Relics of Aether - Homebound (Sample)

Chapter 4

Marina opened her eyes, and found herself laying face up on the ground. The sky was clear, with the sun lazily sitting above the western horizon. She watched as some seagulls flew overhead, giving out their iconic cries. The grass below her was soft when touched, and had a pleasant aroma to it. As she breathed it in, the scent of death crept into her nose, and her face soured in response. Remembering her previous predicament, she shot upright and looked about frantically. She tensed as she gazed upon the lifeless, bloodied corpses of the mercenaries, some mangled beyond recognition. Her stomach turned. Trees were uprooted and there were deep cuts in the ground as if some monster had rampaged through the area. Bodies were thrown sporadically as if they had fallen from the sky. She averted her eyes and ran. She had to get away. As far and as fast as she could. She didn't even want to think about what happened here. Why she was the only one left alive.

After a short time, she collapsed. She was exhausted. It felt like she hadn't eaten in days. She had to get to town. It was her only hope. She looked around and found some berries that her father told her were safe to eat. Later she found a small rodent and killed it with a rudimentary spear of her water magic, eating it raw. It helped for a while, but her small legs were giving out. It was getting dark. Her whole body was shaking from both fatigue and the growing cold. She leaned back against a tree and let herself fall down its trunk. Her eyes were getting heavy. Her body could barely move. She felt numb. Her eyes closed.

She heard a muffled noise. Then someone talking. To her? She couldn't be sure. What felt like arms were placed under her and she was lifted up as her consciousness slipped away.

Marina woke up to the light breaking through her window's curtains and her heart stopped for a moment before she remembered that, for the first time in forever, she was actually able to sleep in today. She was still sore from work from the days prior, but she could get past it with how generally well-rested she felt. She went through her usual morning routine, only today she wore her casual wear, a comfortable light blue blouse with a neat little skirt. Everything seemed a little brighter than usual today. The only thing to raid Marina's conscience was whether she would take Melody up on her offer. She thought about it as she made her way to the kitchen to get her usual breakfast.

So Midas really isn't here today. Maybe I should go with Melody. It would be really nice to leave this place. She weighed her options in her head. Yeah. I'll go see her and we'll go do whatever she was planning. Knowing her, Midas probably won't even find out.

Once she finished eating, She made her way to Melody's room, which was all the way on the third and top floor of the manor. Marina made her way up the flights of stairs. The third floor was just as extravagant as the other two, also featuring many expensive art pieces and designs, further emphasized by the sunlight that came in from above. Unlike the lower floors of the manor, during the day the third floor was lit by the skylights that made up most of the roof, which were progressively chasing away the shadows as the sun continued to rise.

She walked down the halls until she found what she remembered to be Melody's room. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. Inside, a series of thumps followed by a loud bang leading to a muffled "dammit" solidified it as the correct room. After a moment, the door cracked open and Melody poked her head out, removing a piece of her silver hair from her mouth.

"Whaddaya want?" she questioned sluggishly, rubbing her tired eyes. Her long hair was an absolute mess, straying off in ways that probably shouldn't even be possible. She blinked a few times before actually looking at Marina. "Oh. Right. Yeah hang on. Just-" she paused to yawn, talking lazily- "give me a minute." From outside of the door, Marina could hear some shuffling and what sounded like Melody tripping over something. After around a couple minutes, the door opened again, and Melody lazily motioned for Marina to come inside. "You can hang out in here for a little bit. Imma go to the bathroom real quick." She left as Marina entered, carrying some folded clothes and a box that likely held her makeup and hygiene items.

As the door closed, Marina took a look around the room. It was still a little dim in the room, especially in contrast to the sun-lit corridors outside of it. More noticeably, it was a mess. The wooden floor was littered with clothing next to Melody's melodramatic romance novels. The room was bigger than Marina's, but Melody had every wall covered with either shelves or drawers which were completely cluttered with various books and odd collectibles that Marina couldn't begin to understand. It was always interesting to see the inside of Melody's room, as it sat in complete contrast with the great effort she went through to make the manor spotless. Such diligence and tenacity was a key reason why Melody was allowed to remain working at the manor, as Midas saw her as an asset for maintaining it.

A few minutes passed and the door swung open, revealing Melody, now dressed in her casual attire with her hair done neatly. All signs of her drowsiness seemed to have faded.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" She states excitedly, closing the door and throwing away her nightgown with the box she was carrying.

"I want to but... how will we get out without anyone seeing?" Marina inquired anxiously. Melody gave a mischievous smile as she made her way across her room, kicking some of the objects left on the floor.

"Well, here we just so happen to have a window leading to the new hedged-off area." She said, pointing toward the window in her room. Below was another garden area, consisting of tall hedges surrounding a series of intricately cut bushes, each elegantly shaped as a different creature.

"Right. And you're planning to jump from the third floor."

"Well yes, but... Well... Just come over here." She said as she motioned Marina to the window. "Just watch." She opened the window and stepped onto the windowsill. After taking a brief look at the surrounding area, she stretched out her arms toward the wall below the window and her hands began to glow as they had before. Chains of purple electricity shot from her fingertips, creating a charged strip running down the wall from the window to the ground.

"Oh no."

"Don't be a baby. I've done this TONS of times. Now get out here and hold onto my back." With a sigh, Marina reluctantly climbed onto the little space remaining on the windowsill and latched herself securely on Melody's back. "Alright- just hold on tight" She stated as she jumped off the windowsill, extending one of her arms toward the wall. Marina reflexively closed her eyes as she felt the sensation of falling in her gut. She could feel her fins flare out as her whole body tensed.

Bad idea bad idea bad idea bad idea bad- Then the feeling subsided. They had stopped.

"You know, you'd think that after all we've done you'd learn to trust me a bit more" Melody remarked jokingly. Marina opened her eyes, and saw Melody with her foot planted on the wall and a streak of electricity running from her hand to the strip which she placed along the wall, creating an effect similar to a mountain climber on a rappel. She then jumped off the wall and the streak that went from her hand to the strip lengthened before pulling her back to the wall, and she repeated the process until they were safely on the ground. Then, with a snap from her fingers, she caused the electricity on the wall to vanish. Marina felt like she was frozen in place, her body still stiff from the initial stress. "Marina. You can let go now."

"O-oh, sorry." Marina unwrapped herself from her near-stranglehold on Melody and took a moment to stretch herself out. As she calmed down, her fins where ears should be relaxed and those on her forearms closed and once again flattened against her body. "You're not planning anything else like this, are you?"

"Probably not? I don't know." She caught Marina's skeptical look. "Oh come on. You can admit that it was at least a LITTLE fun. Anyway, I'm just really glad you decided to come with. Seriously, you won't regret it." With that, the pair made their way around the various shrubbery until they eventually found themselves clear of the manor's grounds, now hidden in the forest. With Melody gleefully leading the way, they made their way around the forested border of the manor's grounds until they eventually found themselves parallel to the main road. They stayed in the forest to be safe, which didn't bother Marina in the slightest as she took in the environment. She loved the chatter of birds and the subtle rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze. The shade from the trees kept the girls cool, protecting them from the blazing heat of the sun.

I guess it was fun. Just a little. Marina smiled to herself, more relaxed than she had been in awhile.