“There they are! Get the thieves!”

Linda was running as fast as her legs could carry her, which, judging by Wint’s rapidly shrinking silhouette, was far from enough. Although she probably couldn’t hope to keep up with one of the last remaining wind storms of Alaiah.

Unfortunately for her, strength and speed seemed to be widely spread qualities amongst the women of these here parts, because the angry voice of the innkeeper and her friends was drawing nearer by the second. And Linda felt as though her legs will give out from under her and leave her lying on the grass any moment now. Where she would no doubt be trampled by the angry mob.

How the hell did she let Wint drag her into this mess?

Alright, so the booze was pretty awesome - strong, bitter, almost like the ale back home, it wasn’t even too fizzy - it was real beer. Her local guide kept going on about some sort of male prey which Linda could only assume was related to the scantily clad boys who welcomed them at the entrance. Our gal however was more interested in the food and she started stuffing her face so hard, that the other guests stared at her for a while. At the same time, Wint explained to her that, although she was a woman, there was some etiquette to be followed while eating. Otherwise, she added, what would be the difference between women and wild beasts?

Perhaps she should have known something was wrong, when she asked how they would pay for all this. Wint just laughed with her deep voice and patted her shoulder, as had become her habit of doing, which almost made Linda’s head plop into the plate.

Or maybe some red lights should have went on when she heard one of the boys Wint had dragged with frightening force to a room upstairs scream that the guest was running away.

But her instincts snapped on instantly when she saw the grim face of the innkeeper and two-three of the women helping her approach her table with menacing looks, long strides and nasty looking makeshift bats in their hands.

She darted through the door.

Now, as she was steadily reaching her limit, she began to ponder if running away was truly such a good idea. Wasn’t it still possible for her to turn stop, turn around and try and explain what happened? The simple thought of this however seemed to give her legs more energy. Of course they would beat her to death if she dared look them in the eye and tell them sorry for, you know, eating without paying and all, but she didn’t do it on purpose, but because she didn’t have any local currency - cuz, you know… she wasn’t from this planet?

No, no, no. There was no other option but to continue to run until she collapses on the grass. Damn Wint! And damn her own crazy “luck” which had hurled her all the way on a strange new planet where the first person she’d met turned out to be a criminal. Awesome!

Lost in thought, she didn’t even register the large branch which suddenly appeared and blocked her path. A loud thud, signaling her head’s impact with the wood followed. She fell on her back and the small amount of air left in her lungs flew out of her chest with the force of the hit. The angry screams of the women following her fell suddenly silent. Through the cloak of pain and confusion, Linda struggled desperately to remember where she heard them last to determine how close they were.

She didn’t have to think long because mere minutes after she tumbled to the ground, the face of the innkeeper came into view above her. The brows of the woman were furrowed at her forehead, as if surprised that the girl who gave her so much grief in an attempt to flee her establishment had suddenly fallen to the ground, barely conscious, in such a ridiculous fashion.

Afterwards, the sky darkened above her head, shrouded in a large dark shadow. She heard some more screaming and then her eyes focused on the silhouettes of a dozen more women, dressed from head to toe in shining silver armour, with long turquoise capes, draped across their shoulders.

*************************************************************

Linda wasn’t surprised in the slightest that they got caught after their failed attempt at fleeing the guest house, instead of paying for its services. After all, criminals get caught sooner or later and forced to face the law. What did surprise her however was that the role of the law in their case would be played by none other than the actual Ruler of AWA. Or as the plaintiffs had called her - the Ruling over sea.

The heavily armored women who arrested them in the forest near the inn loaded them up on their weird flying machine and threw them in one of the windowless storage spaces. About an hour later, the aircraft landed and the Wardens rushed them rather forcefully down the ladder and onto the landing pad. They then formed a circle around the two of them as they led them up the path toward the large building with bluish-white dome, which was sitting on top of the hill, over the beautiful city Wint had identified as Syfis - the capital of AWA.

The blue was an ongoing theme throughout the city’s architecture. The buildings’ facades were milky-white and their windows were painted in nuances of blue and turquoise. That, along with the stair-like structure of the city gave it the appearance of a seawater fountain with blue-green, foaming waves, slowly flowing into one another and lazily rolling down the hill. Linda was so taken by the view that she forgot for a moment the unfortunate circumstances which had led her here for a reason, a lot less pleasant than staring at architectural landmarks.

The thing that shook her out of her reverie was the sound of the large turquoise gates which swung heavily open in front of the Wardens. The armoured women then formed a line behind their backs and pushed the two prisoners through the entrance.

The hall they found themselves in was even more impressive than the architecture outside. The floor beneath their feet was made from large marble slabs, painted with blue-green lines, as though the rock had veins like a living thing. Another look convinced Linda that the pattern was more reminiscent of waves, caressing a beach somewhere. Tilting her head to look at the ceiling made her head spin, because it was so high up there, that were it not for the fact it was made of glass, although painted in the same blue-green as the floor, she would not have seen it.

What light could pass through the dome was muted, yet somehow enough for her to see the impressive blue-white pillars, stretching from the ground to the ceiling like the streams of multiple geisers, which have erupted simultaneously and were then suddenly petrified.

Wint poked her ribs and hissed into her ear:

“Enough of ye starin’ little one! Ye look ahead and when ye see the Majesty of Hers, ye shall bow as low as ye can, to spare us further troubles.”

Linda nodded, but threw a last glance around, before focusing her gaze in front of her once again. Then she barely managed to repress her desire to jump up in the air as she heard the powerful voice which boomed throughout the hall, reinforced by the echo of the high ceiling.

“Stop!”

With the faint light, Linda could just barely make out the contours of the woman, seated at the large marble throne in front of them.

Wint halted at a respectable distance from the podium which held the throne and pulled Linda by her sleeve, so she too stopped at her side. A tall shadow, dressed in an ornate robe, rose from the huge stone seat and made a few steps towards them, until the muted rays of light from the dome fell on it. Linda drew in a harsh breath - the woman before her radiated power and superiority which she had never seen before, even amongst the most capable rulers of Earth. The Ruling over sea was perhaps the tallest woman she had ever seen - even without the help of the podium, she was maybe a head or more taller than Wint. Her movements were measured and fluid - the effect amplified by her turquoise robes, as well as the whole ambiance of the throne room. Her impressive presence was reminiscent of an approaching tsunami and Linda was suddenly very aware exactly how much of a bad idea it would be to anger this terrifying, yet beautiful woman.

“Bow before Us”, she intoned, her voice a lot softer than before, but the menace had not slipped from it one bit.

Wint immediately hit her left shoulder with her hand and bowed from the waist down so low, that her body formed a ninety degree angle with her legs. Linda however, without a second thought, drew one of her legs behind her and made a full courtesy. For a moment, the Ruling over sea left the silence hang in the air. The small hairs on the back of Linda’s neck stood up and she had no doubt the ruler was studying her with her unyielding, merciless stare. When she realised what was wrong with her stance, however, it was too late to do anything to fix it. She bowed her head a bit lower and prepared for the worst. She got a powerful, genuine laugh instead.

“What do you do, child?”, asked the ruler, mirth still very much audible in her voice. “You look as though you cannot decide whether to kneel or perform a circus trick! Hahaha!”

“We shall beg yer forgiveness, Highness”, Wint intervened quickly, head still held low. “She ain’t too much right in the head that one.”

“And you are?”, the serious, icy tone of the ruler returned. “You take your fill of food and drink and run away without paying - do you believe such dishonest behaviour befits a lady of AWA?”

The silence returned, heavier this time. Wint and Linda stood motionless like statues, afraid of rousing more of the Ruling’s anger by moving.

“Heads up!”, she ordered them finally. “Names and occupations.”

“Tempayah Wint, Yer Highness”, the local woman came to her senses first, and although she was in the presence of her ruler, Linda was taken aback by the pride resounding in her companion’s voice as she introduced herself. “One of the last remaining wind storms…”

“A professional slacker, then?”, the Ruling interrupted, raising one of her brows in contempt. “And you?”

Linda suddenly realised she was being addressed. She stared at the ruler in awe and a huge part of her still couldn’t believe where she was and what was happening. She still held the vague belief that perhaps she would wake at any moment and all this - Alaiah and her strange inhabitants and their even stranger manners would just turn out to be one of her weirder dreams.

For the time being however, this didn’t seem like the case. With visible effort, she returned to the here and now and tentatively raised her eyes to meet the Ruling over sea’s gaze. What was she supposed to say? Her instincts were telling her that she should somehow spin a wild tale of half-truths, simply because she had no other choice, right? But the longer she looked at the ruler of AWA with her piercing stare and powerful presence, the more she thought lying would bring her more grief than anything else. Somehow, something was telling her that the lady would realize immediately if she was being messed around with. Which made sense of course - how else do you become a leader if you can’t figure out when people are pulling your leg? And that’s why, before Wint’s terrified eyes, Linda opened her mouth and for the umpteenth time let her truth flow out into the world.

She spared no detail - her last day on Earth, her life which got suddenly turned upside down in a single fateful day and then ended… How she had woken up in the cave, where she met Wint and had absolutely no idea how she got there. How everything had happened so fast, as though lightning had struck and she was still having difficulties adapting to her new surroundings and had absolutely zero idea as to what was going on around her.

The recurring silence, which hung in the air after her confession, seemed to be suffocating her. She moved her eyes between the Ruling over sea and Wint, desperately searching for something to hold onto - some semblance of a promise that she wasn’t headed for the equivalent of a looney bin they had here on Alaiah.

The wind storm slapped her palm onto her forehead in desperation, whereas the lady simply furrowed her brows on her forehead and retreated back to her throne. When she spoke again, Linda and Wint had to lean forward a little, straining to hear her voice which had suddenly turned to a whisper:

“The Lightning Child…”

“P-pardon?”, Linda stuttered, before she could help herself.

“For the crimes committed against your sister within the territory of AWA, I should take your heads right now.” The Ruling’s tone restored its menacing notes so fast, it was as though she hadn’t said anything before. “And yet today Alaiah’s Fortunes smile upon you. Should you do a job for me successfully, I will gift you your lives back.” Wint and Linda shared a startled look. “What say you? Are you women enough to face the challenge?”