The chilly wind whipped around the huddled figures of a woman and child as they ducked into a small copse in a shallow dip up the hill?
"Where are we GOING?! They'll see us on the hill! It's not dark yet.!" the little girl whined.
"Mimi, I know this is hard but keep going I know what I'm doing." I don't. The old woman thought but this was the last resort. Since the deaths of her master after their laboratory had been ransacked by religious fanatics, she had been Mimi's only companion.
They had been on the run ever since along with other refugees. No refuge was forthcoming for them though. Mimi's late guardians had a reputation that had gone a long way and Mimi was caught up in this simply by existing. However, she had some unique talents that were much sought after, particularly if you did not care about the law. Or decency, M'hindra thought.
Things were bad. Mimi had stopped complaining as now it had been a full day since they'd eaten anything and all that was was some raw swedes and some late apples they had scavenged.
"When are we ever going to stop? M'hindra? Please?" Mimi's voice was cracking.
"Not long now. We have to scramble down from the top onto the ledge. Oh...!" She froze. She heard scrambling in the undergrowth.
"Stop talking - move! They're right behind us!"
M'hindra half-led and pushed Mimi through the undergrowth until they were in the open. They sprinted over the summit.
"MIMI! Don't turn around! RUN!" Mimi ran, her head down, struggling not to trip.
"M'hindra?!"
"JUST RUN! I'm behind you! UH!"
"M'hindra! There's a cliff!"
M'hindra gasped. A searing pain ran down her flank. Poison dart. They would be on them in less than a minute.
"Mimi - jump off the cliff! Trust me - the bushes"
Mimi looked back at M'hindra. She could here the footsteps speeding up.
"MIMI!"
M'hindra staggered as best she could - feeling fresh waves of pain shoot down her legs. She jumped and grabbed Mimi. They landed in the dense, thorny canopy just next to the cliff.
"Ahhh!"
M'hindra clamped her hand over Mimi's mouth.
"Quiet!"
They heard scrabbling and some curse words then silence.
"They'll be back soon. With dogs but we've...just about.. got time."
They were still waiting above the cliff.
"M'Hindra?"
Her laboured breathing was giving it away. Her face was slick with sweat despite the chill. She swallowed hard.
"Mimi, trust me, we are in the right place. But we have to push trough the thorn bushes we landed in. They're hiding where we have to go. I know you don't want to do it - it's harder when you're hungry and tired but we need to get through the thorn bushes. Quickly.!"
The little girl sighed. This hurt her every time but what was the choice. There was a flicker and a pop and a small bear cub occupied the space that Mimi had. Its small claws but powerful arms made short work of the undergrowth. With difficulty, M'hindra crawled into the tunnel carved by the small bear.
WHUMP!
"Mimi! They're coming! Faster!"
Mimi scrabbled harder then came to an abrupt halt as the thorn bushes gave way to a slick curved surface. It felt vaguely warm.
"Mimi! You've done it !" M'hindra hissed. This is it!"
The little bear halted in puzzlement.
"Uhn...Ah! Don't stop moving. Keep going."
There was another pop and Mimi returned to her true form.
"What are we crawling along? Why is it so smooth?"
The only light they could see was that filtering from between the tangled bushes outside of this strange cave.
"Trust me, Mimi. This is the place of legend...Or !."
"M'hindra! you're hurt!"
"Ah...yes. Dart...But we must keep going. Haven't far...to go now. If I can't go on...Don't stop. Don't...look back"
"But it's dark. And I don't want to leave you!"
"M'hindra! No!"
Mimi grabbed her arm. Both of them continued crawling along the slick surface of the narrow cave. The floor now had a noticeable downward slope, causing both to slip.
"Uh...I don't know if I can go on down here - it's too steep - ahhhhh!"
As one, they slid down the incline, screaming in the pitch blackness, then found themselves in free-fall. They felt a sudden jolt in their abdomen then blackness.
-
The freezing wind was the first thing that Mimi felt when she awoke. M'hindra was nearby, still unconscious and breathing noisily. For a brief moment she thought she was still in the place they had fled but saw that the sky had a weird purple light that hurt her eyes if she looked at it for too long. The land was well lit but desolate - not a single blade of grass could be seen anywhere. Some of the rocks glowed in strange ways in the weird, flickering light.
"M'Hindra?"
"Uhnnnnn..."
"Where are we?"
M'hindra groaned. With difficulty she got up to her feet. Whatever this place was, her desperate gamble had worked. To a point. But what now?
"Ahhhh!"
"M'Hindra!"
"Don't worry about me. We are away! We are...free. They won't come...here."
"But what is here, M'hindra?"
What is here? M'Hindra looked around. Behind them there was a vast castle - less a structure, more a piece of shaped void. And there were three figures headed towards them.
M'hndra gasped and drew Mimi towards her.
"What's happening? You said we could be safe!"
"We...we just wait. They...might not be hostile."
She sank onto the ground, it was a small mercy that the ground was dry but now she couldn't stand up. Not long now, whatever happened.
The figures approached with the determined gait of a patrol but appeared to be wearing armour. It was only as they came closer their bizarre appearance was apparent. The guards were only around M'hindra's height but were clad in heavy scale armour with what looked like large shields on their backs. Their faces did not look human - they had leathery skin and what looked like beaks. On closer examination their armour appeared to be part of their body, not unlike that of a beetle's wing case. In addition to this they carried spears and work helmets and sashes in dark blue and white which was presumably their livery.
"Now what!" Mimi whispered to M'Hindra. "What are THEY?!"
"Let's see. Let's see"
The guards eyed them suspiciously. They spoke but their language was unknown to Mimi or M'hindra. The guard on the far left had a more elaborate sash shushed the guard who spoke. He seemed to be the one in charge.
Mimi stood up and put her hands up over her head. The chief guard nodded and gestured for M'hindra to do the same. M'hindra rose up with difficulty with Mimi assisting her. The two other guards gestured with their spears indicating that they should come with them. Mimi and M'hindra looked at each other and nodded. Mimi started to walk, holding M'Hindra's hand. But M'Hindra collapsed as soon as she tried to walk.
One of the guards prodded M'hindra with his spear. His superior snarled at him and pushed it away. He gestured at the two others to assist M'hindra in walking to the Castle to which they complied.
Mimi walked in silence, only broken by M'hindra's ragged gasps even though the journey was short. It dawned on Mimi that M'hindra had been trying to tell her that she hadn't long to live after being hit by the dart. Better not show that. She swallowed the ball of dread that was ever present and continued onwards.
They passed through the immense gatehouse into the main part of the Castle. It was an immense structure seemingly constructed of smooth black stone so dark that it was as if the night itself had been made a solid object. Their way was lit by torches shedding a flat white light which seemed more to give a shape to the darkness. Here and there windows framed the chaotic purple sky outside.
They had been been walking with their escort seemingly longer than it took to get to the Castle from outside when they left the windows behind and entered a maze-like network of corridors. This took longer as the guards holding M'hindra were struggling as she got weaker. Along with the torches, strange geometric patterns decorated the walls, breaking up the monotonous blackness as they headed further into the castle.
Finally, they went though an archway to somewhere made of more ordinary stone and with a ceiling that didn't soar off into the darkness. It was the first place in the Castle that looked like people could live there. The guards met up with others in the same livery and exchanged greetings. The two subordinant guards left, leaving the leader along. He gestured for M'Hindra to sit, with Mimi standing behind her.
Another guard returned but with two other people. They looked human, but not like anyone from Mimi or M'hindra's experience. There was a man and a woman both of them wearing unusual clothes - the man looked like he was dressed for a wedding and the woman was wearing trousers! Both of them had blue skin and pointy ears. Both wore types of eyeglasses.
Mimi and M'Hindra looked at each other.
"M'hindra? Did you plan this?! Did you know about this?"
"No...but I think...we will find out about this place...now let's listen to what this Lord and Lady have to say..."
