Forbidden Queen

Katy

Both Alex and I had managed to get a good night’s sleep last night, and I feel prepared for what we could encounter today. I am feeling nervous, but I want Lucius to attack we need to know who the traitor was.

The first few hours of our drive passed uneventfully, and I enjoy looking at the beautiful scenery we pass by. Like most of the land in the kingdom the terrain is populated by dense forests, but flat land is starting to give way to rolling hills, and in the distance, I can see mountain ranges. The temperature had dropped slightly, and there is dampness in the air. This part of the kingdom receives more rain than any other.

The time passes slowly. The chatter and light camaraderie which characterised our journey yesterday had disappeared, and the tension rises as we travel closer to the ravine, the first location identified as a likely place for an ambush.

Alex is alert, scanning the countryside for threats.

As soon as we entered the ravine, the light dims in the car, as the sun is hidden from us by its dark grey stone walls. The road is narrow, single track, and we no longer see any other cars travelling on the road.

“We will be in here for approximately twenty minutes” Alex tells us.

I nod. I check my watch and start the countdown to when we will leave the ravine. As the minutes inch by I try to quell the feelings of anxiety that have started to build inside me. I expect them to launch the attack when we are in the centre of the ravine, but more than ten minutes pass with no sign of an attack. I keep glancing at my watch, as the time slowly ticks by, until we have been in here 15 minutes. I look up at Alex.

“Another 5 minutes and we will be out of here” he says.

I nod. It doesn’t look like we are going to be the ones attacked. I knew that it would be a long shot. We had chosen this route, told Karen about the plans, because we expected this to be the safest way. I just had to hope that Lucius attacked one of the other convoys and none of our wolves were badly injured or killed.

Suddenly, I hear yelling and shouting ahead, as a large boulder land just in front of our lead car. At the last minute the driver manages to swerve, missing the rock, but driving the vehicle into the side of the ravine.

Our vehicle screeches to a stop. Alex leans under his seat and pulls out an automatic weapon. “Follow me and keep your head down” he orders grabbing my hand before jumping out the car. As soon as we are out he pushes me to the side of the ravine, so I am concealed by the shadows. “Stay hidden. Daniel and I will concentrate on shooting our attackers when they appear. Look out for falling boulders.”

I looked round and notice that Daniel is standing close to Alex, holding a gun. Anna is safely hidden from view behind him.

I scan the top of the ravine looking for our attackers. I see a face peer over the side searching for us, but before I can alert Alex, I heard a crack, and the wolf falls, his lifeless body crashing to the ground.

“Got him” Alex says with satisfaction as I watch him lower his gun.

The next minute, I heard shouts and growls from above us.

“Our forces have arrived” Alex says with a grin.

“We have warriors up there?” I ask.

“Of course. We weren’t going to drive into an exposed position like this without having backup. Joseph posted a squad of his best fighters up there. They have been hiding for the last week, waiting for Lucius’ forces to appear.

They had orders to wait until they launched their ambush before attacking them from behind. They left it to the last minute. The wolves in the first car could have been killed. But at least they are here now.”

A few minutes later we hear a wolf shouting from the top of the ravine. “Commander, the threat has been neutralised. All enemy wolves have been killed or incapacitated.”

“Good, bring the survivors down here” Joseph shouts back.

Ten minutes later five wolves I recognise as being members of the royal guard turn the corner of the ravine. They are dragging two prisoners with them. The prisoners keep their eyes down, as they are roughly shov ed in front of Joseph. I can see that they have sustained nasty claw and bite marks from their fight with my guards.

“Well, what do we have here?” Joseph asks. “Two of Lucius best warriors I don’t doubt.”

“I don’t know no Lucius”, one of them replies sullenly. “We are raiders, looking for travellers to rob.”

“Raiders, well that would make you rogues then, wouldn’t it but I don’t smell rogues, I smell pack wolves, and the only pack wolves who would try to kill the queen while travelling though her lands are Black Moon Pack wolves.”

“I don’t belong to the Black Moon Pack” he says stubbornly.

“We will see about that. When we get to the northern pack house, I am sure Beta Philip will have the means to make you talk. I understand that his dungeon is state of the art. I will enjoy finding out just how good it is while interrogating you two.

“In the meantime,” Joseph says turning to Alex “I am going to contact the guards back at the palace. They need to take Karen into custody before she learns that the attack has failed. Can you make sure that these two are secured? We don’t want them escaping before we get to the northern territory.”

“Of course,” Alex says nodding to Daniel who follows him. They take the wolves and drag them to the last car in our convoy. They tie their hands securely behind their backs, and shove them into the back of the vehicle, closing and locking the door behind them.

“The rest of you need to move the boulder from the centre of the road, and check if the front car can still be driven. If not, we will need to squeeze everyone into the remaining vehicles. It will be a tight fit, but we can manage for another day.”

“You have done well” he tells the wolves who captured the prisoners. “Bring your vehicle down and join our convoy. I don’t expect that Lucius will try again but just in case it would be better if you came with us to the northern territory.

Well, that is enough excitement for one day. I will also let the decoys know that their mission is over and that they should return to the palace. I want Karen to be well guarded. We don’t know how important she is to Lucius. If she knows about his plans and the other spies he has embedded in the palace, he may try to rescue her, or kill her before we get chance to question her” and with that Joseph walks away shouting orders at the guards.

I hug Anna. The fear and adrenalin have disappeared and left me exhausted, but I am pleased that it is over. Our plan worked, and no one was hurt this time.

We had discovered who the traitor was. Karen, the advisor that we had suspected the least. The one that I had grown closest to. I sighed as I feel sadness wash over me. Lucius seemed able to corrupt almost anyone.

I was determined to find out why she had done it. Why she had been prepared to help my enemy kill me. But that would have to wait until after our visit to the northern territory was over. I was not going to let her betrayal spoil my enjoyment of this trip.

“I am just going to check if anyone has sustained any injuries that need healing” Anna tells me. She walks towards the front car which crashed into the ravine wall. Intent on checking that the occupants are not badly injured.