Just Us And The Night

The Unexpected

THE MISSING QUEEN

"I don't understand," Andrea said, more shaken than Lena would have expected. "She was here. I chained her to the wall and asked my captain of the Scarlet Scythe to continue... I mean... watch her. Maybe she's in her cell. Let me check. I told Mercy to handle her!"

Lena scanned Andrea's face and listened to her tone carefully.

Why do you sound panicked? Where is she? Could she have escaped? She looks sincerely confused.

Lena held back a hopeful grin while Andrea walked down the hall towards the cells.

She stood still and held her breath, praying for Kara's safety.

"BETRAYAL! That must be the answer," Andrea screamed.

Andrea stormed back to Lena's side, searching the dungeon with her eyes, looking for any clue.

"What's wrong? Where is Kara?" Lena demanded.

"There is only one explanation. Mercy must have helped that bitch queen from her chains. It's the only thing that makes sense. There was nowhere else to take her. I knew I never should have trusted someone born in Argos."

Never in her wildest dreams could Lena have imagined that the captain of Andrea's guard would be a daughter of Argos. She also couldn't have imagined a scenario where any of Andrea's soldiers would side with Kara and help her escape. Lena had to fight back her smile. She knew her best course of action was to challenge Andrea and keep her on her toes.

"Did you kill Kara? Did you have her put to death and lie to me about it?"

"No, Lena. I swear I didn't."

"Then where is she? You said she was safe. Did you beat her so badly she died?"

Andrea's face dropped, and she looked sincerely shaken.

"No. Really. I tortured her, but she was alive I swear."

"If you speak the truth, find her, Drea."

"Oh, I will. Trust me. I will."

REEDS

The murky, lifeless water of the Ocean of the Dead welcomed the daughters of Argos with open arms. Alex, Vasq and a contingent of twenty-five Silver Knights floated just below the water's surface, breathing through hollow reeds. The waters were calm, and the night was perfectly still.

When Vasq came to Alex with her proposal, she didn't believe it would work.

"Can we really breathe through these reeds?" Alex asked, rolling them around in her hands. "It seems impossible."

"I've tested the reeds and they work."

"But we will float up above the surface of the water. They will surely see our heads and faces."

Vasq gave Alex an uncharacteristically wide smile.

"I have solved that problem as well. I experienced that very issue when I first started testing. I found that tying a rock around my ankle about one-tenth my size weighed me down enough to slip under the surface, but not so much that I dropped completely. I could still tread water and breathe. If we get these reeds and some rocks to the Knights, we can perform a test to set your mind at ease."

"Gather what you need right away. We need to set sail for Rojas as soon as possible."

Now, as Alex floated below the surface, she couldn't help but marvel at Vasq's ingenious plan. They could sail to Argos under the cover of night, float undetected under the water all day, and strategically time their siege on the Ruby Queen's realm.