The Queen of Arabeth

Ch 1: Glimpse

Eight months have passed. Two hundred and thirty three days since I've heard her voice, since she's touched my skin. A gaping black hole lives in my chest now, it's edges smoldering and glowing a fiery red every time I think of her.

I press my fist against my chest, as if pressure could soothe the invisible pain. As if anything could soothe the pain.

I have to force myself to not turn my gaze north, to where I know she is.

Swallowing, I crane my neck, debating how much further up the tree I should climb. If I had to guess I'd say I was already a good fifty feet off the ground. Far enough up for the wind to carry my scent away, where werewolves or vampires wouldn't have a chance of sniffing me out.

New, little leaves spurt out of the dark branches. I squint my eyes, hefting myself up on the gnarled trunk.

If I had calculated the stars' alignment correctly, the main eastern tunnel would open up tonight, in just a few minutes. And if they had predicted it correctly, they will be here too. She will be here too.

Stop Estrella.

The gaping hole in my chest burns. I wasn't here for her. I was here to make sure the vampires were losing the war. To watch for when our forests would be safe again.

Other human camps still roamed the woods. I had watched and visited from afar. I couldn't face them until I had good news. Until I could tell them they'd be safe again.

I hear them before I see them. Snarls and howls echo through the air, and, as if on cue, thousands of werewolves pour out of the break in the mountain into the clearing below.

Where are they? She– they should be here by now.

I lean forward against a thick branch, lifting the leaves that obscure my vision.

Holy shit. There must be thousands of them. The massive horde of bodies rolls like a wave north, individual tufts of fur blending in with one another until I can't even differentiate body from body.

They gush in, covering ground quickly with no one to stop them.

Come on...

If the vampires didn't foresee this attack no one would be here to stop the wolves from waltzing right up to their front door. Which– which would be a good thing. Which would turn the tide of the war. Which would give me my forest back.

Then, they come.

Sleek and swift red eyed soldiers swoop in from the north, moving so fast I can hardly register anything more than blurs. My heart leaps in my chest. They are a thousand times faster than the werewolves, that much is obvious, but severely outnumbered. I scan the armies, armored bodies seemingly swallowed up in the fur. At best, the wolves have them beat ten to one.

I swallow. Vampires are stronger and faster, yes, but you could only do so much when surrounded on all sides.

I watch, my breath catching against my ribs, as cries of triumph morph into cries of pain. Swords clank together, arrows sink into flesh, and splotches of blood splash the ground.

Then, I see her.

Crimson eyes ablaze she tears through the ranks. She's impossible to ignore, even from this distance. I pull my eyes away, willing myself to look anywhere else, but my gaze is involuntarily tugged back.

My heart hammers wildly in my chest. It wouldn't hurt to watch. Just to make sure– if she were hu- hurt– I force myself to finish the thought– that would be vital information for the resistance.

I allow my eyes to settle on her again, and immediately the anxiety in my heart is quelled.

She looks beautiful, even bathed in blood.

Her crimson lips pull back from her fangs in a snarl. Her caramel hair is woven back in an intricate braid, her body clad in her black scaled suit. I touch my fingers to the necklace dangling on my chest. Nothing would touch her in that. She would be okay.

She moves too quickly for me to see, I can only follow her path by the trail of mangled bodies left strewn on the forest floor. She reappears crouched at the other end of the clearing, gripping handfuls of decapitated werewolf heads at her sides.

Suddenly, vampires begin dropping like flies. Men and women scattered around the battlefield fall to the ground, thrashing in agony. My eyebrows knit together. More vampires collapse, with no enemy even close to them. They writhe into the dirt for several long moments before their bodies finally still.

What the fuck is going on.

I scour the battlefield, looking for the attacker, an archer, anybody.

I return my gaze to Celestia. Her body stiffens. The muscle in her jaw flexes as she reaches up a hand to her neck.

She plucks a small, blue dart from her skin.

Darts.

I grab my bow, my palm sweaty against the silver. There has to be someone in hiding raining down fire. The darts from the caves didn't kill, but they didn't hurt either. And judging from the writhing vampires on the ground the werewolves had since raised the stakes.

Guards hoisting black and gold shields fall back, forming a tight circle around their Queen. Whistles zing through the air. Dozens of darts fly, plinks resounding as they embed themselves in the metal shields.

Still, some make it through and guards fall, leaving gaps in the band around the Queen.

Desperate, I scan the treetops. Wolves were notorious for not being able to climb trees, or swim for that matter, is it possible one made it up here though? It would give them the perfect vantage point.

I notch an arrow, scanning the forest with one eye open. Shit. Panic crawls up my throat. A second, a third, a fourth dart hit Celestia, and even from this distance I can see her body contort with pain. She remains standing, pulling the darts from her hands and neck.

I look down at my fingers, a hand leaping up to my throat. They burn. There was no other way to describe it. Celestia was the one shot but I felt the pain as if it were my own.

A roar emanates from her lips. She twists, somehow sensing a werewolf posed to attack behind her. Her hand flies up to the hilt of his axe, snarling as she uses his own weapon against him. Blood drains from the werewolf's face. The Queen yanks back a fistful of his hair, exposing his neck, and rips out a chunk of tissue with her teeth.

Along the far wall, the same rock face from where the werewolves had come from, a lithe, red eyed figure moves. My eyes narrow as I lift my bow again, ignoring the burning in the backs of my hands. The agile figure leaps up the cliff, landing lightly on an edge.

Fluidly, so beautiful it almost looks like a dance, she swings at a row of bushes and yelps rip through the air. My eyes widen. Blood, sticky and red, oozes down the rock face.

The darters.

The werewolves had figured out some kind of camouflage. They were right across the clearing from me and I hadn't even seen them.

I find Celestia again, my heart twinging in my chest at the sight of her. She was in pain. The vampires were taking heavy losses, their Queen was wounded, and morale was fading.

I inch forward, my black boots molding to the thick branch. If I could just see her, just get a better view maybe I could–

A gust of wind blows, whipping my hair against my face. I pull the strands from my mouth.

Crimson eyes, gold already melting through, snap to mine.