Silver Rose

Rabbits

Marina awakened startled. Her eyes stared out into bleak darkness. She didn’t know why she woke so suddenly. But her heart hammered in her chest and vibrated in her ears. She sat up. Behind her the small fire still glowed. Zander’s cloak hung on the tree branch above the fire. He’d offered to hang hers to dry, but she’d refused. She shivered. Where was Zander? She didn’t see him around the light of the fire. Maybe he ran off and left her while she slept. Although her head wanted to rejoice in the possibility, her heart clenched with fear.

She didn’t like him. He was annoying. He was mean. She didn’t need him. She didn_t like him. So why was her stomach twisting and her breathing awkward? It wasn’t that she wanted him to be here. She just didn’t want to be alone… at all.

There was a rustling like a woman strolling in a satin gown.

“Zander?” Marina whispered.

Purple and a bit of dark pink glowed on the far horizon. Marina pulled her damp cloak tight about her body. Her eyes were more adjusted than earlier and she could make out the shadowy shapes of a few trees nearby. He must really be gone. She scooted closer to the dying fire. Zander had gathered some sticks, so she dumped three on the flames. Then she poked at it with another stick until the fire caught and began to blaze again. She smiled at her accomplishment. Her mother used to make her tend to her own fires when they got low instead of ringing for a maid. She added two more sticks. Rubbing her hands together, she shivered with delight from the warmth.

See? She could make her own fire. So she could make it on her own. She’d gone to the Silver Rose Inn alone. But an inn wasn’t a dark forest. Talis. Cold shivers raced down her spine. Then again, maybe she could tolerate Zander a little longer. That is, she could have if he hadn’t left. He must really think she’s an appalling person. “The sad thing is you don’t have to be.” That’s what he’d said before she pushed him into the water. What did he mean? She could change? Yes… No. Why would she want to change? No. She was happy the way she was.

She heard rustling like leaves in a breeze. Except there wasn’t a breeze. No breeze. But the rustling continued. Marina tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. She just needed a drink. The horizon filled with more pink. She tried to ignore the sudden chill on her skin.

Snap!

She froze. Her ears listened to the world around her. She heard nothing, but the stream. Then she heard the rustling again. Her heart pounded. What if it was… What if it was Lanquor? Her eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t face him alone.

“I wish Zander were here,” she whispered.

There was a creak somewhere above her. Then a yelp, and a thud behind her. Marina spun around. Cringing on the ground was—

“Zander?”

“Klemt!”

Marina stood.
“Did you fall from the sky?”

“Klemt!” He held his right wrist. “Klemt!”

Marina kneeled next to him, her eyes wide with awe.

“It worked.” She whispered.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zander growled.

She suddenly remembered why she didn’t want him around.

“Me?” She said, shocked. “What’s wrong with you?”

“My wrist is what’s wrong. I think it’s broken.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“It may be.” He stood. “There’s something out there.”

“I know that!” Marina said also standing. “That’s why I wished for you to be here.”

“You did this?” He asked.

“I had to. You left me all alone and—”

“You idiot! I was here. In the tree.”

“The tree?”

“I heard noises so I climbed up to try to see what it was.”

“So, you didn’t leave me?” She asked.
“If I’d known you were going to make me fall out of a tree maybe I would have.” He said, wincing.

Marina laughed. She couldn’t help it. Relief bathed her in mirth. Dim light fell from the sky. She could see the tree Zander fell from. There were a few other trees in what seemed to be some kind of field.

“You won’t think this is so funny if whatever’s out there isn’t a rabbit,” Zander said. “I’m not so good with my left.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said. I’m right-handed. I don’t fight well with my left.” He stalked toward the stream.

He couldn’t fight? He couldn’t use a weapon? She didn’t know how. That was the whole point of having him with her.

“But you can still fight, right?” She asked. He didn’t answer. “You have to… I never learned how. What if it’s Lanqour? What am I going to do?”

“Maybe you should wish it’s not him!” Zander snapped.

If she ever learned how to use a sword, Zander was going to be the first person she’d come after.

The grass next to her waved violently. Marina stared at it. She didn’t know what to do, so she did nothing. She trembled as the grass parted and out popped a… rabbit. Marina exhaled. A rabbit.

“Zander, look!” Marina said, chuckling. “It is a rabbit.”

She felt Zander behind her.
“What?”

“See?” She laughed. “A rabbit. There was nothing to be afraid of.”

“You were the one who was scared.”

“At least I didn’t scamper up a tree!”

Zander grinned. He opened his mouth then slowly closed it. His jaw tightened and his gaze locked on something over her shoulder. Marina turned back toward the rabbit. Only it wasn’t so furry looking and was the size of a raccoon. As she looked at it, the animal grew until it was the size of a small dog. Then it was a large dog.

“This isn’t a rabbit,” Zander said. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back a few steps.
Marina couldn’t tear her eyes away from the thing that kept growing. She didn’t know what it was now. It had a cow’s head with long, horizontal horns coming out of its head. It’s body seemed red in the low firelight, with long patches of fur. The thing was as big and muscled as a horse. Yet it’s eyes were anything but docile. It opened its jaw revealing large jagged teeth. As the first golden rays of dawn shot across the sky, the animal snuffled then growled.

Marina stepped away. She knew it was going to eat them. Panic flung through her heart. She turned and ran. It was behind her she was sure it was behind her. She heard a scream. Zander. She turned her head. There were three of them in a pile. They were wrestling. A human hand from underneath the pile grabbed a patch of fur on one of them. They were killing him.

Suddenly, there was a huge lump under her feet and she fell. She plunged into something sticky with an odor that made her stomach writhe. Sitting up, she saw that she’d landed in blood and guts. A little to the left lay the severed head of Goldenrod. She screamed. Scooting backwards on her buttocks, she locked her sight on the mangled bodies of the horses. Her body couldn’t take the smell of the dead horses or the sounds of Zander’s agonized screams. She turned over to vomit.

While her body was still paralyzed with retching, hot air fell upon her neck. Something growled in her ear. Tears fell from her eyes. Trembling, she sat back on her heels. She stared into black eyes. She felt another one behind her. Her shaking hand grasped the gem around her neck.

“God, help me,” she whispered.

The monster in front of her snapped its jaws. She cringed. She held on tightly to her mother’s necklace. Zander yelped.

“Help,” she squeaked. “Somebody help us.”

The monster in front of her growled. It sprang forward and knocked her over. She hoped it did it’s killing swiftly. It opened its mouth. Marina’s body stiffened, ready for what would happen. A red glow suddenly filled her eyes. The monster quickly moved off her. The red light disappeared. Marina blinked. The two monster’s wobbled on their legs. Still lying on the ground, she turned her head to where Zander had been. The three monsters that had been on him were walking about quivering. Zander lay on the ground.

This was their chance she suddenly realized. She leaped to her feet.

“Zander!” She yelled as she ran toward him.

He didn’t move.

“Zander!”

She slipped and fell next to his body. He was covered in blood. Her heart stopped. Was he dead? She touched his red cheek. He didn’t seem to be breathing. He was dead. He was dead and it was all her fault. She shouldn’t have asked him to come.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you.” That’s what she told him in the stables. That’s what she’d promised. Although she’d meant to use her own political power to keep him from harm, she shouldn’t have let this happen either. Couldn’t she protect someone in her own country? Zander had save her from Lanquor. Instead of helping him now, she’d runaway a coward.

“Oh, God,” she sobbed, cradling his head in her arms. “I’m so sorry. Zander, I’m so sorry.”

“Grrr…”

She looked up. Five monsters formed a semi-circle around them. They weren’t too close though. For some reason they kept a nice distance from her and Zander. They may as well finish her off. She didn’t deserve to live. Only a terrible person, a monster, left a person behind to die.

The monsters took a step toward them. Zander had been right. She was selfish and rude and… and a pig!

“Oooo,” Zander moaned.

Marina’s breath caught in her throat. He was still alive! Her heart fluttered. Still alive!

“Grrr…” The monsters were beginning to close in on them.

“Zander!” She shook him. “Zander, please! C’mon. We’ve got to get out of here.”

He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t talking. He wasn’t doing anything. Marina stood up. If she could hold them off… At her feet was the green dagger of Galcon. She grabbed it and held it out in front of her. The monsters paused.

“Stay back!” She shouted. Dagger in hand, she swung her arm from side to side.

The monster on her far right took a step toward her. She whirled in its direction. As she turned, the dagger flew out of her hand. She gasped and watched it plop into the stream a few feet away. Marina stared at the spot the dagger fell in until the ripples in the water disappeared. Then she slowly turned back to face the fiends.

Zander moaned again. One of the monsters bared its teeth and growled. The others did the same. They stepped toward her. Drool dripped from their lips. They’d reach her in about eight more steps. Marina pulled her shoulders back and held up her chin. At least she’d have her dignity this time.

“Quickly.”

The monsters stopped in mid-stride.

“Come, quickly.” A voice said behind her.

Marina turned around. In the stream stood two women. Two women who were made out of water. They didn’t have feet. The stream seemed to rush up into and throughout their bodies. She couldn’t tell if they wore clothes or not. They held out their arms.

“Hurry,” they said. “We can protect you.”

Were they monsters too?

“Please come,” they said. “We can only do so much until you’re in the stream.

Maybe they were monsters that were enemies of the other monsters. Marina took a couple steps toward them before she remembered Zander. She looked back. The monsters stared at the water women. Marina hoped she could trust them.

She bent down, grabbed Zander’s arms, and tried to pull him toward the stream. But he was much heavier than she’d thought. She’d dragged him a foot when her grasp slipped. The monsters growled. They no longer looked at the water women. She grabbed Zander at his armpits. He groaned as she dragged him a couple more feet. She dropped him again.

“A little closer,” the water women said.

Her arms ached. She couldn’t do this. The monsters ran toward them. Marina grabbed Zander between his elbows and shoulders. She yanked his body with all her strength. The monsters leaped in the air. She screamed, but kept dragging. Then her mouth was full of water.

Her body was pulled up and back. For a moment she couldn’t see anything. Then her eyes cleared and she saw the monsters running toward her. They jumped up. Suddenly a wall of water rose up between them and her. She waited for them to break through it, but they didn’t. She sighed in relief. But where was Zander?