Sample chapter of future story- Transformation in the Reverse Wasteland

This is a scene from a story I was challenged to write a few years ago, which is still unfinished, and I don't know whether it ever will be, after showing a writing prompt to my friends and asking them for suggestions. The protagonist, Duchesse Nicole, (inspired by my friend Nicole) is the sole person left in her kingdom when the evil sorcerer-king of a nearby kingdom removes all the people, including the royalty and nobility, through sorcery, because he thought he could manipulate her to get what he wanted (control of the kingdom), and then goes on a quest/journey to get the people back and to defeat the Evil King, along with her highly unusual pet meerkat, Jem (unusual because he has recently become able to speak, and often shows signs of being rather human). This scene takes place in the middle-ish of the story, in the Reverse Wasteland, a nightmarish obstacle created by the Evil King to slow them, as whatever has been changing Jem comes to fruition.