Neverquest – Part 123

Characters: Michelle, Cara, Siarra, Kim, Mack, Jeff, Roy; Isabella, Gena, Roxanne, Lucilla; Fallon; Frankie, Lord Dartemus

Location: Outside the dungeon of Felwinter

Time: Day 5 – Dawn

The iron door to the dungeon creaked open as the first rays of dawn struck their faces. They shielded their eyes and stepped into the new day.

“I don’t know about this,” Cara said. She had one end of a rope looped about her belt and the other end bound to the wrists of Siarra and Kim, dragging them along like horses. “According to Paladin policies, I’m not supposed to let the prisoners out of their cells.”

“But it is your job to guard and protect them, right?” Michelle asked.

“Well, I suppose it is… Yes.”

“Then if you’re going to leave your post—say, to find your captain or warn the Queen about a potential conspiracy in her midst—the right thing to do, and I’m sure Lucilla and Isabella would agree, is to take the prisoners with you.”

“Is this…another one of those mind tricks?”

“Cara… I know I had to lie to you before, but I’ve always been on your side…because as far as we know, these girls are still guilty. But I think you’d agree that we better know the truth before they hang.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t want to hang an innocent person. …In fact, I wouldn’t want to hang anyone.”

“We’re telling the truth,” Siarra whispered. “Please, we can prove it to you…”

Michelle nodded. “Well, we’d need to find Gena for that.”

“Luckily, that’s where I come in,” Mack announced, thrusting his chest outward proudly as he stood between Cara’s boots. “With my keen Scout senses, I can track any Man, Woman, or Beast within a fifteen mile radius.”

Cara turned to Michelle. “Isabella invited Gena and Roxanne to stay in the guest wing of the castle last night. I’m sure they’re still there.”

“Ah, yes, I’m picking up on the scent…” Mack flexed his nose and sniffed the air once or twice. “It’s coming from…the guest wing of the castle!”

“Can you really smell them?” Jeff asked.

“The nose doesn’t lie, my boy.”

Roy mounted his frog and gripped the reins. “Besides, I bet they have one rank odor that could cloud the whole city.”

“To the castle then,” Michelle said, looking towards the high towers that cut into the sky. But little did she know—there in the highest tower, where the monstrous bell loomed over the city below—were the answers to all her questions…

“I will see you both hang for this!” Isabella was screaming as she dangled, a marionette pivoting on her tippy-toes, from the bell clapper. Her hair danced wildly in the wind and she teetered only inches away from the great cavity that opened below her heels.

But while she cursed and shrieked, Gena and Roxanne had their backs to her. They stood, arms entwined, and stared at the bloody sunrise that kissed the horizon with forests like poison ivy spreading from its lips. Then they grinned, darkening their eyes to this new day.

“It’s beautiful,” Gena said. “This world of ours… It’s how we always pictured it to be.”

“And in less than an hour, it will all be ours.”

“Yes… Yes, Roxy, isn’t it wonderful? This is what we wanted.”

“…Yes, I suppose it is.”

Gena looked at Roxanne and smiled. But in doing so, all she could see was her arm, wrapped so warmly around Roxanne’s shoulder, and the stump that used to be her hand. She stared at it—the black skin that had overtaken her. Closing her eyes, she tried to move her fingers, but the sensation was numb. The feeling was gone. Her fingers had long since been snipped away.

“Is something wrong, Gena?”

She turned away. “I’m cold, Roxy… So very cold.”

“Well, it has been a cold night. Perhaps we should go inside.”

“No. I like it here.” Her eyes trembled, like they had a life of their own, and began to fill with water. “…I like it when I see my whole world below me.”

Roxanne nodded and gazed down, at all the little buildings and houses that lay in the valley below. They looked so tiny from up here. Ants at their feet, bowing to their will. “…Gena, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?”

“If I hadn’t hesitated, if I hadn’t backed away, that wench of a Paladin wouldn’t have sliced off your hands. If I had only listened to you from the beginning, everything would’ve gone right.”

“Everything did go right, Roxy. We got what we came for.”

“But your hands…”

“The greatest people in this world have to lose to gain. You and me, Roxy—we’ve lost so much in our lives. For that, we deserve the very best this world has to offer.”

Roxanne shook her head. “Then I don’t know if I’m worthy…”

“You’re worth it, Roxy. …That’s why I love you.”

“You…love me?”

“Yes, Roxy. Don’t you see? I’ve done this for you. I hope…I hope you appreciate it. The sacrifices I’ve made.”

“Oh, Gena…”

Far below their feet, the castle was just beginning to stir. Fallon woke up, yawning, and began changing into her courier’s clothes. She would have to hurry. The bell had to be rung. But she stopped for a moment at the mirror, picking up the red ribbons on her desk, and began fixing her hair.

Down the hall, Frankie had opened his eyes to an empty room. He stood up, feet planted on the bedside table, and looked around.

“Gena?” he called out. “Gena, where are you? …Roxanne?” He wandered across the bed, rubbing his eyes. “Hello? Anybody?”

Before long, he found himself climbing down from the bed and squeezing under the door. There, he found himself in a long hallway, ankle-deep in red carpet, alone again.

But there was one thing out of place. Along the opposite wall of the hallway, there was a bucket—turned upside-down—with about a dozen pair of tiny legs that were carrying it along. And every time a servant or housemaid would walk by, the legs would disappear and the bucket would drop, wobbling a little, until she passed.

“This is ingenious, boy,” a voice snickered from inside the bucket. “Why, with your ingenuity, I bet you could’ve made it as a gnome tinkerer.”

“Yeah,” Dartemus muttered. “I guess I’ll just have to settle for a Lord.”

Frankie walked over to the bucket and poked his head underneath. “Umm, excuse me…”

“Gah!” the old man cried. “It’s a monster! Quick, quick. Hit it with something.”

Two of the Men let go of the rim of the bucket and raised their fists.

Dartemus pushed them back. “Calm down, fellas. It’s just a boy.” Then he grabbed Frankie by the wrist and pulled him under the bucket. “A boy who shouldn’t be here. What’s wrong with you, son? Don’t you know that Women walk these hallways?”

“Well, I—”

“You want to get stepped on, boy!? Is that what you want?”

“N-no…”

Dartemus slapped him on the forehead. “You think they care what you want? Do you, huh? You think Women care about us?”

“I was just looking for someone…”

“Someone named Trouble!”

Frankie looked around. Under the bucket, he could see about a dozen Men, naked as can be, and the craziest of them all was gripping his arm. He looked Lord Dartemus in the eyes and shook his head, trying to stand tall.

“Leave the boy alone,” the old man said. “He looks scared enough without your rambling.”

Dartemus grunted and threw down Frankie’s arm. “Well, today’s your lucky day, son. We’re breaking out of this castle and you’re coming with us.”

“But my sister…”

“Is your sister no more! We’re freeing you from their tyranny.”

“Ty…what? Isn’t that a dinosaur?”

“A what, son?”

“A dinosaur! A big, scary creature that stomps around and eats whatever it wants.”

“We always just called them Women,” Dartemus said, turning to the old man.

Frankie blinked.

“Well, it’s no matter. You’re a free man, son.”

“I am?”

“You sure are.” Then he pointed to an empty spot along the rim of the bucket. “Now, grab a side and start heaving. We have a long way to go.”