Queen Of Nothing

Part Ten: The Waiting Waters

"We need to be careful," Netilaa heard Cerlic say, his voice low as he spoke to his companions. "Passing through the villages with the queen as company."

"Agreed," Ember acknowledged with a grunt. "If anyone recognizes her for what she is, things could get nasty quick."

"Nothing we can't handle," Deinall chimed in, the grin evident in his voice though Netilaa couldn't see it behind her blindfold.

"Still," the king continued. "We need to avoid any unnecessary interactions or altercations. This is too important to risk something going wrong before we even make it to the Kaskadan wall."

Netilaa's fingers played with the lace of her dress, the iron of her cuffs chafing her wrists with the movement. The sensation offered some sort of escape from the way her stomach was twisting while she listened to her captors plot her end as if she weren't sitting right beside them.

"You know," the queen began, her tone snarky to hide the unease she was feeling. "I'm blindfolded, not deaf."

Cerlic snorted and Deinall choked on his laugh, though she was certain she had earned a sideways glance from the king. Netilaa wanted to remove the blindfold, to see the irritation flare in his silver eyes, but she continued to fidget with the edge of her dress instead. It was an act of self restraint not to rip the cloth from her eyes and take off into any direction away from them.

She wondered how far she would get before one of them pounced, took her to the ground and restrained her once more. Certainly it would be worth the try, she thought as her companions carried on their conversation, discussing the route around the villages they would take. They had brought the horses to a stop along running water, from what Netilaa could hear, and the smell of honey filled her nose from the flowers that she longed to see.

They had spent hours riding, until the queen's legs had gone numb and she was sure she would pass out sitting up in the king's arms. When they had come to a halt, she had silently thanked him for the reprieve as he had helped ease her back down to the ground with little effort. It was a reminder that she was not stronger than him, warrior or not.

"We can ride north of Serifique," Cerlic was suggesting, the sound of rustling indicating that they were leaned over a map. When the queen finally dared to shift the fabric over her eyes, she confirmed that they were, in fact, preoccupied enough that she glanced around, searching for an escape route in the dim light.

They had stopped along a small river that met with the little path they had been following, the grass and water offering reprieve for the horses as well as they grazed. Netilaa eyed the water, wondering if she could manage to cross it quick enough to disappear in the trees beyond. The water rushed along quickly, lacking the glow of magic that the fae waters had back in Lok Dal. She couldn't gauge its depth from her position, but if she could move fast, Netilaa could reach its edge before they noticed the movement.

The queen didn't allow herself the time to think about the decision, her legs pushing her into action before she could weigh the consequences too heavily. She heard the curse behind her as her captors reacted, quicker than she had anticipated. Netilaa refused to hesitate as she dove into the water, barely avoiding their grasp as she was swept away in an undercurrent.

Everything swirled, and the queen couldn't find her way to the surface as she plummeted with the weight of her bonds. Water filled her mouth as she struggled against the strong undertow, her legs kicking for anything to push herself back to the air her lungs screamed for. Netilaa could feel herself drowning, her chest aching as water flooded her throat.

Surely, she thought, this would be a better way to go. The queen would die on her own terms, despite the weight of the oracle's words pounding through her mind.