It Can't Be

Elayne hears the familiar rumble of wooden wheels on rock. She opens her eyes to boards beneath her cheek. A wagon. Her mother sits beside her, a man in a straw hat at the reins.

On the far side of the wagon, a white tarp is covering something lumpy.

"Mama... where's everyone?"

Helen opens her mouth but says nothing. Her eyes flick to the tarp.

"What about Randolf? Osric?" Elayne’s voice falters as her mother responds with silence.

Elayne scurries across the wagon.

"Sweetie, don’t—!" Helen cries, too late.

She lifts the tarp. Randolf and Catalina lie there, their skin pale — too pale. Beside them, Cinder, snout open, tongue hanging out against jagged teeth. Their eyes are closed, but they’re not sleeping.

Elayne drops the tarp with a shaky hand. No... no. It can’t be...

"Mama, no!" she cries, diving into her chest.

"I'm sorry, dear."

>>>

Elayne sobs, her wailing making her throat burn — she doesn’t care. Tears soak into her mother’s shoulder as she buries her head deeper into it, looking out at a blurry meadow rushing past.

Clink. Their slave collars hit together, and Elayne’s sobbing stops.

"Osric! Where’s Osric?" Elayne shoves off Helen’s chest.

Helen doesn’t answer.

"Mama, he’s alive. The collars aren’t broken." Elayne grips hers, lifting it.

"He was taken by the demons. There's nothing we can do." Helen turns away.

"That’s not true! We can go get him!"

"We can’t. You expect the two of us to march into the demon domain and fight them ourselves?" Helen’s voice cracks.

"Mama!" Elayne snarls. "We have to! He saved me — he saved you!"

"Elayne! You can’t go back there — you nearly died!" Helen gestures to her bandaged leg. "Please, let the kingdom handle it. They’ll rescue the Sage."

"I’m going, I don't care!" Elayne leaps from the moving wagon, crashing to the dirt. She springs up and sprints in the other direction.

"Stop the wagon!" Helen shouts at the man.

>>>

They arrive at the capital gates.

"Come on." Elayne charges ahead, eyes set on the guard.

"Here." Helen presses a coin pouch into the driver's hand. "Please take the bodies to Angus Lumin's estate."

The man tips his hat, eyes red. "I’m sorry," he mutters, then drives off.

Helen hurries after Elayne, who’s already stopped at the gate.

"Hold it," a guard orders. "We’re still recovering from the attack. Hand me your sword."

Elayne looks back. Helen nods. She slaps the sword into his hands.

The guard inspects it, pats her down. "You’re clear."

Helen follows.

Just as the two are about to walk through — "Wait." The guard squints. "Remove that handkerchief. Need to check for horns."

"Oh, come on. If she had horns, you'd see them," Helen snaps.

"Fine." He waves them through.

Inside the gate, Elayne's ears twitch. Shouting echoes from the center of the capital — angry shouting.

>>>

They follow the sound. The King and the Prime Minister stand above a furious crowd on a wooden stage in front of the castle gate. Knights push back the shouting townsfolk.

"Order!" the Prime Minister slams his hand on the podium. "Hear the king!"

Helen and Elayne mingle into the crowd.

"My people," the King begins, "Demons have attacked our city. But my courageous Holy Knights dispatched, struck fast and drove those monsters back to the Aetherite mine."

Boos erupt.

"Why not retake the Aetherite mine?" a man shouts.

"My husband died of a small wound! Where were the priests?" a woman yells.

"Silence!" the Prime Minister stamps his foot.

The yelling dies down.

"The demons are gone. Rebuilding has begun. Check for your families at the board here," the King continues, pointing to a wooden board attached to the stage. "We need to be sure everyone is accounted for."

Elayne pushes forward. "What about Osric?!"

"Elayne, stop!" Helen cries, chasing after her.

Elayne reaches the front. The King and Prime Minister stare.

"And who is Osric?" the Prime Minister asks.

"The Glorious — um... the Grand Sage."

"The Grand Sage is gone," the Prime Minister explains.

"No, he's the new Sage, right?"

"There is no new Sage," the Prime Minister says calmly.

"What?!" Elayne lunges at the stage, but a knight grabs her.

"Elayne!" Helen shouts.

"Hold it!" A tall man with flat-top gray hair in a black tunic and brown trousers pushes through the crowd, dragging Helen by the wrist. He lifts Elayne from the knight’s grip as if she weighs nothing.

"Forgive her," he says. "My daughter gets… rowdy."

He carries her through the crowd.

"Put me down! Put me down!" she screams, pounding on his back.

>>>

"I said put me down!" Elayne continues smacking him and squirming with all her strength, but his hold is too strong.

The man brings the two down a dark alleyway.

"How do you know the Sage?" a female voice calls out.

Elayne freezes. The man sets her down.

In front of her, a blonde-haired girl with a strange thing covering her eyes. She wears the red uniform Elayne had seen at the academy.

"I'm his assistant," Elayne blurts. "Or his... tank?"

The girl kneels, takes Elayne’s hand, and bows. "Forgive me. I left the Sage when the attack started. I had hoped I could return in time with Alec — but we did not make it."

"What's on your face?" Elayne asks, pulling her hand back.

"They're... glasses." The girl holds her palm at Elayne’s leg. "Let me heal you as an apology."

Elayne hadn't noticed, but the fresh bandages are soaking with red. A sharp sting pricks at her leg.

A golden glow spreads over her hand, and the stinging disappears. Relief washes over Elayne.

"And who are you?" Helen breaks her silence.

"I can't explain that here. We need somewhere private," the girl says, standing.

Helen pulls a key out of her dress pocket. "There’s a cabin in the woods. Not far."