The Keys of Kraal

Chapter Eight

"Have you ever seen a Pegasus?"
"Nah, didn't think they even existed."
Spaery grinned widely.
"What're you grinning at?" She asked. Spaery grinned wider and shook his head. Daisy hit him with a blow to the bicep, and he let out a low groan.
"Was that really necessary?" he said slowly through gritted teeth, angry.
"Yeah."
"I really don't like you." He whined, rubbing his arm, and Daisy laughed lightly, and said, "The feeling's mutual, buddy..."
Spaery scowled and folded his arms, puffing out his chest.
"So what're we gonna do?" Daisy said. Spaery stormed off in the direction of the gates of the main castle. The castle was old, brick walled and dank yet it remarkably felt airy and open to Daisy, as she followed the prince, who'd disappeared through the gates and up a flight of stairs. Spaery was jogging, his spindly legs almost dancing as he rushed upward.
"Hurry up," he called over his shoulder, a hint of smile in his voice. Daisy rolled her eyes and began to sprint up the stairs toward the boy, the distance closing quickly between them. She was fast. Years of work on the farm had given her that. They reached the top of the staircase together, and Spaery was puffing lightly by the time they did. He pushed through the set of doors that stood before them. Daisy saw that the doors opened out onto a long corridor made completely of glass. She looked around herself quickly like a cat, and appeared vaguely impressed.
"Nice."
"They are called the Glass Veins. This is how we get around the Kingdom." Spaery said. He looked at Daisy appraisingly. "The height doesn't scare you at all?"
"Who do you reckon you're talking to? Course not."
"That's typical." Spaery sighed dramatically and strode off. Daisy followed. They walked for a long time, twisting and turning through the network of corridors until Daisy couldn't help but wonder aloud how Spaery navigated the Glass Veins with such ease. The Veins were empty at this hour, and their voices echoed down the long halls bathed in light.
"The Glass Veins are used only by servants, generally." He said over his shoulder, not bothering to look back as he continued walking. "My Father, he's... I was practically raised by my Father's servant. I got to memorising the passages after all those years of following Griff about."
Daisy nodded, though she knew the boy couldn't see her. "Oh. I'm-"
"You're sorry?" Spaery laughed narcissistically, menace now in the boy's tone. "You're sorry for me, because you think I regret my Father's absence? Don't be. If you knew my Father, if you only knew..."
Daisy didn't answer. They walked in silence as Spaery seemed to fume, and Daisy, who often enjoyed banter, thought the better of it and simply kept following him without a word. After what seemed like forever, Spaery stopped. He threw open the doors for Daisy to see, smirking profoundly and gaging the girl's reaction. Daisy's heart dropped inside her chest. She didn't show it though. She merely stood and stared expressionlessly at the sight before her eyes.
The memory of a dying horse back home flashed to mind. The horse had been sick, emancipated, hardly able to walk. The horses she now saw were like that horse at home... but worse. Nothing could look so close to death on Earth. Their eyes were black, buried deep in their skulls out of which came a horn. The skin hung loosely on bones that stuck out at every angle. It wasn't even that that scared Daisy most. It was the way that they moved. They moved like ghosts, slowly and calculated in every movement, sensing everything. They had lifted their heads at the disturbance. She shifted, and then felt as though they could sense her every minuscule motion. The creatures were blatantly yet silently terrifying.
"I want to fly a Pegasus. You," Spaery said, still smirking, "are going to do the same."