Fire and Storms.

 

Rating: PG
Genre: Pass
Setting: the sky
Authoress Note: a little fic that was feeding off my brain. There’s no real story so the WILL NOT be an update.

 

Part 1

 

Through howling gales and blistering winds, like a leaf caught in an updraft it skittered. It was impossible to guide it straight. The winds forced the fragile frame to bank left and right, caught in its ever-changing currents. All its occupant could do was cling on for dear life, and pray that the storm would soon die down. She looked to one side, startled to see a lightning strike pass close by her. She took a gulp of breath as she felt the heat from the bolt wash against her face. In that split second, she forgot all about the peril of flying into the storm. The circumstances that had led her to this flashed in front of her mind.

 

There were screams in the valley. Juana ran from a rickety cottage on top of the hill. She gazed down into the village below her, before letting out a gasp of horror. Reflected in the waters of the lake she could see the village. It was burning. She looked up. Mists obscured the view of the village, as always, yet now they glowed a warm red colour, instead of their usual eerie white. She turned suddenly. She had heard footsteps behind her. Crouching behind a low gorse bush she peered through the branches warily. Four figures were tramping up the hill heading straight for the cottage. She trembled at the sight of them. Murjin Soldiers.

 

Murjin was a country on the far border of Grell. It was a huge surprise seeing them as far south as Fujina, the country in which Juana lived. But still, even the people in Fujina had heard about the Murjin people. The emperor was power hungry, and his soldiers only meant misery to those around. Juana couldn’t think what they were doing here, but she knew only to well the destruction that the soldiers left in their wake. She had seen it before. She shrank back against the bush and watched as they kicked down the door of the cottage. They stormed inside, leaving one by the door. A guard she presumed. Before long the other three returned. One saluted the guard. Juana could just make out their conversation.

 

“No-one here sir!” The Guard kicked lazily at the grass.

 

“Burn it.” The soldier nodded. Juana swallowed as she saw a spark, and watched as the thatch of the cottage caught blaze. She had to get away from there. She backed away slowly, but before she had got too far, something caught her eye. It was a glider. Before it had been hidden in the darkness of the night, but the flare of the burning cottage now cast a distorted glow upon it. Glancing toward the soldiers, she took another deep breath and ran for the glider. As she swung herself onto it she heard shouts. Damn! She had been spotted already. Frantically, she kicked the gliders ignition. She was relieved to hear it spring to life instantly. The shouts grew behind her. She pushed with her foot and the glider slipped effortlessly into the air.

 

The glider wouldn’t gain height for a while, gliders never do. They need enough speed to allow them to ride with the winds. Juana just prayed that she would be going fast enough to skim over the lake. She held her breath as the lake, still illuminated in an orange hue, drew nearer. She closed her eyes. The space was rapidly decreasing. Then she felt a cold spray in her face. She opened her eyes. The glider was skimming the surface. She felt she could breathe again. Slowly the spray reduced as the glider climbed higher. It gained in height. Suddenly, the orange hue was all around her. It startled her at first. She thought she had zoomed straight into the village. But the density and opaqueness of the air around her soon set her mind at rest. She had soared up into the mist. The glider was gaining height by the second. She would soon be clear of it.

 

But she could hear sounds now. There was an airship nearby. How could she have been so stupid? Of course there would be an airship. The soldiers had to have come from somewhere! She knew there was no way a glider could outrun an airship. And she knew they were after her. She gazed desperately ahead. Dark clouds massed on the horizon. A storm was brewing. It would be the only way to escape them.

 

She leant closer to the glider, giving it a more aerodynamic form. She thought about why the soldiers were after her. She had broken into an encampment of theirs, one in which the emperor himself was visiting. While she was there she had stolen a pendant. It was a valuable looking pendant, a deep, blood red colour, studded with a few rubies. The metal it was made of was a rare alloy, and instead of a chain a length of red ribbon allowed it to be worn around ones neck. She had spotted it and hung around until she thought that no one was around. Then she had crept into the tent and stolen it. But the emperor had spotted her and ever since the soldiers had been roaming the land, burning all villages they came too, desperate to find her. But she could lose them in the storm. An airship was too bulky to get through a storm easily, whereas a glider would be easier to guide. She plunged into the dark clouds. Then the wind hit.

 

Juana was snapped back to the present by a particularly vicious gust of wind. She wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. Another gust hit her, spinning her out of control. Desperate, she glanced over her shoulder. There was no sign of the airship. She had lost them, but she was now in deep trouble. The lightning struck again, too close this time. The heat set the gliders wing on fire. It spiralled downwards. Another gust sent it rolling. Juana lost her grip and fell through the clouds. She closed her eyes as she fell to the earth, praying she would somehow survive.

 

THE END