The Queens of Remnant - Chapter 35 (Patreon)
Content
For several disorienting seconds, Blake couldn’t figure out what woke her up. Based on the dark room, it was still the dead of night, yet something had prematurely ended her sleep. While her mind slowly searched for an explanation, she resituated underneath the covers and discovered that her right side was sticky with sweat. She noticed the exceedingly hot mattress moments immediately after, and then the sweltering air laying like a second, stifling blanket on top of her.
Hoping to relieve some of the oppressive heat, she pushed all of the covers off of her. The perspiration on her skin quickly cooled, but she kept still when Yang shifted on the bed beside her. As if the temperature in the room wasn’t enough of a sign, Yang’s furrowed brow and restless movements confirmed another fitful night of sleep.
Holding a hand near Yang’s forehead, Blake frowned at the fever rising from Yang’s skin. Yang’s rampant spark made sharing a bed uncomfortable and borderline dangerous, but she refused to stray too far from Yang’s side. Yang thrived on physical intimacy. And when Yang thrived in so few ways these days...Blake couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping out on the sofa.
But she also needed a break from the fire. So, careful not to wake Yang, she quietly slipped out of bed and padded over to the window overlooking the palace courtyard far below. Yang liked sleeping with the window open, and now Blake understood why. Standing in front of it, she silently rejoiced as a gentle breeze cooled her skin. Unfortunately, that was the only thing she had to celebrate right now.
Yang was getting worse, fast. Her average temperature had increased, she hardly had the energy to walk, her appetite had vanished, and her spark hardly stopped seeping out in superheated waves. She insisted that she could hold out for a while longer, but Blake wondered how much longer they could hide the Phage’s progression. Sooner or later, people would ask questions. And, sooner rather than later, Yang wouldn’t be around to answer.
Everyone claimed that stress worsened the Phage, but Blake had never believed it until now. After the Atlesian assassin, then the dreader, Yang was worse now than she’d ever been. The dreader, in particular, had weakened her so much that she no longer had the strength to fight back, allowing the Phage to grow unchecked.
If Cecelia hadn’t coerced Yang to go on that hunt, maybe the Phage wouldn’t have suddenly become so much worse. Maybe Yang could have handled it for longer. Maybe Blake wouldn’t be forced to watch Yang’s strength disappear before her eyes.
Winter’s spark helped temporarily, but the effect wore off too fast to be a solution. Yang’s spark was too strong and uncontrollable to be beaten back for long.
Closing her eyes, Blake took a shaky breath and tried to rein in her anguish. Part of her wished that she never left the Badlands. That she never met Weiss. That she never ended up in Vale. That she never lowered her guard around Yang, and never let Yang into her heart.
That was only a small part of her though. The vast majority of her was simply...heartbroken. Heartbroken that she hadn’t met Yang sooner. That their time together was so short. She was just beginning to understand what it felt like to devote herself to someone and be cherished by them in return. Before long, she would know what it felt like to lose them, too. The child in her screamed that it was unfair. But most of her life had been unfair - why would this be any different?
Sighing, she opened her eyes and glanced at Yang. In the low light, Yang’s skin glowed faintly red like a burning ember stuck inside a piece of coal. The fire within her...trying to get out.
Turning back to the window, Blake swallowed against the lump of emotion in her throat and tried to focus on anything other than sorrow. The time they’d shared was magical, and she would cherish the memories for the rest of her life. Together, they’d crafted solutions to help the Badlands. They’d talked about anything and everything from politics to their childhoods. They’d joked, laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company.
They’d held hands, hugged, kissed, shared a bed, and...and, if given more time, Blake knew that she would only fall harder for the gregarious, wonderful queen. Given the circumstances, she’d never even had the chance to imagine a future together. Instead, she wished more than anything that she could find a way to help. Even if it only meant easing Yang’s suffering. Yang said that just being here helped, so that was what Blake would do.
Steeling herself to return to the inferno, she was turning away from the window when a flash of movement in the courtyard caught her eye. The motion was too abrupt to be part of the normal guards patrolling across the palace grounds but too quick for her to be certain that her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. Staring into the night instead, she searched for anything out of the ordinary.
Then she saw it again - a flash before one of the Elites silently disappeared from his path.
Adrenaline surging, she ducked beneath the windowsill so that no one saw her in the window. After several slow, heart-pounding seconds, she carefully poked her head up and breathlessly watched the scene below.
The first Elite hadn’t reappeared, but another one had rounded the corner to begin his trek toward the far side of the palace. Everything looked normal. Then he disappeared into the darkness, his absence followed by muffled rustles before the night fell still.
Blake stared into the darkness. He was just there. Now, he was gone.
With thoughts of the Atlesian assassin filling her mind, she rushed to the bed and shook Yang awake.
“Yang,” she whispered, glancing back to the window before watching lilac eyes blink open. “Yang, you need to get up.”
“Blake...?” Yang mumbled, rubbing her eyes and groaning at the effort to sit up. “What’s going on...?”
“I don’t know, but some of your patrols just disappeared.”
“‘Disappeared…?’”
“In the courtyard,” Blake whispered before rushing to the chest of drawers and quickly wrapping a cloak around her shoulders then stuffing her feet into a pair of shoes. Once dressed, she grabbed another set for Yang and hurried back to the bed. “They were making their rounds and someone grabbed them or something,” she explained while pulling the cloak around Yang’s shoulders and hastily helping her put on shoes. “I don’t know what happened, but something doesn’t feel right.”
As soon as Yang was ready, Blake stepped back and noticed that Yang wasn’t surprised or sleepy anymore - she was wide awake and alert.
“Cecelia.”
One word, and Blake understood exactly what was happening.
“We have to get you out of here.”
Having no plan other than getting Yang as far away from the palace as possible, she grabbed Yang’s hand and dragged her out of the room. Before they reached the door leading into the hall, however, Yang dug in her heels and shook her head.
“We can’t go that way.”
Yang pointed at the bookcase instead, so Blake nodded and ushered Yang to that side of the room. Once there, Yang pulled several novels in order before the secret passageway unlatched. Blake yanked the door open and joined Yang in the narrow, dark passageway beyond, then closed the door behind them so that no one would find it from the other side.
Heartbeat pounding in her ears, she grabbed Yang’s hand and looked in both directions. In the middle of the night, she could hardly see her hand in front of her face let alone make out details in the cramped space.
“Which way?” she whispered.
“Left.”
Trusting that Yang knew where to go, Blake turned left and crept as quickly and quietly as possible through the narrow corridor. She clutched Yang’s hand all the while and tried not to let fear get the best of her when noises began filtering through the walls.
An alarm must have been sounded. More and more sounds of life reached their ears. Somewhere in the distance, people shouted - they seemed confused. Footsteps raced through the halls. Then a loud, disquieting bell began tolling.
The palace was under attack.
“We have to get Winter,” Yang whispered when Blake picked up the pace.
“Yang -”
“We have to. Cecelia will kill her.”
Blake wanted to argue that they didn’t have time, but Yang squeezed her hand and pulled her to the right at the next intersection. Blindly following Yang through a maze of pitch-black twists and turns, Blake tried not to let her increasing panic get the best of her. But if she couldn’t get Yang out of the palace...
Finally, Yang stopped and released Blake’s hand.
“Come on…” Yang muttered to herself, searching the wall for something. Blake nearly suggested using her spark to break the wall open, knowing every second mattered, but Yang whispered, “Got it,” while pulling a latch.
As soon as the bookshelf unlocked, Yang pushed it open and stepped into the dark room beyond. They hardly made it one step inside before a flash of white shot toward them. Blake instantly pushed Yang out of the way and steeled herself to deflect the attack, but the attack never materialized. Winter rushed over to them instead.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her alert eyes and outfit suggesting she already knew something was wrong.
“The palace is under attack,” Yang explained. “You need to come with us. We’re getting out of here.”
Fortunately for Blake’s quickly unraveling nerves, Winter didn’t need more convincing. As soon as she nodded, Yang grabbed Blake’s hand and led them back into the secret passageway. After waiting for Winter to pull the bookcase closed, they rushed through a disorienting series of twists, turns, and harrowing staircases.
Blake had no idea what part of the palace they were in now. All she knew was that the sounds were louder here, and she caught flashes of movement through every false vent cover or grate they passed.
The battle for Vale’s palace was underway. Guards shouted orders to each other. Heavy boots pounded down the halls. Metal clanged against metal. Heavy gusts of wind whistled through the grates, combined with concerning waves of heat. Bodies or furniture slammed into the walls with loud thuds that rattled Blake’s nerves as much as their hiding spot.
Without a view of the action, she couldn’t tell which group was winning. But she’d seen Cecelia’s men fight before...and she doubted Vale’s royal guards were up to the challenge when caught by surprise.
“Duck,” Yang whispered, tapping a low-hanging beam of wood.
Wondering how Yang even knew where to go, Blake did as instructed and lowered her head before hurrying on. The battle sounded further away now. Still too close for comfort, but they were finally putting distance between themselves and imminent danger.
A thick door blocked their path before long, but Yang quickly opened it and led them through. The hallway beyond widened ever so slightly, and grew quiet when Winter shut the door behind them. With fewer obstructions, Yang moved faster now. Still holding Blake’s hand, her grip tight and her palm warm, she ushered them into a large, open tunnel made of concrete rather than wood.
“Be careful,” Yang warned right as Blake stepped into the small stream of water. Her foot slipped, but Yang clutched her hand to steady her and kept them further off to the side.
Up ahead, Blake thought she saw light. Several seconds later, she confirmed it - light was filtering into the tunnel through a large, metal grate. The stream of water flowed through the grate and fell to a small drainage area below. Just beyond that lay the quiet, sleepy streets of Vale. Separating them from freedom, however, was a thick, heavy lock holding the metal bars in place.
“Almost there...” Yang muttered while picking up the lock. It slipped from her grasp and clanged against the bars, making Blake and Winter wince in unison. When Yang grabbed the lock again, Blake noticed her hands shaking uncontrollably.
“Yang,” she whispered, taking the lock from Yang’s unsteady hands.
“I’m ok.”
Yang clenched her fists and nodded, but she couldn’t hide the waves of heat rolling off of her. She would insist otherwise, but it was becoming increasingly clear that she wasn’t ok.
They needed to get out of Vale, then Blake could worry about the Phage.
“Winter, can you help?”
Winter didn’t need further explanation to step closer and, with a small blast of her spark, freeze the lock solid. Hoping the cold made the metal brittle, Blake formed a sturdy amount of rock under the loop and quickly burst it outward.
The lock snapped open, and she wasted no time removing it before pulling at the grate. Years of rust made a horrible screeching noise the moment it budged. In the dead of night, the blaring sound made her stop and grimace. Faced with ripping it open in one loud scream or dragging out the hardly quieter screeching, she hadn’t decided by the time Winter froze the hinges.
“Try now,” Winter whispered before nodding to the door.
Blake pulled slowly at first but, when the grate made a much softer sound, quickly opened it the entire way.
“I’ll put it back,” she told Winter and Yang while motioning them through. The tunnel was raised several feet off the ground, so Yang and Winter had to jump down to the drainage pool below. Blake’s heart lurched into her throat when Yang’s legs gave out as soon as she hit the ground, but Winter reached out to steady her.
Unsure of how much more Yang could withstand, Blake quickly closed the grate and jumped down after them. As soon as she regained her balance, she motioned for them to keep going. Now that they were out of the palace, they just needed to make it to the city gates. And then…
Blake didn’t know what happened then, but they couldn’t stay in Vale. As soon as Cecelia realized that Yang was gone, she would seal the gates. Then it was only a matter of time before they were found.
Fortunately, the streets were deserted and there was just enough moonlight to see by. Unfortunately, Yang didn’t have the strength to move quickly. Her labored breaths and pulsing spark gave away her struggle to keep herself upright as it was.
When her foot scuffed against the street, sending her stumbling forward, Blake only reacted fast enough to cushion her fall with a raised mound of soil. After gently lowering Yang to the ground, Blake knelt beside her and set a hand on her shoulder. Or tried to set a hand on her shoulder, but she was too hot to touch.
“I need...to stop…” Yang got out through jagged breaths. When she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, small flames broke out along her knuckles. Blake hardened her hand and set it over Yang’s knuckles, hoping to snuff out the flames, but jerked away when they burned her instead.
They couldn’t stop, but they couldn’t move Yang like this. Blake could use her spark, but the effort would quickly drain her energy. And if they had to fight their way out of here…she needed as much energy as possible.
“I’m sorry,” Yang groaned. A ferocious wave of heat crashed over her then, making her keel over and press her forehead to the ground while an agonized moan slipped through her lips. The sound would draw attention, but Blake couldn’t do anything to stop it. Yang couldn’t do anything to stop it either, not as her fists curled into the dirt, flames still dancing along the backs of her hands.
“Blake…”
Yang’s pained voice only made Blake more desperate for a solution, and that was before Yang lifted her gaze, revealing the anguish in her eyes.
“Leave me…” Yang whispered. She tried nodding toward the gates but cringed instead. “You both - need to get out of here…”
If Yang thought she was convincing Blake to leave, she was wrong. Her continued efforts to sacrifice herself only doubled Blake’s determination.
“No way in hell am I leaving you,” Blake said before searching for anything to help. Spotting a nearby handcart, she rushed over and removed several old boxes and containers from it. As soon as it was empty, she pulled it over to Yang.
“Can you help me get her in here?” she asked Winter while preparing herself to combat Yang’s spark. Winter nodded and moved to Yang’s other side. Then, on a silent count of three, they quickly lifted Yang into the back of the cart.
She cried out in pain when they moved her, ripping a hole through Blake’s heart in the process, but now she didn’t have to move at all. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled in on herself instead, unable to argue or even protest as Blake and Winter pulled the cart through the streets.
Their progress was faster now but punctuated by frequent Yang’s whimpers of agony. Blake was sweating in no time - both from the pace and from the growing swell of heat right behind her.
They needed to get out of Vale, then they could worry about the Phage. She kept telling herself that as they drew closer to Vale’s towering walls, but a little voice in the back of her head whispered that this could be it. The moment she’d dreaded might have finally arrived. Did she really want to waste Yang’s last few minutes on some foolhardy attempt to escape the inevitable?
“Almost there,” she whispered as they neared the gates, though she doubted Yang heard.
She refused to give up. No matter how hopeless this felt, she refused to give up a second before she had to. She had to have faith that Yang could hold on. Just another few minutes, another few hours, and she could get them somewhere safe.
That flickering hope disappeared when the gates came into view. She’d expected the guards to be there like always. What she hadn’t expected was their black-and-green armor.
Cecelia was one step ahead. She secured the city’s gates before storming the palace, ensuring no escape.
Now, four guards stood between Blake and freedom. Two on either side of the gate. All four heavily armed and highly trained.
“What now?” Winter whispered, pulling up the hood of her cloak to hide her white hair.
Mind racing, Blake tried to come up with a plan. Leave Yang here and fight through them? Find another way out of the city? Somehow scale the walls?
Faced with dangerous, time-consuming, or physically impossible, Blake decided that they had to take their chances. Glancing at Yang, whose torment didn’t appear to be ending anytime soon, she frowned and tenderly lifted the hood of Yang’s cloak to cover her vibrant yellow hair.
“We’ll use the Phage,” Blake whispered before picking up her side of the cart again.
Winter glanced at her, clearly questioning the decision, but didn’t argue as they slowly pulled Yang toward the gates. The mercenaries noticed their approach but didn’t immediately attack. Instead, the four men moved to the center of the street to block their path.
Yang’s cries of agony continued, tying knots in the pit of Blake’s stomach as she readied herself for a fight. If it was just two versus four, she liked her and Winter’s chances. When Yang couldn’t protect herself...the odds tilted out of their favor.
“Stop,” one of the mercenaries ordered, holding up a hand when they got close enough. “No one leaves until told otherwise.”
“She has the Phage,” Blake explained while gesturing to Yang, hoping no one recognized her in the darkness. “We want to take her outside for...a proper ending.”
“She won’t last much longer...” Winter added, her head bowed in sadness.
Before the man questioned their truthfulness, Yang sobbed in pain. A blast of superheated air burst from her in the process, followed by a shocking plume of flames that sent the mercenaries back two steps.
Worried that Yang might have set something on fire, Blake made sure that she was alright before watching the mercenaries’ reactions. They couldn’t catch the illness from Yang - at least, that was what most people believed - but being so close to death still carried a heavy stigma. Most importantly, as Yang had just reminded them, those with fire sparks could cause quite a bit of damage on the way out.
When the mercenaries shared glances, Blake’s hope renewed. If they’d been instructed to prevent the Queen of Vale from escaping, they would never expect the Queen of Vale to be dying from the Phage. She’d just gone on a hunt, hadn’t she? Surely they’d either witnessed or heard stories about her recent battle with the dreader.
Another sharp blast of heat made up their minds.
“Hurry up,” one of them said, waving Blake and Winter past. “Get her out of here.”
Blake didn’t need to be told twice. While the other mercenaries opened the gate, she and Winter quickly pulled the cart through. Almost as soon as they were on the other side, the guards shut the gate with a loud thud of finality.
They might have escaped Vale, but Blake didn’t feel any measure of relief while Yang whimpered. Her hands weren’t on fire anymore, but her veins glowed a deep, angry red that must be even more painful than it looked.
“Where to?” Winter asked as they put as much distance between them and Vale as possible.
“The only place we can go - the Badlands.”
Walking to the Badlands in the middle of the night was a horrible idea, but what other choice did they have? When Blake noticed Winter’s hesitation, however, she remembered what happened the last time they were there.
“If you want to go your own way, I understand. The Knights could still be looking for you, and I have no idea where they might be.”
For Winter, returning to the Badlands was only moderately safer than remaining in Vale. At least in Vale, no one knew to look for her. In the Badlands, a group of soldiers might still be actively hunting her. She had no obligation to stay, yet she looked down at Yang for a long time before meeting Blake’s gaze.
“After the kindness you’ve shown me, it would be wrong to leave now.”
“Thank you…” Blake replied, but Winter simply nodded.
Blake wouldn’t force Winter to stay, but Winter’s company made her feel safer and more confident in making it to the Badlands without incident. Between her and Winter’s sparks, they should be capable of fending off any attack while also keeping Yang safe. And, as the air chilled around them, Winter’s spark provided a welcome relief. Yang’s spark fought back every step of the way, but Winter prevented the fire from taking over.
Dragging the cart along the bumpy dirt path, the trip took far longer than Blake remembered. By the time they neared the closest settlement, she was physically exhausted from walking and emotionally broken from listening to Yang’s agony. Usually, the fits of pain passed by now. Usually, Yang’s spark faded away, leaving her weak but recovering for the next fight.
This wasn’t just a fit. This was something more. Something worse.
“We’re close,” Blake whispered to Winter rather than focus on that growing worry. “We’re headed to that one over there,” she added, pointing to the faint outline of a settlement in the distance.
While Winter nodded but remained quiet, Blake hoped beyond hope that Sun was there. Depending on where the Resistance needed him, he could be anywhere in the Badlands. But Blake’s gut said that he would be there. He always liked being at home.
The sun was peeking over the horizon when Menagerie came into full view. The sleepy settlement looked nothing like Blake remembered from her childhood, but the lingering destruction hardly registered in her thoughts today.
“We’ll loop around,” she told Winter while leading them toward the path around the city. Cutting through would be the fastest way to reach Sun’s home but carried the risk of being caught by any of the early risers. Taking the side road also wasn’t perfect, but it seemed like the lesser of two evils. At least, that was what Blake thought until she heard hoof steps galloping toward them. Instantly freezing, she turned toward the town and spotted the pair of riders quickly moving to overtake them. From this distance, she couldn’t determine their intentions, but she assumed the worst.
“What do you want to do?” Winter asked as the riders drew nearer. The sudden chill in the air suggested that this could be taken care of from a distance, but Blake shook her head.
“Fight only if we have to,” she said before moving to the side of the cart and ducking down to meet Yang’s gaze. “Can you try to be quiet for a bit?” she asked softly, trying not to alarm Yang but also hoping she understood the importance.
When Yang weakly smiled, Blake touched her shoulder before walking away from the cart to meet the riders as far away as possible. Winter’s presence trailed behind her, but Winter stayed close enough to protect Yang if this went poorly.
Blake hoped the two riders wouldn’t notice Yang’s presence at all but prepared for the worst as they neared. If they didn’t slow down soon, she wouldn’t risk it - she would knock them off of their horses. Just as she readied herself for a fight, however, they slowed to a trot, then a more reasonable walk. Moments after that, she recognized the lead rider.
“Red?” she asked in disbelief.
“Blake?” Looking equally shocked to see her, Red stopped his horse and shared a glance with his riding partner, who Blake vaguely remembered being introduced as Rooster. “What’re you doing creeping around out here? Scouts thought you were spies.”
“We’re looking for Sun. Do you know where he is? We need to find him right away.”
“He’s staying at that place of his.” Red nodded off in the distance to the small cottage Blake had already thought to go. “Should be there now. We’re supposed to meet him later today.”
Relief hardly reached Blake’s mind before a soft groan reached their ears. Red and Rooster’s eyes latched onto the cart.
“You got someone with you?” Red asked while Rooster spurred his horse over to see. Winter met Blake’s gaze as he approached, silently asking if she should do something, but Blake shook her head. With Yang already discovered, they could do nothing but watch as Rooster sidled up to the cart and peered inside. His brow furrowed, then he looked at Blake.
“You need help?”
Even though Blake saw the sympathy in his eyes, she balked at the offer.
“We’re fine.”
“But we can hook up the cart,” he insisted. “Get you to Sun’s in no time.”
Rooster motioned between the cart and Red’s horse, but Blake shook her head. She didn’t want to involve more people than necessary. What if they figured out who Yang was? Could they be trusted to keep that information to themselves?
But they’d already seen Yang. Even if they didn’t know who she was, they knew that Blake helped someone to the Badlands in the middle of the night. Regardless of their checkered pasts, if she trusted them enough to let them join the Resistance, she had to trust them now.
“Ok,” she agreed with a nod. “That would be a big help.”
She didn’t have to say another word for the two men to jump down from their horses. Using several lengths of rope and some clever knots, they hitched the cart to Red’s horse in no time. After testing that the ropes would hold, Red gave a thumbs up.
“Everyone aboard,” he added while gesturing Winter and Blake into the cart.
Winter sat on the edge - a precarious seat that she seemed to have little issue with - while Blake sat by Yang’s head and tenderly stroked her hair. Sitting this close would be unbearable if not for Winter’s spark, though she used it subtly so it went unnoticed by their escorts. Red and Rooster rode quietly up ahead, holding a steady pace that wasn’t too jarring but would get them to their destination much faster than walking.
“We’re almost there,” Blake whispered to Yang, but Yang didn’t respond. Eyes closed, she lightly turned toward Blake’s touch but that was all. Seeing her like this hurt more than Blake expected. She had to get Yang somewhere safe before dealing with that heartbreak though.
Thankfully, they reached the far side of Menagerie before long. There, a short distance away from the settlement’s outer limits, sat a small, cozy cottage that had survived the war relatively unscathed. Part of the roof had been burned, and a storage shed had been reduced to a pile of broken wood, but it still had four standing walls and a mostly intact roof.
Rooster spurred his horse ahead, reaching the house first and knocking on the door. Several moments later, Sun opened it and listened while Rooster gestured to the cart arriving in front of the house. As soon as Sun saw Blake, he flew down the porch steps.
“Blake?” While Red hopped down from his horse and Winter stood up from the cart, Sun’s eyes darted between them before locking onto Blake. “What’re you doing here? What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later,” Blake said while gently sitting Yang up. “Let’s get her inside.”
“Is that -?”
Sun’s question cut off when a wave of heat rushed over him.
“Woah, that feels like -”
He never finished the sentence. Instead, his eyes widened and he turned to Blake for confirmation.
“She’s sick,” Blake whispered. She didn’t need to explain what type of sick Yang was.
“Need help?”
“I can carry her. Can you just get the door?”
Sun raced up the porch steps to do that while Blake focused on getting Yang into the house. Now that they were here, she expended as much of her spark as necessary. Even so, she neared her limits shielding her skin from Yang’s flames.
“Can you stand?” she asked while looping one of Yang’s arms around her neck.
“I can try…” Yang murmured back, not helping but not resisting as Blake lifted her to her feet. Blake swayed for a second before gaining her balance, helped in no small part by Winter’s steadying hand. With Yang leaning on Blake for support, Blake carefully guided them up the front steps.
“Need anything from us?” Red called after her, but Blake shook her head.
“You’ve already helped more than enough. Thank you.”
Blake smiled at the two men before half-walking, half-hobbling Yang into the house. The heat burned against her side, making perspiration break out along her brow, but she ignored the discomfort and helped Yang through the doorway.
The living room looked exactly like Blake remembered it - small, reasonably tidy, and well-used. Before she could ask where to set Yang down, however, Sun dashed in front of them to open the bedroom door.
“In here.”
Under normal circumstances, Blake would question his decision. As her spark strained from the effort of keeping Yang’s fire at bay, she thought nothing of carrying Yang into the small bedroom. There, she gently set Yang on the edge of the bed while Sun pulled off the blankets.
“Are you ok?” he asked at the same time, but Blake lightly shook her head at him before delicately laying Yang down.
“Here we are…” Blake whispered once Yang’s head rested on one of the pillows. “You’re safe now. And I’ll be right back, ok?”
It sounded like Yang made a noise of agreement, but that was quickly lost in her groan of pain. No burst of heat accompanied the groan though, providing hope that the worst had passed. Unwilling to be away for long, however, Blake quickly motioned for Sun to follow her back into the living room.
“Holy shit, Blake,” he whispered as soon as Blake shut the bedroom door behind them. Winter stood near the window, peering out toward Menagerie through the dirty glass, but Sun only glanced her way before waving his arms. “That’s the Queen of Vale - and she’s -? And why are you -? What the hell’s going on?”
“A group of mercenaries just took over Vale.”
Sun’s eyes widened at the blunt summary, and Blake nodded.
“They attacked in the middle of the night; we just made it out in time. They’re locking down the whole kingdom.”
“But...how? Why?”
“I don’t know, Sun.”
All Blake knew was that Cecelia just took over the palace. Vale’s guards might fight back, but Cecelia had the superior fighting force and the element of surprise. Vale had fallen into enemy hands. Now, Blake needed a plan to get it back.
“I need you to go to Atlas.”
“Atlas? But it's impossible to get in there without permission.”
“Does that mean you can’t?”
“No,” he replied with a cheeky grin. “Just want you to know it’s basically impossible.”
“Then I need you to do the impossible,” Blake replied. “You need to find Queen Rose and tell her that her sister needs her. Bring her here.”
“There’s a secret path onto the palace grounds,” Winter said then, drawing their gazes. “If you’re fast enough, you can sneak through without alerting the Knights.”
While Blake was grateful that Winter offered such sensitive information, Sun chuckled and nudged her side.
“A secret path, huh?” he joked. “If it’s secret, how do you know about it?”
“Because I used to live there.”
Sun’s jaw dropped at Winter’s no-nonsense response. When he glanced at Blake, she nodded.
“This is Winter,” she explained. “The Princess of Atlas.”
“Formally the Princess of Atlas,” Winter corrected before turning to Sun. “And to find this path, make your way to the east side of the palace.”
While Winter spoke, ice swirled in the air in front of her before taking the shape of a magnificent castle nestled amongst surrounding mountains.
“In the woods, you’ll find a patch of three dead evergreen trees,” Winter continued as the ice shifted to show the three trees outside the palace walls. “Directly across from them is a blind spot in the patrols - no one should see you if you leap over at just the right time. Of course, then you need to somehow make it into the palace and find Queen Rose without being seen.”
“Right.” As the icy mural disappeared, Sun nodded. “East side. Dead trees. Don’t get caught. Anything else?”
“Please be careful,” Blake added. “But -”
“It’s urgent,” he interrupted. “I got it. I’ll find her, Blake. Don’t worry.”
Before Blake could express her appreciation, he pulled her into a quick hug before grabbing a coat and backing toward the door.
“I’ll be back in a flash.”
After a parting grin, he bolted out the front door, raced across the porch, and disappeared with the wind. His task might be difficult, but Blake trusted him to get it done. He would find Ruby and bring her back from Atlas. She could see Yang and...they could figure out what to do about Vale together.
Adrenaline finally wearing off, Blake leaned against the wall and sighed. They weren’t completely safe - they wouldn’t be with Cecelia still around - but their situation had improved. Still, there was much to do - beginning with finding Winter a place to stay.
With Yang occupying the sole bedroom, Blake would have to find a secure location nearby. Somewhere very few people knew about but that was still comfortable for someone of Winter’s...status. When no immediate locations sprang to mind, however, she sighed and shook her head.
“If you want to rest here for now, we can find someplace better once everyone’s up.”
“This is more than fine,” Winter replied before sitting on the well-worn sofa, leaning back, and sighing. In one sound, she admitted that she was just as exhausted as Blake after their race out of Vale.
But Blake couldn’t rest yet. After making sure Winter was comfortable, she returned to the bedroom door, steeled herself for the firestorm beyond, and entered. As soon as Yang’s eyes locked onto her - far more alert and aware now - she hurried over to the bed and sat down.
“Hey...how do you feel?”
“Like I’m on fire…”
Yang’s voice was soft and weak. But the worst part was that her light lilac eyes had taken on a red hue, reflecting the fire in her veins.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“The Badlands. Menagerie. This is Sun’s place.”
“Ah.”
Yang tried to nod but aborted halfway. Instead, she looked up at Blake with regret-filled eyes.
“I was worried this would happen…” she whispered. “She didn’t believe me, or got tired of waiting, or...something…”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Just focus on feeling better, alright?”
As much as Blake wanted Yang to heed the instruction, she knew that Yang would keep worrying and blaming herself. Her small smile, bordering on a grimace, said as much.
“I’m...a little scared, Blake…”
Her heart cracking at the admission, Blake scooted closer and wished that she could wrap Yang in her arms. She wished that she could bundle Yang up and whisk her to somewhere far away from here, where she didn’t have to deal with the pain.
“It’s going to be ok…”
“You know that’s not true...”
Faced with Yang’s sad, accepting smile, Blake didn’t know what to say. She’d known this day would arrive sooner rather than later, but she still wasn’t prepared.
“I wish it was true,” she whispered as tears burned behind her eyes.
Yang looked like she wanted to apologize. Thankfully, she didn’t. She reached for Blake’s hand instead, only to stop before actually touching.
“Will you stay with me?”
Her eyes gave away how greatly she wanted Blake to stay, but she didn’t put that pleading request into words. She never did. As if she was scared to admit those feelings aloud even though Blake wanted - needed - to hear them.
Calling upon even more of her spark, Blake shielded one hand and set it over Yang’s. At a time when she wanted to be closer than ever, Yang’s spark did its best to keep her at bay.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered before settling in.
She had to get Ruby back from Atlas. She had to wrest Vale from Cecelia’s grasp. She had to protect the Badlands. But right now...she was tired, and she wanted to be here for Yang when Yang needed her most.