Mianda and the Tools of Oblivian by Brigitte Stotzka (books under 200 pages .TXT) 📕

us leave this place and hope never to see it again”
The three men left the room, walked down the corridor, climbed up the steps and left the small house. A soft breeze stroked their faces and they all breathed deeply to smell the fresh air. The sun was setting, throwing first rays of light over the tortured country side, bringing with it the long awaited warmth.
Alderan put his hand on Gregorian’s shoulder and asked him “Will he be back?”
Gregorian looked at him for a moment before answering. “I don’t know.”
Chapter One:
***********
It was a hot night. Lightning slashed across the dark night sky, thunder could be heard in the distance. A storm was brewing after long hot days.
Midnight and very few lights could be seen. The town was sleeping, but in the castle, on a hill in the center of Bendrill, no one was sleeping.
Two nurses and a Midwife were preparing for the arrival of the heir to the throne. The mother to be was Aridne, the High Priestess and Queen of the Kingdom of Vanshee. She wasn’t all that young anymore but her beauty was legendary. Long black hair, deep blue eyes and cherry red lips. And she was a proud woman who knew how to get what she wanted.
Although she had never wanted children, she would soon give birth for the first time. She had sworn she would only be doing this once.
It was a large room with many small windows, and a large window open to a terrace. On the walls hung longs green drapes bound together with green cords. Several Oil Paintings of long forgotten Ancestors looking down on them from the walls. In a large fireplace, burned a crackling fire, throwing its long shadows throughout the room. The floor was of wooden panels, like all the rooms in this castle.
Every now and then flashes of lightning would lighten the dark night. And the faint sound of thunder could be heard. Many royal women had given birth to their children in this room. Now Aridne’s turn had come.
All was going well. The midwife, a tall dark haired woman with the name Raveni, brown eyes, filled with warmth was preparing the Queen for the birth of the first child. She was dressed in a wide black dress with a white overdress. She stood in beside the Queen, waiting for the child to come, murmuring silent words…. But Aridne could not hear them. The pain was becoming overwhelming.
“Breath, do not forget to breath” reminded Raveni her patient. “Good. Not long now”.
Something remarkable was happening. Aridne was quiet now; the pain had ebbed, leaving a sensation of well being; of floating on clouds high above the world. The nurses whispered to each other “It can only be magic. I have never seen a child be born this was.”
The storm outside seemed to be gaining in strength. The wind was howling and lightening flashed, thunder growled.
The Midwife, a woman named Raveni, a handsome person, with dark hair tied up in a knot so as not to hinder her. She had dark brown eyes and a very pretty face. Her lips pressed tightly together. This was the Queens first child even though she was not the youngest anymore.
“Soon, soon you will hold the prince in your arms. Just a short while now”
Even as she spoke the strange birth began. At first, a faint light could be seen coming out of the skin of the Queen. Then, the skin would start to rise, and like the opening of a flower after the morning light had touched it so opened the abdomen of the Queen. Slowly, petal like, opened, revealing its valuable content.
Instead of one baby, there were two. Raveni looked up at Aridne. How was she going to tell her this? Instead of one child, she would be having twins.
Looking down again, she carefully reached in and took hold of one of the babies. At first she had to separate the two gently. Doing so, she then lifted one of the children out of the womb. It was a little boy. The Crown Prince and heir to the throne.
She held him up and let Queen Aridne look for herself.
“Your son Your Majesty.” She said with a proud voice.
Aridne just took a short disgusted glance and turned her head away.
She was too tired. Her only thought was “Yes, I succeeded. The boy has been born. Now, that I have done my duty I may lead the life I choose”
Raveni gently gave the child to one of her nurses, who carefully took it to bath and dress it.
Then, very gently, Raveni lifted the second child out of the womb. It started closing. Soon, the skin had returned to how it was before the pregnancy, as if nothing had happened. The Queens abdomen was as flat and flawless as ever.
Raveni, looking a little nervous, held up the little girl to show her to the Queen. “Your Majesty?”
Aridne opened her eyes and was about to scold Raveni for disturbing her when her eyes fell on the second baby.
As she saw that Raveni was holding another child in her arms she cried out “What is that?”
Raveni looked at the Queen and said with fear in her heart “It is your daughter, Your Majesty. You have given birth to twins.”
Aridne’s eyes grew wide as she heard this. At first shock could be seen on her face, then anger.
“No,” she murmured.
She turned her head away from Raveni.
“No……. no……………….”
“Take her away. Take her away from me” cried Aridne out in an extremely angry voice. “And you with it. Get out of my sight”
Raveni, disgusted with Aridne, wrapped the child in a warm blanket and left the room with it, leaving the Queen with the two nurses.
She hastened down the long corridors of the Castle, down two flights of stairs, not really knowing what to do. Before she reached the bottom of the stairs she saw someone coming. As luck would have it, it was Gregorian.
He was a tall man with long flowing silver hair and beard. His eyes a steely blue, showing the wisdom of many lifetimes and there was warmth and kindness in his eyes.
He looked somewhat startled as he saw Raveni.
Raveni sighed with relief ………She knew he would know what to do.
“Gregorian……….please, I need your help. “ she stammered “The Queen has given birth to two children, a little boy and this one here, a girl. But I was told to take this child away from her mother. She does not want it. She told me to leave as well”
Gregorian took the child out of her arms and took a good look at it.
It was a beautiful baby girl, blond hair and green eyes. She looked at him with trusting eyes waiting for him to help her. Gregorian’s heart flew to her at once.
“What do you think I should do?” asked Gregorian determined to stay serious, but the child demanded a smile from him. “Hmmmmmm. Let me think”.
“Good” he said after a while “I will take care of this. And you leave this place right now and go to
Askabet. You will be safe there”.
“I will leave right away. Thank you Gregorian, I knew I could depend on you” relieved
“Now go” he urged her “Go”
With the small bundle in his arms he hurried down the corridor and disappeared.
Chapter Two:
Nearly 10 Years later.
Dawn was breaking and life on the little farm was beginning to wake up. It was still dark outside but a in the barn, in a corner, lying on a mound of hay, a small bundle began moving and giving tiny sounds from it. The sound of yawning could be heard and small arms reached up from under an old and patchy blanket, which was thrown aside and a little girl appeared struggling to get up. She was hungry because, as so often, she had to go to bed without any supper and breakfast was something she seldom got. “I have to save money somehow” he commented as an excuse “And I’m beginning with you” And that was that.
Her blond hair was a mess, in bad need of washing and her clothes were just rags. She got up to make her bed but decided against it. It was only an old blanket on a pile of straw. Not much to tidy up.
A huge white rat, with black fur shaped as a hood on its head raced up to her and called her name out loud “Mianda, good morning”
Mianda looked down to see where the rat was and smiled down at her friend.”Good morning to you too Boomer”
“Listen to me child” urged the rat “I once told you we would have to leave this farm one of these days, do you remember?”
“What are you mean Boomer?” answered the girl a little confused, but then she remembered “Oh yes, I remember. Why, do you want us to leave right now?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I want, right now” cried Boomer. “Just do as I say for once in your life. Take that pouch and that back pack, throw whatever you own and come with me. Your life depends upon you doing what I tell you to do”
“What? Who’d want to harm me? I don’t know anybody and I’m sure no one even knows I’m alive” asked Mianda now really confused.
“Just listen to me will you?” urged Boomer “Something is coming. Something terrible and I don’t want you to get hurt. It’s important you come with me, and I mean right now”
But Mianda just sat there and stared at him. She thought “I must be dreaming, this is nothing but a nightmare”. She pinched herself “Ouch. That hurt”
It was getting light outside and soon the farmer and his family would be up and about. A sound of thunder could be heard coming from the distance and soon it would be raining.
She stood there. In the meantime Boomer had dragged a pair of shoes from under the hay and told Mianda to put them on. “But, they are not mine” she cried “I don’t have any shoes”
“Just put them on” ordered Boomer He then told her to grab her bag and her small water bag.
Once finished Boomer motioned her to move and hurry outside.
The two of them left the barn and hurried towards the woods near the small farm.
Mianda looked up at the cloudy sky because there was a totally different sound. Nothing like she had ever heard before. It sounded like the beating of huge wings. It was quickly coming closer.
“What’s that sound?” she asked Boomer frightened
Something dark and dangerous was coming closer and closer. The farmer and his wife had stuck their noses out of their window to find out what was going on and who could be causing that terrible sound. The wife, seeing Mianda running away, shouted to her husband “Look, it’s that girl. She must be making that noise and is now trying to run away. After her”
“What do you think you’re doing and why are you making such a noise” he yelled at her “Wait till I get my hands on you. Come here at once you ungrateful wretch”
He raced out of the house to run after her still wearing his pyjamas. But he didn’t get far. The creature spat fire and the house started to burn.
Frightened, Mianda turned on her heels and ran for the safety of the dark woods.
She ran as far and as fast as she could till she ran out of breath.
She tried to shut out the cries coming from behind her. Something terrible was happening there now. Something