Born in Chaos Part 19
"This isn't right!" The young queen cried, whirling around to face her new advisor. "I'm turning against my own brother!"
"Milady," Dorothy's voice oozed over her, smooth and mellow. "He was the one to turn against you first. You had no choice but to send your armies after him; or he will destroy you." She stepped out of the shadows to stand before Relena, her blue eyes flashing brilliantly as they locked with the queen's.
"I don't know..." Relena replied, her voice becoming weaker.
"Lady," The blonde woman leaned in and caressed her cheek. "You've seen the proof. I've shown you the true map to the palace." She murmured, leaning in closer, her breath fanning over the queen's pale skin. "What gain would I have from lying to you?"
"None," Relena closed her eyes and shivered. "But your death."
"And you couldn't bear to be parted from me, could you, my Queen?"
"No."
~*~
Crack!
Sally stepped forward brushing off her hands, a satisfied smirk on her lips. The guard, she has just knocked unconscious with her vase, lay slumped against the wall, his clothing soaked with water and blood.
"Well, couldn't be helped I guess," She muttered kneeling down to see if she had killed him. "Well, you'll live, with a nasty headache I daresay. Excuse me while I borrow this," She quickly pulled off his sword belt and stood, fastening it around her own waist.
Moving silently, she opened the door to her room and peered out. Seeing the hallway empty she slipped from the room.
Queen Relena had taken the blonde witch as her advisor and had imprisoned Sally, allowing her to see no one. The woman knew it was only a matter of time before Dorothy convinced the queen to execute her... and she didn't intend to be around for it. Somehow, she was going to find the queen's brother and bring him back to break whatever hold Dorothy had on her.
Thankful that she had trained as a soldier before becoming the royal advisor, she slipped noiselessly down the hallways of the castle until she found herself outside. Moving to the stables, she grabbed a bridle from the rack and chose the nearest horse. Sliding the leather over his head, she led him towards the city gates.
~*~
A pounding on her door drew Relena from a deep sleep. Sitting up she groggily called out for whom ever it was to enter.
"Milady! Forgive me!" The young soldier rushed into the room, falling to one knee before her.
"What is it? What has happened?" Relena demanded.
"Yes, do tell us," Dorothy's cold voice rang through the room as she glided around the end of the bed and rested one hand on one of the posts.
The young man looked up and the colored drained from his face. "Madame!" He swallowed at the sight of the blonde's nakedness and quickly looked back down. "The woman, Sally Po, has escaped!"
"Escaped? How?" Dorothy's voice took on a menacing edge.
"It seems she overpowered her guard in the night and stole a horse from the stables." He replied, his voice shaking.
"I... see..." She grabbed her robe and wrapped it around her slim form. "With your leave, Milady, I'll see to this."
Relena nodded as she reached for her own robe, slipping from the bed. "Just don't hurt her."
Dorothy smiled chillingly as she followed the soldier from the room. "If at all possible, she won't feel a thing." She murmured under her breath.
Following the young man, she was led to Sally's room, where a servant girl was tending to the wounds on the guard's head. "Leave us!" She snapped and the girl ran from the room.
Walking to the bed she glared down at the man. "You failed in your duties."
"Yes, lady," He replied. "For that I am sorry."
Her eyes changed from blue to a swirling black as she held her hand over him suddenly making a twisting motion with her wrist and clenching her fingers at the same time. The guard's eyes widened in shock as he lurched on the bed and the sound of cracking bones echoed through the room.
"I'm sure you are." She said flatly as she walked from the room, leaving his lifeless body behind.
~*~
Sally dismounted and knelt in the grass beside her horse. Running her fingers over the ground she frowned, there had been a fierce battle here. All around her the ground was black, as if it had been scorched. Standing she examined the rest of the area, noting the cave cut into the solid rock face of the cliff, and the faint bloodstains in the grass in front of it.
Whose, she wondered as she led her mount up to the cave entrance and tried to see into the pressing darkness. Turning and reaching into the bag hanging from her saddle, she withdrew a torch and flint. Striking the flint against the rock of the cliff, she lit the torch and tightening her grip on the reigns, slowly led the nervous animal into the cave.
"I hope this goes somewhere," She muttered as the darkness closed in behind her.
About halfway through she found evidence of someone having camped in the cave. Looking over the red stains and the marks in the dirt, she determined that someone had been gravely injured and stopped here to rest and possibly tend to their wounds.
She was tired, having not stopped since she fled the castle three days prior. Leaning against the wall, she sighed as her horse snorted and nudged her. "I know," She murmured. "As much as I'd like to stop and rest, I don't think in here is a good idea either. It's too dark for both of us, huh?"
She was answered with another snort.
"Okay, let's go... keep hoping that this is leading us somewhere and not deeper into the rocks."
She traveled for what seemed an endless time, before ahead of her she saw the faint light of the cave's other entrance. With her heart lifting in hope she moved quickly forward towards the shimmering opening.
Bursting out of the cave, Sally gasped as she got a look at the lush forests around her. She had had no idea that anything like this still existed anywhere within their lands. How.... how could these plants survive like this with the lack of pure sunlight?
Looking closer, she realized that these were plants and trees unlike any she had ever seen. Somehow, the natural vegetation had changed and altered itself to survive in the dimness that they knew as day. It was breathtaking.
Mounting her horse, she decided that the only thing she knew for sure was that Milliardo and his group was heading north. So she would head in that direction also. As she entered into the trees, something small darted out from behind one of the massive trunks and her horse squealed in fright.
"Whoa!" She cried as the animal reared up in terror and she lost her grip, sliding from the animal's back.
A sharp pain slammed through her skull and light exploded before her eyes as her head hit the ground. Then everything went black.
~*~
Duo frowned as he followed Trill and the others up a narrow winding trail that looked as if it would lead to the mountain's summit if it continued. No one had spoken hardly a word after Heero had emerged from the cave bearing the new sword. The talisman of strength, forged from the heart of the earth itself.
He wanted to know what happened in there... anything... some indication of what they would all face in trying to retrieve the relics that were left for them. He didn't think he liked this unknown air around all this.
Quatre glanced back at him, as if sensing the turmoil in his thoughts. Whispering something to the tall brunette at his side, he fell back to walk beside the young thief. Duo glanced at the healer with a raised eyebrow as the blonde studied him, his blue eyes intense.
"What?" Duo finally asked, almost snapping at the boy in his irritation.
"What's troubling you so much?" Quatre asked quietly, as Heero glanced back at them at hearing Duo's voice.
"All this unknown," The chestnut haired boy sighed. "I want to know what happened to Heero in the cave, I want to know what we are up against."
"You, out of all of us should be used to the unknown, Duo. You're whole life has been not knowing what lies ahead of you."
"At least then I felt that I had some control over my future anyway... here... I have none!" Duo looked over at the blonde and his eyes widened as he stopped dead in his tracks.
Looking around him, he trembled slightly. They were gone... everyone....
Suddenly, he was alone on the trail....
TBC...
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