The Iron Grip

Chapter 15

Gogoat slammed its rock-hard horns against the bars. No luck. Lillie thrashed about, kicking the bars in a blinding rage. Still no luck. It was hopeless. Nothing she had available would break those bars.

Then she heard it. With a mixture of unintelligible shouts, the guards which stood outside the dungeon where rushed away.  Loud footsteps echoed about the castle as hundreds of troops rushed to their defensive positions. Something was not right.

After about five minutes, Mallow appeared in the doorway. She opened both cages using a large set of jangling silver keys.

Lillie stared at the floor. She did not want to be reminded about the previous fight. She could not bare look Mallow in the eye for fear of causing another arguement.

"Come on!", Mallow complained. "You don't have to talk to me but lets go! The outlaws are risking everything out there."

Lillie ran behind Mallow as they sprinted up the huge spiral staircase that led to the exit. Once outside, Lillie saw what had caused all the commotion. Up in the air were fifty or so Corviknights, and on the backs of those birds were outlaws.

They swarmed over Aether City like a fly does to a cow, and the atmosphere became one of panic and confusion. Mallow pulled Lillie in the direction of the quay, and Gogoat followed valiantly behind.

At a fork in the road they ran left to a small bridge. Beneath the arc was a glinting sword with a red stone. Lillie picked the sword up by its hilt and slung it across her back.

Once on a boat, they left Aether City behind and cruised gently down the very same river that had carried Lillie away that fateful morning.

"I-I am sorry about yesterday", Lillie whimpered.

When Mallow didn't respond, Lillie turned from apologetic to angry.

"Hey! I apologised!" Lilli shouted.

Mallow failed to respond again, because she had fallen asleep. With a gentle nudge from Lillie, Mallow's eyes forced themselves open.

"Sleep Lillie, the current will carry us down the river and out to sea", groaned Mallow. Lillie lay back in the boat and hoped for the best.

When she woke up the next morning, the river was still pulling them, but Aether City was long gone.

Mallow was still asleep, and whats more is that her head was resting on Lillies lap. To add to this, Gogoat was licking Lillie's face, like a dog would do.

"Mallow?", Lillie whispered. "Mallow?"

"Yeah what huh!?", Mallow exclaimed, springing up off the wooden deck of the boat, like a possesed squirrel.

Then Mallow spotted it. Far away in the distance, where the river widened out into the sea was a wall. A wall of ships.

"How are we going to fight them?", Mallow asked.

In response to this, Lilloe raised her sword valiantly in the air. A huge shockwave resonated through the water and white bursts of foam concealed the ship-wall. The once calm river was engulfed by towering waves. This was one hell of a storm.