~ Power ~

Chapter 8 - Round Two

‘Wendy.’ Freya said, embracing her friend. ‘She didn’t hurt you did she?’

‘No. Not really. Just a bruise or two.’ She pulled up her right sleeve. Freya frowned and reached into her bra to grab her Amethyst stone, forgetting that Lena had taken it earlier.

‘How much do you know about that woman?’ Wendy asked.

‘Not a lot. I know that her name is Lena and she is very good at pretending. That’s about all. But enough about her, how have you been? Tell me everything.’

‘Well. Let’s see. How long has it been since you left?’

‘Close to a year now...’

‘Wow. Has it really been that long?’

Freya nodded solemnly. Wendy looked as if she really wanted to ask Freya something, but she withheld it for the time being.

‘Your father is doing well. His farming business is flourishing. He has jobs all over town.’

Freya smiled at this. It was wonderful to hear about her father after having heard nothing for so very long. She missed him. She missed the way his moustache curled when he smiled. She missed the way he always smelled of oil and moist earth. She missed the bad jokes he told on a daily basis. But she restrained herself, she could only allow herself to miss him just a little bit, otherwise she didn’t know if she would be able to keep going. But she did wonder if he missed her.

‘So what are you doing here?’ Freya asked.

‘Oh, you know, enjoying the sights,’ Wendy said with a smile. Freya offered one in return, but they both soon faded. ‘Father sent me on an errand to Lerant. There was a little resistor or diode he needed for one of his machines–’

‘Wait, he sent you by yourself?’

‘Didn’t yours send you by yourself?’

Freya fixed her fringe and brushed some dust off of her shoulder. ‘No-one sent me Wendy.’

‘Oh, but I thought–’

‘Please continue with your story,’ Freya cut in. Wendy seemed a little taken aback but she composed herself and continued nonetheless.

‘Well, as you know, Lerant is quite far from our home town, so my trek was long and hard. Three weeks it took me to get here, on horseback and by foot where it was necessary. Anyway, when I reached the village gates there was this woman, dressed in a silver cloak, carrying a basket of juicy red apples. I was so hungry that I stopped to ask her how much they were. Next thing I know I’m being led along some path and thrown in a building, this building.’

Freya began to realise the magnitude of the situation now. She crossed her arms and sighed. ‘That woman really is a piece of work.’

                                              *                        *                      *

When morning broke Lena came to fetch the two girls. She led them to another section of the warehouse; this one was much larger and only contained one cage. Freya looked around fearfully. She saw nothing of consequence. She looked over at Wendy. How could she fight one of her best friends? She was just a little girl. Freya reflected on how sick the whole thing was. She hated Lena with a passion at that moment, despised her very essence.

‘Welcome to round two,’ Lena announced as they entered.

‘Round two of what?’ Wendy asked. Lena ignored her.

‘I’m not going to fight her if that’s what you want,’ Freya said defiantly.

‘Is that so?’

‘Yes.’

Lena smiled. ‘Well here’s what is going to happen poppet. In exactly sixty seconds, ten armed men are going to storm out of that door over there,’ Lena pointed to a large iron door on the far side of the warehouse. ‘These men are going to want to kill you–’

‘You’re crazy!’ Freya shouted. ‘You’re absolutely mental.’

‘Please let me finish dear. This last part is quite important. Somewhere, buried in the arena, is a pouch of power stones. You and your friend can chose to team up or fight solo if you desire.’

‘Why wouldn’t we team up together?’

‘Because,’ Lena smiled again, ‘If you complete this task on your own I will give you back your dragon, I will give you your freedom, a horse, and a thousand gold pieces.’

‘You think you can buy me? Bitch please.’

‘Hush child. Clock’s ticking.’

With that Lena left. Wendy came to stand next to Freya.

‘What was she talking about?’

‘You’ll see soon enough, unfortunately. Now help me look for this buried pouch. We’ve got about twenty seconds.’

‘Twenty seconds until what?’

‘Dig!’ Freya said desperately.

The pair scampered around on the dirt, digging frantically here and there until they heard the door begin to open. From it emerged ten armed men, just like Lena had said. Some were armed with big, wooden staves, others with knives or machetes. This was it, Freya thought, this was the moment of truth.

Freya turned to Wendy and said, ‘Keep looking for the stones. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.’

Wendy looked paralysed. Freya shook her, ‘Do you understand me? This is a matter of life and death.’ Wendy nodded slowly.

Freya scooped up a big handful of dirt and approached the closest man with a staff. He raised it to hit her, but she was far quicker. She threw the dirt in his eyes and quickly kicked him in the shin. The man buckled over and dropped his staff, which Freya picked up readily. She beat him down and then engaged with a man holding two knives. She jabbed him in the chest and flicked the staff upwards slapping the man’s chin. He dropped the knives and she twisted around and delivered a heavy strike to the side of the man’s head.

She turned quickly back to Wendy. ‘Have you found the pouch yet?’

Wendy shook her head.

Freya turned back and dispatched two more attackers. There were six left, but instead of running at her one at a time they were now huddled together. They were teaming up, strategising. That was not a good thing.

Three of them came at her at once; one with a staff and two with short swords. The man with the staff fenced her in while the men with swords began to thrust their steel at her. She dodged quickly enough, but she wasn’t sure how long she could keep up the acrobatics for. She was exhausted.

All of a sudden they knocked the staff out of her hands and she fell to the ground, defenceless. What a way for it all to end, she thought. She had pictured dying in a field of daisies at the age of eighty-three, not this. The men approached her slowly. She threw dirt in their faces, kicked and punched, but it was no use.

Just then Wendy screamed out. ‘I found them.’

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Options for this week:

1.      Wendy gets the stones to Freya and she uses them to defeat her attackers.

2.      Wendy uses the stones herself to defeat the attackers.

3.      Wendy, unable to use the stones, has to defeat the attackers another way.

4.      Freya escapes her attackers and collects the stones from Wendy herself.