I can't believe it worked! I wrote this all on an app called iA Writer (unbelievably amazing app) and it actually copied it and i can paste it here. Yay for technology! I just beat this power outage muahahahah. On that note, however, please forgive grammatical and spelling errors due to having types it on my phone.
~~~
The trees looked like sinister monsters with holes in their twisted trunks. Moss hung over the holes, creating snakelike pupils that stared at any intruders that dared disturb the serene swamp waters. Floating above the houses that crept their way up the tree trunks were long rowboats with sails and wooden mermaids or dragons keeping watch at the front.
Three of them floated around in circles, scouts sitting high up in wooden baskets on the masts. They lengthened their looking glasses and scanned over the waters far below them, waiting for a brave--or rather foolish--soul to attempt to steal their dragon egg.
The egg, larger than an ostrich's but sky blue in color, lay nestled in heated blankets until the time of hatching. Many bones of hopeful thieves lay scattered on the ground at the base of the tree in which it had been stowed away. Many others lay scattered on the edges of the small town, being examined thoroughly by a lone thief hiding in a small bush.
She had the choice, when starting out, to bring a group with her, but decided a group was harder to conceal and, when it came to sneaking into the heart of a city built upward with eyes in the sky, it was best to go solo. So she set out without word before the sun began to color the sky. Her outfit she kept earthy but dark and once she gained ground on the swampy city, she smeared mud on her clothes and her pale white face.
She army crawled for half of the day, being careful to keep her eyes on the sky. It was slow, as she knew it would be, and slower still having to pause when an airship came closer, but she finally managed to bury herself away in one of the rare shrubs that skirted the dirty water.
There, she rested the night and half the next day, drawing sketches in the soft earth like sports coaches draw to the team. She spent the latter half of that day and the following night watching the wooden building with the thatched roof.
Today, the third day, was her day to make her move. She crept from her trusted bush, walking in a squat until she was a few feet from one of the tree trunks. She rolled under it, hitting something that fell with a splash and a yelp.
Instantly, she straddled the thing and put a hand where she suspected the mouth was. Her blue eyes met with the murky hazel eyes of a man, a man like her, not like hunch backed, half sized people that inhabited this swamp city, their noses peeking out from the cloaks that covered their heads. A town of inbreeding, or so outsiders called it, despite the residents' intelligence.
"Who are you?" She hissed in a hush tone to her victim. He held their gaze before looking to her arms and letting his look travel up them. Half of her hands moved off his lips as if to make a cup around them.
"An owner of these people," he answered, his voice deep and thick, reminding her of the grease they used in vehicles.
"Owner?" She asked. Few knew the truth of the swamp people; no one knew where they came from or why they looked like rejects of normal society. She always assumed they were the rejects, actually, that some of the more conceited cities sent them to this swamp and they happened to do well for themselves and also passed on genetics effectively.
The man nodded and suddenly snatched her wrists. He sat up with speed and force, pushing her to the ground with her legs still around his waist. "And my assumption is you plan to steal the egg, yes?" He smirked and chuckled before she could answer and went to stand. "Have at it, but you've been misinformed," he remarked. He turned, a hand sliding into a pocket as he began to work.
She merely glared after him. Why should she believe him? She picked herself up from the water and went to the other end of the trunk, or rather the exposed roots. In all reality, the trunk was a roof above her. She peered out and made a quick dash for the other tree.
Her next move would be the building with the egg. She slid under the other trunk and peered out once more, pausing as she saw her friend from before. He calmly headed up the stairs to the building.
Just outside the door, he shed his blue cloak, tinged gray from being slammed into the dirty water, and passed a glance over his shoulder. She watched his pink lips move as he said something to the little humpback he handed his cloak to.
His gaze, she noticed, was misdirected from her current spot. She smirked. His fancy clothes seemed to be the only smart thing about him, or so she sang in her head as she glanced to where shed bumped into him.
And then it hit her. He probably just told the guard she was there, lurking around to steal the dragon egg. Her gloating gaze turned into a glare that she redirected back at the man, only he had disappeared into the building.
Damn him. How was she to get in now? Surely the guards wouldn’t follow the shift change she witnessed the last day. She sighed and sat down in the water, keeping an eye on where her prize resided, brainstorming ways in.
After several minutes of watching motionless men stare out at the swamp, she decided her only chance was to take them on and pray for the best, so she stood, crept toward the large platform on which the building resided, moved around to the steps, and made her presence known.
She pulled her two long knives from their sheaths on her hips and readied herself. But the guards merely stared down at her. Still she waited, and several moments passed before she straightened and took a few timid steps up. They merely watched, turning to face her once she arrived at the door.
"Master Jax says we are allow you to see what he spoke of," one of the men stated. Her brows furrowed and she reached out, pushing aside the fabric that hung as a door and stepped inside.
A blazing fire set in the middle of the room and pushed heat her way. Around the fire were several men; one sitting near it and paying no mind to her, another leaning against a wall, his back to her as he faced a man pouring liquids together, and standing opposite her was the man from before, Jax. He cocked his head to one side and smirked.
"Disappointed?" He purred. She glanced around, obviously searching for any place they could have hidden the egg. "I told you, you were misinformed." Her attention snapped back to him.
"If there is no egg, why guard the town as you do?" She asked. The other men all stopped what they were doing and looked to her as Jax chuckled again.
"Who said we were guarding anything?" He asked.
"But all the bones, and the airships..." Her brows furrowed and the man with his back to her turned to face her. He shook his head.
"We scout for sacrifices. Those poor, unfortunate travelers that come here, or those following rumors like you, are perfect." She paled under her mask of mud. Sacrifices? Rumors? She took a few steps back.
"You’re joking..." She retorted, but she didn’t wait to hear his response. Instead, she turned and threw open the fabric. Two of the guards stepped in her way and pushed her back.
"You’re the next," Jax spoke as he and the other three began to move toward her, the guards blocking her way out. She was outnumbered and doubted they were unarmed. Even so, she pulled out her long knives and rose to her feet, but she was just too late. Two of the men grabbed her wrists.
"You’re next," they echoed Jax.
No comments:
Post a Comment