The Ashen Queen

by Sidney Gray

  Alex, who made her laugh and who she shared so much history with but he was incredibly stubborn and often made her feel like she actually was invisible. Or Reed who made her feel the complete opposite, no one had ever looked at her the way Reed had, he made her feel like her opinions mattered and seemed to always know what to say to make her feel better. But did she actually have feelings for him? That she couldn’t figure out.

  She soon grew exhausted thinking about it, so instead, she threw herself into her training and continued to make progress, to her relief. She found it easier and easier to connect with the magic around her, and she soon learned how to move small branches on trees and the ground beneath her feet, she even made a flower grow. It felt incredible to connect to the magic around her, and a couple of days later she made a surprising discovery. Sofia was connected with a small rabbit, it was hopping along when she sensed something up ahead, at this point, she could distinguish between different animals, and she quickly realized it was a snake and, without thinking, she pulled on the rabbit to make it turn away from the snake.

  Elder Sage was surprised when Sofia told her what happened and even more so when she asked Sofia to repeat it, and she saw for herself. Elder Sage explained how unusual it was, there was only one other villager that could do it, the hunter who had rescued her, Clay. He had rescued an eagle many years ago and was able to guide its movements but Elder Sage wasn’t sure how it worked so she ended the session early to find the hunter and ask more about it.

  She struggled to sleep that night, she wasn’t sure why but her mind wouldn’t rest. The moon was bright in the sky as she stood outside staring up at the mountain, wondering about all the mysteries it held. She still felt like she was missing something, she needed to know more, about the mountain and the darkness and especially, how she was supposed to stop it all. Even if she learned the ancient language and learned how to connect with the land, how was she alone supposed to stop the darkness?

  Reed found her there hours later, questions still spinning in her head. He watched her for a minute silently before he disappeared back inside before he emerged with two coats and a bag slung over his shoulder, he handed a coat to Sofia silently, and she gave a small laugh.

  “How do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Know exactly what I need?”

  “Because I know you,” he replied, surprising her before he walked off in the direction of the mountain leaving Sofia to trail behind, even more confused about her feelings.

  The journey was quick, she was deep in thought the whole way, trying to work out what she needed to know from the mountain. Reed let her think without badgering her with questions, it was one of the things she appreciated most about him she realized, he never put any pressure on her, not anymore at least. After he had left her in the woods that day, it was like he was a completely different person.

  She shook her head trying to clear her mind, she shouldn't be thinking about Reed she needed to focus on the mountain, and getting the answers she needed.

  They finally reached the cavern, this time, thankfully, she didn't collapse. Instead, the cavern around her simply disappeared, Reed along with it, and the boy appeared from the shadows again. He studied her.

  “You have questions?”

  She nodded, taking a deep breath before asking, “why me?”

  “Why not you?”

  “That’s not an answer,” she protested.

  “You have no idea of the strength you possess Sofia, you are the only person capable of accomplishing this.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I can feel it, this mountain is connected to every living thing in Latheria,”

  “Are you the mountain?”

  “It doesn't work like that Sofia, I am merely a memory the mountain is using to connect with you. The mountain holds all the memories of the people of Latheria. The banishing you saw was real, it was a memory.”

  That was what she had thought, but it was nice to have it confirmed. She had so many questions, and she struggled to decide what to ask first.

  “How was the darkness created?”

  “The banishing created the darkness, it destroyed the people who created it, and they became trapped in their own magic, dark magic. When someone or something dies, the magic is released back into the earth, but the spell they used not only created a barrier around the dark woods but also around themselves. They became trapped in a section of the barrier, in the place where they created it and their magic became trapped as well, unable to release back into the earth, and it became infected, dark, some would call it, and slowly it began to spread.”

  She was relieved to be getting answers, but at the same time scared of the answers she was getting.

  “So are they still alive?” she asked, uncertain.

  “In a way, yes, their souls live on, trapped, although their bodies deteriorated long ago.”

  She was confused, but she pressed on, asking another question.

  “What about the cult leader, is he still alive?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “Sofia, I’m afraid we have run out of time, you must leave now before you lose any more time.”

  “But it hasn't been that long.”

  “Speaking with me takes a lot of magic; it has been a lot longer than you think.”

  She blinked, and again she was back in the cavern she started in, Reed was sitting beside her, and he handed her a water bottle. She drank deeply before she tried to stand but her legs gave way underneath her, and she needed Reeds help to make it back to the village.

  It was the middle of the day when they arrived back, although she was almost certain it wasn’t the same day, she was too tired to care. The Elders were all gathered waiting for them when they finally arrived back at the village, again she tried to tell them about the boy, but she still couldn't get the words out, so she had to lie and tell them she had another vision. She tried to explain to them about the barrier as best she could but she was exhausted, and she still didn’t completely understand it. Elder Hazel suggested they visit the darkness again the next day and take a closer look at the barrier and they all agreed before Elder Yarrow sent her to bed.

  CHAPTER 33

  Sofia slept most of the afternoon, and when she woke up the next day, to her relief, she felt more like herself, although she was still slow on her feet and trailed behind Ella and Reed as they went to meet the others. Elder Hazel was leading the group with a handful of hunters. She was surprised Elder Yarrow had chosen to stay behind, but Ella reassured her that Elder Hazel had spent the most time studying the darkness, so it was best that she go.

  Sofia hadn’t spent a lot of time with Elder Hazel but knew that Ella thought very highly of her. Elder Hazel struck her as a very inquisitive person and asked a lot of questions about Arandale as they walked. She seemed particularly interested in the priestesses, she seemed skeptical that anyone could actually commune with gods.

  “They are are a higher power, they aren’t human and don’t concern themselves with lesser beings, they do what they wish,” she said when Sofia pressed her.

  She had long been skeptical of the priestesses, she had never trusted them and now even more so. Why did they hide themselves away in that island? What secrets were they keeping? She wondered. She soon dropped behind the others, deep in thought. Reed slowed down to walk with her, helping her where he could, she was still tired from her visit into the mountain. He was quiet for most of the journey until he suddenly turned to her, “You don't have to go back, you know.”

  She stared at him confused, “what do you mean, go back where?

  He sighed like she was being deliberately daft.

  “To Selenis, to the palace.”

  She continued staring at him blankly, not sure what he meant.

  “Of course I do.”

  “Sofia you're supposed to save Latheria, no one said you have to be Queen to do that or
go back to Selinus at all, did you ever consider that maybe this is where you’re supposed to be.”

  She was surprised, she had never considered that. She had to go back, didn't she? She had assumed to save Latheria she had to be Queen, although now that she thought about it, no one had ever said that.

  But what would happen to her people if she didn’t? She had always thought it ridiculous that her people believed that just because she was born on a particular day, she should be Queen. But it had been that way for centuries, and her people believed it was the will of the gods. What would they do if she didn’t go back?

  And what about Alex, her sisters, and Bree, could she really just leave them like that.

  There was also the ancient language to consider. If she didn’t go back how was she supposed to learn that, Elder Yarrow had made it clear that they had no knowledge of it and she had a feeling in her gut that somehow Kelsie’s Aunt and the sickness was connected, it had to be?

  He was watching her closely as she stood frozen thinking it through. Reed was in a way giving her a way out of the life she had never wanted, but still somehow she couldn't bring herself to take it, she didn't know what it was, but something was holding her back.

  “I don’t know Reed…”

  He stepped closer, “just think about it.”

  She hesitated again as he took another step closer, he reached out to touch her cheek as he leaned down to kiss her. She leaned into him, his hands slid around her waist and pulled her closer, she lost track of everything around them. Reed pulled away and held her face gently between his hands.

  “Please think about it.”

  She felt warm and safe in his arms, and he was offering her what she had always wanted, Reed’s eyes slid to the necklace on her chest, and her mind went to Alex. She pulled away slowly, feeling guilty and confused.

  “Ok I’ll think about it,” she said quietly before they were interrupted by Ella.

  “Elder Hazel says we need to pick up the pace,” Ella said looking back and forth between them.

  Reed nodded and went on ahead leaving them behind, and Ella shot her a questioning look.

  She hesitated briefly, but she felt like she needed to talk to someone about it, so she told her about the conversation she had just had with Reed, leaving out the part about the kiss.

  “Would it be that bad, if you stayed?” Ella asked, “you don't owe them anything Sofia.”

  “I know, I just don't like the idea of deserting them.”

  “Why don't you just worry about saving everyone first and then decide,” Ella suggested, and she nodded in agreement, it was probably a good idea, but still, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about it.

  She was conflicted; she felt something for both Alex and Reed. The idea of staying was tempting but could she really just abandon her family and her people like that. She was supposed to be the Queen. She didn’t even know what would happen if she wasn't. As far as she knew the Queen has always been born on the first day of summer. It was the will of the gods, or so they were told by the priestesses. She was so distracted by her thoughts she didn’t realize she and Ella had been lagging behind the others through the canyon and she couldn’t see them anymore. She looked around them as they emerged out on the canyon and suddenly realized everything around them was quiet.

  She tensed, “something's not right.”

  Ella went still as well, “I know, I feel it too.”

  The others had disappeared into the woods ahead, and Ella moved forward slowly in that direction beckoning Sofia along. Together they crept along trying not to make a sound. She was glad she has been practicing. Her palms started to sweat, and she tried to slow her breathing.

  The attack came out of nowhere, everything was quiet then suddenly there was a huge gust of wind, and she was knocked off her feet and into someone's arms. A hand covered her mouth, and she was dragged backward, she slammed her elbow into her attacker's stomach and heard a gasp followed by a curse as she turned invisible and pulled away from her attacker's grasp.

  She had barely any time to feel relief that her invisibility was working before she heard a scream and she spun around towards the sound but couldn't see anything, the wind had picked up again blowing leaves and dirt around obscuring her view. She grabbed the nearest tree and used it to help pull herself toward the sound, another scream, and she flinched thinking of Ella. The wind suddenly dropped, and everything was still, she could just make out Ella through a gap in the trees and Shade, who was standing over the body of a woman, blood dripping from her mouth.

  She heard the sounds of fighting around her but she focused on getting to Ella, she ran towards her friend, trying not to panic as a man jumped out of the tree above Ella with a sword in his hands, and Ella fell to her side to avoid the sharp steel. The man landed on his feet and one of the Ashen hunters, Briar, rushed up behind him with a spear in his hands. She stared in horror as another arm grew from the man’s side and he easily deflected the weapon, slicing through the spear and Briar’s arm with his sword, Briar fell to the ground, crying out in pain. The man turned back to face Ella and Sofia saw, for the first time, the mask on his face, and she was suddenly terrified.

  She had heard stories as a child of Bordonian Assassin who wore masks of death. They were highly trained killers, hand picked as children, and they trained their whole life. They were the most feared fighters in all of Latheria, and the Ashen were not trained to fight at all. They didn't stand a chance she realized, on the verge of panic.

  She screamed at Ella to run, but Ella ignored her, standing her ground with Shade by her side. Ella closed her eyes, frowning, and the trees around them started to move, the man took another step forward, he was focused on Shade and didn't see the branch drop but he must have heard it because at the last second he jumped forward to avoid it, but he was off balance and Shade attacked.

  Sofia suddenly heard a sound behind her and turned to find herself face to face with another mask. She lost her focus, and her invisibility slipped, luckily her training kicked in, and she immediately brought her foot up to kick his knee but he was fast, and he grabbed her arm twisting it behind her back, she was off balance and fell to the ground. Chase tried to help, launching himself at the attacker but he was still only small, and the Bordonian knocked him aside easily.

  Reed suddenly appeared behind the assassin, and tree roots at her attacker's feet suddenly sprung up and wrapped around his ankles pulling him back as she scrambled to her feet. Unfortunately, Reed didn't see another Bordonian sneaking up behind him. Sofia grabbed the first rock she could find and hurled it at the Bordonian. It missed its mark, but it was enough to alert Reed to the danger behind him, and more tree roots sprung up around them. She didn't know how long Reed could keep this up and without a weapon, she wasn't much help. She needed to find one. She turned invisible again and approached the Bordonian closest to her while he was still distracted by the tree roots holding him in place. She sprung forward and kicked his knee to bring him down and grabbed for the dagger at his waist. He was trained for this though, and he grabbed her wrist before she could pull away. She twisted the knife in her hand and sliced through his arm, but his grip didn't loosen. She spied another dagger in his boot, and she dropped to the ground as she grabbed for it. She managed to get it loose before he could stop her and used it to slice through the tendon in his ankle, he fell to the ground, and she slammed the hilt into the back of his head, he went down immediately. Now that she had two daggers she felt slightly more capable.

  She looked around her frantically, Reed was struggling to hold three Bordonian’s in place with tree roots, and Ella had trapped an assassin in a pit of quicksand, who was trying to use wind to get himself free, he must have been the one who attacked them first. Shade was fighting against what looked to be a lion, she assumed it was a shapeshifter but couldn’t be sure. Briar and another hunter lay injured on the ground while Elder Hazel tried to use the trees around them to build a wall of sorts to keep the B
ordonian’s away but they just sliced away at the branches and roots with their swords and it wasn't slowing them down enough. They needed a way out, she looked around trying to get her bearings and saw the canyon entrance not far away, and an idea came to her. If they could block the entrance they might be able to get away. She just hoped the Bordonians’ wouldn't try to follow them for fear of getting lost.

  But the Ashen were too scattered, she realized, she had to get everyone together, they needed each other if they were going to make it out alive. She grabbed Reed's arm and pulled him in Ella’s direction.

  “Can you pull the trees over?” she shouted at him.

  “What?” he yelled.

  “We need to create some kind of distraction, something to stop them, so we have time to get away. If we can make it to the canyon, we might be able to block the entrance.”

  “I’m not strong enough to do that, but Elder Hazel might be able to.”

  “Ok then, we have to get to her.”

  “How exactly? I'm a little busy at the moment.”

  She looked around them, trying to come up with a plan. She noticed Clay’s eagle attacking one of the Bordonians’, and she had an idea. Hopefully, it would work.

  She closed her eyes and cast her mind out hoping to find an animal, trying to concentrate like she had been taught, she was relieved when she found two birds almost immediately. She hadn't had much practice, so it took her a few tries, but she managed to get them to fly to her, and then she directed them to swoop the assassins. Reed immediately let the Bordonians go while they were distracted by the birds and she grabbed his hand and made them both invisible as they ran towards Ella and the others.

  She heard an explosion of sound behind them and spun around just in time to see one of the assassins shooting bolts of lightning at the birds attacking them. Reed pulled on her arm to keep her moving, weaving in and out of the trees.

  Ella was struggling to hold the assassin in the quicksand now, Sofia let go of Reed and ran up to the man just as he pulled free, she used one of her knives to slice straight through his stomach, trying to ignore the blood now covering her hands, she ran back to Reed.