The Island With No Parallel

The Dead Queen's Request (part 2)

As soon as she left, Yunara broke into tears, Manuel embracing her again with strong arms. She felt his clothes dampen with moisture under her face, but he didn’t stop her. All of her emotions were swirling inside her like a storm. Everything was happening so fast. She was losing the best friend she ever had, and all in the same moment she was promoted to a position she never dreamed of having. The weight of the responsibility was daunting. But then Manuel’s words rang in her head. He said he saw something special in her, and apparently so did Cadri.

But at the same time, a swell of pride welled in her chest for Cadri. She’d come so far to become the brave princess – no – queen that she was destined to be.

“Um, Yunara?” Kailu said, nudging her on the shoulder. She turned to see Kailu pointing at a red fox staring at them where Cadri stood moments ago. Seeing it triggered a whisper of a memory in the bag of her mind. But the fog of her distress made it hard to pull it to surface.

“I’m Roraina,” the fox explained, a tenor of sadness to her voice. That’s where she’d seen the fox. When she was first approached at Manuel’s manor.

“You’re Cadri’s friend?”

Roraina nodded. “Yes. Should you need anything, I am but a call away, my Lady.” The fox bowed before Yunara before she disappeared, which made Yunara feel completely out of place.

Shi’ran stepped forward, writhing his hands timidly. “I know this is a difficult moment for you, but I believe we should get to wherever your friend so we can contact the Imanu as soon as possible.”

As Yunara nodded numbly, Manuel said, “Whatever we do, I think we should put it off until tomorrow morning. It’s been an extremely long night and we could all use some rest before we do anything more. For now, we need to get back to the inn with Luca and fill him in on everything that’s happened so far.”

No one disagreed with him.

Manuel gently nudged her head on his shoulder, and she welcomed it, letting him lead her limp body toward where their carriage was waiting for them. She was vaguely aware of Shi’ran offering to drive and Manuel sliding in the back with her and Kailu. All she cared about was the soft surface his shoulder offered as a war of feelings was waged in her mind. The most prominent was pain. Lots and lots of pain.

She didn’t feel like the courageous person Manuel made it seem like she was, or the person worthy of the position Cadri wanted her to take. She felt like an usurper, taking the throne from the girl that deserved it the most. If there was no justice for a girl that did nothing wrong, then what was justice? She did the unthinkable, sacrificing herself to save a maid, and got nothing for it. Instead she was stripped of everything and humiliated, only to die a shameful death.

A part of her questioned why she was Chosen to begin with. All of the rest had qualities about themselves that made them different, unique. Manuel was the son of a Lord. Luca was a pirate. Shi’ran was a wise man of renown that was almost impossible to seek an audience with as it was. Even Kailu held herself with a certain amount of confidence. Yunara was the odd one out that came from the humblest of beginnings. Why would the Ancient Ones choose her? Cadri and Yunara should have switched places, if anything!

As the carriage started on its journey back to the inn, she clenched her fists. Questioning the results of all that had happened wasn’t going to change their outcome. Questioning herself wasn’t going to help matters either. That’s not what Cadri needed right now. She needed someone she could depend on, and Yunara wasn’t going to let her down. No more hiding in the background.

She took a deep breath. If she was being honest, she was always afraid of being bold. She just never had it in her. It was much easier to just go along with whatever she was told like the obedient maid she was conditioned to be.

If she was going to fulfil Cadri’s wish, she would have to change the way she thought. First of all, speak up more. A proper courtier could be expected of nothing less. And secondly, she would pay a little more mind to what Manuel told her.

Somehow, remembering that conversation soothed the raging emotional storm she was going through enough to put her to sleep in the middle of the ride. Her arms wrapped around his forearm as she nuzzled his shoulder and slept soundly.

When Kailu started signaling to Manuel that Yunara fell asleep, pointing at her and putting her hands together, leaning on them in a sleeping gesture, he carefully slipped his arm out of her hands and wrapped it around her shoulders instead so she would rest easier. He was very conscious of the way her soft hair pushed against his face like supple cotton with her head on his chest. The softness of her breath as she slept so peacefully.

He wished he could lend her strength, because he could tell from how she reacted to the princess of Ecencia that the two were very close. It only served to heighten his rage towards the man that was the source of it all: Francis Stretton.

Fernando told him at the beginning that he would see the man who killed his parents see vengeance. But he now he wanted vengeance for Yunara and Cadri, too. They didn’t deserve this fate.

As he watched her sleep, he hoped that she knew that he believed in her to do what was required of her, and that the princess didn’t choose her for nothing.

Yes, the Aracs would see their end soon. He had a gut feeling that it was true.