Standing on a precipice, the warm wind moved her to step back. She could see nothing beyond that cliff except the blue sky tainted with dashes of red, like ribbons across the heavens. The breeze kept blowing, every second getting unusually warmer. She stayed motionless, staring straight out into the quiet, placid firmament. Then, in seconds that seemed like years, a large figure engulfed in flames rose from below the precipice. Taken aback by the blaze, she moved backward and shielded her eyes with her arms; trying hardest she could to see what was before her. What a few seconds before was only the breeze now seemed like whispers, the wind like a message she could not decipher. She squinted her eyes trying to steal a look between her forearms to the form in front of her but the blazing inferno was much too bright. Still, whispers filled her ears with words she could not understand, until, after an eternity, the blaze began to weaken while its flames slowly ebbed, and along with it, the wind and the distant voices. She tried to reach out to it before it would completely disappear, but it was constantly beyond her reach. With one arm stretched out to its direction, she watched the figure gradually fade from the grandeur of overwhelming flames into a faint flicker of light until it completely dispersed into the wind. There was nothing to be seen beyond the precipice but the dashes of red and purple that streaked the placid, blue firmament. Silence.
Kisa sat up from her bed, breathing heavily. It took her a few seconds to calm her breathing, after which she scratched her nape. She looked around her room, taking in the sight of its elaborate furniture. Everything had the intricate emblem of the Lotus clan, from the huge bed to the ornate floor, all of which were now familiar to her after her three months stay there.
< What was that? > She tried recalling what took place in her dream. As usual, she couldn't remember much of anything, the last few moments of the dream was drifting away even as she tried to understand them. She sat up a little while longer, staring blankly at the purple covers of her bed. The puzzled girl began making faces while trying to recall the visions she had in her sleep, but she was too sleepy to sort out the fragments of her fading dream. How odd it was that she would be exhausted when she has been sleeping in the last few hours. She figured it was around midnight, rubbed her eyes, and sluggishly lay back down. She tossed and turned a couple of times more before she was able to return to peaceful slumber.
It had been three months after Ferendil and The Yellow Lotus found Kisa wandering around the Lotus territory. And a lot has happened in those three months. Kisa was interminably grateful to Ferendil for defending her from Zymeth that day of her trial, and for always giving her a way out every time she got herself caught in an unpleasant situation. This brought forth a very close friendship between the two girls even though Ferendil's right hand man, Giron, and the foreigner did not always get along. Kisa gained a lot of knowledge about the Lotus clan, the Yellow Lotus, and its leader, since Ferendil would walk her around the old and important parts of the city every now and tell her stories of those parts and of her skirmish adventures. With their frequent talks, Ferendil learned that Kisa was the daughter of the Dragon Clan's leader, and knew that Zymeth would only be too thrilled with that fact so she kept it to herself as best she could.
Encounters with Lord Zymeth were horrible for Kisa. Her every action appeared to irritate him and every word she uttered seemed wrong in front of the severe leader. His look was often that of either suspicion or annoyance towards the girl, but Ferendil was constantly there to successfully get her out of Zymeth's way. Until the night of that dream, Kisa felt safe from Zymeth, because she knew Ferendil would be there.
"Kisa..." The voice of a lady resounded in Kisa's ear. < Is this another one of those dreams again? > She blinked sleepily, slowly opening her eyes.
"Kisa, you have to leave, now." She heard Ferendil say. She vaguely heard a trace of panic in her friend's statement.
"What?" Kisa sat up groggily, startled at what her friend said, her eyes still heavy from deep sleep.
"Lord Zymeth knows who you are, you have to escape right now,"
"What? How did he know?" Kisa asked rubbing her eyes and struggling to get her wits together.
Ferendil hesitated a second and continued hastily, “I cannot tell you, but I will help you get out of the Lotus territory. If Zymeth catches you still here, you will surely suffer and so will your clan. I do not wish for another war. Now, come. Hurry!” She peered out of the door and beckoned for Kisa to follow.
Taking her sword, Kisa followed her friend out of their room. The hallways inside the Lotus keep were dark, lighted only by the eerie violet light from an unknown source and Kisa would not have been able to follow Ferendil had it not been for the tell-tale flash of her weapon's blade and the gleam of silver from her white cloak. Ferendil's pace was swift and tense, and Kisa had to speed up a bit to catch up with her.
"Kisa," Ferendil began after a few minutes of walking down the dark corridor, her tone serious and tense, "We will be going through rooms and quarters that may appear to you as strange and curious. I want you to promise me you will not touch anything,"
Kisa nodded, "I promise!"
"The things in these rooms may be, to you, merely objects of peculiarity, but they are of great importance to Lord Zymeth. Tampering with them would only aggravate his anger further," was Ferendil's warning.
Kisa nodded again, as they turned a corner. For what seemed like a long time, they moved in and out of doors and passageways, through hidden passages and strange rooms. Every room had elaborate designs carved on the walls that all looked the same to Kisa. The walls were painted in a dark shade of purple, which made the engravings more difficult to recognize. At first, the quarters were all very interesting to Kisa, but after realizing that all of them looked the same, her interest shifted to the things kept inside.
They took a rest at one of the small odd-looking rooms for Ferendil to think through Kisa's escape. While doing so, Kisa went wondering around, looking at strangely shaped figures and objects and bizarre carvings that were unfamiliar to her the entire time aware that Ferendil wasn't watching her.
In one corner of that room, partly hidden in the shadows, a certain anomalous stand caught Kisa's eye. It was carved with signs and symbols of the Lotus and designed with elaborate sculptures of figures and creatures that she couldn't make out. She stepped closer and saw an old box, designed similarly, placed above it. Interested in the box, she glanced at Ferendil, who was still working on their route out of the keep, and argued with herself about whether or not she would take a look at it. < I'm sure it wont hurt to look inside it, just a little bit... >
With that decision, she lifted the box from its stand and inspected it from all angles. It was much heavier than it looked. The box was designed in a way, which did not completely cover its inside; it had spaces in between. Kisa took a peak through one of the holes, but saw nothing. < How can this be so heavy if there is really nothing inside!? >
Intrigued by her new-found object of interest she now debated whether or not to open it. < Well, it is empty after all… I'm sure it won't make a difference to anyone. > With that, Kisa turned and pulled the moon-shaped knob at the front of the box. The top voluntarily opened slightly and Kisa took a peek at what was inside. Suddenly, it swung open and a flash of bright green light blinded both Kisa and the startled Ferendil. Ferendil turned around in shock as distant and indistinct sounds were heard, sounds that seemed to emanate from inside the mysterious box.
Slowly, a form began materialized before the two stunned girls. It took a few seconds for them to regain their eyesight and witness a lady gradually appear in front of them from thin air, with her back facing them.
Kisa blinked a couple of times before she was able to take in the fact that there was a stranger in front of her. "Whe..where did she come from?" she looked at Ferendil frantically.
Baffled and speechless was Ferendil by seeing a person emerge out of nothing that she was unable to reply.
The lady turned around, surveying the room, and the two watched her in awe. She had milk-white hair that fell beyond her shoulders and was wearing strange Lotus clothing; very different from the ones Kisa had seen around the territory in her three-month stay. Her left leg had what looked like a thick white stocking that widened towards the bottom, while the other was covered from knee upward by her green asymmetrical garment. The sleeve of her left arm reached her fingers and grew slightly loose towards the end while the other arm had no sleeve, but had a long, white elbow length glove. With her garb were three orbs: one close to the neck, one attached to her belt and one on the glove she was wearing, situated at the back of the hand. The lady, with the outfit she was wearing, seemed to stand out against the bizarre wall designs and carvings of the room.
She looked at her hands as if in disbelief. She then continued to glance around the room until her gaze landed on the two dumbfounded girls; a puzzled smile crept on her face.
"I'm free," she muttered, somewhat shaken, but altogether relieved.
"You're what?" Kisa scratched her head, genuinely puzzled with the girl's abrupt appearance.
"You freed me," she said smiling and taking in her first few moments of freedom. She looked around the room once more, as if she had been there before.
Kisa looked down at the heavy box she was still holding and hastily put it back to its stand, Ferendil eyeing her.
"Kisa, didn't I tell you not to touch any..." Ferendil's words were cut short by the echoes caused by voices and footsteps of Lotus guards as they walked across the corridor. "We have to get going An alarmed Ferendil changed her tone into that of panic; "If we stay here any longer, it will become exceedingly hard for you to escape!" She then turned to the stranger frowning, "You will have to come as well," The lady nodded slowly in reply.
The two followed Ferendil creep out of the room and into the intricate system of corridors, hallways and secret passageways trying to avoid guards as much as possibly can. Ferendil led the way, followed by the other Lotus stranger and then Kisa, attempting to keep up with the swift paces of the two Lotuses. Kisa observed the stranger from behind while following them. Her walk was that of a warrior; a walk with pride and confidence in every step. < She's obviously a soldier or warrior of sorts... How could she have gotten into that box? > They kept moving, once in a while, pausing when a guard or anyone else is heard close by.
While walking through corridors and hallways, Kisa noticed that the stranger often looked around and tried to observe every corner of the keep they passed through.
They kept moving in and out of passageways until finally, after a seemingly endless string of back doors, gloomy hallways and empty rooms, Ferendil was able to lead the two out of the keep using a hidden side door around the back.
Before they began walking to the edge of the city, Ferendil reached into her silver cloak and gave a black bundle to Kisa, "Here, wear this. It will keep you from being noticed by the guards," She began to rummage again through her clothing. "This will help you when you get out of Lotus territory." She handed Kisa a sheaf of papers. "It says you are part of a group of traders. That way, you would not have to go through much questioning when you travel. Just say that you got separated from your 'companions' and they may be lenient towards you."
"Thanks!" Kisa put the cloak on and pulled the hood over her head so that Lotus guards would not be able to distinguish her Dragon features. She then tucked the documents in the folds of the cloak. The stranger needed not require a disguise since her features were already very much of a Lotus, except for the eccentric style of her clothing.
It was still dark outside the keep, but it was already dawning. The sky was a pale hue of blue with dashes of pink and orange that illuminated their path. The city was still asleep but guards were everywhere so the three had to be extremely cautious. It was a long walk to the watchtowers because they had to go around to avoid major city sites where there were many guards. Kisa watched from afar the places that Ferendil took her to and tried to remember the stories that were told to her while they were there.
They followed a narrow road that had odd marks, little holes and some blood spots on its sides and corners. < Probably from those weird soldiers that spit black tar and the ones that have decaying stomachs > Kisa shook in disgust at the thought. She took a glimpse at the stranger wondering what she was thinking about. < Who could she be? > She asked herself.
Soldiers stopped them every now and then, but upon seeing Ferendil, they would simply nod politely and walk off without a trace of suspicion. They paced along that road for quite a while before they were finally at the foot of the Lotus guard towers. Ferendil said her goodbyes to Kisa and wished the two of them well.
"Thank you so much Ferendil!" Kisa hugged her in deep gratitude as the stranger looked on.
"Take good care okay?" Ferendil replied, "And don't get yourself robbed again," She smiled sadly. Kisa nodded.
The two were about to set off to the woods when Ferendil called out to Kisa's companion. Both of them turned around and Ferendil started, "I wasn't able to get your name...?"
"Axyll." The stranger replied. And the two figures walked on, becoming one with the shadows that slowly disappeared as the new day continued to conquer the waning night.