Their Promised Queen

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

            “We need to head this way, I know a large area that they could have used to camp at,” Zeke told the group. Standing over a large hand-drawn map with weathered edges. It definitely looks as if it has seen its fair share of use.

            “And she said they were headed west, so we should be looking over here. Should we send scouts ahead or just go and hope for the best?” Ruby thought out loud. 

            “Let’s send scouts ahead, that way we aren’t all heading in the wrong direction, just in case,” Zeke said. Ruby and Jyr nodded.

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            The rain stopped shortly after I left the projection state I was in and I would say it has been a few hours since, at least from where I see the sun in the sky. It would be almost lunch time. I guess it was a good thing I was out of it for the worst part of the downpour. 

            They’ll find me. Ruby promised. She doesn’t break promises. I thought. 

            All of a sudden we come to a stop, Ryte gets off his horse and walks around the group. “Who is it?” He booms around us. “Who is telling them where we are? Is it you?!” He points at one of his younger warriors. 

            “N..no…no sir, it wasn’t me,” the young warrior wimpers.

            “How about you?” He points at a few other men, who all tell him no. “Well someone has to be telling them, because I just learned that they are tailing us. There are a few of them not too far back.” Ryte looks over at me, smiles a dirty, crooked smile. “We are going to set a trap for them. But, this time, there will be no survivors.” Ryte walks away and onto the other side of the hill with a few guys, probably to figure out the trap they plan on setting up.

            Mun gets off the horse, reaches up to grab me, but instead of doing so nicely, he grabs my wings and yanks as hard as he can. The pain that starts shooting through my back is more than anything I have ever felt before. 

            “Ahhhh!!!” I scream. He seems surprised, as if he didn’t think it would hurt me at all, but that doesn’t make him stop. He decides to clamp his huge, meaty hand over my mouth while still causing me pain. I bet it’s because Ryte isn’t here. I have been with the group for several days now and this man hasn’t hurt me this much, but Ryte was always right there. “Stop!” I try to mumble through his hands.

            “I don’t plan on stopping girl. What I want, I have and I want you. Can’t you see that?” He whispers in my ear. His hot breathe making my skin crawl. “I want to make sure that after I am done with you, no one else will want you.” He pulls on my wings again as he brings his hands roughly between my pants and my shirt. The pain that he is causing me, makes me want to go back to sleep, to project, to just get away. No, you have to stay awake. You have to fight him, or he will get just what he wants. I hate when I am right. I try to fight and wiggle, to get him to stop touching me, but it only seems to make him more excited. “There aren’t many woman in Ventir, we have to go to the human realm for them. But, they don’t crush that craving for a winged fairy.” He continues to ramble on while playing with my brea**s, causing me pain by pinching and pulling on my ni**les. I am trying to block it out, but I really want to scream. His other hand moves from pulling on my wings to pulling on my hair. He finally stops the onslaught of my chest, but I soon realize that isn’t a good thing. As he is pulling on my hair, he is trying to pull my pants down. NO!!! This can’t happen! 

            “STOP!!!!” I scream at him. As I do, a wave of air hits him hard, picks him off the ground, and slams him into the closest tree. As he falls down to the ground, a few other men peak out from the other side of the hill. I look back at Mun, what just happened? The men are yelling at me, asking the same thing. I just shake my head at them, I don’t know. I have no idea what I just did. I look at the big man, still laying lifeless on the ground and then back at the men who are now starting to walk my way. They know I can’t fly, but I can run. I turn around a bolt the way we had come from.          

            I hear shouting coming from behind me and I can distinctly hear Ryte yelling at the men to get me quickly. Running as hard and as fast as I can, my feet hit the forest floor. The adrenaline running through me is making it hard to feel the sticks slapping against my face and ripping my clothes. I wish I could hide so that I can rest, even if only for a minute. The next thing I know, I am being lifted up by an invisible force and into a nearby tree. I grapple onto the limb and just sit there. Did I just do that?

            “Where did she go?!” Ryte yells at the men. “She didn’t just disappear!” 

            I look down and Ryte and his men are running right past my tree and continuing down the same pathway I would have taken. I’m safe…for now. Looking down at myself, I look like crap. My clothes are in shreds, with scratches everywhere. I have bruises already starting to form where Mun grabbed me. I just want to sleep, but I am afraid that I will fall out of the tree.

            “You won’t. We will be here to protect you and make sure you sleep safely.” A voice sounds from around me.

            “Who are you?” I ask

            “We are the elements. We are part of your powers.” the voice tells me.

            “What do you mean you are a part of my powers?” I ask, then yawn.

            “You are able to use us when you need us. Water, earth, fire, and air,” it informs me.

            “And which are you?” I ask the voice, curiously.

            “I am air. Your emotions woke me and now I am here. But, we can talk more another time, my power is waning away and you must rest. To keep you safe, I must disconnect from you and become myself again. While you sleep, I will care for you. When you wake, call for me and I will help you down.” With that, the voice drifted away while the darkness of sleep started to surround me. 

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            “She couldn’t have gotten this far, not without us knowing.” Ryte spits angrily at his men. “She didn’t even have use of her wings!”

            “This is the way she was headed, sir.” One of the men tells him, head down.

            “Let’s start heading back to camp. I need to inform Lady Chara,” Ryte says more to himself than the others. As Ryte and his men turn around to head back towards their camp, Zeke and his men jump out from around them.

            “How did you…how was I unable to feel your presence?” Ryte asked, surprised and confused. Zeke’s answer to him was to swing his sword towards him while Ryte pulled his sword out and quickly defended. “We should have killed you when we were at the castle.” Ryte told him with a smirk. The other men jump into action, attacking each other. The sound of swords clanging against each other. 

            “But, you didn’t. Now here I am. Where is the Queen?” Zeke asks him in between swings of his sword. Zeke hits Ryte’s sword so hard that Ryte drops it on the ground and backed Ryte up against a nearby tree. “I am going to ask you again, where is the Queen?” Zeke asks him, his foot on Rytes sword and the edge of his pointing at Rytes neck. 

            “You would want to know. I heard you are the girls fated one. How sweet,” Ryte sneers at Zeke.

            “The girl, is not just any girl. And he isn’t her only fated one. So tell me where she is or I will happily let my friend here end your life,” Ruby tells him as she walks around the tree.

            “Who are you? Hmm…you are beautiful,” Ryte licks his lips, staring at Ruby. Zeke takes it upon himself to push the sword towards Rytes neck, letting out a little prick of blood that seeps out onto his sword. 

            “Where is SHE?!” Zeke and Ruby ask at the same time. Zeke pushes a little harder with the sword, letting Ryte know that he isn’t playing.

            “Damn, you don’t need to do that. We lost her,” he told them. “Now get that thing off me.”

            “What do you mean you lost her?” Ruby asks him.

            “What I mean is, she threw one of my men against a tree and then ran. We tried following and lost her in the woods. We have no clue where your queen is,” he informed them.

            “Zeke, this is new…” Ruby whispered.

            “I know. I know.” Zeke told her. “What do I do with this guy?” 

            “I don’t care. He hurt El, he can die for all I care.” And with that, she walked away from the man. Zeke didn’t want to kill him, but didn’t want to just let him go. So, he would keep him from being one hundred percent. 

            Zeke brought his sword out and with it, plucked one of the mans eyes out. As he did, the man screamed in pain. Zeke went to the either side of Rytes head and brought his sword down, slicing his ear off. Ryte slunk to the ground, holding his bloody head in his hands. “Now, you will only be half of what you were. Never come near my Queen again. Ever. If you do, I wont be so kind.”

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When I woke up from my nap, I was still in the tree. That weird element thing was right, it kept me safe. I sit up and put my back up against the tree. Looking around me, I see all the light shining through the trees. It bounces off of everything and makes it seem much brighter than I know it should. It is nice to have woken up free, I just wish the pain in my back would go away. That I could free my wings in the same way. 

            “Air? Element air?” I call out quietly. How am I supposed to summon air. All it said was to call for it and it would help me down. “Air, please help me.”

            I feel a soft touch against my face and hair. 

            “I am here. Would you like down now?” air asked me.

            “Yes, please.” I looked around. I couldn’t see the element but I could definitely feel it. It was comforting and calming. I felt like I was being picked up by large hands and carried down to the ground below. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

            “Anything for you my Queen. We were helpers to your mother as well. It is an honor to serve you as well. Be safe my Queen and I look forward to helping you again.” And with that, the comforting feeling of air was gone. I was alone again. Where am I supposed to go?