The Last Princess

Chapter 53

"That...was awful." Maple groaned, bending over and clutching her stomach.

I wasn't much better, even though I'd done it once. Birch had flung us through the trees for so long I had begun to wonder if we'd ever reach. But we did. And I could easily ignore my nausea at the sight of our camp.

It was horrible.

The camp had been ransacked. We were in the tents' area, where the strategy meetings used to take place. Tents were lying on the ground, muddy and torn, boot prints all over them. We gazed ahead, horrified, because without the tents we could see the cottages where the families of the rebels used to live,

Birch moved first.

He sprinted ahead, followed by Aiden, and Arden, then Maple and I. Birch, obviously, stopped at his cottage and glanced back at me. "Be careful. They could have left a trap here." We nodded, and he cautiously pushed the door, which was hanging on one hinge, open.

I swallowed.

The sofas were overturned. The dining table had fallen sideways on the floor because two of its legs had broken off and were lying on the floor near it. One curtain was torn, but hanging. The other was on the floor. The kitchen was a disaster area, with utensils and food everywhere. We turned to the hallway where our rooms had been, and I felt like closing my eyes to avoid looking at the mess.

We went to my room first. I gasped. It wasn't so bad, which was surprising. The curtains were in place, the bed was fine if slightly rumpled (that was probably my fault), but the drawers were hanging open, and the cupboard doors were barely attached to the cupboard.

It was like Ivy thought I had brought something with me. "Nothing here." Birch said, eyes flicking over the room. I shook my head. "Strange." Aiden commented, leaning on the door frame. "Yeah, why isn't it destroyed?" Arden said.

My heart jumped when I realized his arm was touching mine because he was so close, but I managed to say "Well...maybe they didn't figure out I stayed here." "Maybe." Arden agreed, glancing down at me. Aiden cleared his throat loudly. "Should we move on?"

We walked through the house, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. If you can call the ruining of a house nothing out of the ordinary. I tried to ignore the flashes of grief that occasionally passed over Aiden's and Arden's faces. Aiden hid it well, but I could see how disturbed he was. Arden, however, didn't seem able to hide his sadness.

Once we were out, Birch said "Come on. We have to pick up some stuff." We walked back towards the tents, giving me plenty of time to see all the damage. Pretty much every house was destroyed like Birch's. I felt so guilty I could hardly breathe.

Because of me, this whole camp had been destroyed, we were refugees in another rebel camp, and elves could have died. It was all my fault. Just then, Aiden passed me. When he was next to me, in that one fraction of a moment he murmured, "It's okay now. Stop thinking about it, it's over."

I stared at him in surprise as he passed ahead. He glanced back once as he passed me, and in his eyes I saw neither reassurance nor blame. Just acceptance. Then Arden and Maple appeared on either side of me. He looked back front.

"So, what happened to you after I left?" Arden asked. "Nothing, really. After...this...we just kept walking and came here." "You were with Aiden?" "Yes." His tone was unreadable. "And you're telling me that you just walked, no attacks or anything?" He asked, sounding concerned.

I glanced at both of them once. I thought it was best to remain silent. Arden apparently took this as a no. "What happened?" "Nothing. It was fine." I said quickly. He would just worry more if I told him Ivy had caught up to us.

By then, we had reached a large tent. Birch and Aiden walked in, and came out with...weapons.

"You came for this?" Maple asked. Aiden handed me a bunch of sticks, avoiding my eyes. "Why'd you come for weapons?" Arden echoed. "They're supplies." Birch corrected. "For all our fighters." "How are staffs weapons?" Maple asked, glancing at me.

She was awkwardly holding a bunch of daggers. Arden was holding swords, and Aiden was holding bows, with quivers of arrows slung over his shoulders. I looked down and realized I was holding staffs, not sticks.

"Yeah, what do you do with these?" I asked. They were very fine staffs, but I didn't see what was the point of them. "Let me show you. Everybody grab one." Birch said. "Um, how?" Arden asked, looking at his full arms.

Aiden dropped the bows, looking pointedly at his twin. Arden shrugged and dropped the swords, magically not scratching himself. Maple readily dropped the daggers, and I let go of the staffs after everyone had grabbed one.

"Close your eyes, and try to connect with the Forest. Try to feel it." Birch said. Aiden raised an eyebrow, but closed his eyes. I sighed and closed my eyes too.

The staff helped.

As I closed my eyes, everything grew silent. I could hear every rustle of every leaf, the wind flowing through, even the bubbling of a nearby creek. I could even hear the breathing of my fellow elves.

My own breathing slowed, and I could feel the staff grounding me, connecting me to the Forest, closer than I had ever been. A ripple spread through me, and a voice resounded in my head.

Elvina.