To the stairs!
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 01:55:40 EST
author: teri, stana

"Remember to duck!" Stana shouted, feeling Clip's
muscles bunch beneath her. There was the scrape of
horn against metal and the Unicorn slashed at the
huddled shields in front of them, and then he swerved,
using his heavier mass to push the soldiers over.

Stana felt Teri's grip tighten convulsively around her
middle as the Unicorn reared, launching himself
through the hole he had just made. From the corner of
her eye she saw several blades hold back hits, rather
than risk striking her or Teri.

Teri screamed as Clip reared again, "LET ME DOWN!" she
blubbered,beginning to feel quite sick. She had long
since stopped looking down at the floor that seeming
to surge up towards her like a wave, and now squeezed
her eyes shut
in much the same vice-grip that she was squeezing
Stana in.

Clip's hooves had cleared a momentary path through the
doorway, and he now reared threateningly in the wider
space of the hallway. From what Stana could see, there
were at least two other soldiers who had cleared the
stairwell,
and two bodies lying prone on the floor. At least for
now.

Clip's golden hooves found purchase again as he leapt
out from the slash of a sword. The bright tip of his
alicorn was ruddy with blood, and the soldier's right
arm hung uselessly from its socket.

"Try leaning *forward* Teri." Stana shot back
impatient with the dead weight Teri was being. She
huddled over his neck, wincing as the Unicorn's head
snaked forward, twisted Alicorn scoring a viscious
thrust against a shield, punching through the dark
studded armor. "Clip- we should get off-"

As Teri opened her mouth to demand once more to be let
down, Stana pushed backwards with the cold strength of
action, landing in a crouch over Teri, who scrambled
hastily to her feet.

Clip flickered briefly into human form as more
soldiers began to file in where the last group had
fallen.

"There are servents quarters down there" the Unicorn
said "I can smeel the laundry there. Get outside and
meet me near the stables, if its clear, failing that,
the deep woods. Go!" he turned his back to them,
launching himself forward, transformin gin mid leap
and crashing into the startled ranks. Whatever they
had expected, it had not been that.

Teri had more than enough faith in the Unicorn's
ability, for the moment. To her credit, the hung-over
girl didn't protest, she re-shouldered her pack and
started racing down the corridor with Stana at her
heels.

"There's got to be another set of stairs," Teri called
over her shoulder, pushing down the vertigo and
nausea.

"I hope so! This isn't the 90's- firehazards aren't
illegal here,"Stana said as she looked into an open
room.  The window faced the street- no getting out
there.  "Check all the doors! If the laundry is down
here, there *has* to be a servant's
stairway or something." She spared a glance down the
darkened hallway, at the golden sparks of horn meeting
steel.

Teri felt the air humm with the pure-light energy she
had come to associate with Clip. The painful sweetness
of it was almost more than she could bear in her
current state.

"Fuck my head!" She screamed, frustrated, as she raced
to another doorway. The adrenaline was building, but
the endorphines were slow to perform. Where was that
rush of euphoria they were talking about in her
philosophy
class?
Something about near-death experiences being painless
and fun? Someone should have clued her head in on it
beforehand, for it wasn't following the rules of the
game.

"I've got it!" Stana called and Teri stopped trying to
open her door and ran to where the older girl grabbed
her and  pushed her stonily down the stairs. After
catching her step, she ran down as quickly as the
tiny, cramped space would allow.

And almost knocked herself out on a beam hung low in
the stairwell. Biting back a cry, she folded down in
on herself for a few seconds while Stana urged her
forward. Teri almost rounded on the girl, her jaw
clenched against the additional pain.

"Watch your head, it's a bit low here," she snarled,
finally getting up and moving down the rest of the
way. At her own pace. If Stana wanted to hurl at
light-speed in the dark, she could go first, for all
Teri cared.

She paused at the door at the bottom of the stairs,
pushing the door open a crack. The light of the
kitchen sliced against Teri's eye as she peered
out-for what she could see, the kitchen was empty.

"I don't think there's anyone there," she whispered
doubtfully to Stana, who was grabbing a broom lying
against the wall of the stairwell.

"Then let's go," the girl responded, shoving the broom
into Teri's hands, while she unslung the bow over her
shoulder. She took three arrows and draped them in her
fingers for a more rapid nock (stringing) and fire.
"Clip said to meet him at the stables," she finished.

"I heard him just as well as you did!" Teri snapped.

Stana started, but then grinned coldly at the waspish
tone. "So you did." She took a step forward as Teri
cried out a warning. As she did so, Stana felt dark
arms grab and hold her. Without fully thinking, she
stepped back smartly, twisting her torso and half
lifting the soldier, thankful that she remembered how
light the armor was. She felt the hands slacken
momentarily and she threw herself back against the
wall as hard as she could, catching the soldier in
between her and the rock. The arms released as she
twirled, right hand smashing into the now exposed
throat.

She had been told that striking a man in his adam's
apple with the force needed to merely crack an egg,
could kill him. She saw that at the very least, the
soldier would not be bothering them for some time. She
watched the figure drop to the ground and kicked him
once for good measure.

"Stana?" Teri asked.

"I'm getting sick of this already." she responded,
gathering up her dropped bow and arrows. Then she
listened as steps hurried down the stairs. She was
drawing back the string of the bow as the door opened.