King Dom Comes by Breanna Hayse Page B

recklessly towards an unknown
destination. She slipped on a bed of moss and cracked her knee solidly on a
rock, releasing a pained cry as she clutched her bleeding leg. She tried to
stand, lost her balance, and collapsed heavily upon her palms. She bowed her
head forward and touched her forehead to the ground while panting heavily.
    A
pair of boots stepped in front of her face. Shannon slowly lifted her
red-rimmed eyes to look into the stern face of her pursuer. A sob escaped her
mouth and she lowered her face into her arms, her shoulders shaking in defeat.
Wordlessly, Dom lifted her up, and began the long walk back to the carriage,
with her pressed against his heart.
     
    ***
     
    Shannon's
sobs touched his core. They also baffled him, for he should be immune to her
tears. But these were the tears of a frightened, confused and injured child. He
juggled her body, pulling her nearer to his chest.
    "Shhh,"
he whispered, pressing his cheek to her dirty forehead. "You must calm
yourself."
    "I'm
sorry," Shannon wept. "I only needed to let out my water. And my
bottom still aches dreadfully from that horrid plank set upon it."
    "I
know. Quiet down now." Dom's voice was soft and soothing. "Shannon,
look at me."
    "I
cannot," Shannon sniffed.
    "This
is the last time I will repeat myself," Dom said firmly. "When I tell
you to do something, you are to obey. Without question and without
argument."
    "That
might be what you are accustomed to, but not I. The king," Shannon sobbed,
"he always told me to question everything. To challenge everything said to
me, and never to be blind to life. He wanted me to be a queen and to make him
proud. I cannot be the way he wished. I have failed him and his son. I've
failed his country. I've failed…"
    Dom
lowered her carefully onto a pile of fallen leaves and moss, and sat down next
to her. He stroked her wet cheeks and damp hair as he tucked her firmly under
her left arm. "The only one you can fail is yourself," he said
softly. "King Malkai was a very wise man, but he also lacked focus. When
he passed, he left many things unfinished in his country. His son needs a
strong woman by his side, one whose thoughts and actions are not ruled by her
emotions."
    "What
is wrong with that? My mother's actions were dictated by her heart, not just by
the needs of the people she served."
    "Those
same people ended up killing her in the end. Shannon," Dom placed his hand
over hers, "my mother was also taken from her family due to ignorance. We
must rise above the ignorance of the world, but we also must find a way to fit
into our place. There are ways to question, and challenge, that cause neither
insult nor danger to others."
    "You
frighten me. You are like a giant bear that I fear will devour me if I don't
fight back. Why do you hate me so much?"
    Dom
wrinkled his forehead. "Hate you? I am preparing you to survive in a world
very different than the one to which you are accustomed. The cloister could not
teach you the ways of men, or how to rule a kingdom. Your education began the
moment you stepped into this carriage. You became a queen at that moment."
    "I
did?" Shannon lifted her face to him.
    "Yes,
you did," he said, as he gently removed her hand from her swollen knee. He
probed it gently, and then lifted both her palms to study the bloody scratches
left on them. "Stay here while I get water to cleanse these wounds."
    "I'm
sorry," Shannon lowered her face. "I can help. There are herbs in my
travel pouch."
    "I
have medicines as well. Hush."
    Shannon
bit down on her lip as Dom scrubbed her wounds clean of dirt. "That
hurts."
    "Yes,
I know it hurts. Stay still."
    "Ow!"
Shannon growled, as his whiskey-soaked cloth pressed against her palms.
    "You
are acting like a little child. Are you really holding your breath? Your face
is turning quite a lovely shade of red."
    "It
huuurts," Shannon hissed, from between clenched teeth.
    "I
see that," Dom chuckled. "You look like a wild woman, Shannon. I
thought your cloister taught