Up the Mountain

Two hours passed. The sky was dim, as the sun disappeared behind towering mountains.

Mountains that used to be so far away.

If you were curious, the road didn't get any better. The incline had increased, which meant my back felt fused with the rotting dusty cushions. If anyone else but my brother had tied my luggage to the carriage, I was sure they would've fallen off a long time ago. Just as my behind was getting sore, and my brains felt like they were to leak from my ears, at any moment we passed over a rather sharp hill. Then, we stopped.

The horse whined. Then, the coachman swore.

With the rattling finally gone, my mind filled with curiosity. What was going on?

I squinted out the tiny window, checking the sky. The stars could be seen, but just barely… We were running out of time. If I don't make it to the emperor's palace before nightfall, I might as well be dead.

I glanced down at the horse's hooves. One of the wheels had gotten stuck on the road. The hole had caught the back wheel, and the worn wood was bulging from the strain.

Ahead, I heard the coachman struggle to get out of his seat. The sides of the carriage banged as he tapped his knuckles along the side.

"For luck!" he grinned at me. He must've caught me staring…

I hadn't got a good look at him since I had hugged my mother and brother goodbye. The bags under his eyes were dark, showing just how tired he was. His bloodshot eyes looked firmly at the wheel. Then the hole. Then the wheel. Kyu had woken up. He was curious too. We watched from the window.

He looked like he was mustering up for something big…

He pulled up his belt. With bellow, he kicked the back of the carriage.

THUNK!

My world lurched forward. Kyu's cold snout brushed against my cheek. He panted for a few moments, then went back to lazing around. How can he be so relaxed on hard wood?

I returned to my seat. Kyu scooted forward, resting his head in my lap. Dogs tolerate such strange things…

Now, I can breathe a little bit easier.

We can start moving again. The loud noises will distract me. I won't have to think about the future.

But I couldn't keep my worries away anymore.

I'm marrying a stranger. But not just any stranger. I'm going to marry into a family of murderers and looters.

A memory from my childhood comes to mind.

My father. One night I couldn't sleep. I had gotten up out of bed, and wandered to his study. He was sitting crooked over his desk, the lantern making the shadows look like long lines of ink on parchment. Even in the dark, I could tell he was worried about something. I knew his eyes were clued to the big paper—the map on his desk. Fearing not if, but when, the Empire of Peaches would try to attack us.

A part of me wishes I knew. That he had told me, even in passing. That arrogant, hot-headed rebel inside me believes that I would have been able to help. Somehow. But the truthful part of me... The part that is in touch with reality, knows he made the right decision. There was nothing I could have done then.

Dammit! I just want someone I can channel my anger towards! This isn't fair!

I felt a sharp pain in my palms. In my anger, I had balled my small hands into tight fists. Kyu lifted his head from my lap. He looked worried. He nuzzled my palms, then whined a little. Okay, I get the idea.

"You spoiled brat," I smiled, petting him. His soft light brown coat soothed me a little, but that was enough. It got me thinking logically again.

Maybe I should run away? It's not like I'm afraid of the wilderness. Plus, I'll have Kyu for company! But where would I go? These mountains are unfamiliar. Plus, it's almost winter… How would I find shelter? Could I survive out here?

Ah, this is so impossible! But we can't stay here, can we?

"You've got a lot on your mind, princess…"

Huh? I glanced around.

The coachman smiled as he wobbled past. His steps were uneven, the kick turning his legs into pudding.

I had noticed before how thin he was, but I had never considered the type of man who would make this kind of delivery. My mother must've told him where he was going…

"Are you sick?" I finally asked.

The coachman was silent for a second as he climbed back into his seat. Then, I heard his whip crack.

"It happened during the war," his voice was low. "There was some sort of gas. It destroyed my lungs."

"You were a soldier?!" I asked.

This was a surprise. This scrawny, dirty man used to serve in my father's army?

"Yes, I was a cowardly man. Just as the castle was attacked, I took Red here," the horse I assumed, "and ran."

He chuckled. His laughter suddenly changing into a wet, burning, cough. I heard the fluttering of a rag, and then his coughing became muffled.

This man wasn't in any condition to be driving a carriage... He should be at home, resting!

"Why come back?"

I glanced at Red. She was a well-bred horse. A purebred royal horse sells for quite a bit, more than enough for this man to afford the medicine he needed.

"Guilt? Pity?" he coughed again, spitting somewhere. "After the war, I finally mustered up the courage to come back… I-I honestly don't know what I expected."

The horse slowed to a trot. Red wanted to hear her master's story too.

"All my friends had gone. Many of them dead or missing. More people lived on the street than in their former homes. And then I heard that no one could leave! What kind of man takes everything, and forces people to somehow live with… with nothing?!"

Yes, after the war had ended, the Emperor had decreed that all residents in the former Grand City had to stay there until the royal family – my family, left.

It was disgusting. He strips the castle, the city, and then the people of everything. Many people died of starvation, as the city was swept of almost all weapons. Many people joined the rebellion just for the rations.

"Then I met your mother," his voice was hot with anger. "Our queen. She was working as a seamstress. Mending underwear! Washing clothes! It was beneath her! Our capitol city had turned into a rotting cage! I decided, then and there, that I would help her in any way I could."

His voice was sharp, cutting through the dark. This was the most energetic I had seen him all day.

"I took on this mission," he continued, "promising your mother that I would take you up this bitter mountain, even if it was the last thing I did."

I liked this man. I felt a bite of shame that I had assumed so little of him before. All of us had lost so much in the last five years.

"What's your name, soldier?"

"It's Pah, ma'am."

"Pah, thank you. You are no coward."

Pah didn't respond. The creaking carriage and rustling forest were enough.

The sky was dark now, the orange horizon nearly eclipsed by the dim moon light.

My home was once a bustling capital. Now it was a starving city, a cage full of the sick and starving.

And it was still better than where I was going.