The Princess and Her Rogue

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  As they reached the crest of the hill, Nate and Kiara found themselves looking over a long, wide stretch of the Field of Fire. They stopped and stared out at the field with confusion and horror. It must have been five miles wide and ten miles long, with the snow capped mountains just beyond its border. Running alongside the field, was the river they had been following and which flowed right into the field, explaining how it came to be horribly toxic.

  Kiara had never seen the Field of Fire, but what she saw was like something out of her worst nightmares. It was a huge wasteland of red, dry dirt, spotted with numerous exploding geysers of hot air, fire and lava. No trees, bushes or grass grew there. It was like a taste of hell on earth. Nothing lived in it and anything that went through it, wouldn’t come out alive. Kiara felt like bursting into tears. How could they ever get home this way?

  “I thought you told me that we wouldn’t have to cross the field?” she whimpered, standing next to Nate as he surveyed the land with sharp eyes.

  “I know. I thought we wouldn’t have to. I haven’t been this way before, remember? Past the bog, I really don’t know anything about the land except what the map says. And I doubt anyone has made it this far to record this on any map,” he said calmly, as if there was nothing wrong with this little unsettling discovery.

  “So, what do we do?” Kiara asked nervously.

  “We walk through it.”

  Nate stepped carefully down the hill, leaving Kiara up at the top as she was searching for another way. She wasn’t quite sure if she heard him right.

  “But, can’t we cross the river?” she asked, strategically following him down the slope, trying not to lose her footing.

  “Nope. I told you, the river is almost pure acid. If we try to cross it ourselves, we’d be burned alive.”

  “Can’t we make a boat or something? Anything but going through that field!” she cried out as they slid down to the base of the hill, standing toe-to-toe with her worst fear. Up close, the field looked even more intimidating and deadly. She could feel the hot wind blowing from the valley, making her face perspire and hair sweep back behind her shoulders.

  “The river would sink the boat. Even if it survived through the acid, the waves and current would sweep us in the opposite way we want to go and we might capsize,” Nate explained, pausing to look out over the field, seeming a little hesitant, as well.

  “But, we can’t go through that place! We’ll still be burned alive! Look, it’s shooting up fire from the ground!” Kiara pointed very distressingly at a geyser that was, indeed spouting fire and lava from the earth’s core.

  “It’s our only other choice. And we can avoid the geysers easily enough…” Nate took a deep breath, then stepped forward to enter the forbidden land of fire. “Come on,” he encouraged. Kiara gulped and tiptoed after him, being carefully of where she stepped on the cracked, crimson ground.

  Kiara could begin to feel the heat of the ground through her boots as they walked along past all the geysers and little creeks of lava. Ahead, Nate was keeping a close watch over the landscape, finding the most direct path north as possible, still using the river and mountains as his guide. Kiara followed close behind, not wishing to be separate from him. All anger from the early afternoon disappeared. All she felt now was fear.

  About half a mile into the field, they seemed to be doing well. There was a broad path that appeared to weave across the field in the exact direction they wanted to go, avoiding all geysers. Kiara began to wonder why the field was so dangerous in the first place. It wasn’t like it was difficult to stay alive. The geysers weren’t hard to miss and they could just walk around them. The field was only just a little scary now. It was like when she was afraid of spiders. Her father told her when she was very young that, yes, spiders look scary, but as long as they’re not touching her, they’re not dangerous at all. Kiara wanted to consider the Field of Fire as just some really big spider.

  But, her naïve idea was soon to be destroyed. Just ahead of them, as they were about to complete their first mile in the field, something strange happened.

  Nate held out his arm and stopped her as they observed a horizontal crack forming in the dirt across their path. It wasn’t large, but it looked deep. Then, there came a loud rumbling sound, a small earthquake and then silence. Kiara peered at the crack, not more than two yards from them.

  “What happened?” she asked. Just then, fire erupted from the crack, towering ten feet over their heads in an angry burst of fury to answer her question. Kiara grabbed Nate’s arm, holding it tightly to her chest and backed up. Nate didn’t move, but allowed her to grip his arm, not seeming to mind. He just stared at the pillar of flames and tightened his jaw like a brave warrior.

  And, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the fire died away, leaving only a small geyser, spouting out hot steam. Kiara stood, her knees knocking together, still holding his arm, staring wide-eyed at the small crack that had brought such terror into her heart.

  “Ok… Now, we know to avoid that… Come on,” Nate said, tugging his arm away from her and walking around the tiny geyser, staying out of reach from its steam. She was flabbergasted. How could he see such a dramatic thing happen and not be trembling with fear as she was?

  “You can’t be serious!?” Kiara shrieked, refusing to move. “This place is going to burn us alive!”

  “If you keep standing around like that you will,” Nate said, looking over his shoulder to motion down to her feet. Kiara looked down and saw a crack form just in front of her. Before she even had a chance to hear the earth growl, she jumped out of the way and ran after Nate, letting the fire explode behind her like a delayed trap that tried to ensnare her.

  Nate chuckled as he watched her catch up with him, looking all around for the mysterious cracks in the ground.

  “How can you be so calm about this?” Kiara asked, noticing he was walking very casually as he was watching the ground ahead.

  “Because, if you get scared and panic, then you lose your head in these situations.”

  Kiara walked next to him, holding her stomach anxiously, staring at the dry, parched land. She tried to take his advice, but her mind was racing with fear and doubt. All she could think about were the cracks, the growling, the fire, the explosions and everything that could potentially kill her before they reached the end - which seemed like a very long way away.

  They walked another two miles in silence, only coming across a dozen more new geyser formations along the way, which they dodged easily enough. Kiara would give a loud shriek every time the bouts of fire exploded from the ground, even if it was a good distance away and Nate only acknowledged the geysers and kept walking.

  As they neared the completion of their fourth mile in the field, Nate stopped for some reason.

  “What’s wrong?” Kiara said, worried that a new crack would form too closely to them if they stood still like this.

  “The river,” he muttered, looking to their right. Kiara noticed it too. The river was gone. They had no guide but the mountains ahead and they seemed to wrap around the land, giving them no real direction in which to go. Kiara didn’t know which way was north and Nate was confused too. He let out a deep, heavy sigh and looked over the land, deciding his next move. At least now, he was awake enough to make the wisest and most appropriate decision, so Kiara had confidence that he would find the right path. She only hoped he would find it sooner, rather than later when it was too late. She dreaded to think of getting lost in the field once the sun had sunk from their view. Even now, it was concealed by clouds and smoke that drifted above the flaming geysers, which would make it harder for Nate to find the way out.

  In the meantime, Kiara scrutinized the ground carefully, watching for unwanted cracks that may emerge at any given moment. Her thoughts were much too preoccupied with this search that she wasn’t even paying much attention to anything else. If Nate had found the way and kept walking without giving her any signal, she probably would have never noticed.

 
; Then, she heard the low rumble and felt the earthquake, but she could see no crack anywhere. She frantically looked all around and underneath her, but she saw nothing.

  “Nate.” She panicked. Right between his legs, a crack was forming and he didn’t even seem notice.

  Without saying a word - and obviously having no time to explain her actions - Kiara ran and tackled Nate just in time for fire to spew up from the crack. They had narrowly cheated death, but not without acquiring some bruises.

  When they fell to the ground about a yard from the fresh steaming geyser that had tried to burn him, Kiara had landed squarely on top of Nate. They both fell with a grunt and Kiara let out a whimper as her knees had bumped against his legs. Nate must have been the one in the most discomfort, as she had most of her weight pressed against the gash in his side and he had broken Kiara’s fall.

  “What the…” Nate began. But, as he caught a glimpse of the new geyser, he shut his mouth and let his head fall to the ground. Kiara was face-to-face with Nate, her hands and forearms half-supporting her own weight on his broad, muscular chest. She had never been this close to him before. It was exhilarating.

  “Sorry,” Kiara muttered breathlessly, finding that it was hard to regain the air that had been lost out of her lungs. Nate looked up and an expression came over him that made it difficult for her to perceive what he must have been feeling. It was a look of surprise, but at the same time, confusion. It was like he was shocked that their faces were so close together for the first time, but not really hating it either. He seemed worried, too, for some reason.

  “Are you ok?” she asked after they had just stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment, mesmerized. Kiara felt tightness in her stomach and chest - which felt oddly good. She felt her skin break into a cold sweat. Was it Nate’s body heat that made her fell beads of sweat roll down her back or was it something else? Either way, she felt like she was dripping more than usual.

  “Yeah, I’m fine… But, uh…” Nate glanced behind her, towards their feet, “…You’re on fire.”

  Kiara chuckled a little and grinned. “Thanks. I think I have been doing a pretty good job of avoiding the cracks. It is getting a little…”

  “No, no. You’re really on fire!” Nate exclaimed, taking hold of her arms and trying to push her off of his torso.

  Kiara peered at him curiously, then looking down to her cloak hem. She really was on fire! Almost a complete bottom corner of the cloak she was wearing was burning and spreading to the other corner and up towards the back of her knees. She must have caught a bit of the flames just as she was jumping over the geyser.

  She shrieked, stood up and shed the cloak off quickly, throwing it onto one of the already lit geysers, letting it burn to ashes. Nate got to his feet too and examined her lower legs below her knees to make sure nothing else had caught on fire. She was safe, now, but now cloak-less.

  “Oh!” She looked at the little bit of remainders of the cloak on the ground. “That was your’s, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah, but that’s alright. You don’t need it out here anyway. You look like you’re soaked. Do you feel ok?” he asked, letting his hand rest on her arm, showing a hint of compassion like he had actually cared whether she was ok or not.

  Kiara looked him and nodded nervously. “Yes, I’m fine… You look like you’re drenched too.”

  Nate wiped his dirty sleeve across his face and forehead and smirked a little, looking at the water mark he’d left on the cloth. That, in turn, left dirt smudges on his face. “I guess I am too…” he said amusingly. Kiara smiled and shyly let her eyes fall on his hand that was still touching her. He took notice of it as well and dropped his arm, stepping away. He seemed just as shy as she did in that moment. “Uh… We need to get going. The sun will be setting in a few hours. You can use a blanket when we get to the other side if you have to.” He then turned to start walking away down a particular path that seemed to go in the right direction so they could hopefully gain sight of the river again.

  “If we get out of here,” Kiara mused as she carefully followed after him, feeling naked without the cloak.

  “We will get out of here. We haven’t come across anything we can’t handle, so we’ll be fine. We just need to get out of here before nightfall.”

  Kiara wasn’t so convinced. She didn’t like the idea of catching on fire again and the longer they stayed in the field, the more that became a possibility.

  They were nearing the last mile or two of their trip through the field. Both Kiara and Nate were silent, recovering from their fall. Kiara knew she had felt something while laying on top of Nate like that. It was odd being that close to a man while still seeing their face. Often, when she hugged a man, it wasn’t for very long and she felt nothing of significance. But, when she was laying on top of Nate, with her whole body weight dependent on his muscular frame, she sensed a rush in her soul that she couldn’t explain.

  She could feel his muscles against hers, his hot breath on her face, getting damp not only from her sweat, but from his as well. It was like touching someone in that way, being that close and - dare she say it - intimate, was something that Kiara both hated and loved. She wanted to stay that close, but at the same time, get as far from him as she could.

  All the way, when she wasn’t watching for geysers and cracks, Kiara would glance up and watch Nate with both curiosity and a sense of longing that she could hardly explain. She only knew what she felt. It was so unnatural, yet at the same time, comfortable. Why couldn’t she make heads or tails of how she really felt? There had to be some word or explanation for it.

  And she could almost see the end of their long trek coming to a close. A very tall, rocky cliff, highlighted by a green outline over its top to show there was grass awaiting them, marked the end of the trail.

  They were just about a mile away from that cliff, when they came upon something unsettling. It was a ravine, a very deep, wide gap in the field. Nate and Kiara stepped towards the edge of the ravine and peeked down to find a river of bubbling, hot lava coursing to the east, where the river was.

  Kiara looked from their side of the ravine to the other. There was no way they could jump it. It had to be at least ten yards wide. They had no trees to build their own bridge and no vines to help them over either. The lava must have been fifteen feet down from the edge, but Kiara could still feel the intense heat.

  “Any bright ideas?” she asked sarcastically to Nate, still staring down at the bubbling magma.

  When she heard no reply, she looked up and saw Nate was walking along its edge to the west, away from the river and deeper into the field. “Where are you going?” she called out, running after him. Then, she saw it. Ahead was a land bridge that connected both sides of the ravine. It didn’t look impressive. In fact, it looked insecure and unprepared for anyone to cross over it.

  “Please tell me we’re not going to cross that bridge?” she pleaded.

  “We’re going to cross that bridge,” he murmured as they approached it.

  “I just told you to tell me we’re not going to cross it. Why don’t you do what I say?”

  “Would you rather me lie to you?”

  He had a point. But, Kiara wasn’t sure this was the best thing in the world to do. Maybe if they walked back to the east, they would find another bridge that was thicker, more sturdy and capable for the job. This one looked like it would crumble immediately.

  To test it, Nate went off and grabbed a large rock. Kiara watched anxiously as he tossed it onto the middle of the bridge, right at its center. She winced, but nothing happened. The bridge was still there and the rock sat contently, not even making the bridge crack or buckle.

  “See, it’s safe. I’ll go first,” Nate said confidently, beginning to take a step of faith out onto the rock bridge. Before he could, Kiara grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back to her.

  “How do you know the bridge will hold your weight? I doubt that rock weighed the same as you. Can’t we find another way?” s
he whimpered.

  “No. This is the only way. We don’t have time to look for something else. I can’t tell what time is it, but when it gets dark, we won’t be able to find the mountains or our way out. We have to cross it.”

  Nate snatched his arm away and began walking over the bridge. Kiara wasn’t encouraged, but as soon as he took several bold steps out over the river of lava and the bridge held steadfast, she hurried after him.

  They were nearing the halfway point where the rock sat and so far, nothing happened.

  Nate stepped over the rock first, being careful to not disturb it. Kiara did the same with even more caution.

  Nothing happened.

  They took another step, then they heard it; a loud cracking noise, much like before a new geyser would form, but much louder. And they could feel the crack vibrate under their feet. The bridge was cracking. Nate looked back at Kiara with the same frightful look that she had.

  “Run!” he shouted.

  And ran they did, as swiftly as possible with Nate leading the way. Kiara glanced behind to see the first half of the bridge, along with the large rock, break into pieces and fall into the lava with a crackle and hiss.

  With each step she took, more bits of the bridge broke off and fell. She tried to run faster, but she began to lose her footing as it caught up with her.

  On the last yard of the bridge, Nate leapt and rolled to safety to the other side of the ravine. Kiara tried to jump as he did, but she lost her balance and couldn’t gain any momentum to make the leap.

  The bridge was gone.

  She fell just a few feet from the edge and disappeared out of sight with a scream.

  But, just before she could lose all hope, Kiara’s hands reached out and she caught the rim of a small ledge just a few feet below the edge of the ravine. She held on for dear life, but Kiara was losing the strength to pull herself up. And even if she had, the ledge wasn’t wide enough for her to even stand on. Her fingers were just barely allowed to grip the rock. So close to death, Kiara’s heart pounded wildly in her chest.