Korova Avenue || ONC 2022

Chapter 10

The sun was beating on his head as Crow kept watch over Dominique. He attempted to shield his eyes, but the light reflected off the light brown sand. While they traveled, the well-trodden dirt roads and tall evergreens had given way to sandy dunes and scraggly shrubs. Crow could see the heat wavering before his eyes.

At some point, he'd moved the wall of bags to create a little window. He stuck his head through it, now, and looked for a semblance of intelligent life, human or otherwise.

A few minutes passed as Crow stared into the distance. His eyes had started to tear up and he almost went to take a quick nap when he saw something that caught his attention.

He could see something moving. It looked like some sort of statue made of sand, but its head had turned to face their cart.

"Dom! Dominique!" Crow shook her awake.

"What?"

She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Th-there's something out there. It- it moved!"

He pointed to the window and urged Dominique to take a look. She did and immediately started gathering her things.

"It's a sphinx. He'll have to examine the fruit before we're allowed to pass. Do exactly what I do."

Dominique flung her leg over the side and pushed herself out of the wagon. She fell backwards with her legs tucked and her hands across her chest. As soon as she hit the ground she rolled so that she was behind the cart.

Crow nearly screamed. He was shocked that she could do all that with an injured arm and show no sign of discomfort.

Dominique crawled forward and hooked her fingers around the back of the wagon. She swung back with her legs and used the momentum to slip under the buggy.

She knocked on the floor at Crow's feet and whispered, "Come on."

Crow couldn't remember what to do, so he stayed put.

"Push yourself over the side. Make sure you fall on your back."

Dominique began to talk him through the motions. Crow did as he said and found himself lying on the ground as Dominique and the cart traveled farther away. He scrambled forward and waited for his next instructions.

"Push off the ground and slide underneath. Land on your knees if you can."

Crow managed to make it with only a few scrapes. He saw that Dominique was crawling on her hands and knees and did the same.

"When the Sphinx gives the okay, we'll wait five more minutes before trying to get back in so that he doesn't see us."

"Okay."

They crawled underneath the wagon for a couple minutes before coming to a halt. Crow could barely make out voices above him.

"State your name and purpose." Crow assumed that it was the Sphinx speaking.

"Elias, and I'm delivering apples to the king, Your Excellency, sir."

There was a rustle of papers and the wagon moved forward a few inches.

"Are you carrying anything other than what's been documented?"

"No, sir."

"Lift up the bags."

"Yes sir."

Crow could feel the weight lifting off of the wagon as the elf showed the Sphinx his load.

"Approved. Carry on."

"Thank you, sir."

The wagon began to move again. Dominique and Crow stayed below it and crept forward. Dominique turned around and walked backwards for a bit. Then she stuck her head against the ground to look out of their hiding place.

"Quick, let's go before the Sphinx turns around."

She tucked her legs into a ball and put her hands around her neck as the wagon rolled over her. Crow could feel the weight of her hands pushing down on the back of the wagon. He watched her legs vault off the ground, flicking sand behind them.

Her body landed in the wagon with a soft thump.

"Alright, come on."

Crow followed Dominique's moves until he was out from underneath the wagon. He looked for Dominique to instruct him.

"Jump up and roll in."

Crow tried his best, but he landed much louder than he'd intended to. He held his breath for a minute waiting for the driver to turn around. Nothing happened.

The two of them found their way back to the comfortable places they'd been in before. Dominique laid on her back and studied her map for a good ten minutes.

"I think Klaern said that this cart was going to the castle, so we can just ride it there. When the gates are in view we'll have to jump out again. I might know a way to sneak inside."

"Might? Isn't that a bit risky?"

"It is, but it's a risk we have to take. The castle is heavily guarded. Hiding under the wagon won't work."

"I guess we'll have to hope for the best."

"Yeah."

They lapsed into silence as the two of them stared off into the distance. Crow tried not to worry too much, but he was really scared. What if they'd come all this way just to get thrown in some dungeon to rot for eternity? He knew he couldn't bear to sit alone at night and remember the life he's left behind.

As they journeyed on, Crow couldn't help thinking about all of the people back home. It had been nearly three days since he'd left. Someone was bound to have noticed his absence by now. He wondered if they'd called the police, and he'd wondered if Alex suspected that something had happened in the dark shop. Crow tried not to think about his father. The poor man had no one else.

Crow started to question what he was doing. He should've refused when he had the chance, but it was too late for that now. Soon they'd know what was special about him, then Dominique would take him back home. It made him a little bit sad to think about ever seeing her or this place again, but it was probably for the best. Crow didn't want to cause any problems.

"Earth to Crow?"

Crow startled back to reality when he realized that Dominique had been talking to him.

"Sorry. What did you say?"

"Look!"

Crow peered out at the road ahead. White flakes were glittering as they fell from the sky.

"But we were just in the desert, how is it snowing?"

"Magic!"

Crow continued to stare at the horizon and he started to notice some fuzzy shaped in the distance.

"What's up there?"

"I think it might be the outskirts of the noble village."

Crow turned around to see that Dominique was already gathering her things. She tossed one of the apple bags to Crow.

"We have to go now."

She jumped out of the wagon, doing the same as she'd done before. She left her belongings behind and gestured for Crow to toss them to her. When he finished, he joined her on the ground. They laid on the ground until the wagon was several meters away.

Dominique got up and twisted her head left and right. When the coast was clear she hustled into the nearby underbrush.

They began to make their way towards the palace.