Hello everyone!
Cheers for reading and, for those who did, thank you for the reviews! It's good to know that people are still interested in this story, even now that it is physically here rather than just an idea. As it is so early in the story, I don't have much else to say...
So, without further ado-
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Stepping through the portal, Manny took a deep breath of cool, crisp air. He smiled at the surroundings he had found himself back in, comforted by the sight of his homestead, nestled on its hill, overlooking the thronging villages of the valley.
Even though he had spent just a day in London, it felt like he hadn't seen the valley in weeks.
"Ah, home," He murmured to himself. He glanced around at Frank, seeing a similar contented expression on his face.
"Are you up for a game of chess?"
Frank shook his head slightly, smiling,
"I'd only beat you," He replied breezily. "And besides, Sam only let us have a break from the proceedings because we groaned the most."
"Yeah, about that," Manny said as they slowly made their way to the homestead. "Why are we the only ones who came back? What gives?"
The curious look Frank shot him told him all he needed to know.
"Ah," He said.
"Yeah," Frank agreed. "We're the only ones who don't actually like being there."
Back at the homestead, Manny noted once more how rapidly Frank discarded his jacket, hat and tie in record time before he dropped himself into a nearby seat. Intrigued, he wanted to ask about it, but as soon as he opened his mouth a messenger bird arrived.
"Oh come on. What is it now, Noa?" Manny groaned at the bird before it had even managed to perch.
"The Council has been waiting for you to return," The bird replied, panting. "They need you there immediately!"
"We've been gone less than an hour," Frank stated calmly after checking the clock on the wall. "What crisis could have possibly arisen in that time?"
Manny blinked, suddenly remembering how little time had truly passed. He shot a rueful glance at the sky, seating himself as quickly as he could. He knew, one way or another, Noa would convince them to move shortly; all the more reason for him to enjoy sitting down as much as he could.
"We're meshing two separate societies together," Noa replied. "I personally am surprised we are only having one crisis per hour."
Frank looked up deadpan at the bird,
"And what a joy it is to behold that two august and intelligent societies are doing so well at resolving their differences," He said flatly. "It would be such a shame if you had to call on outside forces to help."
"In all earnest, sire, at the moment one of the biggest things holding the two parties together is the outside force," Noa retorted. "The Council needs the Guardians to help them. This request comes from both Regents."
"Well, at least they can agree on something," Frank replied, sharing a smile with Manny. "I'd tell you to let the Council know we're coming...except we're going to get there before you even leave the Valley."
Noa nodded slightly, his motions suddenly apprehensive,
"About that, sire," The bird murmured. "Is there any chance of a...what did you people call it...a 'lift'?"
Manny chuckled, giving the bird a warm smile,
"I guess we can," He replied playfully. "Just this once."
Both men waited for as long as possible before getting back up. Finally up, though, Frank re-clasped his sword to his belt, donned his jacket, and equipped himself with his rifle as fast - if not faster - than he shed his previous garments. Manny raised his eyebrows at the sight.
"Outta interest, what's with the hurry?" He quizzed.
"No hurry, just want to get this out of the way," Frank replied hastily, intentionally slowing his fast stride. "You know, I have another theory why no one else came back with us."
Manny slowed, coming to a stop beside Ian. He knew Frank was changing subject. He let out a small chuckle, realising how true it was that the man would never answer a question willingly.
"Oh yeah?"
Frank shot him a smirk as he sat down in the driver's seat.
"I think we were both the ones too stupid to realise we'd be dealing with this...whatever this is... if we returned."
Trunk firmly placed on the truck, Manny couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.
"Come on, why would the others do that to us?" He said.
Frank shot him a dull stare.
"Are you serious?"
He gave the human no answer.
"All right," Frank said. "Ian, get us to the senate."
"Powering up," Ian stated. "Temporal engines activating. Hold on everyone!"
At the very last moment, Manny remembered to clamp his eyes shut.
Even through his eyelids, he still felt blinded.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Do you think they realised how dumb they are yet?"
Ellie smiled at Claire, taking in a deep breath as she soaked up the atmosphere of Trafalgar Square. Everywhere she looked she saw masses of people going about their lives. Closing her eyes, she could hear almost everything; the cars, the laughter, the thronging of life around her.
A contented sigh drifted out of her, overjoyed to finally see the future with her own two eyes; staring at it from a distance through glass had never quite satisfied her.
"Probably," Ellie replied, her smile growing wider. "They aren't the sharpest rocks in the cave."
Claire chuckled, taking a swig from her wine glass.
"You can say that again!"
"To idiot husbands," Ellie said, raising her glass. "Long may they take the flak of boring meetings for us."
"Hear hear," Claire said, chinking her glass and drinking. She paused, eyes peering in the distance. A knowing smile crept over her face, shooting a wink in Ellie's direction. "Speaking of the devil..."
It took Ellie a few moments to understand before she turned to look. On seeing their bored, frustrated faces, she pondered whether she should do the decent thing and looked at least a little sorrowful for what they did...or laugh.
Choices, choices...
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Being greeted by the cackling laughter of Ellie and Claire didn't help Frank's mood.
"Yeah yeah, laugh at us at your peril," He said flatly, pulling himself up a chair. "Next time I'll be sure to insist you two go."
"That good, huh?" Ellie replied, still laughing. "What did they want this time?"
Manny practically dropped to the floor, shaking the table.
"Some stupid human honour thing," Manny stated huffily. "Those people are meant to be adults! Leaders! How can't they decide on something like that?"
"Sure, and you've never needed someone to help you out with stupid little things," Ellie replied. "Give them a break! It's not everyday that something like this happens."
"Leaders!" Manny repeated emphatically. "People who are supposed to know better!"
"Men," Claire snorted, her smile still lodged on her face. "Always complaining."
Frank levelled a flat, annoyed stare at his wife,
"Excuse me, elder, for moaning about something your council couldn't cope with."
To his annoyance, her smile did not budge,
"Not an elder yet, dear," She replied. "Our little valley hasn't voted on their representative yet. An elder temporarius doth not an elder make."
He sighed, quickly scanning around him to find a way out of the conversation he knew he'd lose. Looking around him, he figured he could talk about the weather, the busyness of Trafalgar Square, how different it looked...
Wait.
He turned back, glancing at Ellie and Claire quizzically.
"Where's everyone else?"
"Tribunal I think," Ellie replied. "Why?"
Frank shot a surprised look at Manny.
"Aren't we supposed to be there?" He said cautiously.
"Na-ah," Ellie replied. "Only the people testifying need to be, so Sam says."
"Who's testifying?" Manny asked.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"And what did you proceed to do then, Lieutenant?" Justice Johnson asked.
Mark shrugged slightly; keen to avoid both the mass of eyes staring at him and the panic at knowing the herd wasn't present with him in the courtroom. He took several deep breaths, picturing in his mind that the judge was the only one in the room.
"We did exactly as Manny said we would; we packed up Ian-"
"Ian?" The judge quizzed. "You have mentioned Ian before, Lieutenant. Who is he?"
"That's...ah...it's the name of our truck, your honour," Mark replied sheepishly. "Sa- ah, the secretary general - says it stands for Integrated Automated Network...we reckoned Ian was a catchier name."
"I see," She said dryly. "And what did you proceed to do then?"
Seated in the witness stand, he couldn't avoid shifting uncomfortably under the weight of so many gazes. He could already feel his fur becoming damp with sweat as he glanced up at the judge nervously, swallowing hard,
"We got ourselves ready, headed out and made our way to Porcupine Gorge."
"Porcupine Gorge?" The judge repeated. "Could you describe the location, and why you were headed there, if you will."
He took a deep breath,
"Porcupine Gorge is just that; a gorge. It's a narrow passageway, surrounded by cliffs and sharp rocky...things. Anyways, it is also the southern border of the Bredelands and, as I have already said, where we said we'd meet them..."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
They stood on the plains ahead of the gorge, staring at the mass of rock and ice in the distance. Looking over the others, Mark could sense the tension underlying the silence. Peering into the distance, he could spot enough to confuse him,
"I don't understand," He said. "Their Regent invited us."
"This doesn't look particularly inviting," Frank remarked, scanning the gorge sternly. Slowly, he pointed at several points on the cliffs. "You see that?"
"Yeah," Diego replied, staring at the same points. "Couple dozen sabres, a few mammoths, and what looks like a lot of smaller animals...at least."
He felt a lump in his throat as he followed Frank's finger, realising how correct Diego was; Mark could count very nearly a hundred animals on the cliffs, all of them in the best places to crush them with rocks.
Well that's just great, he thought to himself.
"M-maybe they're the welcome party?" Sid stammered hopefully. Manny shook his head,
"Nah," He replied gruffly, jerking his trunk at the gorge itself. "That's the welcome party...Mark's right, something's not right here."
"Why invite us if they're gonna barricade the entrance?" Mark asked.
"Just because their goddess told them to look us up doesn't mean they trust us," Ellie said. "We're just a story to them right now; for all they know, we're the ones that are dangerous."
"I guess," Sid admitted, his eyes still nervously scanning the cliffs. "What now?"
"Well, if we can see them, they can see us," Mark stated. "So we can't really run away now."
The weight of Frank's stare at him was almost tangible,
"When have we ever run away?" Frank retorted.
"Ooh!" Sid piped up. "There were those times when-"
"Besides those, when have we ever run away?" Frank repeated emphatically.
At Frank's statement, the tension lifted a little, allowing Mark a small smile. Bit by bit, the herd began to piece together a plan, discussing options, ideas, problems. As Mark listened, his smile grew a little more.
"Right, so here's what we're gonna do," Manny said, effectively ending the conversation. "Ellie and me on the flanks with Diego and Mark; one sabre and one mammoth on either side. Frank and Peaches will be in the middle. Everyone else in Ian, up front, with as many guns as you can make visible."
The mammoth looked around one last time, just to be sure everyone understood and - more to the point - wasn't going to argue.
"Any problems?"
Frank smiled faintly,
"Nope," He said. "Because it's the same plan we pretty much always use."
"Hasn't failed us yet." Manny replied cheerfully.
"But what about-" Sid attempted.
"Shut up Sid." Everyone said at once, virtually in unison.
Thus they set off, slowly, towards the gorge in silence. Mark stuck beside Manny on the right flank, steeling himself for any and every eventuality that could come their way. He was so focussed on what they could be facing; he almost jumped when his radio spluttered to life.
"Anyone else getting deja vu?" Frank remarked.
He shared a smile with Manny,
"I was wondering how long we'd go before someone brought that up," Manny murmured at the sabre as he drew out his own radio. "Roger that, Frank! At least there's no Te-"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Your Honour!" Sam barked, jumping to her feet, cutting Mark off mid-sentence. "The events Lieutenant Ericsson is about to detail are still classified and have no bearing on the case at hand. Please can the lieutenant desist from detailing them, and any mention so far of them be struck from the record."
The judge and Sam held a brief, glowering gaze, before she finally relented,
"Very well, Secretary General," Justice Johnson murmured, switching her gaze back to Mark. "Could you proceed without mentioning any further classified information, lieutenant?"
He shot a confused glance at Sam;
Our adventure's classified? He thought at her, why?
"Yeah, sure He- ah, your honour," He replied. "Where was I..."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
For Mark, the first impression of the gorge - on closer inspection - was eyes; hundreds of eyes, staring at them from seemingly everywhere. He looked up and saw scowling eyes, he looked ahead and saw blankly staring eyes, he turned to look beside him and saw Manny's increasingly wary eyes, darting about as much as his were.
Knowing the mammoth - the largest member of their herd - was as nervous as he was did not put the sabre at ease.
"I really don't like the look of this," Manny murmured into his radio. "Everyone stick close together, and keep an eye out."
Gaze turned forward, Mark thought the welcoming party looked anything but. It caught him by surprise how many species stood there, scowling as they waited for the herd to arrive. Only the sloth in the centre seemed to attempt anything like a smile, raising his hand in greeting as they got near enough to hear him.
"Welcome to the Bredelands," The sloth called out. His smile faded as he studied them keenly.
Only then did Mark realise just how it must have looked; all of their various weapons were visibly on show, just as if they were clearly in a defensive arrangement.
No wonder the guards look so tense, he noted.
"Why do you come armed?" The sloth enquired
Mark saw Frank shoot a significant glance in Manny and Diego's direction, knowing exactly what the human was thinking;
The sloth recognised our rifles and pistols.
Looking around at the unfriendliness of virtually every face staring at them, it seemed like a good idea to the sabre to let it slide. He let out a sigh in relief when Manny finally shrugged,
"We had a bad experience here a while back," Manny remarked. "All those guards up there didn't exactly make us feel welcome."
The sloth's face seemed to redden. He whispered something hastily to a sabre beside him and stood grimacing as the sabre sprinted off.
"My sincerest apologies, we were not aware of this," He said almost at the same time as the guards above us disappeared from view. "We meant no offence."
"None's taken," Frank said. "And to whom do we have the pleasure of speaking?"
Mark would be the first to admit he had little experience with sloths; in fact, as far as he can recall, the only experience of sloths he had had up till then had been - well - Sid. Yet, in the space of a few, short seconds, he realised just how graceful sloths could be as the sloth before them bowed effortlessly to the floor, arms outstretched.
"I am Jacob, Advocate and servant of the Council and peoples of the Bredelands, at your service," The sloth said, straightening himself out. "And I must apologise once more, but the Regent has requested to see you as soon as is possible."
"Then why isn't he meeting us here?" Ellie asked.
The sloth - Jacob, Mark corrected himself - baulked at the suggestion.
"The leader of three million people cannot just drop what he is doing and travel to the furthermost border of our realms!" Jacob replied tersely. "Important as this may be, he could not leave Senweca."
"Senwha?" Frank said.
"It's the Council's meeting place," Manny replied quickly. Almost as suddenly a flash of doubt crossed his eyes. "Right?"
"Correct, sire," The sloth replied, smiling. "My apologies, but we must depart; it is a fortnight's journey from here to Senweca, I'm afraid."
"For you, maybe," Frank replied, sporting the most smug smile imaginable. "Oh Ian! Have you got a map of the region?"
Every member of the welcome party took a nervous step back as Ian replied, informing Frank that he did. It took them a while to get Jacob even near to the truck, let alone into it to show him the map. Eventually, in between the sloth's bouts about how unnatural such a thing was, he gave up the information they needed, eliciting a whistle from Frank,
"No wonder it's a fortnight's journey," He said. "It looks like it's about two hundred miles east of the meltdown valley."
"If I may, sire," Jacob ventured cautiously. "How do you plan on getting there?"
Frank smirked mischievously,
"If you could stand about twenty feet away, we'll show you." He said.
Taking his remarked as their cue to exit, the herd dutifully moved closer to Ian as the people about them stepped back.
"Ian," Frank said. "You know what to do."
The last glimpse Mark caught before clamping his eyes shut was the looks of fear in everyone watching them, Jacob included. After the inevitable flash of light, he opened his eyes, surprised to see an even larger group staring at them with shocked, fearful faces. Complete and utter silence greeted the herd, who remained as still as the crowd.
"I keep forgetting how odd this must look to people outside our valley," Manny remarked quietly, studying the frightened gazes aimed their way.
The fearful looks seemed lost on Frank, who gingerly walked up to a bunch of cowering people, smiling,
"Morning!" He said. "Are we in Senweca?"
They answered by running off, screaming at the top of their lungs. Unfazed, the human turned to the next group, and the next, yet seemed to get this response from everyone who saw them arrive. Eventually, Frank glanced back, looking distinctly rattled,
"What the hell's going on here?" He asked. "Why is everyone reacting like they've seen a ghost?"
Manny flatly stared at him,
"Really? We appear out of thin air in a place that's never even heard of - let alone seen time travel - and you think they overreacted?"
Before Frank could reply a low, menacing trumpet could be heard on the wind. Within seconds, noises and shouts suddenly appeared all around them. Scanning about himself in panic, Mark's eyes widened,
"We've got a mob on our hands!" The sabre shouted.
Almost instinctively, the herd grouped together once more, facing outwards, towards the mob that had swiftly surrounded them. Mark counted hundreds, if not thousands, of animals of every shape, colour and hue circling them, all of them sporting angry, fearful expressions.
"GET BACK!" Frank yelled, firing several shots into the dirt in front of him. "GET BACK, ALL OF YOU!"
The mob seemed to abate a little, even as the fear-driven baying for the herd's blood increased. Slowly, no matter how many shots they fired into the ground, the gap between themselves and the mob lessened. Steeled to fight, Mark prepared himself, even though he knew it would be hopeless.
"So much for the Guardians," He said, turning to Manny. "What do we do?"
The mammoth scanned the horde anxiously, his gaze flickering to Peaches, who stood firm beside Ellie.
"I-" He mustered. "I don't know."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"We found out later that it wasn't because we appeared out of thin air that they wanted to kill us," Mark explained to an alert, silent courtroom. "It was who appeared out of thin air."
"Would you care to explain, Lieutenant?" Justice Johnson quizzed.
Mark swallowed, unsure how he could phrase it without casting the ancestors of at least half the room sound intolerant.
"Lieutenant?" The judge said again.
"It was, ah, Frank," Mark said haltingly. "And Claire, and Ben...they wanted to kill the humans who had appeared amongst them."
The hum of whispering that arose was quickly silenced by the judge.
"Why would this be the case, Lieutenant?" She said.
Mark shrugged slightly, wincing inside for making such a stupid motion.
"The reasons, Your Honour, will become clearer later on," He replied. "It's probably for the best I don't explain it now; I'd be here all day."
Please don't make me explain it now, he mentally begged the judge, I don't want to be here all day.
"Very well. Could you explain to us, then, how it is you managed to escape such a predicament?" She asked, allowing a slight smile to reach her lips. "I'm presuming you escaped; you seem fairly alive to me, Lieutenant."
Mark swallowed, only to discover his throat had gone dry,
"Well, we-"
"Your Honour!"
The sabre's eyes shot up, staring at the new arrival at the back of the courtroom. Manny walked in slowly, garnering looks and excited chatter with every motion. He came to a stop in front of the judge's dais, levelling a calm stare at her,
"I feel I should be the one explaining this part, Your Honour, not Mark."
Justice Johnson set about silencing the court before studying Manny. She clasped her hands together, resting her chin upon them; not once did her eyes leave the pachyderm's.
"Sergeant Hendricks," The judge said flatly. "This is highly unorthodox and, were this any sane proceeding, it would not be stood for," To everyone's surprise, a slight smile crept onto her face. "All things being as they are, however, this isn't a sane proceeding by anyone's standard. Could you take the witness stand please, Sergeant."
He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in, flushed with relief at the news. Passing by Manny, he slowed a little, looked up gratefully at the pachyderm,
"Thank you," He said. "Thank you so much-"
"No problem kid," He cut in quietly. He watched the mammoth quickly glance up at the balcony, pause in confusion, and stare back at him with inquisitive eyes.
"Where's the others?" He asked.
The sabre shrugged,
"How should I know?"
"Sergeant, if you please, can you take the witness stand speedily." The judge stated.
Manny deflated a little, muttering under his breath,
"Damn...all right, I need you to find them for me. Call Claire, Ellie and Frank to help you."
Mark baulked, but his oncoming arguments were cut swiftly short by a swift gesture of Manny's trunk.
"No ifs, no buts, just find them!"
He pawed at the floor in annoyance, begrudging his herd members for their sudden disappearance. Glancing up, he realised the mammoth had already sat down, ending his chance to refuse the request.
With no need to be in the courtroom, he left as quickly as he could, knowing his day had, probably, only just begun.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
In the space of just two days, Manny had already developed a strong dislike for the courtroom. He hated the fact their lives were prised open for others to dissect, discuss and question. He hated the fact that they had to sit there for hours on end. Yet both points were dwarfed in comparison to how much he hated the fact they had no choice on the matter; Sam had made it more than clear to them that the Commission would frown on sending them further supplies if they hadn't agreed.
He knew it was blackmail; he just hoped Sam wasn't the source of it.
Watching the sabre disappear as quickly as he could, Manny managed a slight smile. He envied, and rued, Mark's predicament; freed though he was from the confines of the courtroom, he did not envy the sabre's task of finding four errant herd members in a city of thirty million people. Realising the attention of everyone present was focussed on himself, he cleared his throat, smiled and looked up at the judge,
"So, where did Mark leave off, your honour?" He asked.
"You had just...appeared...in what you believed was 'Senweca', only to be surrounded by - and I quote - 'a mob baying for our blood'."
Never a dull moment, he reflected, smiling to himself.
"Ok, so we were trapped, unsure of how we could get out, and the mob was closing in on us," Manny began. "Everyone who could use a rifle had one pointed out and, if it went on for any longer, there would have been a lot of... unpleasantness. But then we heard something, cutting over the noise of the shouting and screaming..."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Even the very noise of the mob seemed to freeze in midair at the sound. Manny craned his neck, listening intently. Dozens of the species may have greeted them at the gorge, but hearing it still caught him by surprise,
"That's a sabre!" He exclaimed.
With every successive roar, the mob's fury dulled, its confidence dented by the sheer noise. The mammoth watched, mouth agape, as the disembodied roar succeeded where threats of gunfire did not; with just four ear piercing roars, he found himself staring at a polite, subdued mass of people.
All the same, he held his stance, his decades of experience informing him that they were still technically in danger.
In the corners of his eyes, however, he could see Diego, Frank and all the others straighten out.
"What...just happened?" Frank quizzed.
Another roar pierced the air. The crowd of people parted wordlessly, revealing a pack of sabres surrounding a mammoth. Manny stared in disbelief, sharing a look of shocked surprise with Diego,
"Is that...is that Max?" Diego quizzed.
"Sure looks like it," Manny remarked, eyes returning to the sabre. "And I recognise his pack too."
The gentle hum of whispering amongst the herd was, without warning, utterly drowned out,
"Make way for the Regent!" Max bellowed, eyes sternly scanning the crowds. "And do not harm our guests!"
The sabre's newfound eloquence elicited a raised eyebrow from the mammoth. The pack came to a halt twenty paces ahead of them. When he finally managed to catch Max's eye, he realised he still had his jaw slack, eyebrows raised, and look of disbelief seemingly frozen onto his face. The sabre grinned, taking a sweeping view of all of them,
"Mornin' guys," He said in the accent Manny remembered. "You guys sure know how to make an entrance!"
"Max?" Frank gasped. "What the...how the...where the..."
The sabre chuckled a little, even as he gestured to keep their voices down,
"Let the Regent speak first, then we'll talk." He said.
Manny blinked, suddenly realising the obvious thing he was missing. Eyes darting up, he instinctively took in a sharp breath of air at the sight. The mammoth looked older than he did, his fur - evidently a light shade of brown - had begun to turn to grey. He managed to get a quick glimpse of the mammoth's face as the pachyderm scanned the area calmly. Granted, he noticed a few wrinkles around his face, but he was certain of who he was staring at.
"William..." He murmured to himself, as if only then realising. William didn't pay him heed immediately, his attention still fixed on the crowds around him.
"Brothers and sisters!" William shouted in almost every direction. "Since the days immemorial, we have prided ourselves in our hospitality! Only in the Dark Times was blood ever shed coldly in these realms, yet here I stand, having witnessed your attempts to do just that!"
He sported the look of such disappointment, he almost felt as if he was witnessing a father rebuke a son. Quickly glancing at the crowd, he concluded they must have felt the same way.
"Behold these newcomers," William continued, pointing his trunk firmly - to Manny's surprise - at himself. "And look again, for they are not all strangers to us. Or did you not recognise the son of Clovis? Surely time has not dulled your memory of the son of one of our greatest leaders!"
The subdued crowd suddenly animated themselves. The herd's weapon's jerked up briefly, but quickly lowered when they realised that the emotion now aimed at them was not murderous hate, but awe. Over the growing din of excitement, William finally locked eyes with Manny, giving him a warm smile.
"And even the strangers are not strangers," William continued, now grinning. "Brothers and sisters, the Victors of Halstead Pass stand amongst us!"
The image of the crowd baying for their blood lingered in the back of Manny's mind, providing an odd juxtaposition to the scenes of cheering, celebrating, and rejoicing now surrounding them. Hordes of people crammed about them, reaching out to touch them. Only by the concerted efforts of Max and his pack were they accorded even breathing room. Distracted by the thronging masses, Manny was taken aback as a trunk wrapped around his neck and a weight suddenly appeared on his shoulder. It took him a few moments to realise it was William who had embraced him,
"Welcome back, Manny," William said quietly. "It's been far too long."
Manny smiled, feeling tears of joy dampen the fur around his eyes, as he returned the hug. As the two men unclasped, Manny quickly wiped down his face, pointedly ignoring the shocked expression of his herd members. He laughed heartily, playfully punching the Regent on the shoulder,
"Look at you," He exclaimed. "I'm gone for a few years and you go on and become Regent!" His smile grew warmer. "Abelard - and dad - would have been proud."
William's smile remained sincere, but Manny spotted the brief flicker of...something...in his eyes.
"I hope so," He said earnestly. His smile began to fade. "I wish we could have reunited in happier times."
Manny blinked, flickering between the older mammoth and the rejoicing crowds. Pondering it briefly, his eyes widened a little as realisation hit him like a brick in the face,
"The guards, the tense atmosphere...even their trying to kill us," He murmured to himself. He looked up at William intently. "What's going on, Will? Why did you bring us here?"
William sighed, suddenly looking much older than he had just a moment before,
"We have a situation on our hands," He said. "One the Council does not feel it can handle...and one which, if your reputation is correct, you may be able to help with."
"If we can help, I'm all for it," Manny replied. "What's up?"
The greying mammoth briefly scanned their surroundings, shaking his head slightly after he had,
"Not here," He said. "All of you must come with me; it is better that I show you than just telling you."
"Come on," Manny replied, laughing slightly. "Is it really that bad?"
William's look immediately stopped him, mid laugh.
"Possibly," He replied quietly. He lunged forward, wrapping Manny once more in a hug. Manny knew this one, however, was not out of friendship;
He doesn't want anyone to hear this, he noted with a pang of dread.
"Our lands are on the brink," William said. Manny blinked, surprised at the use of their more recent title. "Unless you can help us resolve this situation, the Bredelands will fall and everyone you see here will probably be dead."
Surrounded by laughter, joy and happiness, Manny stood there, stunned beyond words.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
End of Chapter 3
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
What do you think? Anything you want me to explore? If it fits in with the story I'm telling, I'll try and make it work! Anything you think I need to tweak? Constructive criticism is always appreciated! Want to let me know about something else? Provided it's not a flame, any review is welcome!
If any of the above, how about clicking on the wonderful button below?
Look forward to hearing from all of you!
Till chapter 4, peace out