I walked back along the streets, my boots clicking against the stone. Everything from earlier was a blur. Falling. Steele's eyes. The rush of guards examining me, ensuring I was intact and unharmed. They were all speaking all at once, but that's not what concerned me.
What concerned me was what was going to happen to Steele. I tried talking to them, begging them to leave him alone. Steele had, after all, saved my life.
I believe my words were left unheeded based solely at the belligerence and treatment of me. We ascended the Lock, and I knew things were going to be bad for the Orion. I could hear Steele's growls and shouts. He sounded frustrated, not desperate, as if he were trying to explain himself but no one was listening.
It pained me – more than I thought. The guards released me, assuring discipline would be provided to the guards responsible for my fall. I told them again that I didn't want harm to come to Steele, but the look in their eyes told me they were not going to listen to me. It was obvious they were not going to take "no" for an answer. In fact, they listened to none of my words, so why would pleading for mercy for the guards.
So, I continued walking down the street to the room where I was staying.
But…
I suddenly realized something. It was almost embarrassing that I hadn't noticed until now.
It wasn't my road.
In fact… it wasn't the city.
How long had I been walking?
I was about to turn around when I recognized part of the road. It was near the inn and the farm where my daughter was staying.
My heart lifted and tears pricked my eyes. It had been so long since I had seen her. I found my legs carrying me in a sprint down the road, arriving at the inn within moments. I burst through the door, wanting nothing more than to hold my daughter after such a traumatic day.
Wait… something was wrong.
The inn was familiar, the interior smelling of stale ale and decaying wood and ash from the fireplace, but something was off. The tables and chairs inside were elongated. The bottles were smaller than I remembered, and I could hear something, someone, nearby.
I strained my ears and knew the sound immediately. It was the sound of crying, almost imperceptibly. What was more telling was that I recognized who it was – it was the sound of my daughter, Terrilyn, crying.
My motherly instincts sent me flying around the room in search for her. I called her name, but there was no response. It was coming from the corner.
I approached, creaking step after creaking step, until I knew she was close, but I could not see her. I called out again and heard the crying muffle. Was she in trouble? Was she being hurt? I implored her to answer, but some part of me knew that I needed to look down.
There. Terrilyn was curled up in the corner, but something was wrong. She was small. Very small; to the point she could fit in her hand.
"Sweetheart? It's okay. It's mommy," I tried to speak softly, but it came out of me like an avalanche – like thunder. Terrilyn looked up at me, those deep blue eyes looked at me filled with sheer terror. I wanted to comfort her. I wanted to hold her close and tell her everything was going to be alright. I began to reach forward; that's when it happened.
She opened her mouth and screamed, a sound that ripped through my soul. It was agonizing and primal. It was also ear shatteringly loud. The sound itself began cascading and echoing against the walls, which suddenly began morphing into walls of a cave.
My neck was suddenly heavy as were my arms. I raised them only to discover they were covered in chains. Following beside the shrieks of my daughter were the deep, boundless laughs of the guards. I sucked in panicked breath after panicked breath.
What was going on?
I jolted awake. A cold sweat drenched my body from head to toe. My heart pounded mercilessly in my chest.
It was a dream. No. It was a nightmare.
I laid back on my bed and breathed deeply until my ribs stopped aching. Not sure when it happened, I reached up and wiped away the tears which I didn't know were streaming down my face. I was home. I was safe. I wasn't a giant. I wasn't an Orion. I was just me, a mother far from her daughter trying to survive.
There was little to no chance of me going back to sleep, but I rolled over onto my side anyway and clutched my arms close to my chest wanting nothing more than to hold my daughter. I missed her so much. Perhaps, soon, I could go and visit her and the family soon. I had enough to make one trip.
On the other hand, a different part of me ached with pain and curiosity not for my daughter, but for the Orion. What was happening to Steele? Was he okay? A small portion of me doubted he wanted to see me ever again if the guards did indeed torment and punish him. Then again, the way he looked at me – those eyes – something was there. I knew he was probably just as scared as I was. I knew he understood me, for what it was worth.
After a time, I pushed myself out of my cot and began to get ready for the day, realizing I wasn't going back to sleep with these thoughts. I began to wonder what words he knew from our language and how much he understood; and should I dare act of the notion that took root in my mind. Perhaps it was the mother in me that saw a person, not an Orion, with a child-like mind who hadn't been taught to speak. Another part wondered if he would he be willing to cooperate? Would he want to learn our language if I learned his language?
Regardless, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to go back to the Turret and descend to his prison cell to see him again. Hopefully, he would be willing to reciprocate my efforts.
~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~
I was running hard and fast. My lungs burned. My head pounded with every thump of my heart. I knew if they caught me that it would be my demise. Fate, however, had a different ruling for my fate.
A branch reached out and snagged my clothes with its claw like branches. It dug into my flesh. I felt it trying to keep me grounded. I tore free. The arching path in front of me began to close, the trees uprooting themselves to ensnare me in their clutches. I thrashed violently, but there was no escape. The vines and branches reached up and began wrapping around me, choking the life from my body, and pulling me to the ground.
There was a voice that could have cracked the sky coming for me. I knew it. There was that rhythmic thumping in the ground. It couldn't be my heart. It wasn't fast enough. The trees around me suddenly parted, uprooted on a whim, to reveal the massive features and the immense hand coming right for me.
I was thrust into the air, unable to move, and my arms were pinned to my sides. Why was this happening? What had I done? Did I deserve what was happening to me? Was what I had already endured not been enough? The words the giant spoke were things I couldn't understand, so instead I fought with all of my might.
I fought, that is, until the crushing grasp began tightening. I could feel my life being crushed out of me, ribs breaking and intestines bursting. Just as I cried out, I woke in a cold sweat.
Every part of me was tense and shivering. My throat was tight and the heart that was supposed to help me survive was trying very hard to kill me. It fluttered and pounded just beneath my ribs. I forced myself to inhale slowly, but a wrenching in my gut made me stop short. I hadn't eaten since the Factotum came and the barrels they brought in after ushering her away were suspect.
My thoughts tugged to the woman. I hoped she was alright and that I hadn't frightened her away. She, of all the guards and Factotums I had encountered, she was by far the most caring and thoughtful toward me.
My insides riled again, churning and growling uncomfortably.
I was hungry.
I was thirsty.
I was hurt.
The burns and slashes on my flesh were not deep, but a thousand small wounds could defeat an enemy just as efficiently as a single, harsh blow. The only satisfaction I received was that they couldn't do any more than the thousand small slashes which scraped the surface of my skin.
I shuddered again and stared at the barrels on the ledge with distain and suspicion.
Did I dare?
My insides churned and growled to the point I could feel it in every tense and aching muscle in my being.
I had to risk it. Who knew if she was going to be allowed back? Who knew if she would continue to be the Factotum? If this was to be my end, at least I would choose it – and I was so thirsty. Starving didn't seem like a good way to go. Freezing didn't seem like a good way to go. Dying alone in this cavern didn't seem like a good way to go.
I pushed my aching body up onto my elbow, my bones creaking like an old ship in protest, and reached out cautiously, snagging one of the barrels. As I cracked the top and stared at the liquid, I couldn't help but smile to myself as I thought of the one person who had shown some form of decency toward me. I gave a halfhearted toast in my head and downed the cold liquid, hoping silently I would get to see her again.