Darque Wants (54 page)

              “I'm Lillian of the Hunter tribe and Princess of New Atlantis,” Lillian said proudly.

              “Princess?” John said with a perplexed expression.  “Are you the granddaughter of King Pieter and Chief Strotwater?”

              “Yes I am,” Lillian said, confused.

              “I think you should come with me.  I think my people would like to meet you,” John said, walking away.

              Lillian followed him.  She was not sure where he was going, but she was curious.  She now had even more questions than she began with and still no answers. 

              “Where are we going?” Lillian asked.

              “Camp Outcast,” John said simply.

              “What is that?” Lillian asked, unsatisfied with John's answers.

              “It's where the Outcasts live, obviously,” John answered.

              “What in the gods' names is an Outcast?” Lillian asked becoming irritated.

              “Well, Princess, an Outcast is what you would be if you weren't royal,” John said.

              “What is that supposed to mean?” Lillian said feeling a bit offended.

              “Did you really think you were the only mixed one in all of the Valley?” John asked.

              “Actually, yes,” Lillian said surprised at her own stupidity.  Of course she couldn't have been the only one.  She just never thought that there might be others like her.

              “You are in for a big surprise,” John said.

              The pair walked on in silence for a bit longer until they reached a small city of ragged tents.  Lillian could not believe it.  In the middle of the Flatlands was a whole society she never knew about.  Illuminated by campfires, Lillian could see the raggedy tents inhabited by people of all kinds.  She noticed that all of the older people were New Atlantisn, but all of the children her age and younger were mixed-blood like she was.  This raised many more questions in Lillian's mind.

              John must have seen the expression on Lillian's face.  “Don't worry, Princess.  You will get answers for all of your questions soon.  We are going to see Danielle, Queen of the Outcasts.”

              John had never been caught at the river before.  His entire life, he had been sneaking over into New Atlantis to scavenge supplies at night when the Camp was close enough, but this was the first time anyone had caught him.  When he first heard the shouting, he thought that a palace guard had spotted him.  To his surprise, it had been Princess Lillian at the river.  Even more surprisingly, she had crossed the river to chase him down.  He had heard stories of Princess Lillian his entire life, but part of him thought she was just a myth.  He never expected to meet the Outcast who lived in the Valley. 

              He knew when he discovered her identity that Danielle would be excited to meet her.  As they walked through the camp, John could see the amazement on her face.  He knew that she was curious, but he wanted Danielle the chance to explain everything. 

              “This is the place,” John announced when they reached Danielle's tent.  “Everything you want to know, Danielle can tell you.”

              John led Lillian inside the tent and saw Danielle reading an old leather bound book in her cot.  She did not seem to notice him and Lillian walking in until John cleared his throat to get her attention.  Looking up and seeing Lillian, Danielle closed her book and stood up. 

              “Who is this?” she asked John.

              “This, Danielle,” John replied, taking a pause for dramatic effect, “is Princess Lillian.”

              “Lillian?” Danielle said in disbelief.

              “Lillian of the Hunter tribe and Princess of New Atlantis,” Lillian said bowing respectfully.  “Pleased to meet you, Queen Danielle.”

              “Oh, please don't bow to me,” Danielle said with a chuckle.  “'Queen' is just a title given to me by the Outcasts.  I'm not actually royalty, just a leader chosen by my people.  Come, you two.  Sit with me,” Danielle said gesturing towards a table off to the side of the tent.  “I'm sure you have many questions, Princess.”

              “Lillian is fine,” she said taking a seat at the table.

              John took a seat at the round dinner table between Lillian and Danielle.  He observed the two women sitting next to him.  Lillian was beautiful, tan, and slender.  Her red hair and  blue eyes were unique and intriguing.  Danielle, on the other hand, was pale white with long black hair and deep, eyes that were so dark they were nearly black.  If it wasn't for her Tribal eyes, she could have lived life as a New Atlantisn and nobody would have known about her mixed heritage. 

              “What are the Outcasts?” Lillian asked immediately after taking a seat.

              “Outcasts are those who have been banished from New Atlantis for being mixed-blood,” Danielle explained.  “It all started with you, actually.  After you were born, King Pieter outlawed interracial mating.  However, when he hired the Builder tribe to come build his palace, the law failed to stop people.  It only got worse when Tribal men came up to trade in New Atlantis.  Eventually, King Pieter started banishing mixed children into the Flatlands.  Some parents left their children in the wilderness, but most parents accepted banishment with their child.”

              “Why didn't you all come to Oldwoods?” Lillian asked.

              “They tried at first, but Chief Strotwater said that he had to consider his people's needs and could not take on refugees,” Danielle answered.  “Thus, we were left to survive in the Flatlands.”

              “So, this is all my fault,” Lillian said sadly.

              “No, not at all,” Danielle said trying to comfort her.  “It's King Pieter's and Chief Strotwater's fault.  You can't control their actions.  It was their ignorance and prejudice that put us here.  However, we survive.  We have the traits and skills of both peoples of the Valley.  We combine them together and we survive.”

              “That is brilliant,” Lillian said in admiration of Danielle's charisma.  “John said that he heard stories about me as a child.  What kind of stories?”

              “You are the only one like us that lived in the Valley.  You were very lucky.  Also, you were the first of us.  You are the Original Outcast.  The stories of how your parents stopped a war and how you came to be is a legend among us.”

              “How do you know all of this?” Lillian asked, flattered that she was so respected.

              “None of us mixed-bloods remember things from the Valley.  Our parents told us these stories,” Danielle said.  “Now I have a question for you.”

              “What do you want to know?” Lillian asked.

              “What brings you to us?”

              “I was by the river and I saw John.  I chased him and when I finally caught him, he brought me here,” Lillian explained.

              “I'm glad you did catch him,” Danielle said with a chuckle.  “This is where you belong.  These are your people.”

              “These may be my people, but this isn't my home,” Lillian replied.

              “Is your home back in the Valley?  Is your home where people don't respect you? Is your home where people are kind to your face and whisper hateful things behind your back?” Danielle asked.

              John could see that Lillian was thinking.  He saw her jaw clench as she tried to fight back a tear.  It was clear that Danielle had touched a nerve.  Something she had said had brought up painful memories for Lillian.

              “You belong with people who will love you for who, and what, you are,” Danielle said.

              “You're right,” Lillian said suddenly.  “People back home don't really care about me.  They only care about me because of my title and that's not love at all.”

              “In Camp Outcast, you can shed your title and be loved for what is in your heart.”

              “I would like to stay here, Danielle,” Lillian said.

              “Welcome home,” Danielle said with a wide smile.  “All we ask is that you carry your own weight.  We travel to survive the harsh wastelands so you must be able to keep up.  Can you handle that?”

              “Of course,” Lillian said sounding excited.  “Where do I get a tent?”

              “You will have to build one with whatever you can find,” Danielle explained.

              “Until you find material, you are more than welcome to stay with me,” John said, interrupting the conversation.

              John blushed as Danielle and Lillian both stared at him.  John was just as surprised by his outburst as they must have been.  It wasn't uncommon for people to share tents, it was just unusual for strangers to share tents.

              “I have an extra mat for you to sleep on,” John continued.

              “Can't I stay with you?” Lillian asked Danielle.

              “Sorry, but I don't share my tent.  I like my privacy,” Danielle said.

              “Then I guess I will stay with you,” Lillian said to John.

              Lillian walked out of Danielle's tent with John and towards the edge of the Camp where John had pitched his tent.  On the walk back, in the full moon's light, she thought about the conversation she had just had with Danielle.  She had never known that her grandfathers had been so cruel.  Her Grandfather Strotwater had at least acted in what he thought to be in the best interest of his people, but both of them had made their laws based on nothing but anger and hatred. 

              “Danielle is mixed-blood, right?” Lillian asked John as they entered his tent.

              “Yes, of course,” he answered.

              “So, she can't be any older than 20,” Lillian continued.

              “What's your point?” John wondered.

              “How is she Queen of the Outcasts? Don't the older people feel the need to lead?”

              “Danielle grew up with the rest of us Outcasts children,” John explained.  “Back then, one of the older women was leading us.  One day when she was 16, Danielle went missing in a sandstorm.  We searched for days and we never found her.  About two weeks later, Danielle just came walked into Camp.  We were all so excited to see her and people kept asking her where she was.  She never answered us.  She just said that she was lost in a dark place, but she found her way back and she knows where to find food.  Back in those days, food and water were hard to find.  We followed her and she led us to a whole pack of wild boar.  After that, we all just started doing what she said and nobody has ever really questioned it,” John said as he lit a fire and set up an extra bed for Lillian to sleep in.

              “Don't you find that a bit odd?” Lillian asked.

              “A lot of strange things happen in the Flatlands.  Some people say these lands are cursed or haunted.  I've seen things that I can't explain.  After a while, you just accept strange things and try not to ask too many questions,” John said lying down in his bed.

              “What were you doing by the river?” Lillian asked, lying down in her own bed next to John's.

              “When we get this close to New Atlantis, I sneak across the river at night.  With all the construction work going on at the palace, a lot of scrap materials get thrown into a big pile in the forest.  Usually, it gets burned by the Builders.  If I can get to it first, then I take as much as I can back to Camp and we use it to build or repair tents or weapons or whatever we need to do,” John explained.  “What were you doing by the river? I've been sneaking over for almost 10 years now and I've never been caught.”

              “I overheard my Grandfather, the King, say he only loved half of me.  I was upset so I ran.  Then I saw you.  I've never seen people on that side of the river so I followed you,” Lillian said.

              “That sounds terrible.  I've heard stories about people in New Atlantis being cruel to Tribals and mixed-bloods like us, but I can't imagine how it must feel to hear that from your own family,” John said rolling over to his side to look Lilian in the eye.

              “That's the second time that has happened to me,” Lillian said fighting back a tear.

              “What do you mean?” John asked.

              “I grew up in Oldwoods with my father's people.  When I was 14, I was supposed to go on my first hunt.  My entire tribe barred me from the hunt and my grandfather, the Chief, took their side.  It broke my heart,” Lillian said, still choking back tears.

              “We have all been rejected by the Valley,” John said reaching out to put a supportive hand on Lillian's shoulder.  “That's why most of us kind of hate the Valley and the people in it.  Outcasts are a tighter community than any in the Valley because we all know what it is like to be rejected.  That shared pain makes us all very close.  We are all one big family and you are part of that now.  You can leave that pain in the past.”