Questbound

Chapter 3-2

Celeste was staring blankly up at the ceiling, a knife embedded deep in her chest. Desperately, Yusumi shook her, knowing that it was already too late. Blood covered the bed, leaching away the whiteness of the sheets.

Then Jidan was there. He took one glance at Celeste’s body and let out a howl so loud that it sent a tremor throughout the room. He sniffed the knife and growled deeply, narrowing his amber eyes to near slits, but before he could trace the scent, Lord Razay arrived with ten men from the Royal Guard. He saw Yusumi standing by the bed, covered in Celeste’s blood, and Jidan next to her, baring his teeth.

‘What have you done?’ Razay cried. The anguish in his voice was strong, but Jidan thought he saw a flicker of a smile cross his face, replaced a moment later by tears. ‘Arrest these murders! Take them to the dungeons and leave them to rot!’

The guards aimed their spears, advancing in tight formation. Yusumi could do nothing but stare blankly, her shock too severe to register what was happening. Jidan, however, was ready for them. Leaping, he knocked them to the ground one after another, shattering their bones and denting their armour, and then grasped Yusumi gently in his teeth. Locking eyes with Lord Razay in an unspoken challenge, he charged out of the room and onto the balcony.

They were high up, a fatal jump for any human, but Jidan’s strong, agile legs would handle it with ease. Hearing the surviving guards recovering behind him, he adjusted his grip on Yusumi and dived.

‘It is safe now, princess,’ Jidan said as dawn broke on the horizon. Yusumi blinked her eyes open. He looked tired and worn, and his right front paw was raised above the ground.

‘What happened?’ she asked, shivering in the morning air. She was still in her nightclothes, stiff with dried blood. ‘Where are we?’

‘You fainted not long after I jumped from Her Majesty’s balcony, princess. I carried you through the city and beyond the gates before the guards could catch up. I ran through the night, and eventually chanced across this forest. It should suffice to keep us hidden for a time. We do not need to fear being tracked by sniffing dogs either, for I have marked a large area as my territory. If they happen upon it, they will turn away instantly,’ he replied, wincing slightly as he eased himself down to lie on a sparse patch of grass.

‘But...Queen Celeste. What happened to her, Jidan? What happened to my mother?’ she asked, the metallic smell coming from her nightclothes making her feel faint.

‘She is dead, princess. There is nothing you can do for her now.’

Yusumi shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. ‘It was Lord Razay, wasn’t it?’

Jidan looked at her sharply. ‘How did you know that? You could not possibly have caught his scent as I did.’

‘I didn’t have to,’ she said quietly. ‘During the waltz last night, he danced with me.’

‘Yes, I saw the two of you together,’ Jidan stated. ‘I was of a mind to pull him away from you, but Her Majesty told me to restrain myself. She was under the impression that he was apologising for his earlier outburst.’

‘She was wrong. He didn’t apologise, he accused me of manipulating her so that I could rule one day. And then...then he told me that he wouldn’t let her go through with it. He said he’d find a way to stop her like he always did." Her voice quivered with every word. ‘I should have warned her, Jidan. I should have told her what his plans were!"

‘You did not know his plans, princess. For all you knew, it was just one of his usual dry threats. There is no possible way you could have foreseen his actions.’

‘No, Jidan. I knew he was going to do something terrible. My doll was missing when I returned to my room that evening. Yet when I woke up in the night, it was back, torn right down the middle. That’s why I went to her chambers, I knew it was a threat.’

‘Then you did all you could. You cannot dwell on the past, no matter what happened, especially when you consider that we are both in hiding. All we can do now is concentrate on surviving,’ he said, and then added, ‘which you will not be able to do in those clothes.’

‘But there aren’t any others that I can wear. This is all I have,’ Yusumi said.

‘I am aware of that, which is why I need you to cover yourself in as much leaf litter as you can find until I get back.’

‘Wait, you"re leaving? Please don’t go, Jidan. I don’t want to be alone.’

‘Do not fret, princess. I only intend to visit a farm that I know of near here, so I can find you something warm to wear and perhaps some food. I shall return as quickly as I can, so please, do as I say,’ he said, meeting her eyes.

‘Alright. I’ll be waiting.’

He nudged her gently and heaved himself up to all fours, treading lightly on the forest floor as he disappeared into the trees.

Sniffing back the well of emotion anxious to be let out, Yusumi got up and investigated the area around her for piles of leaves she could use to keep warm. Now that she took a good look, the forest was alive with creatures. Birds flitted about high in the treetops and beetles scuttled around by her feet, and in the far distance, she even saw a deer. The morning dew glittered like jewels on every leaf.

It was startlingly different from the bustling city streets and the quiet palace gardens that she was used to, but for some reason, a calm spread throughout her body, making the horrors of the night seem like a bad dream.

Unfortunately, the blood on her nightclothes reminded her all too much of how real it had been, and she hoped that Jidan would be back soon so she could change.

For now, though, she could hide the awful colour and stench in the smell of the leaves she was to gather.