Chapter 29
Chapter
I keep thinking of all the things I might say.
None of them would give her back what she lost.
Soft snores replace the sound of crashing waves as the carriage rolls us farther and farther away from the sea’s rocky ledge. Farther away from where we buried the man who helped raise me.
I can hardly believe I used to dream of days like this. Days cast in sunlight, where beams of gold kissed my flesh. I’d watch Rhidland draw for hours, places that he missed. The way he talked about the realm, the flowers, other kids…I thought the sun would save me from the darkness creeping in.
How did I never realize all I needed was him?
“Princess?” Merrek murmurs, waking from his much needed rest. He’s battered and bruised badly from the fight, but otherwise, he’ll live.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, pretending to smooth out the creases in my newly cleaned gown.
“Like I was knocked cold by the pommel of a blade.” He groans, as I move closer on the bench to gently tend to his wounds.
A small smile tugs at my lips. “Well, I’m glad to see your memories still intact.”
Merrek balks, grabbing my hand. Then I see it, the moment realization sinks in. His blue eyes darken as he squeezes my fingers between his.
“Rhidland…” He whispers, but the softness of his voice does little to dull the sharp pain in my chest.
I open my mouth to answer, but tears are all I can give.
Without waiting, without asking, Merrek pulls me into his arms and holds me tightly against him.
I freeze.
“I’m so sorry, Sunday,” he says, resting his chin atop my head. “You meant a great deal to him.”
I double over, surrendering myself to Merrek’s embrace as a violent sob rips through me.
“This hurts.” I choke out, the words barely recognizable. “It hurts so much.”
“I know.” Merrek nods, holding me tighter. “I know.”
For a long time, the only sound to break the silence of the forest is my grief pouring out in broken breaths and shaken sobs.
Merrek never lets me go. Even as sleep claims my tear spent eyes, I slip into the darkness hugged by hints of vanilla and lilac rose, held in the arms of a copper curled knight.
Outside, the sandy path has turned to yellow stone. A curious detail as I thought all the roads in the Kingdom Riches were paved of gold.
With Merrek riding atop the carriage alongside Frog and Myrrdin, and Buttons snoozing beside me, I decide to pass the time counting trees. Though there is likely to only be a few, Riches being a coastal kingdom and all.
One.
Two.
Three.
…Six.
Ten.
Twenty?
Something’s not right. We must be going the wrong way?
I stick my head out the carriage window and note the sudden lack of light. Above us there is no sun, or moon, or stars. Just a purple sky.
Where in the realm are we?
“Everything alright down there, princess?” Myrrdin calls, watching me out the corner of his eye.
“Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?” I ask.
“No.” He’s quick to shake his head, averting his eyes. “We’re…taking a detour to refill our water supply,” he answers, repeating the whispers of what someone else said.
“Oh.”
But wait—
Didn’t Rhidland just say we were good on water for the rest of the trip? Unless…
“Did the people who attacked us raid our supplies?” My stomach bottoms at the thought of Rhidland’s things being ransacked and taken.
“The Redhoods are many things, Miss Sunday. But thieves they are not,” Frog answers, the first time he’s spoken to me since the old guard’s death.
I don’t have time to think about how much his distance hurts me, or how much my heart aches for him. Not after what he’s just said.
“You mean to tell me the same people who killed Gally, killed Rhidland too?” I ask, searching for a meaning to his murder, knowing it won’t make a difference in his death.
The men fall quiet, lost beneath the clicks and clacks of the horses’ feet.
The old me would have demanded an answer, would have sleuthed and scoured until someone eventually relented. But I’m tired. So instead I nod and slowly slip back into the carriage, saying nothing else as I pull a sleeping Buttons onto my lap.
Several hours slip by in silence before the carriage is pulled to a halt.
“We’re here!” Merrek shouts, though I still haven’t the slightest idea as to where here is.
I peek out the window and find thousands upon thousands of corded strings hanging from twisted tree branches. Glowing blue, they hum with life high above a town that looks like something from a storybook.
Bright banners flutter from rooftops. Painted wagons crowd the path.
I’ve never seen so many dancers. And I’ve definitely never seen anyone move like that.
“What is this place?” I ask in hushed wonder, my breath catching as I reach for a steadying hand. Frog silently offers his and I let him help me onto the yellow path.
“Look up,” Merrek gestures, though his gaze is lowered, caught on mine and Frog’s hands.
I loosen my grip, ignoring the flutter in my core as Frog’s fingers gently brush against mine before letting go.
A knowing smile tugs at Merrek’s lips.
I look away, ignoring that too.
High above us, a warped wooden arch welcomes us with the words Town of Merry-O-Net carved into its aging wood.
And just beneath the inscription, two messages.
The first has been painted over in red, though it’s still legible: every soul deserves a standing ovation.
Below it, written in a similar shade of blue as the cords, a new promise reads: where the show is on you.
“It’s beautiful.” I whisper, but no one else agrees.
There isn’t color like this anywhere in Kingdom Ruin. It almost feels like a dream.
I look back at the knights, to see if they’re also lost in wonder. Instead I find their hands resting on the hilts of their blades.
And Buttons is tail tucked in the carriage.
“What is it?” I frown.
“Stay close, Miss Sunday,” Frog whispers.
Then he leads us beneath the arch.
All around us music plays. Soft and slow. Loud and quick. Every corner is a stage, and every balcony a showroom.
Performers reach for us, smiling and laughing as they try to get me or one of the knights onto their stage. But the knights brush them off and the dancers’ smiles begin to fade.
The more I watch them, the more I notice their moves are forced, as if they’re simply bodies on a string.
I lock eyes with a little girl whose blonde hair is tied back in blue ribbons. Her eyes are red-rimmed as she stands between a laughing couple.
“Frog…” I gently grab him, unable to look away from the little girl. Something isn’t right here.
He slows but doesn’t stop as he follows my gaze.
“I know,” he whispers, his voice barely there. “Come on, in here.”
The knights usher me inside a small bakery, the name Goldie’s Good Stuff inscribed on the sign.
Inside the cozy, rustic cottage everything’s intentionally mismatched.
Round oak tables are paired with upholstered chairs and charming benches piled high with plush pillows.
Before the crackling stone fireplace sit three armchairs of different sizes, each occupied by a large, burly man whose gaze follows as we enter.
Frog offers them a nod as he leads me to our table. The burly men remain indifferent—until the twins walk in.
The largest of the three men, built like a brick house and wearing a grizzly beard, surges to his feet. Before Merrek can even pull out his chair, he strides over and yanks it from the knight’s hands.
“That one aint a good fit for you.” He growls, as the two other men fall into step beside him.
Merrek sighs, biting his tongue as he reaches for another seat.
One of the other men steps forward, no less impressive in size, sporting a dark mustache on his face.
“Try again.” He bites, taking that chair from Merrek too.
“You eager to hit that third strike? Again.” Says the smallest, though arguably the most intimidating of the three.
“You know it’s a shame there are three of ya, I’ve only got the two ears,” Merrek muses, flashing the angry men a smile.
I lean forward in my chair, my mouth hung open in question, though I’m not exactly sure what to ask.
Do you have a death wish, feels applicable here.
Myrrdin scoots closer in his chair.
“Those would be the Bear brothers.” He drops his voice low.
I blink. Not having the slightest clue as to what that means, or who the Bear brothers are. I look to Frog hoping for clarification. The dark knight tips his head, scratching his neck.
Well that’s…helpful.
Where’s a woman when you need one?
As if magically summoned, a gorgeous girl with long blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes, wearing a tightly fitted blue apron dress over a pale yellow short-sleeved slip, walks out of the kitchen. She’s smiling as she carries three bowls of porridge.
Then her big doe eyes land on Merrek and everything falls. Her smile. The porridge.
All of Merrek’s self-preservation.
“That’s Goldie,” Myrrdin whispers. “Merrek’s girlfriend.”
“Ex-girlfriend,” Goldie corrects, her tongue firmly pressed to the inside of her cheek. Though by the starstruck look on Merrek’s face, I’d say it’s a distinction he doesn’t quite recognize.
“Hey, babe.” He smiles, wide and toothy. Like a child who’s just been offered candy.
“The nerve of this guy.” Huffs the smallest of the brothers, who’s already rolling up his sleeves.
Oh, god.
“Should we help him?” I whisper.
Frog and Myrrdin shake their heads, leaving me alone to watch in horror as Merrek makes an even bigger mess.
“You look good.” He sweetly offers, but the way his eyes are raking over every curve in her body is pure sin.
I look away, hoping to cool the heat flooding to my face, only to catch Frog staring at me, and feel the warmth spread anyway. “Yeah, I do. And you still look like the knight that left me to go play in a big, ugly castle.” Goldie bites, but I don’t miss the subtle lift of her full lips.
Merrek’s eyes turn pleading.
“Come on, Goldie. That’s not fair. I’m a knight of Castle Ruin. There are some things I need to do before I can do the things we want to.” His voice softens. “But I also need you.”