The Queen of Despair

"The moon is rising, Dara! We need to go!"

Dara was so tired. They had been running for days and the weariness made her leaden. She didn't feel like she could move anymore. It was too hard. What were they running for anyway? They were doomed. There was nothing they could do to stop the Queen...

"Robbie! You're going to have to take her! Get her into the moonlight before her despair completely takes her over!"

Dara felt the pull on her arm and then was lifted, like a sack of potatoes, onto Robbie's back. He grunted as he shifted Dara's weight.

"Come on, girl," Robbie said, moving over the tree roots into the moon's glow.

Dara bristled. "I'm not a dog nor a horse," she hissed sharply and Robbie chuckled.

"That's my girl! All's not lost! As long as you can snipe at your old friend, Robbie, all is right with the world!"

Dara smiled despite herself and said, "Who said we were friends?"

Robbie hooted again and squeezed Dara that little more tightly. "That's it! We'll beat this Queen yet!"

And Dara had to admit that the despair that had felt so overwhelming before had evaporated in the light of the moon. She was grateful for Minerva and her wisdom and swift-thinking.

"How are you feeling now, Dara?" Minerva asked as Robbie put her down in a shaft of pure unfiltered moonlight.

"Better. Much better, thanks."

Minerva smiled weakly and said, "Have a minute and then we must move. And quickly. Not too much further now." She went off to busy herself with packs while Dara held her face up to the moon like a hare and filled herself with its celestial energy.

Merlin is banishing the clouds, Minerva thought. But the Queen'll find another way.

Merlin watched the progress of the group of three in his scrying stone. He was tired. Keeping the Queen's magic at bay was taking its toll. Minerva, Robbie, him. The only resistance. If it was just him...lost.

The Final Confrontation was coming where Dara would need to face down the Queen. Dara was their only hope now. She didn't know how important she was.

She would soon.

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366 words