image [https://i.imgur.com/TeantRm.jpg]
"I just wanted to leave!" Nadia screamed angrily.
She would have made a fist underneath the blanket if her fingers weren't so numb. The door slid open. Three women entered, each with long bronze spears strapped across their backs. Their sleeveless outfits were woven tightly about their torsos till they split open loosely at the side of their thighs; a narrow strip of fabric hung to the front and back of the legs and reached slightly below the knee.
One wore dark jade, her dark brown hair adorned with matching ribbons. The second wore a crimson red, her bluish black hair was braided. And the last wore an opal blue that was a contrast to her fiery red hair which was adorned with opal-colored bows. They took places around Nadia's bedside, sitting on the floor with their legs folded and long hair reaching the floor.
"We're here to keep you safe," said the black-haired woman, "Dew commanded us."
Nadia was a bit confused, said, "You're girls too?"
"What else would we be? Dew doesn't want to risk another man possibly taking advantage of you," said the woman with long red hair.
"Although he might," the black-haired one said.
"I don't think that would happen though. Do you really think that would happen?" said the one with brown hair.
Nadia winced. "Hey! I don't want anyone taking advantage of me!"
"Dew would never think of doing that," the brown-haired woman in the jade dress said, "You have nothing to fear. Why else would he put us on this assignment so soon after we returned?"
"Who are you people?"
"I'm Nefri," said the red headed woman in the opal dress.
The brown-haired woman smiled as she nervously played with one of the many green ribbons throughout her hair, said, "Well, I'm known as Luthial. It's nice to meet you Nadia,"
Luthial pulled at the third woman of the trio by tugging her shoulders, "I won't tell you Delia's name because she never gives it to strangers. But she's glad to meet you."
Delia pushed away while frowning, "I would have introduced myself when ready."
Luthial kept smiling, "She's crabby, but she's really a sweet, tender person if you overlook her words, her attitudes, and her actions. So, are you serious about Dew?"
Nadia gagged and coughed on her own spit before choking it down.
"Not in that way!" Luthial continued, "I mean-- what you said about him. Do you really think Dew would take advantage of you? I mean- if that was what you meant when you said you don't want anybody taking advantage of you. I wouldn't want you to think--"
"Are you done yet?" Delia interrupted,
"But I've never known him to have any foul intentions," Luthial continued.
"I'm not afraid of him!" Nadia said defiantly, "I can take care of myself!"
There was an element disbelief in Nadia's voice.
"Dew is timid when it concerns women. He's probably just as confused and bewildered by his feelings as you are. Not many men have so much responsibility in selecting a wife," Nefri said.
"I don't want to be his wife," Nadia clenched her teeth.
Delia waxed sarcastically, "Then why did you dive amidst the worms to save his life? Save his life, be his wife!"
"Why are you people so pushy!? People were dying! Didn't you three fight against them?"
"We were arriving from a hunting expedition, and were too late to be of any real assistance," explained Luthial, "Actually, we heard that you were the big hero!"
"We would have been on time if you hadn't wanted to see the golden meadow," Delia snapped.
"We detour that way every year in the spring," Luthial shrugged her shoulders, "It's not my fault. How was I to know about a surprise attack on the village. If I knew it wouldn't have been a surprise."
"Well, I'm not the one who every year says 'Hey, the golden meadow is in bloom, let's go see it.' And I'm not the one who wants to stop and frolic around."
Luthial lost her smile, "I was running! It's good training!"
"Let's not fight, okay," Nefri said.
"Keep out of this!" Delia and Luthial yelled simultaneously.
Nadia sighed to herself before gathering just enough strength to pull her covers over her head. The fact that she managed to do that was comforting. The numbness was already fading, but she was terribly exhausted.
"We're supposed to be watching over Nadia," Nefri snapped, "not bickering like children."
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"You're right," Luthial said, "The matter is settled. It wasn't anyone's fault we were late."
"Except it was your fault," Delia added.
Luthial started bawling and turned away, "She's always blaming me!"
Nefri bit her lip and focused on Delia with a cold stare.
"She'll have to learn to deal with it," Delia said.
Nadia muttered from underneath her blanket, "What have I done to deserve this?"
-----
Morning light streamed in from the skylight and bounced off the wood panels. It woke Nadia, her limbs felt like lead weights tormented by a rain of needles. Someone had put a white lily in her hair, but she didn't have the will to bother it even though its presence annoyed her. She turned her head slightly to watch her guards with heavy eyes still filled with sleep.
They were huddled around her, fast asleep. Nefri and Luthial had given into the floor, while Delia slept in a seated position as if she had fought against slumber until the very late hours. Nadia wondered if they ever heard of organizing a look out. There was little to do besides lay still and stare at the ceiling, at least until she could muster the strength to attempt standing. It was a bit of a gambit, as she remembered she was undressed and that her clothes were nowhere to be found.
A slight trembling stirred the calm room, at first, she thought it was just her, but her head fell to the side and she noticed the light blue petunias in the garden surrounding her mat were quivering. It wasn't seconds later that the room shook violently. A coil burst through the floor, shattered the wood, and sent Delia backwards. Another coil burst forth from the garden.
A slight rain of damp soil fell about before the coil knocked Luthial in the chest and threw her into Nefri. The floor around Nadia crumbled as she sat up with the blanket against her chest. The garden surrounding her mat fell through the floor as rough gray whips rose around her. They wrapped around Nadia before she managed to stand, imprisoning her in the blanket. The whips were a collection of long flexible coils twirled together, eventually they joined into the long arm of a huge gray creature like a loosely human shaped golem.
It let one arm uncoil from Nadia and extended it to the ceiling. The wood panel holding the glass of the skylight broke. The glass pane fell lengthwise above Nadia. It would have sliced off her head if the creature's arm had not punched it so forcefully that it smashed into fragments against the wall. By then, Delia managed to get to her feet and face the creature.
The black specks on the dome that was the golem's head shifted as it adjusted its vision. It was almost six feet tall, most of its height in the legs. The creature had a severely squat torso compared to the rest of its body. Its incredibly long arms separated directly into coils which could shape and stretch with resiliency. Delia refused to assault it directly, so it merely finished assessing her and then turned away while plowing through wooden floors that could not sustain its weight. Nadia's blanket, with her tied inside it, was slung over its back like knapsack as her guards watched dumfounded.
"Some help here!?" pleaded Nadia, who squirmed to no effect.
"What do you want with her, groeble?" Delia asked.
"My master's orders--bring the one who holds the pendant. Do not interfere," it said as it smashed through the front wall to get outside.
Once the strange creature was outside, the smashed wall appeared again as if it had never been harmed to block the sight of the golem escaping with their charge. The three mercenaries jumped through it without hesitating because they knew it was an illusion created by the creature's ability to manipulate light. Nefri closed her eyes and instructed the others to do so as well, they uttered a brief chant, an ancient spell that would give them resistance to illusions for a short time.
That done, they made haste to catch up with the fleeing golem, which gained speed with legs that were four feet long and one free arm that acted as a third leg. It took ten minutes to get close enough for combat. It lifted its left arm to attack them. The swinging arm moved like a chain whip, swiftly enough to easily rip off a limb. Luthial threw her spear at the groeble's back, but it simply bounced against the creature's rock-like skin. A shard that flew from the tip would have sliced Nadia's cheek had she not flinched.
"Do me another favor, why not?!" she shouted.
Nefri looked to Luthial, "Retreat and retrieve the prince, we'll keep the groeble from getting too far."
Soon after Luthial departed, the golem's feet coiled together and drilled into the earth, gaining speed as they plowed ever deeper into the soil, all the while it used the whips of its free hand to suppress the advance of Delia and Nefri. It cost the creature momentum, but not enough to stop it from carving the soil. As it moved back and forth with Nadia at its backside, she could see a symbol much like a musical note carved into the ground. Delia continued to attempt distraction of the groeble. Nefri lifted one knee while keeping her hands clasped before her chest in a new stance as she looked upwards; she called upon the skies to bring forth the mercy of their protection.
Rain clouds gathered over her as the sky grew dark. With a lift of her right hand, a spear of water formed above her, she lifted her other hand and then thrust it at the golem, which halted completely just before the symbol was finished and stood in awe of the stinging water that fell in droplets around it. The domed head of the creature turned from a yellow dome with black specks to completely black. It absorbed light with such efficiency that every image around it darkened and distorted. The falling water enthralled the being momentarily, captivating its complete attention. That's when Delia saw an opening, but the water only fell for a few seconds more.
The creature broke its gaze and coiled Delia in its whips. It smacked her against the ground. Delia cried out, and could barely get back on her feet without Nefri's help. The groeble then repositioned Nadia and finished carving the symbol it had been making. It finally took her off its back to hold her so she could face its mouth, a narrow slit sparsely populated with sharp fangs. Nadia didn't flinch as the creature, not unlike something she saw in certain movies where almost everyone died, spoke.
"Guardian's son, you're different. You're the same. You're differen't same. How did this happen?"
"You know me?" Nadia asked, all color drained from her body.
"Do you want to go home?" it asked.
"Home-- Do you mean 431 Mackenloo Pike home?" she asked in a squeak.
The groeble was sure this was the one now, despite the slight change in the human's form, all her other markings were consistent. The pattern of her eyes and her skin prints were almost the same as the guardian's child. Although, her genetic pattern and even the light aura of her soul were slightly different. At least, as a female human guardian, Nadia could open portals, which made the creature's job that much easier. Now it would be simple to get her to the Earth realm even without the carving finished. The groeble only needed her to utilize her voice.
"Sing!" it yelled, "Badly if you must."
"But this isn't even karaoke night," Nadia cracked wise with a slight cough.
With a suddenness that startled Nadia, Dew silently landed atop the groeble. The tip of his sword broke apart as he thrust it against the creature's eye, leaving only a scratch on the yellow surface. The groeble flung Dew aside like a sack of dirt. The cords of its free arm twirled together and formed a drill which even Dew was loath to attack. Only, the drill was thrust at Nadia.
A shrill, high-pitched scream echoed throughout the fields. The tip of the groeble's arm never touched Nadia's flesh, but her scream, however unrefined, was sufficient to open a portal below them. They immediately fell through. Dew followed without hesitation. Delia and Nefri examined it before they followed him. Luthial came from behind, but had seen her comrades jump into the portal from afar, and made the jump seconds before it closed.
A grass field carved with a musical note remained.