Time to Go

Finally the day came when Thisbe felt like she couldn’t take it anymore. She either had to set this plan in motion or abandon it forever. She and Fifer and Dev had prepared all they could. And they were increasingly worried about someone else making a move and wrecking everything. They needed to control the situation as much as possible, and that meant they didn’t want the people of Artimé coming or the Revinir returning.

Fifer and Thisbe had figured out most of the parameters of their new telepathic ability. They couldn’t be at odds with each other. And they could only send short thoughts or else the words would get jumbled. They’d tested out how physically close they had to be and discovered that for perfect accuracy they had to be in the same room or within speaking distance. And being across the property from one another, each of them at the boundaries set by the dragons, was a little more difficult, and sometimes not all the words transmitted from one mind to the other, but it worked for the most part. They hoped there was some way to communicate between Ashguard’s palace and the Revinir’s castle. That would keep them from having to use any sort of magic with a visible component… which could also save their lives. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to test it until it was too late for Thisbe to turn back.

The three of them spent their last evening together going over the details of their plan and talking through all of the what-if scenarios they could come up with. When Dev and Fifer went to the river to catch dinner, Thisbe sat down at the desk. She laid out all of her components in front of her alongside her wooden dagger and looked at them, then slowly repacked her pockets so that she’d know exactly where everything was in case she needed them.

She left the three obliterate components for last and stared at them for a long time as she remembered Florence’s instructions. She tried to picture a scenario in which she’d actually use one. Perhaps she and the Revinir would stroll down the road together and Thisbe could get far enough away to attack her with one. She slipped the first one inside her interior pocket and picked up the second, then turned the little box over in her fingers. She hesitated, then put it inside the pocket as well. The third one she studied for a longer moment. There was no way she could imagine needing three. If she messed up with the first one, she was probably never going to have a chance to use the second, much less the third.

Thisbe glanced out the east window, seeing the dragons in their corners. She knew Fifer and Dev had no defense against them. Thisbe heard Florence’s voice in her head, telling her that the obliterate components were for her use, and her use only. And that she trusted Thisbe. Thisbe had promised to keep them safe and use them strictly when appropriate.

But things had changed, and the threats around them were growing. So, despite that promise to Florence, Thisbe pulled a sheet of paper and a pen from the desk. In great detail she wrote out the instructions, range, and effects of the spell, making sure to emphasize just how deadly and dangerous it could be. Then she wrapped the instructions around the component box and slipped it inside one of the pockets of Fifer’s robe, which the head mage had left draped over the railing while going out to fish. Hopefully, Fifer would find the component sometime after Thisbe left so they wouldn’t have to have an argument about it and risk messing with their current state of oneness.

Fifer and Dev returned. Dev cooked dinner, and the three ate in strained silence. Reality was hitting them in the face, and they wondered if they could really pull this off. As night fell, they gathered by the stairs to say good-bye.

“Remember,” said Fifer, who felt responsibility for things going wrong because it was her plan, “the Revinir wants this to happen. And her ego is big enough that she’ll buy into it more easily than we expect—she’ll give herself the credit for succeeding at another one of her ventures.”

“The only way she’ll hurt you is if she thinks you aren’t useful anymore,” said Dev. “Or if she thinks no one cares about you.” He frowned. “That’s why she threw me out the window. If you can prove that others will listen to you, she’ll keep you around.”

“I hope that’s the case,” said Thisbe. “But I want to say once more that I’m doing this willingly, Fifer. If something happens to me, it’s not your fault. I am in control of this. Okay?”

Fifer wanted to shout, “Nothing’s going to happen to you!” But she knew that wasn’t the kind of comfort Thisbe needed to hear right now. “Okay,” Fifer said. Deep down the understanding remained that if anything happened to Thisbe, she would feel responsible for it. This had been her plan, and she’d talked the other two into it. She bore the weight of it.

But Fifer still felt like it was right. They hugged all together, then two and two. They turned out the lights so the dragons would think they were sleeping. In the darkness, Dev slipped away to give the girls a moment.

“What if I fail?” Thisbe whispered.

“You won’t,” said Fifer. “I believe in you.”

“But what if I actually do fail?” Thisbe said. Her voice was worried.

“Then we’re no worse off. We’ll figure it out. We always do. Have confidence.”

That was the answer Thisbe needed. They whispered their last good-byes.

Thisbe descended the stairs with her rucksack, canteen, hidden dagger carved from wood, and her two obliterate components tucked away in her pocket, plus a few other components. As she walked out into the fog toward one of the front-corner dragons, her heart began to pound. Confidence, she repeated to herself over and over. She had to show the dragon that she was in charge. She was black-eyed ruler Thisbe Stowe, co-equal to the Revinir. And she wasn’t going to be disrespected by anybody. Not even an enormous red dragon.

As she drew close, she let out a dragon roar like she’d done early on in her stay here. Showing her dominance… or something. She kept walking as the dragon stood up and faced her, making the ground shiver. The dragon approached.

Thisbe roared again, and the dragon dipped his head.

Fifer and Dev watched breathlessly from the window. “He’s bowing to her,” Dev whispered. “She roared, and he’s trying to decide if she’s in charge of him.” His mind began to whir, but he kept quiet.

Thisbe stopped walking a few feet from the dragon’s enormous face. She stared into his eyes, finding them dead-looking even in the cover of darkness. “Take me to the Revinir,” she ordered in her most commanding voice.

Everyone held their breath. Fifer gripped the windowpane. Dev could barely stand to watch. And Thisbe stood there, ready to ride or be attacked. The dragon’s hot breath made her skin hurt. He narrowed his eyes and sniffed her.

Thisbe’s eyes flared and sparked. She let out another roar, with fire this time. The dragon reared back as the flames touched his tender nostrils. He swung his neck around, then turned his massive body and let down a wing for Thisbe to climb up.

She boarded the dragon. As they lifted off the ground, Thisbe heard a whisper in her ears. I am with you.

Thisbe turned to look back at the palace. She couldn’t see Fifer and Dev, but she tapped her chest twice and sent the same words back to Fifer, hoping she wasn’t out of range. Then she faced forward, scrutinizing the path before her and wondering where this most risky choice would lead.