Chapter 11 - Through the Mists
Marilen screamed as the figure grabbed her arm in a bruising grip. She tried to pull away but found her attacker too strong.
"Marilen!"
She did not register the voice immediately, too panicked to recognise the painful note of surprise in the word.
The hold of her arm disappeared, and she stumbled back, gasping for breath.
"I did not mean to startle you."
As her breathing eased, recognition slammed into her and she realised her mistake, "Doom!"
"Forgive me," he said earnestly. "I should not have acted so hastily."
Marilen looked up into the man's face, only just able to make out his features in the low light of the hallway. His eyes were dark, haunted, they seemed, perhaps by the same fear that had assailed her the past few nights. "I did not see you," she stammered.
His voice dropped to a murmur, and she could hear the grief behind his words, "I was seeing to Sharn."
"Has there been any improvement?"
Doom shook his head, and something else flared into his grim face. Anger? "She remains as though asleep. And everyday that passes we receive more and more pleas from the people to see the King. They beg to know why the water has become undrinkable, why their loved ones fall into a death-like sleep when they touch it."
Marilin could see evidence of lack of sleep in Doom's frantic stare and rushed words, and she thought that perhaps this was one thing she could put to rights in the palace. "You need rest," she said softly. "You will help no one by becoming too weary to be of use."
Doom scowled, but Marillin would not be put off. "Come, I will take you to your room."
"I need no nurse maid," he grunted stubbornly, but let himself be led by her as they passed along the dark corridors to his chambers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
White mists swirled about them as they walked, and beneath their feet was a sticky, muddy bog.
It had not been two hours since they had left the forest and stumbled out into the fog of the marshes. Already their boots tugged at the mud and the air about them seemed thick and stale.
Jasmine felt hemmed in by the mists, trapped within a room of swirling whiteness as the small clouds twisted about her ankles, seeming to threaten to pull her down into the muddy pools.
There was no path, but they walked behind each other in a straggling line, Barda in front, as the tallest, to risk the deeper parts. Every so often he would take a step, and his boot would sink in to the knee. Then they would have to backtrack for long distances to find a safer path.
They did not speak because the mist seemed to absorb their words and command silence. Jasmine longed to hear something other than the soft whispering of the fog around her, and the squelching of her feet as she struggled blindly forwards.
At least we are going in the right direction, she thought to herself. We have travelled east into the mists, and all around us is the snakegrass of which the rhyme spoke.
The grass streamed in ceaseless, wandering lines across the marshes, creating patterns before Jasmine's eyes as she stared.
Then something suddenly struck her. The pattern that the grass formed was not random, each line had a pair by which it ran side by side, never crossing. It was marking out a path for them!
"Lief!" she called, "Barda!" But the mist swallowed the sound and there was no reply. Frantically she quickened her pace, peering through the white clouds and trying to catch sight of her friends.
Her heart hammered in her chest. She was lost! How could this have happened? She started to run, feeling suddenly trapped and suffocated by the thick air.
The bog pulled at her feet as she moved, catching hold of her shoes and dragging her downwards. Each step took greater effort than the last.
Then suddenly she took a step and her foot slid deep into the mud. She was stuck up to her thigh in the treacherous bog, and unable to move her other foot for fear of dragging herself deeper.
"Lief!" she screamed into the hissing air.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lief thought he heard something and turned his head, listening intently for anything unusual.
"Did you..." he suddenly froze as he noticed Jasmine was no longer behind him. "Jasmine!" he called. "Jasmine, where are you!"
There was no reply save the gentle hiss of the mists. Lief bit his lip, staring back into the blinding whiteness. Where was she?
After another moment he turned, intending to ask Barda what they should do. But before him he found only more mist. "Barda? Barda, wait!"
But there was no answer, and Lief turned around in confusion, staring out into the empty air.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Barda swallowed uncomfortably. It was hard to know whether they were travelling in the right direction. His pants were sticky with mud and his boots stuck with every step. What a foul land!
For the twentieth time his boot sank deeper than his ankle. He floundered for a moment, loosing his balance.
"Lief!" he shouted, "pull me back!"
But no answer came, and the wind seemed to taunt him with its emptiness. He struggled for a moment longer, forcing himself not to panic. Where were the others? They had been just behind him!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ahead Lief could see dark shapes, and he made towards them with a faint hope that it might have been the others. But when he reached the spot he found it was only a larger clump of snakegrass, all bunched together.
Suddenly Lief heard something over the slow whispering of the mists. It was a voice! And it was singing! Lief sunk to his knees in the mud, sheltering behind the grass for a better look. Peering through the gap he saw her. A woman in white, and it seemed as though she were part of the mists...
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*damson rhee* - thankyou :D it's great to here from u! c u next time!
*Fuu* - cold weather makes me hyper too! but I'm sick at the moment and can't go outside :( I've changed the front page pic for a bit of different scenery, but your welcome to send another that I'll put up after kel's.
*tomfelton's girl* - i don't have your email adress! and it's not on your profile page - leave it in the next review and I'll add u to the list.
*Pen2* - Sorry bout the cliffie - I do do it all the time, don't I? Also sorry about this chapter which also ended up being freakily ended. Thanks for always reviewing!
*Eldainwe Aduial Elenath* - Rowan and the Zebak? yeah - it's been out for ages! great story! Hope u haven't sent any one after me as I took so long- I'd better watch out for Ols! I just luv your picture of Arc - I'd be so thrilled if someone did a whole body sort of profile pic for one of my original characters - I think u make pen's day! (i'm jealous!) well done!
*suzi* - thankyou! sorry I left the chapter like that! hope you like the new part!
*lexi* - yay! long review! Thankyou for the list of good things! and sorry bout the cliffie (I can't help it!) Wow there are a lot of questions there - you'll have to wait and see!
*Anon* - mmm not sure if you're up to here yet. Oh well, Jasmine didn't die - and if u didn't like that cliffie then you won't like chap 5,6,7,etc thanks
*lady knight alanna* - thankyou, glad you like the story! When I was reading the books I got the impression Barda wasn't too much younger than sharn, as he was always referring to Lief and Jasmine as children, but hmmm an interesting thought. thankyou :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marilen screamed as the figure grabbed her arm in a bruising grip. She tried to pull away but found her attacker too strong.
"Marilen!"
She did not register the voice immediately, too panicked to recognise the painful note of surprise in the word.
The hold of her arm disappeared, and she stumbled back, gasping for breath.
"I did not mean to startle you."
As her breathing eased, recognition slammed into her and she realised her mistake, "Doom!"
"Forgive me," he said earnestly. "I should not have acted so hastily."
Marilen looked up into the man's face, only just able to make out his features in the low light of the hallway. His eyes were dark, haunted, they seemed, perhaps by the same fear that had assailed her the past few nights. "I did not see you," she stammered.
His voice dropped to a murmur, and she could hear the grief behind his words, "I was seeing to Sharn."
"Has there been any improvement?"
Doom shook his head, and something else flared into his grim face. Anger? "She remains as though asleep. And everyday that passes we receive more and more pleas from the people to see the King. They beg to know why the water has become undrinkable, why their loved ones fall into a death-like sleep when they touch it."
Marilin could see evidence of lack of sleep in Doom's frantic stare and rushed words, and she thought that perhaps this was one thing she could put to rights in the palace. "You need rest," she said softly. "You will help no one by becoming too weary to be of use."
Doom scowled, but Marillin would not be put off. "Come, I will take you to your room."
"I need no nurse maid," he grunted stubbornly, but let himself be led by her as they passed along the dark corridors to his chambers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
White mists swirled about them as they walked, and beneath their feet was a sticky, muddy bog.
It had not been two hours since they had left the forest and stumbled out into the fog of the marshes. Already their boots tugged at the mud and the air about them seemed thick and stale.
Jasmine felt hemmed in by the mists, trapped within a room of swirling whiteness as the small clouds twisted about her ankles, seeming to threaten to pull her down into the muddy pools.
There was no path, but they walked behind each other in a straggling line, Barda in front, as the tallest, to risk the deeper parts. Every so often he would take a step, and his boot would sink in to the knee. Then they would have to backtrack for long distances to find a safer path.
They did not speak because the mist seemed to absorb their words and command silence. Jasmine longed to hear something other than the soft whispering of the fog around her, and the squelching of her feet as she struggled blindly forwards.
At least we are going in the right direction, she thought to herself. We have travelled east into the mists, and all around us is the snakegrass of which the rhyme spoke.
The grass streamed in ceaseless, wandering lines across the marshes, creating patterns before Jasmine's eyes as she stared.
Then something suddenly struck her. The pattern that the grass formed was not random, each line had a pair by which it ran side by side, never crossing. It was marking out a path for them!
"Lief!" she called, "Barda!" But the mist swallowed the sound and there was no reply. Frantically she quickened her pace, peering through the white clouds and trying to catch sight of her friends.
Her heart hammered in her chest. She was lost! How could this have happened? She started to run, feeling suddenly trapped and suffocated by the thick air.
The bog pulled at her feet as she moved, catching hold of her shoes and dragging her downwards. Each step took greater effort than the last.
Then suddenly she took a step and her foot slid deep into the mud. She was stuck up to her thigh in the treacherous bog, and unable to move her other foot for fear of dragging herself deeper.
"Lief!" she screamed into the hissing air.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lief thought he heard something and turned his head, listening intently for anything unusual.
"Did you..." he suddenly froze as he noticed Jasmine was no longer behind him. "Jasmine!" he called. "Jasmine, where are you!"
There was no reply save the gentle hiss of the mists. Lief bit his lip, staring back into the blinding whiteness. Where was she?
After another moment he turned, intending to ask Barda what they should do. But before him he found only more mist. "Barda? Barda, wait!"
But there was no answer, and Lief turned around in confusion, staring out into the empty air.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Barda swallowed uncomfortably. It was hard to know whether they were travelling in the right direction. His pants were sticky with mud and his boots stuck with every step. What a foul land!
For the twentieth time his boot sank deeper than his ankle. He floundered for a moment, loosing his balance.
"Lief!" he shouted, "pull me back!"
But no answer came, and the wind seemed to taunt him with its emptiness. He struggled for a moment longer, forcing himself not to panic. Where were the others? They had been just behind him!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ahead Lief could see dark shapes, and he made towards them with a faint hope that it might have been the others. But when he reached the spot he found it was only a larger clump of snakegrass, all bunched together.
Suddenly Lief heard something over the slow whispering of the mists. It was a voice! And it was singing! Lief sunk to his knees in the mud, sheltering behind the grass for a better look. Peering through the gap he saw her. A woman in white, and it seemed as though she were part of the mists...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*damson rhee* - thankyou :D it's great to here from u! c u next time!
*Fuu* - cold weather makes me hyper too! but I'm sick at the moment and can't go outside :( I've changed the front page pic for a bit of different scenery, but your welcome to send another that I'll put up after kel's.
*tomfelton's girl* - i don't have your email adress! and it's not on your profile page - leave it in the next review and I'll add u to the list.
*Pen2* - Sorry bout the cliffie - I do do it all the time, don't I? Also sorry about this chapter which also ended up being freakily ended. Thanks for always reviewing!
*Eldainwe Aduial Elenath* - Rowan and the Zebak? yeah - it's been out for ages! great story! Hope u haven't sent any one after me as I took so long- I'd better watch out for Ols! I just luv your picture of Arc - I'd be so thrilled if someone did a whole body sort of profile pic for one of my original characters - I think u make pen's day! (i'm jealous!) well done!
*suzi* - thankyou! sorry I left the chapter like that! hope you like the new part!
*lexi* - yay! long review! Thankyou for the list of good things! and sorry bout the cliffie (I can't help it!) Wow there are a lot of questions there - you'll have to wait and see!
*Anon* - mmm not sure if you're up to here yet. Oh well, Jasmine didn't die - and if u didn't like that cliffie then you won't like chap 5,6,7,etc thanks
*lady knight alanna* - thankyou, glad you like the story! When I was reading the books I got the impression Barda wasn't too much younger than sharn, as he was always referring to Lief and Jasmine as children, but hmmm an interesting thought. thankyou :D
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