serious. Now that you're associated with a clan, you are viewed as no different from a Dabnodian man. You may be a human, but you have that belt, so nobody can give you hassle for being a foreigner. Even if they don't like it that you're a foreigner, you have a clan symbol, and they cannot show disrespect for your clan. This means nobody will assume that you're my servant when we start traveling after the frost. Sure, they will likely assume that we're lovers or a married couple, and that might start to feel awkward, but it's better than being assumed as my human servant."
Damiana completely expects Roy to put up a fuss at the new automatic assumption that the Dabnodian populace is now bound to make about them. Instead, he shrugs once more. They had previously been walking alongside a river only a short trek into the forest outside of Tenna's cabin. Now, immediately after shrugging, Roy pauses, picks up a pink pebble from the dirt, and skips it across the river. The Noble Lady hadn't noticed before, but beneath the gold and silver of the evening sky and the ascending crescent of the lilac moon, the scene is actually quite pretty.
"If people think we're married, who cares? Whatever gets us from point A to point B the fastest is fine with me. Raezik already asked me to marry you and stay in Whisper Valley during our hunting trip, so if that didn't make me feel awkward, I doubt anything else could."
Pink eyes and rose red tresses shift to lime green. "Raezik wants the two of us to get married?" She starts laughing. "That's insane! He realizes he's asking two teenagers who have only known each other for little more than a month to get married, right? Even in a place where kids get married at fourteen years old, that's crazy!"
Roy, too, elicits a chuckle. "That would be hard to explain to the rest of the Titans, too. I'm pretty sure that Bee, Robin, and your brother would kill both of us!"
They burst into guffaws. Although Damiana greatly missed her home planet for the five years that she was stranded on Earth, one thing that she did not miss was how stooped Dabnodians are in tradition. Girls were expected to be married before the age of nineteen and boys before the age of twenty-two, and usually to the person that the parents chose. Earth is much more reasonable in terms of marriage in Damiana's opinion. Considering how Dabnodians live an average of thirty years longer than humans, it has always been baffling how young her people were expected to marry.
It is a single, unnerving, event that causes their laughter to cease. Protruding from the shoreline of the river is a thin sheet of ice. It appears out of nowhere and expands rapidly, a sound like shattering glass echoing. When it finally halts, it has extended nearly a foot away from the shoreline, the cracks in the ice appearing similar to that of a spiderweb. Roy and Damiana step backward with fright only to be met with the sound of crunching. Beneath their feet, much to the Noble Lady's surprise, are large chunks of ice that appear like crystals. Roy jabs in her in the shoulder and motions toward the forest. Frost climbs the white bark of the trees like ivy climbs stone ruins, stopping after reaching a height of six inches. Once the frost halts, it rapidly freezes into a shiny, clear, coating.
Damiana unleashes a torrent of flames. It is plenty to melt the ice, but thankfully not enough to start a fire. Once a path is cleared, she grabs the archer by the hand.
"Hurry! We need to get back to the cabin!"
If there is ever a time to be thankful that Damiana is a fire user, then that time is now. If it wasn't for her ability to melt ice in the blink of an eye, then they may have been unable to shove their way through the bushes and tall grasses due to the frozen barrier. Roy is very puzzled about why the people of Whisper Valley call this event "the frost". This event should be called "the freezing". It is not frost coating the water and the foliage, but a layer of ice! Kish's comment during their hunting trip was one hundred percent correct. Had they been caught in the wilderness with everything freezing over, it would have spelled trouble for all of them.
Damiana melts the thick, frozen, shell coating the bushes ahead of them, enabling them to emerge beside Tenna's cabin. Never has he been so anxious to get inside where it is warm, abrasive mountain lady or not. It feels like his skin is freezing along with everything else! However, much to their astonishment, Tenna and Caen are not inside. They are outside, sleeping bags and blankets in tow. When she sees them, she scowls in aggravation exactly as anticipated. At first, Roy assumes that Tenna is annoyed because Roy didn't freeze to death. Astoundingly, the reason is different.
"There you are! The two of you can't just wander off like that! Praise the Fates that Lady Fire Phoenix is a fire user, or the two of you might be stuck out there!" She nods toward the cabin. "Grab the nets with the clothes off of the hook from the back wall, then follow Caen and I. We're on our way to the yertkitz. It isn't wise to stay in the cabin tonight. Even with a fire going, a stone dwelling will get far too cold."
Roy and Damiana wordlessly follow their instructions and scurry up the path in pursuit of the mother and son. It seems the rest of Whisper Valley is experiencing the exact same thought, because the dirt trail leading to the yertkitz is fully packed. Ice creeps as far as halfway up the trunks of some trees while bushes and tall grasses are completely coated, causing the villagers to rush. Thankfully, Raezik is waiting in the clearing beside the yertkitz to maintain order. The bushes surrounding them are frozen solid and the ground beneath their feet echoes in ear-piercing shattering, yet Raezik's voice can still be heard.
"Everything is freezing more quickly this year than in years previous. I understand if all of you are frightened, but not to worry. Just like every year, I'm going to call one group at a time to enter the yertkitz. It will only be a matter of minutes until everyone is safely inside."
Once Raezik and Kish begin calling names and ushering clans inside, Roy expects to be standing outside for an incredibly lengthy period. Surprisingly, they are instead one of the first to be called.
"The Jawirth Clan, the Water Flower Clan, the Fire Phoenix Clan, and the Flying Arrow Clan!"
They do not even have to shove their way through the crowd. Everyone separates so that a path is formed. Once at the entranceway, Kish ushers them through a short, sturdy, door and into a large center room containing benches and a roaring firepit. Roy notices vivid orange, blue, and magenta pelts lining the walls. These same pelts block the entrances to the conjoining hallways, because Kish moves to the right side of the room and pulls back a ginger-colored animal skin.
"Your compartment is the second one from the back. Roy and Linden, if you ever want to visit, mine and dad's compartment is four pelts down."
Linden is the one who replies. "Thank you, Kish. We'll stop by."
Roy's first thought is that sharing an area with Tenna, Caen, Linden, and Aika won't be so bad. They're nice enough people. Even Tenna is alright as long as he doesn't talk about combat around her son. What he cares about the most, however, is sharing a space with Damiana. With as cold as it is about to get, staying near her will definitely help considering how she is a fire user. Additionally, being without her would just seem weird.
The hallway reminds Roy of a hallway that might be seen in an apartment complex if the doors were replaced with pelts. Each section is walled off on either side, pelts separating each room from the main hallway. Once they reach their section of the yertkitz, it is discovered to be marked with a blue pelt. It is thick and fluffy, reminding Roy of the Earth equivalent of bear fur. When Tenna shoves it aside and motions for them to follow, their compartment looks exactly as the archer imagined. Wooden benches lining the walls, hooks hanging from the ceiling, and a firepit built into the center of the floor. Sitting beside the firepit is a cauldron along with wooden plates and eating utensils. Toward the top of the back wall is a shuttered window, likely for ventilation so that the smoke doesn't build up.
Damiana gets to work hanging the netting containing the clothes from a hook in the far corner. The archer follows her lead and does the same. Meanwhile, the others arrange blankets, sleeping bags, and extra pelts. Pelts are arranged in various places on the walls and on the floor, making the otherwise barren room feel cozier. Blankets and sleeping bags are sat atop shelves, seeing as it is late in the evening. It will likely be time to go to bed soon. Tenna and Caen each have a sleeping bag and a blanket in their space on the far left. The same is true for Linden and Aika on the far right. Meanwhile, his and Damiana's space against the back wall is bare. Baffled, the duo of Titans looks at each other and then at the mountaineer. Tenna immediately catches their drift and glances at the pregnant couple.
"Aika, did you bring Lady Fire Phoenix and Roy sleeping bags like I asked? I have their blankets, so you don't need to worry about that."
She walks over and lays maroon blankets on their sleeping bench, as if to prove her point. In the meantime, Aika and Linden exchange baffled glances. A second later they remove a single, fur-lined, sleeping bag.
"Actually, Linden and I only brought one. We thought that they would share."
This should make Roy feel anxious. Instead, he finds himself amused. For the first time since arriving on Dabnod, his feisty companion feels more like "Leila" than "Damiana". Her magenta curls and lilac irises tell everyone all that they need to know.
"What? Why in Fates names do you think that Roy and I would share?! I don't want to share a sleeping bag with him! There is absolutely no space in that thing!"
"Isn't that the point?" Aika asks. "Why would you want space between you at night when you're sleeping? You and Roy are lovers."
Magenta tresses are so bright that they are nearly glowing. "Roy and I aren't lovers!"
The archer places a bold arm around her shoulder while smirking. "It's alright, Dami. You don't need to hide your feelings for me. If you want to share a sleeping bag, all you have to do is ask."
She scowls in attempt to feign annoyance, though the fact the Noble Lady's cheeks are burning crimson reveals that humiliation is more prominent. "Naxdath! Shut up Roy! You're not helping! Nax rafrait taldae!" The bizarre combination of English and Dabnodian speech is enough to make him chuckle.
"There is no need to be this defensive. And yes, I actually am helping!" Roy exclaims purely in Dabnodian. "I understand that your passion for me burns brighter than your flames, and I am helping you by breaking down the barrier. Thank you, Aika and Linden, for giving us only one sleeping bag. It has given my feisty princess the bravery to admit how she feels."
Damiana elbows him sharply in the ribs. Roy winces in pain, and it is entirely worth it. Linden and Aika appear dumbfounded, as does Caen. Tenna, on the other hand, shakes her head incredulously while chortling softly. The entire time the mountaineer walks over to Linden and Aika, takes the sleeping bag from them, and lays it out on the Titans' sleeping bench.
"If you were my son, I would thrash you for embarrassing your woman this way. But honestly, my husband used to get amusement out of embarrassing me, too. So, it's hard to be angry with you, Roy. As for you, Lady Fire Phoenix, don't take Roy's teasing so seriously, and don't take this situation so seriously. All you're doing is sharing a sleeping bag, not consummating a marriage."
Aika, who still seems confused, adds, "Even if you want to make love, it's alright. Linden and I consummated our marriage in the yertkitz last year. We came to Whisper Valley right as the frost began. We'd already been married for two months, but we did not feel comfortable enough for lovemaking until sharing a sleeping bag for a while. Expressing affection is perfectly normal and so is lovemaking once you're comfortable."
"Not to mention that you won't be the only ones," Linden puts in. "You will hear plenty of noise from other couples these next few weeks. We are living in close quarters, so it is utterly unavoidable."
Roy uses this opportunity to pull the girl closer. "See, Dami? No shame. We can make love to your hearts' content exactly like you want."
Another jab to the ribs is her response, in addition to a strong kick to the shin. A loud "ouch!" is earned from the redhead. He doesn't miss Damiana's blissful smile at his agony. "If you make love to anything, it's going to be to the blankets. I'll share a sleeping bag with you. It would be rude to make someone leave to retrieve an extra. Just don't get any ideas."
Not much more is said after that. The glows of fires in the surrounding compartments start to burn lower and chattering diminishes, suggesting that it is time to go to sleep. Linden crawls into his sleeping bag and Aika into hers, the only reason for their separation being the magnitude of Aika's stomach. As for Tenna and Caen, they crawl into their sleeping bags and slumber as well. As for Roy, he removes his parka and boots so that he is only wearing his tunic and pants. Then he crawls into the sleeping bag and leaves it partway open. Emerald eyes bore into Damiana's lilac eyes. Even in the darkness, the forest green streaks and brown flecks of his irises twinkle at her. When his teammate doesn't move from the center of the floor, the archer sits up, smiles, and waves her toward him. This time Roy's words are in English and they are much gentler.
"It's okay. I don't bite. You should know this by now." A strong draft causes an immediate chill. "You're going to get cold. Come to bed. I promise not touch you."
Damiana finally removes her boots and saunters closer, although her movements are hesitant. When she sits on the edge of the bench and slides into their shared sleeping space, her tone of voice is uncomfortable to say the least. Nevertheless, she manages to share her thoughts. The girl chooses to speak in English the same as Roy.
"Actually, I don't care if you touch me. We had an intense make out session a few days ago, so a little bit of cuddling won't bother me. My only request is that you don't touch my breasts, my rear, or anything between my legs. Also, don't kiss me in a surprise attack. It didn't end well in Murmur Creek, and it won't end well now."
Damiana faces toward the archer rather than away from him. More astounding is how she cuddles closer and rests her head against his chest. Roy reaches past her and pulls the sleeping bag fully closed by use of the drawstring. Afterward he smooths out her hair and tucks the curled locks behind an ear.
"I actually lied. I do bite, but not unless you ask me to. That being said, I won't bite." Roy wraps an arm around her waist and burrows his face into the crook of her neck. "Goodnight Damiana. Sleep well."
"Goodnight Roy. Sweet dreams."
One Week Later
Miserable. This is the only word that Damiana can use to describe living inside of the yertkitz. First and foremost, it is loud. All throughout the day there is noisy chatter, rambunctious laughter, children screaming with joy while playing, and children crying like banshees when their play injures them. Caen is a good example of this. He says that he wants to play with the other children, will leave their compartment, and an hour later he returns in tears. How Damiana never noticed before, she isn't sure, but crying kids sound more similar to air raid sirens than tiny people.
Worse than the days are the nights. The first three nights were rather enjoyable. Aside from the occasional crying baby from down the hallway, as well as moans of pain from Aika seeing as the doe-eyed girl can never rest comfortably in her pregnant condition, nights were silent. On night number four, however, other sounds were heard in the night. These sounds being strained and heavy breathing from the compartment on the left of theirs. Other times moans and grunts were heard from further down the hallway, and not the pained or injured kind. When this happens, Damiana has to unlatch the sleeping bag and turn so that she is facing away from Roy. As for Roy, he doesn't even try to be discreet. He turns over more quickly than she does.
The only time they didn't turn away from each other when the moaning and grunting started from up the hall was last night. Damiana was unlatching the sleeping bag, fully prepared to turn away from Roy, when Raezik's booming voice echoed throughout the entire yertkitz. "Kish, you and your wife need to be silent! I'm trying to sleep, and I can't sleep knowing that my son squeals like a girl when he's pleasured!"
Damiana hadn't realized that Roy was awake until he'd started laughing. Once he'd started laughing, she did too. After the two of them started, it seemed like everyone else followed. When Roy shouted something loud enough for Kish to hear, laughter practically shook the wooden shelter.
"Don't listen to your dad, Kish! Your squeals are super manly! I'm sure your wife loves them!"
"Roy!" Damiana scolded through giggles. "That is not an okay thing to say!"
"What? Everyone can hear them! At least the heavy breathers to the left of us are trying to be quiet! I say if everyone can hear you, it opens you up to commentary."
More surprising still was when the aforementioned heavy breathers responded from the other side of the wall. "What? You could hear us? You have to be kidding!"
"Not kidding!" answered Roy. "We heard you loud and clear last night!"
"Everyone always hears you! We can hear you every single frost! You think we don't know why your clan has so many children?!" Raezik added loudly.
"Yeah? We're still quieter than your son!"
Somehow this created an argument between Kish and the heavy breathers about who was louder and more disturbing. People popped in with various opinions from all over the yertkitz. When Damiana and Roy finally fell back asleep, it was while they were laughing and while they were facing each other. As far as she can remember, there was no more moaning or heavy breathing last night to keep them awake.
Constant noise and sexually active couples, however, are the least of the girl's worries. What makes life in the yertkitz the most worrisome is the cold. Even with fires constantly burning and heavy parkas adorned over everyone's dresses and tunics, the cold is enough to make the girl shudder. She grew curious and peered out the ventilation window one day, and the world around them was frightening. All the scenery is enveloped ice. Grass is no longer grass, but a clear, crystal, shell with dips and valleys similar to that of grass. As for the trees, they appear like polished, ivory, statues with leaves carved from glass. With the sun shining high, along with the beautiful pale peach and blue violet streaks of the sky above, the scene actually appears quite lovely. This is especially true when occasional rose-colored cloud drifts by. So beautiful is the scene that Damiana tries to peek out at it at least once daily. Nonetheless, the horrors of the cold far exceed the beauty.
Damiana stands from her place beside the cookfire where she is preparing rintcakes to glance over at Roy. He sits mere inches away from the fire bundled up in two blankets. Beneath the blankets is a fur parka, and beneath that are two tunics and two pairs of pants. Yet, her human friend is still shivering. The first day of the frost hadn't been so worrisome. He quivered after getting out of their sleeping bag, but after adding layers, the archer was able to wander about the yertkitz with little issue. As the days have passed, however, it has gotten so cold that Roy can barely stand up. His skin has grown paler with each passing day, and his lips are nearly blue if he is away from the fire for too long. Every night when they slide into their shared sleeping space, Roy's skin is icy to the touch and his teeth chatter together. The colder Roy gets, the happier Damiana is that Aika and Linden only brought a single sleeping bag. If it wasn't for her cuddling against him while raising her body temperature to extreme levels each night, Roy may catch frostbite with the fire in their compartment burning so low.
Golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside means that the rintcakes are done. Removing them from the rack above the fire, Damiana empties the tray of breakfast pastries onto a large serving platter. She puts two rintcakes on a smaller platter alongside a sizable portion of berry bark that the village ladies made from starberries, maeberries, sugar, vinegar, and molasses. It is difficult, but Damiana tries to make sure that her smile is kind rather than apprehensive. Unfortunately, stormy gray irises and plum-colored ringlets give her true thoughts away. Then again, it is impossible for concern to remain subtle while passing him the plate. Their hands brush, and his skin feels piercingly frigid.
First, he observes her hair, then he acknowledges her eyes, and then he smiles playfully. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm fine. I'm not injured or disabled. Just a little cold."
Roy's voice says one thing, but his bodily reactions say another. For the entire journey that the rintcake makes from the plate to his mouth, his arm is shaking. Damiana grabs a portion of berry bark for herself as quickly as possible before crawling under the blankets beside him. It takes a lengthy period for her body temperature to raise to the heat level that she desires. Praise the Fates that it takes a meager five minutes for the archer's skin to finally feel warm to the touch.
"Damiana," says Tenna from the other side of the cookfire, "you are overusing your abilities. Roy is cold right now, but he isn't on the brink of death. You need to recharge your powers during the day so that you will be able to keep him warm at night when the temperature drops."
Though it is unintentional, the girl cringes. Several days ago, Tenna took to calling her "Damiana" rather than "Lady Fire Phoenix". The same is true for Caen, Aika, and Linden. The latter three using her given name is not a bother in the slightest. Tenna using it, however, feels invasive. When the mountaineer scolds her, Damiana feels like her naughty daughter. Scolding a Noblewoman using her given name as if she is her mother is nothing short of insulting. Considering how Caen is allowed to do as he wishes with little consequence, being firmly reprimanded is made doubly insulting.
"It's okay. My temperature isn't as high as it is at night. I wanted to warm Roy up just a little bit."
"'Just a little bit' once every hour is plenty to exhaust you. It's understandable if you're worried about him, but having you pass out from overuse of your abilities will be of even less help than if you take a break."
The girl's scowl deepens. "But Tenna—"
Thankfully, it isn't the mountaineer that interrupts, but the redhead to whom they're referring. He gently tugs on her curls, which have shifted to midnight blue, and smiles warmly. "Actually, Dami, I do believe that Tenna is right. Take a break. As long as I stay bundled up and stay near a fire, I'll be fine."
Before Damiana can ask if he's sure and offer to stay by his side, Caen enters their compartment along with three other children. All three are girls, and all of them are younger than Caen. They have a round, wooden, gameboard in tow along with a small, burlap, bag. They set the gameboard, which is bedecked by a series of vertical lines and horizontal zigzags, on the ground and empty the bag's contents on top of it. It contains pebbles, which are brightly painted. Some pebbles are white, some are yellow, others are orange, others are green, and the rest are purple. As they set up the pieces, Caen raises his head of seafoam locks so that he is looking at the Noble Lady.
"We can help, Damiana. Nobody here can use fire, but we can still make our temperatures warmer. Me and my friends can all keep Roy warm together! Since he hasn't left our compartment in ages, we also thought that he might be bored, so we bought Phoenix Flight with us! He can use the orange pebbles since his hair is orange."
Upon glimpsing at the archer, amusement is seen flickering in his gaze. Although it is with much hesitation, Damiana crawls out from beneath the covers and stands. When she replies to the child, she makes sure that her tone is appreciative.
"Thank you, Caen! That is very thoughtful. I'm sure that Roy will enjoy the company."
"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I want to hang out with the man of the Jawirth Clan?"
The boy beams with pride at the honorable title. Now that the Noble Lady is out of his way, he crawls beneath the blanket and pulls the gameboard closer. One of the small girls inches beneath the blanket on the opposite side of the archer while the others busy themselves with distributing the pebbles.
"So, Phoenix Flight? How do you play?"
"It's easy!" Caen exclaims joyously. "You put your phoenixes in the right spot based on what kind they are. Your pebbles are orange, so you have fire phoenixes. They go in quadrant one-ten, quadrant four-nine, and quadrant thirteen-twenty-seven. Then, once everyone's phoenixes are on the board, the goal is to finish migrating the fastest."
"How do you do that?"
"By following the phoenix migration patterns. The fire phoenixes are easiest because you get to move them by three-seventy-thirds quadrants each seventh turn once you reach the lirthiak migration. While in the alithic migration it might be a little difficult because you can't move them more than two-forty-first quadrants, but once you get past that part it will probably be a lot faster!"
Roy takes an arm out from under the blanket to scratch his head. "I thought you said that this game would be easy."
"It is!" A little girl chips in. "It's really quite simple."
It is only after the children begin explaining the game that Damiana's memory is triggered. A mere instant later her excitement is uncontainable. She played this game with Adriel's sister, Jaegana, all the time when she was little! Other times Queen Guayusa would set aside an hour of her day to play with her. Phoenix Flight was Damiana's favorite! How she ever could have forgotten the fond memories surrounding this enjoyable pastime is a mystery. Truth be told, Roy appears anything but joyful at the sight of the boardgame, but the Dabnodian girl barely notices. This is partially due to her own nostalgia, and partially due to what Tenna says to capture her attention.
"If you would like, we could bring your rintcakes to the gathering room so that we can eat with Aika and Linden. It would be nice to visit with the rest of Whisper Valley instead of staying hidden away."
A moment is taken to observe their compartment. The fire is burning high, and if it begins to burn low, there are still a few logs against the wall under Tenna and Caen's sleeping bench. Roy is still bundled up beneath the blankets, he remains close to the fire, and Caen and his friend seem more than capable of raising their body temperatures. Under these circumstances, not leaving their compartment to enjoy the company of others would appear foolish, if not obsessive or paranoid.
Forcing a smile, Damiana nods in compliance. "Sure, Tenna. I don't see why not. I'm sure that Aika and Linden will be happy to see us."
"Not to mention Raezik." The mountaineer smirks. "He will most likely ask how the founder of the Flying Arrow Clan is holding up. Although, after last night's commentary, his disposition may not be pleasant."
The girl flinches, resulting in laughter from Tenna. Once they're more or less in a natural emotional state, they exit the Jawirth Clan's compartment and ascend the corridor. Locating Aika and Linden takes a moment, as the gathering room is massive with nearly half of the village inside. Eventually they are found lounging near the back wall conversing with a group of young parents and children.
"Wow Aika! You must be due anytime now!"
The doe-eyed girl giggles. "Anytime now is right. If I am correct, I will be at the ten-month mark in a few days. It is time for this baby to come out!"
For a split second Damiana is confused, expecting to hear that she is at the nine-month mark. However, that is when she remembers the difference between Dabnodian versus human pregnancies. Dabnodian fetuses take an extra month to form due to their second heart and the complex bodily systems that come with it. If an infant is born too early, the glands behind their eyes may not function properly, meaning that their eyes will rarely change color and that excess energy will not be stored. Other times premature birth may have more serious effects, such as a child having difficulty using their element or being completely unable to use it.
For the first time in her life, Damiana wonders what it would be like to be pregnant. Looking at Aika right now, it seems terrible. True, she rubs her belly and smiles down at it, and Linden rests his cheek on her belly contentedly, but it still looks like her aching back and sore muscles are highly unpleasant. Living on Earth may not be so bad, Damiana thinks. This means that there are no Dabnodian men for her to reproduce with, which means no nausea, aching muscles, the constant urge to urinate, and an inability to find a comfortable position for sleeping. Even if she were to…er…"make love" with a human man…their reproductive systems would be incompatible. If Damiana wanted to have children in the future, there is always Adriel since they are the same species, but that would be weird on so many levels…
The only thing bringing her out from her curious thoughts is a mother from the group of parents and children calling out to them. "Tenna! Damiana! Good morning to you both!"
Aika beams upon noticing them. "At last, you're here! You haven't been out of our compartment for nearly a week! I'm glad that Tenna finally managed to drag you out."
"Roy should come to the gathering room, too," Linden puts in. "I know that he is more susceptible to the cold, but he will be fine for an hour or so. He just needs to bring a blanket with him and take a seat by the fire."
"I don't know, Linden… This room is draftier than the others. There is practically no insulation."
"Yes, but that's what the blanket and the fire will be for. Not to mention, Damiana. She has been keeping him warm all week with her fire."
The Noble Lady pauses to consider Linden's words. Roy must hate being cooped in their tiny room all the time. Perhaps he would be fine in the main room for only a short while. Besides. An opportunity to socialize may do the archer some good. He has always seemed like a rather social person.
Meanwhile, Linden continues. "Our visitors arrived a few hours ago, too, which means that the entire village will be gathering here in a short while to welcome them. Roy won't want to miss this."
"Visitors?" she asks mystified.
"The wanderers from the tenth province," Aika explains. "They're the Fire Lily Tribe, and they pass through twice a year on their way to and on their way from the Capital City. They trade goods and services in exchange for food, money, and shelter. They also have some interesting travel stories."
Tenna grumbles. "All besides old man Veng. The Fire Lily Tribe says that he's their 'prophet' and that all of his prophecies are 'from the Fates themselves'. If I have to hear the same prophecy for the fifteenth year in a row, I might kick that man out into the cold myself!"
One of the couples amongst the throng immediately works to calm her. "Now, now, Tenna, it'll be alright. Just relax. If Prophet Veng gives the prophecy again, it won't be the end of the world. We'll just sit through it and humor him like we do every year."
"Did you just call that coot 'Prophet Veng'? What's the matter with you? Do you actually believe him?!"
They continue bickering for what feels like a millennium. Eventually Damiana sits down beside Aika, feigning interest in the baby talk that is occurring between the pregnant couple and the parents. The entire time, however, only a single thought is going through Damiana's mind. Should she drag Roy out from their compartment to join the rest of the villagers, or should they stay by themselves and sleep? Based on Tenna's passionate rage, it may be better for them to remain isolated. Of course, knowing Roy, he will likely want to socialize regardless.
When Damiana poked her head through the doorway of their compartment a mere hour after leaving, Roy had never been happier. Put simply, the boardgame wasn't going too well.
"No! No, no, no, no, no! Your fire phoenix only moves by two-seventeenths quadrants, not fourteen-thirty-sixths! You don't make that kind of a move until your twenty-third turn!"
The archer had grunted in agony. Never had a boardgame been less fun than that one! He folded his arms over his chest while frowning sullenly. "I don't want to play this game anymore. It's too confusing!"
"Not really," Caen had stated. "You just need to follow fire phoenix migration patterns. Your migration patterns are more like an ice phoenix than a fire phoenix."
"What? I don't get it. How can you tell?"
The little girl who had sat beside him sighed. "Do we need to explain it again? It's like this—"
That was when Damiana shoved the blue animal skin curtain aside and walked in. Admittedly, her reaction upon looking at the gameboard was irritating. "Roy, why are your fire phoenixes in such weird places? You do realize that ice phoenixes are the white pieces, right? You should only be moving by two-seventeenths quadrants at this point in the game."
"Exactly!" the little girl exclaimed. "See, Mister Roy? Your wife understands."
The archer wanted to firmly tell the child that Damiana wasn't his wife. Instead, he'd slapped a palm to his forehead. "This is the most confusing game I've ever played!"
"Really?" The Noble Lady's hair became streaked by lime green. "Phoenix Flight is really quite simple."
Roy is very thankful that he is now sitting in the gathering hall rather than in their compartment in front of that game. The reason for their presence here is still a bit of a mystery. All Damiana had time to say was that they have visitors from the tenth province and that everyone in the village is gathering together to welcome them. Caen and the girls immediately became excited, packed the game, and dashed down the hallway. The archer, feeling the impact of cabin fever, agreed to go without much thought. Although, he probably should have thought it through better. He has a blanket, his parka, and is sitting beside the fire that roars at the center of the room. Yet, the room is incredibly chilly; it's far colder than their tiny compartment.
Damiana moves closer, sensing his chill with a single glance. "Are you okay? If not, we can go back. Maybe we can lay beside the fire and warm up."
The archer takes a moment to consider this. He has left their compartment twice this week to explore the yertkitz, and twice he had to go back because being away from a fire for too long made him cold. Apparently, his skin was icy to the touch both times he returned, which worried Damiana, resulting in them cuddling beneath a pile of blankets beside the fire.
Roy said that he won't bite unless she asks, but when Damiana hugs him around the waist, cuddles against his chest, and when the front of their bodies are crushed together, it makes not biting incredibly difficult. Sometimes she gives him the same look that she gave him while they were collecting arrows after she'd practiced with his bow. It is an expression that makes it blatantly clear that she wants to kiss him as much as he wants to kiss her. He'd only been kidding with Damiana about how their first make out session will make her want more, but it turns out that the archer was right. She does want more. The only thing that Roy hadn't counted on was how much he would want more.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Roy has kissed other girls. In fact, he has done far more than that with girls. Yet, none of that ever made the archer feel like this. Kissing Damiana feels incredible! Strangely, Roy doesn't want to kiss Damiana in order for their actions to go farther. He wants to kiss her for the kiss itself, and because it's her that he would be kissing. He has never wanted to kiss a girl because of who she is. In the past, it was always because of the physical pleasure. It feels completely different with Damiana, and it frustrates Roy that he doesn't understand it better. It is for this reason that he says what he does to Damiana; because if they end up cuddling by the fire while they're alone, this time he may not be able to not kiss her.
"We don't have to. Not right now. I'm interested in this welcoming ceremony or whatever it is. Why are they doing this for the Fire Lily Tribe again? They pass through Whisper Valley twice per year anyway."
"I'm not sure. I think it's because they trade with the Fire Lily Tribe and welcoming them helps sustain the good relationship that they've built. A member of their tribe is also a prophet, so maybe it's out of respect for him, too. Many are skeptical, but there are some who trust prophets with their lives."
Tenna, who sits directly behind them, scoffs. "People who trust prophets with their lives are fools. All of Whisper Valley thinks that old man Veng is a windbag who spouts off nothing but nonsense."
An old woman laughs mockingly. "This is why I don't understand you. You bring complete strangers into our village because you think the Fates puts these people in your path for you to rescue. Then the moment someone says that they hear messages directly from the Fates, you think they're crazy!"
"Because the Fates are mysterious, Rinka. I was taught that the Fates don't tell people their plans directly. They expect people to seek them out, and then they reveal themselves vaguely through little things in everyday life. My husband believed that nobody hears directly from the Fates, and even in death, I agree with his stance on the issue."
Rinka shakes her head in disappointment. "I've been around longer than you, my dear, and I can tell you that several of Prophet Veng's prophecies have come true. When Her Highness Queen Guayusa was only an infant, he predicted that she would become evil as she grew older. He also predicted that Guayusa of the Lightning Phoenix Clan would one day be the sole, surviving, member of her clan. Eleven years later, both prophecies came to pass. Nobody saw it coming when she made close friends with the Palace Apothecary in the months before her family's destruction, but I saw it because I believed the prophecies."
Roy doesn't miss how Damiana's hair shifts to midnight blue, nor is it missed how utterly in disbelief she sounds. "Are you saying that Her Highness Queen Guayusa poisoned her family with help from the apothecary?! That's impossible! Her Highness Queen Guayusa held a ceremony on the hill overlooking the Lightning Phoenix compound every year to mourn for the loss of her family. Her Highness was heartbroken and wept openly. It was a terrible plague that wiped them all out."
It is fully expected for Rinka to jeer. Instead, she frowns, almost appearing melancholy. "Sweet Fates, the Death Queen has gotten to you. That shouldn't come as a surprise, considering how you're from the Fire Phoenix Clan." The old woman gives a long, deep, sigh. "Child, I want you to quiet your mouth, open your ears, and open your mind. I worked at the Royal Palace as a maid for forty-seven years. I saw many of these events firsthand, and nobody ever paid me any heed. Why would they? I was a maid.
"Back then, Queen Guayusa wasn't a queen. She was a prodigy from the Lightning Phoenix Clan, and she was being personally trained by elite members of King Brulein's Royal Guard. The Lightning Phoenix clan was the most powerful clan in Dabnodian history, and there were no less than ten prodigies to emerge from that clan with each generation. Guayusa's generation was particularly impressive, having twenty-seven prodigious children in total, and each of them magnificently brilliant. King Brulein decided that he wanted to choose a successor from the Lightning Phoenix Clan, and that he would only choose the best of the best, so he took each child into the Palace for training. Once each child was performing at his or her peak, he would decide which child to take on as his apprentice."
Rinka pauses to take a drink of water, which enables Roy to ask a burning question. "Hold on. Your kings and queens take apprentices? Why don't they just have children?"
"Because that is against the sacred Dabnodian tradition," Rinka explains. "There was once a bloodline monarchy more the seven-hundred years ago, and that monarchy became so powerful that the rest of the Dabnodians feared for their lives. According to the history books, one-fifth of the population fled to the wilderness during that time. Once the bloodline monarchy was demolished, a new system was put into place.
"With our current system, each Dabnodian monarch takes an oath of sexual purity, preventing them from producing heirs. Then, usually four or five decades into that monarch's reign, they work with the Royal Council to select a proper apprentice. That apprentice is chosen at age five, trained by their clan's Elders and Palace tutors, and has periodic visits with the monarch. Then at age twelve, that child's identity is revealed to them as a surprise. Instead of receiving an armband or belt from their clan, they receive an armband or belt bearing the Royal Crest. From there, their training is taken to the next level, and they generally assume the throne between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five. The age they assume the throne generally depends on the Royal Council."
"In the case of King Brulein, he chose an apprentice entirely wrong," adds Tenna. "If he wanted an apprentice, he should have chosen one child. Pitting Queen Guayusa and the other children against each other was not a good idea in even the slightest."
"Precisely!" The old woman exclaims. "King Brulein's problem is your problem! He didn't listen to Prophet Veng, and he paid the price. When Guayusa was born, Veng told the Elders of the Lightning Phoenix Clan to raise her discreetly and simply in a nondescript village far from the Palace. He saw evil in her and raising her in the Capital City would cause all of their deaths. They didn't listen. A decade later, Prophet Veng gave that same prophecy to King Brulein himself! He told King Brulein to banish that girl from the city and to keep her far from the Palace. Just like the clan Elders, he didn't listen! Not only that, but he kept Guayusa in the competition to be his apprentice! Then when that cunning girl started following his apothecary around like a puppy dog, he turned a blind eye to it!
"I just don't understand how nobody noticed how cold and callous that girl was! I also can't believe how naïve King Brulein was. He told the children that he would have one final meeting with the Royal Council to determine who the next Monarch of Dabnod would be, then rubbed it in that it would only be one of them. Then less than a week later, an illness spreads throughout the Lightning Phoenix compound and kills the loved ones closest to the contestants, including her own parents. A coincidence? I think not!"
Damiana protests the tale, though her voice quivers. "Why would Her Highness kill her competitors' families instead of killing her competitors directly? And why would she kill her own parents? That doesn't make any sense."
"It makes perfect sense, child. Killing their parents instead of her competition removed herself from suspicion. That's the same reason she killed her own parents. Then when they returned to the Lightning Phoenix compound for their families' funerals, they became infected by the mysterious illness and died too. As for Guayusa, she wasn't killed because she didn't return for her parents' funerals. She didn't go back because she was 'too distraught to see their corpses'. In less than two weeks, what is now known as the mystery plague killed every single member of her clan. This included her clan's elders.
"Guayusa was only eleven years old, so nobody suspected her, but I know what I saw. When I was tidying her chambers the morning after her coronation, the child put on her armband bearing the Royal Crest with a heinous little smirk on her face. The previous day she was weeping on the balcony when she accepted her armband in front of Capital City's citizens. Too sad to accept such a great honor, she'd said. But in private… oh that smirk! And her hair and eyes, they were glowing more gold than the sun! It was then that I realized Prophet Veng was right. That little Guayusa was an evil, evil, child."
Although the story is difficult to argue with, the Noble Lady still tries. "It could've been a coincidence. Nobody knows for certain that it wasn't an illness that killed everyone."
This time it is not Rinka, but Linden who replies. "We don't need proof of poison to know that she killed them. All you need is to be around Queen Guayusa for long enough. I've been around her plenty, and I know that she's wicked. They don't call her Guayusa the Death Queen for nothing."
"You've met her personally?" asks Rinka.
"Yes. All Royal Knights, Squires, and Pages have met Queen Guayusa, at least from a distance. It was about a year-and-a-half ago when I met her up close. She accompanied my squadron on a mission to the fifth province. A man from a harbor town called Twi put in a request for help from the Capital City. There was a band of pirates making life in Twi miserable – they would stay at the town inn for free, act rambunctiously at the tavern, steal supplies from the mercantile, and the townspeople's homes often got burned down if they fought back.
"It wasn't just my squadron, but two others went, as well the Knight Masters who'd trained us. For many of us, this was our last crucial mission before ranking up from Squire to Knight, and we would do anything to accomplish it. Especially me. I wasn't even close to ranking up to Knight, but I still wanted to prove myself. There were times that I would freeze in the face of danger, and for once, I wanted to prove that I could be fearless. When Queen Guayusa invited us into her throne room and asked us to follow whatever orders she gave, I knelt before her and took a vow to obey without hesitation. Had I known what she would ask of us, I would have stood up and walked out of there. That mission still gives me nightmares."
Aika reaches over and squeezes her husband's hand. "It's okay. I still get nightmares, too, so we're in this together."
"There was a female squadron who joined in on that mission?" Tenna asks with a raised brow.
"Umm… Not exactly. I was from the town of Twi. That mission is when I met Linden."
Aika's hair and eyes, which are normally yellow, shift completely to black. Linden wraps one arm around his wife's shoulders and places the other on her enlarged abdomen for comfort, although his features are equally dark. As for Damiana, her features are midnight blue. While they are not a couple, Roy squeezes her hand anyway. This does nothing to change her coloring, yet her posture relaxes.
"Yes," the Water Flower Nobleman confirms, "Twi is where I first met Aika, but I didn't meet her until that evening. That morning my squadron and the others stood on the beach about five miles away from the town. It was before sunrise and the cove was hidden by cliffs, so it would have been nearly impossible for anyone from Twi to find us. The people who did find us were the pirates who had been terrorizing the town. At first, I thought they were coming to attack, and I was prepared to put up a fight. Instead, the captain emerged from the ship while the rest of his crew stayed behind. The pirate captain walked straight up to Queen Guayusa and he looked very confident! When that happened, I thought he was surrendering and asking Her Highness for mercy.
"It turned out that all of my guesses were wrong. Queen Guayusa pulled a large sack of coins from her phoenix's saddle bag, gave it to the pirate captain, and told him that he'd done well! I was so confused! And naïve… Very naïve. That pirate captain dropped a massive clue that something dark was about to happen. He told the queen, 'You're welcome, Highness. My crew has made life hell for these people just as you asked. Now that they think you're here to stop us, nobody will suspect what's really coming'. I had a bad feeling in my gut, but I ignored it.
"Once the pirates left and Queen Guayusa gave her orders, the bad feeling got worse, but I still ignored it. She gave us very bizarre orders. We were to go into every house and every business and search people for crescent-shaped tattoos. If they had one, she said it would be located on their left pectoral or on the center of their upper back. After searching each house, we were to lock each family in their cellar and place them under house arrest. The reason we were supposed to give each family was that they were 'being protected from another pirate raid'. We would then wait for Guayusa to come around and collect the numbers of people bearing the marks. From there she'd had no further instructions. She just told us to keep the townspeople under lock and key and to ensure that our count was accurate.
"My squadron mates and I thought that these orders were strange. Even so, we searched each home without question. Surprisingly, only a couple of families had people who were bare of tattoos. Most homes had two or more townsfolk with a black, waning crescent, tattoo, and each person with the crescent mark fought back like a wild animal to keep us from discovering it. Thankfully, Twi was a town of water users, so that evened out the playing field for me and my squadron. My squadron had mostly water users with the exceptions of an air user and a fire user. We were able to lock them in their cellars and freeze the doors shut without much difficulty. Or at least I thought that was a good thing at the time. Knowing what I know now, I would have thrown the cellar doors open after my squadron mates left and told them to run.
"Throughout the day, I noticed that more members of the Queen's Royal Guard and more Royal Knights kept showing up. By late that afternoon, Twi was crawling with soldiers, and most of them were guarding houses that contained townspeople. By the time early evening came, Death Queen Guayusa had made her way to my squadron. We reported the numbers of people who'd had crescent-shaped tattoos, and then she'd moved on to the next group. About an hour after that, she'd gathered all of her men who weren't guarding townspeople together in the town center."
Now it is Aika who holds her husband rather than vice versa. Tears are running down the boy's cheeks. Raezik would call Linden a man, as would the rest of Whisper Valley, and most likely the rest of Dabnodian society. As Roy looks upon him, however, he sees the face of a fifteen-year-old boy who has been exposed to enough terror to last him a lifetime. When the boy continues, his voice cracks.
"Guayusa told us to torch the town. She gave those of us who weren't fire users torches and told us to burn down every building in sight. By the time the moon rose, she said that every building and every person should be nothing but a pile of ash. Too many people with tattoos. That was her only reason." A bout of heavy, grieved, sobs hits to boy. "Guayusa the Death Queen is the evilest person I have ever met! She walked through the town with her head held high, using lightning to torch buildings herself. A woman and a child managed to escape one house, and when the Queen found them, they begged her for mercy. She zapped the child dead, laughed, and then killed the woman.
"That smile you were talking about the day after Guayusa's coronation? I know what smile you mean, Rinka. There are books from Earth that my brother used to read; my brother was a Scribe. He said the there are humans who believe in evil spirits called demons and that the king of those spirits is called Lucifer. The best way to describe Guayusa's smile is that it looks like Lucifer's smile. When I looked into her eyes that day, it looked like it was the king of demons gazing out at us.
"And what did I do? Nothing. Her guard was down. I easily could have impaled her with one of my ice spears. Who knows? There may have been other Knights present who would have helped me. But me being a coward, I did nothing. Using the commotion as a cover, I tossed my torch aside and fled to the beach. Once I was a mile or so down the coast, I took cover behind a grove of tall rocks. The sun was setting, so nobody saw me. It was too dark. I just sat there and watched Twi burn."
"No, you didn't," Aika says softly. The doe-eyed girl rests her head on top of Linden's, providing as much comfort as possible. Knowing that her husband can speak no more, she continues. "I was collecting mollusks from tidepools when I saw the flames. My mother was busy with laundry, and my father was busy running our mercantile, so I told them that I would collect food for dinner. The tidepools were practically empty, so finding enough mollusks for dinner took a lot longer than I anticipated – all day practically. Before I knew it, it was getting dark and suddenly, my entire town was on fire. I tried going back to find my mom and dad, but a strange man popped out from behind the rocks, put a hand over my mouth, and told me to stay quiet. I was so scared! At first, I thought Linden wanted to hurt me, but once he told me everything, I realized that he saved my life."
"We hid behind those rocks all night," the Water Flower Nobleman says at last. "When the sun came out and Queen Guayusa's troops were gone, we went back to Twi. Absolutely nothing was left. Just ashes and singed foundations of buildings. I didn't want to go back to the Capital City, and Aika didn't have a home anymore, so we decided to stick together even though we were complete strangers. It ended well. We got married a month after meeting and drifting from town to town together, and later we decided to settle in Whisper Valley. Life still isn't the same, though. I know that Guayusa the Death Queen is still burning down towns, and that my friends and family are still following her obediently without a second thought. That woman is evil, and she needs to be dethroned."
Rinka walks over and sits on an empty portion of the bench beside Linden before resting a weathered hand on his back. "If this doesn't prove Prophet Veng's prophecy, then I don't know what will. Tenna, feel lucky that you and Caen have lived in Whisper Valley for your entire lives. The Capital City is a wicked, corrupt, place with a wicked, corrupt, queen. Whisper Valley is a quiet, safe, place. Enjoy it."
So entranced was Roy by Linden and Aika's woeful tale that he hasn't looked at Damiana in ages. Now the Noble Lady's hair is no longer midnight blue. Her curled tresses are blacker than a moonless sky, and her irises are like pieces of coal. Her knees are pulled to her chest and she is rocking back and forth. Completely on impulse, Roy throws and arm around her shoulders. If this soothes her, it isn't by much.
"I can't believe you're saying that Her Highness killed her entire clan and then burned down a village just because of some people with tattoos. That can't be true. Her Highness Queen Guayusa has always been so kind to me."
"Only because you're from the Fire Phoenix Clan," Rinka says. "Her apprentice is from that clan, so she can't have your people seeing her as a bloodthirsty monster. She isn't a kindhearted person, Lady Damiana. All of her behavior is strategic."
A hush falls over the group. The entire time Roy continues holding Damiana, because holding her is the only thing he can think to do. It's as if all memories surrounding her happy-go-lucky childhood in the Capital City are fragile. They're as fragile as fine china. Now, the very idea that the monarch who was always kind could be some kind of cold, soulless, psychopath who takes joy in murdering people has shattered those memories. The memories have been shattered as easily as fine china is broke when it is dropped on concrete.
At long last, Rinka asks a question. If Damiana's memories weren't fractured before, they certainly are after this inquiry. In fact, Roy thinks that his own brain might be broken.
"Speaking of the Death Queen's apprentice, what is it like sharing the same name as her?"
Immediately, the girl raises her head to gawk at the old lady. Tresses are such a bright shade of green that Roy has to shield his eyes. "What? I don't get it. What are you talking about?"
Despite how miserable he looks at the story he'd shared, Linden manages a chuckle. "Your given name is Damiana. That's the same name as the Death Queen's apprentice. She's much younger than you are, so we know that you can't be the same person. When I last saw her, she was nine, so she must be eleven by now. You look exactly like her, too. Just older. It must have been interesting having a smaller version of yourself running around who was in training to be the next Queen of Dabnod."
Though her legs are wobbly, Damiana manages to stand. Upon standing, she walks closer to Linden and Rinka. When she speaks, she stands uncomfortably close to them, as if to be sure that they are real and that their words are real.
"The next Queen of Dabnod? Y-you're saying that D-Damiana of the F-Fire Phoenix Clan is being trained by Her Highness Queen Guayusa to be Dabnod's n-next Q-Queen?!"
Rinka bursts out into loud, mocking, guffaws. "I hope it's nice under that rock of yours. It seems a whole lot nicer than reality."
Tenna stomps on the old woman's foot prior to nodding at Linden so that he may explain further.
"Yes," says the Water Flower Nobleman with a cautious smile; perhaps overly cautious. "Damiana of the Fire Phoenix is being apprenticed as the next Queen of Dabnod. She was at the Palace quite frequently. It was always a shame to see an evil person like Guayusa corrupt such a sweet little girl."
Rinka scoffs. "Corrupt? Please. That little girl probably doesn't even know that she's being corrupted. Did you notice how the Queen and the Royal Council have that child isolated in a cabin only a ten-minute walk away from the Royal Palace? A little bit strange that she doesn't get to live at the Fire Phoenix compound with the rest of her clan, don't you think? Based on talk from the other servants, she isn't allowed to go to the Palace City, either. And during those rare times when she visits the compound to meet with her Clan Elders, she is never allowed to wander the compound. As for her visits at the Palace, she was always accompanied by the Queen or her brother. Saeran of the Fire Phoenix is more loyal to the crown than most of the Palace City, so he'd be a safe person to leave her with."
"You think I didn't notice, Rinka? Everyone has noticed!" Linden exclaims. "That's why I feel bad for that little girl! She is living in a world that is cold and isolated that is filled only with Crown Loyalists. Of course, the queen and the Royal Council aren't going to let Damiana learn about the nickname 'Guayusa the Death Queen' or about the thousands of Dabnodians with crescent-shaped tattoos. Damiana won't make an effective figurehead when she takes the throne if she knows the truth, will she?"
Roy cannot believe what he is hearing. Apparently neither can his teammate. Her curled locks have shifted from lime green to pure soot nearly instantly.
"Wait? It was the Royal Council and Queen Guayusa who decided that they should live in that cabin and that they shouldn't visit the city? I thought my—er… Damiana's… father wanted them to have a calm, pleasant, life away from the prying eyes of others."
Rinka laughs once more. "Wow! You Fire Phoenixes sure are easy to brainwash! I'm sure that's exactly what the Clan Elders want all of you to think."
"And how are you so sure that Damiana is supposed to be the next Queen of Dabnod? Dabnod's next Monarch could be anyone."
Linden appears concerned to say the least and horrified to say the worst. "We're sure it's Damiana of the Fire Phoenix Clan because everyone knows. It was announced when she was five years old the same as it is with every apprentice. The only person who doesn't know is Damiana. She is going to learn who she is on her twelfth birthday. Again, that's like every other Dabnodian Royal Apprentice."
Damiana laughs, sounding in disbelief. The more she laughs, the more the sound borders on insanity. "Oh. Of course. That's right. Damiana is eleven years old. Her birthday isn't for another eight months." Tears stream down her face. "As for Dabnod, it will be destroyed in four months. By the time her twelfth birthday finally comes, Dabnod will be exploded into millions of tiny pieces, and learning will be impossible."
The girl's legs give out, and she collapses to the ground. Rinka, Aika, Linden, and Tenna all gawk in complete and utter stupefaction. Tenna is the one who comes out of her baffled trance first, and when she does, it is with anger.
"For crying out loud! Who introduced Damiana to Prophet Veng? He has been saying that Dabnod is going to be destroyed in his stupid 'prophecy from the Fates' for the past fifteen years! It hasn't happened yet, it isn't going to, and now his prophecy has upset Damiana!" The mountaineer kneels down and lays a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Lady Fire Phoenix. I don't know what Prophet Veng told you, but Dabnod is still going to be here four months from now. In eight months, the little girl's birthday will come, she will be officially announced as a Queen in Training, and everything will be alright. Don't you worry."
"No! Everything won't be alright! Dabnod is going to explode, and all that little girl will have left to help her survive are her happy childhood memories! Now I know that all of those happy childhood memories were a lie!"
Roy is every bit as shocked as Damiana. The Queen of Dabnod? That makes so much sense! The night he learned that she was an alien in their hotel room in Metropolis, he thought it was weird that she spent so much time with the planet's monarch on such a personal basis. All of that special attention, coupled with her status as a prodigy and her uncanny survival, makes so much more sense now! She was in training to be Dabnod's next queen! Considering how Queen Guayusa is a bloodthirsty monster, her level of isolation makes a lot more sense, too. Apparently, these occurrences didn't seem as weird to Damiana as they did to Roy, because she is curled on the ground in fetal position crying in shock.
It takes every ounce of his strength, but Roy finally gets to his feet. He saunters toward Damiana, picks her small body up from the floor, and carries her in his arms bridal style. She clings to him while gasping out stuttered, English, words.
"P-please, Roy. G-get me o-out of here! P-please!"
"Of course. I'll take you back to our compartment. We'll be all by ourselves where you will be able to process all of this." Roy's words to her are English and whispered. When he addresses everyone else, they are Dabnodian. "I'm sorry to cut this short. We won't be able to welcome the wanderers from Province Ten tonight. Damiana is a bit…um…distraught."
"Yes. We can see that."
Emerald eyes form a sharp glare as he narrows them in the old lady's direction. Thankfully Aika is more understanding.
"It's okay. It seems like you've both been through a lot recently. If she was unfamiliar with what Dabnod is really like outside of the Capital, then it makes sense that she's having a meltdown."
"Thanks, Aika. We'll see everyone later."
With that said, Roy leaves the gathering room and ascends the hallway until they reach their compartment. He tucks Damiana into their shared sleeping bag and then crawls in beside her where he hugs the girl as close to his chest as physically possible. They stay there all night. Tenna, Caen, Aika, and Linden do not return until midmorning the next day.
A/N: Admittedly, there was a lot more that I wanted to reveal to Damiana about her past, but I felt like what I revealed in this chapter was enough. Learning that Queen Guayusa, whom she idolizes, is an evil psychopath would be plenty to knock her off her feet, let alone learning that she was supposed to be the next Queen of Dabnod and that she was being brainwashed. I put Damiana through hell in this chapter, so I didn't want to stack any more of the surprises that she is supposed to learn on her until later.
As for the other portions of this chapter, hopefully the couples making love in the yertkitz wasn't too disturbing. It was supposed to be funny and only a little disturbing. As for the boardgame Roy was playing, Phoenix Flight, that was also an attempt at humor. Hopefully it worked haha. Anyway, thank you for reading! Have a very happy New Years! Until next time :)
Forever and Always,
OCQ