Ené stepped forward, passing the outermost gate into Siliva’s farming district. She paused for a moment and took two deep breaths. The farms in front of her stretched across a fair distance before reaching the edge of the market district.
Ené began to move again, stepping forward while glancing towards the farms and homesteads near her. Anger and regret suddenly welled up within her. It exploded out of her when she yelled, “If I hadn’t picked up that damn gem-” In this instant, time seemed to slow down.
Ené’s emotions compelled her physical form; she reflexively lashed out with a fist against the cobbled stone wall next to her. “I never would have come-”, Ené froze as the sensation of pain shot through her body, the wall feeling as though it’d crumbled under her fist rather than remaining solid. She slowly looked at it, confirming the feeling. She slowly pulled her fist away from the wall. The large chunk of rock around her hand crumbled to the ground. “-here…” she muttered gently, staring at the large crater left behind in the rock face.
Ené’s shock was interrupted by a searing pain shooting through the side of her arm. The outer rim of her hand was scraped and bloodied, top layers of skin completely shredded with bits of rock dusted into the open wound.
Ené winced in pain as she shrank to her knees. She shoved her head in between her knees as she gripped her hand tightly, the dripping blood smearing on her palm. Hunched over on the ground, Ené’s rage turned to anguish. Tears welled up quickly in her eyes before overflowing. She sobbed quietly by herself on the side of the road.
Some farmers working in their fields heard the commotion but chose to ignore whatever it was. Some were concerned, but didn’t see anything and went about their day.
After the main flow of tears had ceased their assault, Ené sat down on the ground with her legs straight in front of her. She dried her tears with her sleeves as she considered a way to wrap her injured hand, thinking for a moment before settling on the solution of using a strip of cloth from her pants.
Ené gripped the outer side of her pants leg, her right hand slightly trembling as she ripped the seam apart. After extracting a lengthy strip of cloth, Ené wrapped her hand. She successfully stopped the bleeding once pressure was applied.
She sat for a few minutes, holding her hand; contemplating where she went wrong, or perhaps that she wanted to go home. Thoughts swirled in her head as she closed her eyes.
Ené took one deep breath.
She opened her eyes and turned her head to look towards the sprawling city district ahead. The castle was in view, albeit faded and far away. Ené muttered to herself, “She said… she said she’d help me…” and found her resolve.
Ené pulled herself up and dusted off.
She then headed determinedly towards the bustling market ahead. Ené walked swiftly down the main farming road, only looking forwards until she reached the market district gate; it stood 10ft high in front of her, a faded red color. The rest of the sprawling fence stretched around and out of view, reaching 6ft high.
Ené braced herself as she passed through it, having already seen a few strange beings walking the streets. She hurriedly rushed through the streets, making a beeline for the castle just beyond her vision. Passing by market stalls and vendors, shouts of “Hey you! What’s your hurry?”; “Care to stop by and try our wares?”;
“No need to run ma’am, my wine ain’t that bad!” pierced her ears.
Ené’s eyes blurred as they darted in every direction. She seemed ready to be attacked at any moment, worried the crowd of faces would turn to gang up on her.
Some folks glanced at Ené curiously as she rushed her way past them, swiftly weaving between bodies in the crowds.
The market district was fairly large, coiling around Siliva city’s castle-like a snake to its prey. After a while of weaving through crowds and avoiding voices calling to her, Ené reached a large fence.
The white iron gate, sprouting up from the dirt just before a steep cliff, separated her and the castle before her.
She suddenly felt a sense of increased urgency shoot through her as she followed the narrow stone road around to the front castle gates.
She breathed heavily, her eyes still shaking from her nerves, as she gazed upon the statuesque visage of the castle before her.
A curved bridge beckoned her passage. Ené gulped, suddenly feeling too nervous to step forward. Some citizens behind her chattered to each other, “What is she doing over there?”; “Is she gonna try to cross?”; “There’s no way they’ll let her in”. Ené could not hear them over the sound of her own heartbeat and stepped forward.
Ené crossed the stark white bridge to the castle gates, where two vicious guards stood fast with javelins pointed at the sky.
The one on the left was a yellow slime with a shallow scar on his right cheek. His hair- er- slime, I should say- was slicked upward.
Like the rest of his body, his red and silver-hued armor was polished profusely.
The right guard, on the other hand, was not as well kept. His muddy-colored slime hair drooped down in random directions over his bright yellow body; squishy ‘facial hair’ protruded from his chin. His armor was somewhat worn, but presentable, at least.
The slime guards turned their gaze towards the meek woman standing before them as they crossed their javelins in front of her.
“You there,” one spoke up, “what do you think you’re doing?”
Ené froze for a moment. Had she gone to the wrong place? Did that slimy woman earlier pull a fast one on her?
Ené wavered, contemplating stepping back and taking her chances in the wild.
“Well, speak up!” the other guard shouted through Ené’s silence. “What business do you have here?”
Ené’s reply squeaked out of her, with a slight tremble in her voice, “R-Riné told me to come here… I was told sh-she could help m-”
The guard on the right scoffed, “You mean Lady Riné,” and stepped forward. He used the blunt end of his javelin to push Ené back, resulting in her losing her footing and falling to the ground. Her injured palm hitting the hard rock ground sent a shock through her entire arm.
The guard continued, returning his javelin to its crossed position. “Get back to your little market, peasant. I know a fool when I see one!” They puffed their chests and the left guard chimed in, “Lady Riné is a busy woman! She doesn’t have the time to be placating trash like you!”
Ené’s brow furrowed as tears welled in her eyes.
Before she could respond, the gate behind the guards began to open, revealing the front of the castle and Riné standing behind their javelins.
Before the guards could turn to see what was happening, Riné’s soft feminine voice spoke up, making the both of them jump in their armor.
“Now now. Is that any way to behave in front of me, and to a guest I so graciously sent here?”
The guards clammed up, swiftly moving their javelins out of the way as Riné pushed them aside.
The left guard began, “M-ma’am, I-”
“Enough!” Riné sharply interrupted. “You’ve done enough already.”
The guards silently accepted their scolding and stepped aside, returning the javelins to their raised positions. They kept their heads down, ashamed at being caught in such behavior.
Riné stepped towards Ené.
“Hello there, dear. I’m so sorry for the rumpus behavior of my two gatemen there. I trust your journey here was not too arduous?” Riné extended a gloved hand out to Ené, who weakly grabbed it to help herself stand up.
“N-no, no... It was okay, thank you,” Ené replied quietly. She felt her voice could barely come out, being in direct contact with such a terrifying creature as Riné seemed to her.
“Welcome to my castle, dear! I’m so happy to have you!” Riné proclaimed as she beckoned Ené to follow.
Ené took one wobbly step forward, then followed close behind Riné; the guards avoided eye contact as she passed them.
Ené and Riné traveled down a long stone pathway, paved by grey bricks along the outer rim. Lush flower bushes hugged their path. The pathway circled around a large multi-tiered fountain, converging back into a single path leading to the front door. Two sakura trees stood guard in front of glass hallways on either side of the room they entered.
“So, how did you find out where I was?” Ené questioned.
They entered the front of the castle, a large room with a wide red carpet stretching from the door to the back of the room. There sat a golden throne adorned with gemstones and red fabric atop a 5-step white marble platform.
Riné smiled, put a single finger to the air, and replied proudly, “One must not question the will of the gods, my dear. I was sent to you.”
They turned to the left and walked out a door into the glass hallway Ené saw moments before.“That doesn’t ans-”
“I was given a message. One from the goddess creatress herself. I can explain further in my mapping room. Not only would I never deny such a gift from the gods, I also would never leave a pretty girl in need.”
Riné turned around and winked at her, making Ené blush. The two of them continued down the hallway, stark and white decorated with shimmering sconces set on arched stone walls that hugged the glass panes.
They reached the end of the glass hallway, stepping into a closed hall with dull maroon-colored walls. The sconces here mimicked the visage of dragons, staring at the pair as they passed by. The black marble floor reflected their forms back at them, Ené taking in every detail.
“May I know your name?” Riné questioned.
I found it odd that Riné would ask for Ené’s name despite me specifically mentioning it to her before, but I suppose it was to keep up appearances. Riné has always had that strange sort of way she communicates with others, after all.
They took a few more turns down similar-looking hallways.
“It’s Ené…. Ené Eldenghard, your...highness.”
“Nice to meet you, darling Ené. I believe I introduced myself before; do you happen to remember my name?”
“Riné… Mon… Monte… Meow? R-right?”
Riné chuckled, “‘Meau’, not ‘meow’, but yes! That’s me!”
Riné reached a large wooden door and grabbed onto the massive handles placed at breast height. She turned to look towards Ené, smiling. “It’s so nice to meet you!”
Ené weakly smiled back before Riné turned around and pulled open the thick door.
The room revealed was large, the walls lined with five tall, arched windows letting the bright sunlight shine in; illuminating the entire room with nary a need for extra lighting sources. The rosewood floors were beautifully polished. On the left end of the slightly curved room sat a large cherrywood bookcase, carrying hundreds of pamphlets and books concerning travel and trade routes. Four large banners hung next to the expansive windows, each carrying the symbol of a different class of Slime citizenry. On the far right hung the green banner for the farming class, and beside it hung the blue banner of the merchant and other working slime class. Next to that hung the yellow banner with a red stripe adorning it, to represent the military and lesser royal-grade classes. On the far left hung the majestic royal pink & purple banner, representing the ever-present royal class. Along the right-side wall hung a massive map of the kingdom, illustrating main trade routes along it; several sets of birchwood cabinets sat below the map. They held within them thousands of maps on various scrolls, mapping every region of the world. In the center of the room sat a massive circular table, a map of the world carved into its wood top. Twelve chairs with blood-red cushions softening them were tucked under the tables’ rim. A large brown rug protected the floor from the assault of rubbing chair legs.
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