Queen Bee

Touch of Fire

    "Who are these people?" I ask, eyeing them. They all stand back, staring at Olivier and I like we're strange animals. 

    "My family. Well, not really. I used to always come out here and visit them growing up. They live out here in the woods." Sawney explains, a hint of excitement in his voice. 

    "Why not live in the villages?" 

    "Why should we?" One of the people, a young girl, steps forward. 

    "Because...there's food and shelter and other people there!"

    "We have all that out here. Plus, they didn't want us in their village anyway." 

    "Hu Li!" A man says in a gruff voice, calling her back to the group. 

    "What!? I was just telling her the truth!" 

    "We need your help." Sawney interjects, drawing the conversation back to its original purpose. 

    "With what?" The same man from before asks. 

    "Breaking into the castle." A cloud of worry covers the mans face before he reacts and says "Lets go back to camp." All of the people turn as a group and begin walking back into the woods. Sawney begins to follow them. 

    "Wait! We don't have time to go with them! We need to get into the castle before...before the king kills my parents!" I grab his arm and try to break though his hard eyes. 

    "We can go to the castle now," he grabs my arm back, surprising me with soft words, "and inevitably get caught, or we can go with them and form a plan to not get caught and even heal the prince." 

    "I hate makign plans." I let go, now taking Olivier by the arm and guiding him as we begin to follow Sawney's family. 

    "That's why you have me." Sawney stays behind and walks with us as we travel down yet another path of uncertainty. 

We're bombarded by even more people as we enter a camp, much bigger than I expected. Rows and rows of make shift tents, fires with bubbling pots, and pens full of small animals are all crowded together with the people who live here. As soon as we arrive, Sawney begins to take charge. 

    "Olivier, go with him. He's a healer." An old man comes and takes the prince from me. Olivier gives me one last glance before, what feels like, tearing himself away from me. 

    "Adela, why don't you go with the girls. They can get you cleaned up and a place to sleep for the night."

    "What are you going to do?" I've never felt like such an outsider. It's feels like I might as well be naked as everyone watches me stumble around aimlessly. 

    "Talk with their leader about getting us into the castle."

    "I want to come."

    "No."

    "Why not?"

    "They don't allow...women to help with that sort of stuff." I blink. 

    "Why?"

    "Look," he lets out an exasperated sigh, "Its just different here, alright? I don't agree with it, but I want to respect their wishes." I guess their society isn't so different from mine. At least, their views of women aren't .  

    "Okay." I decide to let Sawney have this one. A group of doll-like girls come and take my arm, leading me into an empty canvas tent. 

    "Are you really the princess?" One asks, giggling as they sit me down on a stool. 

    "Yes." I blush. They crowd around me, giggling as they take my hair out and play with it. 

    "What's it like being a princess?"

    "Is that man really a prince?"

    "Are you  together  together?" 

    "Does your soap smell like lavender?" They begin all asking me these questions at once, and I smile politely as I try to deflect them. 

    "Yes, he's a prince. Yes, we're together. Yes, my soap smells like lavender-most of the time." They all laugh together, each one pulling a brush out of their pockets. 

    "Hey! Enough!" A raspy voice calls out. I turn to see its the young girl from earlier, lugging a very large bowl through the entrance of the tent. The other girls, in their matching robes, stand up strait as she enters. 

    "What are you doing, Li?" One of the doll girls asks. 

    "Dad said I had to help you guys." The girl with the raspy voice, Li, answers. She drops the bowl, water sloshing over its sides. 

    "Hu Li, nice to meet you." She extends her arm and I shake her hand. She suddenly pulls me into her face. 

    "What are you doing here with Sawney?" She ask, her breath hot on my face. 

    "Um..what?" I stutter, not quite sure how to react. 

    "I said-"

    "Get off her, Li! She's with the prince!" The other girls pull her away from me, Li simply shrugging it off. 

    "Alright. Whatever. Take your clothes off."

    "What?" If I wasn't blushing before, I sure am now. 

    "She'll pour that bowl of water on you if you have your clothes on or not, so I would undress." One of the doll girls leans in and whispers. I quickly unlatch my belt, throwing it and my knife to the side. 

    "Well don't just stand there! Close the tent!" Li instructs the girls, and they listen. I've just taken my shirt and pants off before Li dumps the bowl of freezing cold water over me. I sit, frozen as my limbs begin to shake. My teeth clatter inside of my skull as the girls begin wrapping me in towels. One of the girls produces a thin robe once I've dried and they take the towels off of my shaking body. The dress-like robe is warm, it's soft fabric hugging my skin as they slip it on me. 

    "Been a while since you've been dressed, huh?" Li snorts, commanding the girls with her fingers and hand gestures. I don't answer, partly because I know she doesn't mean it as a question and a part of me is fighting the urge to cry at a reminder of the palace. One of the doll girls unties the the towel from my hair and lets it sweep to my hips in an auburn wave. The one who looks the oldest begins to tear a comb through it as the other girls have to hold me in place. 

    "Why can't the woman help with planning attacks, and stuff." I ask, trying to distract myself from the sharp pain shooting from my head. Li, who now sits leaned back in a chair with her legs spread all the way out, is the only one to answer. 

    "Because that's the way it's always been." She replies, a hint of bitterness in her voice. She brushes a purple streak of hair out of her face. 

    "Oh. I see." That was father's excuse too. I understand that bitterness. 

    "But, I'm gonna change that." She jabs a thumb at herself. 

    "Li..." The oldest girls warns her, seeming to ignite Li even more.

    "What!? I am! My dad's the leader so I'm gonna take his place." She gives a defiant grin, crossing her arms in protest. 

    "No, your husband will take over when the general passes." The girl replies softly, obviously having this conversation before.

    "I'm not getting married." The older girl stays quiet after Li's last rebuke, beginning to tie my newly brushed hair in a low ponytail. 

    "All done!" A doll girl says in excitement. 

    "Thank you all, so much." They smile and bow before silently leaving the tent. I'm left to stare at Li's angry face. 

    "I need you to do something for me. Professionally speaking." She says finally, leaning towards me. 

    "What?"

    "I'd like for you to establish my people back into the village. Give us a new corner-all for us. That way, we can build resources and earn a place in the rest of the village." She eyes my pocket knife in the corner. 

    "Sure." I blink, not sure how else to respond. I'm sure father wont mind doing that. Li grins, satisfied, and stands. 

    "Good." I stand, shaking our hands in agreement. 

    "There's gonna be a dinner for you three tonight. Don't eat too much of our food, Princess." She leaves the tent and I realize only know how fast my heart has been beating. I sit again, gulping down breaths of air. I clench my fists, digging my nails into the weak skin of my hand. My hand goes red, so I stop and rub the tears that now form in my eyes away. I take one last brittle breath before standing and leaving the tent as well. 

    "Your Highness? Your Highness!" The words of a man grab my attention. I whip  my ahead around until I find the owner of the voice as he races towards me. Its the old man that Sawney sent Olivier with earlier. When he makes it to me, I can't tell if he's bowing or holding onto his knees for support as he sucks in the air around us. 

    "Yes?" I ask, now concerned. He whips back up, casting gray hair to the back of his head. 

    "The prince requests you. He wanted to come find you, but I'm afraid he'll kill himself trying to find you in the state he is in." His button nose scrunches up, making the healer look like a pig. 

    "Oh, thank you. Can you show me to him?" He grabs me by the arm and begins running me through the campsite until we reach a tent just like the others. I step in and the healer closes the flaps behind me. It's dark inside, a single candle illuminating the corner. As soon as Olivier sees me, he stands up from his cot and entraps me in a hug. 

    "I was worried for you." He whispers, tickling my ear. 

    "I could say the same for you." He smiles, studying my eyes with intent until suddenly pushing his lips into mine. My eyes go wide, then I let the warmness sink in. I find myself pulling away, him looking at me with despair. 

    "Olivier...the castle.." I look away, but he pulls me back in. I secretly had hoped he would. 

    "I know. We might not be alive in two days." The thought makes me want him more. I want him to take all of the worry and fear away as he begins to kiss me again. He pulls me over to his cot, sitting me down on his leg. My body ignites, smoking out the negative emotions with pleasure as I gently push the prince down and let him cover my neck in kisses. He starts slowing, so I bite his ear to keep him going. He rubs his hands around me, places I've never been touched by another before and suddenly nothing else matter. Nothing else exists. I bring my hands up and start rubbing his face as I take over kissing. He begins running his hands along me, sparking something in me I didn't know existed. 

    "I love you." I say. I don't mean to, but it's true. 

    "I love you too, My Princess." I smile, his hands groping my stomach trying to find the tie to my robe. I grab the collar of his shirt and pull it back, suddenly stopping when I see something popping through his skin. I stop him with my other hand, his lips still in the middle of a kiss on my cheek. I sit up, gabbing the candle from the corner. I bring it down to his chest and he looks away. I can't believe it. I begin to unbutton the rest of his shirt, his hands failing to try and stop me as my fear is confirmed. Dark purple veins spiderweb across his chest and stomach. 

    "Olivier..." He sits up and lets out a pained noise. 

    "I am fine." He gently takes the candle from me. My hands are shaking as I trace the veins with my finger. 

    "You are not fine! He did this to you-"

    "Adela-"

    "How could a parent do something like this to their own child?" 

    "I know, Adela!" He says harshly, then in a softer manner, "I know." He pulls me into him as I begin to sob. Why am I the one crying? Why should he be consoling me?

    "I'm going to kill him." I look up at him, waiting to see his reaction. He's looking off in the distance when a small smile crosses his face, frightening me at first. He glances at me and says "Enough of that. We can talk about it tomorrow. Let's enjoy each other for now." Just then Sawney opens the tent flap, a hand over his eyes. 

    "You can look." I say, forcing a smile. 

    "Oh, good," he uncovers his eyes, "the dinner is about to start! They don't like tardiness." He smiles before pulling his head back out. I look back to see that Olivier has set the candle on a small table next to the head of the bed and is already finished buttoning himself back up. 

    "You should stay here. And rest." I advise, standing and trying to fix my hair. 

    "You will be out there. So I am coming." He stands as well, hiding a grunt with a pained smile. I reach up and comb my fingers through his hair so it looks decent. Olivier opens the tent flap for me, grabbing my hand as I exit with him. The sun is setting , filling the sky in a portrait of golds and bronzes. The colors seem to create specs of light on the top of the princes reddish hair. We follow a string of candle lights on the ground until reaching a place where it looks the entire community has gathered. Its a small clearing with candles surrounding the border of it. A large oak table sits in the middle with a wide variety of dishes. A man sits in one of the chairs with Sawney to his right. Our friend waves us over, standing as we approach. 

    "This the group's leader, Hu Zheng."

    "Please, call me Zheng. It's very nice to meet you." He stands, towering over the rest of us. The prince smiles as Zheng takes his hand and bows. 

    "It is nice to meet you!" Olivier replies, letting go of my hand to take a seat. Zheng turns to me, bows, and kisses my hand in greeting. I take a seat next to Olivier. 

    "We've figured out a way into the castle." Sawney says, slipping into a chair and sipping from a pinkish-red drink. Zheng plops down into his chair with a proud smile. 

    "We will get you in  the castle, but I'm afraid that's all we can do. My people, they are not fighters. We lost the fighters on our way to Astaria." He suddenly frowns, drinking from a cup with the same looking liquid as Sawney's. 

    "That's more than enough! Thank you so very much for all of your help." I say, the news making me want to leap for joy. I'm getting my home back. 

    "It is no problem at all! You are friends of Sawney's, so you are friends of mine! Now, we must feast for good luck for tomorrow's endeavors. Will you excuse me?" 

    "Of course! Go ahead." The leader stands, joining the crowd as music begins to echo off of drums and other instruments. Sawney looks in his glass, swirling around the mixture. 

    "If you two don't want to come tomorrow, you don't have to." He says, finally, setting the drink down and looking at us. 

    "Sawney-"

    "Just hear me out, alright? You've never been in battle before. Heck, you haven't even been trained for any sort of combat! It can be...a lot. I could just slip in there and kill the king myself before anyone even notices." Olivier swallows, forcing me to answer. 

    "No. I'm coming with you. I want to kill Jules and make him pay for...for what he's done to my family." I grab the prince's hand. 

    "I will come too." 

    "No, you stay here and heal. Your still sick!"

    "I am fine. I will be fine. I need to be there." I nod, my love for him growing and feeling myself ease up a little knowing he'll be there beside me. 

    "Okay, well, I'm going to go get drunk in case we all die tomorrow so enjoy yourselves!" Sawney announces, springing up from his chair. He leaves and joins a group of girls, drink in hand, as the people begin to dance to the flowing music that travels around us. Olivier turns to me. 

    "The world could end today, but at least I'm with you." I laugh at the cheesiness of it. 

    "Where'd you read that?"

    "Off of you."

    "What?"

    "Will you dance with me?" I arch an eyebrow. 

    "Sure." He grabs my hand and leads me out to the middle of the crowd of people swaying to the rhythm of the music. He pulls me up against his body, allowing me to rest my head on his chest. I try not to look inside his shirt at the spiderweb of veins as we sway back and forth. The lights and music fade into the back until we're the only ones here. Our heartbeats beat together, his breathing making it hard to keep my eyes open. When was the last time I slept on a bed? My bones ache for the feeling of a soft mattress as I curl my arms around him and let the prince pull sway me across the dusty dance floor. He whispers into my ear, but I'm not sure what he says. I just know it makes me smile and want to truly be alone with him again. I long for him to set me ablaze with a single touch, this time without the hassle of clothes. What horrid thoughts for a proper young lady. With him I'm not proper anymore. I reach my head up, dragging my mouth across his chest to his ear lobe. 

    "I want to finish what we started earlier. I want to be alone." I want to scream the words, instead I force them into a soft whisper. He smiles, my heart melts, and he whispers back "Your wish is my command, My Princess."