Unbroken: Emperor in Exile

Chapter Four

The defect hated this trip. He had hardly gotten any sleep in the past three days, and the king and queen still insisted that he was their honored guest, and that they should nurse him back to 'health.' So they were still hovering around him. The clone itched to be on his way. To where, he didn't know. 

Anywhere but here, he groaned. The constant hospitality was getting old.

Now they were riding in a scarlet chariot drawn by skeleton horses. At first, the clone had thought the sun had this mystical feel to it, but now it had a must simpler one:

Hot.

This former general had seen more battles than he could have ever counted, and he had survived explosions that should have killed him, yet he had never experienced more discomfort. He was unable to move in this cramped space, with only a roof protecting him from the blazing sun. The chariot filled with sweltering heat. As if it hadn't already been hard enough to breathe Etherian air.

It didn't take long for the trip to be prepared. Food and drinks had been stored in the compartment in the back, along with camping equipment. Two guards were to accompany them on the journey. Both of whom were steering the horses. They had left mere hours after the announcement.

The royals were so eager to help. They were trying too hard. For whatever reason, the Scorpion Den rarely saw outsiders, and the royals strived to be the perfect hosts. Too perfect.

Now that they were a distance away from the castle, the clone could see something he couldn't have with the high walls and spires. Unusual rock formations rose from the ground, hundreds of feet into the air. They curved toward the oasis palace, as if protecting it.

"Unfortunately," the queen broke into the clone's train of thought. "We will not be visiting any of the kingdoms directly." She and her husband shared a look. From what he had gathered from facial cues on this planet thus far, he could tell that it wasn't a good one.

"Really, we can't show you much to begin with," the king looked down, "but we do have one awesome destination."

The clone huffed, and for the thousandth time, he growled, "I do not need your help."

"Nonsense!" the queen cried. "It's a pleasure!"

The clone's ears pricked to the sound of the guards whispering to each other outside.

"Maybe they should stop taking pleasure in helping outsiders and spend more time helping their own people," one of them muttered.

The other whispered an agreement. "They're incredibly disorganized and narrow sighted."

"They only care about themselves in the long run."

"Shhh! Shut up! Not so loud."

The clone narrowed his eyes. This was probably his favorite facial cue so far. Doubt was brewing among the citizens of the Scorpion Den. How interesting.

Neither of the royals seemed to notice.

Hours passed, and all they saw were water deprived landscapes, baking and cracking under the intense heat. It wasn't until the sun was skimming the western horizon that they began to see the slightest traces of green. Once the fiery sun slipped away, the chariot came to a halt by a small stream. As soon as they came to a halt, the clone kicked open the door and stumbled out. Despite the horribly bitter-sweet tasting air, it was definitely better than the stuffy horror he left behind. The royals and their guards began to set up camp, while the clone tried to get as far away as possible. He didn't care that he was being rude, it's not like he even wanted this road trip anyways. All he needed was a map and a ship to get away, far away.