5. Ash
Chapter 5
Ash
Not long later, the residents of Three Forks shuffled to the fire after a long day of work. The area had a calm air about it, different from the bustle of the trading area, where the traders and merchants still worked down the river and a continual stream of boats and rafts came and went. The people looked tired and gaunt with hunger. My heart ached for the few children that surrounded the fire as they sat on the logs placed about on the ground. What a hard life it must be for them.
The smell of something fishy rose from the pot that simmered over the fire, and I scrunched up my nose from my spot on a log. Diesel and Peters sat next to me. Jerek had all but disappeared after his conversation with Peters. A little girl clutched her mother’s hand on the other side of the fire, and when she saw me, she smiled. She spoke to her brother standing next to her, and they shared a secretive smile that made my lips tug upward.
She whispered one last thing to her brother and then bolted over to where we sat. It wasn’t Diesel or Peters that she spoke to when she skidded to a halt right in front of us.
“Is it true that you are a Princess?” Her eyes widened with excitement. She couldn’t have been more than seven years old. I beheld her with a sad smile. In the stories she had probably been told, Princesses were a magical thing, but for me, the title was nothing but a cruel joke. I inclined my head, the only response I could give her as her mother came rushing over behind her.
“Ruth!” her mother scolded, steering her away from me with fear in her eyes. Before they could get far, I spoke.
“Ruth.” I smiled at her. “What a strong name.” Ruth beamed back at my compliment while her mother gazed down at her. I looked toward her mother for approval to speak to her daughter and she gave a slight nod. I gestured for Ruth to come closer while her mother stood behind her. The innocence in her eyes made me want to cry for what she surely would have to go through in this world. I unclasped the necklace that I still wore around my neck. It burned at my throat every day with the hatred that boiled inside of me, but I couldn’t bring myself to discard it. Ruth would certainly find more meaning in the turquoise pendant than me.
I gathered her hands in my own and placed the necklace in them. “Do you know what is even better than being a Princess, Ruth?”
Her eyes were alight with joy at the sneaky smile on my face. “What?”
I leaned closer and whispered, “Being brave and strong and helping your Mama when she needs it. ”
She let out a slight groan. “But I already do all those things…and my mama says that I’m the bravest girl she knows.”
Her words melted my heart. “Then you’re already better than a Princess.” We both looked at her mother, who gave us a soft smile, pride for her daughter welling in her eyes.
“Come on, Ruth.” She beckoned. Ruth’s slight hands slid out of my own and she ran to her mother, clutching on to her hand and inspecting her new jewelry.
When I slid back onto the log, I met Diesel’s pensive green eyes. I had given away the necklace that he gifted to me, but he didn’t seem mad. Rather, his face shone tenderness at my interaction with Ruth, while Captain Peters muttered about filthy lowlifes under his breath. It made me want to forgive Diesel and kick Peters. Would I be safe in Hope with Diesel? Could we change Novum together? What was my grandfather truly like?
“Welcome!” Callum’s voice boomed into the open air, the people quieting. “We would like to welcome the future King to our home for the night. We offer him the first meal of the evening and hope that he will remember us as he takes the throne.”
There it was, what Callum really wanted. Help, power, the consideration of the King. He tipped his head toward Diesel before he sat down. An old woman brought over three plates of food, handing them to us before returning to the fire to dish up more meals.
The rich fish and rabbit stew that bursted with hints of rosemary and thyme, tasted utterly flavorless in my mouth. It reminded me too much of Nan. I dropped my spoon and let my eyes wander. The people, despite their circumstances, seemed happy. They laughed and ate joyfully. Ruth’s face beamed with her new prize around her neck. A few more stragglers approached for dinner, one of which was Silas. He still had his bearskin coat and the hatchet tied to his belt. He looked around angrily at all the soldiers while he collected his food.
Callum pulled my attention away from Silas when he approached. “Excuse me, but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind discussing some trade opportunities between Hope and Three Forks, while you are here?”
Peters and Diesel looked at each other and nodded, standing up to follow Callum.
“Stay here. We’ll be right back,” Diesel said.
As soon as they stepped away, Silas caught my attention once more. He quietly shuffled over to the log nearest me and sat down. The soldiers guarding me at my back looked on in disinterest as he began to eat.
“Future Queen, huh?” he murmured, catching my eye. The hum of the people and popping of the fire guarded his words from anyone else’s ears.
“I’m nobody’s Queen. I’d rather go live by myself in a shack until the day I die.”
Silas harrumphed.
“What were you fighting with Jerek about earlier?” I asked after a moment.
“Jerek is a pain in my ass,” he grumbled.
“You two know each other?”
He nodded. “He stops by here every time he passes through.”
“I thought you just moved here?”
“Yes…we did. We used to live upriver a way, but…we had to leave.” He stared at the fire with a deeper pain in his warm hazel eyes.
“And you always fight, soldiers? ”
“Always,” he confirmed with no jesting in his voice. “Jerek’s the only one I have yet to kill. It’s become somewhat of a tradition now. Both of us are always up for a good fight.”
I wondered then if Silas’s hatred for soldiers ran as deep as mine, but it begged the question of why Jerek wasn’t dead yet and why they fought.
“You remind me of someone,” Silas said. “She was as quick as you, gave everyone a good tongue lashing before she died.” He stared down the bridge of his nose at his dinner.
I chuckled, feeling awkward. I felt sorry for the loss of whoever this woman was, but how do you comfort someone who has lost a person so dear to them? There’s nothing you can say to right that wrong or make them feel better; I knew from experience. The best you could do was continually be there for them no matter what. Kind of like Diesel was there for me after Pop died. Sadness trickled through my chest, and it became painful to breathe. He had only been there for me because it was his duty. All those days I spent mourning Pop’s loss and thinking that Diesel truly cared about me when really, I was only a job. My thoughts turned back to Silas to quiet the deep throbbing pain inside. Did he have anybody who was there for him after his loss?
“She talked back to the wrong person, though. Soldiers took her…” He paused, collecting his thoughts. “After they had their way with her, they threw her in a cave with a bear and locked the entrance—forced her husband to watch as the bear ripped her apart.”
My jaw dropped in horror. The pain that had already taken root in my chest amplified tenfold. I had heard stories about how evil the soldiers could be, but this was a whole new level of wickedness. Silas didn’t smile, didn’t even look smug. He simply raised his eyebrows and gave me a pointed look. Was he trying to warn me what would happen if I didn’t rein it in? Could Silas actually be trying to help? I glanced at the bearskin coat he wore. Could it be?
He looked down, taking the last bite of his food. “Do you know what my favorite food is?”
What? I gazed up at him, perplexed when he stood. “Honey buns, warmed up with extra butter and raspberry jam made with the wild raspberries from the head of the Aspen River.”
I began to speak, but he interrupted before I could get the words out.
“Be safe, Princess.” Then he was gone.
I sat, contemplating his words, stirring the food around on my plate. I hadn’t taken another bite, but it kept my fidgeting hands busy. The two men returned and took their seats next to me not long later. Jerek finally showed up after the food was all gone and most of the people had left. He moved with animalistic grace as he grabbed a log and pulled it directly across from us and sat down.
“You gonna eat that?” He nodded toward my plate, but before I could answer, he took it and shoved a spoonful into his mouth. Diesel frowned at my uneaten food.
Peters shouted a soldier’s name from across the fire. “Take the Princess inside please, we have matters to discuss.”
“No,” Diesel said, scooting ever so slightly closer to me. “We can speak freely in front of her.” A show of good grace, perhaps.
Peters stared at Diesel, the firelight dancing on his face. “Fine,” he said. “Wavern, give us a report of the North.”
I tucked myself down onto the log and pretended to pick at the wood grain as if I was bored, when really I vibrated with excitement at whatever they would share of the rebellion or the free people up North .
Jerek nodded, his mouth full of food.
“Where have you been?” Diesel asked, still frowning.
“Up North, keeping the line at the border.” Jerek obnoxiously swallowed the heap of food in his mouth.
“Border?” Diesel’s question echoed my own. Was this what Marva had been talking about all those weeks ago? Jerek peered at Peters, waiting for him to answer the question while he finished my cold stew.
“Maximus has a gun and ammunition manufacturing facility way up North in the Triad Mountains.”
“Croydon?” Diesel asked.
Peters nodded. “It’s tucked back in the mountains covered in snow most of the year. How much do you know about it?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Peters glance at me. I did my best to appear unassuming, like a spider laying in wait until a fly lands on its web.
“I have only heard it discussed a few times, but only by men close to Maximus and sworn to secrecy,” Diesel answered quietly.
“Well, it is no longer a secret. Maximus underestimated the wild men of the North. He thought they were all savages and there weren’t many of them still alive. Never believed that they would unite and fight back. Maximus’s grandfather discovered Croydon for electricity, but they also exposed lead and copper deposits in the mines. He has a saltpeter mine, and for years we have carted the gunpowder to Croydon on wagons to manufacture the ammunition for our army.” Peters gave me a side eye before he continued. That explained why the soldiers carried guns when no one else had access to them. The King had the sole power to manufacture ammunition in bulk .
“The only way to access Croydon is through one of the old mine shafts, unless you want to crawl over the Triad mountains and freeze to death. The King has built up quite the supply of ammunition, but it turns out the northerners are smarter than they seem. They found the entrance and have been trying to overthrow Croydon. King Maximus has sent his forces up North to fight. Any non-essential soldier. However, the northerners keep attacking our supply wagons and stealing weapons and ammunition, which they give to the people to fight back.”
“There can’t be that many of them, though. It can’t be that large?” Diesel said.
“There are enough,” Peters said angrily. “And they have quite the supply of weapons and ammunition at their disposal now.”
Jerek finished my food and put the plate on the ground. “They’re growing bigger every day. We cut off access to the tunnel that leads to Croydon for the winter, but it seems they are better equipped for the frozen conditions than we are. They live there. They know the Triads better than anyone. With winter coming on, I’m afraid we may lose some ground if they are able to access it from the top. Every new village and town we approach up North seems to have weapons already. We lose more soldiers every day from unexpected attacks.” My eyes wandered up to Jerek’s face, which grew bleak, and I wondered if he had lost some men.
“They’re small. Maximus will squash them. It’s just a matter of time.” Peters’s cold, black eyes narrowed at Jerek, whose blue eyes met mine and glinted with trouble.
“What about the South?” Jerek asked, still looking at me.
Diesel and Peters both shot him a look before ignoring him altogether. They weren’t able to speak completely freely in front of me then. Jerek’s eyes stayed glued to mine at the silence that fell. What was he trying to say with his painfully unanswered question?
What was happening in the South? Words of the rebellion sparked a fire in my belly. Was it possible? A world without a King, without bounty hunters and soldiers—a world where I could truly be free. However small the rebellion may be, I wanted to help them defeat my own grandfather. Whatever was happening in the South was obviously not common knowledge, and Diesel and Peters were afraid of me possessing that information. But did Jerek want me to know? Either way I’d find out. One way or another I’d get my hands on whatever information I needed, because in a war such as this, eventually they’d underestimate the quiet woman with the greatest weapon at her disposal—information.
Pop’s book burned in my pocket. Ideas for a government without a King. I hadn’t even had a moment to look at it. She can change the world with its contents. But could I?