Dawned

Chapter 6

Xavier woke up to the sound of a loud whistle. He sat up, and immediately fell back down. It hurt to move. He looked around. He was on a train. Was he still alive? Or rather, did he not die again? He looked for people. No one was in the train car. He looked at himself. Cuts dug into him all over. They were bandaged and tended to. But they still hurt like hell.

His legs were uninjured enough that he could get up without getting hurt. Or at least without being in agony. He walked to the door, but he couldn't move his arm to open it. Just then, the door opened, slamming into Xavier and knocking him down. His entire body stung, and a few cuts reopened. "Oh my gosh I'm sorry." Said the person opening the door. "I didn't know you got up, let alone went to the door." The man helped him up, and laid him back on the cushions he woke up on. "Are you ok?" Asked the man. "Define ok." Said Xavier. "Are you feeling better?" He asked "No, I feel like shit." Said Xavier. "Here let me grab you something."

The man left the room, and came back with a bottle. "Here, take these." He game Xavier a few pills. He swallowed them, which itself felt awful with the cut on his throat. But they helped. A surprising amount, in fact. He almost instantly felt better. "Those should help with your wounds." Said the man. "Can you walk?" Xavier tried to stand up, but he still hurt, so he couldn't get off the ground. But with the help of the man, he managed to get up and walk around. "Thanks." Said Xavier. "No problem." Said the man. "Your name is Xavier, right? My name's Joshua, by the way."

The two of them slowly walked to the next train car, where every one else was waiting. "Nice if you to finally join us." Said Tasha. "You've been out for practically the whole train ride. We're almost there now." Xavier sat down on the only part of hit that didn't hurt. Amy was also here, her arms still severed. Another person was also in here; a bull. He had yellow hair, which kept falling in front of his eyes, so he had to repeatedly move it out of the way. 

Suddenly, Xavier felt an incline. He looked out the window. They were going upward, to the top of plateau. In the distance, Xavier could hear the station blaring that sound from before, and it got louder as they approached it.

The train slowed down, and came to a halt at the station. He and Tasha got off the train, leaving Amy, Joshua, and the bull on it. Amy needed to go back to Chester City, and the other two were heading to a place called RSC. "Thanks, Vin!" Said Tasha. "No problem," said the train conductor. Xavier watched as the train began moving again. He looked to the left where the train had come from. Like in the Great City, the tracks abruptly stopped. He looked at the train, but like the tracks, it wasn't there, yet he could still hear it's whistle in the distance.

He and Tasha walked up to the town that was nearby. It didn't seem too modern, as it had many huts made of stone, mud, and brick. "The wasp nest is kind of secluded," said Tasha. "But this is the quickest way there. We need permission from Sarah to get through though. She's nice though; I'm sure she'll let us through to get to the nest." They walked through the village, and as they did Xavier saw many people here, doing average every-day things as if everything was fine and normal. Eventually, the approached a large castle. It was looming over the courtyard that was in front of it. The castle itself seemed welcoming, but gave him the feeling that they'd be much less welcomed if you were to go inside.

There was a guard at the entrance to the castle, looking at the orange and yellow sky. He saw them approaching, and put his broadsword down, and changed to a defensive stance. "What is your reason for entering Princess Sarah's Palace?" He asked. "We just need to take a shortcut to the wasp nest." Said Tasha. "Did you inform Sarah that you'd be arriving here for that purpose?"
"No," replied Tasha. "Are you from this village?" He asked. "No, but-" The guard stopped her and said, "then you are not allowed in her palace. Please leave."
"Hector!" Said a voice. "We are welcoming here; they are guests to our village and our castle, and it's rude to deny them a simple passage to their destination.

The voice showed itself from the garden. It was a young girl in an elegant purple dress. Her skin was a beautiful brown, and her hair was bunned up on either side of her head, and created one large curl under each bun. "These people asked for a passage to the wasp nest, and we will escort them to it." The guard nodded, and backed away from the palace doors. Sarah looked over at Xavier and Tasha, and her face lit up. "Hector," she said, "fetch two guards to escort these two through the castle."
"Of course, ma'am." Hector entered the castle, and closed the doors behind him. "Tasha!" Exclaimed Sarah. She ran to Tasha and gave her a hug. "Thanks for coming over! It's been quite uneventful here, with Hector letting no one in."

The doors of the palace opened, and Hector and two other guards walked out. They began walking into the castle, but the guards created a wall, blocking Sarah from Xavier and Tasha. They went upstairs in the castle, and one of the guards reluctantly spoke; "I apologize ma'am, but isn't the shortcut to the wasp nest in the basement?"
"Yes," said Sarah. "But we couldn't send them there right now. It's almost night, and you know that the night crawlers get testy once it gets dark." She stopped and turned to the guard. "Would be so be so kind as to prepare a meal for our guests?" She asked. The guard hesitated, then turned around and walked back to the stairs. Sarah turned to the other guard and said, "would you go and prepare two rooms? I will take our guests to the balcony while we wait." The second guard continued walking back down the hall towards the bedrooms. Sarah led her guests to a large stained-glass window, and opened its door to a large balcony. It was surrounded by three walls of other rooms. The final side was open, facing the Sun. At the edge, were shrubs, with beautiful orange-black flowers in full bloom. The sun had already said farewell to the land below, but still said it's final goodbyes to the floral floor above the rest of the garden.
"It's a wonderful view, is it not?" Said Sarah. They stared at it for a bit longer, before they heard the door creaking behind them. The second guard showed, and said, "Ma'am, the guest's rooms are ready. Their food is not, however."
"Thank you," said Sarah. "Take him to his room." She pointed to Xavier. "He seems to be in worse shape, however I'de like to keep watching this view with Tasha." The guard nodded, and gestured Xavier into the palace. He brought him down the hall, then into a room. Inside it had not lights, but a glowing moss growing on odd shaped structures around the room. The bed was comfortable, and Xavier realized he hadn't slept in a bed since he's been here. It was soft and warm, and Xavier quickly fell asleep.

***

Sarah watched as the sun left the sky, and the flowers began to wrinkle. Tasha had gone to her room to sleep. Sarah wondered about her life, and what it was like. Her thoughts were interrupted by a buzzing sound. She watched as a bee flew onto an Evening Lindal. "Hello there," she said quietly. The bee flew up and landed an her, looking around. It then began to buzz around her head. She walked into the castle, and saw the guard patrolling the hallway, and called for him. "Would you prepare another room? We have another guest joining us tonight."