Stone Throne (beta)

Part 3

My eyes darted all around me, trying desperately to find a place to hide myself from the world. I made my way through a thicket and found a hollowed out log. Relief poured over my body as I crawled inside, pulling outside branches in front of the opening.

Finally alone, I began to cry. It was all too much. Everything I'd experienced in the last two weeks was a lot to process. It was a lot to process Vedi's betrayal. The violence of the battle, but also the worst part, that I had left Vedi he might possibly die. What chance did he have against a living statue without the dagger? Yes, he had been wrong to betray me, but I was equally wrong to leave him there to die. I wiped my tears on the back of my hand and resolved to go back and find him. Hopefully he was still alive.

I went back to the tomb entrance first. There was lots of rubble from the battle, but no Vedi. Then I spotted a trail of blood and followed it a few yards into the trees and there he was. He was covered in blood and dust and he wasn't moving, which led me to fear the worst. Guilt welled up in my chest, but I knelt down to check for a pulse. His sleeve was soaked with blood, but I almost cried out with relief when I found a pulse.

I dragged Vedi a little ways, underneath the overhang of a large boulder protruding from the ground where it was dry and sheltered. My body struggled every step of the way, he was so heavy. Once I had him situated, I foraged for the Valens flower. I gathered berries and nuts too, along the way.

It felt strange, being in such a beautiful place on such a beautiful day, despite everything that had happened. Squirrels and rabbits frolicked in the tall grass, darting between trees beyond view. A blue bird was singing, big puffy clouds wafted in the sky, and I was light headed and exhausted. Where the statue had hit me was swollen and throbbed mercilessly. Nevertheless, I filled my bag with supplies. Once back at our make-shift camp I tore a bit of Vedi's clothes into ribbons and bandaged his wounds with the medicinal Valens flowers. Then I ate my fill of the berries and fell asleep underneath the shade of the boulder.

When I awoke the sun was still low in the sky. My body was so stiff that I could hardly lift my head. I looked over to wear Vedi had been asleep, but he was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief, at least that was over. He hadn't put the shackles on me while I was asleep and really, that is all I could ask for.

Suddenly a savory smell met my nose and I began to hear the crackling of a fire. I turned over to see Vedi sitting, tending to a small fire. He was cooking a piece of meat speared through by an arrow. He looked terrible. His face was swollen to the point where he was hardly recognizable.

"There's a village a couple of days away," Vedi spoke up, "Once we are able to move we will head there, but we'll have to walk. The horse is gone." He informed me, rather casually.

Ok like this would be a good place for another chapter?

I waited patiently at the edge of the forest while Vedi sold some of the goods he had stolen from the tomb. Apparently when I had left him outside of Kings Rest the statue had lost interest in Vedi because they had been sent to look for me, not him.

The town was bigger than a village, but was Sedile and the main streets had several store fronts. My freshly cut hair fell around my face like a curtain. That had been Vedi's idea, to make me look as different as the missing princess as possible.

We entered a bar names the Crow's Nest and took a seat at a table near the back. The interior of the bar was grimy and there was what appeared to be blood stains on the floor. The entire place was filled with a foul smell that I assumed to be a combination of stale beer and body odor. Before long, a waitress who looked like the type of woman you would expect to see working at a sin din like this, made her way over to our table. Her eyes were hollow and her blatant cleavage made me slightly uncomfortable. She smiled at Vedi when she saw him and greeted us by saying, "Well! If it is not the fearless bounty hunter, Vedi!" Her brow furrowed when she saw his condition. "Dear Lord, you look rough! Surely this little wretch you dug up didn't give you that much trouble?" Her insult stung. As the daughter of a king who also, by chance, had to power to bring stone statues to life, I had never before experienced such teasing.