Mein Engel (aka The Runaways)

Mein Engel

Stephan:

             The night was very cold. December nights were always cold but this one seemed especially frigid. Thick clouds hung in the black sky, shutting out the moonlight. The darkness was so deep that even the shadows had shadows. A fierce wind had torn through the trees earlier but once night had settled, it ceased. Everything was quiet. The whole world seemed to be holding its breath…as if it knew what was to happen tonight.

            I knew.

            It was my fault, my doing.

            And I was going to fix it.

            I hurried to the great oak tree in the center of the grove, dashing from shadow to shadow, hiding in the deepness that filled the forest. All the home trees surrounding the great oak were quiet, filled with the sleeping bodies of my people. They didn’t matter to me anymore. Only she did…and the little one. They were why I ran in the darkness.

            The world was still silent when I reached the base of the great oak. High up in the branches sat three nests situated close together, each a separate room of a greater house. The giant globes were woven from green branches and tall meadow grass. The largest was suspended between the two thickest branches and was big enough to hold at least a platoon of soldiers. The other two nests were smaller in size and set on either side of the main nest.  Rolling my shoulders, I glanced at the smallest nest above me. It was placed in the crook of a branch about 5 spears high. No, the sound of my wings would draw attention. I would have to climb.

            As quiet as the mist covering the moor, I scaled the tree, coming to rest under the branch that supported her home. Inside I could hear voices; one was hers, etched with anxiety. The other was that of her closest friend, Alese. Good, Alese was there. She would help her…I hope.

            I whistled three short notes that told her I was there. Her answering whistle sounded and I swung myself up through the opening into the nest. There she stood, green eyes blazing as if preparing for a fight. Her prized bow and a full quiver of arrows were strapped to her back and her throwing daggers were in their holsters at her sides. With her long, dark red hair tied back at the base of her neck with a piece of leather, she looked every bit the fierce fighter I knew her to be.

            “Stephan, quit staring at me like a love struck peacock! There is no time to waste!” she snapped at me, hands on her hips. I could help but to grin at the sight, which only made things worse. “Stephan! Please tell me you’re going to take this seriously!”

            I snapped back to the situation, surprised I’d been able to push it from my mind for even a second. “Of course I’m taking this seriously, Tasha,” I said to her, “You just create quite a picture sometimes.”

            “Hmph, well, quit worrying about my picture. If we don’t hurry, there won’t be a picture left…of any of us,”

            The truth of her words hit me hard. This was it. If we don’t pull this off, our lives are over. She’ll be killed for committing treason, the worst crime in griffin society. And I’ll be killed for kidnapping the princess even though Tasha is the one who has planned our whole escape. She wants to go. Anyone in his or her right mind would see that, would understand why. Who wouldn’t if your father was König of all Griffins, a man with great power and a knack for always getting what he wants. A man who wants his only daughter to find a suitable mate so that when (if) he dies, she can ascend to his throne and lead the griffin people to victory over the other Ancient races in the battle for unbelievable power. Yeah, no pressure or anything. One can only imagine what he would say if he knew his daughter had fallen for me, a man with no parentage, considered “unfit” for warrior status, a man who had actually undergone training of the highest kind behind his back to become a great warrior. Imagine if he knew his daughter had secretly married this “unfit” man and had given birth to his child, a beautiful little girl, the future heir to the crown. And all this took place while the König was away at a conference with the leaders of the other three Ancient races. Yeah, he wasn’t going to be happy when he returned.
            “Prinzessin, if you are sure you want to live with this man and keep this child then you must hurry!” the sound of Alese’s voice brought me out of my thinking. “A messenger arrived this morning, bringing news of your father’s rapid return. If there is to be any chance of you surviving this escape, then you must leave now!” Alese whispered fervently. No argument there. Tasha glanced at me then shared a long look with her best friend, her right hand. She nodded.

            “We must hurry. The night will not last forever.” Tasha picked up her rucksack and threw it to me before turning to the bundle of fur on the bed. Stretching out a long finger, she stroked the soft cheek of our little girl, sleeping in the cocoon. “Sleep well, my angel. Soon we shall be free. Then you’ll be able to spread your wings and fly without fear.” Her eyes glistened as her voice broke on the last word. Fear was not something a griffin warrior, especially a warrior princess should feel. Squeezing her eyes shut, she breathed in and I saw her lips move as if she were praying. Then her bright green eyes found my brown and her entire stance changed. Scooping up the bundle of fur, she tied it to her so that it seemed like she was cradling our baby girl.

            Turning to Alese, she said, “You have been my best friend, my closest companion. I will miss you terribly and I pray that our ancestors will keep you safe from my father’s wrath.” She placed her fist over her heart and bowed, the customary way of acknowledging an honored warrior. “It has been my greatest honor to fly with you, Alese of Tahn,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

            “As it has been my greatest honor to fly with you, Natasha, Prinzessin der Greife. May fair winds always find you,” Alese replied, using Tasha’s full title.

            A sad smile filled with a thousand memories spread across Tasha’s lips as her gaze locked with Alese’s. Hope hid at the corner of her eyes as Tasha wondered if she would ever see her best friend again but then reality set in and chased that hope away. By marrying me and having my child, Tasha had exiled herself from our people. She would not see Alese ever again…unless she repented of her transgressions, which she would never do.  Turning to me, she hid her pain under a smooth mask of calm.

            “Let’s go,” she said. I nodded then swung myself out of the nest, her pack and mine slung across my back. I dropped to the earth, landing on my feet. Tasha jumped down beside me. Holding a finger to her lips, she motioned towards the west. She turned and ran, so fast the shadows could not catch up to her. I followed, glancing in every direction, watching for any sign of movement. We ran in silence, not letting words distract us. Suddenly, Tasha froze.

            “What is it?” I asked.

            “My father,” she whispered, the terror evident in her voice, “He’s almost here.”

            Fear, that terrible monster, took hold of my heart with its icy claws. I didn’t even stop to think how she knew. “We must hurry then. If he catches us, it will be the end of all our lives.” I choked out. We had to survive. I could not let my Tasha or my daughter die because of me. “Come on!” I cried, grabbing her hand and pulling her after me.

            And we ran.

            We ran as fast as we could. I’m not sure for how far or how long. I only know we ran. The freezing cold didn’t bother us anymore. We were too terrified. The trees almost seemed to leap out of our way as we sprinted by. Nothing was going to get in our way. Nothing except for the man we were running from.

            After some time, the part of my brain not concentrating on moving my legs as fast as they could go noticed that the trees were thinning out. I was not sure how long it had been since we’d left the village for time had passed like seconds yet hours to me. Ahead I could see pale pinks showing through the dark browns and greens of the forest foliage. I realized we must be getting closer to the edge of the forest. Soon we’d be able to take to the skies. I glanced at Tasha and saw relief floating across her face as she realized we were almost free. Faster still we ran; how that was possible I have no idea. The trees fell away, ending in a huge span of waving golden grass that met the horizon. The sky, colored in shades of pink and lavender, stretched out over our heads. Over the edge of the earth, the yellow sun began its climb into the atmosphere.

We didn’t even bother slowing down; with a shake of our shoulders, our wings were extended and we soared into the air. The air stream whistling across the meadow caught us and tossed us higher into the clouds. Feathers rustled as we pushed our wings up and down with all our might, trying to gain as much power and speed as possible. We raced higher and higher until we broke through the cloud field. Only then did we slow down; even then, it was marginally. Still grasping Tasha’s hand, I angled us in a westerly direction. Only then did I glance at her. She returned my gaze. At first, I thought I saw regret in her eyes and I could feel my heart start to tear apart but then she smiled. Her grin was so full of peace and relief that I found myself smiling back at her.

“We’re free,” she whispered in awe, as if she couldn’t believe it was true.

I nodded. The realization finally hit me.

“Yes, we are,” I answered.

            Her smile only grew larger and she squeezed my hand tightly. I squeezed her hand in return then faced the now bright blue horizon ahead, wondering where the wind would take us yet not really caring because this was it.
            We were free.

Alese:

             I watched out the nest opening as my best friend and the warrior she loved ran for their lives. Galfridus might be the all-knowing König of all griffins but he had no idea his greatest betrayal would be committed by his own daughter. She would make a glorious Königin one day, if she survives. Even though she’s his only heir, Galfridus would not hesitate to end her life for such duplicity. Ruler first, father later. Much later.

            Gods, I hope they make it.

            I stared out into the darkness, debating the possibilities of Tasha and Stephan surviving. A pessimistic habit, I know, but when one is the captain of strategy for the König, that just can’t be helped. From what I could assess of the situation, their chances were slim but if nothing slowed them down…well then, they could be free. I sighed, a wish to follow them sneaking into my heart. But I couldn’t…

            A snap of a twig brought me out of my musings. A man I knew well appeared out of the shadows of the towering trees. His shoulder length jet black hair was pulled back into his usual ponytail. His eyes were focused on the base of the great oak but I could picture perfectly the piercing eyes the color of winter ice. He walked towards the base of the great oak and I shrunk back into Tasha’s nest, praying he didn’t see.

            “Ah, Kagan,” said a voice, the very voice I’d dreaded to hear, “I pray you brought me the traitors?”

            “I’m afraid, mein Lüttich, that they had too much of a head start. I was not able to catch them before they disappeared. All I found was this at the edge of the forest,” Kagan, Galfridus’ right hand man, replied, speaking in a low voice full of wary reverence. I peeked over the opening’s edge to see what he held in his hand. A feather

            One of Tasha’s feathers.

            Oh, no.

            Galfridus growled, “Well, they can’t fly forever. We’ll find them.”
            “Yes, mein Lüttich,” Kagan murmured as he bowed.            

            Oh, gods. Oh, no.

            “Oh, and Alese?”
            Gulp.

            “I hope you don’t know anything about Natasha’s treachery. Or you’ll die right alongside her and that filth she’s run away with,” Galfridus called up to me, his gravelly voice sending chills down my spine.

            Ah, hell.

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Author's Note: This is my short story that has been published in the actual TeenInk magazine and has now been voted #1 in the Most Recently Submitted category on TeenInk.com four times. It's actually the prologue to a more in depth story...that I have yet to have written....yeah...working on that. Anyways...the foreign words used in this story are actual German terms because I envisioned this story to be taking place in a forest much like Germany's Black Forest. So here are the translations for you non-German speakers (shame on you!)

Mein Engel - my angel
König - King
Prinzessin - Princess
Prinzessin der Greife - Princess of the Griffins
Königin - Queen
mein Lüttich - my liege

So, there you go! Yes, I am going to start working on the rest of the story and if I'm blessed enough, maybe someday this will be in print *grins* we'll see...anyways...hope you enjoyed!