The Strange Adventure of Maria Mercado (6 page)

A short while ago, Ankar had come by to warn her of the approaching Bostavs. She was to move the girl to another secure location, and to keep her moving until they could transfer her over to the Unknowns.  Ankar wasn’t too pleased at the sight of Jonas. He instructed the girl to move him as well.

Reeza was strong for her size, but even so, she had great difficulty in moving two prisoners from the cave on the hills to another location. And she had to do it fast; she cannot afford to be caught by the Bostavs. She knew that they were getting nearer and nearer and it won’t be too long until they found the previous cave. Ankar had told her that he would create a diversion to ward the Bostavs off her path.

She created an extension to the wagon that she already had. She used some of the tree branches nearby and when she was finished constructing it, she put the two prisoners on it and slowly dragged the wagon towards the other end of the cave. From there, it would be relatively easy for her to transfer them to the next location, which is, strictly speaking, a hole in the ground.

She reached the destination with a little difficulty. She took the prisoners, who are both still knocked out, and pushed them down on the hole. She knew that there was a soft landing below; she had dug the hole and built the insides of it herself. She uses it as a base when she is busy on her mission as a spy.  She followed them down there, and tied them to shackles that were already on the wall. She then went back and manually covered her tracks and the tracks made by the wagon. Afterwards, she cast a masking spell on the tracks and on the hole in the ground, to ward off the Bostavs, in case they happen to be closer than she thinks. She then covered the hole, the entrance, with a pre-made camouflage of leaves. She stayed down below and lit her torch. She took some of the grain that was left over and ate it, and drank some water from the jug. The next few days are going to be tough to endure but in order for her to succeed, she is aware that she needs to have proper sustenance.

             
She looked at the passed out Jonas across from her.
What a shame if I have to kill such a worthy ally
, she thought. 
But maybe it is all a misunderstanding, that he was actually acting on behalf of the tribe.

             
She heard the human girl make a muffled sound. She went over to the girl and took off her mouth gag, telling her not to scream as she did so.

             
“Uhhhhh. Where am I?” the human girl asked.

             
“Quiet,” Reeza said.

             
“Uhhhhh my head hurts.”

             
“I said quiet, or else I will put the gag back in your mouth.”

             
The human girl stopped talking.  She looked at the other person next to her, to Jonas. Her eyes grew big as she saw the blood dripping from the wound in Jonas’ head.

             
“Don’t worry, he is alive,” Reeza informed her. “Are you hungry?”

             
Maria nodded. Reeza came over with some of the grain and started to feed her. When she has had enough, she gave her some water from the jug. Maria was moving around in the spot, making Reeza uncomfortable.

             
“Be still.”

             
“I can’t. I really have to pee.”

             
Reeza looked at her.

             
“You know, pee?” Maria motioned her hands as if she was demonstrating how to pee.

             
Reeza understood what she meant. “Get up,” she said. She then took Maria by the arm and slowly led her a little farther into the hole she dug. Because Maria’s feet were tied together with a rope, she was skipping.

             
“There,” said Reeza, pointing to a corner.

             
“Ummm, I need you to unbind my feet.”

             
Reeza looked at her. “No.”

             
“Please? I won’t run away I promise. And besides, there is nowhere here to run to.”

             
Reeza considered the possibility. She bent down and untied the rope. She gave Maria a few minutes to herself and then she came back. She tied her feet together once again and led her back to the same spot, next to Jonas.

             
“Sit.”

             
Maria obeyed. She knew better than to attempt anything against someone who is a “fierce warrior”. But she knew that she needs to do something about the situation, as she don’t really know if anyone was coming to rescue her. Nobody even knew that she was in the kingdom, except for the Omtars. She doubts that they would make a fair match against Reeza.

             
She looked at the man beside her again.
Maybe he can help get me out of here
, she thought.  She waited until she saw Reeza sitting back on the other side before she started blowing air on Jonas’ face. She kept doing it until eventually, his face started twitching. After a few more blows of air, she finally managed to wake him up. He opened his eyes and was looking directly at her face. She whispered to him “Help me.” He looked a bit disoriented before he slowly nodded his head.

Maria smiled, but her joy was short-lived as she saw Reeza standing directly in front of them.

CHAPTER SIX

Ankar, with his hands bound behind him, was walking in the woods towards the hills, escorted by two Bostavs.  His face remained blank and showed no signs of emotion.  The Bostavs haven’t spoken to him but he knew that they are taking him somewhere close by to be questioned.

              Ankar has been alive for over a century. Both tribes of the Mestons, as well as almost the rest of the creatures who live in the Kingdom of Hepoxia are blessed with long lives. The average Meston lives over a century but even though this was the case, the population of the tribe never got out of hand. As of now there exist fewer than 10,000 of them, and all dwell near the river and farmed for a living.  A little over 20 years ago, he became an Elder to replace his father who had died.

             
The main distinction between the north and south tribes of the Mestons, aside from the obvious scar on their foreheads, was their primary way of life. In the south, they survived mainly from the produce of their farms: grain, vegetables and fruits. In contrast to this, the Northerners are fishermen and survive mostly with a diet of fish and fruits from the nearby forest trees. For some reason, the river near the south doesn’t seem to be able to hold on to fish life; in fact none of the residents had ever been able to catch fish in that part of the river.  There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the water, as they use it for everything as part of their daily life.

             
In the time before the Great War, the two tribes enjoyed peace and even had a regular trade of produce with each other. The south supplied the north with grain in exchange for fresh fish. The two tribes regularly met with each other and even enjoyed social gatherings. However, it had been established in the beginning of time by King Astanfe that the two tribes should not intermarry and mix. No explanation was given and of course no one questioned their creator but trusted that the reason was for their own good.

             
When Prince Amir, regarding the revolt against the other Royals, first approached the Elders of the South, they considered their position very carefully. The Prince and his fellow Royal rebels had promised the Southerners great things: more land available for farming, permission to go to the North to fish for themselves and even to marry a Northerner if they chose to do so. In exchange he required them to swear their allegiance to him and to join him in the battle in attacking the palace.

             
Ankar wasn’t an Elder back then, In fact he was a soldier, one of the best in the south. He had developed exceptional skills in battle and had proven this in the Great War. Even back then at the time of peace, the different tribes in the kingdom had always implemented a strategy for defense, in case of any potential attacks.  Ankar had surpassed any training that the Mestons had to offer.

             
When the Elders accepted Prince Amir’s offer, they approached Ankar to be in the personal service of the Prince. Unknown to the five current ruling Royals, Prince Amir had started to dabble in magic and experiment in spells. To avoid detection, he would conduct this in parts of the forest significantly far from the palace and accompanied only by Ankar, who served as a bodyguard. The Bostavs would have accompanied the Prince outside the palace walls as they are required to do so but he would sneak out, as he had found a way to leave undetected.

The Royals back then, as a rule, never read each other’s thoughts and gave each other privacy. The only reason it changed after the Great War was to avoid any further potential treachery among them. Also, they freely engage in contact with the tribes they rule and left the palace frequently, with Bostavs in tow of course. The seldom leave the palace now.

              The Prince spent countless hours in perfecting spells, such as the masking spell they use to cover his tracks from the Bostavs and which Ankar gave Reeza to cover Maria’s tracks.  One by one the other Royals who turned traitors joined him: Princess Alexis, Princess Naia, Prince Hadis and Princess Kaila. Together, the five of them became what is now called collective as the Unknowns. It was easier for them to use magic back then, as they already had pre-existing gifts that made the magic work easier. Nowadays, the Unknowns have to work hard to get the spells going and have to be more resourceful about it. But they still manage to make it work.

             
Prince Amir often experimented on Ankar. He developed a potion that would make Anker flexible and change his body mass to resemble the smallest undetectable creature. He concocted another potion that would help Ankar mask his true nature and make him look like any of the other creatures in the Kingdom, including the Bostavs.

             
Ankar had been an integral part of the rebellion. It was he who had snuck into the palace that night to change the signal on top of the palace. It was he who had given his fellow Southern warriors the masking spell that enabled them to hide outside the palace walls, undetected by the Bostavs until it was too late. And it was he, who had assassinated over a 5
th
of the Bostavs as he posed as one of them and they were unaware of his true nature.

             
He took great pride in this feat, even after the defeat. He had blended in with the rest of the Southerners when they all got caught and his spells had run out. To this day, neither the Bostavs nor the Royals are aware that it was he who had been helping the Prince with the rebellion.  If they had been, he was quite sure that he would not have been pardoned like the others but instead would have been sent off to exile along with the Unknowns.

             
Presently, Ankar and the Bostavs reached a small clearing in one of the hills. They sat him down on one of the big rocks that were nearby. The one called Gadik grabbed his face and turned it upwards toward him.

“Where is the girl?”

              “I do not know what you are talking about.”

             
Gadik slapped him across the face. “Where is the girl?”

             
“I am not aware of any girl.”

             
He slapped him again. Ankar laughed. “My dear Bostav, do you really think that I can make a girl appear when you slap me around?”

             
Gadik look him in the eye. “Tell me where you have hidden the girl.”

             
“I told you, I do not know of any girl,” Ankar said with a smirk.

             
“Search him,” Gadik commanded the other Bostav. He emptied out Ankar’s robe and found a few bottles of potions and nothing else.

             
“Unauthorized possession of magical potions is prohibited in the kingdom. You will now be taken to the palace prison and will be tried for treason by the Royals. Take him away.”

             
The other Bostav guard got Ankar up to his feet and led him away. Neither he nor Gadik paid much attention to the necklace that Ankar was wearing. It contained a small pendant; but if someone were to look at it closer, they would see that it is in fact a miniscule bottle of potion.

***

Meeka was about to swing from one vine to the next when he miscalculated the distance and fell. 
Ouch,
he thought.
Good thing the ground is covered in leaves. 
He got up and just stood still for a while, trying to regain his focus. By his calculations, he thought that he would at least be in the land of the Southerners by now. It looks like he was wrong; there was no sign of the river nearby or the hills that surround their land. Meeka was lost.
Oh no, not again. 
He figured that he must have taken a wrong turn somehow, somewhere along the way and now he has absolutely no idea where he is. This was not unusual for Meeka; it has happened to him many times before, including the day that he accidentally let Maria in.

             
Meeka thought about that day. If only he hadn’t wandered off too far, he would have made it back on time to put on the spell to shield the kingdom.  He remembered being conscious about the time, but he then took another wrong turn and ended up getting lost. It was a good thing that he even found the right path back and was able to continue on his way.

He climbed the nearest tree, to see if he can have a better view of the situation.  Unfortunately for him, the trees in this part of the forest aren’t quite nearly as tall as the ones on the land of the Omtars. He could only see so far and he couldn’t even see above the other trees. Disheartened, he leaned on the trunk of the tree and tried to figure out his next best move.

              Meeka heard a noise.
That sounds like footsteps.
He squat down to see if he can spot whoever is making the sounds. One of the good things about being an Omtar is that they blend completely with the trees, so that other creatures are usually unaware of their presence.  Meeka could hear someone crunching about in the dried leaves, clearly heading his way. He stayed very still and waited.

             
He could see a young boy, almost a man, walking through the woods. He doesn’t seem to be trying to hide where he is going or even bothering to cover his tracks. He passed underneath the tree where Meeka had positioned himself and stopped. He looked around him and up, and from that angle Meeka saw the scar on his forehead. It was a horizontal scar; he is a Meston of the North.

             
What is this Northerner doing here
?
Am I in the land of the North? 
Meeka shook his head because if this was indeed the case, then his sense of direction was way off, worse than he had previously thought. He had headed off to the wrong direction. Meeka decided to follow the boy. He slowly climbed down from the tree because to follow him through vine swinging would definitely attract more attention. On the way down however, Meeka lost his balance and fell again, landing on leaves but no doubt making a noticeable sound.

             
Oh no
, Meeka thought, as the boy turned around and saw him on the ground.

***

Jonas is lying down on a hammock he had built among the trees, enjoying the view of the river. The air is calm, the sun is shining bright, and he is drinking the sweet juices from a blend of fruits in the farm.  He is on holiday – permanently – as there was no longer any need for spies now that peace reigns throughout the entire kingdom.

             
He could see the children playing in the field nearby. Running around and laughing, he thought it was a great sound to hear. They are so carefree and innocent and they are enjoying life as they are supposed to. Jonas briefly reflected back to his own childhood, where the sound of children playing and laughing was quickly replaced with the sounds of agony and war. Death was everywhere and there was so much turmoil that him and the other children spent much of their time in fear and hiding, afraid that they would be next.

             
Jonas snapped out of his flashback and stared at the sight in front of him, feeling content and happy that they have finally achieved peace. No more wars, no more treachery, no more of the Unknowns. Suddenly, he felt a cool breeze that was comfortable at first but became quite irritating. It kept coming and Jonas kept trying to shake it off but to no avail.

             
Jonas woke up. He opened his eyes and can see a girl sitting next to him. “Help me,” she whispered.  Jonas stared at her, unsure of what was happening.
She has no scar on the forehead. This is the human girl.
Slowly, he nodded his head. She then abruptly looked up and gasped. There was someone else there, looking down at them. She bent down and took the gag off Jonas’ mouth.

             
“Reeza,” Jonas said. “Why am I tied up?” He tried to free himself but whoever tied it did a very good job.

             
“Because I wasn’t sure about you,” she said. “You were lurking around the cave and I had specific instructions that no one was to come near the girl.”

             
“We are of the same tribe Reeza, we work for the same people.”

             
“Then explain your presence in the cave.”

             
“I was doing my rounds. I noticed disturbance in the trees so I knew there was someone around here. Wait, this isn’t the cave now, is it?” He looked around. “We are underground. You moved me when I was unconscious?”

             
“Yes. The Bostavs that are looking for the girl were getting near. I had to move you both.”

             
“Can you untie me? Come on Reeza, you know me.”

             
Reeza looked like she was debating with herself for a few minutes. Finally, she said “All right. Do not make me regret this.”

             
“Like I said, we work for the same people,” Jonas said. Reeza untied his hands and feet. Jonas got up and stretched. He looked at Maria, then back at Reeza. “So what are your instructions? What do we do with her?”