Chapter 15

A Chapter by Rose of Gondor

The soldier gave a cry of pain and collapsed, falling to the ground with a soft thump. Several more arrows whizzed past us, finding their mark and bury themselves into it. Chrysanthemum’s eyes were wide, her jaw dropped, looking positively stunned. I was sure I looked about the same. Just like that, we were out of danger.

“Who are you? Speak” a voice shrilled from behind us.

Okay. Never mind. We were not out of danger yet.

I turned around gingerly, uneasiness welling up inside me. Had we gotten out of one trap just to walk into another? A girl stood at the far end of the forest, at the foot of the hill. Her long black hair was piled on top of her head in a bun, and she wore a pink tunic with matching trousers. In her hand she carried a bow, and it was drawn, an arrow fitted on the bowstring. It was aimed at me.

I swallowed. It is very, very likely that she has very good aim. After all, she did take out the soldiers with her arrows even though she was standing a long, long way from them. It is very likely that she could aim at me and shoot true.

“Peace,” my voice came out a squeak and so I tried again, clearing my throat.

“Peace!” Ah. Much better.

The archer girl edged closer, the bowstring still drawn with the arrow on it, ready to fly at the slightest movement of her fingers. “Who are you?” she demanded, her voice trembling, “Why were those soldiers chasing you?”

“I’m Mayflower,” I said, “And these are my friends, Chrysanthemum and Kyo. We have committed no crime.” Chrysanthemum waved, giggling nervously.

“How do I know that I can trust you?’ she was near now, or at least close enough so that I could see that she was barely a few years older than me.

I dropped my sword. I knew it was a dangerous gamble but it’s better than getting shot, right there right then. Chrysanthemum hesitated. Kyo shrugged and dropped his weapon. Chrysanthemum sighed and dropped hers as well.

“There,” I was surprised at how calm I was, “Now we are weaponless and you are armed.”

“Are you with that army?” the girl asked.

“No,” I said cautiously, “We’re against them.”

The girl lowered her bow.

“Sorry,” She came towards us, “I had to ask, you see. Those soldiers kidnapped my mother. They said something about a mine and said that if my mother didn’t have the information they needed, they would come back for my father. I had to make sure you weren’t…I mean…your clothes…” She looked down, fingering her bow, “By the way, my name is Mei.”

“Hello, Mei,” I said, “Do you know, by any chance, where we are right now?”

Mei looked, while glad for the change of subject a little puzzled. She looked around. “Of course. My father worked in the mine around here before it got shut down. So, you see, I’ve lived in these mountains all my life.”

My knees felt weak. Were we just that lucky? I certainly hoped so, certainly hoped that the mine she was speaking of was the same mine I was thinking of.

“Do you know where the mine is? You know, the one your father worked in before it got shut down?” I asked, anxious. Oh god, please let her say yes. Please let it be the same mine.

Mei looked startled again. “Yes. But why would you want to go there? I heard that it is haunted! No one goes there any more.”

I glanced at Chrysanthemum. Her face was almost glowing with happiness.

“Can you please take us to the mine?” I asked nervously, desperately hoping she’d say yes…

Mei shrugged, making a face. “Okay, I guess. The old mine owner still stays there, and I don’t believe in ghosts anyway.”

Yes! I almost started to jump up, almost did a victory dance. We were going to get there! To find Aiko and Wen-Ling and Shoji!

IF they’re alright. An annoying little voice whispered what had been nagging at my mind.

Oh, psh. My spirits were to high and bright to be dampened. We were going to see them. Definitely.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Here we are,” Mei showed us to a clearing. A real clearing, mind you, not a cliff. Chrysanthemum gave an excited yelp as she ran forward, apparently having spotted something I did not. And then I saw them too. A woman in blue and a man in green was walking towards us. Chrysanthemum fairly flew over into Wen-Ling’s arms with as much enthusiasm as I had embraced my own mother. Shoji looked around, his brows squeezed together, and expression of worry evident on his face. I could tell he was searching for something�"or perhaps someone, but I didn’t know what or who.

“What’s wrong?” asked Kyo, apparently sensing that something was amiss too. I waited for Shoji to answer, but he said nothing.

“Your mother,” replied Wen-Ling instead, from behind us, “She went out to search for you. We though she’d be with you, but…” she trailed off and said no more, looking at the ground.

Kyo’s eyes widened. “She’s gone?” Anxiousness and worry replaced his usual light-hearted grin. I myself was terrified. If she had gone out into the woods to search for us…well, let’s hope she didn’t get terribly lost or, worse, captured.

“Don’t worry,” Shoji reassured us, although I was very sure he was also trying to convince himself in the process, “Aiko probably just lost her way. She’ll be back.”

“There were soldiers back there,” Mei’s voice was uneasy as she reported this, pointing the way we came. Shoji inhaled sharply.

“We cannot go after her now,” Wen-Ling murmured, “The soldiers�"there is no time to lose. We must…”

“What is all this noise in front of my mine?” a gruff voice said from behind us, and an old man hobbled out, leaning heavily on a wooden cane. His hair was a silvery white, falling over his two round spectacles, fingering his beard.

Wen-Ling bowed respectfully. “Sir, please permit our entrance into your mine.”

The old man raised his eyebrows. “Do you know that this mine is haunted, young lady?” He asked sternly, his brown eyes never leaving Wen-Ling, not even for one minute.

Chrysanthemum stifled a giggle and Kyo choked. I didn’t blame them. It was too funny to resist. This is the first time I’ve ever heard someone call Wen-Ling “young lady”. I myself was trying very hard not to start chuckling.

“Yes, sir,” she said, solemn and quiet, “But we need to find that ghost.”

The old man glanced at her, his gaze sweeping over her for a second, apparently considering.

“I take it you’re a Guardian?”

I gasped�"but to my surprise, Wen-Ling handled this news with complete serenity.

“And I take it, sir,” she said, a small smile, her eyes glowing with a strange triumph, “That you are the Gray Lady.”

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© 2011 Rose of Gondor

Author's Note

Oh yay! Another chapter! Sort of a bad cliffie, but I hope the disappearance of Aiko is enough to keep people reading!!! :) This is the beginning of the end!!! This is where it begins to get...well...interesting....