
Ailith pulled the covers up to her chin as she squirmed further beneath the sheets.
“Tell me a story, mama.â€Â
Liliana smiled as she ran a hand over her daughter’s hair. “You’re a little old for bedtime stories, are you not?â€Â
Ailith’s little face puckered in a mock scowl, pulling the sheets up to her nose. “No.†She said defiantly, her small voice muffled by the thick blanket.
Liliana chuckled silently to herself. “Very well, my daughter, what would you like to hear?†She asked in a smooth voice, continuing to run her fingers through Ailith’s hair.
“Gobbldyguuk.†Came the solemn reply.
The middle aged Miqo’te smiled in thought, looking off to the other side of the room before returning her loving gaze upon the tiny child, nodding. “Alright, but you must stay asleep,†she raised a finger to make her point, “no more sneaking around the castle at night, making midnight visits to the kitchen and causing the kitchen master any troubles.†She placed her finger on the tiny nose. “Understand?â€Â
Ailith pulled the covers back down below her chin revealing a wide grin. She nodded. “Yes, mama.â€Â
Liliana folded her hands in her lap, straitening her back. She was a proud woman of relatively high standing in Ala Mihgo. Her husband, Kajyn, was one of the foremost advisors to the ruler of the city-state and an ambassador to the others. In his early days at the post, he would often times be gone for weeks on end to lands far off, but he always returned. When their two children were born, maternal twins, Kajyn traveled less and when he did, he wasn’t gone nearly as long.
In the recent weeks, his entire schedule was cleared of ambassadorial duties, being passed on to someone else for the time being, while Kajyn focused on grooming their son and youngest child, Isaac, to one day take his place as not only advisor, but also to lead the House Vadoma. Though she thought it selfish, she was glad that, for the time being, Kajyn would be safe behind the walls of their home and not on the road where any number of unthinkable dangers could arise. They were safe, all of them, at home.
Liliana nodded. “Good.†She gently cleared her throat and looked up in thought as she began the story. “Once, in a land far away in a kingdom that was prosperous and happy, a princess had just come of age when she was ready to be married. Her father, the king, had arranged several meetings with suitors from other lands to vie for her hand in marriage. But the princess’s heart already belonged to another and though she entertained her father’s choice of suitors, she did so only out of duty.
“At night, when the castle was asleep, the princess would sneak out beyond the safety of the walls, into the forest where her beloved awaited. Samuel was his name, and though he was common born, the princess fancied him more handsome than any of the suitors her father brought to bear.
“The two would while the way the hours of the night, talking, laughing, sharing stories, often outrageous ones of dragons and gnarled beasts, often times they would just lie in the soft grass on the crest of a hill, gazing at the stars, holding each other’s hand in quiet profession of their love for one another.
“One night, when the princess reached the place in the woods where she normally met Samuel, he wasn’t there. She didn’t find this strange, as she was sometimes early and had to wait a little while for him to show up. He, too, had to sneak out to avoid his father.
“After waiting almost an hour, the princess began to grow concerned. Though it was against their rules, for fear of getting caught, the princess started to make her way to the city and to Samuel’s house, so see if he was all right, when she heard a noise off in the forest. She stopped stone frozen in the warm night air, her eyes growing wide as gooseflesh crept up her back and arms. The noise sounded again, closer. The princess couldn’t move she was so frightened. And then she saw it; movement in the shadows.â€Â
Ailith’s eyes were wide, the blanket had found its way back up her face to cover her nose, little fingers tightly gripped the edges. Liliana leaned in with a grin.
“And then there was a loud crack!â€Â
Ailith jumped with a squeal, pulling the covers over her head as her mother’s hands darted out and began tickling the child’s sides. Ailith’s cry of fear turned into uncontrollable laughter as she tried to escape deeper under the covers from her mother’s hands.
“And do you know what happened then?†Liliana asked, pulling the blankets away from her daughter.
Ailith was curled on her side, still in the throws of laughter, happy tears staining her cheeks from the effort. She wiped away the tears with her knuckles and turned her head, finally able to bring her laughter to a halt. “The Gobbldyguuk got her!â€Â
Her mother nodded. “That’s right, and—“ she was cut off by a distant explosion followed by a rumbling shockwave. Her head darted around to the window behind her, the red silk blinds billowing in the gentle breeze. “What on earth,†she said to herself as she stood and went to the window.
She squinted her eyes as she looked out the window, trying to see farther in the night, to try and find the source of the noise when came another explosion, much closer, much louder. Yellow and orange light filled the night sky as she saw the fire. The entire castle shook with the force of it. “By the twelve…â€Â
Ailith, who was sitting up in her bed, frowned in fear, her blue eyes wide and brimming with tears beneath the fall of her sandy-blonde hair, her ears lowering to the sides of her head, her tail wrapped around the ankle of her right foot. “Mama…â€Â
Liliana broke from the horrific scene she was witnessing and rushed to the bed. “Come, child, we must find your father.†She gathered the frightened girl up in her arms, put her tiny head to her shoulder as she began to sob in fear. Liliana whispered soothingly to Ailith, trying in vain to comfort her as her own fear was evident in her normally soothing voice.
Without further hesitation, Liliana quickly went to the chamber door and vanished into the hallway as another explosion rocked the castle.
Quote:Q24: Will monsters also take fall damage? A24: Monsters are monsters, so no...