‘I’ll have a look today,’ Sula said biting her lip.
‘What kings and queens would it be, mummy?’ Fay asked, having listened quietly and picked up on Sula’s excitement from earlier on.
‘Hmm, wearing diamonds and gold?’ Sula mused. ‘Well, it can’t be anyone of any species I’ve ever met, though magpies are fond of anything that shines and their nests are often littered with rings and coins. Who knows what kind of non-human animal wears gold and gets referred to as ‘royalty’ by the dwarfs? I’m certainly intrigued!’
‘Maybe it’s the moose; the kings and queens of the woods!’ the girl happily offered.
‘With robes of gold and a crown of rubies and emeralds,’ Felix laughed.
Fay giggled at that, got her crayons and paper out and started to draw.
‘Mummy, can I come with you?’ Fay asked moments later when she finished her drawing.
Sula and Felix were tidying up and doing the dishes together.
‘Hmm, well no, honey. We have to respect Prince Oro’s wish and your daddy’s promise was that he wouldn’t tell any man. He has told us, girls, but I think Oro probably really meant not to tell anyone, so Oro won’t be very pleased to see us and asking him loads of questions.’ I have to think about something.
‘We are family,’ Felix muttered. ‘I’m sure he meant other people beside you and Fay.’
‘Mee!’ Aigle shouted running in and out of the room and they all laughed at him. He was hilariously funny and always wanted to be included in their conversations.
What if we go as the cat and go spy on them? Fay spoke to Sula in her mind with cunning, narrowed eyes that were rapidly shifting.
Sula looked at Fay with a mischievous expression on her face.
Not a bad idea, sweetheart, not a bad idea at all.
Chapter 5 The Summer Palace
Sula had been waiting most of the night by the foot of the hill across the river, the hill Felix had described. It was very sheltered and far enough from the bridge so Sula was sure none of the Rosinhillers ever came here. Felix didn’t agree with her going but had promised not to stop her. He trusted her enough to know Sula wouldn’t risk endangering the secret.
Or the dwarfs’ wrath, she giggled to herself without taking her eyes off the hillside. Wearing black, she was hiding behind some tall large leaved shrubs. She could sit motionless like this for a long time without being noticed. Her leggings, shirt and vest were entirely black and she wore her hair loose, with a skinny braid at both sides of her face, and a black woolly hat. Only her eyes would give her away, shining vividly green in the dark.
Her heartbeat was fast and she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body. It had been a long time since she had felt this excited! The last two years had been hard on her and her family; coming to terms with the disappearance of Feline, missing and mourning for her. Her baby boy, Aigle, had made up for this though for the most part and Fay of course with her imagination and pleasant behaviour. However, some days seemed to repeat themselves and Sula could feel herself longing for more travel and adventure.
It wasn’t until dusk when she finally heard something that started off as a scraping sound like stone on stone then increased to a low rumbling sound. The hill was opening, just as Felix had said it had done for him. Sula could see the warm glow from within and the sounds of picks and hammers banging away. She expected to see someone coming out and she craned her neck to see, but she saw no dwarf, only two large barrels. Nothing else happened so she crept a little closer.
Then, just as she was about to examine the barrels, the mine hill opened a second time so she quickly ducked down under a bush. A large number of dwarfs appeared. They were all wearing red hats, green jackets and black belts. Each had a tiny lantern, shining its light onto what they were doing in the dim light. The barrels were lifted onto a cart and tied together. The men worked quick and efficiently and they were all silent as they worked as one. Then they were on their way; three little men leading the way, shining their lanterns on the path by the river. Another three dwarfs pulled the heavy cart and a couple more pushed it from behind, accompanied by grunts. What was odd was that there were more men at the side, staying a little behind but all the time looking around with their tiny, dark eyes.
To protect the gold inside those barrels?
Sula was intrigued by what was going on. The little men were heaving and panting from their hard labour. They must have been strong but Sula could hear and see them struggle so much she felt sorry for them and stood from her shelter. But then at the last moment she hesitated.
I promised Felix not to interfere. If I appear they will know that he mentioned the secret. I can’t risk that.
She knelt down again and sighed, watching the procession disappear into the distance, waiting. She stood and followed only after some time when they were out of sight, listening keenly and keeping enough distance back from them. Going into wolf-mode, she followed their tracks deeper into the woods.
It was after some miles that the dwarfs seemed to ascend the mountains. They had by now left the river and veered east, away from the friendly mountains and towards the uninhabited Moany Mountains. They were just as windy as the Balla Mountains, however it was said that the wind there carried voices so scary that if one stayed long enough, it could drive a person so scared they could go insane. It was the superstitious Rosinhillers who believed this, so Sula was fine with that.
It meant that the area was at least free from any human settlements and nature remained undisturbed, just the way she liked it. She had never actually been there before, for she never fancied harsh winds. She was curious to know why and for what reason the dwarfs were heading into the mountains, dragging and pushing their heavy barrels of gold with them. Who and what royalty would live in the secluded, scary Moany Mountains?
~~~
It was a harsh journey indeed. Even though it was early summer, the wind made it feel much chillier. Sula felt for the dwarfs and really wished she had offered them her help after all. She could have just pretended she happened to come across them by mere chance, although she wasn’t a good liar. Her face and body language would betray her.
It was near sunrise now and the mountains were bathed in red and orange whilst the wind never laid down to rest. If anything, the further Sula travelled the windier it got, and for sure, when listening close enough she could easily imagine voices. What was more worrisome was that she had this horrible feeling that she was being followed…
Hopefully it isn’t Felix. No, he promised me not to interfere!
She wasn’t fazed, it was most likely the wind that was all around her; making it almost impossible to smell and hear. What did bother her was what came with the wind; the sand, small rocks, twigs and all sorts of small things flying about were highly annoying. But she didn’t want to use any animal ability to make the journey lighter. If the dwarfs could walk here, so could she, she thought stubbornly.
They are closer to the ground though and will catch less wind…
Their tracks and scent seemed to stop at the foot of an enormous mountain with its summit well up in the clouds.
Now this is what I call a mountain, not a hill!
Sula looked up and pulled her hat a bit closer over her ears to make sure she wouldn’t loose it, and started climbing, slowly ascending the mountain. She could now see the narrow track the men had taken and spotted the cart’s trail on the rocky path gradually winding up the mountain side. She decided against choosing the same path and instead concentrated on the goat-mode.
‘Your mind, my mind, your heart, my heart, your breath, my breath, your steady feet, mine…’ Sula chanted and slipped softly into the mountain goat-mode; one of the best climbers in the world. Now Sula could not only climb with great ease, but also jump thirteen to sixteen feet straight into the air. And these goats have a great sense of smell and hardly ever lose their footing or fall.
Whilst the wind tugged at Sula’s clothes she jumped and climbed fr
om wall to wall, rock to rock, sharp sand blowing in her face, and soon she caught up with the dwarfs’ scent. As she went higher, the clouds closed in on her and she couldn’t see much for the white mist around her. It clung to her hair and clothes and even the wind couldn’t blow the cloud away. Sula climbed higher still, spurred on by a curiosity she had forgotten she had in her. It almost felt like back in the early days when she was still excitedly searching for more of her kind. She had given up on that search as there were no more comyentis on Bhan according to the other surviving comyenti, Shazar.
But was he to be trusted on that? She had always wondered and even though she knew comyentis technically didn’t lie, or couldn’t for more than one reason, it truly didn’t matter now. Sula had started her own family with Felix and her children, Fay and Aigle would secure the comyenti species and hopefully create their own families one day. She hoped to have more children in a couple of years’ time.
I hope Shazar is doing the same thing. Although knowing him he probably won’t. He will never accept mating with a human and creating a halfling, bigoted fool that he is!
She stumbled over an edge, her hands and feet feeling for a steady rock, and even though she could only see about a couple of feet in front of her, she knew that this was it: she had reached the summit. Her hair was whipping around her and her tight-fitting clothes which were starting to stick to her. A thin layer of moisture clung to her face. The wind was even more fierce now and she had to go into elephant-mode to weigh herself down before walking on, in search of the dwarfs. She soon realised the way she came had been a lot faster. She walked around for a bit, examining the area. Above the noise of the whooshing sound of the wind she could just faintly hear the ringing of a bell. It was only after she started to focus and listen for the sounds behind the sound of the wind that she noticed it was several bells. With raised eyebrows she blinked.
She couldn’t believe her eyes and blinked several times before a huge door appeared in front of her a few feet away. It was made entirely of solid gold! The door was so massive it was nearly twice as high and wide as her.
Oh no, not a giant again. One was really more than enough, Sula thought.
Grobo the giant had moved away years ago from the Balla mountain range, exchanging his lonely cave for the vast cave system of the East, where he met up with other family members.
Sula waited and watched until she heard the dwarfs huffing and puffing from a distance as they approached the golden door. As the mist gradually dissipated Sula looked up and saw a cone-shaped building, a palace.
The cream-coloured palace was huge and as she came nearer and touched the wall, she realised it was made out of…
Marble? Sula pondered and raised an eyebrow, remembering Felix’ words, “Royalty”.
She decided to hide from the men and slipped around the bend of the massive building. The procession of dwarfs halted in front of the golden solid door whilst the bells, clearly coming from somewhere on top of the palace, still rang.
As if the bells are a beacon for the dwarfs to find their way through this cloud and wind…
Sula could hear the men mumble amongst themselves. One of them approached the door, looked around cautiously and took his hammer out from underneath his belt. He knocked on, slowly increasing the force of his knocks…one, two, three and then two quicker blows.
Like some kind of code…
And as expected the golden door opened… inwards.
Chapter 6 The Unicos
This was a chance she could not let pass by. With the sound of silver bells still ringing and the dwarfs pulling and pushing their cart through the open palace door, Sula had to think quickly. Still hiding around the corner she concentrated and chanted in her mind to become as light-footed and silent as a mouse, creeping after the last dwarf. Sula wasn’t sure if it was going to work, as she would still physically remain her usual size and by no means was she as tiny as a mouse.
She set off behind the little men. When the last dwarf entered she hid behind him on all fours, silently crawling, to ensure she wasn’t spotted. The door immediately closed behind her with a loud bang. It was then that she noticed the two large statues at each side of the door. They were of golden eagles with shining yellow eyes; real gold by the looks of it!
It was surprisingly bright and warm in the grand high hall they entered and it was hard not to stare at all the glitter around her. Tiny diamonds were set in the floor, illuminated by the bright yellow light from above, and the walls were covered in silver, shaped into all sorts of animals. The sound of the cart being wheeled through over the hard marble floor echoed throughout the hall.
Because the hall was empty apart from the two statues, the sound resonated loudly and Sula had to put her hands over her sensitive ears. She stood, and though her ears were still covered and the cart was being wheeled through another door, she heard a dreadful screech. She turned toward the sound and saw an eagle flying towards her!
With what magic?
She managed to duck and barely missed the eagle’s claws. It was then that she spotted the other eagle which was also flying towards her! She had to do something and quick.
Sula wasn’t afraid, and there were no people around, so she went swiftly into eagle-mode. She jumped up and took off. The look in the eagle’s eyes was amusing! They were so startled that at first they just stood on the floor with their huge, strong legs and piercing, golden eyes examining the flying woman. Then one of them took to his wings and launched himself at her with his huge claws spread out, ready to attack. His legs were almost as big as hers, but she was able to skilfully avoid them for a second time. She nearly hit the roof which, surprisingly, appeared to be made out of what looked like glass. She could see the morning sun shining through it brilliantly. All the while she tried to calm the frantic birds down with her mind reaching out to theirs, sending peaceful images.
‘I don’t mean any harm! Please.’
All the commotion drew unwanted attention and the next thing she heard was the clattering of hooves accompanied by little feet running towards her…
~~~
Sula flew around, bumping into the walls occasionally, avoiding the eagle’s claws, feeling like prey. She didn’t want to counter attack, although she could have easily done so. The minds of the eagles were impenetrable and she could not get through to them. They had only one thing on their minds: to attack her.
The eagles are some kind of palace guards. To them I’m an intruder, a strange one, but still an intruder and they had orders to attack; that’s a sure thing!
She let herself drop to the floor with arms outstretched and shouted for anyone to hear, ‘Stop, please!’
At that moment the dwarfs came running in and when they saw her, a seemingly helpless woman about to be assailed by the two golden eagles, they stepped in…all of them.
Two ran over to her, the rest went into what looked like martial arts poses, making angry faces and… they growled! Both eagles composed themselves quickly, and then stared past the dwarfs at something behind them, before strutting over back into their corners.
Sula followed their gaze and saw what they had seen: two majestic white unicorns with eyes like sapphires. They were even brighter and more piercing than her husband Felix’ and his late twin sister Feline’s. It was as if those eyes were seeing straight into her soul, reading her! But moreover by looking into the unicorn’s eyes it was as if she was looking into pure goodness, pure innocence. The two dwarfs who had knelt by her stood, turned and bowed before the majestic animals, as did the rest of the men.
It was only when one of the unicorns walked over to Sula that she noticed his wings. This was a creature of myth. She noticed that the wings were sprinkled with gold dust.
She was speechless. The unicorn stood looking her up and down and snorted.
‘You need to bow too, Miss,’ one of the dwarfs whispered to her.
She was, however, already on the floor, so she got up slowly still holding her gaze and b
owed before the two winged unicorns. The one closest to her silently reached out to her mind. His presence there soothing, yet full of questions and wonder.
‘What are you doing here? And how did you get in?’ the unicorn spoke in her mind.
‘Uh, I...was climbing the mountain and…came across this palace. I slipped in the open doorway behind the dwarfs. I didn’t mean any harm,’ she replied out loud, telling the truth.
‘Hmm, indeed…’ He shook his head calmly and snorted again before gesturing with his head for the dwarfs to leave.
‘But sire-’
The unicorn shook his head again more strongly and the dwarfs obeyed and left the hall. Sula glanced back at the eagles and noticed they were yet again standing like statues in their corners. She frowned at that. She couldn’t even see them breathe; it was like they were statues again, in a trance!
It was as if the unicorn smiled at her thoughts.
‘The birds are our guards and trained to sentry well. I will have a word with them later as it is highly unheard of that they fail at their job.’
Sula swallowed hard at that. ‘I know golden eagles, well I thought I did… I was merely faster. Don’t be too harsh on them. But tell me…would they have… killed me?’
‘Oh yes, they would have if our minions didn’t intervene, I’m sorry to say. They are very skilled as well.’
‘Your minions? Ninja dwarfs?’
The unicorn snorted at that, it sounded like a snigger and his eyes shone bright. His horn was long, thin and shining as if it was made from mother of pearl.
It is almost the same colour as this building…
The Comyenti Series Book Bundle, Volume 1 and 2 (Epic Romantic Supernatural Fantasy) Page 31