be at the mercy of the aliens residing there. A flying vessel lifted off, skimming low through the mountains as it headed toward an unknown destination.
This place had been here the entire time, and no one realized it.
Looking upon it nestled into the mountains, a sense of apprehension hit her, knotting her stomach as Rhyst began his descent. He had fast become her sense of safety and comfort, but she didn’t understand why she trusted him so easily. Maybe because they came from such different places and yet, despite their differences, found each other.
They had both been caged in their own ways, and in freeing each other, it had established the connection between them that she didn’t attempt to understand. She could only cling to it as she clung to him, relishing the closeness with another being. One she could depend upon.
For that reason, she wasn’t unduly alarmed when he began to rapidly make his way down the mountain to the city which, from their vantage point, had appeared still quite some distance off. As he flew down the side of the mountain, she curled her limbs around him and buried her face into his back. The rushing wind, tumbling rocks and falling dirt were abnormally loud as her fear made her focus on every nuance to remind her that they were plummeting at a significant speed down a mountain.
Despite the fear that rose instinctively within her, she didn’t panic. Charlie knew that he would keep her safe. Even when his paws slid, every step seemed certain, and the counter movement of his body to the slide was perfectly controlled. She reminded herself of these things until suddenly, when her natural fear seemed to reach its height, it waned, puffing out as if it had exhausted itself. Her death grip around him began to ease, and a sense of exhilaration built steadily within her.
Her eyes open wide, she peered eagerly around his shoulder, marveling at everything around her laid out in the most amazing vista she had ever seen, the white city glowing in its nest among the mountain peaks. Everything was so white that it was like an artist’s vision of some heavenly plane.
At their rapid descent, she watched as the city slowly grew and came to life and details became more distinguished. It went from an abstract glowing shape to the intricate splendor of ivory buildings climbing into the sky, the shimmer of bright hues catching her eye the closer they got. She didn’t see the beautiful set gems he spoke of, but as they passed through the first of the great gates that fortified the city, she was able to see the brightly colored mosaics decorating the white buildings that shimmered in the light of the sun.
The geometric and stylized floral designs of blue and turquoise-green on white ceramic tiles laid out in lower strips on the outer gate seemed almost otherworldly against the white and gray rock of the mountains, but no more so than the splashes of purple and red that sparkled in contrast to the landscape. It barely prepared her for the riot of color as they passed through the second gate that opened into the city.
A rainbow of rich jewel tones filled the streets of the white city. Fluttering draped cloth clung to windows and in some places stretched across the street to provide comfortable shade from the sun. The rich scent of unknown food filled the air, mingling with the smell of sweet smokes.
Every sensation challenged her to expand her mind and drink it all in. All at once, she was trying to grab ahold of everything that touched upon her senses. Chimes sang and dangling bits of crystal, glass, and metal caught the air and spun as they rattled together, reminiscent of early period wind chimes.
Charlie observed everything with delight, especially the mosaics that painted the city everywhere she looked, running along buildings and framing doors and windows. The tiles had to be incredibly old from what Rhyst said, and yet each one gleamed as if they had just recently been crafted. Even with all their beauty, they paled in comparison to the enormous gems set in tall, ornate sculptures that stood in the central square where Rhyst finally stopped.
Only then did she notice the crowd their presence had drawn.
In her fascination with everything, she hadn’t really seen the people outside of vague impressions. Charlie took the opportunity to really look at them. Hard eyes stared back, but she was startled