When she woke again, she was sitting astride Almas' shoulders with her arms held in place around his neck. It was very cold. Looking around, she gasped to see that they were part way up a mountain that was dotted with patches of snow.
Almas gave her arm a squeeze and asked how she was doing.
"I'm cold, and hungry."
"Let us stop for a moment then," he replied.
A moment was all he allowed them, but in that time Lumariae had been wrapped up in a big cloak and given some bread. Then Almas lifted her back up onto his shoulders and she ate the bread while sleepily surveying her surroundings. She had a good view from up where she was, and she'd never been up a mountain before. Maybe they were going to a secret snow cave to meet someone important.
"Not long now… not long now." Almas muttered quietly. He was breathing heavily, but he kept up a steady pace. The sky began to purple, and the patches of snow became bigger until they had to wade through unbroken white. Tracks had already been made though, making progress easier than it could have been.
By the time they reached the summit of the mountain, the sun had begun to climb up the sky to catch them. They were also met by a huge group of people that watched them warily as they approached. One man detached from the group to greet them.
"Almas! I'm glad you could make it!" he beamed, clapping Almas' shoulder and turning to walk back to the crowd with them. "But who's this?" he asked, looking at her in a way she didn't like.
"A young one I've been teaching in my workshop. She won't cause any trouble."
"Hmmm," the man didn't sound convinced. "Where are her parents?"
Having made it to the group, Almas lifted her from his shoulders and sat himself down on a rock, patting the space next to him for her to join him.
"Almas… where are her parents? What if she's told someone?" the stranger persisted. He kept his voice low, but he sounded a bit angry. Lumariae decided she didn't like him very much.
Almas sighed and began holding his head in his hands. He was tired, so the man should leave him alone.
"I haven't told anyone about the secret mission, if that's what you mean," she asserted, crossing her arms and raising her chin defiantly.
"Her parents are still in their beds, Danar. She wouldn't have made it out to me last night if she had told them."
Danar's eyes widened at this, and it seemed all he could do was stare at her for a time.
"You snuck away?" he eventually asked her.
She nodded.
"And you know why we're here?"
"For the secret mission," she frowned. He was being very stupid.
Almas just shook his head sadly beside her, which finally seemed to get Danar off their backs.
The stranger sighed. "There's nothing to be done about it now. But if we've been discovered…"
"We won't be." Almas promised.
After Danar left, the two of them sat in silence for a while to let Almas catch his breath. He looked very tired, and she suddenly felt guilty that he'd had to carry her so much.
"Am I ruining the mission?"
"No! No, no, little one. I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are here. I just want you to be safe." He took one of her hands and gave it a squeeze.
"Will we be able to go home soon? Even though Mama said yes, I bet she's worrying about me."
"Be strong, little one," was all Almas said, and that wasn't even a proper answer. All this sitting around was getting boring.
She'd just jumped off the rock to find something to do when people started to scream. Almas scrambled to his hooves, trying to see over the crowds. His face paled, and he grabbed her to him. She clung to his leg, burying her face into it and planning to stay there until the screaming had stopped. This wasn't what she wanted.
Suddenly, there was an explosion of bright light, which drew her gaze upwards despite herself. The light then shattered into seven colours which sped apart, circling the group. Not long after, a glittering screen formed between the lights, joining them together and encasing the crowd completely.
"Almas!" Danar roared.
"It wasn't her! I promise you, it wasn't her!" Almas cried back, scooping her up and holding her to his chest. She could feel his frantic heartbeat.
Their argument was interrupted by fresh screams, and when she looked up this time she saw the giant crystal hurtling through the sky towards them. She dug her fingers into Almas' arms, shrinking against him, too scared to even cry or look away from their approaching end. But then the massive crystal stopped just above them, and part of it vanished to make an opening. Those in the centre of the crowd began being pulled through the sky somehow, levitating up towards that opening. People started to frantically surge closer to the centre of the group, shoving each other in their haste to join the strange flight. Almas began following the crowd.
"No, I don't want to go in there!" she screamed. "I don't want to go!"
But if Almas heard her, he gave no indication. And so she was carried into the depths of the crystal, kicking and screaming and crying for her mother.