Alice and the phantom of time

“ A long time ago there was a dark kingdom ruled by a ruthless emperor , a man so evil that he himself despised the light . He had his people labor for many years , and on the fifth , it was ready – a great black cloth , sea-sized and featureless . Four mighty dark beasts were called upon from the deep west , and they came . Each one took a corner of the artificial night in massive jaws and planted themselves at the borders of the empire . From that day , darkness – It seemed that the emperor had won ,for fifty years , no light , no life- smiles and laughter and cheer became part of a myth that spoke of a better time .

But the people did not yield , resistances sprung up from the ashes of past one’s , thousands of men and boys died at the end of spears , forged and held by the emperors men. It went on , getting worse and worse , the people becoming more and more desperate to see the light – at the very peak of conflict , when there was more blood than water, when death outnumbered life, a boy no older than yourselves had a bright idea”

It was beautiful , they were entranced , sitting cross-legged, wide eyed and shaky , waiting desperately for the next word to emerge the story tellers mouth . He was a boy coming to the end of boy hood , by comparison , he was the biggest thing in the candle lit tent , roughed up hair and gentle eyes with a voice woth sitting down to listen to , and there was a certain oily quality to all of he said . he continued .

“ I don’t know why the resistance didn’t think of this idea before , maybe people were stupid back then” giggles went off among the toddlers , but the boy pushed on “ this child , he needed two things , one of which he had . the other however , would half to be made . Fire was outlawed three years after darkness , if you didn’t have a permit and you were near fire” he paused dramatically “ they would catch you , they would skin you and they would feed you to the beasts” they gasped in unison , more curious than scared , one chubby toddler put his hand up “ do you want to ask about the emperor , why they didn’t just kill him ?” the toddler nodded , the storyteller said“ the reason they didn’t kill the madman was very simple , he was always surrounded by a hundred and thirty of his blue guard , people who have layed there life down for power and wealth , and in there blind pursuit they fell in the emperors trap , and they were turned by his malice into soulless tools , without will or heart . They would kill any one who so much as spoke his name” some of the young ones yawned tediously , challenging the truth in his words , he met it “you don’t believe me ?, you think I’m spilling lies – let me show you something”, he fiddled for a moment , then , from inside his pocket he grandly pulled out a twig

It was smooth and black , probably burnt , He handled it with great care , supporting its weight with a full palm. When he lowered it to there level they realized it wasn’t a twig at all – “this” he whispered “ is part of the arrow that ended the dark age”

“How just one arrow win” the toddler was passionately frowning , unable to make sense of it at all.

“ remember the boy I told you about – this was his , he had relieved it off one of the emperors men ,that man being dead off course. Remember there was death and battles everywhere , finding a body wasn’t hard . So all he needed now was a fire . Being young and innocent looking , he managed to slip past the guards of the furnace’s without too much hassle , he ripped off some of his cloths and rapped about the neck of the arrow , it would have been just above this” He pointed the end of broken arrow piece “ after that , he just dipped his arrow in one of the furnaces when no one was looking and ran out side , from under a leaking half-full barrel of cider he pulled out the bow he had hidden earlier.

I bet you can guess what happens next-“

The group looked blankly at him, he sighed “ he did it , He set fire to the sky , it blazed for days , it rained embers – on the third day the flames finally met the shaggy mountains , the beasts caught fire and died there and then , for all there might ,for all its vast greatness and for all his men, they fell , at the hand of a boy”

“ what happened to the emperor “ squealed one of the oldest

Alice never got to finish his story , because at that very moment his mothers head popped into the tent, grinning.

“We’re unwanted” she said , and departed . Mamas had a very unique sense of humor , Alice new full well what she meant and was on his feet in a second , already visualizing an angry mob “ the emperor was killed by a giant chicken” so much for morals , at least they laughed . He departed with a bow .

Shore enough , in the canopy’s shadow a dozen or more men were gathering , all staring with dark intentions at the little caravan. The only thing that kept them rooted was the beast tied to it ,a hulking blackneck beetle , nearly as big as the caravan itself , with a certain menacing intelligence.

Alice ran , his family were on the caravan , gesturing wildly for him to hurry up – he kept going until he reached them , took hold of his mothers hand and levered himself up, at once papas whispered the correct chain of notes , and in response the blackneck tugged violently at its rope . The caravan juddered and rolled into motion , and in minutes they were out of Sunami territory .

Such hostilities were common , as gypsies the Haous family were under a constant threat , seen as evil folk and such . But despite this and a huge amount of taboo they were able to make profits , simply by selling entertainment – The main event was done by mamas and papas , juggling fire and killing themselves only to gasp and sit up– the four little ones ,Mazda, Sarah , Pringle and Hugo usually set up a little shop , selling things never seen in such parts , gum and smoke bombs and liquorish beetles were usually the most popular . It was Alice’s job to entertain the young , most of the time he would tell stories but on the rare occasion , when he was faced with a tough audience he would do magic tricks , surprising even the most determined toddler . But on this visit , they hadn’t made anything .

“ How did it happen , what did you do” Alice asked . Mamas , who was sitting opposite him In the caravan raised her eyebrows, “your father” she said “ ate his arm , they thought he was mad , I thought he was mad – then” she pulled up her sleeve, and prodded it gently “they started throwin’ stones” . Alice looked away , trying to hide his anger - Everyone had settled now, Sarah and pringle were sharing a hammock , Hugo was on the rugs , fiddling with his fingers , suffering the same rage that had taken Alice . There was so much clutter , it hung as onions , stacked itself as books , even the box windows were filthy and broken . despite this Alice was deeply in love with it , the way it creaked and jerked as though it could fall apart at any moment, but it never did , and it never would .

They were passing through the old country now , an odd land were the golden hills rolled on forever . Isolated too , if something was to happen to them here ,nothing would come running .

The path was dusty and narrow , Lucy and the caravan followed it , faster and with more intention than normal

Everyone had become aware of it by the third day ,there something was following the caravan , far off always , never completely visible . At night , while the family slept Alice and papas kept watch , papas with his cross bow and Alice beside him , holding a Katana. It was there , something was there watching them, lurking just beyond the light of the fire , And for that reason the two stayed utterly silent , in a state of tension Alice had never experienced in the past .

Two days and two hideously long nights creeped by , no one spoke much , being stalked was incredibly unnerving , everyone had heard stories , of raids and kidnappings and murder. Of cannibalism .

Alice was sitting outside with mamas , under the shade of an umbrella , eating the last of the sultanas. “ Mamas” he looked at her for the first time “ I can go and see what it is – leave me here and I’ll hide under the sand and-“ she put her finger to his lips , shushing him. Mamas was not the type of mother who worried endlessly , she had let many dangerous things pass. “ do not be brave Alice , bravery is for fools” And that was the last thing mamas said. She was struck twice , the first arrow pinned her to the chair and the second passed through her chest. Alice was stunned, he tried to shout but he had no voice - getting up shaking he screamed , but nothing came out .

A horn bellowed , And there was a mighty buzzing . Papas roared something to Alice that he didn’t hear and then it was too late . A dozen mounted hornets came flying over the hill , each one boasting more might and deadliness than Lucy had ever shown .

- FALL OF LUCY –

Insectus can grow very close to there humans , but what followed shocked the attackers. Lucy was not leashed ,she put herself between the caravan , between Alice and papas and everyone else , and the hornets. This was an act against her nature in two ways , Beetle kind were instinctively afraid of flying carnivores because they could’ent fight them in the air . the second reason was that she was intelligent , primitively capable of communicating , able to judge and act on judgment , so when she saw what came over the hill she made her judgment and went against sense.

Alice was surprised , he had spent so much time with Lucy , to see her flailing her tusks at the sky and spitting venom made him appreciate that she was an insctus , and not what he had made her into .

The first hornet came dangerously close , the man on it fired his arrow at Lucy , it splintered on her back – she lunged forwards and grabbed the hornet by the head with crushing pincer jaws , the hornet was grounded , dirt flew , black blood sprayed out . Lucy came out of the tussle with its disembodied head.

Then an arrow flew . not from the raiders though, Alice was surprised to see father furiously loading another into the cross bow , he was on top of the caravan . “ Papas , were is my sword –“ there was a split second of eye contact , then he threw the sword down , Alice grabbed the handle and suddenly felt useless . “ the boy was our orders” Screamed one of the hornet wielders “ stop playing around and kill him”

Alice made the decision there and then . He ran .

_

Lucy followed him , she came galloping clumsily on to his side and made the gesture , they stopped , he mounted her and pulled the sword out “ here I am” he shouted ,he stroked her neck and whispered “ I’m sorry old girl “ . They came , there wings beating so fast they were invisible , black cast iron bodies – snipping there teeth madly . Alice wanted to lead them away from the caravan , far enough so that when they killed him they wouldn’t bother going back, if he was there target he had to separate himself from everyone he loved .

-

The sky was crimson , the old country was slowly turning to darkness . On the dry hay Lucy ran without stopping once , If Alice was to turn he would see that the raiders were messing around , they were barley moving , waiting for Lucy to tire and stop .Beetles were not designed for speed . He told her to stop , and for a full minute , they stared at one another , Alice met each mans gaze and returned it spear-formed .

They all attacked at once this time , all the stings were aimed at Lucy’s neck . But she managed , somehow , to avoid a fatality .One sting pierced her shoulder , and for it she roared and with her tusks she stabbed , drew up and stabbed again , and again , two of them peeled away from the group and fell dead. The other nine took flight .

They had underestimated her . She Pounced . Seeing a beetle pounce was scary enough , but riding it … Alice shook violently on impact , in the air , Lucy had collided with one of the big ones , with her weight she smashed it into the floor – crushing it . When another came swooping close Alice drove the sword into its underbelly , it shrieked and fell , crushing its human . Venom streaked out into the sky , caught another in the eye and it blindly spiraled into the dirt .

The Alpha hornet suddenly came into view , it had been waiting behind one of the folds in the land. Twice the size of Lucy , hideous in every way .

Lucy reared back , Alice slashed his sword at the air – “ Swarms of that have been defeated by Lucy “ he bluffed . the Man chuckled

“ we will see” the man said , then , he leaned over and whispered something into the hornets ear and almost instantly it took flight .

There was a deathining buzz , from its two fold wings wind whipped out and ripped at the hay . “ how do you wish to die” the man roared , he licked his lips and stroked its neck. It came madly at Lucy . there was a collision that shook Alice like he had never been shaken , together the hornet , Lucy and Alice scraped and skidded against the hay, there was brutal lurches and shakes from both of the insectus , then they fell still , locked and hopelessly tangled. Alice pulled himself from under the Hornets leg and saw what had happened .

The man was disembodied , crushed under the weight of his own inectus , which was dead . Alice saw Lucy’s tusks deep in its neck . then he saw the hornets sting . It was embedded fully , Lost in Lucy’s soft underbelly .