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Whistle Against the Wind

Chapter 8 – Brief Reunions

Whispers flooded the air as Asbel woke the next morning. His eyes were still closed as he heard Horan and Iselia's familiar voices. But there was another…

"Mito!" Asbel exclaimed as he leapt out of his cot. He had been staying in the downstairs section of the mill (where the kitchen and the inner workings of the mill were) but he could distinctly hear Mito's voice drifting down from upstairs.

Mito must have heard the exclamation, as he no sooner poked his head out from the top of the ladder. In no time, the mustachioed man was down the ladder to meet a friend he never believed he would see again. Asbel let him grab him in a tight embrace.

"Prince Asbel, I must admit, when Horan told me someone wanted to meet me here, I was in no way prepared for this," he said as a few tears formed in his eyes. "Horan and Iselia here informed me of everything you told them about the castle."

Asbel looked intently at Mito, trying to study what his reaction was. He seemed rather stoic about it all, much to Asbel's surprise. "And do you believe me?"

Mito sighed. "Of course I do, Asbel, but I fear things are a little more complicated than you thought. As you are aware, Nausicaä is to be married in less than a week."

A little annoyed at how often he had to be reminded of this, Asbel rolled his eyes and gave a short grunt. "I've heard. That doesn't mean anything, though. That's plenty of time to stop it and reveal who this prince really is."

Mito closed his eyes and sighed again. "Asbel, in the last two days Prince Cáel has brought in almost a hundred soldiers from Amras to guard the castle. I doubt even I would be able to enter the castle at this point. Just the other day, I had to lie about having urgent medication for Obaba just so I could talk to Nausicaä. I don't think that would work again."

Asbel sat back down on his cot, thinking. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face vigorously with his calloused hands. "I'm not just going to sit back and watch this happen."

Just then, Horan descended the ladder, joining Mito in front of Asbel on his cot. "You know Asbel, it's a shame we don't know more about this Prince Cáel or where he comes from. I'm sure that might help our cause if only a little."

"I know, I just…" Asbel trailed off suddenly lost in thought, his eyes going wide at the idea in his head.

"Asbel?" Mito pushed carefully.

"Mito, where is Nausicaä's glider?" Asbel said quietly, not looking up.

Mito was confused by the request. "At the castle, I believe, but I'm not sure what this – "

"Please, see if you can get it for me. Make up a story, anything, I don't care. I just need it, and I need it as soon as you can manage."

"Asbel, I understand your urgency, but I still am not sure what Nausicaä's glider will do to aid us. I can maybe get into the castle if I'm lucky, but sneaking out with her glider? That's impossible."

"No… you're right…" Asbel added quietly. "I'm going to have to fly it out."

Asbel immediately threw on his beige tunic over the underclothes he had been sleeping in. A very confused Mito and Horan stared at each other, having no idea what Asbel was planning.

"Asbel, are you alright?" Mito asked cautiously, as Asbel stuffed his face with an apple, a muffin, and some nuts. No reply came, as the brown-haired young prince ran back and forth, packing whatever he could possibly need into a knapsack that Horan had given him.

"Mito, Horan, please continue to keep my existence a secret," was all he said before he plunged into the waters of the windmill.

"Prince Asbel! What are you doing? Have you gone mad? That leads right back to the dungeons!" Asbel looked up at him, the water coming almost all the way up to his thighs.

"Do you have a better way of getting back into the castle?" he shouted back up to the two men. He simply saluted the men and began to swim into the watery abyss from which he had entered the windmill only two days prior.

The ride down the aqueduct was nowhere near as long as the trudge up. It took less than 10 minutes for Asbel to once again be in the one place he hoped to never return: the dungeon. He quickly grabbed the wall of the aqueduct before he went swimming off into unknown parts of the castle and lifted himself up and over the edge. The way down seemed a little less daunting now that he had been properly fed and well-rested.

Just as he imagined, the dungeon was empty. Which was good, meaning the evil prince hadn't managed to lock up the likes of poor Obaba or Lord Yupa yet. Or even Nausicaä for that matter. He quickly but quietly made his way up the steps of the dungeon, wringing out his tunic as he went. When he reached the door, he had to get on his tip toes to peek out of the rather high window of the dungeon door. The coast was clear.

Asbel slowly opened the dungeon door, emerging finally into the castle he never thought would feel more like a prison. He knew the kitchens were nearby and it was only a few flights of stairs before he could make it up to Nausicaä's room…

Whispers froze Asbel on the spot. He quickly glanced around to hide behind something, anything. He spotted a closet about twenty feet away and sprinted headfirst into it, just in time for two Amrasian soldiers to pass by.

"I wish this wedding would just be over with. I'm tired of the prince's sour attitude," one of the soldiers commented.

"Yeah, well, this Princess Nausicaä isn't so great herself. All she does is sit in her room all day. What kind of future queen does that?"

"True. At least we won't have to worry about her once the prince becomes king. Come to think of it, we won't have any of these godforsaken people of the valley to deal with at all."

One of them snickered but Asbel couldn't tell who. His blood was boiling like mad. He recalled the rumors he and Lord Yupa had heard during their travels, but it all seemed so ridiculous. These last few weeks had proven him very, very wrong.

As soon as he was sure the soldiers were out of sight, he slipped out of the closet without a sound and continued off in the direction of the kitchens. It was still rather early in the morning, but he knew the castle would already be in full bustle. Hiding behind corners as servants passed by, Asbel finally made his way into one of the back entrances to the kitchens. Most of the cooks were too busy to turn around and notice him. Without even a breath, Asbel crept by, heading for a door on the far side of the kitchen that he knew would lead to Nausicaä.

Just as he reached to open the door, it swung open, smacking him hard on the forehead.

"Oh, I am so sorry dear, I didn't see you – AHHHHHHHH!" the woman ended with a scream. It was Nausicaä's maid Zela.

From the floor, Asbel looked up, horrified that he had been spotted. His eyes went wide as he waved his arms back and forth in an attempt to quiet her.

A few cooks had heard the commotion and were on their way over. Asbel panicked. He looked around until he spotted a pantry he dashed inside and indicated Zela do the same.

"Zela, is everything alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost!" one of the cooks asked, concerned.

"I… I just saw a mouse," she said shakily. "I think it went into the pantry…" she added as she quickly made her way into the small room and shut the door. The cooks who had come over were obviously a little confused as to why she would willingly go into a pantry with a mouse after she just screamed because of it but… Zela was always a little odd.

"Prince Asbel! You're alive? Oh praise the heavens!" Zela exclaimed as quietly as she could. Asbel quickly glanced back at the door to make sure no one heard.

"Zela, please listen to me. The princess is grave danger, as is the entire kingdom. I've got to get up to Nauscaä's room as quickly as possible and without anyone seeing." He didn't have much time and he'd rather just get right to the point.

"I, well, of course, Prince Asbel," Zela tried to protest but conceded. It was obviously something very important and she knew better than to stand in the way.

In the corner of the pantry, she spied a dirty chef's apron and quickly threw it to Asbel. "It's not going to be easy with you looking like that so put that on." Asbel did as he was told but was surprised when Zela started tying a large cloth napkin around his head. "Your hair is too recognizable. This will keep it out of sight." Asbel didn't like the feeling of something on his head that wasn't his hat.

"Now, keep your head down and follow me." Zela quietly opened the pantry door and glanced around. She quickly motioned for Asbel to proceed and he followed. The cooks were all back to work on their morning dishes as they crept out the door she smacked him in the face with.

The route they took from the kitchen was unfamiliar to Asbel, but he quietly thanked her that she chose a less populated path. They passed several people on their way up various staircases but everyone simply said their greetings and went on their way, much to Asbel'srelief. He soon found himself outside the entrance to Nausicaä's room, but he felt his hands shaking as he got ready to knock. Zela noticed and obviously felt no inhibitions about entering the princess's room unannounced. She opened it slowly and looked around.

"Princess Nausicaä?" No reply came. She motioned for Asbel to come in before anyone found him in the hallway and closed the door. It was then that Asbel noticed the stone door that led to her secret room was open.

"I'll take it from here, Zela. Thank you for everything." He warmly grasped her hands, grateful for his luck of running into her. "Oh, I almost forgot." He quickly untied the chef's apron and the napkin from his head, handing them to her. "You can keep those," he said with a small smile and a wink as he headed through the secret stone door and down the steep staircase.

Nausicaä was sitting at her wooden table, examining one of her plants. Her posture was slouched as she poked at a few of the leaves. Teto, whom Asbel hadn't even seen since he returned from his long journey, was perched on her shoulder. Asbel tried his best to stay as quiet as he could to not startle her or the little fox-squirrel, but he slipped a bit on one of the stairs and let out a small yelp.

Teto hissed as Nausicaä flew to her feet. "Who's there?" she called out into the dark that engulfed the staircase.

"Just a clumsy old friend looking for a favor," Asbel said as he emerged from the shadows.

"Asbel…" Nausicaä's entire body was rigid, her face pale. "You are alive." She didn't say it with surprise. She said it as the confirmation of a fact. She suddenly felt dizzy and quickly braced herself against the table. Asbel immediately ran over to her, prepared to catch her if she fell.

"Nausicaä, are you alright? Here just sit back down." He gently moved her back onto the bench she had been sitting at just moments before. He breathing was heavy. "I have a lot to tell you."

Asbel wasted no time in explaining what had happened over the last few weeks, from his time in the dungeon, to Horan, Iselia, and Mito, to his return to the castle.

"I knew that something wasn't right," Nausicaä stated at the ended of his story, "I just didn't know how bad it really was."

"Nausicaä, I need your glider." The request caught her off guard.

"You need my glider? Why?" She had no idea where he could possibly go at this point. Was he really going to leave her again?

"There's something I have to find out. In Amras. Your glider is the fastest way for me to get there and, trust me, I cannot delay any longer."

Nausicaä stared into Asbel's face intently, clearly seeing the desperation in his eyes. "Come with me."

She led him back up the staircase and into her bedroom. From one of her closets, she dragged out her glider. She hadn't used it in months and thus it had been covered in a thin layer of dust. She gently wiped it off, staring at it, lost in thought.

"Take me with you."

Asbel's eyes shot up to hers. "What?"

"Please, take me with you. I need to find out what is going on just as much as you do." Her eyes were pleading with him. He wished he could take her, like in the old days when they were saving the valley from the raging Ohmu, when they were rebuilding the valley together…

"Nausicaä, you know as well as I do that you have a duty to your people. You cannot leave them now. The prince would be absolutely furious at your disappearance and who knows how much havoc he would wreak in response?" Asbel felt bad. Here Nausicaä was trapped in her own castle like a damsel in distress, itching for adventure and freedom, and he was denying it to her. But he was right. There was no way she could leave now. But he would set things straight - he had to.

Nausicaä gripped her glider as she stared out the window. "You're right, I'm being foolish." She sighed and walked her glider over to where Asbel stood in front of her window. "Just promise me you'll come back, okay?"

Asbel smiled his goofy smile at her, which lightened her greatly. "Of course, princess." He took the folded-up glider from her and took a look out of the window himself. The wind was blowing with fervor at the moment and he knew he would have to leave soon.

Nausicaä quickly leaned out the window, pulling out a small ledge that extended out into the open air. This wouldn't be the first time someone had left via glider from this window.

"Now, put the glider on the ledge, Asbel. I'm going to have to push you over the edge. Then, pull open the wings and the wind should be able to get you stabilized again. His eyes went wide.

"You're just going to push me out the window? You don't have some fancy contraption to launch me?"

She laughed a little at how nervous Asbel suddenly became. "Oh, there's something I wanted to give you before you go." Nausicaä ran over to her bedside table and pulled something out that Asbel couldn't see. "This should give you some luck on your journey."

She held out his floppy brown hat to him and he was speechless. "Wha-what… Where did you get this?"

"A soldier found it outside the castle, underneath Prince Cáel's window."

"So it did fall off when Grafton grabbed me…" Asbel still seemed shocked. He figured he would never see this little slice of comfort again. He took it from her and quickly pulled it over his shaggy brown hair.

"Alright, Nausicaä. I'm ready."

"Good luck, Asbel," she said as she pushed the glider over the edge with her foot.

Asbel barely had time to grab back on to the rails as he fell but was able to quickly scramble to get the wings open. As they opened, he and the glider spun furiously in the wind and he did his best to hold on. But the wind ended up carrying him higher into the air instead of lower, thanks to an updraft, and he was able to stable out without fear of crashing into the village below.

He turned his head around as the wind carried him high into the sky, giving one last look at the castle. He could faintly make out Nausicaä in her blue dress from one of the high windows and smiled. "Don't worry, Nausicaä. I'm going to figure out a way to stop this."

He turned back around and gently leaned on the glider to turn it towards the sea - and towards Amras.

Thank you for reading!

- brigette (Kaze-no-Tenshi89)