Previously...

Merida and the kids left Fairlitane after Xander sent them away, and they are safely on their way to Vendalhi...or so they think. 

Suggested soundtrack: Quarter to Three by Marrow

-- C. 

MERIDA ST. MARIE

I woke to the sound of klaxons and the bright flashing of red lights, and Will tugging on my foot from below.

"Momma , something's wrong," he was saying. 

My throat immediately tightened. 

"Stay here," I said. Will stayed put. Jori remained sleeping. That girl could sleep through anything. 

The door slid open and I leaned out into the hallway. Porters were going door to door. I caught one saw his opportunity and rushed towards me. "What's going on?" I shouted to be heard over the alarm.

"Madam, we are being boarded by pirates," he said in a fluster. "They are not interested in passengers, only cargo. We are asking everyone to leave by escape pod. Once you leave your berth move in the direction of the escape pods, you will be given further instructions. Only take what is absolutely necessary. Please hurry." And he was on to the next door.

I turned around and re-entered the berth. Jori was awake, thankfully. She clutching LaLa Baby to her chest, wide-eyed. 

"What do we do, Momma?" said Will. He nervously clung to my arm.

"We gather our things and we leave. Come on, grab everything and put it into bags. It doesn't matter what goes where."

"Do we get dressed?" asked Jori, in tears.

"No, but put shoes on. Fast-fast."

I had never seen my children put their shoes on so fast in my life. So many outings, they dawdled over putting their shoes on, but not today. Bags were packed in a matter or minutes. I put my backpack on, and picked up petite Jori, who wore hers, and held Will's hand, he wearing his backpack as well, and we exited the room and into chaos. 

What had been an empty passageway, partially lit with flashing red lights and populated by scattered rushing porters, was now crowded with people, all moving hurriedly in one direction. My breath caught in my throat. So many people. I felt tiny suddenly, and my children even tinier. In my mind, I saw us being trampled. I hesitated in the doorway. 

"Come on, Momma, let's go!" Will started to pull forward, but I didn't move and he bounced back into me. He looked up at my face.

You can do this. It will be okay. Everything will be okay.

I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer, and tightened my grip on the children. When I opened my eyes again, I saw an opening in the crowd, purposely left by an elderly couple who motioned to us, and we fell into place. 

Escape pods. Pirates. Are they going to try to stop us from leaving? The porter said they had no interest in us. What does mean, really? It could mean they don't care whether we live or die. Stop it. Stop it.

I shook my head a little to clear the thoughts from it. 

"LaLa Baby!" Jori suddenly cried out, and I looked down to see the doll wasn't in her hands anymore. No, not LaLa Baby! She was Jori's prized possession. She was more than a possession.  The bond went beyond plastic. She was Jori's baby. 

"I'll get her!" Will called and before I knew what was happening, he had wrenched out of my hand and was somehow weaving back through the forward-moving crowd. 

"No, Will!" I stopped, and people slammed into my back. I felt myself being pushed forward, farther away from Will. I flattened Jori and I against the wall, and people continued to move past us, hitting us with their arms and baggage, some apologizing, some not. 

"Will! Will!"

I could hear his voice. "Anyone see a baby doll! My sister needs her baby doll. Please? Does anyone see it?"

A hand shot up in the air, holding LaLa Baby aloft like a beacon. The crowd was slowing down. We were running out of road ahead. 

I could hear Will's cry of "Yes!" and Jori's shout of "LaLa Baby!" But Will was still out of my grasp.  What if we got onto separate escape pods? I could hear my pulse in my ears.

The hand dropped and I knew Will had reached them. I knew where Will was. I took my chance.

"Will, stay there! Stay there! I'm coming to you!"

People groaned and objected, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything but getting to my son. I saw the elderly couple again. They smiled and squeezed together to let us past. The woman touched my arm reassuringly, like a mother who knew. 

I reached Will, who was standing with a family who had three kids. They understood the importance of LaLa Baby. Will clamped onto my whole arm, not just my hand this time, and we waited, now at a complete standstill. I looked at the parents and mouthed a heart-felt "thank you." They just nodded their heads. I could see the stress in their eyes as they held onto their own three children. 

"I saved LaLa Baby!" He was beaming. Jori leaned down and kissed him, hugging LaLa Baby to her chest. Will was her hero. There was no way I could scold him now. 

In the absence of motion, I could hear my pulse again. As I listened to it, the room started to spin. 

Nope. No time for this.

"So, an escape pod," I said. "That sounds exciting. Like in the movies." 

The mother we were standing with shot me a look like I was insane.

"I wonder where we'll land," said Will.

"What if it's in a swamp?" asked Jori. But before we had time to contemplate this unfortunate possibility, I saw a porter far ahead of us stand on something and start talking. A food cart, maybe? Or the back of another person? Who knows. There was a lot of shushing among the crowd, and he began again. 

"We will begin loading the escape pods in the fashion illustrated in the safety film you watched upon boarding."

Hmm. Safety film. Probably should have paid better attention to that. 

The children and I were finally herded into an escape pod. We declined the first pod because there wasn't enough space for the three of us. The fear I had that we would be split up was assuaged, as they just put in the couple behind us, and moved us to the next pod.

We quickly took off our bags and stowed them in the cabinets beneath our feet. I was thankful we had packed light with the carry-ons. There were bags littering the hallway, that would not fit aboard. 

The escape pod had ten seats, arranged in a circle. The seats had solid harnesses that folded down over our chests. Will was big. It would hold him in place. But I worried about Jori. I started to put her in my lap, but the porter stopped me. 

"The harnesses are adjustable," he said. He took Jori from by lap, and she resisted and clung to me, starting to cry. "Jori! It's okay! I'm right here! You can do this!" 

The porter looked frustrated, but determined. 

"Let me do it," I said.

"I'll come back and check her," and he went on to the next person in the circle. 

Jori was wild-eyed with fear. "I want to be with you! I can't do it by myself!"

"You won't be by yourself. I'll be right here. And so will Will. I'll hold your hand."

"I can't. I can't. I need you."

The porter had returned. "Madam, we must take off." 

I held my breath. Jori still looked like she wanted to resist. But she looked around and saw all the anxious faces staring at her. And me, with what must have been a pleading look in my eyes. She sat down. "Okay," she said through her tears. "I can do this." And I never felt more proud of her than I did at that moment.

The porter adjusted her harness, and he started on mine. I realized I had LaLa Baby in my hand. Jori gasped, but I stuffed LaLa Baby in my shirt, with her feet tucked into my bra. Luckily, she was a small thing, only about 8 inches tall. I saw Jori relax, and I felt my harness tighten, so that LaLa Baby's toes stabbed me in the boob. The porter adjusted Will, who had already harnessed himself in. I felt Will take my hand. I reached for Jori's. I led the three of us in prayer.

The door was sealed. The porter took the center seat, in front of a simple control panel. He counted down from five and hit the release button. And the weightlessness of space overtook us.