Storm…
Drip, drip, drip… Splash!
Mia flinched and looked up just as another volley of hard raindrops hit her face. What had started as a drizzle just a few minutes ago was quickly turning into a downpour.
“Oh, silly rain.” She asked sarcastically, “Can you fall any harder?”
The rain must have heard her, because it hit them even harder and turned the downpour into a full-on storm with thick clouds and howling winds. The rain was so heavy that it made them feel like they were always walking through a thick curtain of water.
“Dark moons, it’s really raining… And it’s getting windier…”
She tried to clean her face with her hands, but it didn’t work. Then, with a wry smile, she looked around.
Well, I came here to practise swimming, so I knew I would get wet. But I didn’t expect to get soaked on land as well.
The weight of her wet clothes had changed, and they stuck to her as she walked. It felt weird, like she was taking a shower while fully clothed. She made up that she was doing this, as if it were some strange cleansing ritual. The thought made her laugh, and she started to enjoy what she was doing.
“Everyone, stay near me. No matter what you do, don’t get split up. Abel, can you keep your eyes behind us?”
“Just leave it to me. I’ll protect our backs.”
That simple conversation was all it took for the two princes to figure out what their jobs were. Keithwood went ahead to check out the path, and Sion led the group. Mia, Anne, Esmeralda, and Nina were right behind him, and Abel was at the end. They walked in a straight line toward the camp, moving quickly but carefully. Mia kept her eyes on her feet and walked carefully so she wouldn’t slip in the mud.
Squish… squish… squish… squish…
Every step she took in her wet shoes made an unpleasant sound, which was made worse by the fact that it was hard to walk on mud. She kept tripping and catching herself at the last second to avoid a bad fall.
They heard where their camp was before they saw it. The tents were shaking so hard that it looked like they were going to be carried away whole.
“Sweet moons! The tents!” Esmeralda exclaimed. “They’ll be blown away! Quickly! We need to get our things out of rhere!”
She got upset and started yelling at Nina to get their bags back. Sion put out his hand to stop her.
“Bad idea. It is too risky.”
“I agree,” said Abel, walking up beside them. “It’s not possible to move all of our things in this wind. Finding a shelter should come first.”
“We need a place where the wind won’t hurt us.” Sion looked over at Keithwood. “Can you find one for us?”
“No matter what, I’ll have to anyway. Let’s go to the centre of the island. Ladies, keep close.”
The group moved farther inland, with Keithwood leading the way.
After a while, they came to a thick forest with tall, thick-topped trees. They walked in. The wind died down a bit, but the sound of raindrops hitting the leaves got louder and faster.
Patter…Pitter…Pitter…Pitter…Thump…Thump…Thump…Thump…
The voices of her friends couldn’t be heard over the sound of the rain and the rustling of the leaves. Mia felt alone for a short time, as if the rest of the world had disappeared, leaving only the loud noise of the storm.
She looked up. The dark green canopy above her brought back memories.
Even after all this time, when I walk into a forest, I still think of…
When Mia was running away, her maid left her alone in the forest, and she was desperately trying to avoid being caught by the revolutionary army.
That’s right. When we walked into that forest, I fell and hurt my leg almost right away. She took one look at me, told me I was useless, and ran away.
Raindrops fell down her leg. The feeling was familiar, and it made her think of the blood that had run down her knee after she had cut it. The sharp pain of the scratch and the thick, warm feeling of her blood all came back to her, just as unpleasant as they had been that day.
It may have been too vivid, drawing so much of her attention that she lost track of what was going on in front of her.
“Ah—”
Her foot slipped, she fell forward. As she fell, she cursed herself for not paying attention.
Oh no… It’s going to happen again… I’ll hurt myself, and they’ll think I’m useless…
“Look out!!!”
After the cry, there was a sudden burst of movement behind her. After only a split second, someone grabbed her.
“M-Milady, are you okay?”
It took her a while to get herself together. As she did, she realised that she was being gently held. When she turned around, she saw Anne, who was very worried.
“Uh… Y-Yes. I’m quite fine.”
She was happy. She thought it was strange to do that, given how bad things were, but she couldn’t stop herself. The way Anne stopped her from falling was touching. It put her present self next to her past self, showing her what she was missing back then and what she had now. She was surprised by how much the thought made her feel alive.
“Wow, I should really pay more attention, shouldn’t I? Anne, the same goes for you. Be careful,” she said as she turned around to catch up.
Just then, through the rain, they heard Keithwood’s voice.
“Up ahead is a cave. I think we should wait out the storm there.”
He must have come back from checking out the area.
Sion turned toward the group and said, “Good work! All right, let’s go after Keithwood. Stay close. Make sure no one is left behind.”
After hearing this, they made steady progress deeper into the forest. After pushing their way through a thicket, they found a large rock face covered with thick moss. At one point where it met the ground, there was a hole that seemed out of place on the smooth, flat surface.
The hole was almost too small to crawl through.
“It gets bigger inside. Now, come on. Quickly.”
She followed Keithwood right away into the cave.
It’s almost like we’re trying to get into the stomach of a huge beast… There’s something creepy about this place…
Mia’s gut feeling, which had not always been right in the past, was right this time.
They didn’t know it, but they were in a place that had been lost to history…
