Shadow Dancer Boxed Set

by Courtney Rene

  I whirled around and spat out at Leigha, "How could you?" I looked at Gavin and Austin and continued, "All this time you knew. All of you. How could you? I needed you to be my friends. I thought we were friends."

  "I…" Leigha stuttered.

  The anger was all that I saw. I didn't care about the regret on her face, I didn't care about the sorrow and pain I saw on Gavin's or Austin's. I didn't care. "Well, I won't be making that mistake again. Don't worry."

  "Sunny, let us explain," Gavin began.

  I held up my hand at him and said, "Sorry, only my friends can call me that. Since you aren't…" I trailed off with a shrug.

  I turned to go back into my tent. I needed to pack so that I could be ready. I didn't trust any of them not to leave me behind. I stopped at the entrance, I didn't turn around, but said anyway, "Gabriel was right. He said the rebels shouldn't be trusted. I told him he was wrong. He just didn't know you. Turns out it was me all along that didn't know you. At all. I was the fool."

  I stepped into my tent. I didn't stop to think about what I was doing as the emotions that crowded inside me would overflow if I did. I grabbed my pack from inside the back chest, took a quick look around to make sure I hadn't left anything behind, and made my way back to the barn.

  I passed a few people along the way. I tried to smile at them as I passed. They nodded at me in greeting. I didn't try to speak. My throat was clogged up with all the emotion.

  Even when one man passed me by and said, "My Lady," I was only able to nod. I was afraid that if I opened up my mouth to speak, all that would come out is a scream. So I clamped my lips closed in the semblance of a smile and plodded on.

  I reached the barn without further incident, probably because half of the camp had already left to be relocated for safety. Without a word, I passed by Taylor. He was busy tacking up horses anyway. I went straight over to Poppy. It took me a while to get her tacked up and ready, but I did it myself. I strapped my pack on the back of the saddle and then waited in fuming silence for everyone else to get there.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kingdom Come

  There weren't very many rebel soldiers. I don't know how many I expected, but fifty was not it. We were all loaded up and ready to head out. I sat up on Poppy in the midst of it all and counted fifty-three. That was it. I was worried.

  At least some of the rebel people would be safe. I had heard from Carrie that Aiden was recruited to gather the children, the old, and the non-soldiers out of the camp until further notice. It could be for only the night, or it could be for longer. Until we knew what would happen with the King, it was better to be prepared.

  I hadn't been privy to that decision, so I didn't know how Aiden had been chosen for the job. It was just another thing for me to be annoyed at the 'counsel' for. Some leader I was. I didn't even know what was going on within my own group. At least Aiden would be safe.

  "I did find you a bow and some arrows," Gavin said.

  I looked down from my perch to where Gavin stood. He still had short dark hair. It was the same as when I had first met him. I frowned. His face had a shadow of whiskers that I had never seen on him before. He was always so meticulously put together. The whiskers were at odds with what I knew about him.

  I reached down and accepted the bow and arrows. I said stiffly, "Thank you." Then I looked forward again and pretended he was gone. I did hear him softy sigh, but I didn't look to see him walk away.

  "That was a little mean," Taylor said as he gingerly pushed his horse next to mine. He rode a tall brown horse with an ease I don't think I would ever possess. A small brown pack was tied to the back, as was mine.

  I shrugged and said, "Ever heard of the golden rule?"

  He raised an eyebrow at me.

  I said, "You know, do unto others as you would have them do unto you?"

  "Okay," he said, obviously still not getting it.

  "Well, let's just say that when it comes to Gavin and Leigha and Austin, right now, it fits," I said.

  It was his turn to shrug. He said, "Okay, whatever. Just seemed a little mean, coming from you."

  I looked back over my shoulder and saw Gavin pull himself up on a horse next to Leigha. He turned to say something to Leigha, but I was too far away to hear. I realized that they both looked a little sad.

  I sighed. Why did I feel guilty for being mad at them? They deserved it. I guess because Taylor was right, because being intentionally mean, no matter what the reason, was so not me. Yeah, well maybe it should to be, though. Maybe that was why everyone always lied to me and walked all over me. Maybe it was time to stop being so nice all the time.

  Our group of fifty-three finally got moving. Leif, Austin and Kat were out in the front of the group. Gavin and Leigha in the back. I was snug in the center of the group. Taylor stayed with me and kept me company.

  We didn't start out slow. Leif set a grueling pace for everyone, especially me. Although I could hold on and ride better than I could before, it was not much better. I spent a good chunk of time holding on for dear life with both hands and legs. Talking was not really an option for me, but that was good as no one talked to me anyway.

  I never really knew what a pariah was until that day. There I was in the middle of a crowd and aside from Taylor, it was as though I traveled alone. No one looked at me, or if they did, it was out of the corners of their eyes because I sure didn't see them. No one got too close either. I pictured an imaginary moat surrounding me and Taylor. It was funny in a way, and yet it made me sad. Here all these people were, going to a fight a battle, to what? Protect me? Protect their kingdom? I didn't know. Yet, not one of them really even knew me. I recognized some of the faces as people I had met in the camp, but even they wouldn't look at me.

  We finally slowed to a walk. "Why are we slowing down?" I asked Taylor.

  "The horses can't keep that pace forever," he replied.

  Oh, yeah, right. Good to know. "So how far away is the Castle, the city…thing?"

  Taylor chuckled then said, "The main kingdom where the King's castle is located is actually only a few miles away from the camp."

  "Why in the world would they set up camp city that close to the castle?" I asked.

  "You don't really understand the dynamics of Acadia do you?" Taylor asked.

  Evidently not.

  "The rebels don't really do anything," Taylor said. "They spent all their time, the ones that actually are part of the cause anyway, going to the water realm and searching for the lost princess-you. The King has basically been letting them so that he doesn't have to search for you himself and waste his time and resources. Whenever there was talk of finding something, then the king would send out a tracker from his Shadow Guard. Otherwise, the King leaves the rebels alone and the rebels don't bother him. So where the camp is doesn't matter."

  "But I don't understand. Aren't there like raids on the king or skirmishes or something?" I asked. What the heck was the point of the rebels then? What was with all the traitor talk and choosing sides?

  "The only time there are issues is in the spring," he said.

  "Why? What's with spring?" I asked.

  "You don't know very much at all, do you?"

  No, I didn't. I leveled an angry glare at Leif's head. I think he felt the heat of it as he turned and looked directly at me for a moment.

  "That's when the Shadow Guard does its yearly 'recruiting'. It's a hard time for everyone."

  I knew I wasn't going to like the answer, but I asked anyway. "Why?"

  "You don't get a choice about being recruited. If you are chosen, you go," he said.

  "Or what?" I asked.

  Taylor said, "There is no 'or'."

  I had been thinking death and torture. I couldn't seem to understand his answer though. "They would just take you? How can that happen? They have family and friends and whoever to help them."

  He shook his head at me. Then he said, "Most that are picked would rather go than watch their family and friends killed while tryin
g to help them."

  Ah-ha. There was the death and torture I had been waiting for. "Do they come to our camp to recruit?"

  "Yep."

  "And we let them?" I asked. What the hell? Didn't the rebellion do anything?

  "You really don't know?" Taylor asked.

  "You're right, I don't," I snapped. "I don't understand why the people just let this happen. Why they aren't fighting back."

  "You didn't ask the most important question," he said.

  "Okay, fine. What's the most important question?" I asked.

  "How do they choose who to recruit?"

  Oh. I assumed they just took the strongest and the biggest. Then I remembered the Shadow Guards that I had met at home. There was one that was scrawny and small. He had a mouth on him but that was about it. "Okay."

  "Not everyone has gifts like you do. Most of these people right here? They are trackers, but that's it. They can feel and find other shadow walkers, but as you can see, that is a common gift. The ones that are special, that have extra gifts, those are the ones taken."

  "But Leigha has a special gift and she wasn't taken," I said.

  Taylor laughed outright then. "Leigha's a girl."

  "What!" I screeched. He had to be joking! I really was living in the dark ages. "That's stupid. Women are just as capable,"

  Taylor cut me off and said, "Yes, I know."

  That one little sentence took the wind out of my anger. I huffed out an angry breath. He wasn't the one I was mad at. Gideon was an idiot. Well, I was certainly a girl and I was going to show him how capable I could be.

  The group sped up again and talking ceased. About an hour later, the Kingdom came into view, or I should say, the castle did. It rose up out of the ground like a mirage. It was lovely. The bricks were yellow, like the sun, and they glittered in the light like diamonds. Not golden, but yellow, bright and smooth. It was huge. It was gorgeous. It had turrets and towers and a drawbridge. Banners of green and blue flew from the peaks in a cheery wave of welcome. It was right out of a fairytale and just what I imagined a king's castle to be like. I loved it at first sight.

  I was so entranced by the view that I was taken by surprise when we passed a small broken down hut then another and another and another. They looked like they were made of dirt and grass grey smooshed between and over the bricks. The roofs were layered with grass. Small harsh windows had been carved out of the sides. No sunny curtains waved within them.

  What was most upsetting, though, was that all the homes were in different phases of neglect. The ground underneath where we walked was bare of grass and was dusty and loose. The horses kicked it up and soon we traveled within a cloud of dirt. Small, badly fenced in areas housed skinny underfed animals. Trash and debris littered the ground all around us.

  People came forward to watch as we passed. Their sad eyes were ringed in darkness, their clothes patched and faded. Their stare was hollow and heavy. A chill raced down my spine and brought goose bumps to my skin.

  "What is this place?" I whispered to Taylor.

  "This is your kingdom."

  ~ * ~

  We didn't dawdle in the kingdom city. I was very grateful as it was a very sad and depressing place. I had no idea parts of Acadia could be that dilapidated. Before the opulence of the castle, the city looked even worse.

  It made me sick inside to pass by and not do anything to help. I didn't know what I could do that would make any real difference for them that day, but I would be back. I admit to being a little afraid of the hollow figures in the city. Their eyes followed us as we passed. Their stares were heavy on my shoulders.

  If I had thought the journey up to the city had been quiet, the journey after going through the actual kingdom was silent as death.

  We reached an open green field not long after. It was empty, except for us. I turned to Taylor and asked, "Where is the King and the Shadow Guard? Aren't they supposed to meet us here?"

  "Just wait. They will have seen us pass. They will come," he replied. He looked around as if he might see them already. We crossed the field and lined up on the far side so the King couldn't come up behind us.

  "What if they all phase into the shadows?" I asked.

  Taylor shook his head, "Too many trackers are here and we'd know if they tried it."

  Taylor had been right. We didn't wait long for the King to arrive. He came in style too. He was dressed in shiny red garments trimmed in yellow. A bright sparkling crown sat proudly on his head. The King sat firm and comfortable upon a black horse that pranced prettily into the field.

  Behind him came row upon row of men on black horses who made up the Shadow Guard. There were many, so many that I knew we were way out numbered. I could tell from the mumbling I heard around me that the others in our group realized the same thing. The air was thick with fear. It tasted vile on my tongue.

  The rows of men stretched out across the field from us. They were at least fifty men across and ten deep. Where we stood firm in our smaller group, they stood before us in ordered elegance.

  King Gideon, along with one of his guard, started our way. Leif and Austin set out to meet them. They met in the middle of the field. We couldn't hear what was being said from such a distance, but it didn't look like it was going well.

  Gideon sat calmly on his horse, appearing at ease, while Leif shook his head repeatedly and waved his arms around in anger. Leif then looked into our group of rebels, his eyes found mine and held them. A shiver ran down my back. His face was a mask of cold nothingness.

  "Oh, this is not good," I mumbled to myself.

  "What?" Taylor whispered back.

  I shook my head at him and continued to watch the little group in the center of the field. Leif jerked his horse around and came back to our group. The King stayed where he was, looking comfortable and relaxed as if he were home on a couch watching TV.

  Leif made a beeline to where I sat on Poppy. Austin trailed right behind him.

  Leif didn't hold back or think about what he was going to say to me, he simply stated, "He will only speak with you."

  I was startled, to say the least. "Why?" I asked.

  Leif huffed out an angry breath and said, "He said he will only speak to someone of his station. Not some lowly piece of rebel trash."

  Ouch. I guess I could understand why his panties were in a bunch then. I lifted my shoulders, shook my head, and then said, "What am I supposed to say?"

  "I'll come with you," Leif said.

  "So will I," Austin said.

  I looked at Taylor. He nodded his head once. I took that to mean he thought I should go speak with the King.

  I didn't want to. I was afraid. I didn't know what to say and I didn't know what not to say. The King was such an out of control personality. What if I said something wrong and he took it out on me or Leif or Austin, or the whole rebel group, for that matter?

  I thought back to the people in the kingdom city, their desperate, miserable lives. Then I reached down deep inside of myself and pulled up a little courage. I had to do this if I was ever going to make a difference, if I was ever going to help my people. Yes, I was starting to think of them all as my people.

  Although my hands shook on Poppy's reins, I moved her forward and said, "All right then. Let's go see what he wants."

  Chapter Sixteen

  The King and I

  It was the longest ride of my life. The moment I left the cover of our little rebel group, I felt like a target. Leif and Austin rode regally alongside me, like my own personal guards. Each step Poppy took felt like one step closer to my death, or at least an end to my life as I knew it.

  We drew up before the King and his sentinels. I was shaking visibly, both on the inside and out. I didn't want him to see it so I tried to pull myself together. I couldn't help it though. I was frightened.

  Gideon smiled wide and said, "Ah, there she is."

  I produced a smile, feeble though it may have been. I had a moment of panic. I didn't know what to call him; your hi
ghness, your majesty, uncle, what?

  "Let us walk," he said.

  I didn't want to walk with him. I swung my gaze to Leif. When he didn't offer up any advice, I said, "Why?"

  "Too many ears," Gideon said.

  When neither Austin nor Leif made an objection, I said, "All right."

  The King swung gracefully down from his horse and stood with a patient look as he waited for me to do the same. I closed my eyes and prayed for grace. I dismounted without grace, but at least I wasn't a clumsy mess either. I landed with a hard thud and a flail of my arms for a moment, but thankfully, I did not fall to the ground. That would have been humiliating.

  I looked at Austin and Leif one more time. I was hoping for some type of support, or maybe a reprieve, but they just sat up on their horses staring daggers at the King's men, blank faced and no help at all.

  "Thanks a lot," I mumbled under my breath at them as I stepped over to where Gideon stood.

  He gently lifted my arm and intertwined it with his. We then strolled away from the center of the field and toward the sidelines. It was as if we were walking together on any regular sunny day. Like there were not two armies; one little, one enormous, standing at the ready along the edges of the field, just waiting for a signal to begin.

  If only I could make myself believe it, but I couldn't. I was very aware of the time and place of our walk. I couldn't help but wonder if he was as aware.

  "You look very lovely today, my Ariana," Gideon said.

  Ariana? What? "Gideon." I said.

  "I always loved it when you called me that. You are the only one I ever allowed," he said.

  "But," I began. "you know I'm not Ariana, right? It's me, Sunny." My mind was in a whirl of confusion. Should I have said Sunshine? Should I have let him pretend?

  His face fell. The smile left in a swiftness that made my blood run cold. I began to pull my arm out from around his, but he tightened his hold to just before the point of real pain. I stopped walking and stopped trying to pull away. I looked at him and waited to see what would happen next.