Beyond the Walls

Chapter 18

Monet's knees buckle from beneath her and she falls to the ground. Her chest convulses in panic.

"Monet!" I rush to her side, pulling out my dagger and tearing off a strip of my blanket, pressing the fabric to the wound. I then glare at the set of guards. "What the hell?"

"We did warn you that resistance would result in punishment," the man in the middle says. "Now, come."

"My friend needs medical assistance!" I snap, not moving from where I crouch.

"That will be allowed as soon as you comply."

"Fine," I mutter under my breath. Aston tends Monet, who is hyperventilating, while I rise to my full height.

Rolling my shoulders back, pushing my chin into the air, I march forward. Behind me, Ruben hisses my name but I ignore him, continuing forward until I am past the gate and within the city's walls. "What do you want with me?"

"We want to understand you, Miss Fallon. You are the famous Red Leaf, are you not?" the man says. He regards me with a look of indifference, like he has an ulterior motive. The look reminds me of a magpie bird.

"I will come, but only if you give my friend medical assistance," I counter back. At this point, Aston's hands are coated in blood. Ruben frantically tears off strips of his shirt, handing them to Aston, who presses them to Monet's wound.

"She is losing a lot of blood!" Ruben yells, glaring at the Tranq-like guards. Monet is, indeed, pale, and the grass around her has red stains of blood.

"Come on!" I snap at the guards, voice verging on the brink of panic. "Will you help my friend if I go with you?"

Magpie then nods at another guard to his right. He turns around, and with the help of a second guard, picks up a stretcher and hastes over to us. Ruben and Aston fall back, allowing the guards, who seem to really be medics, carefully move Monet onto the stretcher.

"Now, please, Miss Fallon," Magpie says, calm and collected as the medics begin to carry Monet past the gates. "Come with us. We are good people."

Exchanging brief glances with Ruben and Aston, we hurry after our friend. The gates swallow us, groaning as they close, forcing us into the new city. Ahead, Monet's chest rises and falls steadily. I quicken my pace, catching up with her. We are led to a wagon and Monet is loaded into it. The lead guard gestures us in after her and we climb aboard, taking the benches around the sides. The horseman sitting at the front is given the nod and he cracks his reins, spurring the four horses onward.

"I hope we are not going to be travelling for long," I say to Aston and Ruben, furrowing my brows at Monet. She lays in her stretcher on the floor of the wagon. Her eyes are closed, lips parted. She's alive.

"I think she will be okay, Elle," Aston says, offering me a tight smile.

"Yeah. She lost a lot of blood but the shot was on her shoulder. She will live," Ruben chips in.

I bite my lip, struggling to believe them. "And if she doesn't?" Killian's last words to me echo in my mind. I have already failed him.

Ruben senses my panic and pulls me into his side, pressing his lips to the top of my head. "She will be okay, Elle."

But what if she's not, Ruben? My mind anguishes, not bothering to utter the words.

To avert my mind elsewhere, I tear my eyes from Monet and peer out the window beside me. The brick buildings looming over the cobblestone streets are crumbling and gloomy. People hustle to the sidewalk as we pass, obediently allowing us through. Many of them are thin and dirty, clearly neglected by their Queen. The sight is disturbing. And hauntingly familiar. Eventually, the horses begin crossing a bridge over a river. It is a lot narrower than the one in the Floodgates, probably only 20 metres wide. Nevertheless, it the river that mirrors the one in the Floodgates, the one that is supposed to be tainted with the virus.

The second sector is a vast contrast from the first. Buildings glimmer in the sunlight proudly. People sweep the streets dressed in suits, robes of extravagant colours, and feathers. Arden wasn't kidding. Aurelia has its two distinct Sectors as well.

At long last, the horses jerk to a stop. The doors to the wagon swing open and Magpie greets us with a far too cheerful grin. "Come on, now."

Ruben and I grab either end of Monet's stretcher, carefully manoeuvring it out of the wagon. As soon as we set foot on the ground, two guards push Ruben and I out of the way, snatching the stretcher from us and at once hurrying away.

"They're taking her to a hospital, right?" Ruben asks as Aston jumps from the wagon.

"Of course, she is," Magpie says, his black eyes glinting mischievously and I fight the urge to slap the look off his face.

Without acknowledging us again, the guards quickly march Monet down the long white path. At the end of it is a magnificent white castle. There are at least five enormous towers, stretching for the sky, seeming to reach higher and higher the closer we walk to the front doors. The windows of the towers are decorated with statues of naked men, women in wet drapery, and various wild animals. As we ascend the front steps towards the doors, Magpie exchanges a few words with the two men standing on the porch. The doors shudder as they ease open. We follow Magpie through the doors and I keep my eyes trained forward, but completely aware of the two doormen regarding me knowingly. We find ourselves in a foyer larger than the one in the Palace at home. The floor is an array of purple, red, and white marble polished to a sheen. I suddenly feel very dirty, with my matted hair, bloodstained hands, and mud-streaked clothes.

Magpie leads us through the castle and up one of the towers. Like Sneya's tower, the stairs wind upwards in a spiral. At the top, we find ourselves in what must be the wing for this Duchess. Magpie leads us to a set of marble doors and grips the brass knocker, tapping it against the stone thrice.

"Her Duchess, Iris Lister, may I come in? I have someone you will want to meet," Magpie calls through the door.

Several beats pass before a voice responds. "Yes. Do come in, Benedict."

Magpie, seemingly named Benedict, gives the door a good-natured shove and slips through. Exchanging a look with Ruben and Aston, I reluctantly cross the threshold.

The first thing I see is a tall, slim figure. She is dressed in a beautiful royal blue gown, adorned with diamond jewels. Her porcelain skin is a stark contrast from her raven black hair, which is braided and pinned to her head. She rolls her shoulders back and her gaze immediately locks with my own. She sticks her chin in the air and graciously steps forward until her eyes are looking down at me.

"Is this the Red Leaf?" the Duchess asks Magpie, never averting her gaze from me.

"Indeed, she is," Magpie says from somewhere to my right.

"Small, isn't she?" the Duchess tilts her head to one side. "I don't think I expected it from someone so significant."

I bite back my sarcastic response, irritated by her remark. I don't want to ruin things so early.

"She is small, but I think her and her friends could be just what we have been looking for," Magpie says.

The Duchess nods. Her eyes are grey. Like mine. "Yes. I am sure that, though she is small, her blood will be just what we need to quench the thirst of the plague."

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Thank you so much for reading! What do you think? Are you enjoying it? 

~ Emma