Dreamscape: Saving Alex (18 page)

“Move, Arrow! You can’t rest. Not now.” I bit my
thumb and glanced back to Berkos’ men, still moving. The time for
second-guessing was over. I needed to warn him before it was too late. I might
not be a hero, but I wasn’t a monster either.

The vines burned my palms as I rappelled down.

I tightened my ponytail and ran down the left path
towards the wetlands, sprinting until my chest burned, and then further. My
head pounded and my vision blurred, turning one patch of long grass into
another. The hard ground gave way to soft mud and gritty sand, tripping me.
Warm goo slid over the edges of my boots. The brief thought that I might get
stuck in another pit ran through my mind, but I ignored it. I didn’t have
time—Arrow didn’t have time—for me to worry about that. I pushed myself up and
ran.

Even with my head start and frantic pace, the
enemy was catching up. I had never run so fast or so far, and yet I knew this
was just the beginning. My chest heaved, and the tunic tightened against me as
I struggled to balance breathing with running. Miles of winding pathways
blurred my surroundings into nonsense. Puddles looked like dark abysses, rocks
clumped together forming statues, and whipping reeds doubled as herds of
horned-bits. Mud slushed beneath me, slowing each step. Everything spun, and
then I collapsed.

When I looked up, a dozen of Arrow’s men had
scrambled to their feet, lunging for their weapons.

“Arrow!” I yelled, stumbling around the final
twist of the wetland. “They’re coming!” I lifted my arms in surrender.

“What’s she doing here?” Cale grumbled, reaching me
first and pointing a sword at my neck. “She can’t be trusted.”

I glared at Cale, then twisted to look behind him
at Arrow’s casual approach.

“Goldy? What are you doing here?” he asked. “Let
her go, Cale.”

Cale blew a ring of smoke at me but lowered his sword.
“I don’t trust her,” he said again,  turning around.

I bit my tongue. Now was not the time to lash out.

“Tell me, why are you here?” Arrow insisted.

“They’re coming,” I choked out, hunched over and
out of breath.

“What? Who’s coming?” he demanded, motioning for
his men to lower their weapons.

“Marix…Berkos…I’m not sure. Army. On their way,” I
said, gasping between words.

“And you came to warn us—why?” His hand still
rested on the hilt of his sword.

I gave up and fell to my knees. The groundwater
drenched me as I searched his face for understanding. “Because I may not be
your hero, but I don’t want to see you hurt. You’re right. I can’t ignore this,
no matter how much I tried. I don’t know what I can do, but I’m all in—with
you, the rebellion, with everything.”

He opened his mouth to say something and stopped,
jerking his gaze beyond me. “How many are there?”

“I-I don’t know. They were just a bunch of black
dots moving across the forest. Maybe fifty? Maybe more. I knew they’d be on you
if I didn’t—”

“I got that part, Goldy. Listen, we don’t have
much time. They’re here.”

“That’s why I’m back,” I said. The beating of my
heart drowned out the frantic running of the men.

“Boris, Cale, the rest of you, we have to go now.
Goldy’s right, they’re on their way. Hide!” he yelled.

He pulled me down the path. My legs protested but
didn’t stop. The ground rumbled beneath us. I ignored the sneers from the other
men as I ran alongside Arrow. I’d have to fix that later. If there was a later.

The cold water stung my legs when we waded through
it. Arrow pulled me around the next bend, and then slid beneath an old wooden
bridge. I skidded across the rocky shore, spraying rocks around us before
hiding behind a curtain of reeds. Blood seeped through my leggings and into the
gravel below. I bit the inside of my lip, cradling my shins.

The rest of his men caught up to us and huddled
underneath the bridge, careful to crowd in from the edges. Boris took a long
look at my leg and tore off his sleeve to tie around my wound.

“Thanks,” I mouthed, but he looked away without a
word.

“Thank you for coming back,” Arrow said, wrapping
his arms around me, pressing me down against the rocks.

Tears welled behind my eyes as I folded into him,
biting my cheek. I hoped it wasn’t too late.

“Hey, hey, it’ll be all right,” he said, cradling
me in his arms. “You’re safe now. We’re all safe now,” he said pointedly to the
other men.
“Remember, we’re in
this together.” He looked me in the eyes. “I still mean that.”

“What?” I
whispered.

“We’re in this
together, you and me, saving Queen Elin.”

“That’s what I
thought
you meant,” I said, looking away.

The ground shook
with the approach of Berkos’ army. We froze, watching the shadows flicker as
they crossed the wooden bridge above us. The rotten planks bowed under their
weight. Rocks skittered between the planks, blanketing us in dirt. I held my
breath.

The rumbles seemed
to last forever. I closed my eyes and felt like the ground was shaking long
after it had stopped. My body trembled. We stayed hidden, cramped behind the
curtain of reeds until Arrow was certain the danger had passed.

“I don’t like
hiding,” Boris grumbled, peeking through the long grass.

“We don’t have a
choice for now,” Arrow said, kneeling beside him. “They’re here, we’re here,
and we’re not ready for a fight. I just hope we’re not going to the same
place.”

“Do you think they
could be heading to the Grove?” Boris asked.

“It’s hard to say.
We know they have some spies, but thankfully none that are within the camp. Berkos’
men could simply be heading back to the castle,” Arrow said.

“We can hope.”
Boris nodded.

“It may be our only
hope,” Cale grumbled, pulling cloves out of a small leather bag and stuffing
the edge of his pipe. It hung limp in his mouth after a sharp look from Arrow
warned him not to light it.

“Don’t be so sure,
Cale. Alex is back, and that means something.” Arrow offered me a smile.

“You’re right, I
almost forgot. Men, let’s show her what we do with our traitors.” Cale grunted,
grabbing the weapon at his side.

“Since she’s not a
traitor, but our hero, we don’t need to worry about that,” Arrow said, holding
his arms out to calm the other men. “Why don’t we all get some air? The army’s
passed, and we won’t be leaving until this evening so we can guarantee safe
passage. There’s no need for us all to squish under here.”

The men looked at
each other and grinned. It was as if Arrow had given them a gift. But really,
he’d given the gift to me: he might have just saved my life.

Boris was the first
to step out of the confines of the bridge and stretch towards the sky. He
nodded to Arrow for guidance. “What do we do now?”

“Whatever you want,
my man,” Arrow said, slapping him on the back. “Hunt, fish, play cards. Have at
it; just be ready when I call…and stick close to the bridge. There’s no
guarantee that someone else won’t be following them,” he said. “Now go.”

I watched as man
after man filed out from the under the bridge, slapping Arrow on his back as
they passed him. Whatever hope they had originally wanted to place in me found
a better place on his shoulders.

Staying tucked into
the shadows under the bridge, I watched Arrow systematically grab each man’s
bag, lining up the packs near the water’s edge. He tested the straps, peeked
inside to count supplies, and even wove long strips of waxed grass through any
tears.

The more I watched,
the more it seemed clear: he cared for these men. This was his team, and he
took that responsibility seriously. I thought about the full bag that he’d
given me that morning. He had felt the same for me. He had accepted me, even
after I’d told him the truth.

My stomach turned
over, a swarm of insecurities plaguing me. What had I ever done to deserve that
trust? The reality was, up to this point, I hadn’t deserved it. But that would
change. That had to change. I’d made that decision when I climbed back down the
mountain. Rejoining Arrow came with a commitment that I couldn’t back out of
now.

I leaned back
against the edge of the bridge and watched the couple dozen men that had joined
Arrow. It was an odd collection. Older men with just as many scars as wrinkles
sat at the river’s edge, sharpening the tips of their swords with rocks.
Younger, more boisterous men took turns using a slingshot to knock down the
birds circling above. And out of sight, but just on the other side of the
bridge, Cale sat, smoking his pipe. Clove smoke swelled and wafted around the
corner of the bridge. He was closer than I wanted him to be.

I ducked deeper
under the bridge and untied the shirt sleeve protecting my wounds. My leggings
peeled back slowly, sticking to the dried blood. I gasped and looked away when
I saw my shins. Puckered holes spotted my legs, and a jagged gash crossed just
below my knee. I should’ve grabbed the vines, but I didn’t want to appear weak,
not with Cale around the corner.

I picked out a few
sharp rocks indenting my skin and threw them down by the river. I rolled my
leggings down and leaned back, watching the particles of dust
slowly
descend through the rays of light passing through the
bridge beams.

Arrow turned when
one of the rocks I threw narrowly missed him. “Hey, Goldy, no need to attack
me.”

Oh crap, I hadn’t
meant to do that. “I, uh, I wasn’t,” I stammered, looking away.

“It’s a joke,
Alex,” he said, tossing his head to the side. “A bad one, but just a joke.” He
sat next to me. “You
know,
you didn’t
have to come back.”

I wrapped my arms around my knees and raised my
eyebrows. “Really?”

“No you didn’t. So why did you?” He searched my
face.

“I don’t know,” I said. “These past few days have
thrown me for a loop. I’ve been lost in the woods, beaten by guards,
practically drowned in the river, and then you throw me into a rebellion I’d
barely heard of.” I took a deep breath. “I guess it just all piled up, and then
when you wanted me to be the hero for everyone, it was too much.”

“I’m sorry. I could’ve handled it better. And I
should have. But how do you tell someone that they’re the hero everyone’s been
waiting for?” he asked with a small smile.

“Probably the same way you tell someone you’re
from a different world,” I said. “You don’t unless you’re forced to.”

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have forced you into this.”
He tossed another rock into the water.

“You didn’t force me to come back today. When I
was up there and saw the army approaching, I didn’t really think about it. I
didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t let them hurt you, not when I had a chance to
stop it.”

“Even if we’re not real?” he asked, pausing before
tossing the next rock.

I let out a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s real
anymore. These cuts on my legs tell me that it’s not as simple as I first
thought. That’s why I came back. I couldn’t risk being wrong. Do you think
they’ll forgive me?” I nodded towards the men, who kept their backs to me.

“Give them time. It’s hard to be introduced to the
hero, abandoned, and saved all in one day. It took me a while to get used to it
too.”

“But I came back. That kind of redeems me a
little, right?” I cocked my head to the side and threw a pebble at him.

“You don’t need
redemption. You just need to be yourself. You’re more charming than you
give
yourself credit for
.”

“What?” I wanted to
argue, but the sudden thumping in my chest stopped my words.

“And you’re so
blissfully unaware,” he said, coming closer, reaching for my face. My cheeks
warmed where his fingers brushed my skin. “It’s as if the golden dust they
created you with fell over your face.”

Did he mean my
freckles? I blushed and threw another rock into the water.

“I’m glad you’re
back, Alex, more than you
know
.” He stood
and moved to check on the other men.

“Me too,” I
whispered, watching him go.

I plunked more
rocks into the river, watching the splashes ripple out, and then leaned back
and closed my eyes. The sleepless night caught up with me instantly.

“Hey, Alex, wake
up,” a deep voice whispered in my ears. “It’s almost time.”

I smiled at the
voice and flipped over to my other side. The deep tones sounded like a dream. A
wonderful dream that I didn’t want to lose.

“I have food,” he
sang, and the scent of warm bread made my mouth water.

My smile grew, and
I slowly opened my eyes. I grabbed at the roll dangling in front of me. I
wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, but it wasn’t night yet.

“Ah, I knew that
would wake you,” he said, sitting by my side, biting into his own roll.

“You think you know
me so well,” I said, propping myself up onto my elbows.

“I’d never claim
that, Goldy. But what I know, I’m happy to use to my advantage.” He winked and
then nodded towards the men playing cards by the river. “Do you want to join
them?” he asked.

I looked at the
men, a tight circle enclosed around a small fire. Shadows danced across their
faces as they laughed. I shook my head and took another bite. “Not tonight.”

“All right,” he
said. “In that case, come with me. I want to show you something.” He stood and
pulled me up next to him.

“Where are we
going?” I asked, brushing the rocks off my pants.

“To get a better
view of the fireworks. They’re
almost
ready to start.”

I looked over my
shoulder and saw a red wave swell up over the mountains. How had the day
disappeared?

Arrow pulled me
away from the bridge, towards the trees swaying in the breeze. The rocks
crunched beneath our feet as we made our way into the darkness.

“You can climb,
right?” he asked.

I rubbed my hands
against the rough bark and smiled. He had no idea. I didn’t bother answering
and scurried past him to the top, staring in amazement when I crested the
canopy. In a few moments, he made it to the top and sat beside me.

“This is
beautiful
,” I said, watching the sky transition to twilight. In
all
the sunsets I had seen here, this was
the first I
really took in
. Stars
sprinkled the sky, and the song of crickets filled the
background
. “Thank you for this.”

“I
could
say the same to you.”

“You
know
what I mean. It
seems
that since I’ve been here, we’ve been plagued by one danger after
another.”

“And you don’t
think
we are now?” he laughed.

“Sure, I guess we
are, but for a moment, I can breathe,” I said.

Right on cue, the
first firework streaked the sky. A burst of red erupted followed by gold and
blue sparkles. I gripped the branches beside me.

“
All
of this is for the queen?” I asked softly.

Arrow nodded and
picked at the leaves. “It’s just a small tribute for
all
she’s done.”

“And even with her
locked up, you still continue?”

He gave me a sad
smile. “It seems strange, doesn’t it?”

I shrugged and
twisted the leaves by my side. “I don’t think I’m qualified to say what’s
strange here.”

He chuckled. “Good
point.”

I scrunched my face
and threw a leaf at him.

“No, these displays
are just a reminder of what she’s done. When King Helio and Queen Elin ruled,
this kingdom was different. It flourished.”

“How so?” I asked,
looking back at the sky.

“Everything was
different. We traded with all regions, there seemed to be something to
celebrate every night, and most importantly, peace filled everyone’s heart,” he
said choking up. “Elin did that. She gave us all a piece of hope. This is just
giving a little back to her.”

“With fireworks?” I
asked. “It seems like an odd tribute. Don’t get me wrong, beautiful…but odd.”

He laughed. “I
suppose if you didn’t know her. But,” he sighed, “this is perfect for her. She
loved fireworks. They were always her favorite way to end each occasion. So
this, even though we can only save enough for a month of each year, is all
worth it.”

I watched Arrow’s
face, noticing the softness that came over him when he talked about her. “She
sounds amazing.” The leaf snapped between my fingers.

“She is,” he said,
glancing up at the stars.

“So tell me,” I
said, brushing the broken stick off my thigh. “Why are we
really
doing this?”

“What do you mean?”
he asked, turning my head to see a blue flame shoot across the sky.

“I mean, you’ve
been through so much. How come nothing’s happened before? Why now?”

“That’s simple. We
didn’t have you before.” Even in the darkness between fireworks, I saw his
smile.

I scoffed and
looked away. “So just like that. Boom, I’m here, and now we’re going to act?
It’s more than that. I can see it in you when you talk about responsibility and
the queen. What motivates you? Not the rebellion, but you. Is it the queen?” I
asked, holding my breath for his response.

“The queen?” He
gave me a strange
look
. “Sure, I’m
devoted to her, but it’s more than that.”

I exhaled,
surprised at the relief that washed over me.

“Berkos had my
brother,” he said.

“Oh Arrow, I didn’t
know. We’ll get him back, I promise,” I said, reaching for his hand.