An Island for a Cloud

9.2 Cloud arrives in the city of blue sky

Thank you very much for reading this chapter. If you spot any spelling mistakes or awkward sentence structures, please be nice and let me know :)


Alueta

"Follow me," said the woman to the two waiting guards.

Without hesitation, Cloud was grabbed by the arms. Cloud thought that this was her best chance to flee, but the sharp tip of a dagger pressed to her side made her reconsider.

Locked in a guards' grip, she found herself in a small court surrounded by large walls. It was late morning and everything seemed bright after the many days in darkness. She looked up and noticed with awe that the clouds above her head looked closer than in Leivrat.

The woman boarded a carriage large enough to fit four. Cloud was thrown inside as soon as the woman was seated. A guard joined them and Cloud felt a dagger being pressed to her neck. The carriage began moving and Cloud wondered what made the wheels roll. There was no animal to pull the carriage, like in Leivrat.

From where Cloud sat, she could only see the blue sky. From the noises that reached Cloud she concluded that the streets of Aleuta were busy with activity at this time of the day.

"Where are you taking me?" dared Cloud to ask, drilling the woman with her stare.

"Gag her!" Cloud heard the woman commanded in return, without giving her a glace.

A soft ball appeared in front of Cloud's face and before she could say anything, it expanded and covered her entire mouth area. She tried to peel it off, but it was just like trying to peel off your own skin.

What trick is that? Cloud pondered. It did not feel unpleasant, tough. She tapped on it with her fingers. It felt like a soft tissue. She thought of her friends at home. If they got their hands on something like this, there would have been no end to the fun they could have had with it. She would try and take a few of those with her when she leaves.

Aleuta has never been a place Cloud was interested in. She had seen a lot of the island and could not get enough of hearing about the Outsiders and their lands. Aleuta on the other hand, was a place so far out of reach for anyone below the mountain, that she choose not to think much about it.

Yet, here she was. In Aleuta. In a carriage that moved without anyone acting upon it. With a tissue ball that transformed into gags. Suddenly, she felt curious. She tried to glance outside the window and see if she could catch more than just the blue sky. The guard would have none of that. He pressed the tip of the dagger closer until it hurt and she gave up.

For the rest of the trip she had to console herself with giving the woman the angriest looks she could master.

At last the carriage stopped and Cloud was pushed outside and found herself standing in front of the biggest house she had ever seen. It reminded her of the old houses in Leivrat that had long turned into ruins. One big difference was that the house was made out of stone in his entirety, whereas in Leivrat, every house had a tree build into it. The façade of the house was covered with colourful flowers. The branches of the plant grew along the columns, the walls and the balconies.

No flowers ever grew in Leivrat.

Two guards appeared at her side and they dragged her after the woman who strode purposefully ahead. An unfamiliar Flizer girl ran before her showing the way.

Inside the house, Cloud caught sight of carpets on the floor and paintings on the walls. The chambers they passed were spacious and impeccably clean. Somewhere she heard music being played, such as she had never heard before.