Chapter 77: Episode 077: Never Leave the Wagon
The giant pine trees grow thicker the further they go.
The green leaves block out the bright morning sky. The sunlight above them gets chopped into thin, dusty beams that dance across the dirt road. The air turns sharp and cold. It carries the smell of wet dirt, crushed moss, and old pine needles.
It’s a very lonely feeling.
Back at the cabin, the fire was always warm. Caius was always there to wrap his cold coils around her, and Knox was always right outside the door with a loud joke. Out here, the wind just howls.
Rue pulls her thick white blanket tighter around her shoulders. She sits right in the middle of the soft furs covering the wagon floor. Her body still aches. Her wrists feel incredibly weak, and her head feels a little light. The terrible fever left her completely drained. She misses her warm stone bed. She misses the quiet safety of her pack.
But she holds little Theron fast asleep on her chest. He’s a tiny, warm weight against her heart. He makes her feel brave. She hums a very quiet song, gently patting his back to match the steady rhythm of the wooden wheels.
Gianna’s pulling the wagon all by herself.
The snake princess has the thick wooden handles resting comfortably in her pale hands. She doesn’t strain her arms. She doesn’t sweat. She just walks forward.
Rue watches her from the back of the wagon. It’s actually completely amazing. The wagon’s incredibly heavy. Caius built it out of solid ironwood. He packed enough dried meat for Gianna, clean water, and heavy blankets to last for weeks. A normal horse would struggle to pull it up the steep dirt hills. But Gianna just marches forward, completely unbothered.
But Rue can tell Gianna hates moving this slowly.
The princess has long legs and a fast, aggressive energy. She clearly wants to sprint through the woods. Every few minutes, Gianna huffs a loud breath. She kicks a loose rock out of the path. She looks like a trapped bird that just wants to fly.
But Gianna doesn’t speed up.
A large, thick tree root blocks the dirt path. Gianna stops. She looks at the root, then looks over her shoulder at the sleeping baby. She carefully lifts the wooden handles higher. She steps over the root, guiding the large wooden wheels over the bump with incredible care. The wagon barely even shakes. She’s being incredibly patient, all for Theron.
"You’re very strong," Rue says quietly.
Gianna glances back. She offers a proud little smirk.
"I’m a Snake," Gianna replies, like that simple fact explains everything. "We don’t have weak muscles. I could drag this entire wagon up a mountain with one hand tied behind my back. But we’re taking the flat roads so the little guy doesn’t wake up crying."
Rue smiles. She’s really grateful for that.
The forest around them slowly starts to change. The bright green leaves turn darker. The moss on the rocks gets incredibly thick. The air feels much heavier.
"Where exactly are we going?" Rue asks. She touches her own forehead, rubbing a small ache right between her eyes. "I mean, I know we’re going North. I remember pieces of the map. The old memories from my rabbit body show a lot of snow. But I don’t know the actual roads."
Gianna keeps her eyes focused on the path ahead.
"The Beastworld’s huge," Gianna explains. Her voice bounces off the tall trees. "The Convergence is right in the middle. It’s the absolute safe zone. But once we leave this valley, the rules completely change. We’ve got to cross three massive territories before we even smell the Wolf Kingdom."
Rue feels a cold knot form in her stomach. The old rabbit memories in her brain start to pulse with a deep, hidden panic. "Which ones?"
"First, we hit the deep jungle," Gianna says. She points a finger toward the dark tree line ahead of them. "That’s the Lynx tribe territory. They’re fast. They live high up in the branches and drop down on people who walk underneath. They’re sneaky and incredibly annoying."
Rue hugs Theron a little tighter. She looks up at the thick branches above them, suddenly very worried. She imagines a giant wildcat dropping directly into the wagon. She pulls Theron’s thick blanket up over his tiny head, hiding him completely.
"Then the trees clear out," Gianna continues. She kicks another small rock. "We’ll hit the jagged rock valleys. That land belongs to the Bear clan. They’re huge, angry, and they hate absolutely everybody. Although a select few talk to people and are friendly."
Rue swallows hard.
"And the last one?" Rue asks. Her voice was very small. She doesn’t want to hear the answer.
"The freezing cliffs," Gianna says casually. "The Eagle’s hold. That’s the final border before the Wolf Kingdom. The eagles are nasty birds. They’ve got giant sharp talons. They like to pick people up and drop them off the high cliffs just for fun."
Rue stares at the back of Gianna’s head.
She feels entirely overwhelmed. She’s just a soft, tired girl sitting in a rabbit’s body. She just recovered from a terrible fever that almost killed her. Now she’s riding in a wooden box, heading straight into a brutal world filled with giant bears and dropping lynx cats.
How the heck do people survive three predators?
"Gianna," Rue says. Her voice shakes. She doesn’t try to hide her fear. "We should be terrified. It’s just you and me out here. I’m practically useless in a real fight. And we’ve got a baby. We’re basically a rolling snack box for three savage tribes."
Gianna stops walking.
The wooden wagon groans to a halt. The heavy wheels settle into the dirt. The forest around them’s totally silent, except for the cold wind blowing through the pine needles.
Gianna turns around. She looks at Rue’s pale face. She sees the genuine, honest fear shining in Rue’s pink eyes. She sees how tightly Rue’s holding the baby. She sees the exhaustion still clinging to Rue’s thin frame.
Gianna throws her head back and laughs.
It’s a loud, ringing, completely confident laugh. It scares a few black birds out of the nearby bushes.
"A snack box?" Gianna giggles, wiping a small tear from the corner of her dark eye. "Oh, Rue. You really don’t understand how this works."
Gianna walks closer to the back of the wagon. She rests her thick arms on the wooden side. She looks right at Rue, her dark eyes flashing with a bright, terrifying light.
"Those tribes don’t scare me," Gianna says proudly. "They’re just oversized animals playing in the dirt. I’m royalty. My blood’s older and colder than anything living in this forest. If a lynx tries to drop on this wagon, I’ll rip it completely in half. If a bear steps in my way, I’ll turn him into a nice warm rug for the baby to sleep on."
Rue looks at her. Gianna’s completely serious under her confident smile. The girl means every single word.
"I told my sister I’d protect you," Gianna says softly. "And snakes never break a promise. You don’t have to fight. You just have to sit there, stay warm, and let me handle the messy parts. I can take care of all of them without breaking a single sweat. I’m not a regular soldier. I’m a monster in a pretty dress."
Rue lets out a very slow, shaky breath.
"Okay," Rue whispers softly. "I trust you."
Gianna smiles. It’s a genuine, warm smile. It makes the grumpy princess look like a normal, happy girl for just a second.
But then, the smile drops entirely.
Gianna’s face turns completely blank. Her dark eyes narrow into dangerous little slits. The playful princess disappears, instantly replaced by a cold, lethal predator. She leans in very close to Rue.
The air around the wagon suddenly feels freezing cold.
Gianna looks Rue right in the eye. She doesn’t blink.
"But we’re going into wild lands," Gianna says. Her voice’s a low, serious hiss. "And wild things are incredibly unpredictable. I’ll kill anything that comes near you. But you’ve got to do exactly what I say."
Rue nods quickly. She feels a cold shiver run all the way down her spine.
"I’ve got one rule for this trip," Gianna says, gripping the edge of the wagon so hard the ironwood actually creaks under her fingers. "No matter what happens out there, you never leave the wagon."
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