Korova Avenue || ONC 2022

Chapter 16

Crow didn't know where they were, and Dominique had long since ditched her map. They didn't care where they went as long as it was away from the King and Rhodes and their army. They ran long into the night, before Crow allowed them to slow to a walk. His adrenaline was disappearing, and it was replaced by pure exhaustion and a couple drops of fear. He was no longer glowing, but his skin still tingled.

He let Dominique's arm fall to her side. She grabbed his hand and gave him a little squeeze.

"Doing okay?" She asked.

"Not really. It's been a long day."

"It's been a long several days," Dominique let out a half-hearted laugh. "Let's stop and take a break. We need to eat."

"Fine."

Crow and Dominique sat down in the road. She pulled a couple of apples and the rest of the bread from her bag. She handed Crow his food, and they ate in silence.

When he finished, Crow looked over at Dominique. She had closed her eyes and begun to nod off. She looked so small right then. So tired and fragile. Crow felt terrible for pushing her so much. He didn't realize that there were some things that even she couldn't handle.

He put his hands on her shoulders and laid her head on his legs so that she could rest. He hoped that they had made enough progress to allow them to sleep for a couple hours.

Crow wanted to keep watch, but his eyelids were too heavy. He decided to allow himself a quick nap.

Once again, his head was filled with nightmares. This time they were about all of the horrible things that had happened to him the past day.

He watched from a birds-eye view as his former self turned into a ball of light and madly sliced anything in his way. He saw soldiers crumple to the ground, wood splinter when he burst through. It was like a highlight reel of all the damage he had caused.

–

When Crow awoke, he could barely move. His whole body ached, and he winced as he sat up. He looked into the sky and jumped to his feet. He'd slept way longer than he'd meant to, and they had to get going immediately. He looked around and panicked when he couldn't find Dominique. Where had she gone?

He began racing around, trying to ignore the pain in his limbs. He searched everywhere in a three meter radius, but he couldn't find her. He put his head in his hands as tears spilled from his eyes. They'd come so far, he couldn't bear to lose her now. Besides, where could she have possibly gone off to?

"Crow!" His face lit up when he heard her voice. He looked around and was elated to see Dominique riding towards him on a beautiful palomino horse.

"How?"

"I snagged us a ride! Let's go!"

Crow hopped on behind Dominique and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I make no promises."

"Dominique!"

"Fine, never again will I let you get the sleep you need while I sneak off to steal a horse for us."

Crow just laughed and wrapped his hands around her waist. "Let's go."

–

Crow was glad that they could move much faster on the horse than they could on foot. They were able to make great time. By noon, they had already passed through one village and were coming up on another.

In their spare time, Crow was able to think through everything that had happened. His abilities scared him, and he was overcome with guilt. He decided to talk to Dominique about it.

"It's so weird. I didn't feel bad about all the things I did until today. Now I feel like a terrible person."

"You're not a terrible person. It was self defense."

"I probably killed most of those people. I could have just given them a little cut and spared their lives."

"It's not your fault. You were threatened and had every right."

"I'm sure the King thinks the same way. I'd love to see his face when I plead innocent. He'll lock me up for sure!"

"What's done is done. For what it's worth, I'm glad you did what you did. I probably saved both of our lives."

"How come you weren't able to escape?"

"Those guards are good. None of my usual tricks worked. I was able to get a few jabs though, but nothing painful enough to let them release me."

"Too bad."

"Yeah." Dominique paused for a moment. "So, you're really special, huh?"

"I guess so."

"What I don't get is, why you? No offense or anything, but you're not even meant to be here."

"Maybe that's the point. Maybe that's why I'm special. I'm so different, and I've got a different perspective because of where I grew up. I'm not biased towards this kingdom specifically. I can make my own choice without worrying about anything else. I won't affect my past life."

"I guess it was Fate then, that I let you in."

"Yeah. Fate and a dare from my best friend." Crow chuckled as he thought about Alex. He couldn't wait to see his friend's face when he told him all about his adventures. "So, can I go home?"

"I'm not sure that's a great idea. You need to be here. I'm sure after your debacle at the palace, that things will take a turn for the worse in our kingdom."

"But I need to be there too. My Father will be looking for me. They'll send out search teams. I don't think I could live with the guilt of knowing that I just abandoned him."

"I guess you'll be safer there anyway. I don't think many people know about the portal, so no one will find you."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Let's get you home."

Dominique pulled out her map as they entered the next town. She began to plot the route that they'd take. This time would be a bit slower than before because they had gone slightly out of their way in order to escape from the castle.

The horse was worn out, so they let it go and took off on foot.