Their Promised Queen

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

            Waking up, I see the grey morning sky leaking through my eyelids. I can already smell the impending rain along with food cooking. I open my eyes and take a look around to see most everyone is awake and ready. The food cooking on the fire looks to be a pig and my mouth waters. I am so hungry! And why does my back hurt so bad?! I look around and realize, my wings are tied up. I can’t move them and that is what is making me hurt. I guess if they can’t keep me knocked out, they’ll just make sure I can’t fly away. 

            “Here.” As a plate of meat is shoved my face. I start groveling the food into my mouth and once there is no more, I sigh heavily. At least they’re feeding me.

            “We’re moving out as soon as the sun has fully risen. Be packed up by then!” says a booming voice to my right. It’s the “boss” guy, the one who talked to me right before I got knocked out at the castle and the one who talked to me last night after I tried running away. 

            “Who are you?” I ask him. I know he wasn’t talking to me, but the whole camp. I needed to know his name anyways. He looks down at me with a sneer. 

            “And why, little queen, should I tell you?” He asks. “You are nothing to me.”

            “Because I would like to know who I am spending so much time with. I know nothing about you.” I say shrugging, like I don’t care either way.

            “My name is Ryte and that there is Mun,” he says pointing at the giant man. “But that is all you will get from me. We are not friends and you are not my queen. You are my captive and soon, hopefully, I will be rid of you.” With that he walks away. Great.

            After everyone has eaten and the sun has risen over the edge, behind those grey clouds, we start to head out. Just as we are leaving the campsite, the rain starts to fall around us. Like large water pellets falling down on our heads. Within seconds, we are all drenched and can barely see what is in front of us. We slowly continue on, me with my hands and wings tied, sitting in front of giant man, Mun. 

            I sit there thinking to myself while we’re riding through the curtains of rain. I seem to get lost in thoughts of my parents, Ruby, Zeke, my aunt who raised me, and what this soul mate pull means for me. And what was Ruby trying to tell me right before everything happened?

            Just as I’m starting to relax, I feel a weird sensation at the back of my thoughts. Trying to dig for it, I can’t see anymore. Like there isn’t anything in front of me anymore. It’s blackness again, but I remember the last time this happened, I could manipulate things in the blackness. I wish for light everywhere and all of a sudden, it is bright. I’m in the wooded areas on the outskirts of the castle. When I look over to my right, I can see Zeke. Man does he look so handsome, strong and confident. He’s telling everyone where to go and what to do. What are they doing? I walk over to them to get a better look. It looks like they camped out.

            “Zeke!” I tried yelling. He didn’t hear me, just like Ruby last time. “Zeke! Hello!”

            I decide I am going to poke him. See if he can notice me then. So, I walked around the others and up to Zeke. Standing right in front of me, he is still talking to someone else. I reach my hand out and poke his cheek. No reaction. So, I am going to do it again, just like Jason used to do to me. I poked his soft cheek again and again and again. He jerks his head towards where my finger was. He felt it!

            “What’s wrong Sir?” asks the man with Zeke.

            “Umm…nothing. I must go see Rumaliza. Make sure everyone gets packed up and is ready to go before that rain reaches us,” he says and walks away. “Elora, if you are here, please follow me.” He whispers as he walks away. Wait, how did he know it was me if he can’t see me? I follow him anyways.

            “Ruby? Come here.” He calls from the outside of a large tent. Ruby walks out, her face puffy and red. She looks like she’s been crying. 

            “What’s going on Zeke? Is everyone ready to go?” She asks. She sees the worried look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

            “Elora’s here. I felt something poking me and thought it was my imagination, but it couldn’t be. I whispered for her to follow me if it was her. Hopefully she did. We need to get Jyr and see if we can see any part of her.” Ruby nods in agreement, looking around to find me. “I will go get him if you would like to stay here, you have a stronger connection to her anyways…she would feel better to sit with you.” Zeke says and walks away. The look on his face, I feel bad for him. He’s been alone so long and he probably thinks I don’t like him. I do, it’s just weird knowing I have no control over my own destiny and that the love of my life was decided for me. 

            “El, are you really here?” Ruby asks, barely a whisper. “I miss you so much…” and then she starts sniffling like she is going to cry. 

            “Where is she?” and older man asks. This must be Jyr, the guy Zeke mentioned.

            “I’m not sure, I felt her a little bit ago and told her to follow me if she was really there. So, I am hoping she’s in this area.” Zeke told him. 

            “My Queen, if you are here, focus on showing yourself to us. This way we can see and communicate with you. Your power is strong, but if you cannot focus, then we cannot help you,” Jyr explains. I try to focus on showing myself to them. I try focusing on me right in front of them. This heavy feeling starts to flow up from my feet all the way up to the top of my head. As it does, the whole group gasps.

            “Elora!” Ruby shouts then clasps her hand over her mouth. “My apologies, Queen Elora.”

            “Ruby, you can always call me Elora or El. I have missed you so much! How is this possible? How am I here?” I turn from Ruby to Jyr. He must have the answers.

            “You have the power of projection my dear. It is what you were doing before you came to the fairy world, even though your powers were supposed to be binded until you arrived back in Seloria. Now, you can do it whenever you want. Now that you are back the magick has made that power stronger. So, instead of it happening at random times, whenever you think about something, you can be there. At least, in some way.” No wonder they brought this man along, he does know quite a bit. 

            “So, what I did before, in my room when Ruby was there. That was projection as well? Wow….so why can’t I just teleport here?” I asked him.

            “It does not work that way my dear. That is a very strong power, one that we have not seen in thousands of years. But yours can still be very useful to us. You can tell us where they have you at.” 

            “Well, we’re on the move right now. We are moving slowly because of the rain. It’s coming down in very large amounts which is making it hard for them to see where they’re going. We were in a large grove, but I can’t really tell you where because they had me knocked out for the majority of the time. We are heading further west. That much I know,” I tell them.

            “Are you ok Elora? Have they hurt you?” Zeke asks me, worried.

            “I’m fine Zeke,” I can tell my lie didn’t work, which caused Zeke and Ruby to look angry.

            “I’m going to kill them, I swear I will,” Zeke says as his hands ball into fists. “What are they trying to do with you?”

            “One of them asked if they really had to give me to ‘her’, so I guess whoever that is.” I shrug.

            “Elora, we have to get you away from them. If they’re talking about Chara, then you are in grave danger,” Ruby tells me, a little freaked out. Although, my confused look probably does nothing for this conversation. “She is the one who killed your parents, uncle, and little cousin. She is the reason you had to hide for so long.”

            Finally, I begin to understand. Whoever this Chara lady is, wanted my family dead. She got part of that wish, but not me. Now that I am back, she is after me. 

            “Wait, how did she know I was back and in the castle?” I ask, even more puzzled than before. 

            “There has to be an inside guy. Someone who has been feeding her or her lackeys information,” Zeke thinks, tapping the side of his arm with the other hand. “They would have to be someone who knew when you planned on being in the castle, so not a commoner.”

            “We can figure this out later, I am not sure I will be able to keep this up much longer. I don’t feel so well.” I say, while feeling my head. I’m feeling lighter, that heavy feeling I had when I was visible to my friends drifting away.

            “El, if you need to go back, go ahead. We will find you, I promise.” Ruby tells me while attempting to grab my arm. But the projection is wearing off and her hand goes right through. Tears start to well up in her eyes. “Be safe.”