The Red Queen #dragon

Chapter 6

 A blinding ray snapped Riselda awake. Water. It was all she could think about. She gasped like a marooned fish. A rush of crackling leaves sounded nearby, boots heavy on the worn ground.

Ken's concerned face appeared in her line of sight. The rough lip of a water skin nuzzled Riselda's aching lips. She drank.

"Slow down you're like a pup sucking on her mother's tit." Ken pulled the water skin away.

Riselda lurched forward, gasping for more.

"Just promise me you'll slow down. I can't have my queen drowning."

"Ha...ha..." Riselda managed to croak. "I promise. More."

Ken grinned, shaking his head in disbelief. He lowered the skin to Riselda's mouth.

When she drank her fill, she turned her attention to the woods, looking for tracks or markings. All was quiet. "What do you make of this place, Ken?"

Ken rolled his wide shoulders. "I scouted down the path a bit while you were asleep. I'm no tracker, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary. The trees don't talk, at least."

Riselda frowned. "We'll need food if we want to make it out."

"So that's it? We're only here to survive? We're supposed to kill a witch, but the bastard gave us nothing to work with."

Riselda inhaled. Burnt flesh still coated her nostrils. She reached for her satchel and struggled to rise. Ken helped her to her feet.

"The Allseer may guide us," Riselda said, strapping the satchel round her waist.

"The Allseer watched as our city burned. Forgive me if I'm not in a penitent mood."

Riselda conceded the point to Ken. "At least the Allseer will get to see me kill the Emperor."

"Killing the Emperor...will it be worth all this trouble?" Ken offered Riselda his sword.

Riselda denied the offer with a raised hand. "At least we'll have a story to tell when we meet our families in the next life."

Ken bit his lower lip. "I want revenge too, but I don't want to lose myself either."

"Sounds like you're telling me not to go for the dragonstone."

"I'm telling you to take this sword right now because I'm a better shot."

Riselda waved her dagger. "That hunk of metal might be useless against the witch. This on the other hand..."

"Was a blade given to you by a monster. I'm not sure we should trust everything he told us. There must be another way."

Riselda's stomach protested aloud. "What other way is there? Anyway, we should find something to eat, and it wouldn't hurt to find water either. Then, we'll argue by a warm fire and remember the dead."

"Can't argue with that."

They ventured deeper into the woods, searching the earth for tracks and the sky for birds. The woods seemed to close in around them, drowning light and sound. Riselda had hoped that winter's bite wouldn't follow them to the Esterlands; the cold stubbornly nipped at their heels and drove warmth out of their bones.

"See anything?" Ken asked.

Riselda shook her head.

The search for game came up fruitless. Once, Ken had come upon a bush full of sprouting buds. No berries. After a while, Ken suggested they look for mint leaves to stave off the pit in their bellies. They came away empty in that area as well. Meanwhile, they kept vigilant watch for any sight of water, finding not a drop. Riselda knew that all tracks eventually led to a water source. If they couldn't find game, they wouldn't find water either. When it grew too dark to see, they settled at a spot under two conjoined trees and made camp. Riselda struck a flint stone to light the bundle of brush they'd piled.

"At least we can keep warm," Ken muttered, lazily throwing aside some pebbles he'd collected.

Riselda soaked her palms in the warmth of the fire, contemplating how they'd go about finding food. Thinking about food only fueled her hunger. Hunger was an old friend. She'd learned that the easiest way to ignore her old friend was to tell stories. Ken and Riselda would often take turns rehashing tales during their hunting trips. Anything to keep themselves from succumbing to the stomach pangs.

"Remember Jon Blackwell?" Riselda asked over the crackling fire.

Jon had been a notorious troublemaker at the Academy. He'd once filled Lector Dross's class with toads and gotten a lashing for it. The next day, termites somehow found their way onto Lector Dross's lectern. When Lector Dross leaned against the lectern one morning, he went crashing down onto the floor. Riselda couldn't recall another time she'd laughed so hard. Of course, Jon was eventually kicked out of the Academy.

"He went out a hero," Ken said, forcing a chuckle.

"Do you think they suffered?"

Ken dropped his gaze. "Zelda..."

"I know." If her mother hadn't burned alive, then she would've suffered being mauled to death. She wouldn't dare imagine how Grisha must've fared. The children, Grisha and Ken's brothers included, must've fled the Owlry once they'd seen the fire. That's when the jarrots would've cornered them. They would've had nowhere else to run. Death wouldn't have met them easily. Riselda shuddered.

"Now that we're here, Zelda. Maybe...maybe we should make a new life for ourselves. I think that's what they'd want."

"Is that what you meant by 'another way'? Hiding isn't an option for us, Ken. Our fate's been decided."

"By who? The Allseer?" Ken threw a pebble into the fire, causing sparks to erupt.

"I don't have all the answers, okay? I'm just trying to go a day without sticking this dagger in my throat." Riselda held the acid-etched dagger aloft.

"I'm coping too. It's hard. But if we talk--"

"I'm tired of talking." Riselda stabbed the earth. "You know what will make me feel just a little bit better?"

"You've said it over and over again. Are you trying to convince yourself that everything will be alright after you murder an emperor?"

"You talk as if I'm the one who murdered the ones we love."

"No, I just don't want you to become another victim."

"Victim?"

"Hear me out, Zelda."

She couldn't stop fidgeting. There was no other life to live but one of vengeance. How could she live a life of pretend? How could she forgive?

"Zelda?"

"I'm listening. It better be good."

"We can tell the story of what happened to our people. All the while, we start a business, something small, and we grow it. We would feed those who were poor like us. More will listen to what we have to say. And we start a movement to overthrow the Emperor. We wouldn't need to go chasing after an evil stone, we'd just need good hearts."

All Riselda heard was a giant fantasy. She scoffed. "You want us to become bards? And is this business of yours supposed to be a whore house?"

"Damn you, Zelda." Ken snuffed out the fire. "Have it your way then."

In the darkness, Riselda watched as Ken made a bed for himself on the grass, turning his back to her. She couldn't get rid of the resentment she felt in her heart. She loathed everyone, even Ken for suggesting they fade into nothing. Settling herself for a night of restless sleep, she feared she might die before ever getting to see the Emperor's face. Ken would probably love that. As long as that was true, they could never agree. Perhaps it would be best if they went their separate ways. But Riselda couldn't fathom being alone in this strange realm without Ken by her side.