Page 63 of Forgotten Fate

Then I remembered what I had in my pack. I bent down and rummaged through it, pulling out the mysterious book from Rimor Library. I flipped to the pages that contained the map. After locating Monuvia, I found a generalized location of where I thought I was, east of the kingdom. Even further east was Sprath, and northeast of that was Zolmara. I knew I certainly didn’t want to go through Sprath. Elias had explained weeks ago that we would need to go through the Shadow Peak Mountains, which were located northwest of Sprath. So going north was the most viable option.

With a heavy heart, I continued walking, slowly coming to terms with the fact that Elias was gone. I had never felt so alone, and my anxiety was higher than ever. Every small noise I heard caused my heart to flutter. I would whirl around, wondering if it was Elias or an enemy. But it would just be the trees settling, or a small animal scurrying by.

As I walked, I replayed the prior night’s conversation in my head. Gods, I was sostupid. I should not have told him how I felt. Not until this was all over. The rejection at the inn should have been the foolproof sign that he didn’t return any feelings for me. But then the things he had done for me. The things he had said.

Always.

You owe me nothing. Not ever.

I can’t imagine I’d abandon you now.

But that’s exactly what he did. Fuck, I was so stupid. So,sostupid.

Of course he wouldn’t want to be with me. I’m a traumatized princess whose father is the most powerful king in the Four Kingdoms. That’s a considerable burden. I wasn’t even sure why Elias agreed to work with me in the first place. The money wasn’t worth it. But he did agree, and now he clearly regretted it. Then I started to grow feelings, and just like that, the deal was off.

While deep in thought, I lost my footing on a rock and tumbled forward, practically faceplanting into the mud. I cursed at myself, then pulled myself up. I looked down at the human-shaped indent that was now in the mud. Great. If I didn’t cover it up, I was sure to be found. I knelt down and began flattening the mud with my hands, trying to make it look as natural as possible. A few feet away, I picked up a large stone that was on top of another, and placed it in the mud to further hide any indication that someone had fallen there. It would have to do.

I looked down at myself and the mud that now coated my hands, burrowed under my fingernails, and stuck to my hair. I needed to rinse off. A bath would have been nice. I didn’t get to take advantage of the bath houses in Monuvia during my short stay, so I hadn’t felt clean in days. Maybe finding somewhere to bathe would not just rinse off the mud, but my sorrows and my anxiety as well. It was worth a shot.

I opened the book again to look at the map, and noted a fairly large lake not too far from where I thought I was located. I started to head in that direction.

Within an hour, I found it. The lake was smaller than it appeared on the map. Perhaps in the hundreds of years since the book was written, it had started to dry up. But it was still there, albeit small, and I could still use it to wash myself.

I looked around, ensuring no one was in the area. Satisfied that I was alone, I grabbed a bar of soap out of my pack, as well as a pair of clean clothes. I hid my pack, bow, and arrows under a bush about twenty feet away just in case, but decided to keep my knife close, should I need it. I walked over and laid the clothes out on a large rock and placed the knife next to them. I stripped down to nothing but the necklace Trybe gave me. I tried to unclasp the gold chain, but it was incredibly stiff and wouldn’t budge under my fingers. After a minute or two, I gave up and just made my way to the lake with it on.

The water was cold, shocking my senses at first. I continued in anyway, until the water was up to my waist. After a few minutes, my body became used to the cold water, and my breath steadied. I took the soap and started scrubbing the mud from my arms and hands. I noted that the large gash on my left forearm was healing nicely, although it was still very noticeable. I could tell at that point that it was going to become a scar. I wondered if I could use that against Horus when I returned home.

You can’t leave the castle today, Princess, he would say. And I would counter withRemember when you sliced my arm open?I laughed to myself. I knew guilt-tripping someone was an awful thing to do, but I wondered if Horus would even falter.

Probably not.

But would he still need to keep me from leaving the castle anymore? Would things be different when I returned? Would I still be the princess who was locked away?

No. I wouldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t be that person anymore, my father be damned.

When my upper body appeared clean, I began scrubbing my face. Once satisfied, I moved onto the muddy, tangled mess that was my hair. I dunked my whole body under the water until all I could hear or feel was the lake. When I emerged, my hair was completely drenched,ready to wash. I began scrubbing the bar of soap onto my hair, trying to clean the grease, grime, and mud. I washed, rinsed, washed, rinsed, dunking my head under the surface again and again until I finally felt clean.

The whole process took probably fifteen minutes, but it was worth every second. I did feel a little better, mentally and physically. It’s funny how cleansing your physical body can provide some sort of mental clarity as well. I had a newfound hope that I could finish this journey on my own. Without Elias.

Elias. Even thinking his name had my heart shattering. Would I ever see him again?

I took one more dunk under the water as if I could wash that thought away like I had done with the dirt on my body.

Feeling refreshed, I swam back to the shore. I exited the lake, the warm air already heating my cold, naked body. I walked quickly to my pile of clothes, feeling exposed. I began putting the fresh clothes on, my wet skin making it a little difficult. After a small struggle, I was finally dressed, and finished the ensemble by putting on my boots. I then went to grab my belt, and my heart stopped for a moment. The belt was there, but my mother’s dagger was missing, the sheath empty. I looked around the ground frantically, thinking it must have fallen.

“Looking for this?” a male voice spoke from the tree line. My eyes darted in the voice’s direction, and I saw a man I didn’t recognize step out from behind a tree, twirling my unsheathed dagger in his hand. The man was not wearing Monuvian gear. In fact, he looked dirty. Layers of dirt were smudged on his face and in his scruffy facial hair. His greasy hair was tied back, revealing a heavily receding hairline. His nose was crooked, like it had been broken and never healed right. He smiled a grotesque smile, his teeth so filthy and dark, they almost appeared black.

I froze, watching the stranger inspect my knife in his hand. Thenhe looked at me, seemingly inspecting my body just as thoroughly. That feeling I had of being exposed came back tenfold, even with my clothes on.

“Give me my knife back, and I’ll be on my way,” I hissed, feeling in my bones that this man was nothing but trouble.

He let out a laugh that made me cringe. “You’re lucky I even let you put your clothes back on. Watching you was…most pleasurable.” A bit of bile rose to my throat. “What is an exquisite beauty like you doing out here all alone?”

“I’m not alone,” I said quickly. “I’m with a group. They’ll be searching for me if I don’t head back soon,” I lied through my teeth. The man began walking towards me. “Don’t come any closer,” I warned. He laughed again, until his laugh turned into a gurgled cough.

“Yourfriendsaren’t going to find you,” he hissed. He said the word ‘friends’ like he knew I was lying. I stood my ground, ready to fight.

“Give me my knife back, and I won’t have to hurt you,” I threatened, my eyes narrowing, and my fists raising.