Amelia

“We’ve been stuck in this desert for decades, Ame. When can we leave,” Sye whines.

“Relax, it’s only been a week since we found this oasis, and these big sand things give us food for a while. We have everything we need to fully think of a way to get out safely,” I retort.

“God I want a bath,” Sye says.

“You and I both. We could get out of here faster if we had two brains working on a way to get out rather than one,” I inform.

“No need to be passive aggressive. What do you have so far?”

“Well, the way I see it, we have three options. First, we can walk forward until we hit something. It’ll either be civilization or the ocean, and if we walk in a straight line, even if we hit the ocean we can just come back here. The second option is to climb on top of one of the sand things and hope they’re tall enough to see where the desert ends. The final option is to cut our losses and accept this place as our new home.”

“I don’t think any of these options would work. The first one has a big problem with time. Since we don’t have salt and its four fucking million degrees out, there’s no way to preserve food. If we hit the ocean we’re stuck there for the time being until we can get enough food to make it back here. I don’t even know how the second option would work, and there aren’t any materials to actually make this place our home.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“If we can get on top of one of these mountains, we could probably see as far as we need to. If not, you can use your ice magic to get me high enough to be able to see which direction we need to go.”

“Sye, we’re in the middle of a fucking desert. My ice was barely able to last when we were escaping The Mesa, and The Mesa literally has no temperature.”

“But that was because of the amount of weight being put onto it right?”

“Yes. Yes it was. The ice will melt in minutes in the shade right now. If the mountain isn’t high enough, you want to get on the ice to see farther, which means I have to put you higher. Closer to the sun. With zero shade. With you on it. You see the problem here?”

“But can’t you constantly cast so the melted ice gets replaced immediately?”

“Sye, you have zero clue how much energy that would take. If we weren’t in the middle of a fucking desert, it may be possible. But we’re in the middle of a fucking desert, and the sun is beating down on us every second of every day. If I pass out, you would have to get both of us back down a mountain and in some shade so I don’t get heatstroke.”

“Why don’t we do it at night? It’ll be cooler then so you wouldn’t have to cast as much because the ice would melt slower.”

“Because you won’t be able to see at night.”

“Ame, do you see these fox ears and these four tails? I’m a human kitsune hybrid, I can see in the dark.”

“Ok, first of all, your parents are weird as fuck. But even if that’s true, we still don’t know if my ice can support your weight for long enough for you to get a good look.”

“Are you calling me fat? I’m not the lightest girl in the world but I am CERTAINLY not you, Mofu, and Aku on one platform at damn near the same time heavy. Just get me up high enough and focus all your casting on the platform I’m on.”

“Once again, that would take way too much energy. Not only that, what if the ice still breaks and you fall?”

“Just make sure that doesn’t happen and we’ll be fine. Sound like a plan?”

“What mountain would we even climb?”

“One tall enough to not warrant you needing to use your magic, preferably.”

“We literally haven’t seen any mountain that high. Not only that, you want us to climb a mountain big enough to see miles and miles away with no gear in this heat. That’s way too dangerous as it is, add to that the plan that can go wrong at literally any time.”

“Well then I don’t know what we should do. Everything sounds ridiculous.”

“I know. Not all is bad though. At least we know Mofu is still alive.”

“Yeah, and Aku is probably somewhere cozy right now.”

“I sure as hell hope so, because this is some bullshit.”

“Hey, I just thought of something. Isn’t the queen of the south extremely paranoid?”

“Well there’s two. The one closest to us is the queen you're referring to, and yes. She has cameras and motion sensors everywhere in the land she has.”

“And the desert is a part of her kingdom, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So then if she has cameras and motion sensors everywhere, someone is seeing us right now, and they know exactly where we are.”

“So help could be on the way.”

“We were waiting for you two to notice. Christ, it took you two long enough,” A voice calls out from behind us. We turn around to see Queen Sophia on the back of a bright yellow dragon with a small army on both sides of her.

“Oh thank god. Please, help us!” Sye cries, running towards the queen.

“C’mon Williams, it’s hot out here,” Queen Sophia waves. I join Sye in a sprint to the dragon, the soldiers lifting us onto the back of it. We fly out of the desert, and back towards the rest of the world.

_________________________________________

Queen Sophia’s palace is gigantic. The entrance looks hundreds of feet tall, and wide enough to fit twenty elephants shoulder to shoulder. A yellow carpet leads into the lobby area, containing emerald benches on either side, all in front of steps leading to the throne. Eight diamond doors decorate both walls, The queen leading us into the sixth door on the left wall. It leads into a living room. Long, puffy couches sit in front of a grand fireplace. Directly behind it lay a kitchen filled to the brim with food. Down a hallway leads to a door holding the bedroom, which is big enough to hold three apartments from The Mesa. The king sized bed lay in the middle of the room, wide enough to spread out as far as you can and still not even cover half of it. Blue silk curtains cover the windows, a chandelier lighting the massive room. The master bathroom holds two sinks, two tubs, two toilets, and two showers.

“We need you to quarantine for a short period of time because of the parasites in the sand, so this is where you two will spend the next three days,” Queen Sophia informs.

“Wait, there are parasites in the sand?” I ask.

“Yes, but don’t panic, they’re mostly harmless. They’ll leave your body when you go to the bathroom,” The queen explains.

“If they’re mostly harmless, why do we have to quarantine?” Sye asks.

“Because they’re parasites. I don’t want parasites. You have parasites. You need to be away from me until you don’t have parasites. They’re MOSTLY harmless, and I don’t know if you have the dangerous ones,” The queen states. “And before you ask, yes I know where Aku and Mofu are, and I was watching you because I needed to know if you two were more spies acting oblivious as bait to get me killed, but you two really are just like that. I was going to reveal myself tomorrow when the rest of my cavalry arrived, but you two already figured out you were being monitored. Now go get to shitting, I’m two doors to the right if you need anything, but please don’t come unless it’s really important. I’ll explain everything once you two are out of quarantine.” Queen Sophia walks out of the room, leaving Sye and I stunned.

“She said that like she’s done this before,” Sye comments.

“Because she has, were you listening?” I ask.

“Whatever, we have baths and food,” Sye says. We both stare at each other for a moment before sprinting into the bathroom and filling the tubs with water, undressing as fast as possible. We both rush into the tubs, letting out loud sighs of relief in unison. “This right here, Amelia. This right here makes everything worth it.”

“Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree,” I say, tilting my head back. My eyes close as the bath tears all the sand and sweat from my skin. I feel like I’m preparing to ascend into heaven, the water cleansing me of any worry or fear. Hours pass as we rest in the water. By the time we’re done cleaning ourselves up the sun is setting. The next thing to test is the couches, our newly cleaned bodies pouncing on them mercilessly. They are long and wide, my entire body being able to fit on one cushion. I don’t know what the couches are made out of, but they feel like you’re being caressed by the softest, most gentle hands while laying on a cloud.

“This is the best. No more itchy sand, no more hot desert, no more frustration! Only soft cushions, air conditioned rooms, and relaxation!” Sye yells.

“No more sweat flavored meats either,” I add.

“Woah, I never said all that. The desert wasn’t all bad, sweat makes a fantastic salt or marinade substitute,” Sye claims.

“You can keep your weird food combinations to yourself you freak,” I laugh. “But you're right, it wasn’t all bad. Spending that time with you was pretty fun. But this right here, spending this time with you here is even better.”

“Oh stop it Ame, you’re going to make me blush,” Sye teases. She crawls her way over to me, her head adjacent to mine. We both stare at the marble ceiling, getting lost in the hypnotic white.

“I want everybody else here with us,” I say.

“Me too. Queen Sophia said she knew where the boys are, so we can go get them once we finish quarantining,” Sye informs.

“Yeah, we can. What comes after that, though?” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve always had a clear goal in mind. Bring information into The Mesa, master my sectors, study the world more, form a team. I’ve done all of that. I’ve entered The Gauntlet, fought my way through some of it. We’ve escaped The Mesa, survived and escaped the desert, and now we’re about to reunite with Aku and Mofu. What comes after that?”

“Then we relax for a little bit. These past few weeks have been nonstop. Always one thing after another. I think we’ve earned a little break before the next life altering event, don’t you?” Sye asks. We both laugh at the statement.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve ever felt lost. The first time I’ve ever not known what I need, or want, to do next.”

“Well look, No Man’s Land is bleeding into the rest of the world. We can deal with that. The sky is still purple, we can fix that. The Genie is still out there, somewhere. We can handle that, and I’m certain other problems will pop up while we handle the world ending issues. We can handle them all, but not on low energy. We all need to unwind a little, especially after everything that’s happened recently. Let’s just focus on that for now, Ame. The rest will come later.” Sye puts her hand on my cheek and taps it rhythmically.

“Why are you good at comforting? Were you a mother before you died?”

“No. I was never able to be myself until Mofu and I formed a contract, so I’m making up for lost time.”