16. Emilia
Chapter 16
Emilia
T he bouncing in the cart has caused more bruises than I can count. The road we have been travelling on all day has been bumpy. With every move of the cart, I knock into the side, and because my hands are tied, I can barely catch myself before hitting the hard edges. The sun has beat down on me all day, which is making my skin feel hot; I’ll no doubt be burnt. Rian hasn’t said much to me since early this morning. He hasn’t given me anything to eat or drink, even though I did ask for a sip of water when he was drinking from his own canister. He simply looked at me like I was asking for a chest full of treasure and not a measly drink of water. I gave up on that quickly. If he was willing to kidnap me to use against Timas, he is unlikely to feel guilty enough to give me anything to eat or drink.
The sun is setting, marking the end of a very long day. With each passing moment, I become even more discouraged that Timas won’t find me and I will make it to the Night Court. No, Emilia, don’t lose hope. He will find you! Just up ahead, I see smoke rising. I try to move to get a better look, but that just makes my backside hurt more. Rian sits up from his lounging position and looks off into the distance. It doesn’t take long before we come upon a camp of some sort, just off the road we have been travelling on. The wheels of the cart crunch over loose stone and the clopping of the horse seems to slow down. The voices from the camp turn from distance mumbles to clear conversation.
“Didn’t you say we had an extra cast of ale?” A raspy voice says.
“I did, but Lagrok drank the whole thing on his own, he’s passed out behind a bush right now swimming in his own urine.” That’s gross.
“Dak,” the first Orc curses.
Rian swings his legs over the side of the cart and hops off before it even comes to a stop. He wanders into the camp with such determination that I’m sure he’s been here before. The Orc driving the cart looks back at me. For a moment, I wonder if he is going to untie me, but he just grunts and climbs off, heading to unhook the horse. With all the harnesses unlatched, he walks the horse over to a stream on the far side of the camp. In the middle of the camp is a large bonfire; several people sit on stumps around it, chatting and laughing, except one woman who is sitting on the ground, legs crossed, staring into the fire. Several tents are scattered around the area that look like they could hold two or three people. There is a mix of Orcs and Fae wandering around the area, which is confusing to me. My guess is that we are close—if not in—the Northern Orc lands. A sense of trepidation runs through me as I think about how close we likely are to the Shrouded Forest .
I spot Rian on the other side of the large fire, heading back in my direction. He doesn’t look all that happy but the only time I have seen him smile was when he was pretending to be in love with Sylphina and when he was threatening me. That mask of his is made of granite. I’m not sure I would be able to tell a true emotion from him. I scoot over to the side of the cart, no longer leaning on the back of it, so I can watch the comings and goings of the camp. Rian walks around to the back of the cart, unlatching it and letting the backboards swing to the bottom so there is an opening in the enclosed space.
“Out you come, sweetheart.” He cuts the binding on my feet but not my hands. I want to vomit every time he calls me that.
“I’m not your sweetheart, you disgusting piece of Night Court trash.” The pretend sweet look he had on his face is gone, replaced with one of rage. He pulls on my arm, dragging me out of the back of the cart. His grip is harsh and will likely leave a mark. I wince slightly, but I won’t make a sound that shows him how much it hurts. My foot catches on a stick, causing me to fall forward. I make a small sound of surprise as the ground comes quicker towards my face. Rian has let me go, which means I faceplant into the hard ground, unable to catch myself with my bound hands. I let out a groan as I try to turn over, Rian looking down on me with a sneer.
“If you had better manners, I might have prevented that fall.” He leans down, getting close to my face. “But you don’t know how to be anything but a Human parasite.” His hands go around my arms again, hoisting me up to stand. We end up by the fire, right beside the woman I saw earlier. Rian pushes me down, forcing me to sit beside the woman and in front of the fire. He mutters something and stalks off.
A female Orc woman comes by and gives me a bowl of slop and a hard piece of bread. The smell makes my stomach churn, but I know that if I don’t eat now, it’s possible they might not feed me for another twenty-four hours. Thankfully they tied my hands in front so I pull my knees up, trying to balance the bowl. My intention is to be somewhat civilised and use the spoon, but I nearly dump it on myself multiple times so I finally give up and just drink it down. The slop tastes better than the smell, but not by much. Choking down the contents of the bowl was a feat, but as soon as the last of it was gone, I started gnawing on the hard bread. It, at least, should help with washing down the slop.
The woman I have been sitting beside hasn’t said anything. She has been staring at the flames, looking worn out and defeated. Her clothes look like they used to be very nice but they are dirty and torn now. She’s Human, which has a million questions running through my mind, but the most prominent is what she is doing here? She doesn’t have her hands bound like me, but with her docile demeanour, I suppose they might not need it to control her. If I get a chance, I likely will kick Rian, though I’ll probably pay for it.
“I’m Emilia. What is your name?” She looks at me briefly before going back to staring at the fire. Confused, I go silent, taking another bite of the hard bread. The female Orc who brought me food speaks up .
“She hasn’t spoken since she was brought here, just sits there looking at the fire all day.” My heart breaks for her. Something obviously happened to her.
Looking around, the Orcs and Fae seem to be in separate groups, not mingling together, which is interesting. A large Orc man walks over to us, a bowl in one hand and a much nicer piece of bread in the other. He sets it down beside the woman and tells her to eat. The bowl isn’t filled with slop like mine was, hers has a nice stew. It smells great. The Orc huffs and storms over to someone on the other side of the fire.
“She hasn’t eaten in two days! If she dies before this war with the Southern Orcs is over Gormash will have our heads.”
“What do you want to do? Force her to eat? She’ll get hungry enough eventually, besides, she won’t be our problem for much longer.” The other Orc shakes his head as he looks at the woman beside me but then walks off. I glance at the poor woman, but she hasn’t moved or done anything but stare into the fire. It seems like she has lost her will to fight. I need to figure out a way to get out of this place and bring this poor woman with me. I scoot closer to the woman. She stops looking at the fire and stares directly at me. She’s a beautiful woman with hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair that is currently haphazardly pulled back.
“Are you ok?” I whisper. Maybe if we can have a quiet conversation she will be more inclined to talk. There is a long, pregnant pause before she says anything.
“Ok… I don’t know if I have ever been ok. But if you mean am I alive, then yes.” I’m not exactly sure what to say to that. She is obviously numb to what is happening, but there is a small light in her eyes as if she is fighting in her own way. Maybe that’s why she’s not eating.
“Aren’t you hungry?” She looks down at the bowl and bread that sit in the dirt, with no emotion crossing her face. The fire crackles and flares, giving me a perfect view of the food on the ground. She looks back up and at the fire.
“I won’t let the Orcs use me to get what they want. If my death causes war for them then so be it. I won’t be used ever again.” The last few words she said were barely above a whisper. She has experienced so much pain, you can see it in her face. She thinks that her death gives her more control over her life, and that thought makes my heart ache. I need to help her. I have been worried about becoming the Queen, standing beside Timas. I didn’t feel like I was good enough for the role but maybe I need to accept that this is my new reality. I have always given my all to the things I have put my mind to, and I have been holding myself back, afraid I’m not good enough for Timas, for the Fae people, but that changes today. I need to figure out a way to escape, and I need to bring this woman with me.
“I know you don’t know me, and I know that you have no reason to trust me, but I think we can help each other. If we stick together, we might be able to get out of this. You need to eat because if we find a way out of this, you are going to need your strength. Death isn’t the answer to taking back your life. Whatever has happened, I will do my best to help you, I promise.” She looks at me for a long moment. Looking down at the food again, her hand shakes as she goes to pick up the bowl. I’m not sure what is going to happen, but I will do my best to protect her. I won’t back down or give up because she needs someone to have hope and I need to trust that Timas will find me eventually. Rian heads back over to me and, with a slightly annoyed look, bends down to grab my arm.
“Well, sweetheart, it’s time to go. You too, Princess.” I look over to see another Fae man grabbing the arm of the woman I was talking to.
“Where are you taking me?” The woman doesn’t seem to be nervous. The only indication she shows is the slight shake of her hand.
“It’s a surprise Princess. Don’t worry, you’ll love it.” She looks over to me and I get a sinking feeling. They load us up into the back of the cart again, and though I wish she wasn’t tied up in all this, I am glad we can stick together. Whatever is going on, though, is bigger than unsettling the Day Court.