The Runaway Queen

Chapter 14

I walk through camp aimlessly. I get a couple strange looks, but most women just keep to themselves.

"Lynx? Oh my-is that actually you!?" I hear. I turn around to see a tall girl with fiery red hair and big brown eyes. I break out into a grin.

"Laura!" I say with delight. I run forward to give her a hug.

"Long time no see!" I smile. Laura smiles.

"I've missed you so much!" She tells me.

Laura was my hand maiden/best friend when I was younger. When I 'disappeared' , Laura came to The House for Misplaced Girls to keep a eye on me. I haven't seen her since I was kidnapped. She knows my true identity. Laura surveys me happily, then pulls me back into a hug.

"Are you insane Eadu? What are you doing here!?" She murmurs in my ear. I look around and realize we have a audience.

"Tell you later." I whisper. We pull apart. A woman steps forward.

"Laura, you know this girl?" She asks. Laura smiles.

"Yes Panay. We lived in the same orphanage." Laura tells the woman now known as Panay. Panay grunts and walks away.

"Let's go for a walk." Laura mutters. I slightly nod, and we walk towards the water.

The water is warm and inviting, so we decide to go swimming. We splash around for a couple minutes before Laura looks at me.

"You first." She tells me. I sigh and tell her everything. About Gai, Kaone, Briss, Derrin, and Mufar. When I'm finished, Laura frowns.

"Eadu-you shouldn't of come. Seriously. Electra hates Eadu. You should leave." Laura grimaces. I raise my eyebrows.

"Why? And I have to. Otherwise my country will be destroyed." I say solemnly.

Laura sighs.

"Electra was the pirate that destroyed your ship. Ever since we found out your still alive, Electra's been out for your blood. Plus there's something else." Laura whispers. I groan and look at Laura.

"What?"

"It's Kaone. She belongs to the Amazons. She's away right now, but she's returning the day after tomorrow. From what you told me-she will recognize you and your cover will be blown!"

I look away, emotions threatening to show on my face. I truly thought Kaone was my friend. I can't stand her betrayal. I turn away and dive into the water. It feels so good just to be quiet and peaceful for a second. I don't really want to surface. But when I can't hold my breath anymore I pop go the surface.

I brush my wet hair back from my face and turn back to Laura who's waiting patiently for me.

"I'm sorry Eadu." She whispers. I nod.

"It's ok. I'm ok." I lie. I'm really anything but ok. I haven't been ok since I was 11. I've just gotten good at hiding it.

"Anyway how did you end up here?" I ask Laura. I find out that Laura was kidnapped shortly after myself by the Kypaiha. The Amazons came and fought Rogust. They took all the women and made them Amazons. Laura tells me how much she hates being a Amazon and how much she wishes she could leave.

"When I escape, you're coming back to the castle with me." I decide. Laura looks at me with hopeful eyes.

"Really? You would do that?" She whispers. I laugh.

"What are best friends for? I'm not losing you again." I tell her. She gives me a genuinely happy smile. Then we climb out of the water and get dressed. Laura tosses me a red buff.

"Put this on." She tells me. I roll it up and wrap it around my head like a headband. It keeps my short hair out of my eyes, which I love.

"Thanks."

Just then the bell rings for supper. I smile at the thought of food,

"I'm hungry. Let's eat."

Dinner is surprisingly very good. I eat my beef soup so fast that it scalds my throat. Laura laughs at my enthusiasm.

"When was the last time you ate a meal?" She jokes. I have to think. I didn't really eat anything at the thief camp unless a slice of burnt bread counts as a meal. That would mean I last ate a substantial meal at Roth's house, which was almost a week ago.

"A week ago." I say in between bites. Laura's smile fades.

"Oh E-I mean Lynx. Oh Lynx." She sympathize's. I shoot her a warning look. Laura almost called me by my real name. That can't happen again. Electra would figure it out in a second of she heard me be called Eadu. I'm actually surprised she's not suspicious. But I guess they would never think that the Queen of Faiyria would come and associate with the Amazons-some of my worst enemy's. I guess my own stupidity is my saving grace. Electra stands up at the head of the table.

"Sisters! Today is a great day. First of all-my little sister Mali has come back to us!" Mali stands up next to Electra. Cheers follow her long after Mali sits down.

"Lastly we have a new sister! Ladies, give Lynx a Amazon worthy welcome." Electra says. Laura nudges me until I stand up. All around me are whoops of excitement. I smile around and then quickly sit back down. I dig back into my meal, and all too soon my bowl is finished. I look wistfully at it, wishing I had some more. My stomach is still empty. Laura dumps a little bit of hers into my bowl.

"You shouldn't do that." I tell her, but I think she doesn't take it too seriously as I'm already scarfing down her portion. After dinner Penay comes up to me.

"Lynx right? Hi I'm Penay, Electra's second-in-command. Come with me." She says. I give Laura a reassuring look, and follow Penay.

Penay leads me to a empty space. She tosses me a wooden sword.

"Let's see how good you are with a sword." She says. Actually, I'm almost as good with a sword as I am with a knife. But I don't want Penay knowing my abilities. So I decide to downplay my skills.

At the end of our sparring session, I'm bruised and sore. Penay looks at me.

"Pity-your not very good. Too bad. The last girl we had was about your age and she's amazing. Laura will show you your sleeping quarters." Penay walks away. I rub a particularly sore bruise on my ribs, and follow Laura back to the dorms. She points me to a bed and I collapse onto it.

Laura looks around and then comes closer to me.

"Why did you get beat up on purpose?" She whispers. There's nobody else in the barracks so I answer.

"So if I need to use my skills it will catch them off guard." I murmur back. Laura nods.

"Ok. Goodnight Lynx." She says before falling into the bed next to me. I know I should use this time while everybody is in bed to explore, but before I can even think about getting up, I'm fast asleep.