Rowan

Chapter Five

So here's how this will work. For the next month, I will be updating on a schedule! This is being done so that I'll have a full month to dedicate just to the Property of a Gordon Rewrite. Once this month is up, I'll return to my poor updating haha. Come back every Friday for an update!

The mornings were brutal in comparison to the rest of the day. I was woken up by yelling each time: Sage telling his men that it was time to get ready. I was never able to go back to sleep, as the noise didn't stop until nighttime.

They would all multitask. Some would cook a small breakfast for us while others worked on putting everything up. Then there would be those who fed the horses and put the equipment on them.

The rides through the forest were dull, for the most part. The horse marched together through the thickets of foliage, with Sage occasionally barking orders at the others.

Once, we passed a deer. The guards said they could hunt it down and kill it for meat but I objected. I told them they were free to kill for food on their own time, but I wouldn't allow them to do so while I was there. Fortunately, by the time we all stopped arguing about the issue, the deer was long gone.

The nights were equal parts of silence and noise. They would talk when they finished setting up the equipment; some would even sing with bellowing voices. The noise would gradually descend as they began announcing their departure for the night, one by one. Silence would then take the place of noise until the sun rose, beginning the cycle once again.

"There are a few things you should be aware of before meeting the King today."

I turned towards Sage, opening my backpack as I did so. Todd walked over and hopped in without having to be told. I swung it over my shoulder before finally giving Sage my full attention.

"Are you going to tell me or wait until I guess correctly?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. This trip had stripped away any of my sympathy for the King and his guards.

They had taken me from my home and from my forest. It would be a long time before I finally saw my father or the forest's animals again, all because of them.

Sage narrowed his eyes, finally giving a sign that my temper was affecting him. "If you talk to the King like that, you will not last long. That is certain."

"I've heard about his horrid temper. It seems as if I breathe wrong, I will be harmed. So does my attitude truly make a difference?" I snapped back and he clenched his jaw.

"He is as human as you and I, Rowan. He just needs help to see that," he said, taking a deep breath before looking up at the sky as if the world's solutions were written there.

I hesitated before walking closer to him, the grass beneath me stirring. "Perhaps the King only needs a friend, not to be tamed. Perhaps, all he needs is someone to place his trust in," I tried, and Sage's eyes hardened within seconds as he glanced back at me.

"Do you think I haven't tried helping him and that I stand by as he gets worse? I would not have come to you if it did anything," he replied coldly and harshly, enough so that I took a step back in surprise.

Sage caught the action but turned his attention towards his men. "If we want to be there before night, we need to leave now!" He snapped, and that was it. He no longer felt the need to warn me about the King's tendencies or even talk to me.

The men got on their horses and I watched Sage climb onto his, running a hand through her mane. It was amazing how soft he could be with her when he acted so harshly with me.

I climbed on after Sage, feeling his body coil when my arms wrapped around him. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't be touching you," I remarked, his body tensing further.

"And if I had a choice, you wouldn't be talking," he muttered back before commanding his men to move.

The ride was characteristically quiet, but the tension curled itself between Sage and I spoke volumes. It teemed, waiting to snatch one of us up and make a scene.

I ignored it as best as I could, focusing on the forest surrounding us. We were a few hours through the journey when the forest ended, presenting a long, dusty dirt road.

The horses turned, trotting along the path. I could tell by the sudden murmuring among the guards that we were close to our destination.

We veered left, the dirt path our guidance. The more the guards talked, the faster my heart started beating. It knew we could very well be heading to the place where it would stop permanently.

Even Todd was becoming restless, sensing something was off. He squirmed in my backpack, chattering softly in my ear.

I shushed him, but all it did was stop his movement. He continued to chatter away at me as if he was waiting for a true response, but I couldn't give him one.

Abruptly, the men started pointing forward, some grinning and laughing. I held my head up to see past Sage's shoulder and try to catch a glimpse of what they were so thrilled about—at the sight alone, my breath caught in my throat.

Peering above the trees in front of us was a large building, larger than any I had ever seen. It stood proudly tall, its top half transforming into either pointed, scaly roofs or thick, hindering towers. I was already in awe and I had yet to see the lower half.

What caught my attention most were the gargoyle-like statues that stood on top of various points of the castle. They were large enough that I could make out the shape of several wolves, even from this far away. The wolves were portrayed as gruesome, their teeth bared to display the canines everyone was afraid of.

I frowned, my sympathy for the King disappearing. He was part of the reason wolves had been hunted to near extinction. When a wolf ventured into a town, people would claim it thirsted for blood when it had been merely curious. It was then they decided wolves needed to be hunted down before they killed any humans.

I had personally been near wolves within the forest, and they weren't monsters or savages. That was a title I reserved solely for humans, who selfishly considered only one side of the story. The wolves were majestic and inquisitive, nothing like the displays King Sandalius had set up.

The castle grew in size as we went through the woods in front of us, taking a shortcut. I instinctively pressed closer to Sage, my nerves taking over. I was grateful he remained silent.

Then just like that, the wooded area ended and all that stood in front of us was the castle, home of King Sandalius—the man who I would tame or be killed by.