Chapter 34

Cat

Stupid horse. How could she even stand her own company? I glanced back at her as we walked. She had taken the habit of walking last, dragging behind until we had to halt and wait for her to catch up. At least she had stopped her murmuring, and for most of the time, she kept quiet, staring around her with hollow eyes. Pathetic. Maybe she hadn’t known what the Unicorns had done after all, but who cared. Her self-pity was disgusting.

Silvi still felt sorry for her, though, and had told me more than once that we couldn’t kick her out, but my, was I tempted to. The horse was useless in this state, even more than she normally was.

Silvi came up to me and took my hand, and I turned away from the horse. She had taken on the role of keeping us together, while I led us North and Kim hunted. Only the horse did nothing to help us get to where we had to be. It was still several weeks until we would arrive, and I just hoped there would be a tribe willing to welcome us once they saw that the stupid horse was with us.

“We should make camp soon”, I said, and glanced up at the sky turning into dusk.

Silvi nodded.

“I’ll tell Kim. “

She dropped my hand and ran over to the girl walking some distance away. I glanced back at the horse. We would make the camp without her, as always. She did nothing but loiter behind us, and it was pure luck that she could eat grass, so we didn’t have to carry any extra load for her sake. I halted and put down my pack. Silvi came up to me, and Kim halted next to us, putting a pheaser bird on the ground.

“Dinner,” she grinned.

I glanced at the horse. She was barely a speck in the distance, and the camp would be made by the time she arrived. Silvi saw me watching her and put a hand on my arm.

“She’s just hurt.”

I snorted.

“She’s useless.”

I turned and began to make a fire. I felt Silvi’s gaze on me for a moment before she turned to Kim, and I heard them chatting, preparing the camp. By the time the fire was burning, the horse lolled into the camp and took her usual spot at the edge, staring into the distance. I don’t know what made me do it; maybe I was just fed up with her self-pity, but I stood up and walked over to her.

“Is this how you’ll go on? You’re useless.”

She turned to me with her hollow eyes, but didn’t say anything.

“Is that what you gonna do? Just giving up on everything?, “I pressed.

“It was a lie,” she whispered.

“So what!? The Queen still has to die!”

She blinked, and for a moment, I thought I saw her usual arrogance flash by in her eyes before she turned back to stare into the distance.

“You’re useless! Are you just gonna give up on everything you believed in just because your precious horse friends lied to you?”

She ignored me, and I kicked the ground.

“So stay that way, and let the world fall to pieces.”

I turned back, and I heard her turn to me.

“You do not know what state I’m in. Do not try to understand what you cannot.”

I turned back.

“I don’t understand?”

I snorted.

“You’re just as self-absorbed as you’ve always been. I’ve lived with the Queen my whole life, don’t come and talk to me about states.”

I turned back.

“Whiner, “ I murmured.

I walked back to sit by the fire. Stupid horse, how could anyone be so full of themselves? Silvi watched me as I sat down, and then glanced at the horse. I thought I heard her open her mouth to speak, but she thought better of it and closed it again. Kim glanced at me nervously, but I ignored her. Stupid shit, if it wouldn’t be for the fact that I wanted to stay with Silvi and Kim, I would have left the horse by now.

Kim prepared the bird, and we ate in silence. Once the Queen was dead, I didn’t need to suffer the presence of the horse any longer.