The King's Remorse

It's Not Ragdon, Is It?

Wyatt quickly undoes the buckles on the harness, and I scramble out of it. I need to be ready if anyone comes after Clap. Or anyone, but especially Clap. Freedom made me promise to keep her safe, and I agreed without hesitation. There's no way I'm breaking the promise I made to her. Only over my dead body, but even then, I'd find some way.

"What are you doing here?" I move closer and can hear someone asking an unknown person a question. Their tone is friendly; no one knows when King Garonda XIV has sent someone to the White Tent Sea in an attempt to find someone who treats them wrong so he can punish them. No one has come back from those. It's a death sentence.

"Where the hell am I? What's the name of this place? It's not Ragdon, is it?"

"Excuse me, sorry. Sorry, coming through. Excuse me." I squeeze through the crowd, Clap pressed up against my foreleg.

"A unicorn? Who are you? Like a cheetah or something?" A deer and what appears to be an eagle are side by side. Two green triangles wrinkle beneath the deer's eyes as she frowns. A wide assortment of earrings run up both edges of her ears, and her forward-pointing horns cast sharp shadows over her face. One of the eagle's wings appears to be broken, and I make a mental note to get Miles if needed.

"I'm Brook. This is Clap. This is the White Tent Sea. Apart from King Garonda XIV's castle, this is the only other place inhabited on Ragdon." I leave out the part where Dove and several others are currently out searching who knows what corner of Ragdon. And the fact that Ky and Phoenix lived outside of the White Tent Sea and survived just fine.

"What the hell. Are you hearing this, Icarus?" The deer turns to the eagle, Icarus, with a snort.

"Yes. It proves what we were hypothesizing about. There are other... versions, I guess, of Ragdon." Icarus smiles. His shaggy, golden feathers ruffle in the breeze. When he turns slightly, I see that Icarus's wing was never broken. It has been bound in such a way that the wing rests awkwardly at his side, partially extended but the wrist held sharply closed.

"Come with me, alright?" I nod my head so the two will follow me and Clap.

"Why?" The deer raises an eyebrow.

"I would like to know why you are here. I thought you might prefer a more private environment. But if I'm wrong, we can continue chatting here. Whatever makes you more comfortable." I shrug.

"Whatever. Lead the way. Let me shift back first though. I need to stretch my legs." Before I can ask what she means, the deer is enveloped in shimmering lights. In the deer's place stands a human, dressed in a pair of shorts and a loose tank top. Spiky hair has replaced the horns, but the earrings remain. I internally frown in confusion but keep my face neutral.

I thought only Wolf, Dove, and King Garonda XIV could shift, but apparently not. I'll need to figure out where Icarus and the deer-girl came from. And if they're with King Garonda XIV or not.

The deer-girl talks quietly with Icarus as I lead them to one of the meeting tents by the Earth Tree. Clap settles down in the corner. "What's your name?" I ask. "I know yours is Icarus."

"Why should I tell you? Names hold power. What if I don't want you knowing mine?" I sigh.

"Alright. I just thought it would be nice to know what to call you. Sorry." This will be fun...

"Don't be. I was just seeing what your reply would be. I'm Seneca. And that's Icarus." She jabs a thumb toward the eagle.

"Do you need help getting out of those binds, Icarus? I can have Clap go get Miles, one of the doctors here." Clap perks up when she hears her name.