Esmerelda the Overlander
Hello!! Another chapter!! Yay! So...R&R please!!
Esmerelda felt the darkness of the tunnel consume her, and they walked through their fifth tunnel that day. They lit two torches, as flashlights weren't enough. Esmerelda was already over the whole quest thing and just wanted to go home. Ripred had told her to practice her echolocation, but so far, it had been nothing but a flop. She could hardly do it! Esmerelda knew she was never going to master echolocation, mainly because (1) she didn't listen and, (2) she just really didn't care. Esmerelda suddenly remembered something, as Nightcatcher asked inside her head, "When will this end?"
"Hey, Luxa!" Esmerelda waved her torch in front of her.
"I am behind you," Luxa's reply came. Esmerelda turned around and kept walking…backwards.
"I have a question," Esmerelda began.
"And I will have an answer." Esmerelda's heart gave a pang of sadness. That's what her mother had always said. Esmerelda swallowed the lump in her throat and continued.
"Do you know anything about telepathy?" she asked.
"I have only known it when Sandwhich could communicate with his bond without talking," Luxa answered. Esmerelda rolled her eyes. Great. Another connection with this crazy man. "Why do you ask?"
"Uh, Nightcatcher and I can do that..." Esmerelda didn't really know what to say. It all seemed too much for her alone, being a Seer, talking through her head... Esmerelda heard Luxa gasp.
"Then, when we get back, you too will be bonding, if you would like," Luxa said. Esmerelda nodded and then remembered that they were in dim light. Esmerelda turned back around.
"Sure." All of a sudden, the bats' all jerked their heads up.
"What is it?" Gregor asked.
"Rats," Silina answered. "Many, many rats..."
x.X.x.
Goldenpelt could feel his heart beating, every deep breath of his and his comrades. He could smell the questers, hear them, almost taste their blood upon his lips. He personally would rip out both the queen's and the Warrior's throats. They were the important ones. But there were two more, by the smell of it. An Overland girl and a rat. They had no importance of his. He would let his army kill all of them, leaving no trace. They would consume the bodies. He felt them draw closer, a whisper. He motioned for his rats to attack.
x.X.x.
Esmerelda drew her sword rather clumsily. She felt embarrassed as Gregor and Luxa drew theirs expertly. Luxa whispered to get on their bats. They were at the end of the tunnel and Esmerelda felt relieved. She got mounted Nike and they were off. Quite suddenly, an army of rats burst out of a tunnel on their right. She spotted a rat with golden fur, fur more bright than Luxa's bond's. His teeth were bared and he lunged for Silina. The bat swerved right in time. Goldenpelt ended up in catching his claw on Nightcatcher's bat. The bat pulled and yanked to get it's wing free, but Goldenpelt was latched on. He reached up to grab the bat's throat, saliva dripping from his mouth. The bat screeched. Esmerelda knew she should say or do something, but she couldn't. The sight was too horrifying. The invasion of rats underneath them, snatching at every chance they got. Esmerelda found her voice and screamed,
"Jump!" Nike dived for Nightcatcher as the rat launched herself off of the bat. Nike caught Esmerelda's future bond and Nightcatcher landed with a thud. As quickly as the small fight was over, the quickly it ended. The bats had found a way out of the tunnel. Esmerelda turned away as the last glimpse of the rats disappeared. Goldenpelt was angrily munching on the dead flier, hate and rage flaring in his eyes. Esmerelda turned to her panic stricken friend, who lay gasping on Nike's back. Esmerelda stroked Nightcatcher's head. That night, all of the questers fell into a fitful sleep...
X
Esmerelda woke up to find herself in the dark. Everything here seemed to be peaceful and quiet where they were. What had woken her from her sleep? Then Esmerelda heard breathing, a shuffle of feet. Esmerelda's blood ran cold. What is that?
Excuse me? What is that? What? It's Nightcatcher! And you take a long time to wake up... Esmerelda relaxed at the sound of the black rat's voice...well, thought. The others stirred slightly as she got up, but stayed asleep.
What do you want?
You have to take the next shift with me.
What?
I said you have to take the next shift with me! To watch over where we camp!
I got that. But how come it feels like morning to me?
I don't know. It feels like morning to me too. Should we wake the others up?
...Nah. I don't know how grumpy they can be. I'll find that out later... Esmerelda heard Nightcatcher laugh. There was a pause.
So...what was it you were going to tell me? About the Warrior? Hmm? Esmerelda shook her head, even though Nightcatcher didn't see her.
Why did I agree to tell Nightcatcher everything?
Because we have a special bond!! Jeeze, would you tell me already?
Okay, fine. But you can't tell anyone! Unless I allow you to, because not that I own you, but it's my secret and-
Esmerelda, just tell me. No stalling. Nightcatcher's voice in Esmerelda's head was very firm.
Okay, fine. When I was writing all of those poems slash prophecies, I wrote one that immediately came to my mind. It was about these two important people that were Overlanders, and they were in the Underland fighting against like...I don't know... Esmerelda thought it would be ridiculous to say 'evil'.
Go on...
So yeah, and I brought my notebook with me but I ripped the page up so it would be gone. Esmerelda realized something that startled her. Oh crap, do you think that one would show up in Regalia too?
I don't know...I guess if you wrote it.
Oh sh-
But you said you tore it up?
Yeah.
Maybe if you destroy the original, the copy in Regalia would be gone!
"Yeah..but that doesn't make sense because Gregor wrote it down. I don't even know how he did!" Esmerelda said aloud. Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her say,
"I can help you with that." Esmerelda and Nightcatcher moved closer together out of fear.
"Who are you?" Esmerelda asked. She hoped it wasn't another rat army.
"What? Use your echolocation to find out who I am!" Esmerelda reconized the voice.
"Ripred?" Nightcatcher asked.
x.X.x.
Gregor woke up to the sound of talking. It sounded like...Esmerelda and Nightcatcher and...Ripred? Gregor didn't make any noise as he listened to the conversation.
"...sent me on the trip..."
"Oh that's...greeeaattt. My...castic uncle with me...quest..." Gregor couldn't hear them very well from where he was. He moved a little closer.
"Okay, why are we talking in the dark?" Esmerelda asked.
"You two were before by the looks of it," Ripred said.
"Yeah but-never mind. Tell me how he got my prophecy." Gregor heard Ripred 'Shh' them.
"We were never talking about it," Ripred whispered urgently. "Yes, I have come to help you on the trip. Now lets move! Wake up the others," Ripred commanded in his regular voice. Gregor quietly moved back to where he was sleeping as he heard Esmerelda and Nightcatcher groan and go to wake them...
x.X.x.
Esmerelda sat in a circle with all of the questers eating bread and some sort of beef jerky-ish kind of thing. They had a few torched lit and Gregor had a flashlight.
"When do we leave?" Ripred questioned Luxa. They finished up their last bits of food.
"Now," Luxa replied in a queenly manner. She stood up.
"We have a problem," Gregor said. He looked at all of them. "We have three bats, and two rats without a flier."
"I will be going on Nike with Esmerelda," Nightcatcher announced.
"But you-" Luxa bagan.
"It's okay. All three of us discussed it and Nike can handle Nightcatcher and me fooling around. Also, it will be so much more fun now," Esmerelda replied. The three of them went back to talking.
"But can she hold both of you?" Luxa asked. Luxa waited patiently as Esmerelda didn't hear her. "I said, can she hold both of you?" Esmerelda's head jerked up and she looked at Luxa.
"Yeah, that too." Esmerelda went back to talking with Nightcatcher and Nike as the others discussed other plans for stuff she really didn't care about. "So, you can hold us, right?" she addressed Nike.
"Yes," came Nike's reply.
"Aren't you Queen Athena's daughter?" Nightcatcher asked.
"Yes, I am," Nike said.
"Shouldn't you be listening or something? I don't really care but you're a princess. Next in line to the throne..." Nightcatcher said.
"I should, but it does not concern me, therefor I am fine." All of the Underlander talk was beginning to hurt Esmerelda's head. Their conversation was broken up by Luxa saying,
"Mount up!" Nike spread her wings and Esmerelda and Nightcatcher climbed on.
X
They flew...and they flew...and then they flew some more. Esmerelda became bored long ago, and was talking with Nightcatcher through telepathy.
So you're saying maybe Gregor saw it?
Yes.
okay, thats probably true. But how come someone else didn't see it?
Someone else did see it, though.
Oh yeah. Ripred. Whatever. Do you want me to tell you what happened a llooonnnggg time ago? With the whole boy liking thing?
Yes! Tell me!!
Okay, whatever. So in fifth grade my friends and I were messing around in class and- they were interrupted by a glimmer of something. The torches had reveled something below them. And that something had been a white rat.
Muhahahahahahahahahahaha!! What will happen now? And do you really want to find out what Esmerelda was going to tell? Not that I care really, since it kind of really did happen but-I MEAN...never mind. I hoped you liked it. I know, the little fight was short, but at least you got one! Yay!! Please review! Luff yaz!
