Frostbitten Past

X L I V

"Miss, your nose! It's bleeding!" It was a child who said this, pointing up at Andorra's face. She touched the blood beneath her nose, feeling the wetness, and pulled her fingers back to look at the red on her fingertips.

"Zoella, don't be disrespectful! That is your Princess!" The mother forced the child into a bow, apologizing towards Andorra. "I'm sorry, Princess. She doesn't yet understand."

Andorra waved them off. "It's okay, really. Please, come on through." She helped them through the gate, wiping the blood on her sleeve. She pressed her fingers to her temples, pushing slightly, trying to ease the pressure of her headache.

The amount of people coming through began to dwindle, and before she knew it, there was no one left, except for a few men. They approached her, wiping the sweat from their foreheads. "That's everyone we could find," they said. "I hope no one is left behind, but we looked."

Andorra waved them forward. "That's okay. I'll do one last sweep before going to the palace to let them through."

The men faltered, looking at her with wide eyes. "You let us through first? The clan leader hasn't gone through?"

She shook her head, straining to keep the gates open, but she didn't want to be rude enough to hurry them. "Of course not. What good is a clan leader if his people were slaughtered?"

The men stared at her, then dropped into a bow. "You are a blessing to us all, Princess. Thank you."

She felt flustered, embarrassed, but pleased that they respected her. She had made the right decision saving them first, because what she had said was true: what good was the clan leader if his people were dead?

"Why did you help? You should have gone with your families."

The men moved closer, about to go through the gate. Before they did, they bowed one last time. "You're sacrificing your life to save us. It's the least we can do. No matter how Anlithamy feels about you as a leader, you will always have our support."

They walked through, leaving Andorra alone. She slumped down, letting the pounding headache take over. She didn't want to get up and go to the palace, but she knew she had to. Her head felt like it would split open from the pain, and she felt it slither down her neck, settling into every joint. She was so tired, but she knew she had to keep going.

She wiped at the blood again, letting her eyes droop closed. A little rest, she told herself. Just take a little rest.

It wasn't long lived. She heard the inhumane wails coming, closer now, and the screams followed. She knew that she would be killed, laying in the street, so she forced herself back into a sitting position, pulling herself immediately in the in-between. She took a moment to relax, then she thought of her bedroom in the palace.

She barely had the energy to pull herself through. She couldn't go chasing after every person in the house and she knew that. With Oberon in Anlithamy, there was only one choice: Noah.

She thought of him, pulling herself again in the in-between, and then she thought of him. She stumbled out of the gate, surprised to find him at the truth pond, out in the open, completely unguarded.

"Why won't you show me her! She can't be dead!" He yelled, frustrated. His hands were in his hair, yanking at the dark strands, hard enough to make him cry. He kicked at the water, suddenly violent, then he crouched down again, close enough for his nose to skim the water. "Please," he begged. "Don't let her be dead. Please show me her. Please."

Andorra reached out a hand towards Noah, putting it on his arm, beckoning him to turn. Just her touch made him flinch, spinning on her and yanking her hand off of his arm, disabling her for a moment. The look in his eye was ravenous, deadly, just for one moment before he saw who she was.