Hunted Queen

Chapter Forty • Push on

Warning: The subject of miscarriage is mentioned in this chapter. Please heed this warning and read on your own volition. 

If you find any errors, please comment and I will fix them! 

-Jade- 

With tears in her eyes, Jade studied the map which the innkeeper had kindly lent them after they had finished their morning meal. The scroll had been fully rolled out across their table. Covering the entirety of the worn wooden table. It donned several water rings from previous usage along with an endless amount of stains in various sizes here and there. Its edges had seen better days as well. 

Together with Brother Richard, she stood leaning in over the map. Her eyes locked on the position of her right index finger, marking their current position: Old Aangstown. Her gaze then followed as her finger traced the distance she still had to cover in order to get home. 

The monk had skillfully showed her which roads they could use for their route to castle Eldhen. As the roads grew in number as he guided her across the lands, the more her heart had sunk. She did not know how long the journey was in its exact distance, but she knew from looking at the map that she had at least weeks to walk before crossing the border into her and William's kingdom. Even longer than that before she would set foot in her own courtyard. Months even if she was unlucky. 

"There you have it. It is quite they...Hmm... Well it is not that bad." Brother Richard sighed, his words dying when he realized the same thing as Jade already had. "Well, I am sure it will be-" 

"Fuck." Jade whispered under her breath and with a discreet sweep of her arm, she wiped away a tear rolling down her right cheek with the sleeve of her robe. Hiding her feelings of utter defeat and despair  from her companion. How it was hard to breathe, how her chest shrunk with every second she kept watching the map in front of her. All of it suppressed so deep down that nothing of it could be noticed by looking at her.

Out of nowhere, a white blur swept across her vision, causing her to blink rapidly thrice before regaining perfect vision again. 

"We will need a horse." She declared hoarsely, blinking twice to be sure that the white blur had dispersed completely. "If we cannot find one, we will have to travel where we are not seen. Just in case. We cannot afford bumping into them by accident." 

Which means that we must trek through woods again. That we need to stay off the roads. Out of sight. She thought and tried to plan ahead, until her feelings got the best of her. No! No I cannot take anymore! She inhaled sharply through her nose while refusing more tears to break free from their prison and her feelings to surface. 

It all made her feel like a cauldron boiling over, but she could not let it out. No, that would attract attention to them. Leaving traces in people's memories to give Ulf whenever and if he came through here. As her thoughts turned her mind into chaos, her head started to feel light, leaving her dizzy and a bit nauseated. 

"Fuck!" She hissed louder than before when her finger retraced its steps for a third time, as if it would make the journey shorter somehow. 

"Young girl!" The monk gasped at her obscene outburst. 

"Not now da'!" Jade hissed, not looking at him. 

She was just about to spew out another curse in pure frustration when a sharp stabbing pain appeared in her stomach, spreading quickly through her torso and only dulling slightly as it reached her limbs. However, the intensity of it remained unbearable at the lower part of her stomach, from where it emanated. Causing her to grasp at her belly and throw herself forward into an involuntary crouch.