Kingdom Come

Chapter 9

Simon stopped the horse close to Mairo's border. Kerri was startled awake by a loud booming in the distance. The horse reared up and Simon struggled to calm it as it wailed into the night. Kerri, not holding onto Simon, fell backward. After dusting himself off, Simon climbed off the now calmed horse and held it tightly, leading it towards Kerri.

            "I just can't get a break," Kerri laughed.

            "Are you okay?"

            "I'm fine." Kerri looked at Simon, swearing he saw something more than just a bit of concern on his face. Was it possible that he had panicked over Kerri falling off a horse? "Is it going to be wise keeping a horse while we're going onto an active battlefield? Especially if it'll be bucking like this?"

            "No, probably not, but how else would we travel?"

            Kerri died a little bit inside. "On our feet?"

            "That'll take forever! We can't just waste time like that!"

            "If people are going to be shooting at us for riding a horse, or if our horse is going to be skittish and run off anyway, shouldn't we just start on our feet? It'll be more likely that we stay alive that way, and that's the more important thing." Simon grumbled something about how he hated when Kerri was right and started taking things off of the horse, throwing it on the ground a little more harshly than he should have. "Careful! We don't want to have to replace all of that!"

            Simon started moving around more carefully when he sat the last couple of things on the ground. Kerri looked around; they were at another wall but despite how late it had to be, the sky beyond the wall was orange, tainting the sky above them to a pinker color. Kerri couldn't hear any nearby sounds, which he supposed was good, but the amount of loud booming noises in the distance concerned him.

            "I don't suppose I could convince you to keep the first watch, could I?" Simon dragged Kerri's thoughts away from the storm of terrible possibilities he'd come up with. Kerri nodded. "What's up?"

            "We're heading into a warzone. There's a lot that could happen."

            "We have to look on the bright side. There's a chance we get out alive and then continue on to Jolier."

            "Or we die horrible deaths and the only person who would suspect a thing would be Tennika, and she wouldn't know either way."

            "We'll be fine, Ker."

            "You don't know that."

            "No, but one of us has to hope and it seems like it's my turn."

            The two men sat silently for a moment, staring at the orange sky above them. It was orange for miles in the direction of Jolier. If it wasn't so terrible, it would almost be so beautiful that not painting it would be a tragedy. It had been years since Kerri had painted, but he remembered loving the sensation of memorializing the beautiful things he saw in the world. Another large boom shook the ground beneath them at the same time Simon threw himself backward.

            "Simon!"

            "I'm fine, Ker," Simon laughed. "Just tired. I think I'm going to call it a night."

            "Oh. Okay. Goodnight, Simon."

            "Goodnight, Ker."

            Kerri thought about the painting he would want to paint next, frustrated that he might lose the details or be able to capture them right. The sky was like a blood-orange lemonade, the pink sandy streaks that snuck into the blue in one direction and into the tangerine orange in another. Simon's face had been illuminated in the pale light in a way that made him look at peace, his hair, despite getting greasy from the lack of washing it, had seemed fluffy and floating.

            Now, Simon was gently breathing in his sleep. How he'd fallen asleep with the surrounding noise was beyond Kerri, but perhaps he'd been so exhausted from their ride that the noise just didn't matter anymore. The horse had run off almost instantly after Simon had finished unloading their things, now left in a pile about three feet to Simon's left. There was Kerri's walking stick, two bags, and a jacket that Simon had haphazardly thrown over himself before finally falling asleep.

            "I wish you wouldn't go," Kerri said as though Simon could still hear him. He was staring at the stars that were struggling to show themselves through the bright sky. "It's selfish, I know, but we never fully made up. Or, I don't think so, at least." Simon kept sleeping. "I love you. I'm sorry I never had the guts to tell you."

            Simon snorted in his sleep and rolled over, pulling the jacket closer as he did. His eyes were twitching in his sleep and Kerri thought that he must be dreaming. He hoped that they were good dreams.

***

            "I love you."

            Now? Kerri had decided to say it now? After years of knowing it, after years of knowing each other, and two years on and off of dating, Kerri said it when they were on the edge of an active warzone when Simon was supposed to be sleeping. Simon couldn't tell if he wanted to laugh or cry and the irony of the situation, so instead, he pretended to snore and sleep. It came out more like a snort than a snore, but it hardly mattered. Kerri didn't say anything else, and Simon didn't "wake up."

            He couldn't decide if he was angry or sad. He was torn between leaving or staying. But they'd already come so far, hadn't they? They couldn't turn back now, and he had a duty to fulfill anyway. If he didn't return and become the next king, worse things could happen. To Kerri, to Tennika, to Yulli. Who else was affected by what had already happened? So many people. Too many people to think about. Simon didn't have a choice.

            Hefell asleep knowing that he had to keep going.