Nikola's mouth hung open as she stood there limply and watched the guard stride calmly back towards the palace. What... why? She had half the mind to march back into the city and demand answers from him. He had been chasing her with such fervor just moments ago - but at the same time, she had only escaped by the skin of her teeth, so it would be an understatement to say that going back in would be unwise.

She didn't have a death wish.

She pulled in a few deep breaths, feeling the air fill the space behind her rib cage and expel through her nostrils. Who knew that breathing could have a feeling - but she had been feeling a lot of that feeling, recently.

Her knees felt weak and wobbly, like a set of limp noodles. She braced them against one another and let herself catch her breath, feeling the air flow through her in a few more rotations, and then cast a glance over to the girl she was still allowing to ride her.

"It seems I have followed through on my word," she delivered with a trickle of pride.

"So... tired..." The former prisoner breathed, her muscles sagging.

"I most certainly agree with you on that one."

She didn't keep trying to talk to her just in case she started to spew the dreaded words again. Instead, Nikola readjusted her grip on the girl's limbs and started her long, barefoot, trek back to her home village.

Truly, it wasn't so far away from Flapnap, and the road was made of well-traveled dirt. It felt sturdy against the skin of her feet, but she kept an eye out for rocks and other sharps as she tried to balance her own personal safety with keeping up a steady pace. She didn't know of Luke's status, after all, besides 'still trapped', and he'd been quite adamant about her getting back to him as soon as was reasonable.

Her small, steady steps added up to an hour of travel, and then another. Several people passed her on her journey and each time she was hyper aware of her outfit, still white but now scuffed with dirt and dried blood. Luckily, it wasn't unusual to have blood on one's clothes, but her state of dress was peculiar and it showed that they thought so too in their gaze.

You have o?? new me??age. The female voice cropped up within her brain, some of her words garbled and unrecognizable.

Nikola's shoulders rose up at the female voice's intrusion within her mind. What the...

Had she not gone along with her line of questioning about what place she wanted to visit just to get rid of her? And now, here she was again.

She thought back to her conversation with Luke. He had called what she had gone through 'character creation', and had suggested that she had 'entered into the game'. Could it be that this female voice wasn't an indicator that she was going insane, and rather a fixture in this 'game', like the blue rectangles and the gesture she had to do to summon them?

Hmmm... perhaps, then, the voice was not worthy of blame. It was not any more to blame than a cutting board protecting a tabletop from scratches, or a knife slicing through flesh; they were serving their purpose, and so was it.

"I am going to take a break for a moment," she decided, stepping off of the path and on to the grass to the left. She let her passenger slide off of her back and she tumbled easily backward into the blades. Nikola quirked a brow at her lack of response, but her face betrayed something like peace and so she just allowed her to stay there for a while. Perhaps Nikola was not the only one who needed a break.

Nikola lowered herself down beside the red-haired girl, taking a seat on the earth and then drawing the squiggly line in the air that brought forth the box. It popped up easily, making a swooshing noise as it manifested. There were a great number of symbols sitting upon it that she didn't yet understand, but she pressed the same one she had pressed the first time - this time, the number 1 was hovering over it with a loud red circle behind it.

When she opened it up, a message from Lukeknight64 was waiting for her.

Lukeknight64: Nikola?

Lukeknight64: Nikooolaaaa

Lukeknight64: ok cool you're not responding

Lukeknight64: so I've been trying to be cool and just wait down here, but water just started coming in under the door and it's freaking me out

Lukeknight64: I am hyper aware of the fact that I am in a basement right now

Lukeknight64: Nikola

Lukeknight64: Nikola

Lukeknight64: Nikola

Nikola paled as she read through the messages. They were still fuzzy and garbled to her eyes, sliding around the box and distorting as she tried to puzzle through them. But the sentiment was that Luke was in distress - or, even more distress than a man trapped in a basement would already be in.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Water was trickling in?

Why would water be trickling into her basement?

Oh, fuck.

Nikola peered into the distance. The snow capped mountain that was beside her village, even from where she was standing, was looking slightly less snow capped than usual. It still looked frosty, but it also looked wet, sporting a soggy sort of sheen. It was a massive mountain, even taller than one might expect from something called a mountain. It was extremely mountainous. The tip was so high up that the clouds had to redirect to get past it.

That meant there was an astounding amount of surface area for ice to build up on, and if all of that was melting... it would be more than just her basement that flooded, or even her village.

Nikola Brightdark: Luke.

Lukeknight64: omfg YES finally

Lukeknight64: how close are you

Lukeknight64: have you gotten out of jail yet because I would really not recommend it, being in here sucks

Nikola Brightdark: Yes. I do not know what you mean by 'sucks', nor why that would lead to you not recommending it, but I did not enjoy the experience.

Nikola Brightdark: I have escaped and I am on my way back.

Lukeknight64: I am not in the head space to remember the etymology of the word sucks Nikola

Lukeknight64: the water is up to the place between my feet and knees

Lukeknight64: I'm freaking the fuck out Nikola

Lukeknight64: I don't even remember what the thing between my knees and feet is called

Lukeknight64: it's not a fnee or a kneet

Lukeknight64: wherever you are just hurry

Nikola Brightdark: Attempt to remain calm, Luke. I am on my way.

Lukeknight64: lmao ok, because me drowning would suck for you

Lukeknight64: I don't want to drown because I'll feel it in hella detail, but if I do I'm just going to respawn at my spawn point

Lukeknight64: which would suck for you, considering I know so many things about this game world

Nikola Brightdark: What exactly is the purpose of your statement?

Lukeknight64: Hurry. And when you get here, I'm not your prisoner anymore. I'm your friend.

Nikola was torn between growling and groaning as the took the words in; all of a sudden, they were twinged with such sass. Friendship? She had been rather enjoying their unbalanced power dynamic, particularly because it worked only in her benefit. But if he had as much information as he was letting on... it's not like she was any less skilled with a cleaver now than she had been before. She could just re-kidnap him if she ever deemed it necessary.

Without saying any words, Nikola gathered up her red-haired companion, making sure she was steadily on her back before sprinting off into the distance. And, from there, into the next distance.

She sprinted for as long as her flesh would allow, stopping only when the burning within her lungs became unbearable, and even then she put her hands on her knees and sucked in air like she was drowning. She repeated the process, running across the land for as long as she could before heaving in deep breaths until her body would let her move again. The spite for his final words to her kept her going far beyond her limit.

Finally, when the sun was beginning to think of hitting the other edge of the sky, she got to the outskirts of her village. It was tiny and undefended from threats like flooding, with no perimeter fencing to be seen. Considering her settlement's placement, it was about time they built something - but right now, it was a little bit late for such a thing.

The entire village was covered a thin sheen of water. The coolness of it felt nice against her aching feet, which were making muddy trails as she padded through the central road. Several locals were on their usual evening walks, seemingly unimpeded by the presence of the water. For a moment it felt nice to be home, where the people didn't detest her because of the shape of her ears.

But Nikola remembered why she was here. She picked up the pace and reached her home quickly, turning the knob and shouldering the door open. It was spotless, as it had been when she left, besides the sizable river that was trickling its was across the hardwood. Would she be able to solve this by putting a body on the slab? Maybe Luke's, if he continued to annoy her.

If the wood became swollen, would offering up a body put her house back in pristine condition? It probably wasn't worth the human life to test it out. This time, perhaps, she would just have to do the house cleaning.

She carefully descended her basement stairs, amazed at amount of water that had already found its way in. She found that it came up past her knees when she waded in, carefully holding the red-haired girl up as she reached out towards the door her new 'friend' was sealed behind. The question was, was she willing to tolerate his insolence, or would he be more useful to her as another sacrifice?