Day 4

Queen Tiffany Royal was furious when she heard the guards had allowed her prisoners to escape. She ordered a mass public execution, guards, slaves and anyone else who irritated her was to be executed. It was a grim morning. People had lost hope, believing that they would all one day die by order of the queen.

The queen’s grief and unresolved feelings made her volatile and dangerous.

Josephina woke up feeling a lot better.

Spice was sleeping on the floor and Natrica was sleeping in a chair with her head resting on Joe’s bed.

Joe climbed out of bed. It was still dark outside. She checked her belongings. Nothing was missing. She sharpened the knives she had taken from her kills. She opened the big wooden shutters over the window and peered out into the street. It was deserted. No one was seen. She woke Natrica, and said

“It’s time to go before we have an angry mob after us.”

Spice woke up with the ladies moving around. She insisted of following them. They didn’t want to wake anyone so they let her come along. They gathered their things and mounted their newly obtained horses. Natrica, insisted on walking as she was too scared to ride the horse. They moved with a therapeutic clip clop from the horse’s hooves. The cobbled pathways lead through the city and towards the countryside. A guard patrol came passed so they hid in a church like stone building. But once the patrol passed, they moved on out of town not knowing they were going in the direction of the castle.

Spice kept wanting them to turn around but they didn’t understand her. They came into a town with a crowd gathering in the square. Joe dismounted and walked over. People chained to each other where kneeling, as a man with a sword came passed, he beheaded them. This public spectacle seemed to put fear into the people watching. Joe counted ten people beheaded already and about thirty still to go. The chained people were crying, some seemed to be praying, others silently awaited their fate.

“This is awful” Natrica said sadly.

“Can you do anything?” she asked looking at Joe with sorrowful tears.

“No” Joe replied “I can’t take on everyone.”

There was a well-dressed woman. In strong bright colors giving a nod before every kill. She liked the terror she saw on people’s faces and she enjoyed the short-lived satisfaction of slaying her enemies.

Joe perceived Tiffany enjoyed tormenting the people.

Where there was death, there was Sugar. She wanted to kill Joe and she had found her way to the public execution having killed anyone who came across here path. Sugar also noticed the queen and her delight in death. Her enjoyment of the terror it brought upon the people.

“That’s messed up” Sugar said.

She spotted Joe on the other side of the execution. Joe was on a horse and she was leaving…

“NO! You don’t!” Sugar said running though the execution after Joe.

Her insubordinate behavior was met with several guards. They shouted at her but she didn’t understand or care. One struck her with a bat, dazed and furious she took a sword and started killing anyone near her. Guard or spectator.

The commotion got Joe’s attention. She looked back to see Sugar killing guards. But the guards outnumbered her. She could never survive it alone. Joe turned to go,

“Goodbye old, not friend” Joe said.

Then she thought,

‘What if Sugar is my only way home?’

That thought changed her motivation.

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“Natrica, whatever happens stay safe, do not follow me. Keep your head down.”

Joe threw her newly acquired knives into the faces of some guards.

“I will help you” Joe said to Sugar, “But we work together to get home. Then we can settle things once and for all.”

“Fine” Sugar said knowing she was in her last battle.

She had bitten off more than she could chew.

Joe took a short sword from a villager and made her way towards Sugar. Killing every guard in her path.

Sugar and Joe killed fifty guards before they were taken down and thrown into the dungeon.

Queen Tiffany wanted them alive. They could be useful to her. She wanted them to be her protectors. Everyone would fear her, and she wouldn’t have sloppy guards and kitchen slaves who let prisoners escape. If the rat of a man was right, and the ‘sugs’ were open then she could conqueror other worlds, as who could stop her?

She liked that Joe and Sugar were women. She believed women could be as good as men. But she was opposed in her ideas. Men advised her to protect the old ways her grandparents lived by.

Well, it was time for a new start. She a woman was queen and she would be the greatest ruler any world had seen. Or so she thought to herself.

But the people had seen Sugar and Joe’s bravery. How they stood up to the guards. How women killed so many and courage stirred in their hearts. Perhaps a savior had arisen, a mighty warrior to lead them to freedom.

Rosaleighm, had been following Joe ever since she had seen her free the slaves. She wanted to be a warrior like Joe. She had seen Joe and her warrior friend being taken into the castle so she followed from a safe distance. Joe and Sugar were heavily guarded and there was no way passed. She waited. Knowing that if one is patient things change on their own. A message reached the queen about her men being killed in the city of point by a woman. So, the queen took Natrica’s attacker to the dungeon to identify the woman who killed his men.

Black Beard Gruff was surprised to see the queen had already captured the woman responsible for killing his men and embarrassing him in the tavern.

He didn’t tell the queen about his embarrassment but instead proceeded to presume

“My lovely queen, you have done your subjects a great favor by capturing these murderers. When is the execution? As I wish to honor my queen that day.”

“I will not be executing these women. Instead, I will have them as leaders of my army. They will strike terror everywhere they go in my name.”

“My queen how shall this change be implemented?” he inquired, hoping for a chance to kill Joe.

“Shall we have a battle of all your best, a fight to the death?” he suggested,

Even if he couldn’t kill her as long as she was dead it would be ok. Her traveling companion had struck his fancy and he wanted her.

“I like your suggestion,” the queen said pondering

“But I am not sure I want to wear out my new leaders. They are still to swear their loyalty to me… send my fastest riders to all my generals. They are to gather here in four days.”

Gruff delightfully fulfilled her instructions believing that Joe’s death was near.

Rosaleighm, watched. It was strange for her to see the queen so closely. The queen was beautiful and smelt so nice. The child touched her hair that was matted in a ball on the side of her head. The queen’s curls flowed. But her hair barely moved without it pulling. Just as quickly as she had experienced being self -consciousness the experience was over. She decided that being a warrior means doing something. So, she left the castle looking for the poisonous spiders that were feared by all for good reason.

Rosaleighm, caught twelve spiders and released them into the dungeon. The red and blue spiders could spit poison like a cobra. Their big hairy bodies and bad attitudes made them scary and very dangerous.

As panic spread in the dungeon, she quickly moved to Joe’s cell unlocking it.

The guards didn’t even notice her.

Joe went to Sugar’s cell and tried to unlock it

“These old locks are not as simple as the movies imply” Joe stated.

Rosaleighm, unlocked the cell.

“Remember we are calling a truce until we are home.” Joe reminded Sugar whose ear was still sore from Joe ripping out her earring.

“Until we are home, and then I will kill you myself” she said meaningfully.

“You may try” Joe said confidently.

Rosaleighm, didn’t talk much. She tugged on Joe’s arm and led them into a hidden passage. The way got tighter and tighter until Joe’s shoulders were barely squeezing through.

“I think we need to turn back” Sugar said worried.

“I don’t think we can reverse” Joe said wondering what would happen if they got stuck and died.

She pictured a thousand years later her bones being found and some no nothing telling everyone how this was a form of execution. Making convicts crawl into a small space until they were stuck and leaving them to die.

‘Well, that’s just sad’ she thought.

She wiggled and squirmed and finally there was a little air, a breeze. She squeezed out of the tunnel into a big chamber it was dark and damp and smelt like sulphur. Sugar was right behind her.

Rosaleighm, tugged on Joe’s arm.

“Gilgor” she said tugging her to move quickly.

They had to wade through gunk and marshes. In which Joe was sure something touched her leg. But then they come out near the river.

Sugar asked

“Did something rub you in that swamp?”

“Why?” Joe asked trying to be all tough.

“Coz something was rubbing my leg.” Sugar said

Rosaleighm drank from the river like a dog. Sticking her whole face into the water. Sugar and Joe just watched in unbelief.

She can get in and out of the castle but she doesn’t know how to drink nicely?

Joe used her hands to drink. Rosaleighm watched then copied. She wanted to be like Joe. A warrior who doesn’t fear anything.

Then she caught a fish. She bashed it with a rock until it stopped moving. She pulled it into two pieces. She gave Joe one of the pieces and started eating the other piece raw.

“I was hungry” Joe said disgusted and put off “But not anymore.”

“I left something in the castle I am going back.” Sugar said

“Your death.” Joe replied “I will not be coming for you.”

Sugar headed back to the castle.

Joe gathered wood and sticks and twigs and dry leaves. She battled to start a fire, but finally she managed. But Rosaleighm quickly put it out. She looked around worried. She tugged Joe’s arm and began to run. Joe ended up dropping her piece of fish as she was pulled through the forest by a bare foot child.

‘I guess she doesn’t like fire’ Joe thought.

The little girl could run. Night fell and Joe didn’t want to be in the jungle at night without fire. She decided to go into the low-lying areas surrounding the castle. There was a small town outside the castle walls. A much bigger town inside the castle walls and of cause the castle with more walls around it. She stole some fruit and sat in a stable eating.

At first Rosaleighm was anxious, checking every noise and fidgeting, but finally she fell asleep near Joe’s feet. Then Joe went to sleep.