She is halfway across when the two reach the edge, and Astrila turns to look at them. The gray man looks apprehensively down at the ice, but the man in red angrily barks something at him. Whatever was said, it makes him begin to cross, the man in red a step behind him. Astrila retreats to the shadows of the rock, placing one hand on the stone and whispering as she hurries towards the entrance to the cave system.
"Don't do anything, not yet."
There is a soft rumble from the stone seal before silence looms once more. Astrila doesn't know if she should take that as assent or refusal, but she hurries on all the same. Once inside the mouth of the cave, she glances behind her. They aren't far behind, but they're far enough. She murmurs to the caves.
"Can you hide this for me?"
A pocket of stone opens up beside the entrance and Astrila hastily places the treaty into it, watching as the stone seals around it. There is the slightest bump to show where it had gone, but you'd only know that if you had seen the smooth stone there just a few moments prior. Astrila doesn't have much time to free herself of her heavy clothing, so she hastily strips them off and shoves them into a small chamber off to the side. When she blinks, the antechamber disappears. The caves are sensing her thoughts and acting accordingly. She wanted to make sure that the men didn't strand her here by taking her clothes, so the caves protected them. There is the loud scuff of footsteps from the mouth of the caves, footsteps of those who don't know how to move silently across the earth.
Astrila anxiously steps backward as the men come into view. The man in red steps toward her, a dark sneer spreading across his face. She moves to take a step back, and the world stills around her. Astrila blinks in shock and finds herself now in a small stone room. She glances around herself, only to see no way out. When she faces forward again, there is a man standing there. A selkie, going by the gray pelt slung across his shoulders, speckled with black. But he doesn't have a hook. She stumbles back, then frowns. What is going on? Astrila takes a deep breath and straightens herself.
"Where am I?"
He tilts his head and speaks in Scottish Gaelic, his accent thick. Astrila stumbles through her understanding of the words and her magic stirs, just enough to make them easier to make out.
"I don't understand that language. Too far past."
Astrila frowns again, both at his wording and what she understands it to mean. He's from before the selkies learned English, the very beginning of the island's history. She repeats the question, this time in his language.
"Where am I?"
His chin raises slightly. "A small antechamber of time and thought."
She shakes her head, her braid whipping around herself. "I don't understand."
The man waves his hand over the space between them and an image comes into view. It shows the place where she just was, but it shows her still there. Everything is frozen. Silent, still.
"You were pulled out of time for a moment so that we could speak."
"Who are you?"
A small smile blooms across his face. "Can't you guess? I am the guardian."
Astrila's eyes widen. "Oh! Hello."
He chuckles for a moment. "Hello, Astrila." Then his face sobers. "You told me not to act, before they entered. Why? I must protect the island, and our people."
"I have a plan of how to stop them, but they can't know of the magic."
"How?"
"They seek something, so let's show it to them. Lead them far inside the cave system, and if they mean to harm, they won't be able to get back out."
"And if they don't mean harm?"
Astrila sighs. "I know it's unlikely, but I want to give them a chance, a way out. If they promise to leave the island and never return, then let them be free."
He inclines his head. "Are you sure?"
Astrila nods. "It's the best plan we have."
"Very well. I wish you luck, child of my bloodline, Child of the Ice and Wind, Snow and Stars. I will aid you however I can."
Shock hits her for a moment when he calls her the same name the Akh'lut did, but she pushes it aside. "Thank you."
He smiles and Astrila blinks, finding herself back in the mouth of the cave system, with the man in red still moving towards her. A tunnel opens up behind her and she darts for it. She holds the thought in her mind, that the men are seeking gold. Astrila plunges through the tunnel, following it down, down, down into the belly of the Earth. She can hear the pounding of feet as the men follow her, but she just focuses on her task.
________________________________________________________________________________
What do you think those titles for Astrila mean? What do you think of her conversation with the guardian? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!
Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!
~Goddess of Fate, signing out.
YOU ARE READING
Gifted Pelt
FantasyAstrila is a normal girl in her Inuit tribe, but is left alone by her mother's death. She runs to the cliffs that overlook the sea and grieves, before she slips and falls off of the cliff into the icy sea. Something saves her, but what is it? Join h...
