She felt the brunette girl go limp in her arms as she hauled her inside the helicopter first. The sun had just started to come out, making everything sparkle and shine in its bright glory. She relished the warmth for a second, floating in midair. Then landing her feet lightly on the helicopter rail, she carefully folded her wings in on the way inside.
"Leahe," the lady sitting in the middle row patted the seat next to her.
She could tell she was old, with her long black hair streaked with gray and how she moved a bit more stiffly than the others, but Leahe knew she was a strong, confident and elegant lady behind her tall and old figure. A monocle framed in thin plated gold was positioned over her left eye, her light brown eyes twinkling in the sunlight.
A beautiful young girl with long blonde hair sat in the back seat of the vehicle, smiling and waving as Leahe sat down in the seat in front of her.
Her wings took up most of the space in the back even tucked in, making breathing seem almost stuffy and uncomfortable to Leahe.
"Hey," she waved.
"I hope the Puzzle Master knows what she is doing. This girl is all filth." the lady chattered.
"I mean, she was raised in the streets," the girl piped up. "Her life must have been really hard out there without any parents,"
"Oh, don't pity her, Emilie. She and her friends sure put up a fight down there," Leahe replied. She massaged her injured wing, wincing. It felt sore and stiff.
Emilie's pretty blue eyes darkened a shade as she carefully picked the girl up from the front and propped her into the vacant seat in the back.
"Don't talk to me like that. I was watching the whole thing, and it seems to me you got some work to do on kidnapping people," she replied, strapping the girl in. "I almost debated whether to come in and help you at one point,"
"I was doing completely fine on my own! Plus, how did I know she had her magic friends by her side?" Leahe retorted. "Not to mention one of them managed to land a hit on the heli!"
Emilie opened her mouth but the lady spoke over her first.
"Girls, we still have a job to do, so please continue this conversation after we finish our mission!" she looked up at them sternly, causing both girls to look away in disdain.
After a few more minutes of flying, Emilie leaned over in curiosity to point at the blade Leahe was clutching in her hands.
"What is that?" There was still a note of annoyance in her voice.
"It was the girl's. She dropped it during the fight,"
Emilie dug around the girl's other sleeve and produced an identical dagger.
"I wonder why she had these?" she questioned.
"She's just a street thug, of course she had one," the lady fixed both of them with a hard stare. "Those streets are dangerous, especially for a small girl like her."
"No, but look," Emilie pointed at where the blade's handle met with the sharp blade. "It's a pair of wings."
Both Leahe and the lady leaned over for a closer look at the strange pair of wings extending from the handle. The shocking thing was it moved like real wings, finally resting curled around the handle. Emilie took out her own blades, comparing the two. The lady sitting next to Leahe paled, staring at the handle.
"We are landing in 5...4...3...2...1..." the pilot's voice came over the intercom.
As the helicopter neared the tunnel, Leahe and Emilie tucked their wings in their protective cloaks. Leahe draped the unconscious girl over her back, obscuring her with the cloak. The helicopter dropped them off at the entrance, and the fierce winds of Windmoore rushed out to greet them, tangling their hair and threatening to whisk their cloaks away. As Leahe looked up at the sky, she was surprised to see it was almost noon, the sun slowly rising in the sky.
The tunnel opened wide in front of them as the threesome entered into the secret headquarters of the Puzzle Master. The tunnel led to a vast, open area where many Valkyries flew out and about, in their one and only safe haven. And in the middle, was the building where the Puzzle Master lived, the place where everyone else worked and held important meetings in.
Emilie drew her knives as soon as she emerged and in response a curved knife hurtled toward them at astounding speeds, only to be intercepted by Emilie's blade. With a clang, it fell to the ground.
"You're back. With the girl," Suri wielded the other pair of the long curved blade in her hand.
Emilie only glared at her.
Leahe thought Suri's new appearance looked almost strange at first, but in the Puzzle Master's colorful world with so much difference involved, it wasn't strange at all. Suri pushed back her long black hair, her small, star shaped golden freckles dotting her complexion.
"Hey sis," Leahe told Suri. "Let us pass."
"The Puzzle Master has requested the girl's presence," the lady said, appearing not to hear Leahe.
Suri tilted her head slightly, studying the lump on Leahe's back. "Well then, hand her over." She extended her hand, looking like she was going to give them something.
Grudgingly, Emilie lifted the girl off Leahe's shoulders and held her out to Suri, who took the girl in her arms and lifted off into the vast open area towards the hill that obscured a small corner of the puzzle shaped building.
"I really don't trust her," Emilie murmured under her breath, and spread her wings to its full extent, shrugging off her cloak.
The lady jumped down into the deep valley, holding a small glass orb. "Deliver her safely," she called as she jumped.
"I'm coming as well," Leahe looked down into the valley, the hills and greenery of the open area filled with hidden Valkyrie homes. The lake looked small from above, sparkling and shimmering in the bright sunlight that flooded into the valley. She loved her beautiful home, the rush of familiar cool air surrounding her, the power she felt as she flew through the great blue sky.
Leahe flapped her wings upwards, a couple feet above the tunnel. From there, she tilted her wings, and shot towards Suri's small shape down below. She could see Emilie following her from the corner of her vision.
It was her first time in the Puzzle Master's office, and she felt a bit of pride seep into her chest. Only people with special permission got to enter.
Small beams of light flooded in from the small windows above their heads, as the Puzzle Master's office was one of the three rooms below the hill it was built on. The other rooms were built above the hill.
The Puzzle Master sat at a polished wooden desk in the corner of the vast room, fingers clacking on the computer keys. Suri was already here, hovering in midair. Cool air emitted from how quickly Suri's wings were beating, similar to a hummingbird.
The girl was lying on a cot on one side of the room, still unconscious.
"Hello, everyone," the Puzzle Master stood up from her desk, looking around the room at her visitors. Leahe reveled at the sight of her, amazed at how she seemed to hold herself with such confidence, like she knew what she was doing a hundred percent of the time.
Her blazing amber eyes sparkled even in the safety of the shadows, her silvery blue hair falling loosely down, a slight curl at the front from tucking it behind her ear repeatedly. She was dressed in a casual outfit, a white blouse complete with black jeans. The Puzzle Master's eyes seemed to bore into her, and Leahe felt a prickle of fear, slightly intimidated.
"Suri, why don't you check the girl for injuries, and we'll have a chat," she gestured to Leahe and Emilie. The Puzzle Master pulled up three chairs for them, and the two girls sat, waiting for her to speak.
Suri waved her hand over the girl's body. A soft blue mist came from her fingertips and wreathed around the girl's body. Leahe watched, entranced as the mist turned red as it passed over any injuries on her body.
"A couple scratches and bruises here and there, but nothing major," Suri reported. "I can heal them really quick if you would like,"
"Alright, and then you may leave. Thank you," the Puzzle Master responded. "Alright girls," she turned to both Emilie and Leahe.
"Thank you for taking this mission for me, I know it was a risk showing yourself to the public, but this mission was of the utmost importance. At least no one saw you yet," she smiled at the two of them, and Leahe felt a prickle of guilt swarm her insides.
Emilie spoke up first. "Umm, I feel there has been a misunderstanding, madame,"
"Please, call me Celeste," the Puzzle Master replied, the corners of her mouth turned down into a frown at the mention of a misunderstanding. "No need to be so formal,"
"As a matter of fact, someone did see us, Celeste. Two someones actually," Leahe said.
"And who are they?" Celeste asked, her frown deepening.
"A girl and a boy, who seemed to be with her in the alley,"
"If they are not a threat, we can invite them here to talk about it,"
"No, that isn't it, mada- uh, Celeste," Emilie shifted a little in her seat, feeling awkward starting on a first name basis. "We're not sure yet, but to our knowledge the girl had a dangerous weapon."
"What kind of weapon?" Celeste asked. She looked alarmed now, her hands clenching in worry.
"A dagger that flashed dark light beams, and one beam managed to hit our vehicle as we were leaving. It didn't affect us greatly, but may have created internal damage to the protective spells on the helicopter. I may not be correct, but I believe it could be a dark weapon from the Demonic War." Emilie replies grimly.
The Demonic War happened only a decade ago, but stories all told it to be horrible, death and blood covering every battlefield, everywhere a place of shortages and destruction. To get rid of the dark horrible feeling everyone felt, every single weapon had been destroyed after the war.
The Puzzle Master has started her safe haven for "Valkyries" not long after, promising safety and protection.
Celeste checked her watch. "Girls, we are out of time, but thank you for telling me this. I have to go to a meeting for right now, but I will investigate further on the vehicle and the two people in the alley so expect a message from me later on."
As Leahe and Emilie stood up to leave she suddenly realized that Suri had already left in the middle of their conversation.
"I don't get why we had to go on that dangerous mission just for a girl though," Emilie asked when they were outside, blinking in the bright sunlight.
"Yeah," Leahe responded, wondering what the Puzzle Master had planned for her. She felt the weight of the girl's daggers in her sleeves, and realized that she had the answer right in front of her.