Chapter 22

Sara

It was turning late, and my hopes of ever finding the elf girl were waning. In a day, we would reach the crossroad where I would continue North, or turn towards the Gnomes. Either way, had she survived, the chances of the girl ever finding me past that point were distant.

Losing the elf girl… It was a lapse in my efforts, and one that I would have to bear for as long as I walked this land. But I had no other choice but to continue on my path. We all made sacrifices in our wake, and the road to overturning the Queen was fraught with choices. Had I made the right ones? I could not know, and the answer might lie hidden from me for a long time yet. Breaking free of the Peace Bringers had brought a loneliness I had not anticipated, a void that used to be filled with guidance and advice. I could rely on no one else but myself now, accepting that I did not clearly see the options that lay before me. But even so, returning was not a course I would pursue. The Unicorns had forsaken their path, sided with the Queen when they had sworn to be Bringers of Peace. Their actions meant nothing any longer, and their words had lost all their meaning.

Would the Gnomes provide me with any insights? I did not see the answer to that either. Was the truth of the Elves' magic still hidden in their tales, or was my quest nothing but desperation? I did not know, but visiting them would cause no harm.

“Shall we rest soon?”

The human girl named Kim looked up at me, and I halted. Her presence hadn’t been as unbearable as I had first anticipated, and even though she held no use for me, she had at least stayed quiet and kept a careful distance ever since that first night.

“Soon, my child.”

She nodded and continued walking. I followed and then stopped. The faint murmur of people talking drifted to me. I strained my ears, but the sound could not be mistaken. Had the Queen dispatched another troop? I glanced around, but the surrounding forest was empty. So they had set up camp by the river.

I gestured for the girl to stay and inched forward towards the dense thicket separating the bank from the path. The thought that the Queen considered me such a threat that she would send out reinforcements that stood no chance of opposing me surprised me. Nevertheless, no one else would walk these woods. The murmur stopped, and I halted and slowly raised my fire, preparing to charge. They would pose no threat to me, even in my disadvantageous location.

I slowly rose and stopped. I saw no soldiers by the river, but instead, a lonely figure that stood watching over the water. I strained my eyes. Was it? I could not believe what lay before me, but there was no mistake. It was the elf girl, staring out over the bank.

Had she survived? But if so… I peered along the bank. To whom was she talking? My question was answered moments later when the Queen’s Whip stepped out from the forest on the other side of the river. She cradled something in her arms, her steps leisurely and her sword hanging unused by her side. I watched her stroll over to the girl, dropping her load on the ground and sitting down. What was she doing? The elf girl crouched down next to her, and I could hear them talking. Had the Whip deserted? I stared at them. I could not fathom what would have prompted her to such an action, but I could find no other cause for what I saw before me.

I slowly backed away and returned to the path. The Whip had no reason to hold the elf girl hostage, and she could have taken her out in a moment had she wished. That could only mean that the Queen had lost her most precious tool. I turned and walked to stand by the trees on the other side of the path. The reason for such a decision eluded me, but I had no doubt she could be useful for my cause. The Whip had never been a threat to me, and she held no power over the fate of the Queen’s quest, but she was bound to know secrets. The Queen held her in no other regard than a tool, of that I was sure, but she had been the Queen’s most prized servant. The Whip must know her intentions, weaknesses, and inner thoughts.

Had life thrown me onto yet another path, but one that for once wasn’t dire? Her knowledge could greatly aid my cause, but she would not be easy to convince to walk by my side, even if she had won the heart of the elf girl. But what other choice did she have? She could not return to the Queen, and there would be no village willing to give her shelter. She was on her own.

Force would not suffice to make her talk, however. Was it enough that I was the Queen’s foe? I doubted it. She would not reveal what she knew simply because of a common threat, not as long as our shared history loomed above us. She would have to learn to trust me, see me as an ally to confide in.

“Is there someone there?,” the human girl hesitantly ventured.

“It is, my child.”

She stretched to look out over the thicket.

“What do they want? Are they…”

She crouched down.

“… dangerous?”

“No, my child.”

She nodded and relaxed. The Whip knew her way around, understood the Queen better than most people. Her secrets could turn the tide of my quest.

“Shall… we meet them?”

I watched the riverbed for a moment, and then said,

“Yes, my child.”