I'm in this for the long haul. My only hope is that my little story gives a few people some joy. And now, without further ado, this chapter took...surprisingly little time to get revised, despite all the changes. I'm impressed.
Chapter
5: Suspicion
“Agh!” Mina
sat bolt upright in bed and her eyes snapped open. Panting hard, she wiped cold sweat from her
forehead and pulled at her nightgown, which clung to her skin. Pressing her hand to her chest, she took
several deep breathes until the rapid thumping of her heart returned to normal.
“You alright,
Mina?” looking up, Mina saw Celine stumble towards her with her leather work
dress half on. After pulling it the rest
of the way on, she took a seat at the edge of Mina’s bed.
“F-fine,
Celi…” Mina waved her away before lying back down.
Celine put her
hand up to Mina’s forehead before grabbing at her wrist. “Well…you feel a little warm, but not
feverish. However-”
“Celi, I’m
alright!” Mina snapped. “I just had a
bad dream.”
“Was it the
same one you’ve had for the last three days?”
Mina gave her
a curt nod and let out a long sigh. “I
don’t know what it means, though.”
Celine
shrugged. “Maybe it’s a memory from your
childhood. I mean…you’re familiar with
bandits. Could the man in blue armor
represent the Templar?”
“No, that’s
not it,” Mina shook her head. “I’d
remember. Besides, none of the Templar
with bishop Charas had blue hair. And
I’m certain we never met a golden haired woman while they were bringing me to
Gesthal either.”
Running her
fingers up Mina’s arms, Celine frowned.
“You’re getting leaner, Mina.”
“Am I?” Mina
sat up and her nightgown nearly slipped off her shoulders. “Agh!
Damn…I guess I am,” she muttered, holding it close to her chest. “But I’ve been eating like a starved fenris
since we got back…”
“I know,”
Celine grimly muttered, “That’s what worries me. Maybe…maybe tonight you should go back.”
“I can’t!”
Mina squealed, shivering in bed. “I…I
mean, he wasn’t like the Molten Zombie, but…he’s still a lich, Celi.”
“Mina…” Celine
started to say something, but closed her mouth and rubbed the backs of her
ears. “It’s your choice, but we have to
tell Kano you’re sick. Get a doctor here or something.”
“I don’t need
a doctor,” Mina grunted, “I need to get down to the tavern and get back to
work. That’ll give me some energy.”
“If you won’t
tell him, then I-!” Celine started to say, but stopped when the loud sounds of
footfalls reached the girls’ ears.
Clearing her
throat, Mina sat up and called out, “Yes, Celi, I’m feeling much better. Just let me get my dress on and I’ll help you
with the morning shift.”
No sooner had
she spoken these words than Kano threw open the attic door and stepped inside
bearing a tray of milk gruel and some water in a clay cup. Laying it down next to Mina’s bedside, he
jerked his head at Celine, who hurried downstairs and left them alone. Plopping down on Mina’s bed where Celine had
been sitting, the orange haired man gazed down at Mina for a minute before
finally speaking.
“What happened
out there? I mean really, Mina.”
“I told you
already, uncle! We got pinned down by
those fireballs and-” Mina snapped.
“You’re
wasting away up here!” Kano
snarled, holding up Mina’s arm. Glancing
over at it, Mina’s eyes widened slightly at how lean it had become. “A few more days like this and you’ll be
nothing more than a corpse. Please…” a
tear sprang to the burly man’s eye, “Just tell me what’s wrong with you. Did you get bitten by an apocra or-”
“Uncle…I
swear, it’s nothing,” Mina lowered her eyes.
“I…I’m sorry for worrying you like this.
We all went without food in that forest…but since I’m smaller, I guess
it affected me more than Daryl or Celi.”
With a sigh, Kano
got to his feet and said, “Fine. I’ll
take your word for it. So, what can we do
to get you up and about again?”
Uncle, please
let me go down and work the tavern. I know
the patrons miss me and my muscles are turning to mud sitting in bed all day,”
Mina glanced at her arms and frowned.
“Hehe, I bet
the border guard don’t miss ya,” Kano
snickered, turning back to Mina with a sad smile on his lips, “With you gone,
it’s been open season on Celi’s rear.”
“Uncle! That’s one of the reasons I need to get down
there!” Mina grunted, kicking back her covers and swinging her legs onto the
floor. They wobbled slightly, but still
held her weight. She put her hands on
her hips and added, “I don’t need to be babied!”
“Geh…” Kano
grunted and ran a hand over his greasy orange hair. “Dammit, girl, you’re just like your
mother. Shendoah’d work even if she was
sick. I’d try and stop her, but it was
always for naught. She’d find a way
around her big brother every time.”
“Then…?” Mina
leaned forward.
“Alright,
alright, I know when I’m beat,” Kano
chuckled and put a sturdy hand on Mina’s shoulder. “Eat your breakfast first, then come down and
help Celi with the morning shift. Maybe
getting back into the routine’ll help.
Not like I could stop you anyway.”
A small smile
appeared on Mina’s lips and she wrapped her arms around the innkeeper’s large
stomach. “Thank you, uncle!” she cried,
kissing him on the cheek. “You won’t
regret it!”
“Tch,
c’mon…most kids aren’t happy to be given chores,” Kano
blushed and pulled himself free of Mina’s hug.
“Just remember, you’ve been through a lot. You start feeling tired or anything, you let
me know right away. Deal?” he held out
his hand.
“Deal!” Mina
grabbed Kano’s hand and shook it
fervently.
Mina watched Kano
retreat downstairs and after he had closed the attic door, she wolfed down her
milk gruel and water. “At least while
I’m working, I won’t have time to worry,” she mumbled, tossing her sweaty
nightgown aside before slipping into the leather dress Aeon and the others had
given her. After pulling it over her
head, she bolted downstairs, only to find Celine leaning against the wall, her
arms crossed and a contemplative look adorning her face.
“I knew you’d
manage to convince him,” she muttered.
“Any word from
Daryl?” Mina furtively murmured, “Is she going to tell Angelo?”
“No. We agreed that starting a war between the
border guard and a lich isn’t too smart.
For now, we’re sticking to my story.
Though, I don’t know why you’d be so worried about that. Didn’t he threaten that promise out of you?”
Celine raised an eyebrow. “Now that
we’re back home, it’s okay to tell the priests, right?”
“Uh-uh,” Mina
shook her head. “I…he asked me to keep
his secret and I felt it was the least I could do. He did save me, even if he is a-” a shiver
ran through Mina’s body and she decided not to finish that sentence.
“Anyway, I’m
just glad you’re up and about,” Celine smiled, ruffling Mina’s emerald
hair. “Now let’s see if the old man’s
ready for us.”
Taking
Celine’s hand, Mina followed her into the kitchen. Mina felt her stomach gurgle slightly when
she saw Kano peeling meat from a
skull that was half as tall as she was.
It protruded out further than a human’s and had three long curved horns
jutting out to the right, left, and behind the skull.
“Well, you two
don’t waste any time,” he muttered, depositing the meat into an iron pan. “Here.
Serve up!” Kano smiled at
them before handing four trays to Celine and two to Mina.
Celine headed
into the tavern first, but Mina stopped before leaving the kitchen. She heard a loud “Sqwuark!” and glanced
around. Sitting next to Kano
was a small cage with a feathery apocra inside it. It had two long wings that ended in sharp
talons, two scaly feet, and a serpentine tail.
The creature had a red crest of feathers on its head, a long beak, and
cockles that hung under its chin. What
Mina noticed most, however, was that it was blindfolded.
“A
cockatrice?” Mina mumbled. “Uncle, why-”
“For dinner,” Kano
said, cracking an egg into his skillet.
“Aurox meet gets boring after a while and Giles was kind enough to give
me a good price on this one. He’s an
oldie, but we gotta keep him blindfolded till I can cook him. I dunno about you, but I don’t wanna be
paralyzed by that stare.”
“Hehe, me
either, uncle,” Mina let out a short laugh.
Turning on her
heel, Mina headed out of the kitchen and into the tavern. Her pace quickened as the weight of the two
trays started to make Mina’s arms wobble and she had to sprint over to Wrec’s
table and drop them both down before she toppled over.
“Woah, you
sure you’re okay?” Wrec mumbled, pulling out a chair for Mina to sit in. “Here, take second to catch your breath.”
“Ugh, I’m
fine. I wish people would stop babying
me!” Mina mumbled. Looking up, she saw
that Wrec was wearing the same blue and white uniform as the other border
guards. “Oh, hey! Morak let you in, did he?”
“Hehe, yes
indeed,” Wrec smirked, straightening out his new uniform. “After we got the order to return to Gesthal,
I went up to the Keval pass to check on things.
Morak was fighting off half a dozen skeletons with his sword. I tell ya, Mina, it was amazing! His sword kicked up whirlwinds each time he
swung it and a few of the others had flaming spears. Reminds me of when I was part of the Luvolian
army,” he laughed heartily. “He saw me
fighting off a Goetian with my bare hands and offered me a job right then and
there.”
“Deeds speak
louder than words for Morak,” Mina smiled.
“Anyway, how much are you getting paid?”
“Room, board,
and I get a stipend each week that I’m saving up for my family back home. All I have to do is keep watch with the
others in the Keval pass every couple of days.
Thankfully, your uncle let me keep his cloak for those long, cold nights
out there.”
Lowering her
eyes, Mina murmured, “I wish they’d gotten you a safer post…”
“Ah, don’t
worry! I’m a Therian, remember? I’m tough!” Wrec chuckled, digging into his
food with a vengeance. “Oh, but that
means I won’t be around as often, so story time might have to wait. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,”
Mina smiled at his appetite. “I
understand. Should I fetch you seconds?”
“No!” Wrec
looked up and fervently shook his head.
“I need to save every copper I can!
If I eat light, I can add a little extra to my stipend each week.”
“Alright,”
Mina stifled a giggle before getting back to her feet. “Good luck.”
Heading back
to the kitchen, Celine passed her with a second set of trays in her arms while Kano
had a much smaller tray waiting for her.
“Next time I better let Celi handle Wrec. Never seen such a big eater…” he mumbled,
handing her the small tray of food. “You
oughta be able to handle this one. It
goes to your other rescuer.”
Nodding, Mina
headed to a table in the back of the tavern where Nivtenc sat alone. Laying the tray down in front of him, she saw
him pull out a flask from under the table and empty it into his drinking mug. When he saw her staring at it, Nivtenc
quickly hid the flask and addressed her.
“Good
morning,” he bowed his head cordially.
“Are you feeling better? Your
presence has been missed.”
“Hehe, no need
to be so polite,” Mina chuckled. “I do
owe you my life, after all.”
“No. Wrec and I merely had the good fortune of
finding you. You survived the flaming
rocks all on your own.”
“I guess…”
Mina stammered, averting her eyes from him.
Tilting his
head, Nivtenc looked at Mina from across the table and said, “You have
something on your mind, do you not?
Please, tell me what ails you.”
He gestured to an empty seat across from him.
Looking over
her shoulder, Mina saw Celine deliver her trays to the border guard and sprint
back to the kitchen for more. With a sigh,
she shrugged and took a seat across from Nivtenc. “You’re a traveler, right?”
“Indeed,”
Nivtenc nodded. “I have spent many a
year traversing the Aridian deserts and ventured across much of Lucaria. I even visit the Umbran Bazaar in Telnumbra,
on occasion.”
Stifling a
grin, Mina replied, “I did too, when I was a kid…” Mina raised her eyes to face
Nivtenc, but his eyes were obscured by the white clothe draped all over his
face. “I used to travel with a
caravan…and we met all sorts of people.
Teythens, therians, neeg, nagas, beholders…even a few anubians. Not all of them were nice, but I never had a
reason to fear any of them.”
Tilting his
head again, Nivtenc mused, “But recently you have?”
“Not
recently,” Mina wrapped her arms around her legs and sat in the fetal position
in her chair. “When I was six, my
caravan was attacked and I lost both my parents. An undead did it. He…he scared me. Wreathed in fire and cackling like a mad
man…I’ve been afraid of undead ever since.
Everyone in Lucaria says that’s normal, but…is it?”
“I cannot say
for certain,” Nivtenc shrugged. “I have
nearly fallen prey to mummies and skeletons in Aridia, but I’ve also been saved
by a charismatic necromancer who used her undead minions to help others.”
Looking over at Angelo and his priests, Nivtenc drew closer to Mina and
gestured for her to draw near as well.
“You may not believe it, but I even owe some degree of fealty to a lich,”
he whispered.
Mina’s eyes
widened and she scooted away from the table, trying not to look too
shocked. “R-really…I-I didn’t know
that!” she stammered, trying to keep her voice low.
Nivtenc
observed her for a moment before saying, “It is not how you envision it, I
assure you.”
“Wh-what do
you mean?” Mina mumbled.
“Most people
fear liches for their grim visage and startling power,” Nivtenc said, “However,
in Aridia, we had a greater fear.
Djinni.”
“Djinni?” Mina
repeated the word, trying to sound as if she didn’t know what it meant.
“Yes. Apocra with fire for blood and wind for
legs. They are fearful creatures who can
come in all shapes and sizes. Normally,
they stick to their own cities, hidden beneath the sands. However, they grew rambunctious a decade or
so ago and threatened my people. A lich
came in with an army of undead, apocra, and conjurers and beat back the djinni,
all the while protecting my people. He
did so to offer us a trade agreement. We
accepted his agreement and his forces became the guardians of our villages.”
“But…isn’t
Aridia part of Lucarian territory?”
“It is, but no
priest would desire to live in the desert,” Nivtenc chuckled. “It is a harsh life. However, we have learned to enjoy it. In fact, I prefer the blazing sun to this
frigid snow.”
“That’s not
what I meant!” Mina hissed. “How…how
could you let a lich into Lucaria?!”
Nivtenc fell
silent for a moment, occasionally looking over at Angelo and the priests before
he finally replied. “We merely adapted
to survive. It is the Aridian way. He wanted to trade with us and offered us
protection as well as money. We did not
betray Lucaria. We merely made a
business deal with Telnumbra.”
“So, even
though he protects you…you’re still loyal to Lucaria?”
“We require
Lucaria’s trade to survive,” Nivtenc said, “We stay loyal to them so long as
they will trade with us. You see, in
Aridia, water is scarce and the food is bland, but many rare items can be found
in the desert, provided one knows where to look. Rare items that those in Constantine or
Diarma would pay handsomely for. Take
this for example,” he said, pulling out a serrated beige sword that resembled
the jaw of a gigantic insect and laid it on the table. “This sword was crafted from the pincer of a
mandiblar and can slice through nearly anything. The blade and the hilt can only be acquired
in Aridia.
Running her
fingers over sword from the jaw like blade to the oiled leather handle, Mina
could not hide her surprise and admiration for the weapon. “It’s beautiful,”
she murmured.
“Thank you,”
Nivtenc muttered, sheathing his sword.
“You see, items like this make trade possible with both Lucaria and
Telnumbra. Lucaria supports us, but we
saw no reason to fear or hate the lich.
He came to us wanting trade. So,
we agreed to trade with him.”
“What…umm…what
was he like?” Mina mumbled her heartbeat quickening. “Did you ever meet him?”
“Once, long
ago,” Nivtenc said, resting his head on his knuckles. “He had a cruel sense of humor and could be a
tad eccentric. However, he treated my
people with respect and always honored his word.”
“What was his
name?” Mina said, taking in a few quick, shallow breaths. “Was it The Molten Zombie?”
“Him?!”
Nivtenc nearly shouted, but kept his voice low after glancing over at the
border guard and priests. “Never! That barbarian leaves naught but scorched
earth in his wake! We treated with Suna,
the Blighted Corpse.”
“So not all
liches are…evil then?” Mina swallowed hard.
“I have heard
stories that liches are little different from humans,” Nivtenc said. “Some are kind, some are cruel, and some are
noble at heart. One cannot judge all liches
from encountering a specific one.”
Allowing
herself to exhale, Mina reclined in her chair.
“Right. I…I’d forgotten that.”
“Hmm?”
“My mother and
father had a rule like that,” Mina said, getting to her feet. “They didn’t care how someone looked or what
race they were. You couldn’t know
someone from just one glance, after all.”
She smiled at Nivtenc and bowed to him.
“Thank you for listening to me.”
“It was my
pleasure, Mina.”
Scampering
back to the kitchen, Mina nearly bumped into Celine, who was returning to the
kitchen bearing six empty trays.
“Well, you’re
not overworking yourself, at least,” she chuckled. Grabbing the last tray Kano
had lain out, she handed it to Mina.
“This is the last one. I took
care of the rest already.”
Glancing down
at the tray, Mina let out a short sigh.
“Sorry, Celi. I came down here to
help, but I’ve just been dawdling.”
“Don’t sweat
it,” Celine laughed and gave Mina a playful punch to the arm. “If you wanna do me a favor though, take the
last table,” she pointed to a figure in a long brown cloak, “I’m gonna go check
on Daryl. She hasn’t been with the
priests for the last few days.”
“Say hey for
me, if you see her,” Mina winked at Celine.
The two girls headed into the tavern together, but parted halfway in. Celine headed outside while Mina laid the tray
down in front of the cloaked figure and said, “Sorry for the wait. We’ve been a bit short staffed lately because
I’ve been sick.”
“So sorry to
hear that, little Mina.” Mina’s eyes widened when the figure pulled back the
hood of her cloak to reveal a woman with dark bronze skin and violet hair which
had been brushed over her forehead to hide a pair of horns.
“Y-you’re-”
Mina stammered.
“Yes?” the
woman tickled Mina under the chin with her purple nails.
“M-Miss Kinana?”
Mina swallowed hard and blushed a deep shade of red.
“You
remembered!” she clapped her hands together and giggled. Pulling a chair free with her tail, she
patted the seat. “I’m flattered. I had worried you might have just forgotten
me,” she added, pouting with her lips.
“Hehe,” Mina
let out a nervous chuckle, “Believe me, I doubt I could ever forget
you.”
The sound of
the door closing brought Mina to attention and she looked to the tavern’s
door. Angelo and his priests had vacated
their table and disappeared outside.
Save for their absence, the tavern was normal, filled with the wild
stories and outrageous boasts of the border guards, the occasionally nervous
glances of the villagers at the travelers and the exhausted looks of the
travelers at the villagers.
Zipping into
the chair Kinana had pulled out, Mina drew close to Kinana and hissed, “What do
you think you’re doing here?! This is
where I live!”
“Hmm?” Kinana
recoiled with surprise. “Why, I was
worried about you, of course! And with
good reason…look at you,” the succubus replied glumly, taking Mina’s wrist and
glaring at it. “Your skin’s clinging
tighter to your bones…you’re losing nourishment by the day.”
“How…how can
you even be here without Aeon’s permission?!” Mina grunted, ignoring Kinana’s words.
“Our contract
is fairly liberal,” Kinana furrowed her brow.
“I can do as I please, for the most part. I just contact him from the pits and ask him
to summon me. So long as I…behave, he
lets me do as I wish. Now, will you
listen to me? I need to take you back to-”
Kinana stopped
mid sentence when she saw Mina’s eyes widen.
The girl jerked her hand away from the succubus and scooted her chair
away from her. “I won’t go back!” she
hissed. “I-I can talk with the priests
about my illness. Angelo is pretty
skilled at healing magic an-”
“It won’t
work,” Kinana shook her head before slumping in her seat, “Sure, they could
remove the soul satchern, but…not in enough time to save your life. Besides that, once it’s taken out, you’d have
to explain how a Telnumbran apocra got into your body. And I doubt that would end well for any of
us,” she lowered her eyes and sighed.
“Hey, Mina!”
Both Mina and Kinana looked up and saw Kano
approaching them, wiping his greasy hands on his apron as he walked. “Everything okay over there?”
“Umm…this is
my last table, uncle,” Mina stammered.
“Hehe, you
sure do like talking with travelers…though I hafta admit, we don’t get many as
beautiful as this one,” he smiled, bowing to Kinana. “I was surprised that such a pretty lady would
come looking for a room in my inn so late.”
“Thank you for
being flexible last night, innkeeper,” Kinana courteously replied. “So you’re Minava’s uncle? Hmmhmm, I had no idea. I suspect she gets her good looks from your
side of the family,” the succubus laughed.
“True enough,
but not from me,” Kano
snickered. “Her mother was quite a
looker.” Composing himself, Kano
shook his head and added, “B-but that’s not why I’m here. There’s something important I need to discuss
with you.”
I’ll be done
in a bit, uncle,” Mina frowned, shooing him away. “You can flirt with Miss Kinana later!”
“Kinana, eh?” Kano
called after turning and heading for the kitchen. “Why wouldn’t you give me your name at the
door?”
“I was just
waiting for the right opportunity!” Kinana called back and winked.
“You stay away
from him!” Mina snarled. “I won’t let
you-”
“Weren’t you
listening?” Kinana childishly ruffled her hair.
“I have to behave when I’m out on my own. I was just teasing. But…Mina, you really do need to go back,” she
reached out and touched Mina’s hand.
“Your body’s just going to keep getting weaker if you don’t.”
Gritting her
teeth, Mina lowered her eyes. “I-I don’t
know if I can go back. Every time
I think about him my body just…” Mina shuddered and wrapped her hands around
her legs. “I know he saved me…I know
he’s not like the others…but-”
“If you’re not
going to do it for your own sake, then think of those you’ll hurt when you fall
sick without Aeon to help you,” Kinana murmured somberly. Gathering her cloak around her, Kinana got to
her feet, leaving her food untouched.
“I’ll take my leave for now, but I’ll be watching…just in case you need
me,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice before strolling over to the
door and heading outside.
Mina’s
shoulders drooped and she slunk out of the noisy tavern, past the kitchen,
where Kano was cleaning his pans
and humming to himself, and into the attic.
Crawling into a dark corner, she shook her head and sighed. “What do I do?”
Minutes ticked
by and Mina’s stomach began to rumble.
Her body felt stiff and her skin tight against her bones as she squatted
in that dark corner. Closing her eyes,
Mina dozed for several minutes until she heard some knocks on the attic
door. “Mina, it’s us!” Celine’s voice
called out.
Scampering to
her feet, Mina pulled the door open and welcomed Celine and Daryl inside. “Mina,” Daryl said, forcing her way inside
and putting her hands against Mina’s face.
“You…you don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine,”
Mina snapped, plopping down on her bed.
“Stop worrying so much!”
“Still, maybe
we should tell Angelo about the lich…or at least about your sickness,” Daryl
rubbed her lower lip. “It could get
worse if we leave it untreated…”
“Yeah, that’s
a grand idea, princess,” Celine sighed.
“And how should we explain her sickness?
‘Hey, Angelo! No, we didn’t do
anything unusual, just strolled through a lich’s fortress!’”
“Well what do
you think we should do, vagabond?!” Daryl snapped.
“We can’t
tell…” Mina mumbled, her eyes growing heavy.
“Miss Kinana was here this morning.
She said she’d be watching…us…”
All the color
left Daryl’s face and Celine furrowed her brow.
“That succubus…she seemed friendly enough, but-” Celine started to say.
“You’re
missing the point!” Daryl exclaimed. “They’re
spying on us! Now, if we talk with
Angelo, they’ll know and they might seek retribution!”
“I don’t think
so,” Mina shook her head. “She seemed
worried about me,” she rubbed her eyes and reclined on her bed. Squirming in place, Mina let out a tiny yelp
and groggily looked over at Celine and Daryl, who were both staring at
her. “Sorry…I guess I’m…” she paused to
yawn, “A little sleepy.” Pressure
started to build up on Mina’s chest and she put her hand over her heart.
“Are you
okay?” Celine whispered, feeling Mina’s forehead.
“I feel
weak. I…I’m tired, Celi,” Mina stretched
out on her bed without changing out of her work dress.
Celine and
Daryl exchanged worried glances. “We don’t have to decide today. You’re still recovering from the shock and the
surgery,” Celine murmured, pulling Mina’s blanket over her. “Why don’t you just rest and tomorrow we’ll
talk some more.”
“Okay…” Mina
pulled the blanket around her and suppressed a gasp as sharp pains shot through
her arms and legs, as well as her chest.
She listened as Celine and Daryl trudged out of the attic.
“We can’t just
leave her like that,” Celine hissed, just loud enough for Mina to hear as they
were leaving.
“I know but
she won’t go back to the lich, so…” Daryl retorted.
“Tonight, we
look for a doctor who might know about her sickness. I won’t to lose her,” Celine said, just
before the attic door closed.
“Celi…I’m
sorry,” Mina whispered before falling into an uneasy slumber.
*
Holding a hand
over her mouth, Mina stifled a yawn and sat up.
Blinking furiously, her eyes slowly grew accustomed to the darkness of
the attic. A few stars shed some light
in through the attic window and as her eyes adjusted she noticed Celine’s back
heaving to and fro, as well as a soft snore escaping from her side of the room.
Feeling her
heart, Mina grimaced as a sharp pain slid through her body. Holding out her hand, Mina thrust it into the
starlight cast by the window. Even in
the dim light, her skin and muscles seemed to be shrinking over her bones. Glancing back up at Celine, Mina’s heart
began to pound and Kinana’s words echoed in her ears.
“If you’re not
going to do it for your own sake, then think of those you’ll hurt when you fall
sick without Aeon to help you.”
Swallowing
hard, Mina nodded and crept out of bed.
She headed to the attic’s door, but stopped when Celine muttered in her
sleep, “I can…stay? Really?”
Skulking over
to Celine’s bed, Mina took a seat on the edge and touched the bronze skinned
girl’s hand. “It’s been four years….back
then, you were scared and frantic, like a wild apocra. After uncle Kano
and I took you in, I used to worry about you all the time. But look how the tables have turned,” Mina
sighed, gingerly fingering Celine’s blonde hair. “Now, you’re the one worried about me…but not
anymore,” she got to her feet and tip toed over to the door out of the attic. “After tonight, it’ll all be over, Celi. I promise.”
As she spoke, Mina’s voice became little more than a whimper.
Putting her
hand over her rapidly beating heart, Mina tried to stay quiet, even as pain
raced through her stiff arms and legs.
Her heart ached with each breath she took, but Mina ignored the pain and
carefully made her way downstairs. A
loud snore from Kano’s bedroom next
to the kitchen made Mina freeze in place, but as soon as she heard him roll
over, she resumed moving. Stumbling
through the deserted tavern, she pulled the door open and stepped outside.
Snow still
littered the ground and Mina shivered in the cold night air. Save for the stars and a slender moon up
above, it was pitch black outside.
Hugging her leather dress close to her, Mina carefully walked through
the snow, taking small steps so as not to wake anyone.
Mina treaded
carefully, stepping into the footprints of others in the snow until the dark
shapes of Gesthal’s many buildings faded from sight. When she could no longer differentiate them,
Mina threw caution to the wind and began running through the snow. With ice crunching under her shoes, she made
her way towards the mountains, stopping short of them to head in the direction
of the nearby forest. Her breath came
out in jagged bursts as the pain made her body stiff and unwieldy. Nonetheless, the fourteen year old girl kept
on moving until she caught sight of the smooth hill that concealed Acacia.
Raising her
hand to knock on the hill, Mina stopped when she felt something warm and woolen
fall over her shoulders. Spinning
around, Mina’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open. Standing shivering in the snow and covered in
sweat were Celine and Daryl. Celine had
a wry grin on her face, while Daryl’s eyes were filled with a mix of fear,
worry, and grogginess.
“Sorry it took
us so long to get here. I had to wake
the princess up and then we had to find our way out,” Celine said.
“Y-you…but…how…?”
Mina stammered.
“I-It’s
g-getting w-worse, right?” Daryl’s teeth chattered as she spoke. “W-we c-couldn’t find a d-doctor…so when
C-Celine saw you leave we th-thought…where else would you go?”
Pulling the
woolen blanket tight around her, Mina lowered her eyes. “Are you two really okay with this?”
“No, not
really,” Celine snorted, “But given the circumstances…we don’t really have a
choice, do we?”
Lowering her
eyes, Mina whispered, “Thank you.”
“Th-thank us
later!” Daryl snapped. “For now, just
open the d-damn thing so we can get out of the c-c-cold!”
“R-right!”
Mina exclaimed. She spun around and
rapped three times on the exterior of the smooth hill. Instantly, an iron door melted out of the
side.
Celine and
Daryl stepped up and grabbed the metal door’s handle. They both had to pull hard to dislodge it,
but eventually they managed to drag the door open. The trio scooted into the warm darkness and pulled
the door shut after them.
“Hold on, I’ve
got a light,” Daryl mumbled. Mina saw a
sphere of light bloom in the palm of her hand and hover over it. “Well…may as well get going,” she sighed,
sounding anything but confident.
The sphere of
light illuminated their way through the stone corridor however Mina soon began
to lag behind Celine and Daryl. “W-wait!”
she panted. “I…”
Before she
could say anything further, Celine raced back and knelt down in front of her,
hauling Mina onto her back. “There we
go. Comfy?” Celine smiled warmly at her,
though worry was etched all over her face.
Lowering her eyes, Mina nodded.
After several
minutes of being carried on Celine’s back Mina mumbled, “I’m sorry…I didn’t
want to be dead weight, so I thought if I did this by myself I’d spare you the
worry.”
“Yeah, we
figured that much out already,” Daryl muttered.
“That was pretty stupid.”
“Daryl!”
Celine snapped.
“Well it
was! I mean, you didn’t leave me in the
dust when I started whining and crying during that raid…so, what? Did you think we’d abandon you?”
“No, I…I just
don’t want to be a burden,” Mina sighed.
“You’re never
a burden,” Celine whispered. “If I
recall correctly, I still owe you from when you and Kano
took me in off the street. Oh, and just
to be clear, I wasn’t scared…I was being cautious.”
“You heard all
that?” Mina groaned.
“Like I said,”
Celine chuckled, “You’re too easy to fool.
Even after four years, I still sleep with at least one eye and one ear
open.”
“Celi…you
couldn’t have just ignored all that?” Mina blushed deeply.
“Hey, we’re
there,” Daryl called, closing her hand around the sphere of light. The three of them stepped through another
doorway and entered Acacia. The island
was dark, however all around them were a myriad of glowing lights dotting the
landscape, offering just enough illumination to see where everything was.
“Beautiful…”
Mina craned her head to look over Celine’s shoulder.
“Ssh, I hear
something,” Celine muttered, tightening her hold on Mina.
“I-it’s not
the machinery again, is it?!” Daryl whimpered.
“No, it sounds
more like…something’s climbing out of the valley,” Celine said, turning towards
the desolate valley to her left.
The sound of
scratching on the valley’s stone walls soon became loud enough for all three
girls to hear and before they knew it, a giant paw, with only a little rotted
flesh covering the bone, reached out over the cliff face. Another paw followed, covered with a bit more
flesh and some fur. There was an audible
scrabbling in front of them until a large apocra managed to pull itself onto
the grassy meadow the girls were standing in.
The apocra
supported itself on four legs, though each leg looked skeletal and unstable,
and had three monstrous heads, with elongated snouts and arrow shaped
ears. Of the six eyes the three heads
shared, only four had any light in them and they gave the three girls an amused
look. Three tongues hung out of the
panting apocra’s mouths and it wagged a bony tail behind it.
“An…apocra?”
Celine grunted.
“An undead
apocra!” Daryl exclaimed
“Wait, does
that mean-” Mina started to say, but was cut off by a loud yawn and the
smacking of lips. “Look! There, on it’s back!”
The three of
them looked up and saw a little girl in a white night gown reclining on the undead
apocra’s back, curled up in its molting fur as if it were a feather
mattress. The apocra nuzzled her with
one of its noses and she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Using her toy scepter as brace, she stumbled
to her feet and pulled at several knots in her long, black hair.
“N-Nerise?”
Daryl called out.
The undead apocra
stopped in its tracks and looked over at them, smiling and panting
playfully. “What is it, boy?” the girl
on the back of the three headed beast yawned and patted its neck. Turning her eyes to the three girls in front
of her, Nerise’s eyes gradually widened and a smile burst onto her lips.
“Dary!” she
cried, jumping off the apocra. She
landed nimbly on the ground and tackled Daryl to the grassy floor, giggling
uncontrollably all the while.
No comments:
Post a Comment