When I wake from a long, dreamless sleep and open my eyes, the first thing I see is a butterfly. Radiant blue, it dances from flower to flower. It’s gorgeous. I sigh and close my eyes again; the light is still too much for them. Yet, I feel okay. The sun warms my skin. The scent of earth and grass is stronger than I’ve ever known before, a soothing fragrance that almost distracts me from the headache gnawing at the edges of my mind like a nest of baby rodents. The warm breeze caresses me into a slumber again. Sleep will not let me go yet.
When I wake up again, I’m able to keep my eyes open a bit longer. The sun is already touching the horizon, but it’s still warm and when I finally prop myself up on my elbows, I see my two companions: a sixteen-year-old girl and a nine-year-old boy. Although we don’t look far apart in age, the reality couldn’t be more different. Gran may appear as a young girl, but mentally she’s still the woman I’ve known all my life. Inside, she’s really, really old. Jack, my father however, is exactly as young as he looks.
"Did you sleep well, Max?" Gran asks in a light, girly voice that can’t quite hide her adult irony. I don’t answer—not just because my throat is still too dry, but also because it’s unnecessary. Gran can read my mind if she wants to. So, we sit next to each other in silence for ten minutes longer.
Swallows dart high above us, catching flies. Apart from the hissing and buzzing of insects, it’s quieter here than I’ve ever experienced before. I can’t help but smile. Still, however great it feels, I know this silence won’t last. There are too many things to discuss. Too much has happened. Finally, I clear my throat. “Where are we?”
Gran makes a sweeping gesture. “You tell us, Tinderstick. You brought us here.” I look around. The landscape consists mainly of green, sloping grasslands, with a thin stripe of an enormous forest stretching from left to right on the horizon, as far as the eye can see.
“Do you recognize it, Max?” Jack asks hopefully. “Have you been here before?” Although literally everything hurts, I get to my feet to have a better look and only now I notice something I hadn’t been able to see before: an enormous castle, complete with banners, flags, and standards waving in the wind, sharply outlined against the blue sky.
Between us and the castle stretches a plain littered with the lifeless bodies of men and horses. Some alone, some fallen on top of each other, and some stacked into heaps. A relatively small number of survivors move slowly in a well-organized procession toward the castle. Two horses carry a small unconscious woman, dressed in full battle gear and a crown still on her head.
Much closer to us, four severed heads are casually scattered in the blood-red grass, each body still resting on a stump of wood.
“Yes, I’ve been here before, Jack, but only for a short time.”
“Can you bring us back home?” he asks eagerly. I don’t answer right away. I just want to enjoy the sun for a moment longer. For the first time, I feel the rumbling of my stomach.
“I have no idea, Jack. Really, not the faintest idea. But let’s find some food first. I’m famished.”