Once Princess Adrina’s eyes adjusted to the dull light, she was able to see the faces of her mysterious captors who claimed they were friends and not enemies, yet she had heard with her own ears their struggle with the guardsmen who sought to rescue her. A giant of a man stared into her eyes and gentle fingers still worked through the snarls in her hair. The voice she heard from behind her was soft and kind and the one before, though deep and strong, was warm and charming.
“Do not let my size frighten you,” he said.
“Only the two of you?” asked Adrina, thinking of escape.
The giant’s eyes went wild with sudden fury. He raised a silencing hand to his lips, then it seemed as if he were listening to sounds that only he could hear. Adrina held silent as indicated. In the moments that followed, she considered running, thinking naively that she could easily outpace the two tired travelers. She didn’t act on that notion, though; she waited, somehow interested, drawn in by the behemoth before her. The large man indicated that it was all right to speak freely and Adrina sighed. She didn’t know what had brought on his sudden concern, but whatever it had been, she had seen that he seemed more concerned with her safety than anything else.
“Why?” she bluntly asked.
She looked around the room, which was small and rounded. The two were alone now; the other had seemingly slipped silently away into the shadows.
“Where did she go?”
“She will return momentarily,” replied the large man.
“Why me? Why did you kidnap me?” repeated Adrina.
“We did what we had to do.”
“Why? How many had to die because of that?” accused Adrina.
When he did not answer, she became angry and said again harshly, “How many?”
She angrily approached him and began to hit him, releasing all her pent up frustration upon him. Her hands slapped him again and again. He did not flinch, nor did he stop her. Tears were flowing down her cheeks when her fists came to rest against his abdomen.
He looked down upon her, not knowing what to do or say.
“It— was— not—” he stopped, unable to finish.
He took her in his arms and held her. Another’s soft hand unexpectedly wiped away her tears as the large man embraced her. The fear faded away. She heard a voice say, “There was nothing we could do to help them. It was their fate. Your fate is with us. We were only trying to save you.”
“Why me? There were so many others,” sobbed Adrina.
“We did what we could. If we had delayed to save others, we too would have—” the other paused, and did not finish the sentence.
There was evident pain in that other voice, the soft feminine voice. It echoed in her mind. She was sure she knew the voice from somewhere. Her thoughts skipped, but it could not be. Her mind wandered back to another time. A face of a distant memory became alive inside her thoughts. She turned and faced the other. As she looked into the other’s eyes, memories flooded into her mind.
“It cannot be,” she said as she fainted.
She awoke a short time later with the same face staring into her eyes. She started to say the name that flowed through her mind, but a gentle finger touched her lips and stopped her. The other shook her head, indicating yes.
Adrina did not understand.
“How?” she started to say; again the other stopped her.
“This is Amir,” quickly said the other, pointing to the giant. “I am the one without name. I am without past.” And to herself she added, “Everything comes full circle at the end.”
Adrina registered the coldness with which the words were said. She wondered what had happened to make the other so bitter. She didn’t understand how the other was here, but she accepted it. The other was here and alive; the Great-Father and Mother worked in mysterious ways.
“We must go now and meet the others. We have little time left,” Amir said, looking about anxiously.
“I just want to know why?” cried out Adrina. “Why me and not anyone else? Are they all dead?”
“You are the last,” said Amir, avoiding the rest of Adrina’s questions.
“The last?”
“The last of the children. We have come to take you home.”
Adrina started to say something else and was silenced again.
“Quickly now,” urged Amir, “we have no more time. Say no more but know that our intentions are earnest and that we did not initiate the attack in the square. We rescued you from those that would do you harm, so follow quickly now; time is short, and say nothing until I say it is safe. Do you understand?”
Adrina nodded her head.
“How many were back there?” Amir directed this at the Little One.
“Only two persist. They guess nothing more; they do not know we are here for sure.”
Amir glared angrily down one of the dark tunnels, wishing that he had ended the lives he had earlier spared. He looked to Adrina and then to the other, shrugging his shoulders; lifting a short blade from his belt, he darted into the dark tunnel, his form quickly swallowed by the gray of the tunnel, only his shadow remained visible for a time before all trace of him was completely absorbed. Five minutes passed with no audible sounds reaching the two waiting, not even the muffled echoes of the giant’s footsteps; then in an instant they heard a stifled shriek followed by the faint echo of sloshing water. Several minutes later, a shape came from out of the darkness.
The Little One jumped in front of Adrina, arms spread wide. Catching each breath, they waited. Amir would not move so heavily in the water. The shape loomed closer, its shadowed form not appearing to be that of a humanoid but that of a beast. Blades were not tools the Little One thought fondly of, but she had been stripped of what she once was. Only her healing powers were intact; she had no other resource at her disposal, and it was with deep remorse that she lifted from her boot the tiny blade that Amir had given her, her last line of defense.
The silhouette of the approaching creature showed that it had many legs and arms, its twisted form was enormous, seeming to fill the whole of the tunnel. Adrina was pushed farther away and the Little One crept forward, waiting to lunge on the approaching beast. Still, the two stared into the shadowy darkness, the sound of splashing water increasing. The Little One signaled for Adrina to crouch low and wait; her small blade shone dully in the pale yellow light of the sewer chamber. She lifted the blade. Just as she was about to spring, she paused. Squinting, she focused her eyes, searching out the strange form.
“Amir?” she hissed.
There was a splash and then a thud. A large figure lunged out of the darkness. The Little One lashed out. The figure dodged the well-timed blow and grabbed the small arm and held it firm.
“What are you doing?” whispered Amir.
“I thought you were—I am sorry—I misjudged.”
Amir grinned.
“You are surprisingly strong,” he stated, seeming pleased by the assessment.
Amir returned for the two bodies he had carried through the tunnels, one slung over each shoulder, dropping them again onto the floor of the small chamber. Adrina cringed and looked away, but even as she flinched and closed her eyes, the dead eyes imprinted themselves upon her subconscious. Grated drainage shafts lay chest high on each of the four walls; Amir selected one and removed its grating. He grabbed one of the corpses, latching onto a thick tuft of hair and a large leather belt, and stuffed the darkly clad man into the shaft. Similarly, he rammed the second man into the shaft, fixing the grating into place afterwards.
Adrina had seen that the two were obviously not kingdom soldiers, for which she was relieved; still she was horrified for a moment, her mouth wide in a long incredulous gasp. Amir said nothing, nor did he show any indication of remorse. He had simply done what had to be done, nothing more. No words were spoken, only simple hand gestures that indicated that she should follow and the other should trail.
Silently, Adrina followed the giant Amir from the sewers under Imtal, still not understanding the trust she was developing for the mysterious giant. The sewer muck was quickly around her ankles as they entered the first tunnel, traversing its length before coming to another larger tunnel, one that was filled with even more sewage. The stench became overwhelming once more, yet just as she thought she could go on no more, they came to another open dry area. Here the trio stopped.
“These tunnels before us will lead us out of the sewers,” stated Amir in a light tone, “there is fresh air ahead and plenty of it, so you must only hold out for a short while yet. The tunnels will grow drier as we work our way slowly towards the catacombs. Once there, stay close. Do not lag behind and stand ready. Again, we move in silence; there is danger ahead. Watch for my hand signals and all will be fine.”
“How do I know that you speak the truth and you are not leading me to my enemies?” objected Adrina, throwing out words to register the large man’s reaction.
“I speak only in full truths,” replied Amir, “It is obvious to me that you have found trust in me and my companion. Be safe in the knowledge that we lead you away from danger and not towards it. One called Noman will explain all. We must hurry now. There is little time left.”
They forged ahead through the maze of underground tunnels. Adrina had no idea where she was, but apparently Amir did. He led them, turning at junctures in the path without a moment’s hesitation. The tunnels grew steadily drier as Amir said they would. The stench also receded with the dank waters. The trio kept silent, solely relying on Amir’s hand signals to speak where words would otherwise have been needed.
Fixing her eyes on his great back, Adrina was very attentive to his movements. She followed where he led, stopped when he stopped, veered left or right as he signaled. For a time, once they reached dry tunnels, it seemed as if they were descending into the earth and then the downward slopes gradually leveled out.
Though it was not on the tunnel floors, a dampness returned. It was held in the air around the three, which suddenly grew cool. The lines of perspiration streaming down her back and face collected the cool air and Adrina began to shiver. She clutched her arms to her chest to stave off the cold, blowing warm air into her hands. The floor that had been hard, firm rock became earthen and the tunnel floor began to pitch upward. Soon the damp chill was left behind, replaced by dry stale air.
After many hours of traversing the dark tunnels, Amir called a full halt. They had come to a large chamber that was semi-lit from above. Water could be heard dripping from the ceiling into a basin on the tunnel floor.
“What is that? That stuff is worse than the stench of the sewers,” groaned Adrina.
Amir lifted Adrina to her feet.
“Come quickly; the others wait ahead.”
Adrina stood unsteadily for a moment and then as the dizziness passed, she nodded her head, gesturing that she was ready to proceed.