A Rule of Queens

CHAPTER EIGHT

Darius walked slowly down the dirt path, Loti by his side, the air filled with the tension of their silence. Neither had said a word since their encounter with the taskmaster and his men, and Darius’s mind swarmed with a million thoughts as he walked beside her, accompanying her back to their village. Darius wanted to drape an arm around her, to tell her how grateful he was that she was alive, that she had saved him as he had saved her, how determined he was to never let her leave his side again. He wanted to see her eyes filled with joy and relief, he wanted to hear her say how much it meant to her that he had risked his life for her—or at the very least, that she was happy to see him.

Yet as they walked in the deep, awkward silence, Loti said nothing, would not even look at him. She had not said a word to him since he had caused the avalanche, had not even met his eyes. Darius’s heart pounded, wondering what she was thinking. She had witnessed him summoning his power, had witnessed the avalanche. In its wake, she had given him a horrified look, and had not looked at him again since.

Perhaps, Darius thought, in her view, he had broken the sacred taboo of her people in drawing on magic, the one thing her people looked down upon more than anything. Perhaps she was afraid of him; or even worse, perhaps she no longer loved him. Perhaps she thought of him as some sort of freak.

Darius felt his heart breaking as they walked slowly back to the village, and wondered what it was all for. He had just risked his life to save a girl who no longer loved him. He would pay anything to read her thoughts, anything. But she would not even speak. Was she in shock?

Darius wanted to say something to her, anything to break the silence. But he did not know where to begin. He had thought he’d known her, but now he was not so sure. A part of him felt indignant, too proud to speak, given her reaction, and yet another part of him was somewhat ashamed. He knew what his people thought of the use of magic. Was his use of magic such a terrible thing? Even if he’d saved her life? Would she tell the others? If the villagers found out, he knew, they would surely exile him.

They walked and walked, and Darius finally could stand it no longer; he had to say something.

“I’m sure your family will be happy to see you back safely,” Darius said.

Loti, to his disappointment, did not take the opportunity to look his way; instead, she just remained expressionless as they continued to walk in silence. Finally, after a long while, she shook her head.

“Perhaps,” she said. “But I should think they will be more worried than anything. Our entire village will be.”

“What do you mean?” Darius asked.

“You’ve killed a taskmaster. We’ve killed a taskmaster. The entire Empire will be out looking for us. They’ll destroy our village. Our people. We have done a terrible, selfish thing.”

“Terrible thing? I saved your life!” Darius said, exasperated.

She shrugged.

“My life is not worth the lives of all of our people.”

Darius fumed, not knowing what to say as they walked. Loti, he was beginning to realize, was a difficult girl, hard to understand. She had been too indoctrinated with the rigid thought of her parents, of their people.

“So you hate me then,” he said. “You hate me for saving you.”

She refused to look at him, continued to walk.

“I saved you, too,” she retorted proudly. “Don’t you remember?”

Darius reddened; he could not understand her. She was too proud.

“I don’t hate you,” she finally added. “But I saw how you did it. I saw what you did.”

Darius found himself shaking inside, hurt at her words. They came out like an accusation. It wasn’t fair, especially after he had just saved her life.

“And is that such an awful thing?” he asked. “Whatever power it was that I used?”

Loti did not reply.

“I am who I am,” Darius said. “I was born this way. I did not ask for it. I do not entirely understand it myself. I do not know when it comes and when it leaves. I do not know if I shall ever be able to use it again. I did not want to use it. It was as if…it used me.”

Loti continued to look down, not responding, not meeting his eyes, and Darius felt a sinking feeling of regret. Had he made a mistake in rescuing her? Should he be ashamed of who he was?

“Would you rather be dead than for me to have used…whatever it was I used?” Darius asked.

Again Loti did not reply as they walked, and Darius’s regret deepened.

“Do not speak of it to anyone,” she said. “We must never speak of what happened here today. We will both be outcasts.”

They turned the corner and their village came into view. They walked down the main pathway and as they did, they were spotted by villagers, who let out a great shout of joy.

Within moments there was a great commotion as villagers swarmed out to meet them, hundreds of them, excitedly rushing to embrace Loti and Darius. Breaking through the crowd was Loti’s mother, joined by her father and two of her brothers, tall men with broad shoulders, short hair, and proud jaws. They all looked down at Darius, summing him up. Standing beside them was Loti’s third brother, smaller than the others and lame in one leg.

“My love,” Loti’s mother said, rushing through the crowd and embracing her, hugging her tight.

Darius hung back, unsure what to do.

“What happened to you?” her mother demanded. “I thought the Empire took you away. How did you get free?”

The villagers all fell grave, silent, as all eyes turned to Darius. He stood there, not knowing what to say. This should be a moment, he felt, of great joy and celebration for what he did, a moment for him to take great pride, for him to be welcomed home as a hero. After all, he alone, of all of them, had had the courage to go after Loti.

Instead, it was a moment of confusion for him. And perhaps even shame. Loti gave him a meaningful look, as it to warn him not to reveal their secret.

“Nothing happened, Mother,” Loti said. “The Empire changed their mind. They let me go.”

“Let you go?” she echoed, flabbergasted.

Loti nodded.

“They let me go far from here. I was lost in the woods, and Darius found me. He led me back.”

The villager, silent, all looked skeptically back and forth between Darius and Loti. Darius sensed they did not believe them.

“And what is that mark on your face?” her father asked, stepping forward, rubbing his thumb on her cheek, turning her head to examine it.

Darius looked over and saw a large black and blue welt.

Loti looked up at her father, unsure.

“I…tripped,” she said. “On a root. As I said, I am fine,” she insisted, defiant.

All eyes turned to Darius, and Bokbu, the village chief, stepped forward.

“Darius, is this true?” he asked, his voice somber. “You brought her back peacefully? You had no encounter with the Empire?”

Darius stood there, his heart pounding, hundreds of eye staring at him. He knew if he told them of their encounter, told them what he had done, they would all fear the reprisal to come. And he would have no way to explain how he killed them all without speaking of his magic. He would be an outcast, and so would Loti—and he did not want to strike panic in all of the people’s hearts.

Darius did not want to lie. But he did not know what else to do.

So instead, Darius merely nodded back to the elders, without speaking. Let them interpret that as they would, he thought.

Slowly, the people, relieved, all turned and looked to Loti. Finally, one of her brothers stepped forward and draped an arm around her.

“She’s safe!” he called out, breaking the tension. “That’s all that matters!”

There came a great shout in the village, as the tension broke, and Loti was embraced by her family and all the others.

Darius stood there and watched, receiving a few halfhearted pats of approval on his back, as Loti turned alone with her family, and was ushered off into the village. He watched her go, waiting, hoping she would turn around to look at him, just once.

But his heart dried up within him as he watched her disappear, folded into the crowd, and never turning back.