The Takeover
Part One
Sciezka paused to stretch her back and look back down the steep hill she'd just scaled, shaking her head. Why had Ailious sent her that note to meet him here, of all places. She had left Mischa the crab with the stable master, seeing no need to drag him all the way here. She leaned against the statue of Janeiro to catch her breath, then tossed her pack down in the shadow of the foot. She didn't know how long it would take for Ailious to get there, so she planned on making a few potions while she waited. Something caught her eye, and she kneeled down to find a set of shackles set into the base of the statue.
"Why is this…" A dark shadow loomed over her, and she turned around, just barely catching sight of someone before she was struck on the head and fell to the ground, unconscious.
Sciezka opened her eyes, and then shut them again a sharp pain burned its way through her head. She cupped her head in her hands, and then blinked her eyes open as she heard a clinking sound. Locked around her wrists were the shackles she'd seen earlier. She tugged on them in disbelief, but they wouldn't budge.
"What is this? Ailious, why did you…" She stopped as she realized that, except for her cloak, her armor was completely gone. She squeaked in surprise and tried to wrap the cloak around her. She looked around frantically, and spotted her pack where she had dropped it earlier. She dug through it, and pulled out a healing potion and the only other piece of clothing she had with her. She groaned and dropped her aching head against the cool stone of the statue.
"Oh, wouldn't it be that THIS is the only thing I have…" she muttered as she held up the flimsy little bit of red cloth that pretended to be a dress. She winced as another pain shot through her head, and drank the potion. She smiled in relief as the potion did its work, then winced again at the thought of the dress.
"Well, it can't be helped. It's either sit here in only a cloak, or put on the dress…" She sighed as she pulled on the dress. "At least it doesn't have sleeves, or I'd never be able to get it on," she muttered as she tied the tiny little straps around her neck.
"I don't know that this is really any better than just the clo…" a roar cut off her musing, and Sciezka froze in shock. She carefully inched over and peeked around the side of the statue. On the other side of the tiny little island was possibly the worst thing she could think of. A giant, his huge hammer waving menacingly in the air, paced back and forth and shouted out to someone named Smotts. Sciezka froze for a moment, then darted back in front of the statue, tugging on the shackles again. After several moments of frantic activity, Sciezka collapsed at the foot of the statue, panting heavily. She pulled her pack close to her and hoped that someone would discover she was missing, or she could very well end up a meal for a very angry giant.