does.
“And what of my mother?” he asks. The tears stay out of his voice, but his heavy breathing tells her it’s a struggle. “A woman on her own has enemies, and no one to protect her from them.”
Bonnie doesn’t say what’s on the tip of her tongue: that she may already be dead. Witnesses would have seen her hurry them away. If she didn’t give a convincing enough explanation, that may be enough to convict her. “We find the princess. We kill the dragon. We get out of the forest. With the reward money we’ll be able to claim her and keep her safe. She can live the rest of her days with food in her belly and silks on her skin.”
She can practically hear Neven turn the words over in his head. “We find the princess.”
Silence buzzes in her ears. She looks up to see the heavy blackness around them again. White mist materialises, forming the rough shape of a human. It swirls, constantly moving, as if it can’t decide whether it’s short or tall, fat or thin. “We find the princess.”
Bonnie keeps a hand on Neven’s shoulder. She raises her sword with the other, her muscles feeling the weight. There’s a click that tells her Neven has his arms out, those metal shooters at the ready.
The mist rushes together, taking on shape and colour. One moment it’s formless mist, the next princess Alice stands before them, her dress bright blue under Bonnie’s brown one. Her green eyes go wide. “What are you doing? You’re scaring me.”
“Where is the real Alice?” Neven shouts. There’s fear in his voice, but anger overshadows it. “Tell us where she is!”
“You have a good heart son,” Neven’s father says, strolling out of the black wall to stand at Alice’s side. White mist trails behind him. He’s younger by a few years, his skin not quite as weather roughened. He has the clothes on he wears to market; cleaner than his usual. “And life takes no greater pleasure than destroying people with good hearts. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve told you to ignore her, but since you won’t listen, you take this on yourself. She’s your responsibility. Make sure she keeps her head down. There’s no-one more at risk in this world than a woman who can’t follow the rules.”
He’s talking about her, she realises. When Neven saw her scrounging for food at the market and decided to take her in. The figures fade in and out between mist and person.
Her father joins them, smiling and asking if she wants to see what he brought back for her from his trip. Her mother materialises beside her, launching into a tirade about the state of her clothes, and the pout on her face. She doesn’t notice her haircut or the sword in her hand. She’s scolding a younger Bonnie, not her. Jack joins them, then the pig farmer, Neven’s mother, Ness, the twins. They form a circle around them, blocking them in from all sides.
Bonnie tugs Neven away from the tree, pulling at him until they’re back to back. They fled before her sword before. All she needs to do is cut a hole and they can run through it. But, there’s so many of them. What if they chase after them? What if she loses Neven running through the dark, or one of them trips and breaks something?
And where do they go? There is nowhere to go. For all she knows they’ve been running around in circles this whole time. Each way looks like the other. She’s no idea which way might lead her to the princess, or Gelert. The dragon could give them an edge if he’s still under the spell, but first they’d have to find him.
The things - whatever they are - start moving toward them, closing the circle. Her parent’s outfits change to the ones they wore the day they died, covered in blood. Ness is as Neven described him; drenched in red from head to toe. Alice’s face turns gaunt, her black ringlets limp and dull, as she would’ve been if they’d left her to starve after her spells broke. They keep talking; one voice overlapping the other to create wave after wave of
“And what of my mother?” he asks. The tears stay out of his voice, but his heavy breathing tells her it’s a struggle. “A woman on her own has enemies, and no one to protect her from them.”
Bonnie doesn’t say what’s on the tip of her tongue: that she may already be dead. Witnesses would have seen her hurry them away. If she didn’t give a convincing enough explanation, that may be enough to convict her. “We find the princess. We kill the dragon. We get out of the forest. With the reward money we’ll be able to claim her and keep her safe. She can live the rest of her days with food in her belly and silks on her skin.”
She can practically hear Neven turn the words over in his head. “We find the princess.”
Silence buzzes in her ears. She looks up to see the heavy blackness around them again. White mist materialises, forming the rough shape of a human. It swirls, constantly moving, as if it can’t decide whether it’s short or tall, fat or thin. “We find the princess.”
Bonnie keeps a hand on Neven’s shoulder. She raises her sword with the other, her muscles feeling the weight. There’s a click that tells her Neven has his arms out, those metal shooters at the ready.
The mist rushes together, taking on shape and colour. One moment it’s formless mist, the next princess Alice stands before them, her dress bright blue under Bonnie’s brown one. Her green eyes go wide. “What are you doing? You’re scaring me.”
“Where is the real Alice?” Neven shouts. There’s fear in his voice, but anger overshadows it. “Tell us where she is!”
“You have a good heart son,” Neven’s father says, strolling out of the black wall to stand at Alice’s side. White mist trails behind him. He’s younger by a few years, his skin not quite as weather roughened. He has the clothes on he wears to market; cleaner than his usual. “And life takes no greater pleasure than destroying people with good hearts. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve told you to ignore her, but since you won’t listen, you take this on yourself. She’s your responsibility. Make sure she keeps her head down. There’s no-one more at risk in this world than a woman who can’t follow the rules.”
He’s talking about her, she realises. When Neven saw her scrounging for food at the market and decided to take her in. The figures fade in and out between mist and person.
Her father joins them, smiling and asking if she wants to see what he brought back for her from his trip. Her mother materialises beside her, launching into a tirade about the state of her clothes, and the pout on her face. She doesn’t notice her haircut or the sword in her hand. She’s scolding a younger Bonnie, not her. Jack joins them, then the pig farmer, Neven’s mother, Ness, the twins. They form a circle around them, blocking them in from all sides.
Bonnie tugs Neven away from the tree, pulling at him until they’re back to back. They fled before her sword before. All she needs to do is cut a hole and they can run through it. But, there’s so many of them. What if they chase after them? What if she loses Neven running through the dark, or one of them trips and breaks something?
And where do they go? There is nowhere to go. For all she knows they’ve been running around in circles this whole time. Each way looks like the other. She’s no idea which way might lead her to the princess, or Gelert. The dragon could give them an edge if he’s still under the spell, but first they’d have to find him.
The things - whatever they are - start moving toward them, closing the circle. Her parent’s outfits change to the ones they wore the day they died, covered in blood. Ness is as Neven described him; drenched in red from head to toe. Alice’s face turns gaunt, her black ringlets limp and dull, as she would’ve been if they’d left her to starve after her spells broke. They keep talking; one voice overlapping the other to create wave after wave of
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