The Labyrinth Queen

2. Running

Sonia

            As we silently walked through the forest area, I ran through a million ways to get rid of him but doubted any would work. I settled on the idea of ditching him when I am looking for food later unless he moves off to a different path. He is a stranger, and I will not stay with a stranger. I cannot trust him; I can’t trust anyone. I know it would be better to be on my own than with a man I do not know who can hurt me, kill me, or even rob me and leave me with nothing. I am a girl, just barely eighteen, he could be the reason everyone in this place is here in the first place. The worst of the world.

            “Jon, my name, er… its Jon, what’s yours?” he asks.

            I take a minute to decide if it is safe to even give him my name. Quickly deciding my name can’t cause too much trouble, so I give it to him. “Sonia.” I quietly reply.

            He hesitates before asking “Do you know this area well?” Which I think is stupid because I already told him that I had gotten turned around. He does not need to know the truth, that I am looking for a way out of this thing we are all stuck in. many people in here choose to just live their lives here in the danger. Some have even created villages and towns. In the center of The Labyrinth, there is even a castle with a queen. Most people live there. My parents were part of the few roamers known as runners. They have been running, looking for a way out since my grandparents were young. I do not know how we ended up in this prison, but I fully intend to get out. I can only hope that Jon is not intending on holding me back or sticking with me for long.

            We had been walking for about three hours when we heard the faint sound of twigs and brush. As the sound got louder, we began to feel the ground shake. “Run!” I yelled. Jon grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him. Then ducked into a hedge. A huge wild boar raced past us and stopped where we had jumped off the path. Jon Jumped out of the brush grabbed a large branch from the ground and charged for the boar. I picked up some rocks and started to throw them at the great beast, distracting it just long enough for Jon to stab it in the ribs and kill it. I pulled out my knife, thinking it would make a wonderful meal, but Jon grabbed my hand and started running.

            “There is something bigger coming! Run as your life depends on it Little Flower.”

            Little Flower? I am not now, nor have I ever been a flower. “My name is Sonia! Not ‘Little Flower’” I huff.

            “Shh! We need to hide, or we’ll be caught!” He whispered.

            Quietly we flatten ourselves under a tree just in time for the largest bear I had ever seen, to come rampaging through the forest. The ground shook and the trees fell as he tore his way through the area looking for his prey. Suddenly, the shade is gone, replaced with the bright sunlight as the tree we were hiding under fell over. We laid still, barely breathing. As the bear moved on. When it was out of sight we got up and went back to the main path, which now looked nothing like it had only a few minutes ago.

            “Which way are you headed, Jon?” I questioned, hoping he would give me a clue.

            “Um, the direction you are. It appears it is dangerous here, and a Little Flower, like yourself, should not be left to wander the Labyrinth alone.”

            I ground my teeth together and readied myself for the rest of the day. As we walked, I started to formulate a plan. Occasionally I would steal glances at the man I walked with trying to judge how fast he was and how much distance he would give me before he followed. When I had to relieve myself, he would give me a small amount of privacy, but he would stay close by, no matter how far I walked into the woods. He would then wait for me to finish and then follow me back to the path.

            Around dusk, I decided it was time to ditch him. I offered to find some food if he would look for a good place to sleep for the night. He said “I think we will be better if we do it all together. If you leave my site, you may be eaten by a lion.” I gritted my teeth and kept moving to look for the roots that grow the best food and thinking about the boar we had to leave behind.

            An hour later we had enough roots and berries to stave off the need for food and we began looking for a good place to rest. He had been acting odd all day, occasionally smiling, or snickering for no apparent reason. No matter how many parts of me wanted to trust him, I just could not. I was trained from a young age to only rely on myself, and never trust a stranger, especially a man. My first plan had failed miserably. He was supposed to go hunt for shelter and I would look for food, but then run off and hide in a place far enough away that he would not find me. I decided to try again after we ate, and he started to fall asleep.

Jon

            She had been looking for an escape all day. I toyed with the idea of letting her go and continuing to follow her, but then that boar ran through our path followed by the giant bear. There was no way I could trust that she would be safe if I just let her go. Once the Queen discovered that I had failed my mission she would send more guards to investigate and finish the job. They would not fail, and so I opted to stay.

            Sam and I argued about how to stay by her side all day. Occasionally he would comment how she walked or how determined she is to get away and I would inevitably smile or snicker. I’m sure she thought I was crazy. She was so cute going farther and farther away each time she would need to relieve herself as if I didn’t know her plan. I am sure I made it clear that I had planned to stick with her. I could only hope that she would allow it, and not get lucky. She doesn’t know that I will be able to track her down no matter where she goes. That wonderful scent of lilac and vanilla will always call to me now.

            “I will look for some food if you will go and find a safe place to sleep.” Her suggestion drags me out of my thoughts and back to reality. Looking around I find the sun is setting and it is indeed time to look for safety and food. “If we let her out of our sight she will run,” Sam says in my head. Aloud I say, “I think we will be better if we do it all together. If you leave my site, you may be eaten by a lion.”

            She was so cute when she stomped away searching for roots and berries. It is getting colder so there are fewer berries, but there were still enough roots to eat to keep us from starving. It took about an hour before we were finally able to start looking for a place to rest. “I think we will need to sleep with one eye open tonight or she will be gone in the morning,” Sam suggested. Knowing he is right, I decide it will be better if I take the first shift so she can rest, and I will not need to worry about her running off until later. I can “forget to wake” her and then we will avoid the escape routine.

            The Queen will probably send more troops tomorrow so we should have at least two days before they reach us, maybe more depending on who she sends. If we are lucky, by the time they find us we will be out of this place. If we are unlucky, we may need to fight our way out, or die trying. In my head, Sam is pacing when he looks at me and says” We should tell her. We need to mark her so we can always find her no matter what happens. Tonight!”  If we do that, she will run, and she will hate us. We cannot drive her away if we want her to accept us. She will need time. I tell him.

            “Here!” she announces. “The perfect place to hide us both and allow us to rest for the night. No fires tonight though, we have had too many close calls.”

            “Agreed!” I say.

            We settle down and eat our food raw. It isn’t the best dinner I have ever had, but I have had far worse as well. I watch as she puts some carefully in a pouch for later and asks if I want the first watch. This throws me. I figured she would run as soon as we bedded down but figured she would be okay to sleep for now. She rolls over and begins to snore softly in less than five minutes.

            I figured I could let her sleep for the whole night and only rest for a bit, but around four hours later she began to stir. She was so beautiful I couldn’t help but watch her. She yawned and stretched then looked at me. “If you’re watching me, how do you know we are safe?” she asked.

            I blushed and said, “I can do both Little Flower.”

            “Why didn’t you wake me sooner? You need to sleep as well!”

            “You looked so peaceful I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.”

            “Well, I’m awake now, so get some sleep.” She said, feigning innocence.

            “You promise you will still be here in the morning?”

            “Where would I go? It's dark and unsafe.”

            Knowing better than to trust that she would still be here in the morning I closed my eyes and began to breathe deeply. Sure enough, when she thought I was asleep she crawled out of our little hiding place and made a run for it. Unfortunately for her, I can follow her even in the dark. I followed and waited for her to bed down for the night. When the sun began to rise, I started a fire and began cooking a few eggs I had found while waiting for her to wake.