As the Queen rises from her seat, white-wood staff in hand, the strangeness of her silhouette is more apparent than ever. A dark silken headdress covers her head behind her mask, hanging at strange angles on the sides of her head as if resting atop a crown. The dark brown cloth swaddling her body shifts and spreads outwards as she stands, following a long, low curve jutting out from her waist, almost like it’s resting upon… wings.
As she rises, so do the three figures seated either side of her. The antler-bearing one is the tallest, almost as tall as Rob when standing on the podium. The bull-masked one is shorter, but far more well-built, and the bear-masked one is the shortest, but nearly as stocky and wide as they are tall.
“I assume this wasn’t part of the plan, Chief.” Rann grunts, trying to move his leg out from the ice encasing his knee.
“I know your plans.” The Queen speaks, stepping forward to the edge of her plinth. “You come as friends, offering supplies and shelter in exchange for little more than our help. You are far wealthier than us, better armed, better armoured, led by a mage of some skill, and you offer your wealth to us with open arms and nothing but goodness in your hearts. A sweet promise, one too sweet to be true. I know your tricks. Your weapons may have been confiscated, but one of your number has weapons on their body impossible to be parted with. You come as peace envoys, with your biggest, toughest men to protect you… or strong-arm me.”
The doors slam shut behind us as the four guards from earlier move to stand in front of it, trapping us between them, the Queen, and her Red Wolves.
“My children are honest. They told me everything about you. The man-hunt for Crow, people calling for his head as they turned your village upside-down like a mob trying to find him. That the children of Haven felt it was in Crow’s interest to keep him secret rather than turn him over to you. That betrays a strong sense of fear and distrust your children have in you, Chief of Haven. You came here to threaten us, just as you threaten your own children. You speak with pride, but Crow fears you. Had his experience in Haven gone differently, there may have been no need for this situation. Mole spoke of your sincerity to help us, and I believe in his judgement. But, Chief of Haven…” The Queen leans forward, holding her staff behind her back, speaking with an audible smirk. “Your attempt at forceful diplomacy has failed quite miserably.”
“You must be Rann.” The bull-masked one speaks, their voice deep and masculine. “Crow spoke of one wearing a Red Wolf’s pelt. Haven’s mightiest warrior. What business would a warrior have here?”
“Leading my expeditionary team, and protecting the Chief. She insisted on this outing, so here I am along for the ride.” Rann shrugs, apparently making himself comfortable after failing to get his legs free from the ice.
“You show no fear… Brave, or foolish.” The bear-masked one comments. Their gender is hard to tell from their voice alone, compared to the bull-masked one, as their tone of voice is flat and androgynous.
“I don’t see what you two are alluding to. This is the Abyss. Why wouldn’t Haven’s Chief be accompanied by a heavily armed escort?” Griffin pipes up, leaning against the wall near the door.
A dissenting voice in the room causes a brief silence amongst the Queen and her Red Wolves. Griffin has a point; to the contrary of the narrative being built. With a tilt of the Queen’s head, her mask’s eyes stare straight at Griffin and silences him too, before returning to look down upon the Chief.
“Relationships are built upon trust, Chief of Haven.” The Queen continues, standing back up straight and gesturing with her free hand. “Had you released Crow to come back on his own, the trust you put in him would reflect positively upon you. Instead, you tormented and tortured him into showing the way here. I have no trust in those who harm children.” She scolds.
“But, I am nothing if not generous. I am willing to put this behind us, for the sake of our future relationship and for the sake of the children in our care… after you gesticulate and show proper respect to royalty, Chief of Haven!” The Queen points at the Chief with an outstretched finger, demanding her respect.
“Gesticulate…” The Chief laughs under her breath.
“What was that?” The Queen raises her voice, tilting her head down so her mask scowls at the Chief.
“You know, I was willing to play along with all this.” The Chief’s head is still bowed, looking at the ice around her feet. “Laying down our weapons, showing respect before you, even calling you “Your Majesty” if it meant we could work out a favourable deal. Your imitation of royal protocol was charming at first, but I have already spent one lifetime being lectured by air-headed noblewomen who love nothing in the world more than the sound of their own voice, and I am not suffering another.”
“Imitation of…” The Queen tails off, almost lost for words in the face of the Chief’s heel-turn.
“But!” The Chief raises her head, staring directly up at the queen. “I am nothing if not generous. I would be willing to put all of this behind us… had you not disrespected a Sage of the Order of the Golden Light with your parlour-trick magic performed by a mask-wearing charlatan!”
The ice gripping our legs suddenly melts and vanishes into the stones, as the Chief’s staff flashes into existence with a golden glow, taking it in hand and thrusting it forward. A dozen gold chains suddenly rush out from nothingness, constricting around every guard, Red Wolf, and the Queen itself, forcing the weapons from their hands and pinning them in place.
“W-what?! Her staff! Why didn’t you take her staff?!” The Queen yelps, as golden chains snake around her legs and crawl up her body over her cloak.
“I-I thought she just… I don’t know! She magicked it away!” One of the guards yells in response, as we all stand up again.
“Relationships are built upon trust, Queen of the Wolf Pups…” The Chief muses, walking across the room towards the Queen. “And hiding behind a mask is a poor manner of building trust, no?”
The guards and the Red Wolves struggle helplessly as the chains only tighten around them more and more. I can sympathise with them a little, having been caught in the same situation more than once.
“Now.” The Chief smiles, standing right in front of the Queen, who drops her staff to the floor as the chains around her wrist grow too tight to keep holding on. “Let’s see each other eye to eye before continuing, mm?”
“Your Majesty! No!!” The bull-masked Red Wolf roars, nearly forcing his way out of his bondage before a glance from the Chief reinforces them twice-over. The rest of us move to secure the guards and Red Wolves’ weapons, with Rann grabbing the bull-masked Red Wolf as I hold down the antler-wearing one.
“Sit. She’s not going to hurt her.” Rann says, forcing the bull-masked Red Wolf to the ground.
“N-no! Don’t take off my mask! No no no!” The Queen cries, shaking her head in a vain attempt to stop the Chief from grabbing her mask, which she does with no problem, lifting it off the Queen’s head along with her silk headdress, revealing…
“... What?” The Chief blinks.
The face hidden beneath the Queen’s mask is… unsurprising, at first. Apple-red hair just like Tiff’s, with lustrous, deep green eyes, pale white skin, and the signature white pupils and slightly pointed ears of a Damned of the Abyss.
With one exception.
She has horns. White, solid horns extending forward from either side of her head above her ears, almost gleaming white like polished marble in the light, with thin, royal blue bands running along their length.
Horns.
“But… you can’t be…” The Chief’s confusion grows, as she flicks her staff upward.
The golden chains surrounding the Queen fly upwards, taking the cloth covering her body with it, uncovering long, bat-like pearly white wings, with the skin stretching between each wings’ finger a brilliant royal blue. Numerous jewels and platinum-gold rings adorn her wings, and a long platinum chain hangs from each of her wings, from wingtip to her waist where the wings connect to her body. Her clothes are made from exquisite blue silk embroidered with white and gold lacing, forming a simple but no doubt expensive dress covering her body, with black leather boots tied with white lace matching her plain white stockings.
“Are you… an Azorii?!” The Chief recoils in surprise.
An Azorii? The all-female race of horned, winged, tailed… Well, I don’t see a tail, but isn’t this the native Underland race the mythical succubus is based on? Here? In the Abyss?
“Bwwaaaahhh!” The Queen suddenly bursts out crying, wrapping her arms around herself as she falls to the floor. The sultry, adult voice from before is long gone, shattered by the wailing cries of the Queen.
“Y-your Majesty?! Are you alright?” Crow yells, bursting into the room from a side door with Mole and Rabbit close behind them, seeing all the guards and the Red Wolves chained up, and their Queen on her knees, crying.
“Crow!!” The Queen wails, pointing at Crow. “You didn’t tell me she was a Sage!! They didn’t take her staff off her and she completely countered my spell like it was nothing!!”
“I-I don’t know what a Sage is, Your Majesty! I just told you she shook me around a bunch with her magic!” Crow blusters, unsure what to do in this situation.
“Oh dear, you’ve got her crying again…” Griffin sighs, peering past the Chief at his sobbing Queen slumped on the floor. “She could be at this for hours.”
“I did warn you that she was a skilled soulseer, Your Majesty, and that your mask wouldn’t hide anything from her.” Mole says, getting a grip on the situation quickly.
“She saw right through me!! I didn’t know she knew courtly etiquette better than I did!” The Queen whines, throwing a full-blown tantrum on the floor.
“Wait, wait, hold on… So, the leader of the Wolf Pups is an Azorii? Someone native from this world, outside the Abyss? Here?” The Chief is trying to put everything together in her head. “But how…”
“She fell from the sky. We found her and took her in.” The bear-masked one speaks, their voice calm and even, despite the chains constricting around their body like a snake.
“Fell from the sky? Was she flying across the Abyss?” Rann asks, staring at the brilliantly adorned wings of the Queen.
“Stupid dare…” The Queen sniffles, pouting as she wipes the tears on her cheeks. “Lied about how big the Abyss was, saying they could fly across it in half an hour… Got so tired I fell down and broke my wing…”
“So… let me get this straight. How long ago did this happen?” The Chief asks, leaning on her staff.
“Three years ago we found her, cryin’ alone in the woods. How she wasn’t poisoned or eaten by the trees, I have no idea.” The antlered one suddenly speaks up, in a Newport accent shockingly similar to Johnny’s.
“Ey! Is that a Newport accent I hear over there?” Johnny calls, holding one of the guards near the throne room’s main doors.
“I sure ain’t a south side mook like you, pal!” The antlered one yells back.
“South side mook?! Someone hold this kid so I can give that north side punk a proper Newport greetin’!” Johnny yells back, immediately getting annoyed at this ‘North side punk’ with antlers.
“So, you’ve had your ‘Queen’ for three years now, playing this little royalty game with her to keep her happy. I assume she’s your source of clean and purified water, and that’s why you keep her around.” The Chief muses, putting things together in her head bit by bit.
“She’s more to us than that!” The bull-masked one yells, still struggling beneath Rann’s knee pressed on his back. “She’s true royalty! She taught us so much, she looks after our weak and our ill, and carves our masks! We chose her to lead us!!”
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“True royalty, hmm…” The Chief kneels down, getting a closer look at the Queen’s wings. “Gemstones, silver, platinum… and the size of those wings, their brilliant colours… are you truly Azorian royalty?”
“I am Arezza Serenitas Apricitas Servikal, sixth daughter of the High Queen and Royal Princess of the Azorii Matarii, and you will treat me with the respect and admiration afforded to a royal!” The Queen growls, recoiling back from the Chief as she kneels in front of her.
Her wings cross over her front to afford herself some protection, but this only shows that her right wing has a noticeable, nasty Z-shaped bend in it halfway along its length - a broken bone that didn’t heal properly.
“Is that why you’re still down here?” The Chief raises an eyebrow. “Because you’re only the sixth daughter?”
The Queen falls silent, taking great offence to the Chief’s words, but having no immediate retort of her own.
“... I fell into the Abyss. I’m as good as dead.” She mumbles, looking down at her broken wing.
“I know full well what it’s like being a spare.” The Chief stands, offering her hand to Arezza. “Now that we’ve come to some mutual understanding, let’s restart this whole encounter, shall we?”
With a stamp of her staff, the golden chains ensnaring the Queen, the Red Wolves, and the guards fall away into nothingness, as we all let go of whoever we’re holding down and help them back up. Arezza refuses the Chief’s hand, instead being helped up by the bull-masked and bear-masked Red Wolves either side of her, as the antlered one hands her back her white staff.
“Ahem.” Arezza clears her throat, straightening out her dress to make herself a little more presentable. “Very well, Chief of Haven. You have an audience with Arezza Serenitas Apricitas Servikal, sixth daughter of the High Queen, Royal Princess of the Azorii Matarii, and the Wolf Queen of the Abyss. State your case.”
“Very well.” The Chief gives a half-curtsey, stepping down from the podium as we gather around her again. “I am Mia Lichtrufer, Chief of Haven and representative of its people. To be straightforward, I seek an alliance between our factions for the betterment of us both.”
“What would such an alliance entail?” Arezza asks, adopting a more regal posture with her back straight and her wings low and outstretched, her voice shifting back to her regal, dulcet tone.
The Chief also adjusts her posture slightly, looking Arezza straight in the eyes. “Haven will open its gates to you. Any who wish to come will be welcomed with open arms, shelter, and food. Those too young to help will be looked after and attend school, and those old enough will assist with the running and expansion of Haven. Any children you rescue in the Abyss, will also be welcomed to Haven.”
Arezza ponders the Chief’s words for a long moment. She glances at each of her Red Wolves, then finally across at Crow, Rabbit, and Mole on the side of the room.
“What are the goals of this alliance?” She asks, her gaze returning to meet the Chief’s.
“To protect the children of the Abyss.” The Chief answers.
“And?” Arezza pushes.
“To escape the Abyss.” is the Chief’s firm reply.
“You… have a plan to escape from this place?” Arezza is taken aback, but no less curious over what ideas the Chief may have.
“That’s the end goal, yes. One of the most important things I need is someone that can fly. Your wing may be broken, but that doesn’t necessarily derail my plans.” The Chief smiles, gesturing to me. “Marina, if you would.”
By this point, I don’t even have to think about making my wings reveal themselves; hearing the invitation is all they need. With a flourish, both wings race out from under the cloak, stretching out and up to show themselves off in all their glory, mildly to moderately startling everyone in the room who haven’t grown used to such a show.
“So you’re the one Crow was talking about…” Arezza looks me up and down in surprise. Her green eyes shine like emeralds beneath her long, dark eyelashes as she stands in the light, taking a step forward to get a better look at me. It’s suddenly difficult to keep eye contact with her as she comes closer. She’s pretty. Of course she’s pretty, she’s a princess. A queen. She’s beautiful, even, and I feel more flustered the closer she gets.
“This is Marina Retali of Haven. Have you read anything about the Curses and Gifts of the Damned?” The Chief asks.
“I saw a book about it once, but…” Arezza hops down from her podium, landing in front of me. The top of her head only comes up to my nose, as she gazes up at my wings. “Feathered wings… I’ve never seen them on a person, too. They look so soft…”
She reaches out, gently stroking my left wing with her fingertips. I almost forget to warn her that they don’t like being touched without permission, but instead, my wings relax down to a more comfortable resting position, making it easier for Arezza to stroke them, sending strange tingles up my spine.
“They are soft… Crow! You didn’t tell me how soft they were! All of you, come feel them!” Arezza smiles, tracing her fingers down the long, sleek primary feathers. Her regal voice is slipping again.
Griffin sighs, obliging his Queen’s wishes and half-heartedly starts patting the upper edge of my wing. Rabbit, meanwhile, seizes the opportunity to run across the room and start touching my wings again, giggling at how soft they are. Mole joins in, curious about what the fuss is with the wings everyone keeps talking about. Even Arshiya, for some reason, joins in on the wing petting. I guess the option was on the table so she took it too.
“Heh.” Johnny chuckles. “You’d have been a big hit at the Newport pettin’ zoo, Feathers. Kids can’t get enough of them wings.”
“Thanks, Johnny.” My wings sure enjoy the attention, even if I just can’t get used to being touched on limbs I’m not used to having.
Speaking of, you’re rather docile today, wings. Or are you on your best behaviour because there’s another pair of wings in the room? You wouldn’t happen to have a crush on them, would you~? Ow! Don’t jab my neck like that, that hurts!
“You still haven’t tamed your wings, Marina?” The Chief asks, putting her hands on her hips.
“Tamed?” Arezza tilts her head sideways.
“I don’t suppose your wings have a mind of their own.” At least, I hope not. Are sentient wings normal down here?
“No. They’re just part of me. What do you mean by “mind of their”... Ah.” Arezza trails off, as my left wing has reached out with its outermost feather to poke lightly at the upper edge of Arezza’s wing. “You’re not doing that yourself?”
“No, sorry, they just… They like to touch things that they shouldn’t.” I hiss, pulling my wing back away from Arezza.
“Hmm… Let me guess. You, Marina Retali, possess wings, but you do not know how to fly.” Arezza smiles, knowing she’s right.
“I didn’t have wings in my previous… life. I woke up here in the Abyss with them, with no tail or anything to go with them. Even my wings don’t know how to fly.”
“Actually, I thought I read that Azorii have tails…” The Chief muses, peering at Arezza’s back and the lack of any noticeable tail.
“A-an Azorii’s tail is their own private business!!” Arezza backs up, putting her arms behind her to cover the small of her back.
“And you’re shy about it, too… Just like the book said.” The Chief smiles. Her genuine smiles are so warm and reassuring; made all the sweeter by their infrequency. “You really are from outside the Abyss.”
“I thought we’d already established that.” Arezza pouts, still protecting the small of her back even though you can’t see anything there besides her wings. Do they hide their tails under their clothes?
Rann smiles, patting the Chief on the shoulder. “Another step closer, hmm?”
“Well, she hasn’t agreed to my terms yet.” The Chief sighs, crossing her arms.
“I was thinking about them, before all… before that happened.” Arezza waves towards me, turning her attention back to the Chief. “How do you envisage this alliance working out, Chief of Haven?”
“You sound like you have an idea yourself, so I’ll hear your thoughts on it.” The Chief responds.
“We have outposts all around the centre of the Abyss, what you call Dead Man’s Dream, where everyone wakes up when they end up here. Scouts keep an eye out for lost children, and watch the movements of other groups. Any rescued children are brought back, outpost to outpost, until they make it here to the Capital, where they’re kept safe. Once they’re ready and able to, and when the way is clear, they can make the journey to their final, safest stop; Haven.”
“Then we’re on the same page, your Majesty.” The Chief smiles.
“I have one caveat, though.” Arezza starts, and the Chief nods for her to continue. “I wish to see Haven for myself.”
“You want to leave the Capital, your Majesty?!” The bull-masked one sputters. “Go with these strangers to their hidden lair across the Abyss?”
“Griffin will be with me, Bull. Mole says they’re trustworthy and sincere, and I trust Mole’s judgement.” Arezza smiles, before realising something. “Ah! I haven’t introduced the Red Wolves!”
“Griffin, Bull, Bear, and Jackhorn, I assume.” The Chief says, glancing at each respective Red Wolf, whose names match their masks. “Rabbit explained why everyone has animal names. I have to ask, though, why do you favour wolves above all else?”
“Wolf was our leader.” Bear speaks. “He led Griffin, Jackhorn, Bull, and I to rescue and protect as many children as we could find. He founded the Capital, and it was he, along with Jackhorn and I that found her Majesty and brought her back here.”
“Your use of past tense concerns me.” The Chief frowns.
“He ain’t dead, if that’s what you’re thinkin’.” Jackhorn pipes up, crossing his arms. “Shortly after we rescued the Queen, he left the leadership of the group to us, and set out on his own to find a way out of the Abyss. There has to be a way out of here, he said, and nothin’ we could say could change his mind.”
“It’s been three years, Jackhorn…” Arezza sighs softly, looking down. “Though I hope for his return every day, I’ve prepared myself for the bad news. I never even had the opportunity to thank him for rescuing me… I don’t even recall what he looks like.”
“Her Majesty earned her place amongst us almost overnight. The old well that we had dug in the town square - she purified the groundwater, turning it into an ever-flowing marble fountain of clean drinking water. She looked after the children that were ill, nursing them back to health. She gave us our names, carved all our masks herself. We do not call her our Queen due to her blood; we call her our Queen because we choose to.” Bear gives a slight nod of pride towards Arezza as they finish.
“While her flash-freezing trick was juvenile, to put it charitably, purifying a well to that level is worthy of praise. The marble finish is a nice touch.” The Chief nods as well.
“If I so wanted, I could have washed all of you back to the surface!” Arezza retorts, gripping her staff.
“If I so wanted, I could blow a hole straight to the surface from right where I stand!” The Chief shoots back, gripping her staff in turn.
“You two can have a magical artillery match later if you want.” Rann sighs, stepping between the two. “Is there any chance we could rest here for the night? We haven’t had a proper rest since last night.”
“Of course!” Arezza smiles confidently. “We have a side room the men can use, and there’s a few spare bedrooms that I can lend to the ladies for the night adjacent to my personal chambers~”
“My sister gets her own room while I’m bunking with all the guys…?” Arshak grumbles to himself.
“Perks of being a lady.” Arshiya grins at her forlorn sibling.
“When shall we make the return trip to Haven?” The Chief asks Rann and Arezza.
“I’d need a day to gather my things, make the announcements to the children, and get everything ready to run smoothly in my absence. How long would it take to reach Haven from here?” Arezza asks Rann, taking a step back to look up at him given the height difference between the two. Arezza isn’t short, but… she is compared to Rann.
“It took us all day to reach here, including a stop at one of your outposts. Crow showed us the tunnels you use. Following the same route back, going south around the Ghostwood… as long as we leave before daybreak, we’ll be back by sundown.” Rann ponders, charting a path through the Abyss back home.
“South around the Ghostwood? Past the blood stream on its western edge?” Jackhorn asks, trying to draw a mental map himself.
“Across the Seeping Wound, past the fire pits, keep going west. When you think you’ve gone fast west enough, keep going. If you reach the mud pines, you’ve gone too far south.” Rann nods at Jackhorn. “Keep that to yourself, kid. Else I’ll have to deal with you.”
“Past the fire pits, keep goin’... I’ve been there before. Spent a whole day walkin’. Ain’t nothin’ but trees out that way…” Jackhorn brings his hand to the chin on his mask, putting two and two together.
“It’s that whole lot of nothing but trees that keeps Haven hidden. Far away from anything else interesting.” Rann grins dryly.
“You must all be famished and exhausted after your long journey! It’s on short notice, but I’m sure we could arrange at the very least a modest feast to greet our new friends properly…” Arezza muses, planning the evening’s events.
“Just a quiet place to put our heads down for some sleep will suffice for tonight. We had plenty to eat on the way here.” Rann says.
“Ah, alright then. Jackhorn, Bull, if you could show our guests to their rooms? Bear, Griffin, tell everyone who’s still awake what’s happening in regards to our visitors, and not to worry about a thing. And you three…” Arezza turned to Mole, Crow, and Rabbit, who were standing beside the podium while Arezza spoke. “You three did wonderfully today. Go get something to eat and some rest, okay? Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”
The three children all nod, as everyone splits off to follow the orders given them. Jackhorn, Bull, and the guards escort the men to their chambers, until the only ones left in the throne room are Arezza, the Chief, Arshiya, and myself.
“Now, if you’ll follow me, Mia Lichtrufer, Marina Retali, and…” Arezza trails off, realising she doesn’t know Arshiya’s name.
“Arshiya.” She smiles.
“You’re from Haven, too. Why did you join in when we were all feeling Marina’s wings?” Arezza asks, a little puzzled.
“Because they’re soft, and everyone else was doing it.” Arshiya nods, still smiling.
“They are wonderfully soft.” Arezza nods in agreement. “Come, you three! We have a lot to talk about, and the night is still young!”
Arezza leads us through a doorway on the left side of her throne room, eagerly intent on chatting the night away with her new friends.
We all had our worries, but after some initial difficulties, it looks like the future of Haven and the Wolf Pups is a bright one of cooperation and shared prosperity. She probably hasn’t noticed, but the Chief has been smiling to herself during most of our time here. She’s quick to manage her expression when someone talks to her, but that small, hopeful smile always comes back shortly afterwards.
We’ve taken another step forward on the long, dangerous road out of the Abyss. There will be many trials and tribulations to come, but we won’t be facing them alone. The Chief admits it’s unlikely that everyone in the Abyss will want to work together; some will even fight us over it. But the more that join us, the stronger we’ll be.
I just hope we’ll be strong enough.