The Book Of Little Adventures✨🦊

Sweet Dreams & Bakeries

Stars fell all around like glitter adrift, soaking them in stardust as they swayed to the songs in their own heads. The moonlight shone golden, or perhaps it was daylight? The rain and wind drifting over their skin was chilly, and the edges of the field in which they danced bore a veil of misty darkness. Twelve suns floated above their heads, and above their heads, the clouds--from which the stars poured--swirled like the makings of a gentle twister.

She leaned against him, their fingers embraced one another like lovers united once more, it was everything Matt could wish for. Everything he ever wanted, was right there in his arms. Annabelle was his at last, and, he was hers.

Anxiety nagged.

The escape from Fortress Mal was no easy task, Matt narrowly got in, and narrower still, made it out with Anna in tail. The overlord's knights hunted them. Matt couldn't rest, even in a moment so serene.

"Your heart is anxious." Anna mumbled.

Her shaven head lay on his broad chest like it was her pillow, Matt let go of her hands to wrap his arms around her skeletal waist. He longed to see her hair again. Golden, and unkempt like a wild bush. "We should get moving again, the overlord's men must be gaining on us."

"Why must it end so soon?" She groaned and buried her face deeper in his chest. "Let's stay a little while longer."

He felt the same. Leaving would feel like asking to be cast out of heaven, and the land of clouds was the only place in the universe where Matt felt as though he could breathe. But, he was well aware of the consequences of staying. A cold prison. Beatings. Separation from Anna--and the thought of where she'd be taken, and the things that would happen to her all over again. The thought made him shudder. "I know it hurts," He gave her a reassuring squeeze. "But soon enough, we wont have to run, nor-"

Blaring horns sounded. Matt's heart stopped, he knew he should've listened to his intuition. They spun around and saw the overlord's knights thundering towards them. Their chariots pulled by horses of red and blue flame, their blunt weapons brandished, they were capture Matt and Anna even if it meant bludgeoning them into compliance. Matt could not let himself get hung up on his mistakes--getting too comfortable with Anna too soon--He needed to push everything out of mind and focus on reaction. All he could do now was run, and keep Anna away from them.

He thought her hand would slip from his with all the sweat built up between them, but he held tighter, and refused to let go. He had led her away from the field they danced in, and down a narrow path which ran alongside an endless drop-off.

"Where could we even go?" She asked. Already out of breath.

"Somewhere-- Anywhere but here." Matt chanced a peek over his shoulder. Annabelle's eyes seemed to grow emptier with every stride, she was pale, on the brink of death one might think. Beyond her, their pursuers had abandoned their chariots to follow them down the path, and they were closing in on them fast. He knew escape would only come with a plan. A risky one. Ahead of them was a cloud bridge, a series of platforms one could use to cross the ravines. But the ravines had a danger about them, as they were the roadways used by the dragons.

Matt ran harder. The freezing air he sucked into his lungs left like fire, but its scent...Sugary sweet. It made him want more which, in a strange way, helped him ignore the pain at least a little. They came to the cloud bridge, stopping to peer over the edge that descended beyond eye's reach.

"Look out!" Anna squealed, and threw her arms around Matt to pull him back.

A claw swiped where Matt's head once was. The hand to which the claw belonged, sent a gust powerful enough to blast his curly red hair flat against his skull. His eyes about popped out, and he tucked his chin to avoid the claw entirely.