Cloudchild

Chapter 4 - Friends

Double doors burst open. Annani lost her friend's hand and flopped upon the marble floor, breathless.

"I...can't..."

Inanna laughed. "Oh, come on! Get up!" She patted her thighs and beckoned.

Face down, Annani panted.

Inanna waited.

Annani puffed.

"Umm, you alright?"

"N-no..." Annani wheezed. "Feet burning, cramps, throat sore..."

"If you give up, you don't get stronger."

"H-hey! I saw fighting so close, was buried, hurting... Wuh-uhp!" Inanna scooped her friend up. "I'll dirty—your dress?"

"It's just dust and flower powder. You are way more important!" The princess excitedly carried her pollinated friend.

Annani's eyes widened. "You're...very strong."

Inanna grinned, eyes tinkly. "I like boy stuff!"

"Then take me away, hero!" Annani wrapped an arm around Inanna's neck.

"Yes, milady!" They laughed.

The princess toted Annani through reflective, crisscrossing corridors overgrown with flowery vines and immense fauna. Roots, vines and miniature water channels flowed down the architecture and flooring alongside the walls, scenery like an indoor jungle amid reflections.

The girls passed several slacking guards, one swagging wine.

"Oh? So she did have a buddy after all."

"I thought she only had imaginary friends."

"Guess not."

The guard who gulped wine finished and wiped her mouth. "Hm? What?"

Annani chuckled. "Do the guards know anything about you?"

"Nope!"

Inanna kicked double doors open, a cloister next, exterior enclosed by walls of vines and trees. Between the colonnades were various statues and shrines, the first few of dragons.

"Who's that?" Annani pointed at a statue of a kneeling knight, helm and shield horned. Behind him, a statue of a scaly horse with crocodilian teeth and tail.

"Sir Aeran, a knight of the olden days, who died long ago during The Dragon Wars of Giants and Dökkálfar."

"And what was that?"

"It was a complex war because the Giants and Dökkálfar sought to slay the Dragons but also were at war with one another. The Moon Owls joined the fray, unsurprisingly. Nevertheless, it led to a chaotic four-way war especially along the waterline. Up here in the skyline, we were spared most of the horrors because of Aeran's leadership."

"Oh. Sounds like it went good for us."

"We and the Ljósálfar defended against frenzied assaults of the Moon Owls while the Dökkálfar and Giants took their time to exploit weaknesses. Sir Aeran was the only knight who personally slew a Giant, a Moon Owl, and a Dökkálfr—each being commanders—in a single battle. He and his steed, a Longma named Firewolf, died from wounds afterwards. A shame he never got the chance to write his tactics and strategies into a book. His military genius and martial prowess died with him."

Annani blinked a few times.

"Several other nations were also involved but... I would have to reread some histories to remember all the details. Basically, the Kinnara Kingdom was devastated while the invading armies ascended Mount Meru. They fought one another the entire time. Many Miamchi villages were ransacked, too. What is so strange about Paraves is that they wage war on one another so often."