Old Friends
"Welcome back, little sheep."
I saw Lenna's shoulders tense.
"Hello again, Amun." Her voice was an icy cold tone, hard like stone and standoffish. "I need your help."
The boy, Amun, smiled smugly. "Now I thought you didn't want my help anymore. 'Leave me the hell alone.' Isn't that what you said, sheepy."
Lenna's fists balled. I was sure she was going to beat the life out of him, however, she simply relaxed and spoke again. "I need your help now." She moved to the side, giving Amun a full view of an unconscious Skylar.
He frowned, looked over his shoulder, and yelled. "Raz, we got a few misfits in need of a good meal." Amun motioned for us to follow him. We enter the house and are seated in a small room. From farther inside the house, we heard a string of swears.
A woman came out from around a corner. She was tall, with golden-brown skin and dark brown hair streaked gray pulled back in a ponytail. She had broad shoulders that led into a small waist. Her brown eyes shone with annoyance, lips pulled down in a permanent frown. Small wrinkles curled around her lips, moving as she spoke. "What have I told you about taking in freeloaders?" She asked, walking over to Amun and slapping him across the shoulder. "I don't have the coins to pay for all your little friends-" The woman paused, looking down at Skylar.
I watched as she pursed her lips. She looked back to Amun, pointing her finger. "You owe me, Amun." She turned to Zyanya, Skylar still in her arms. "Follow me."
Zyanya, Skylar, and the woman walked around a corner and out of sight. A small ball of anxiety twisted in my stomach as I watched the three of them leave. Skylar, pale and limp, held in her mother's arms. She was barely over four feet when perfect healthy, yet, in Zyanyas arms, she seemed infinitely smaller.
"Now then." I turned back to Amun who was standing across the room with his arms crossed. "What the hell happened to you guys?"
"Soldiers and lack of food," I muttered, sitting down on a nearby sofa. I ran my fingers through my hair, catching tangles and knots.
"Why would soldiers be after your pathetic group of misfits?" I sent a glare towards Amun at his use of words. He shrugged, leaning casually against the creaking wooden walls.
"Those two." Lenna pointed in the direction Zyanya and Skylar had taken off to. "Are the last remaining royals of the life kingdom." I watched Amun's eyes widen for a moment before returning to normal.
"Really?"
"Really."
Amun looked at me. "So who the hell are you?" I cringed at the use of language.
"I don't know," I responded as honestly as I could. "I have no memories of anything besides the last six months."
Lenna sighed. "Are you seriously that dense, Amun? Blonde hair, pale skin?"
Amuns face remained a confused expression.
"Golden eyes! She's the queen of light for goddess sake."
Amun raised an eyebrow. "Her?"
I sent him another glare. "Yes, me."
Amun raised his hands in mock surrender. "Look, I'm sorry, but you lack everything of someone so high and mighty. Did you lose all manners when you knocked your head?"
"I may have lost my manners but I sure didn't lose my sense of hearing." I hissed the words through clenched teeth.
"That's still a Queen you're talking to." Lenna's voice held an icy tone. I sent her a grateful smile. "Anyway, we need some information." Lenna continued.
Amun raised an eyebrow. "What kind of information?"
"A little bird told me you knew the whereabouts of a certain rebel camp." Lenna's voice came off in a low whisper as if she were sharing a secret.
"That may be true. What's it to you?"
Lenna rolled her eyes. "I have two queens and a princess, brick head. They attract soldiers like moths to a flame. And frankly, I'm sick of it. Not to mention," Lenna pointed towards me. "We need to find out how to fix queenies head over here."
"You guys do know that I'm still here right?" I pouted as Lenna let out a short laugh.
"Amun." To my surprise, the woman from earlier had reappeared.
"Raz, my dear!" Amun smiled widely, walking over to the woman. Her frown deepened as he grew closer.
"Dinner is in the kitchen. Feed your friends. And while you're at it, fetch me some basil from the garden. The young child has a fever." Her voice was cold and direct.
"Will she be okay?"
The woman sneered at me. "That's my business to attend to. Go eat. You all sleep on the floor tonight."
I bit my tongue, clenching my fists. I could feel my blood boiling beneath my skin.
Who does she think she is?
Hours later, we had eaten and we sat on the floor in the living room, blankets strewn around us. Lenna and I sat beside each other, content with stomachs full of food.
The creaking of old floorboards alerted us to Zyanyas entrance.
Her skin had turned an ashy, sick color. Large under-eye circles were prominent on her face. She had a slightly dazed look in her eyes.
"Zaya! What's wrong?" I had jumped up from where I was standing to go to her side. She leaned heavily against me. "Is it Skylar?"
Zyanya nodded, mumbling. "I've never seen her this sick." I led her towards the blanket and we sat down on the floor. "She can't eat," Zyanya mumbled. "She can't keep anything down. She has an awful fever. She looks dead."
"What did Raz say it was?" My own voice trembled slightly as I spoke, the thought of sick little Skylar weighing on my mind.
"A sickness likely caught from the cold and her exhaustion." Zyanya put her head in her hands.
"I'm sure she'll be alright. All she needs is a few good hours of rest. Raz knows what she's doing."
Zyanya sent me a small smile, lips pulled up ever so slightly.
"Raz is the best herbalist in the eastern province. If anyone can help your little girl, it's her." Lenna's words were comforting and I saw the tension in Zyanyas shoulders relax.
Less than an hour later, the three of us had begun to doze off. My eyelids drooped, my bones felt heavy, and for the first time in days, I felt calm and safe.
