Refuge In Refraction: Chapter Two
How far would you go to give someone hope?
A strange sickness has began to spread in the woods surrounding the Kingdom of Fairsky. Inhabitants that have been peaceful and able to speak for years suddenly crouch on all fours, snarling and growling. No cure has been found, but a quick kill keeps it from spreading too quickly.
For years, it has been kept at bay from entering the palace walls. One night changes it all, and the Princess Valerie falls ill. A ray of hope arrives in the form of Celia, a young bibliophile who claims that she has a map that leads to the cure. Only she is able to read it.
The two have six months until the illness completely eats away the sanity and reason Princess Valerie has left. Celia seems determined, Donna skeptical.
With the clock ticking down, the two have a long way to travel, on a hope that may or may not exist.
How far would you go to save those around you?
Chapter Two
The morning air was chilly as the grey sky loomed overhead. Celia stepped out into the roads. Her feet were quiet on the dew covered grass. She adjusted the strap on her shoulder, feeling it digging into her skin. Sniffing quietly, she walked over to the edge of the woods. The cicadas were still singing. She thought about her room, now empty, with her clothes folded up in the loft. Would anyone even notice she was gone from the library?
"I was surprised you got here before me," Donna walked up, only carrying a small bag on her side. "Did you make sure to pack everything you needed?" She arched an eyebrow as she looked at Celia's messenger bag, the seams straining as Celia played with the strap. "What in the world did you pack?"
"Oh, well, I figured since we were going to be gone for a while, I should pack some books as well." Celia lifted up the flap of her bag, showing the books nearly teeming over.
"Why on earth would you do something like that? We're traveling a long distance, not leisurely reading for some summer relaxation." Donna pinched her forehead. "You're going to have to carry that. I won't do it for you."
Celia dropped the flap, "I wouldn't let you anyway. My books are precious to me, only I trust myself to carry them." She faced the woods with Donna. "So... You ready to go?"
"Did you pack any food?" There was a hint of worry in Donna's voice.
"Of course, and water." She pulled at another strap, jiggling a pack on her back, "They didn't have much in the kitchen that I could swipe, but that's okay. After all, we'll be in the woods, maybe we can do some foraging or something before we go into the desert." She sighed, then paused when she saw Donna giving her a look of bewilderment.
"What?"
"While that may be true, it's not something we exactly have the time for," Donna sighed, "We'll stop by the market in Rockfall, but after that, we can't waste any time. It's six months until the Spring. After that, the state the Princess has been hypnotized into will wear off. Soon the citizens of the town will be entering winter, which means about half the population will be hibernating for the winter. We need to be back right before that happens, or right after. You understand?"
"Of course." Celia stretched her arms above her head and gave a groan as her back popped.
Donna looked around, and nodded, "Alright. To Rockfall! We can stop at the market."
They started to walk as a loud bell rang five times, drowning out the cicadas and covering the sounds of their steps.
"So, can you see okay?"
"Of course." Celia sniffed the air. She may not have had a strong sense of smell, but she could see the night as clear as she could the day.
They traveled in silence, Donna walking in front of her. Donna crouched low, taking calculated steps as she constantly looked around. Celia stepped cautiously, toe to heel. It had been so long since she had set foot on grass.
"So, you're from Shinesun?" Celia asked quietly. She followed a moth as it flapped by her. It landed on a tree, its dusty wings fluttering lazily. So many similar, yet different animals had come from the kingdom. It was so odd how much of an overlap there was in species.
"Correct." Donna whispered back, "My father is a translator from there. He works with both monarchies closely." She paused by a tree, before bending one of the lower branches at a strange angle. She walked a few more feet, and made a small pile of rocks at the trunk at another.
"Ah. My father worked in the library with me and my sister... He was trying to look for a cure for the sickness, but there were so many books, with all three of us pawing over multiple copies a day." She imagined all three of them, surrounded by stacks of books taller than themselves, working by sunlight and lamplight at all hours. Ophelia curled up near the door, her father in the loft.
"When he heard someone else may be able to read the texts as well, he went to go retrieve them... He was different when he came back. He demanded that we close all the books surrounding the sickness and send them to the healers."
She shook her head, "Were you there, at the party?"
Donna slowly nodded, stopping and holding her arm out in front of Celia. Celia ran into it, before backing up a few paces.
"What is it?"
Donna sniffed the air for a few seconds, before turning toward a tree. "We need to get through this forest, fast." She grabbed Celia's forearm and started running. "Everyone's going to start waking up soon."
Celia grabbed the straps of her bag tightly, trying to duck and weave out of the way of low branches. "What's the deal with everyone waking up?"
"Well, I kind of didn't tell the others I was leaving the Palace today." Donna admitted, "I tried to ask the Royals for permission to leave... I didn't say it was to escort you. They told me to not leave. I'm... not going to be regarded in the best light after this." She paused, looking around and stopping dead, causing Celia to run into the back of her. She backed up, and winced as she felt a pulsing in her arm.
Celia shook her head and panted, rubbing her forearm. It was tender to the touch. Pulling on her fur made it nearly tingle. How could one lop with almost no visible muscle have such a death grip?
"What's the matter?" She whispered, hear ears flicking around as she tried to follow Donna's line of sight.
A low growl broke through the trees. Donna crouched down, pulling a knife from her belt. Celia spun around and got an eyeful of the sun. She shielded her eyes with her hand as a bear came into view. It walked on all fours, emaciated. Claws overgrown and digging into the earth, teeth bore. Its eyes had no light in them. As it walked forward, she could see that it was limping.
"Celia, stay behind me." Donna put herself between them, holding her knife in front of herself.
"Can you take down a bear with a knife?" Celia asked.
Before Donna could answer, the bear let out a yell, and began to charge. Donna stiffened, and straightened, before yelling right back with a horrifying shriek of her own. The bear didn't stop in its bound toward them. Donna waited until the bear was just a foot from her, and shoved the knife forward. Her feet dug deep into the dirt, upsetting it as she leaned forward against the bear, her arms inches from its teeth.
She buried the blade deep into the bear's forehead. She stepped back, releasing the knife as blood began to flow.
The bear collapsed under its own weight, and stumbled forward, coming to a stop a few feet from Celia as she stared down. Donna looked over her shoulder.
"Come on, we have to go."
Celia stared at the body, feeling a tightness in her chest. The blood wouldn't stop flowing around the knife. She moved slowly past the bear, feeling the tightness getting worse and worse. Just as she walked by it, the bear's body seemed to give out to the weight. As it fell forward, she jumped back. She swallowed hard and looked at Donna, who seemed unphased by the kill.
"It wasn't the first time I had to put down someone with the sickness." Donna admitted, kneeling down and pulling out a waterskin, washing blood from her paws. Once they were clean, she put it back in her bag. "Come on."
"Yes ma'am." Celia said, looking over her shoulder one last time at the bear. She imagined the Royals, the Princess, all suddenly charging toward the citizens, letting out the roar as they did.
If the sickness was inside the Palace walls, would it spread before they were back?
She tried to not think about it as she followed a few steps behind Donna.