by Kelli Kimble
Ray sat, and I settled in the spot he’d indicated. I found myself staring at him.
“Fiona,” said Elliot. “He’s just a man, like any other.”
“Sorry,” I said, breaking my gaze. He looked like a man, of course. But, there were subtle differences. The whiteness of his teeth, for example. Also, his fingernails were short and smooth-edged with no dirt underneath. And he smelled different—like flowers or herbs. It was hard to pinpoint what it reminded me of.
“It’s fine, Elliot. She’s never met someone who didn’t come from the village. Right?”
I nodded.
“So, back to what we were saying. Can we get to the mountain before dark?” asked Elliot.
“It’ll be close. But, it doesn’t matter. I know the way,” answered Ray.
“Know the way to where?” I asked.
Ray smiled. “To my home. In the mountain.”
“The mountain?”
“Yes.” He looked at Elliot. “I thought you told her about us.”
“I did,” answered Elliot. “Maybe I didn’t make it clear that you live inside a mountain.”
He turned back to me. “We live inside a colony built under a mountain. But, we don’t confine ourselves inside. At least, not the way they did when your people were there.”
“So, we can be there tonight?” asked Elliot.
“Yep. Why don’t you two have something to eat, and then we’ll get going?”
Elliot handed me some dried meat and an apple. The sight of the food made my empty stomach rumble, and I ate it quickly.
“Whoa,” joked Ray. “Don’t get your hand near that thing.”
“I know. She eats like she’s never seen food before. Can you believe she’s royalty?”
“Shut up,” I said. I turned my back to them and finished, though I made an effort to slow down.
“I think you hurt her feelings,” whispered Ray.
“Me? It was you who said to keep your hands away from her mouth.”
I swallowed the last bite and looked at them over my shoulder. “I think it’s pretty clear that you both hurt my feelings.”
“I was just joking,” said Ray. “It was Elliot who said the mean things.”
“What? I only said—you know what? Never mind. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, Fiona. I know you were treated poorly as a field-hand.”
“I thought you said she was royalty,” said Ray.
I opened my mouth to answer, but Elliot shushed me.
He went to the door opening and peeked his head around the corner. Ray stood behind him, his hand on the handle of a dagger that hung from his belt.
Muffled voices were coming closer to the cabin. I moved to stand next to the fireplace, away from the middle of the room. But, I knocked a rock loose from the chimney, and it tumbled to the ground.
I looked at the men. Elliot hadn’t moved, but Ray was gaping at me, his eyes wide. He raised a finger to his lips, and I nodded.
“What was that?” a voice outside the cabin ruins said. It was closer and clearer than it had been before. Footsteps came even closer. Panic rose in me as they stopped right outside.
“It came from in there,” another voice said.
Ray’s face cracked into a smile, and I stared at him, confused.
He put a restraining hand on Elliot’s arm, clearly indicating that Elliot should remain where he was. Then, he walked around Elliot and through the door.
“Hey, what are you guys doing all the way out here?” said Ray in a loud voice.
“Ray. We could ask you the same thing,” someone said.
“I come out here to get away sometimes. To think. Be alone,” said Ray. His voice was fading as he drew the others away.
“We’re just looking for some big game. We think there might be some felines around here.”
Their voices trailed off, and I looked at Elliot.
“What’s a feline?” I whispered.
He shrugged.
“Why are we a secret? I thought he was taking us to his home. Aren’t those people from his home, too?”
“I don’t know, Fiona. Would you please keep quiet? I’m trying to hear.”
I clamped my mouth shut. Elliot and Ray had some plan, and I needed to trust that they were going to follow through.
After a good half an hour, Ray returned.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “I didn’t know there were any hunting parties that came over this way. They won’t bother us again.”
I couldn’t contain my questions anymore. “Why did you hide us?” I asked. “You said you were going to take us to where you live. Don’t you trust your own people?”
Ray stood stock still, only his eyelids moving, as he blinked rapidly.
Elliot piped up, “I count you as a friend, Ray. And I trust you. But, you have to admit, from our perspective, it’s shady that you hid us and led them away.”
Ray gave a slow nod. “It’s just that—there is some ill will between our groups. I don’t know how people will react if I just bring you in. I want to take it slow. I’ll bring you to the mountain. But, I can’t take you inside. Not until the council agrees that you can come in.”
Elliot’s mouth formed into a soundless “oh”.
“I’m sorry, Elliot. I know we’ve always talked about you joining in, and I want that. But, I can’t guarantee anything. Especially since I had no warning.”
Elliot flicked his eyes at me, then back to Ray. “I know I should have planned this with you. I didn’t think it would happen like this, to tell you the truth.” He ruffled his hands through his hair. “We have to keep her safe. She’s important.”
“Okay,” said Ray. “Maybe for now, you should stay here. I could go back home and try to convince a friend I have on the council to come and meet you. Maybe she would sponsor the idea of you coming in to live with us before the rest of the council.”
“What about the others?” I asked. “The hunting party. They won’t come back, will they?”
Ray shook his head. “I don’t think so. They’re looking for felines; there aren’t any around here. I directed them off to the west.”
A shiver ran down my spine. “What’s a feline, Ray?” I asked.
“It’s a big cat. Ferocious creatures. They can kill a man with a single swipe of their paw. But there really aren’t any around here. I’ve never seen one this far east, and I’ve never seen any signs near here.”
I gulped. Presumably, less than a single swipe could kill me.
“Here,” said Ray. “I’ll leave you with my crossbow. A feline struck by one will immediately retreat, even if you don’t kill it. So long as it’s alone.” He handed his crossbow to Elliot. Elliot held it up to his shoulder and peered above it, aiming it around the cabin walls. I got the feeling he had used it before.
“What if it isn’t alone?” I asked.
Ray cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Like I said, it’s very unlikely you would encounter one over this way.”
Elliot and Ray exchanged a knowing glance. I knew they thought they had to protect me from whatever the truth was. So, the truth probably was something I didn’t want to know.
Chapter 5
Ray left us in the cabin. He said he would return soon—hopefully, the next day—with the council woman who he thought would help us. I watched him go with a ball of dread in my stomach. Could we trust him? Could I even trust Elliot? I wasn’t sure.
Elliot immediately noticed my discomfort. “You want to talk about it?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not really,” I said.
“You’re afraid Ray will turn us in.”
“Maybe,” I admitted.
“Oh, it’s even worse than that. You’re afraid I’ll turn on you, too.”
My face burned, and I was thankful for the deep shadows inside the cabin walls.
He nodded. “I get it. I would probably be suspicious, too. You’d be stupid not to have some kind of worry about the situation.” He stood u
p and held his hand out to me. “Come on; I’ll show you around the village.”
I took his hand, and he helped me up. We left the cabin. I looked around but no village was really discernable. We appeared to be in a heavily forested area, not a village.
“I don’t understand. I don’t see anything but trees,” I said.
“Look closely, and you’ll see more.”
He took hold of my arm and guided me forward. He stood slightly behind me and lowered his head to be level with mine, then pointed into the distance so that I could follow the trajectory of his finger. “Right over there. There’s another.”
I peered in the direction that he was pointing, but I could only see more trees. We continued to move forward, and as we did, the rough outline of another cabin became apparent. This one was missing part of a wall, and so, was less obvious.
“I see it,” I whispered. As we approached, I heard a scuffling inside. “There’s something in there,” I said. I stopped walking.
“No, there’s nobody here.” He went around me and continued towards the cabin.
There was another, louder rustle. This time, he heard it and froze. Ray’s crossbow was hanging on his back, and he slowly brought it around to his chest and shouldered it.
“Who’s in there?” he shouted. The rustling increased to an almost-frantic level. “Get back to our cabin,” he said to me.
I didn’t need to be told twice, and I began backing away. But then, the rustling reached an explosive level. A huge deer jumped through the broken wall at Elliot. He stumbled and fell backwards onto the ground. The deer stomped its hoof twice. A smaller deer and three fawns rushed through the opening and dashed off behind the cabin and out of sight.
The deer shook its antlers, snorted, and locked eyes with Elliot. It looked up at me for just a moment and then, it, too ran around to the opposite side of the cabin.
Elliot stood up and brushed the dirt from his backside. “Well, that was embarrassing,” he said.
“That was the hugest deer I’ve ever seen.”
He laughed. “Yeah, that’s why I fell on my ass. Because it was a really big, really scary deer.”
Seeing the humor, I smiled. “At least it wasn’t a feline.”
“I was far more worried that it was someone from home,” he answered, his smile fading.
I went to the cabin and looked inside. Part of the roof was intact, and the deer had settled in it as if it were a cave. The weeds were flattened in the corner, where they’d been sleeping.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“It’s a cabin,” he answered.
I grunted. “I know this is a cabin. I’m talking about this place.” I pointed around us. “Where are we?”
“Oh. This is the original village. It’s where the first people outside lived.”
“Our ancestors?”
“No. Well, some of our ancestors. The queen mother lived here for a time, with her first husband. When he died, she remarried the son of the original two. They did not part ways amiably.”
“She didn’t kill him?”
“Nope.”
“But why not? She killed all those other people.”
He shrugged. “I guess even evil queens draw the line somewhere. Besides, she wanted him to raise their adopted daughter. She was afraid the council members would retaliate against her by killing the girl. So, she sent him away with the daughter.”
“But, the queen mother had other children later. Because there’s a clear line of children after that.”
“Yes, of course. She had one daughter. She was pregnant with her when she sent the husband away.”
I tried to work out all the relationships in my head. “So, I’m descended from the queen mother in our village. But also from someone who ended up living in the mountain.”
“Yes, but I don’t know if he had any children.” He steered me through the forest to a great stone. “Look at this. I found this once when I was waiting for Ray. Isn’t it beautiful?”
It was a large rock, taller than I was. It had flecks of pink, gray, and black, and its surface sparkled in the sunlight. One side of it was flat and though it was weathered some, there were markings carved into its face. I traced my fingers over them. “What are these? These markings?”
“Ray says it’s writing. In the mountain, they communicate both by speaking and recording these marks in special patterns. These marks here spell the names of people who died before the village purged the originals.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” I said. “Why don’t we have something like it?”
He swiped his hands over it. “Maybe that’s a question for the queen.”
Unbidden, frustrated tears washed my eyes. I blinked them back, but Elliot noticed.
“Hey, so, we can’t read the marks. So, what?” He patted my shoulder.
I shook off his hand. “How can so much have been hidden from me? From the others in the village? What other things are there to know?”
“There’s an enormous store of knowledge inside the mountain. Somehow, people in our village were convinced to mostly leave it behind. And we’ve forged a different existence with what we know.”
My tears turned to anger. “We’ve forged ignorance and stupidity. No wonder we fear those in the mountain. Not only did we treat them terribly; they probably know enough to easily wipe us out. We could never win a fight against people who have such knowledge.”
“Easy,” said Elliot. “You sound as if you think this is all your fault.”
“Isn’t it? This is my family’s legacy to our people.”
“And you had nothing to do with that. You are a victim, as well as the rest of us. But there is a difference between you and the rest of us.” He put an arm around me and wiped a tear from my cheek.
“What?” I asked, sniveling.
“You are the future queen. You could do a lot to improve our situation.”
I shook him off and stood up. “How can I improve anything? I’ve run off, as if I’m guilty; I can’t bear a child; I can’t understand writing, and pretty much everything I’ve ever been taught is a flat-out lie.”
He stood and turned back towards the cabin, where our things were. “When you’re done feeling sorry for yourself, you can join me in the cabin.”
He walked away, leaving me to stand in front of the stone. I studied it again, tracing my fingers over the gouges.
It frustrated me that Elliot kept bringing up my role in the village. Clearly, I’d left all that behind by fleeing with him. Hadn’t I? How could I return and claim to be the heir when I was childless and possibly guilty of murder?
But, Elliot wasn’t stupid. The only explanation was that he knew something he wasn’t sharing with me. Something that had some bearing on my life.
I walked in circles around the stone, until my anger was spent. The sun was starting to set by the time I had my emotions under control. I went back to the cabin and stood in the doorway. Elliot was sitting on his cape in the corner, playing a game of dice.
“May I come in?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I guess.”
I settled on the cape beside him, and he made a small movement to accommodate me. But not by much.
“Listen, about earlier. . . I’m sorry that I shouted at you,” I said.
He held out a pair of die to me. “Highest wins,” he said, casting his pair.
“Elliot, no. I mean it. I apologize for taking out my anger and frustration on you. It isn’t your fault that we’re in this situation.” I paused. “Well, it isn’t entirely your fault. I suppose, mostly, it is. But not all of it.”
He smiled a little and jabbed at me with his elbow. “I said, highest wins.”
I shook out my pair beside his—snake eyes.
“Ha. Seven to two. I win.”
I wrinkled my nose.
“What’s that look for?” He swept up the die and put them back in his pocket. “I won, fair and square.”
“If it was
so fair, why did you hurry to put them away? Why not best two out of three?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as paranoid as you.”
“Welcome to royalty,” I snapped.
◆◆◆
The next day dragged by. The afternoon was drawing to a close when I turned to Elliot. “Where is he? He said he would be back today.”
“Yes, and he also said he might not be back today. He has to get this council person to cooperate and come. Maybe she was busy.”
I snorted. “More likely, she doesn’t exist. He only said what he thought we wanted to hear.”
“I trust him, and he’ll be back. Soon.” His face reddened as he said it.
We fell to bickering over our food supply, until we heard voices approaching. Elliot crept to the door to peek through the vines.
“It’s me,” we heard Ray say, from somewhere outside.
I released the breath I’d been holding. “Thank goodness,” I muttered.
Elliot glared at me, but as soon as Ray penetrated the vines and entered the cabin, he was all smiles. “We’re glad to see you,” Elliot said.
“I bet,” he said. He winked at me and smiled. “We could hear you two arguing all the way across the village.”
“You could not,” I said.
He shrugged and turned to the woman he’d brought in with him. “This is Genesee. She is a member of the council. Gen, this is my friend, Elliot, and his friend, Fiona.” He indicated us each in turn.
Genesee shook our wrists in the same awkward manner that Ray had. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” she said. Her voice was soft and soothing, though her facial features were severe.
“And also you,” I said.
“Why don’t we sit down?” suggested Elliot. He pointed to the hearth, and Genesee sat there. The rest of us sat around her on the ground.
“Ray tells me that you have some questions about our colony,” she said.
I glanced at Elliot. Questions?
“Um, yes,” said Elliot. “We do have some questions.”
“Okay,” she said. She stared at Elliot, expectation clear on her face.
“Well, we’re curious about how you live. How you are different. From our village, I mean,” he said.