Author's note: I noticed there is very few Ben Finn stories out there, and he is such a great character and I would have loved to have my character romance him. The beginning of this is a tad slow and takes place just before Walter and the Princess get to Mourningwood Fort; so good times and Hobbe slaying ahead! Hope you enjoy!
"You doing alright?" she heard Walter say from beside her as they sat on the bench and waited for the monorail car.
"Yes, I'm just very tired..."she replied looking over to her faithful mentor and companion and tried to give him a reassuring smile.
"I know what you mean, you've done well though...When we get to Mourningwood Fort we'll take a quick rest; though I doubt you'll find the facilities anything like the castles'." he replied giving her a warm pat on the shoulder and then gave a gruff chuckle.
"Any bed would do at this point." she said with a sigh at the thought of, perhaps being able to sleep in a bed instead of on the ground next to a fire pit.
Walter gave a whole-hearted laugh and gave her shoulder a little shake.
The princess suddenly saw Ambrose, her furry friend at her feet pick up his head and stare off into the distance.
"What is it boy?" she asked with a smile and leaned over and ruffled the fur on his head affectionately. "Is the car finally coming?"
She heard Walter groan.
"The only time ever..." he said as he reluctantly stood up, stretching his sore muscles.
"I'm sure it won't be all that bad." she said looking down the hanging tracks, listening intently for the rumble of a steam engine.
A loud whistle echoed in the distance, and slowly the steam boxcar emerged from the dense mist of the rocky tunnel and rolled towards the station.
"Balls..." muttered the old soldier and began to walk down to the boarding platform stiffly.
Yvette chuckled softly to herself and followed after Walter, ready to start moving again.
As they were descending the stairs a sudden eerie screech reverberated throughout the station, causing the soldier and the princess to stop in their tracks.
Another screeching whine and everyone in the station turned and looked up at the monorail car that had stopped oddly short of the boarding platform.
It suddenly began to shake and teeter on its' tracks, the screeches and whines from the engine growing. Flames suddenly erupted from the pistons and gears, quickly engulfing the car; the screams of the passengers crying out form help were nearly swallowed up by the roar of the spreading fire.
"By the Hero Queen." Walter gasped and looked up at the flaming monorail in horror.
"If the fire reaches the engines-" Yvette began when the car exploded.
As slabs of the car began to fall into the open chasm below, the rail holding up the smoldering transport groaned and snapped, sending the remaining carriage into the abyss below.
"We have to help them!" Walter roared and bolted forward down the rest of the stairs and rushed towards the platform the princess and her faithful hound right on his heels.
Hurriedly the pushed through the crowd that had gather, all standing in shock and horror, murmuring softly to one another about what had just occurred.
"We need to get down there!" the old soldier said back to his companions, a look of determination on his weathered face.
"How...?" Yvette asked glancing to the barred gate ahead of them, if they couldn't find a way to unlock the gate, they were going nowhere.
Walter glanced back to the gate, his eyes narrowing before stepping towards the gate; unsheathing his sword.
"What are you doing?" she asked in mild concern, as she starred at the sharped blade.
"Unlocking this bloody gate!" Walter replied gruffly and jammed the blade between two of the rungs on the gate.
For a moment she feared the blade would bend or worse brake under the strain of Walter's pushing and pulling.
The iron gate burst open with a loud whine; Walter's blade whooshed back, the tip nearly nicking the tip of Yvette's nose, causing her to jump back in surprise at the close call.
"Come on!" he said wasting no time in rushing forwards through the now broken gate.
Yvette paused for just a moment, to shake the feeling of surprise of nearly getting sliced across the face, before whistling to her furry companion and running off to try and catch up with Walter.
As they descended down the rickety old iron staircase into the ebbing light of the chasm, Yvette couldn't help but feel something ominous was ahead of them, and she began to feel very uneasy. At her side her faithful hound whined softly, tucking his tail between his legs.
"What is it boy?" she whispered somewhat nervously, pulling out her pistol and hugging it to herself tightly.
They were almost at the bottom, and the air had grow thick and stale.
"It must have fallen somewhere around here..." Walter said back, looking around in the darkness, as they stood on the rocky earth once more.
An eerie cackle suddenly echoed throughout the darkness.
"What was that...?" the princess asked shakily, feeling the hair on the back of her neck begin to stand on end.
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Walter said lowly, slowly drawing his sword out and taking a few cautious steps forward.
As they edged further into the cave they began to see a soft glow at the bend ahead; it flickered an swayed the shadows such as a fire would.
"Do you see that?" Yvette questioned her mentor, cocking her pistol.
"Aye, come on..." he replied tensely; briskly moving forward.
As they rounded the corner, weapons at the ready, Yvette felt a escape from her lungs; they had found the monorail car.
Still ablaze, the fire roaring and crackling in vigor; the old soldier sighed and shook his head sadly at the sight.
"Poor sods...didn't stand a chance..." he said grimly as he began to approach the flaming carriage.
As she went to follow Walter a sudden rustling and growling stopped her in her tracks. Before she or the soldier could do anything a pale grayish-green creature the size of a child jumped out from behind a large boulder near the roaring flames.
The creature looking around in curiosity, its' ugly face held an impish visage about it; quickly it spotted the three intruders and it let out a grating screech. Almost immediately a dozen more of its kin jumped out from their hiding places, snarling and brandishing poor, makeshift weapons.
"Hobbes...I had a feeling they were behind this..." Walter growled through gritted teeth as he gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.
Yvette looked around wildly, before picking a target and open firing on the Hobbe that had begun to run towards her, gurgling and cackling.
The bullet landed right between its' eyes, pushing it back into the flaming car.
Walter pushed to more back with the sweep of his sword,landing them in the heat of the dancing fire; the creatures screamed and cried as the flames consumed them.
After a small scuffle, Walter beheaded the last of the Hobbes and quickly sheathed his sword, grimacing at the blood rivulets that streaked the blade, he would have to clean it off later when they reached the fort.
"We should get moving..." he muttered, obviously annoyed at the little creatures appearance. "We should be able to find our way out form here."
Yvette holstered her pistol and clicked her tongue to Ambrose, who, much to Walter's and her own disgust was happily gnawing on a Hobbes leg.
"Come on boy!" she urged him as she quickly followed after Walter.
The cavern was beginning to reek of burning flesh, and she was all to happy to get away from the stench.
As they continued to venture further into the caverns, attempting to find a possible way out and not end up were they had started; Yvette found herself watching the shadows dance across the cave walls wearily. Each time she wondered if it was another ambush of Hobbes, or just her mind playing tricks on her.
"It's hard to believe they were once children." she heard Walter say.
"I thought those were just stories." she replied in nervous curiosity.'Could the stories really be true...'
At her side she suddenly heard Ambrose growl lowly; turning to him she saw him bristle, his hackles raised.
"Guess those little buggers what some more!" Walter roared, drawing his sword and racing forward.
Drawing her pistol once more she dashed after her mentor, trying her best not to pay any heed to the dancing shadows that danced upon to wall.
After around a half a dozen more skirmishes, a few scrapes and bruises and one very cold swim in the cavern river, Yvette was sore, tired and ready to collapse then and there.
"Hey, you see that up ahead?" she heard Walter say somewhat more cheerfully than he usually would have while being stuck in a cold dark cave.
Looking up from her tired feet she noticed that up ahead the cave seemed to open up and light began to filter into the chasm once more.
"The way out?" she asked hopefully looking over to Walter.
"We can only hope, lets go see."
With new found energy the three travelers moved briskly towards the brightening expanse; when the reached the airy chamber they paused, unsure of what to make of the sight before them.
It appeared to be an underground city, long forgotten and lost to ruin; a few stone pillars and partial buildings still stood, a reminder of what once was.
"How do you think all of this got here?" Yvette asked, carefully watching her step and staying clear of the long drop, off the narrow pathway.
"I doubt the Hobbes built it, if that's what you're asking." Walter replied looking around. "I don't think they're smart enough."
As they approached the center of the chamber Yvette noticed that a large colosseum-like structure stood tall and proud, despite its state of ruin. Once again she began to feel uneasiness creep back into her mind.
"Come on we're almost there." Walter called back as he broke into a trot and rushed through the stone archways that stood at the entrance to the colosseum.
Yvette hurried after him, not wishing to be let behind with the Hobbes; her furry companion right on her heels.
As soon as she ran through the doors of the arena she heard a loud cranking and then an earth shattering thud. She jumped in surprise and quickly spun around to see a large stone slab had closed over the entrance.
"Balls!" she heard Walter groan and she turned to see him standing in the center of the structure looking ahead to the exit which had been barred as well.
A cackling they had grown accustomed to over the past hour echoed through the air and Walter and the the princess looked up to see that they had been surrounded. A horde of Hobbes stood, fidgeting and chattering on top of the colosseum walls.
"This can't be good..." the old soldier grunted, weapon ready.
Yvette pulled out her sword, her trigger finger so tired and sore she didn't know if she would be able to fire anymore.
"We'll get out of here don't you worry!" Walter said back to her as the first wave descended down upon them.
Yvette had never been so happy to see the light and breath the fresh air as she limped out of the Hobbe infested cave with Walter right behind her and Ambrose at her side.
Walter gave a sigh of relief and then took a deep breath.
"Ah, the odd, heavy scent, warm soft ground,...Yes we're definitely in Mourningwood." he said taking a few steps out into the wooded area, feeling the soft ground beneath his feet squish slightly beneath his weight.
"An odd scent indeed..." Yvette said almost to herself, wrinkling her nose but deciding it was better than burning Hobbe flesh or the Bowerstone sewers.
Tiredly she took a seat on a took a seat on a fallen log, not far from the cave entrance as Walter pulled out a wrinkled old map from his pocket and starred at it momentarily before taking in his surroundings.
"Ah! I know where we are now!" he exclaimed and shoved the map back into his pocket.
He turned to the princess and waved her over.
"Come on, it's not much further now, and then we can take a rest." he called out to her.
She nodded, standing up and quickly stretched her aching muscles, and clicked her tongue at her dog, who trotted over to her and looked at her expectantly.
"Almost there boy..." she said and ruffled the fur on his head before following after Walter.
As she followed after the old soldier she couldn't help but hope a warm bath and a warm bed awaited her at the Fort.