Kingdom of tears

Chapter eight

“But does anyone have any plans on what we should do in the first place,” Victoria asked after a beat of awkward silence.

Zillah and Erebus shook their heads, but Zion spoke up, “I think I might have a start.” Victoria motioned for him to continue. “There has been one case of somebody escaping the dungeons. If we can track him down we might be able to get some proof of what the king has been doing.”

“Was the guy innocent?” Erebus questioned.

“Im…not sure. Even if he was guilty he was beaten horribly, more than he should've been just for shoplifting. The guards have been looking for him since, but from what I've heard, he's fled the kingdom.”

“So the only lead we've got is A: a fugitive. B: not in the kingdom anymore. And C: this could all be false, because it's almost entirely a guess. Great,” Victoria muttered

“Well do you have any other leads,” Zion countered and rolled his eyes

“Don’t you be getting an attitude with me, young man!”

“You're not my mom!”

Victoria sighed and muttered something about ‘teenagers with no manners’.

“But he's right,” Pike announced. “We don't have anything else to go off of. We haven’t had any major breakthroughs in years. Why not try to get something useful for once? I say they should go.”

“But it could be dangerous!”

“Everything about this is dangerous! Nothing about this is safe. In fact, it's probably safer in another kingdom than our own. The knights won’t be watching them like a hawk. They're smart kids. Plus, they've already proven they can protect themselves,” he chuckled.

Victoria rubbed her temples. “I guess you've got a point,” she admitted. “But it doesn't mean i like it!” she said with crossed arms.

“I know, I don't like it either. But it's our best bet on figuring something out.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled.

“Soooo,” Zillah started to ask, “ are we going to a different kingdom?”

“I believe so,” Pike answered.

They had come to an agreement where Zillah Erebus and Zion would travel through the next couple of kingdoms to try and find this guy. Pike and Victoria had agreed to stay in their home kingdom, Findara, and keep a lookout there. The plan was for them all to go home that night and pack. Then they would meet at Erebus’s house , and leave the borders together at one time.

Zillah had started to go back home that night, The Dog in her arms, when he started barking. She looked around to see what he was barking at, but found nothing. “Hush!” she told the dog. “People are asleep.” The Dog continued to bark.

She looked behind her once more and saw someone moving in the shadows. It was the guards. She bolted down the street and heard footsteps behind her. She wanted to try and go to her tent, but then they would know where she lived. Instead she took a sharp turn left. The footsteps were getting louder. NO!, she thought to herself. NOT AGAIN! NOT AGAIN!

She glanced behind her and saw them getting closer. Closer. Closer! She kept taking different turns, deliberately steering them away from her house. Her feet pounded against the pavement and kicked up dust. Her calves were on fire, but she had to keep going. Tears stung her eyes. She wouldn’t be next!

Eventually she couldn’t hear the guards anymore and The Dog had calmed down, but she still sprinted on. She couldn’t risk going back the way she came. What if they were waiting for her.