Mortimer, Mortimer (On Hold)

Chapter Two

"I don't want you to get hurt." He said simply.

"Well quite frankly I don't want me to get hurt either." I said, with maybe just a twinge too much of sarcasm in my voice.

Warric chuckled nervously.
"Olathe, are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure that this is the only way?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But the funny truth about that, is that no one does. Fallore is kept hidden by the Fallorian Charm. How are our scouts and assassins supposed to find Stilskin when it's specifically hidden from human eye?"

"When?"

"When what?"

"When do you want to summon him?"

"I don't know. What if he were to show up? Are we just going to assume he'd write us an apology letter for stealing our child and willingly accept to give her back like it was some big misunderstanding? How would we keep him in place? What if he wanted to disappear again?"

"I've never met the man, Olathe! You know him better than I. Does he have any weaknesses?"

I held my hands in fists above my temples, head bowed, racking my brain. It came to me. I popped my head up as a wild mop of curly, blonde hair whooshed around my face.
"Lashes." I said.

"What?"

"When Erwin had been banned from Fallore and he wandered to the castle the first night, he said his powers were weak because the Fallorian Council had whipped him.

"So we grab him, chain him, and whip him until he complies?" Warric said in a sarcastic yet lollingly sort, somewhat skeptical of my ambitious acclamation.

"Warric! I don't know!" I yelled out of frustration. I looked up to him and saw his face frozen in solitude. I felt bad. I rose off of the bed and looked at him.
"I'm sorry- I just-"

"It's alright. Tomorrow afternoon. Near sunset. That's when the hay was spun yes?"

"Yes."

"Then that's when he'll be most likely willing to come. Old habits die hard, Olathe."

I walked over to him and brushed my fingers along his masculine jawline. I loved the way he stared into the air, as if the world were nothing more than one-million pieces of paper, fluttering gently in the breeze of reality. I stared into him. I felt myself begin to cry as I remembered what horrible pain Stilskin caused me. I wrapped around him and shook as he stood firm. He put an arm around me without breaking his gaze. My head throbbed as I began to remember the haunting sound of black birds screaming into me. I covered my ears and fell to my knees. Warric fell to his to keep me from hitting my head on the floor. He grabbed my shoulders. The world went foggy in a familiar sort of way, like the way you remember an awful nightmare you'd forgotten about. I could just barely make out the shape of Warric wiping my temples and ear for my sense of dizziness lingering in my mind. I watched a look of horror come over him. I looked as he pulled away his hand from my ears, only to see the ooze of blood drip from his fingers.

The nightmare had not yet been killed.

That night, we slept with the lantern lit and the door guarded.

...

I sat at the table next to Warric when mealtime rolled around.  We were served lamb roast and potatoes. Neither of us were hungry. Our minds clouded with thoughts of Erwin and Astrea and our friend, Flint. I pushed some meat around my plate as my throat burned with an acidic rush. My stomach knotted up and I ceased to stop my mind from wandering to terrible thoughts. I glanced up at Warric.

"How are the villagers fairing, Love?" I asked him meekly.

"Word is they're progressing, since I let up taxes a little. I fired 500 of our assassins, and the farmers already have been relieved in the first hours."

"That's wonderful." I whispered.

"Wonderful if this actually works." Warric said in a concerned matter under his breath, also pushing around some food with his fork.

The castle seemed to suddenly rumble with a rush of people, and the door flew open. One of our advisors, a gangly fellow named Julius, was standing there, frazzled.

"Julius, what is the matter?" Warric asked.

"The kingdom is under attack in the north. They are coming this way." He panicked.

"Who? Who are coming this way?" I asked.

"Dracoth people."

"I thought the Dracoths were extinct!" Warric shouted.

"We all did, Sir. We're sending out our soldiers now. Our best knights are heading to the front lines."

"'Tis almost quarter after noontime! They will not reach the North before sunset!" I said frantically.

"We are trying our best. We believe that several of the Northern Blood Goblins have already been slaughtered. They will hunt for human blood next." Julius said.

I thought about the hostile Blood Goblin that had taunted us for centuries, shuddering at any creature that could slay hundreds of them at a time. Julius exited the room and locked the door. Warric sank into his chair.

"Warric, do you remember the Dracoth girl we met in the cave when we were on the run from the Mortimave Guard? The girl who thawed through the ice, who had the li'le dragon?"

Warric's eyes widened.
"Yes," he replied. "I do remember that. Do you think there could have been more that thawed out?"

"Maybe," I said "but she said she was half Rook Nymph, and that here parents had died. Surely she would have mentioned if there were other Dracoth kind roaming the mountains."

"But Olathe, do you remember what Flint told us? He said all Dracoth were liars. We can't trust her, she could've been bluffing us blind."

"But if there were other Dracoth, why would she want to go live with the Rook Nymphs?" I asked.

"I don't know, Olathe. I really don't. I do know, however, that this is a battle I do not want to fight." Warric massaged his temples with his thumb and forefinger. I looked outside into the distance and wondered how close the Dracoth army really was.

...

Escorted by two burley guards, Warric, and a trusted sorceress from Pocket, the Wizard Glade outside the kingdom, I made our way into the dungeon. Both buff guards carried a tipped whip in each hand. I stepped onto the last stairway and descended to the last and lowest level of the Flint-Olivian Palace. We entered the barred room and circled into a formation. Warric nodded at me sternly.

"Just like we planned boys. Remain vigilant. Adelaide, you too." Warric said. He motioned me to begin. I felt my stomach knot and my throat swell. My hands became cold with sweat. In a shaky voice, I called out.

"Stilskin... Stilskin... Stilskin." I shook. "Stilskin, Erwin Stilskin, I need your help. I know you can hear me Stilskin, I beg thee, Erwin, help me." I cried out.
"Stilskin, Stilskin, Stilskin!" I yelled. We waited. We waited hours in that dark dungeon. There was no answer. We decided enough was enough, and dismissed for the night.

...

The night was cold and the seasons were changing. We had to light the furnace for heat that night. I pulled up the quilts and wrapped an arm around Warric.

"Tomorrow?" I asked him. It had been the first word I had said to him since we had attempted to summon Stilskin.

"Yes." He said. I could hear the tears through his voice. That was the last sound we had heard until morning came.