Knightess

16

There's an eerie and mournful silence as the gate swings open. Naomi gives a light shiver. "I hate this place," she murmurs to herself.

We walk in, our boots the only source of sound besides the occasional birdcall and the creaking of the tree trunks against the bitter cold. Unlike the night before, there's no fog concealing the cemetery, helping us easily guide our way without tripping over something. I see a group of people with navy cloaks on huddled together to our right, and I tap on Naomi's shoulder to show her where the Knightesses are. She nods and follows me. Today it seems forbidden to speak while in the cemetery, and it gives me an uneasy feeling.

"We're here, Head Knightess," Naomi says to a kneeling Keva.

She nods in our direction, acknowledging our presence. Bear whimpers at her side. I push past the Knightesses to see what she's kneeling beside. Only as soon as I make my way to the front, I realize it's not what she's kneeling by, it's who she's kneeling by.

Salava is laying in a decoratively carved coffin. She is dressed in her armor, her cloak fixed to cover the scratch marks that cut through her breastplate. Her hair is smoothed back and tied into a tail at the back of her neck. Her skin is an unusual shade of pale, and while I know she is dead it looks as if she's only asleep. I wish she were.

Without a word Keva picks up a sword by her side and gently lays it under Salava's crossed hands. Keva bows her head and says something so quiet my ears become strained from attempting to hear her. "Vale amicum."

I don't recognize the language she speaks in, but Naomi does. "Vale amicum," she repeats in a sorrowful voice.

Someone clears their voice in a loud manner and heads swerve from Keva and Salava to the owner of the noise. The Queen.

A black veil hides her face, a spiky golden crown securing it. She stands in a dazzling black dress, tiny teardrop-shaped diamonds sewn across the bodice and poofy skirt. If my mind wasn't focused on Salava I would have given a moment to wonder if the diamonds were real. More than likely they are.

Keva rises to her feet and steps away from Salava. An emotional Mina and Tala close the coffin shut and lower it into a hole with a newly marked gravestone at the front of it. Tala quietly wipes a tear off of her cheek and Mina pats her back comfortingly. "Salava Kell was a brave and generous Knightess," the Queen says, her voice ringing through the silence. "When she was Chosen at eighteen, she was eager yet nervous to serve the kingdom and me. She has served me a good thirteen years before the dreadful event that took place last night.

"An animal—no, a monster ruthlessly murdered her while protecting me in the dead of night. It was an event she should have survived, except the monster's claws were laced with a lethal poison that can burn through the toughest of armor. However, I can assure you no one will share the same fate as Salava Kell. We will track the monster down and whoever caused her death and we will destroy both of them."

The Queen stomps her foot after saying the last sentence, as if to promise the monster's death. My stomach writhes when I hear her say she will destroy whoever caused her death. If she finds out it's me, I'm dead.

⚔️ ⚔️⚔️

A month passes after Salava's funeral. A lot has changed: there are more guards at every turn, the snow is melting and the weather is turning warmer, and the Queen is determined more than ever to avenge Salava's death.

She's close to finding me, so when Naomi and Stealth approach me at lunch claiming that the Queen wants to speak with me, I'm almost not surprised.

I pick at my nails nervously as I make my way down to the throne room. I consider escaping, just for the moment, but know that if I do I won't get far. I have no supplies with me, and if I manage to escape horseback I won't get very far: the cold will kill me first, though the snow is melting and the heat rises almost everyday. Besides, there's Jackin and Grandmother to think about.