I'm on a serious roll. Well kinda. The first few chapters are rushed, and have little detail because I seriously want some fluff, and I'm sure you all do. 'All' meaning that one person who doesn't have an account and just stalks random people's fluff stories. Yes, random person, I know you're there, and I was once you. Although, person, if you would be so kind, would you write a review? I promise I'll add more fluff just for you! Even if it's like a bad review on how horrible this story is, I'll still give you more fluff. Why? Easy. I was intending on more fluff anyways.
Mrs. Cormaci pressed on the brakes a bit too hard and a bit too early. Causing Lizzie to bump her head on Gregor's seat. Thankfully, he had a tight grip on both the necklace and camera, and wasn't faltered.
"Mrs. Cormaci," Gregor began to give his most sincere thanks, but was cut off when she raised her hand from the steering wheel, and turned towards him.
"Just get out, and have a save trip down." She smiled, lips turning upwards, and wrinkles creasing further around her cheekbones and forehead. On command, the trio exited the vehicle, and hopped onto the curb. Each of them waved until the red taillights blurred into the other traffic. Grabbing a hold of both his sisters' hands, he led them around the park to take pictures. Upon arrival of the stone slab, Gregor took a picture of it as well, and then he turned the camera towards them, squatted down, and took a picture.
It took the former warrior a while to even get the slab to budge. He exerted much of his energy pushing, kicking, and leaning against the stone before he actually stuck his fingers under the edges and lifted. Gregor pushed the heavy slab, on an angle, and revealed the opening in the ground. He only pushed it open enough so that he could just barely squeeze in. On the top of the staircase, Gregor called up to his sisters for them to come down.
Lizzie helped pass down Boots first, who giggled as fingers clasped around her sides and lowered her into the darkness. Then Lizzie carefully lowered herself into the depths. Once the trio was all down, Gregor reached up to seal off the slab, jutting his fingers in a deep ridge to pull the opening shut.
Gregor still had his fingers entwined with theirs as they walked in the dark. Boots was busy making strange clicking noises, messing with the faint echolocation he could still see with, and Lizzie continued to cling to him as if something would jump out at any moment.
"The tunnel opens up a bit further ahead." He murmured to Lizzie, knowing Boots probably wouldn't understand.
The air felt slightly clearer as the walls around them grew and spread into the cavern. Though seeing that Lizzie was still uncomfortable, Gregor reached into his backpack and pulled out a flashlight for her. He even pulled one out for Boots so she could entertain herself with shadow puppets as they walked.
"Be they Overlanders, be they?" Said a raspy voice behind them.
"Be she princess, be she!" A different voice said in excitement.
Gregor flinched slightly at the newcomers' voices, but soon recognized them to be crawlers. Lizzie on the other hand squeaked and shrunk into Gregor's side, stepping on his foot as she did so.
"Big bugs?" Boots squealed, and she tore away from his hand to the direction of the voiced, her beam of light bouncing with every step. "Where's Temp?" She demanded abruptly, seeing there were only four crawlers there.
"Temp be at Regalia, Temp be. We heard princess' call, we heard." The crawler nodded his small head, and the others snapped their teeth as if to agree.
"What are you names, crawlers?" Gregor sat, motioning for Lizzie to do so as well.
"I be Reach, I be." Said the one who had first spoken.
"I be Nim, I be." Spoke the one who had not talked at all. Nim immediately shrunk back when he or she was done announcing their name.
"I am Tink, I am." Announced the third, to which Boots immediately ran up to the crawler in awe.
She probably now thinks Tinker Bell is a crawler, to this Gregor let out a small laugh.
"Princess likes Tink?" The crawler tilted its head in confusion, and probably awe as well.
"Tink's my favorite!" Boots exclaimed, probably talking about the movie character, and not the giant roach in front of her. Either way, Gregor would not say anything.
"What about you?" Lizzie lifted a small finger to point at the roach that had not spoken. In response, Lizzie only seemed to receive a dull look.
"Be that Screech, be that. Screech cannot talk, Screech cannot." Reach answered for the other crawler. Boots, confused by this, started clicking again in the tongue of the crawlers, and to Gregor's surprise, Screech clicked back.
"Can you take the princess and us to Regalia?" Gregor asked, not standing up yet in case of rejection.
"Will there be grain baskets, will there?"
"I'm sure we can work something out. Maybe even five baskets." Gregor smiled, remembering how terrifying his first time in the Underland had been, and how his life had depended on the grain.
"We lead princess and others to Regalia, we lead." Nim declared, and Boots at once leaped onto Tink's shell. Tink seemed honored, and took the lead. Gregor helped Lizzie climb onto Reach's back. Against Nim's suggestions, Gregor insisted on running beside the crawlers.
After running what felt like hours, the lights of Regalia came into view. Already Gregor's heart was aching. Almost there, he encouraged, just a bit more. He would have sprinted all the way if a sudden grey blur had not appeared in front of him.
"Not that way, Overlander." A deep voiced purred. Gregor recognized it as Euripedes the flier, Vikus' bond. "Through the back, we will go. Nobody needs to know of your arrival save Vikus, these crawlers, your kin, and I."
"W-why? Is something wrong? Did something happen?" Those weren't the exact questions he wanted to ask, but he figured the flier was smart enough to tell what he meant.
"She is fine, Overlander." Euripedes let out a 'hur, hur, hur,' sound that Gregor recognized as laughter, and rolled his eyes.
"I promised a thanks to these crawlers, for they are my friends now." Gregor didn't mean all of it as true as he would have liked, but maybe in the future he could trust them more. For now in the least, they seemed decent.
"Crawlers, newfound friends of the Overlander, I invite you to join us in the city. Unless we can trust you not to tell any other crawlers that you saw the princess today." Euripedes spoke calmly. Though Gregor realized that there was an edge to his voice, as if he hardly trusted them not to spread the word to each of their kin.
"We shall stay, we shall." Tink spoke for all of them, shuffling its wings.
"Go to the back gates, when the guards ask, simply say 'The sweetest fruit is sour around enemies' and they will let you in. Understand?" The flier turned to allow the trio of Overlanders to climb onto his back. Gregor felt a pang in his chest as he remembered flying with Ares.
"Do not waste time, crawlers, travel with great speed." The bat nodded before expanding his thin wings, and in one movement downwards, he lifted off into the sky. Or well, higher in the cave since there was no sky down here.
The flier was cautious enough to fly extremely close to the cave wall as to not be spotted by anybody on patrol. Lizzie continued to cling onto Gregor while on the other hand Boots was not using her hands to hang onto the bat.
For the most part Gregor remained silent, though breaking the quiet with questions on how Regalia had been. Euripedes would give him simple answers, but they sufficed for Gregor.
Soon the outer walls of the palace came into view, the unique designs covering every inch of the walls. The flier instructed that he would land in a darkened area of the palace, and transported to the hospital wings until tomorrow morning. Vikus would talk to him as soon as he could, and explain further.
The trio bid the single flier as he lifted off to presumably tell Vikus of their arrival. There were a few rooms that Gregor guessed used to be bedrooms, and after counting he realized there were at least three rooms. Despite having an open space for all of them, they agreed to stay in one room. Gregor took the lead as they scoped out rooms to make a decision.
The crawlers insisted on rooming with Boots, so they had to choose whatever felt like the largest. After walking into the second room, the space seemed acquitted to suit them all. Gregor and Lizzie walked into the other rooms to collect blankets. This was the first time in the whole trip they felt it safe enough to split up. Lizzie, with her arms full, returned back to the room first, and had to go back for a second trip.
Gregor would have entered the room seconds after her, but thought he saw something move in the unlit hallway. He turned briefly, staring in the shadows, but dismissed the thought of being watched. Just not used to it yet, he assured himself. Gregor turned back to face the room, and almost stepped in, when he heard footsteps behind him. Gregor would have turned around and reacted sooner, but he was nearly tackled to the ground in a hug.