Acropolis

Kelpnetter

Acacia fluttered her eyes open. She lay, watching the endless pools of glimmer interspersed with endless tower ruins. She almost lost her breath, but Andelko pulled her away from the drop. Scree fell but she firmly lied in stone.

Andelko looked blurry for a second before Acacia asked, "Where am I, again?"

"Never mind where you are. Isn't that gorgeous?"

Acacia rubbed the last blurriness from her vision. "Never mind where I am? Then how long before we need to be anywhere?"

Andelko shoved a rock under her to prop her into position. Circinus and Chiron closed in on her from the sides, keeping her warm.

"I forgot to tell you a thing about unicorns," Chiron spoke. "Our hair is silky and smooth but strong like cardinal spider webs and armor. What I want you to do, once you get your head aground, is to knit me a sweater."

"Chiron, I have seen wild things in wonderland, but this just seems far more absurd coming from you."

"But it isn't. I told you our silken hairs are also strong like armor so I want you to knit me double armor: one sweater for me, one for Circinus, and one for Andelko if he can't help, and one for you."

"The only thing I know about knitting is from my grandmother. Andelko, do you know how to knit?"

His eyes widened in wonder. "I never had the opportunity since I never stayed in one place for long. I'd trade on the black market in the unicorn city if I could spare a rag. I used to dry and weave kelp more, actually."

"When my grandmother tried to knit a sweater for me, it always ended up so scratchy. That's how I taught myself to knit, but thankfully I had some help from Grandma. I'm however afraid the Land of Jewels is too hot for me. If this prepares us for battle, I'll prepare to sweat, especially in this condition."

"There is a lot more you aren't prepared for then," Chiron darkened.

Jason whittled a small stone found in the corner of the locked tower and spoke of Ondrea.

"Yes, Mrs. Alexander; I haven't seen him in ages. He was supposed to join my army but he was deployed elsewhere...didn't say where."

Mrs. Alexander added a few leaves to the spark Jason set in a dark corner of one of the abandoned rooms.

Jason wanted to involve stories in his escape plan but promised Kazimir to keep it short. He liked Kazimir's idea of setting the place ablaze. The fire wasn't just for warmth; it was for quick evacuation.

Kazimir speculated more about Ondrea than the current task Jason and the Alexander's seemed decent at handling on their own. Yes, he must've been deployed to aid the judges and elders of the acropolises, but I can greater hope that he joined Acacia's skirmish.

"So, Jason," Kazimir pondered, "you seem to know a lot. What happened to Daphne?"

"I have already told you. They must have taken her to the outer towers. She is way more powerful than us. The imprisonment must be twice as high and I trust her sense of escape so we must return the weaponry to its rightful owners first after we raid mother. Surely, there are also weapons in there we can use to help her escape."

"Then if you don't know what happened to Daphne, tell me more about Daphne. You were pretty close."

"As in?"

"Tell me more about her involvement with the unicorns. I know she didn't want to be queen because she didn't want an arranged marriage, and she was kind of exiled, and kind of cursed, but what is her involvement in the unicorn war? Did she see it coming? Why couldn't she stop it?"