"What exactly are we doing here again, Jacqueline?" Puck whispered very softly, as he tucked himself further into the hood she wore.
"I told you already. We're looking for that damn Eshu that took Duke Merrick's standard." Jacqueline ducked around a corner in the seedy neighborhood they were traveling through. In the Dreaming, it looked like a ruined city, deserted for better places. "I just wish we could find it, go back to the freehold, and take a nice, long, hot, bath." She slipped down an alley, trying to follow a nearly non-existent trail.
"Um, Jacqueline, I don't think we need to look any more." Puck's serious tone made Jacqueline stop short, and look into the growing dusk ahead of her. As her eyes adjusted, she swore softly, for before them was a group of nightmare creatures that she and Puck knew all too well. The Eshu was among them, and he pointed at the pair, smiling wickedly.
"Capture her. The chimera is of no concern to us."
Turning quickly, she ran back down the alley as the nightmares began their pursuit. Moving as rapidly as possible, Jacqueline withdrew Puck from her hood.
"Puck," she said, ducking into an abandoned building. "I need you to tell the Duke what happened. If you can't get there, go to the glen we camped in near the freehold. Whenever you get there, wait a week from then. If I'm not back..."
"Don't say it. You'll be back. Are you sure you don't need me?" the ferret squeaked.
Just then, the nightmare creatures burst through the wall, and Jacqueline put Puck on the ground and drew her sword.
"I'm sure. Now get the Hell out of here!"
As Puck made his escape, Jacqueline fought ferociously, but there were too many of the foul creatures. They overpowered her, knocking her out, the last she heard was the Eshu: "Bring her to our Lord without delay."
Jacqueline awoke in a dark, dank cell. There was a dark figure standing on the other side of the cell bars. He was handsome and well dressed, but his features were marred by a thoroughly malicious smile.
"I hope you find your new home comfortable. You are going to be here awhile." Shifting so the light accentuated his features, Jacqueline noticed the crest of House Ailil on his tunic. Jacqueline frowned, and tried to sit up. She found her movements hampered by manacles on her wrists and ankles.
"Be grateful I did not take my advisor's suggestion. He wanted you in cold iron shackles." The Ailil lord smiled, amused. "But he is a Balor, after all. In any case, we have found you to be a thorn in our side ever since you and that foolish, young troll completed your quest a scant few months ago." He paced in front of the cell in thought as Jacqueline tried to conceive of a way to escape. "We could not take your sword from you, as you well know. A very nice trinket, by the way. So, we put you in a cell that is nowhere near any of our trods, and chained you in a wonderful alloy of steel and a minute amount of cold iron. So, you will find it very difficult to perform any cantrips."
"I think I get picture." Jacqueline's sarcasm cut through the tension like a knife. "So why am I imprisoned instead of dead? I didn't think you Shadow Court types were much for the Escheat. Or compassion, for that matter."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, my dear. You don't want to insult me. I have already been more than hospitable. Or would you rather I allowed my Balor advisor to be in charge of you?" The Ailil smirked as Jacqueline leaned back against the wall.
"Humph. Well, you must have me here for some other reason than my stellar conversational skills, my lord. I'm not going anywhere, why don't you tell me?"
The Ailil smiled a smile filled with false warmth. "That is simple, Lady Jacqueline. You are here to tell us what you know...whether you wish to or not."
Waking from a fitful sleep, Jacqueline attempted to guess what day, or night, it was. With no windows or clock to give her some idea, she could not tell what time it was or what day. She knew that she had been in the Shadow Court freehold for at least two days, but after the first few interrogations, she felt so exhausted that as soon as she was put back in her cell, she fell into dreamless sleep. She knew she must, at all cost, keep her composure, else her captors find out anything that she knew.
"Which is very little, actually..." Jacqueline muttered, rubbing her head and eyes, trying to drive away the remaining fatigue. She stretched and yawned, her chains clanking loudly against each other. Jacqueline grimaced, as she did not want them to know that she was awake just yet. She tried to stick a finger between the clamps on her wrists to alleviate some of the pressure they placed on her wrists, and to get at the growing itch that was forming underneath. When that failed, she tried shifting them around, but they were simply impossible to move.
One of the guards came to the cell door with some food. As he entered and put it on the small table, Jacqueline's stomach growled. The guard began to move out of the cell as she began to eat, and as he locked the door, he cleared his throat as if preparing to speak. Jacqueline looked up, and she thought she almost saw remorse and pity in the guard's eyes -- almost.
"Enjoy that food. It will be your last meal for a very long time." At Jacqueline's puzzled look, the guard continued. "At noon, you are to be executed by order of the Lords of the Shadow Court. After, of course, one last interrogation." The guard turned and left, as Jacqueline quickly lost her appetite.
"I've got to find a way out of here," she thought. "I can't die now. I have more work left to do...." Jacqueline began to pace back and forth in her cell, trying to think of a way to escape. "I need to know how long I've got before they take me away," she realized.
"Hey, what time is it?" she called to the guard. "Come on, if I'm going to die, at least tell me how long I've got left!"
"It's about 10 or so. You've got about an hour before the lords come to get you for questioning," the guard said matter-of-factly.
"Thank you." Jacqueline turned away from the bars, and sighed. "There is no way," she mused, "that I'm going to find a way out of here in an hour. It will take a miracle."
She sat down on her cot, and tried to go through every possibility for escape. She became so intent on trying to devise a means of escape that when the guards came to her door, she jumped up, startled.
"Please, lady, come with us," the guards asked. Jacqueline moved forward, and exited the cell. As she did, she noticed a servant sweeping down the hall from her cell. He was sweeping dust, dirt, spilled slop, and other various and sundry things into a cistern. Jacqueline thought that she could faintly hear the sound of running water coming from the hole. She looked at the guards as they gestured for her to proceed them. As she began to move, a noise came from the stairs.
"Look sharp! His Grace approaches!"
In accordance to their training, the guards immediately fell to one knee. Before they realized that Jacqueline was still standing, she made her move. Turning on her heel and running as fast as she could with her ankles chained, Jacqueline made a beeline for the cistern. The servant, eyes wide with shock, scrambled out of her way. Tucking in her arms and hoping that she didn't hit her head, Jacqueline jumped into the cistern feet-first, and slid down a sharp incline. In less than a few scant seconds, she splashed into an underground river, and was carried away by the current. Just before the water closed over her head, however, she heard two final sounds from the dungeon: a scream of rage from the Balor and an order from the Ailil: "Find her."
Jacqueline floated along under the water, trying to hold her breath as long as she could. Shortly, she felt room between the water and the cavern ceiling. She kicked with all her strength, and broke the water's surface. Gasping for air, she treaded water as best she could with the chains still around her ankles and hands. After a few minutes, she bobbed with the current into an enormous cavern, alight with bioluminescent fungi. As Jacqueline passed an outcropping of rock, she used the chain between her wrists to loop around it and hold on. Allowing her weight to be lifted by the water and trying to ignore the ripping feeling near her wrists, she took a moment to catch her breath. As she did, she heard a noise from the cavern entrance. Squinting to see in the dim light, she recognized the body of the servant that had been cleaning the jail.
"Apparently, they aren't much for compassion...," she thought sadly. As she watched the body of the servant float by, she had an idea. She floated after it, watching where it went. She followed it down a tunnel, allowing herself to pushed by the current. Soon, Jacqueline realized that the tunnel was getting brighter, but the current was getting faster. She realized that she could see the end of the tunnel, and began to swim towards it -- until she realized that the river emptied into open air. Jacqueline snagged a crevasse in the rock, and looked out over the edge. The river emptied into what looked to be a very deep lake, after falling about one hundred feet beforehand. Looking around, she saw no other way down. Taking a large breath, Jacqueline jumped, taking a large breath on the way down. She splashed into the lake, and blacked out.
Several hours later, Jacqueline awoke on the bank of the river. As she tried to look up at her surroundings, she winced and felt a large bump on her head. Feeling very nauseous, she managed to get to her hands and knees. She crawled to the water, and coughed water out of her lungs until they hurt. She crawled, then, amongst the roots of a large tree. She sat there until she could breathe freely again, and tried to stand using the tree for support. Her head spun, and she felt like she was going to lose consciousness, but somehow she managed to stay up and awake. She took a branch from the ground near the tree, leaned on it, and began to limp away from the lake. When she came out of the trees, she looked around and, in the far distance, she could see through blurry eyes the Shadow Court freehold. She thought she could also see a small group heading for the lake and river.
"I've got to go," she realized. "I've got to find the Silver Path out of here."
Jacqueline knelt on the ground, drawing a circle with her new walking stick. She sat for a very long time, waiting for the Silver Path to open before her. When she thought that she could wait no longer, a very small glimmer of silver formed in front of her and spread with painful slowness. Jacqueline rose with the help of the staff, and began to make her way down the trod, hoping she could find help.
"Great." She sighed, resigned to her long walk. "I'm delirious, too. I swear that was a horse or something. This is just perfect..."
Jacqueline continued walking, and when she reached the point where she thought she had seen something, she looked around. Seeing nothing, she began to step forward when she heard a neighing. She turned toward it, and saw a white horse rearing off to the side. It was then that Jacqueline noticed that the Silver Path turned here, going where the horse was. Shrugging, Jacqueline began to follow the horse.
"It seems you have a better idea of where I'm going, so I guess I'll follow you," she called after the horse. The horse shook its head, and began walking further into the trees. Jacqueline followed, and, after about an hour of walking, she came out of the trees and realized she was no longer on the Silver Path. She turned and looked at it behind her. As she did, she saw the horse rear and paw at the air, as if it were saying goodbye. That's when she thought she saw a spark of light from a point on the horse's head, like light gleaming off of a sword.
"A unicorn?..." Jacqueline gasped. "There are still some left in the Dreaming? Maybe there's hope yet." She smiled, fingering the small piece of horn hung on her neck. Jacqueline closed the trod, and looked around at her surroundings. As she tried to get her bearings, she heard a high-pitched squeal of joy, and felt something scamper up her leg.
"YOU'RE ALIVE!!!!!" squealed Puck as he climbed up her body, curling around her neck and nuzzling her face.
Jacqueline sank to the ground and held Puck close to her. "Yes, I'm alive. I may not look it, but I'm alive. How long have I been gone?"
"A day short of a week! I almost thought that you weren't going to make it here." Puck looked at her with intensity. "I wasn't gonna leave. I was gonna stay until you came back or the Long Winter started, whichever came first."
Jacqueline hugged Puck, smiling. "I know, Puck, I know. But I need you to do something. Can you go to the freehold and get me some help? I don't think I can make the walk."
"Of course! I'll be back as soon as I can!" Puck scampered off, moving with the speed of quicksilver.
Jacqueline found a patch of moss, and laid down. She could feel the last of her strength draining off, now that she was as safe as she ever could be. As she closed her eyes, she swore that she could feel something being put next to her, but she couldn't muster the strength to open her eyes.
"You are worthy of much more than that, Jacqueline, though your humility becomes you. But as you are still recovering from your ordeal, we shall name your reward once you are well again. Now we ask you to join us at the ducal table at dinner tonight, a dinner in your honor."
"I thank you, Your Grace, and I accept. I am honored to be so invited." Jacqueline bowed again, and Duke Merrick nodded his approval and turned to his seneschal for the next order of business. Jacqueline took the opportunity to escape out to one of the gardens, where Puck waited for her.
"So, what'd you get?" Puck perched on his hind legs, trying to see if she had received something shiny.
"An unnamed reward and an invitation to a dinner in my honor. Very exciting, don't you think?" Jacqueline smiled wryly, picking up Puck, and sitting on a bench. Scratching him under the chin, she took a deep breath and sighed as she looked at the shiny network of scars on her wrists, the only physical reminder of what she had gone through just a week before. "Another night, another dinner. I almost wish..."
"Don't say it!" Puck squirmed in her hands, put his paws on her chest, and looked up at her. "You might just get that wish, and we'll be in trouble all over again!"
"Actually," Jacqueline said, with a mischievous smile creeping on to her face. "I was thinking that I should bring you with me. You had just as much to do with this as I did. I just wish you saw who put the standard next to me while you were running back to the freehold. I was out cold, and didn't see a thing."
"Me neither. But what does it matter? You brought it back, sorta-kinda, so you should get the reward. And, for that matter, I would love to go to dinner tonight. Should I wear my black bow-tie?" Puck started to laugh, and Jacqueline joined in, happy that she and her best friend would see many more days of adventuring. And, somewhere else far away, maybe there was somebody else who was just as pleased...
