Darkness carved in bone

Chapter 11

"And if you think that you control me, you are wrong. I decided that north was the path I had to take to fulfill this prophecy, so the way I see it we are just traveling buddies by now. So, don't you dare question my knowledge about control. If you can't see who is controlling you then you are surely a lost soul, beyond any saving or redemption."

Then she took another moment, staring him down, as if to make sure he felt as small as he could ever feel, her faces mere centimeters away from his face, her eyes icy cold. Then she turned and just walked ahead.

Ten followed her apathetically, his body moving automatically as every ounce of energy drained from him, his body and mind going numb. What had just happened? Why had he challenged her like that? And why did it feel like her words were cutting into his brain, like razors who raged havoc inside his mind? The scrutinizing and piercing eyes of his queen once again flashed inside his mind, sharper and clearer than ever, as if they were commanding him to stop thinking about Helen's words. But there was something that had been lit inside him, something that made it impossible for him to forget her words and reject them all at once. He of course knew that his queen would win, that she was right, she had made him better, made him... No, what she did was not control, he reminded himself.

He started fidgeting with the dagger that was in his belt. Couldn't he kill her now? What difference did it make if he brought her back to his queen? His lands would be safe, safer if he just ended it now, and didn't drag it out by dragging her across the country. But something inside him made him pull his hand away from the knife. He put his hand in front of his face instead, studying it. He might wield the hand, but was it not directed and charged by the queen? Then again, wasn't the queen's judgement and rule unquestionable and superior to all thoughts and ideas he might have? Was not that what the whole point was?

He looked down at the ground as he walked, his feet heavy against the cold ground. He only looked up as something came dangerously close in his peripheral vision, and nearly walked into Helen. He immediately took a small step back to ensure there was enough distance between them, but looked beyond her, curious to what had made her stop. Goosebumps formed across his body when he saw what lay ahead; they had finally reached the lake, reached Sigdvatn.

Ten walked over to the horse and pulled out a pair of skates out of his bags. He might let her call the horse Shiny, but he was not calling it that, he thought as slight anger started to boil in his blood. He pulled a pair of skates from her backpack, which he had spotted there as he had looked through her belongings the first night they had been together. He felt as invasive now as he had done the first time he had gone through her things. But there was nothing else inside her backpack than things for surviving the outdoors, he tried to remind himself to still the discomfort inside himself.

He handed her the skates from her backpack, which she took, but just stood there, still staring at the lake beyond. He tried to ignore her and the reactions she caused inside him as he kneeled and started putting on his skates, but he couldn't help but look up at her as he finished.

She bit her lip and looked towards the lake, the skates still in her hands, "So we are going to cross this ocean? You know there won't be any shelter or wood for fire once we go out there?" Her voice was somber, as her eyes fixated on the cold and bleak lake.

Anger erupted inside him again, his stomach bubbling as he clenched his jaw; he didn't like that she was questioning his survival skills. But if she believed he was a mindless night-slave that just followed orders blindly, then perhaps it wasn't so strange that she felt the urge to question him. Did he follow orders blindly? No, he would not think such thoughts, he said to himself as he slightly shook his head.

"It's a lake," he corrected her, looking ahead. "And I have planned for the journey over Sigdvatn, so just relax." He couldn't contain the venom in his voice. He was fed up with her know-it-all-ness.