Scales And Feathers [HIATUS]

CHAPTER 10: LENNE PART II

There's the picture of the egg  and it's little inhabitants as promised. Let me know what you think of them.

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Sharp, pointy spears all pointed at me. I was surrounded where I stood with the limp body of the little girl clutched in my hands and two unidentified creatures doing their damnedest to climb up my legs. My still damp hair hung wildly around my face and my eyes were still wide with shock.

I have to say, I thought I'd be far more afraid, terrified even, but all I felt was resignation. I was going to die, and that was just it. I steeled myself for the first blow, but after a while I dared to look away from the pale face of the little girl to the menacing forms of the huge, clankering, iron things. I noted that up close they weren't even as tall as my father, who probably topped them by a whole head. Be this as it may, they were still huge and probably had enough power to dice me into little pieces, but at the moment they were looking from me to the limp girl, the two creatures clinging to me and each other. They seemed... unsure.

Suddenly there was a stern voice from behind them and they parted so someone could come forward. I stared. It was another of the clankering things, but this one had a human head. It was quite the head too. It had a long mane of jet black hair streaked with silver, and obscuring some of his face was a beard to match. His face-- what I could see of it-- was littered with fine little scars and set with piercing red eyes that were the color of glowing red coals. I realized he was staring at me even more intensely than I was at him. His vermilion eyes seemed to peer into my very soul. They made me feel like I was exposed even though I had absolutely nothing to hide.

"What is going on here?" His words were simple but they were spoken in a clipped cultured tone with an underlying danger. This man was not one to be opposed. It was clear that his words had power here, as one of the clankering things immediately straightened up and answered urgently.

"My lord, we heard Lady Dahlia's screams, and upon arriving we discovered these individuals," he replied clearly and reverently. So it seemed there were people inside the clankering things? If they all looked like the man who was still staring intensely and silently at me then it's no wonder the realization didn't make me feel the slightest bit of relief.

"Unhand the lady." The command came at me so suddenly in that firm voice that I almost dropped her. Not daring to make him wait I gently lowered her to the ground. Her dark red hair pooled around her head. I noticed that the two little creatures had become deathly still. They were staring straight at the man, not even blinking their big, ruby red eyes, and their hair that was already a tangled mass of white silver and pitch black seemed even more puffed up, if that was even possible. I followed their gaze to meet his piercing eyes and he spoke again. "Basilisk."

Suddenly there was a mini uproar. Whispers of indignant rage ran through the small crowd, and those that were off guard immediately had their weapons trained on me again. What was that word? My eyes darted around nervously at the men in the clankering suits that seemed to be chomping at the bit to waste me now. If they were mad before, they were murderous now. Just one word from the man who appeared to be their leader and I'd be skewered. Even though it seemed they were itching to kill me immediately, they didn't dare do anything without this man's order.

"How did you gain entrance, boy?" His question was simple enough, but oddly I seemed to have been struck dumb. I opened my mouth to reply hastily, lest he lose patience with me, but nothing came out, not even a croak. I was sure I looked like a goldfish with my lips flapping there uselessly. His eyes eventually strayed down to the two little creatures that were doing their best impression of starfish. They seemed to widen a fraction. Many of the others followed his gaze and there were gasps all around me. I still didn't know what the little things were but somehow I got the feeling that these people did. It turned out I was right. "From where did you take the younglings." His voice was tight and his eyes never left the little creatures. I shook my head furiously, somehow realizing that he thought I'd taken them from somewhere. Thankfully, my vocal chords finally started doing their work.