A Tale of Traitors

Willow: First Flight

     The steps grew closer and closer, and I leapt forward with my sword to block the person's path. 
Adresin did not look surprised.
"You came back!" I cried in relief, lowering my sword and stepping out of his way.
"Yep. Let's get out of here before the guards get wind of your location." 
"Where are my friends?"
"Waiting not-so-patiently at our meeting place."
"Which is where?"
"Can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"The room might be bugged."
"Oh," I pushed hair behind my ear to mask some embarrassment. I should have known. "If Tormod's men have been here before, we aren't the only ones who know the location, right?"
"They know it exists, and a rough approximation of where the castle is, but have never been inside."
"Then who's bugging the place?"
"Geez, you ask a lot of questions," he laughed, which I wasn't expecting. "Let's get to the meeting point and then we'll talk." He headed over towards the throne and moved it a couple of inches.
"What're you doing?" That's when I caught a glimpse of a little white flower, just like the one I had grabbed in the field of sunflowers. "Oh," I said again. "There's the answer."
"I'm going to be honest with you, I have no idea where in the realm we're going to end up."
"What? Then why are we going out this way?"
"Because it's the only thing we can do. The fairies cursed the castle before they were forced out, in case anyone tried to invade it. This was a predictable way of travel, but now it takes you anywhere. We might be in danger the second our feet hit the ground. You've just got to trust that I'm going to get you out of here alive." His eyes had turned deadly serious.
I nodded solemnly.
"Don't let go," he awkwardly reached out for my hand and waited for me to take it before he pulled the stem.
Lights in my vision and stars pounding against my head and pressure on my chest and falling, sinking, drowning, and suddenly there was the grass and sticks under me and I was turning over to throw up. I hope I never have to do this again, I thought miserably as Adresin pulled me to unsteady feet.
"Nooo," he groaned, leaning over as if he might throw up too. "We've got to run now."
"For real?" I felt a resurgence of puke along the way.
"Run now, now, now, now, now, now," he tugged me along with him as he took off at lightening speed through the thickest part of the forest. He was whistling, the sound shattering the stillness over and over again. I didn't recognize where we were, though all I could see were the massive trees around me and the lightening striking the sky above. I could feel the stones under my feet threatening my footing as the rain leaked through the holes in the leaves above and landed on both of us. Out of breath. Exhausted. Running from who knows what. Yeah, this felt familiar.

At least this time I wasn't alone.

An arrow zipped above my ear and landed in the tree I darted past. I dared to turn around, which caused me to crash into another tree and briefly slowed me down, but I caught a glimpse of the guards behind us, one of them getting close on the back of a mighty horse.
"He's faster than us, what's the plan?" I practically yelled to Adresin, who was dodging a few arrows himself and whistling that crazy whistle. He didn't answer, just pulled me further along. "What's the plan?"
"You've got to trust me!"
"I'm really trying but this looks really bad!" I answered just as frantically as we suddenly turned into an even thicker section of trees, a dramatic left turn that almost knocked me over.
"Get in front of me!" He dragged me forward and nearly pushed me ahead.
"I have no idea where—"
"Straight ahead, go!" He whistled yet again.
I ran as fast as I possibly could, looking behind me every now and then to make sure he was still there. We had been running uphill the entire time. My legs were jello and I could barely breathe and I really had to throw up. And sleep. I was so tired.
"Don't slow down," he urged. "We're so close!"
"There's nothing ahead but a cliff," I commented, thinking he had no idea what he was doing. "Adresin, there's only a cliff."
"Keep running!"
"There's only—" I stared at the cloudy sky through the opening forming in the trees leading only to the edge, as if they were making a way for us to leap right to our deaths. The drop off was leading to a bottom that was hundreds of feet downward, down and down and down. "—a freaking cliff—"
"Willow, trust me—"
"There's a CLIFF—"
"JUMP!" He ordered as I approached the edge of the trees and my feet were hitting the muddy ground and the lightening was in the sky and the rain was smacking my face.

I hesitated.