She was being carried away swiftly by large, strong arms, her body bumping over rocky ground. She came to a cave set in the cliff side, hewn out of rough stone. She started as she was dropped to the ground, but before she could twitch, a shadowy, sinister shape loomed over her, blocking out the light. The Mountain Queen had come......
Sienna woke with a gasp, her body drenched in freezing sweat. It's just a dream, she told herself. Only a nightmare. But Sienna couldn't shake the image of The Mountain Queen's grotesque face and twisted figure, reaching for her once more.. But it wasn't true. Of course not. Aria would assure her that it was nothing more than a bad dream. Sienna crept out of bed and padded through to her sister's room, peeking round the door. The duvet was all rumpled, but Aria wasn't beneath it. The only thing lying on the messy bed was a small note. Sienna dashed across the room and grabbed up the note, which said:
Hi Sienna, I'm off for a run. Tell mum that I'm going to the cafe in town for breakfast. Do you guys want to meet me their? I'll be there at 10, Aria xx
Sienna stared at the note. Sure, it sounded plausible that Aria would go for an early morning run, but there was something strange here. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on...
Aria blinked, dazed, at the blurry face that was swimming before her eyes. The scent of dead, rotting wood tickled her nostrils, and sharp, high bird calls penetrated the dark fog swamping her head. The ground was soft and springy, but wet, with moisture seeping through her clothes and creeping into her bones. A piercing voice cut through her, and she sat bolt upright. From a sweeping glance of her surroundings, she realised that the rotting wood smell came from the soft, dark log sitting a few yards away, and the bird calls originated from flocks of doves and ravens singing overhead. The ground beneath her hands was light, soft moss, and a plastic sheet curved into a dome a few feet above her head. The piercing voice came from a tall, muscular figure standing nearby. The figure turned, and Aria let out a gasp of shocked recognition, as snippets of memories came tumbling into her head...... The dark, shadowy, sinister figure creeping into her room.......The deformed face staring down at her.... A bone shaking journey through the hills.... And finally, a dull thud. Then blackness. Where had she been taken? Who had taken her? The sight of her abductor sparked a memory, a description of some sort.... But who?
Sienna had washed, dressed, and was just about to leave for town when it hit her. Aria never called her Sienna. It was always Si, or Si Si, or sis. But not Sienna. Why, then, did Aria suddenly choose to write her full name on a hastily scribbled note? Unless, of course, Aria hadn't chosen to do that? What if she'd been made to write that by someone? And there was something else, too. The word 'their' was spelt wrongly for the context it was in. If there was something Aria never did, it was make spelling mistakes. It was almost as if she had made these mistakes deliberately, to warn Sienna.
It hit both girls at once.... The Mountain Queen.....
