Everchanging

Stroke of genius

Drawing in a sharp intake of breath, a sudden dawning of realization fell upon Mariana. ‘The moat!’ she cried joyously, her eyes the deep tinge of mahogany widened in hope, ‘My means of escape. The only way of killing him…’ 

‘Xavier!’ Mariana called forlornly, eyes once again snake-venom black, devoid of emotion.

Into her luxurious chamber, a hulking figure of a man staggered, his small, darting eyes squinting at Mariana. She looked dejectedly up at her captor’s hideous face, etched with several scars and declared, ‘I understand I have not a shred of hope of escaping,’

He smiled malevolently, his decaying teeth, large and crooked, glinted a garish yellow in the candlelight. ‘Finally realized ‘as we, girl?’ he laughed wickedly, ‘Yer, you’s trapped by this moat-and me’

‘Speaking of the moat, do you not think the water is a little low today? Someone could easily swim across if they got past that colossal wall-not that I would dream of such a thing!’ Mariana proclaimed, twirling her long, dark, cascading hair innocently

Xavier grunted in a swine-like manner, his broken snout flaring unpleasantly, ‘Yes you is right. I must make ‘it ‘igher. Don’t want you escapin’.’

‘If you could tell me where to go, I could change the water levels for you,’ offered Mariana, her angelic voice gentle.

‘Yer, it’s down in the basement. And if yers wonderin’ it doesn’t lower the water levels,’ the brute mumbled, scratching repulsively at his bottom, ‘I is needin’ ma beauty sleep. These good looks don’t come f’ur nothin’, I tell yer!’Chortling to himself, he left Mariana.

Swiftly, she darted out of her room, down many flights of stairs and hastily reached the door of the musty basement. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she made out the shape of the controls. Reaching forward towards the control panel, her eyes glistened with the golden shade of an eagle’s beak triumphantly…