It happened at night. It was so fast… I don't know where they all came from. But they were there, and they were everywhere. I don't know how he fought them off as long as he did, with no warning or help or anything.
There was no time, no time to do anything. I ran through the door into her room; she was terrified like me. But we couldn't give in to panic, I could not let him die in vain. We had to survive; we had to escape.
I threw open the window. "Kero! Come on!"
"On it!"
His body grew, he changed forms and blew fire at the door, holding off our attackers. Then we leapt on his back and flew out over the courtyard of the palace. They were expecting that, of course, and they threw large nets out from the windows of the surrounding buildings. No arrows; nothing lethal. They wanted me alive.
Kero was forced down, but he refused to land on the ground. Instead he flew down the corridors, skimming the surface. I don't know how we avoided those nets, there were so many.
He could not fly fast or for very long, not with both of us on his backs. I had an idea and I tugged on his ear, shouting for him to turn right. He dove through a set of doors and we hurtled down a deep staircase, down, down to places I hadn't been since my childhood days of exploration. Behind me, she shrieked in terror and held on tight. Down into the depths of the older servant quarters, then further still into the empty and unused dungeons. I had never seen people here in my lifetime, nor my father in his, and the iron grid across the sewer exit was decrepit and rusty. There were ragged holes in it beneath the surface of the water.
"Come on!" I shouted again, and Kero returned to his small form. The three of us dove into the horrible, dank water. It was impossible to see, but I felt my way through the gaping holes and crawled through. Tomoyo did not have so easy a time; her sleeping gown caught on a sharp edge and she was trapped, until I found the snarl and freed her. Together we burst forth, gasping for breath, outside the palace walls. Behind us in the buildings we could hear screams of terror, shouts of authority, and the dread sound of gnashing blades. In my mind, I could feel the dark magic wreaking havoc on my home and my family, and I trembled there in the water.
They were dying, they were suffering, and I could do nothing. I had run, helpless and scared. But I had not know what else to do.
Tears pricked at my eyes, but that time had not yet come. Shouts of the enemy could be heard nearby, and once again I had to concentrate on survival.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters