Queen Uni

CH11: Gone

"We leave tomorrow," Cory said, putting another piece of paper down on the once-empty coffee table. They all had been meeting in the secret room for around a week, making plans and sharing ideas. The coffee table was now overflowing.
"Tomorrow?" Ashlie yawned. "Shouldn't we wait until we are fully rested and stuff so we don't just, you know, flop over asleep on our animals? Wilford's the best pig I could ever have, but I don't think I've trained him that well."
"If we're really heading for where Jon was found, it's gonna take a while to get there," Cory responded to her. "Better to leave sooner rather than later."
After seeing Jon's reaction to the strange symbol, they all had decided that the best course of action would be to head to where he was found. He was the only one who had recognized the symbol.
"It shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?" Tommy looked over at the table. "Uni, you got the maps, bud?"
"Yeah, friend," Uni responded, laying down a hand-drawn map of Tranek and the nearby area. "I don't know how accurate it is past here," He pointed at the border to the outside areas, "But it should be good enough to get you there." He pointed at the red X right by the border. "I asked Summer about this, she said this is probably the general area."
"So, what time are we thinking?" Nick poked his head in, careful not to disturb Jon, who was sleeping on his lap.
"The guards switch at 3 AM," Dawn said, a distant look in his eyes. Cory recognized that look- the look of someone going through memories, and disconnected, visually, from the world. Dawn seemed to be going through the guards' schedules. He quickly returned to reality. "If you leave at 2:45, you should be out of the tunnels and away from the castle before anyone can notice."
"Two forty... ugh..." Ashlie flopped backwards onto the couch. She looked enviously at Leo and Jon, who both were asleep, Leo on the bed, curled up, and Jon across her and Nick's laps.
"You guys can go and sleep now," Uni said, gently shaking Leo. "I think you need it."
"I'll come around and wake you all in-" Cory paused- "four hours."
Everyone groaned and shuffled into the vents, ready to get what sleep they could get. Uni pulled Dawn back before either of them entered.
"What should we tell them?" Uni said, worry darting across his eyes.
"We don't have to tell them anything," Dawn said, putting a hand on Uni's shoulder and smiling. "We don't know what happened. We are heartbroken. All we have is the note." He reached over onto the table and picked up the note Cory had written, that everyone had signed.
"I guess you're right," Uni responded, sighing. "I just... Can't help but worry, you know?"
"Ever the mother hen," Dawn laughed, quietly.
"Hey!" Uni elbowed him.
"Besides, they promised to call us for as long as they could, and send letters after that," Dawn said, softening. "We'll hear from them."
"Yeah..." Uni replied, trailing off. He walked over to the vents and crawled in. "Goodnight, friend."

"Queen Uni!" Uni was awoken by a loud pounding at his door.
"Can't I just sleep a bit longer?"
A different voice came in. "Uni, please!"
"Rowan?" Uni got up and quickly slipped on a simple dress, before opening the door.
"Oh my gosh, you're still here!" Rowan pulled him into a hug and petted his puffy hair a bit. She held him by the shoulders, and Uni could see the tears in her eyes.
"What do you mean, I'm still here?" Uni said cautiously. "Rowan, what's wrong?"
"They..." She choked on her tears and shoved a piece of paper at Uni. "Just... read this."
Uni already knew the contents of the letter, but read over it again anyways.

Dear Uni, Dawn, Rowan, Summer, and all others who may be concerned about us,
After the death of... Since Mom is no longer with us, we have realized just how much everyone else has been doing for us. We are just a bunch of orphans, taken in by a caring, helpful, wonderful mom. But now she's gone.
Uni, Dawn, you two are such great attributes to this country. Uni- you will be the best ruler this country has seen. Show the world the same kindness and beauty that mom showed to us. Dawn- you are the calmest, most intelligent robot I have ever heard of. Your loyalty to Uni really is unfathomable.
Summer- You've been like another mom to us all our lives. It really pains us to say goodbye.
Rowan- We may have only just met, but I can tell that you have worked hard to get to where you are. I'm sorry we had to leave so soon.
We are going to go bring justice for Mom, no matter how long it takes. We won't come back until we learn what happened, and bring justice to the one that did her wrong. We won't be missed.
See you all,
Cory, Tommy, Ashlie, Nick, Jon, and Leo.

Uni teared up and hugged Rowan. "I'm really gonna miss them..." he mumbled.
"And here- look at this."
Rowan handed him a post-it that he hadn't seen before. There was a little note scribbled on it.

Dear Ro-
It's been a while! I've missed you. I'm sorry I had to go so soon.
Do you still have that old walkie talkie that they gave us when we first joined? I asked Dawn to fix it up a bit. Now, we should be able to talk to each other, even when we're gone! It will only work sometimes, though.
You can take my room while I'm gone. You said you were so jealous that I don't have to share with anyone- now you don't have to either!
I'm really gonna miss you.
Your best friend,
Bodibo

Uni actually gasped a bit reading this note. A dried tear stain was at the bottom of the post-it. Whose it was, he had no idea, but he handed it back to Rowan with a sad smile. Leo must have written this last night... I didn't even think about how this would affect him, Uni thought to himself.
"D-" Uni gathered himself and started again. "Does Dawn know?"
"He- yeah." Rowan said, looking down. "We're meeting in the dining hall in half an hour." She choked a bit, and looked up at Uni. "I miss him already..."
"Yeah," Uni said, and hugged her again. "Me too."

Chapters should be easier for me after this! I have the storyline pretty much planned out at this point, so I won't really be able to do OCs, unless they're minor. If you want an OC to be added in, I have a place to put them. But don't expect anything big- it's just gonna be a little mention.
AmberDreamCrusher , I hope I did Rowan right! This is one of her rare moments of vulnerability: Her best friend, who she just reunited with, left her after she had finally had some hope of them restoring their friendship, and she is left feeling weak. Uni, being the mother hen he is, is more than happy to take her in and try to make her feel better. He still doesn't fully trust her, but seeing this other side of her is bringing him closer to her. Rowan only goes to Uni because he's also a dog anim, kind of like Leo.
Also, notice the first letter? That was written by all of them, a group effort, but Cory was the one to put it on paper. The entire thing is short and blunt, but that's mostly because he is (and I am) tired. He has a kind of uncaring opinion on Rowan, not really taking a side on whether or not to trust her. But his opinion on her doesn't matter- he's gone now!
Screw formatting, I'm publishing this now. As usual, I'm up for any criticism! I am getting stuff done quicker, but don't expect anything too major for my schedule- I'm not making it regular anytime soon.
Hope you guys enjoyed!
Helena!! :3