Grounded On Juniper Island

A Reluctant Release

Urusula had no idea how she had been sitting in the darkness. A rumble had brought her out of her already broken sleep. It reminded her that her predicament was not a dream.

The drip from a small crack in the ceiling worked against her sanity too. She had come to conclusion that it wasn't coincidence. The Knights sought to torture her. She couldn't even imagine what poor strife her husband had been going through. Little did she know, Ivan had been sleeping soundly as a baby for the last few hours.

He was a quiet sleeper and as Urusula would know, it was hard to tell whether he was hiding from her or comatose from a hard day's work in the field. Gathering coconuts was quite a physical ordeal. Often he hid under the sheets till morning and frightened her when he got the chance. Ivan's humour was one of the things that drew them together. It was something she desperately needed right now.

Her thoughts however, were interrupted with a scuffle metres from her cell. A choked breath travelled in the hallway, followed by a thud on the floor. What seemed to resemble a crack of a whip against the walls intensified, when more Knights raced to the scene. One by one they were met with the same fate. All of a sudden an eerie quietness had fallen upon the establishment.

Ursula was met with a unexpected visit. Lucille Argus, one the key instigators in her and her husband's kidnapping, had been hurled into the door of her cell, by what seem to be snake-like apparition. The ding of metal rung on the floor as Lucille landed in a heap. Their was no dark glint in her eyes that had gazed upon on Ursula the night she was stolen away. The assassin had been brought to a standstill.

The dim torchlight of the prison had been snuffed out. Ursula slid back into the corner of her cell, shaking at what had occurred. To her, the Knights were the most intimidating people on the island. For them to be so easily disposed of gave her a instant sense of a dread. Whoever and whatever it was seemed far beyond what she understood.

With the click of its fingers, the perpetrator was revealed. A white glow circled around it. Its pulsing ruby-tainted eyes and chubby face were an unusual mix that Ursula couldn't fathom.

What an unusual creature, she thought.

It hovered in the dismantled doorway of the cell, which looked like it had been a victim of an explosion. Twiddling its fingers, the oddity drew closer to her.

"Oh Ursula, how glad I am to see you." The shrillness of Erasmus's greeting raised the hair on the back of her neck. She knew he wasn't here with good intentions.

"Stay away from me! I have no idea how you know my name but, I don't trust you." Ursula raised her hand, shielding herself from his glare.

"Trust you say? Now how ironic is that. You were trusted by your community to raise Oleg as one of your own, and yet you end up betraying them, by letting your adoptive son run free."

"What? How do you know he is not mine from blood? Besides he is mine nonetheless." It was a great displeasure in hiding the truth from Oleg. Despite knowing it would finally come out, she felt safe knowing that she could perhaps control some of the outcome.

"I just do. Erasmus knows everything. I hold truths that the Bounders are scared to know. Even though some have probably already been revealed, there is a lot more that I know, which will scare each and every one of you."

"Just leave me alone. I can't give you anything."

"But that's wrong Ursula. I need you more than anything. Now you either come with me calmly or you can end up like that sod on the floor."

"Stand down you demon!" said a voice behind Erasmus.

For a moment, Ursula's fear subsided. It had been the one she'd waiting for.

"Ahh Ivan, here to rescue your soulmate I see," said Erasmus without a flinch.

Ivan circled in front of Erasmus, holding a broken prisoner bar in front of his body. A jagged point jutted out at the end, that would easily slice flesh if it had to.

"By Pyra I am. No one hurts my woman!"

"How lovely. Let's see about that," he replied. Before Ivan had a chance to respond, a tree root snaked from the darkness, wrapping around his neck. The bar fell from his hand, dinging with the resonance of copper bell. He was choking, gasping for air; trying to pry off the root the best he could. His hands didn't have the strength to overpower the instrument of nature.

"I beg you to stop!" cried Ursula, whose face was now soaked in tears.

Ivan's pupils grew wider. His breaths became more muffled by the second.

Erasmus stared at her emotionless. His face was as sterile as a porcelain doll. Ursula thought Lemmy's work constituted evil, but this wielder of plant life was something else. He was out worldly and no qualms about taking her husband's life. To him it was a means to an end; a very just means that needed to be achieved at all cost.

With a last-ditch effort, Ursula screamed at the top her lungs. Her pleas exited out like sandpaper rubbing her vocal chords. "We will do whatever you want!"

The root untangled its' grasp, instantly bringing colour back into Ivan's paling face. He swallowed all the lost oxygen back into his lungs. He slumped against mangled doorway, narrowly missing a protruding piece of metal.

"Excellent," said Erasmus, stressing the x in the manner of a snake. "There is much work to be done."

"Where are we going?" asked Ivan coarsely. His throat throbbed uncontrollably, but he knew it was all worth if it he meant saving his Ursula.

"To Junipo of course; a party awaits us."

From the darkness, the torturous tendril that had ravaged Ivan reappeared, though this time it was accompanied with an identical twin.

"Hurry now," said Erasmus, waving his hands towards Ursula, drawing her out of her protective corner. "Your guides are waiting for you."

Hey everyone, thanks for those who have read this far. That is a huge commitment. I hope you enjoyed it. If there are any mistakes, please let me know in the comments.

Did Erasmus scare you? Could he get anymore brazen?

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JA