Disclaimer: Not mine.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays.

Chapter 17: Time for a Visit

When she closed her eyes, the sensation was so similar to one in her past, that Stephany mentally transferred herself into that memory. She imagined the white misty vapors swirling in the darkness with an undulating ease, the previously dry air morphing to gain more moisture, and rocky walls expanding at a gradual pace. Steph's eyes remained shut as she counted the seconds, timing the fall.

With her mind focused elsewhere, Steph guarded herself from the instinctual thoughts that pulsed against her concentration. Her thoughts were of 'What if he lied?' and 'How will I find my way to the palace?' and 'How will I be greeted?' were a constant distraction. But Stephany pushed them away; she had to stay resolute and ready to land, because once her descent ended and she was on her own, she would be in danger.

'147 Mississippi…148 Mississippi…149 Mississippi…150 Mississippi,' Stephany opened her eyes as the currents blew less, the mist thinned, and the darkness grew thicker. Manipulating her legs to bend and her hands to hit the ground palms down, she crouched midair. Still counting, she heard a light thump when she reached 165. Shutting her eyes- although there was no difference due to the darkness- she took a deep breath and landed at exactly 180.

Stephany's right ankle tinged at the impact, enunciated by her grunt. She rolled over her right shoulder and sat with her knees bent toward the distant cavern roof. Brushing the bits of gravel off her hands, she pulled the small backpack that landed just to her left closer towards her. Steph fumbled with the zipper, locating it with trouble in the dark, and pulled open the front pocket. She pulled out a heavy duty flash light and zipping the bag shut again, she flicked the high beam on, pointing it away from herself. Blinking at the sudden brightness the thick ray outpoured, she stood up and slung the pack over her shoulder. With the flash light in her right hand, she casted the beam around, and saw her surroundings clearly for the first time.

The pockmarked walls were layered with brown and graying hues, and while moisture hung thick in the air, nothing condensed on the stone. Several dark outcroppings sprouted from the floor and walls, hinting at tunnels leading out of the apartment sized chamber Steph had fallen into. Apprehensive to start moving in the right direction, she lowered her light to the ground, scanning each exit for clues that would tell her in what direction to leave.

Only having slight skills in tracking, Stephany had to rely on common sense and a compass to choose and navigate her route. Recalling the minimal directions she had been able to gather, Steph headed through the northern most tunnel for a few yards, walking briskly even steps, ready to run or halt at a moments need. The passage way was relatively straight, without any additional entrances branching off, however, after four and a half minutes- as Stephany counted it -the tunnel caved in. She turned back and headed in the opposite direction, returning to the original chamber.

The next exit she went through was angled slightly north east, and were more narrow then she would have liked, forcing her to angle her body and slow her pace. Twenty or so yards in, it widened to an antechamber that was fourteen feet wide, which dipped down a few feet, the gravely shore slopping to a small pool with water. Reaching another dead end, Steph reverted to the first chamber.

Back where she started, Stephany decided to take a more practical decision. Aiming the flashlight at the third of the four north exits, she scanned the ground.

The third tunnel had layers of bedrock that were similar to the ones around it, but as she crouched and rubbed her hand over the looser top layer, she realized that there was a path. Stephany could hardly make out the distinction, but rushing to the tunnel to the right of it- the one that led to the antechamber- she realized there was clearly a tread worn into the ground. A very slight over usage of this particular tunnel and the direction it was located in was enough to convince Stephany to push aside any resignations and follow the path, hoping it would lead her to the correct destination.

Stephany's cautiously brisk pace was gone after she had spent twenty minutes in the tunnel. Someone was following her, and by the sound of it, whoever it was certainly was not friendly. She jogged along now, her breath coming in gasps, the humidity clouding her skin and making her sweat. Her flash light's beam bounced on the walls of the tunnel as she ran, causing the shadows to jump and duck as she passed, only increasing her anxiousness.

Whatever was on her tail had the advantage of knowing the area. It seemed to be a faster predator. The only defense Stephany had was an old pocket knife. Despite the disadvantages, Stephany sprinted at a breakneck pace, determined to survive. A sudden turn in the corridor resulted with Steph turning at the last second and ramming her shoulder into the stone wall. She stumbled back a few steps grabbing at her left shoulder and cursing. Steph hunched over, panting and allowing herself to rest for a moment, then turned and leaned against the wall, alleviating pressure from her tight calf muscles and aching feet. After swallowing a few gulps of air, she heard scratching. It was close, whatever was chasing her. The noise skittered and bounced off the walls. Steph's eyes grew wide as she pointed her flashlight down the tunnel, continuing her escape, only to see a second sharp turn up ahead.

Pushing off the wall, Stephany jogged to the next turn, and down the one immediately afterwards. Before she knew it, Steph was rushing down twists and bends, stopping short to avoid running into walls again. As she navigated her way through the passages, one thing she realized was positive was that there were no offshoot tunnels or antechambers. She never had to stop and debate which turn to make. However that argument was little compensation for the fact that she could now hear the creature's ragged breathing following her. She continued running, pulling one her right arm out of the strap of the pack, swung the bag to her left, stuck her right arm in the left strap and her left arm in the right strap so that the part of the back pack that was supposed to rest against her back was pressed against her chest. She used her left hand to unzip the pack, stuck her hand in and grabbed the pocket knife. She reversed her backpack to its original position and flicked open the knife, knowing that retrieving it had cost her a few seconds by being distracted.

Out of breathe once again, and almost out of time, she cast the beam in an arc in front of her, towards a particularly dark section of rocks that grew closer as she pounded forward. The beam, instead of separating rock and shadow, was undulating in a motion that almost seemed whatever it happened to be resting on was alive. Uncertain of what was different with this section of rock, but certain that there was no other way with the creature chasing her gaining every moment, she hooked her left arm over her face and charged the rippling section in the rocks, tensing at the last moment and grunting as she expected impact.

Stephany might have been expecting to run through a weak section of the tunnel and into another passageway continuing on somewhere. However, what she did not expect was to burst through the moving wall- which turned out to be the many wings of insects that brushed softly over her bare skin-be blinded by torchlight, surrounded by raised stone bleachers, arranged in a circle coliseum style, filled with hundreds of people cheering and chanting with their eyes cast up and heads tilted back towards the massively high stone ceiling, focusing on a cluster of multicolored giant bats with pale-skinned riders decked out in protective gear passing a leather ball to each other.

What was unexpected for the crowd and the group of players was that when the ball was tossed to a rider on a golden bat, that the rider would have already spotted the dark haired intruder who was not able to stop her inertia until she was in the center of the arena. Also, the rider would have caught the ball that was tossed from one of her teammates, but did not because of her distraction, missed the throw, where it hit her on the back of her head, knocking her from her mount, and since she was only ten feet off the ground, the bat could not flip around and catch the rider. The expected thing that did happen was for the rider to hit the ground with her left shoulder and roll off it into a crouch.

Stephany was oblivious to the crowd, to the gasps and screams. The reactions never even reached her ears. She was deaf to them because in that moment she was living through an emotional tumult far more dramatic then the crowd's.

Everything that was happening around Stephany blurred as she swiveled around, fast at first then turned slower the second time, taking in the stone structures, the gigantic creatures, the pale skinned people with violet eyes, the torches placed strategically to give the most light, and she collapsed.

Steph dropped to her knees, sitting back on her heels, absentmindedly stroking the springy moss of the arena, slugging off her back pack and dropping the flashlight. She was dumbstruck, mumbling, "I am here. I am here again. I made it. It's still here. It's not the same but it is, oh it so is."

She laughed in disbelief and tears clouded her dark eyes. She bit her lip and laughed again. Putting her elbows on her knees, Steph ran her hands all over her face and through her hair. Then standing up, once the crowd's reaction penetrated her emotional turmoil, she saw the light haired rider sitting on the arena's floor, propping herself up, and rubbing her sore shoulder. The rider had a golden circlet wrapped around her head and her hair was braided to a point on the middle of her back. Stephany composed herself instantly and walked over, her posture sure; back straight, chin high, shoulders back, and eyes cautious. A medical team dressed in white who had rushed from the crowd towards the rider, hopping down the seven foot wall, was waved away as the girl's purple eyes stayed wide.

The crowd hushed themselves, anxiously witnessing Steph steadily advance to the fallen rider. Stephany halted a few steps away from her and knelt, her right foot planted on the ground, kneeling on her left knee. She bowed her head deeply, hands folded on her knee.

When she raised her head, eyes complexly emotional, Stephany's words were only for the fallen rider. "Pardon me, Queen Luxa," her voice was steady. "I am here to visit you."

This is an unedited snippit of what I wrote during NaNoWriMo. Also, please reread the fic. I had to delete the previous chapter to fix plot holes. The story is changing.

~AssassinAuthor