Chapter 46

I stared at the forest on the other side of the stream. So we had arrived at Doria. I had almost expected someone would be waiting for us when we came, but the forest on the other side was empty. I glanced at the others. Should we just enter? Or would they attack us if we did? But if they already knew we were here, wouldn’t they have done that already? I wanted to ask the others what we should do when Selene frowned.

“There’s someone here”

I froze and peered into the forest. Nothing moved for a moment, and then two figures suddenly stepped out from the trees. I startled and almost cowered behind Uruk at their sudden appearance. They were taller than I, and their long white hair fell loosely over their shoulders. Their clothes were simple, but their foreheads were decorated with a colourful gem that glittered in the sunlight. At least they seemed friendlier than I’d thought, because the spears they carried were pointing at the ground.

They peered at us, and their gaze stayed on Aki for a long while before landing on me. I shivered. They already knew… I wondered if I should step forward. I wished we had rehearsed at least something, but before I had time to do anything, one of them raised their hand and said,

“May Goddess bless your path”

Karim bowed.

“May Goddess bless your path”

“The Queen invites you to enter our land”

He gestured for us, and I glanced at the others. Was that it? Had they let us in without a fight? Or had my presence really been enough? Karim bowed at their words and stepped over the stream, and I cast one last glance at Aki’s land before following.

They led us along the path in silence. Wouldn’t they explain anything? At least we hadn’t been attacked, so I guess that was a good sign. Perhaps they simply didn’t meet strangers often and didn’t know how to behave. I glanced at the others, but I didn’t dare to speak or comment on it, so we continued in silence.

It was late afternoon when our guides finally halted. We were standing in a clearing, and I could see a pond fed by the stream to the side.

“We will rest here for the night”

They sat down without another word. I glanced at them as I put down my bag on the ground. I had hoped they would explain more now that we’d stopped, but it didn’t seem to be the case. Aki opened her mouth to speak, but Karim silently shook his head, and she closed it again.

We made camp in silence and then shared a quiet meal. I wished I could ask the others what was happening. I hadn’t seen any villages or signs of civilisation on our way. Where were they taking us? I glanced at Selene. Even though it didn’t matter that I couldn’t speak to her now, I missed her, and she hadn’t said a word to me the whole day. I sighed. When had she begun to think that I was her Goddess? The fact that it wasn’t my fault made it even worse, and I didn’t know how to set it right.

Aki came over and sat down next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder.

“I am fine”, I said quietly.

A part of me wanted to be left alone, but she either didn’t get it or pretended that she didn’t because she stayed, and I couldn’t bring myself to push her away. She gestured for Selene, and I saw her hesitating before coming over and sitting down next to her. We didn’t dare to look at each other, and none of us wanted to trouble Aki with our mess, so we ended up sitting in silence.

I was happy when the sun finally set, and we could go to bed.

We set out at first light the next morning. Our guides stayed silent, only informing us that we would reach our destination before the day ended. I wondered what that destination was, but I tried to push the thought away. We walked for hours until the forest grew sparser, and our guides suddenly halted.

“We have arrived”

I glanced around. It didn’t look any different from what we had passed so far. All I could see were trees, and it didn’t seem like we were close to any village. Where had they taken us? Before I had time to wonder, three people stepped out from the forest and halted before us. They looked like our guides, but didn’t carry any weapons.

“Welcome, travellers. Be our guests.”

They gestured for us to follow. I glanced at the others. I wished we could discuss and understand what was happening, but I knew we had no other choice but to follow them. They led us to a group of trees, and as we came closer, they split us up, taking us each to our separate ones. We’d never been forced to separate before, and I could see that both Karim and Selene were uneasy about this sudden change. My guide halted by my tree. A staircase climbed up the tree trunk, and as I followed it with my gaze, I could see a cabin between its massive branches higher up. The Dorian bowed and gestured at it.

“Take your time to rest.”

I glanced at the others. They were standing at their own tree, and their guides gestured up at their cabin. I didn’t like the idea of being separate from them, but saying no might mean offending the Dorians. At least we wouldn’t be far from each other, I tried to tell myself.

I nodded and climbed up the tree, and as I entered the cabin, I almost forgot about what the guides were trying to do. It looked like one of the fancy tree houses I had seen advertised to tourists in my world. It was a small, cosy room with a balcony with a view over the forest. I could see a bedroom to the side and a kitchen full of food. If they tried to keep us prisoners, they had given us a fancy one.

I stepped onto the balcony, and I saw Aki and Uruk standing on theirs in the neighbouring trees, admiring the view. I waved to them, but we were too far from each other to speak without yelling. I froze. Is that what the Dorians were trying to do? Did they try to keep us from speaking with each other? But why? I peered out the balcony. I still hadn’t seen anyone else, and this didn’t seem like a village. So what were they trying to do?

I went to grab some food and spent the rest of the evening restlessly trying to occupy myself. There wasn’t much to do, and once the night fell, I ended up on the bed, staring out the window at the rising moon. What were they trying to do? Why had they separated us and not even explained what was happening?

Suddenly, I heard footsteps on the staircase and I bolted up, taking hold of my dagger.

“Rina..?”, a female voice called on the other side of the door.

“I’m here”

I slowly walked to stand in the middle of the room. The door slowly opened, and a woman stepped inside. She had a gem on her forehead reflecting the moonlight and wore the same simple clothes as the other people I had seen.

She bowed and said,

“I am Veena, Queen of Doria. Come with me.”