Chapter 19 The Gondolier Goes After the Writer

An excerpt from The White Lion Unicorn Series Book 1: A Colony of Tiny Nekos

Leon set the pocket computer down. He sighed. All the reports confirmed that Black Wolf Unicorn had shown up with his trolley and kidnapped her. But they couldn’t track him. Leon wondered why the werewolf couldn’t let go of her.

He took a deep breath. He put himself into a lotus position and closed his eyes. At first all he could think about was how badly he wanted to be with Silver Moon. There wasn’t anyone else like her.

He was too afraid to tell her how he really felt about her. He hoped she felt the same, but he wasn’t sure. She had snubbed him, and he knew she hated to be chased. He also knew her heart had been broken. So he waited.

He reached out and saw her. She was hiding behind some rocks. She was dusty looking. She was drinking some water. Her eyes were round and wide. It was dark.

She put the water bottle back in her backpack and listened. Soon he could hear them too. Orcs. Silver Moon couldn’t understand what they were saying, but she stayed as quiet as she could. Leon nearly panicked. He could sense the werewolf was nearby.

Then he caught it. The orcs were talking again. Something about a lone, sickly she elf lost in their land. But for some reason, they couldn’t catch her. They couldn’t understand why not. The orcs wondered if she was using magic against them. There was also something about a werewolf nearby.

Leon tried to tell Silver Moon he’d do what he could for her. “Just hang on,” he thought to her.

“Please, can you come get me?”

He could feel her fear and her hunger. “I’ll do what I can to help you.”

He opened his eyes and saw two nekos staring at him. He blinked.

“Did you find her?” asked White Lion.

“Yes, I know where she is.”

“How soon will you leave?”

“Probably not until tomorrow at the earliest. My best friend has to come by first.”

“We are hungry now.”

“So am I.” He picked up his pocket computer and sent a request for a small flyer. He put it in his pocket. He stood up. “Let’s go eat.”

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

Loren was sitting in the living room with Leon and the two nekos. He smiled at his best friend.

“I see you have your hands full.”

“Yeah. I’m not sure they should be unattended.”

“No?”

“No, they don’t fully take care of themselves as the other tiny nekos do.”

“Yes, I heard they were different from the other tiny nekos. You said they act and talk like house cats?”

“Yeah, they do.”

“Well, I can handle that.”

“I know you’ve taken care of my cat before.”

“It’s a shame you don’t have a cat anymore. But I suppose these two will do as well.”

Leon sighed.

“You’re missing that elf. Your partner.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sure she will be happy to know her son and his sister are in good hands.”

“She is or will be when she finds out. Could you help them sign up for a class to help them learn the local language?”

“Certainly.”

Leon looked at everyone in his apartment.

“Did you get approval for a ship?”

“Yeah. I’m just waiting to find out when it’s ready.”

“Waiting is so hard.” He paused to study his friend. “My friend, I think you are in more trouble than you realize.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah, I think you need to tell her how you feel when you rescue her.”

“She knows.”

“Ah! So, does she feel the same about you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think she knows. Her heart is still broken.”

“Oh, but you hope she does.”

“Well, she just might, but perhaps she’s too afraid to admit it. She told me she loves all of her friends. She lives with the fact that she’s physically separated from them all. She’s okay with it, except for me.”

“Oh! You must have some kind of charm over her.” Loren grinned.

The nekos remained quiet as they watched the two elves talk.

“Yeah, maybe. Or perhaps I’m just too ugly for her.”

Loren laughed. “I don’t think she cares about that.”

“How would you know?”

“I’ve read her writing.”

Leon looked at Loren funny. “What are you talking about?”

“She never writes about who she thinks is cute or what she finds attractive. But that poem about the poor gondolier who fell in love with her.” Loren pause. “My friend, she feels bad about what happened to you. She regrets being a brat to you.”

Leon sighed. “You are no help.”

“Well, it’s progress. But that former partner of hers. He’s trouble.”

“I know.”

“There’s something wrong with him if he can’t let go of her.”

“No kidding. He’s married someone else and she won’t have anything to do with him now.”

“And he seems to think he can still have her as well. That won’t do. She has to be the only one, the special one.”

Leon covered his face with his hands.

“Her words. She is the only one and the special one to you.”

Leon blushed.

“Ah! Well, now that is out in the open. You have a message waiting for you, my friend.”

Leon removed his hands and pulled out his pocket computer. “Oh, I have to go.” He put his tablet computer back in his pocket. He stood up and walked towards the door.

“Good luck, my friend.”

Leon turned back to look at the elf and two nekos. “Thanks. Good luck with those two. They have been fairly quiet, but I know you, my friend. Just don’t lose them.”

“I won’t.”

Leon left.

Loren turned to the nekos. “Well, it’s just the three of us now. What kind of trouble can we get into?”

The nekos blinked at the same time. Then they smiled.

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

Leon nearly ran to the Guardian hold hidden inside the city. He wasted no time in finding Sam Oranglov and Felicia. They were standing by a small flyer performing the final checks.

“Hello, Leon. I think your mission is suicide.” Sam turned to face the elf.

Leon cringed. Vampires tended to make him nervous. “But I have to.”

Felicia smiled at him. “You’d do the same for me, Sam.”

“Yes, I would.”

“That’s why I gave you extra vegan food and extra water. There’s no telling from your description how bad off she is. And the food there is bad. I hope she has a way of decontaminating the water.”

“Oh, I don’t know. She might have had something the on trolley.”

Felicia nodded. “Good luck with her. It is pretty cramped in here. I don’t know how she will take it.”

Leon looked inside the flyer. It at least had a fresher in it, but there really wasn’t much room. He frowned. “I didn’t think about that.”

“You two do seem to have a rapport, so perhaps she will just adjust.” Felicia looked at Sam.

“I hope you know what you are dealing with.”

“There are lots of orcs and a werewolf trying to get to her.”

“Yeah, and Leon, I don’t like this mission for you.”

“Why not?”

“You’re not trained in fighting.”

“But I know magic.”

“Yes, you do and you’re quite good at it. But defensive magic?”

“I know defensive magic.”

“Alright. Good luck. I hope to see you alive again.”

Leon watched Sam and Felicia walk away. He sighed. He got on aboard the ship. He strapped himself into the pilot seat and contacted the ground control. He waited for clearance for takeoff.

He sighed again. He knew it was crazy, but what could he do? He wasn’t about to let her suffer by herself. He started to hope she would marry him. That just might simplify quite a few things. The authorities would leave her alone for one.

He doubted there would be any questions as to where she could live. He’d just have to get her to sign a marriage license with him. Then the rest… well, he hoped she would eventually accept him. He knew she wanted a baby of her own. He was willing to help her with that.

He was granted clearance. He lifted the flyer into the air and flew it out of the building over the water. He smiled when he realized Felicia had already plotted a course to get him to Mordor. That wasn’t the official name as he well knew, but many people called it that. It was an easier name to say and remember compared to its real name.

It wasn’t long before he found Sam and Felicia had left him other things to help deal with the orcs and the werewolf.

He reached out to Silver Moon. “I’m on my way, milady. Just hold on as best you can.”

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

Silver Moon sat on the ground with her back against a large rock. The orcs were far away for the moment. She could sense the werewolf coming closer. She tried to block him and the orcs as much as she could.

But it wasn’t easy. She could hear them faintly. At first she had been very dizzy, so she stayed low to the ground. It had helped. None of them had found her. But she had to keep moving. She had found some water. She was glad she had the tablets to kill off what would have harmed her. But there wasn’t enough food.

She did had some belly fat, but she didn’t know how long she would be able to hold out. She kept playing with pure white light to protect herself from the werewolf and the orcs. She was tired, but she couldn’t sleep. She tried to keep drinking as much water as she could.

She knew her son and his sister were safe. For that, she was glad. She was still scared. All she knew was that she wanted to live. For a moment she felt Leon reaching out to her. She could feel him around her wanting to protect her, but knowing he couldn’t.

She felt comforted. She crawled away from her spot. She knew the orcs were on the move. She would have to move or else they’d find her. She clutched her backpack strap in her hand and dragged it after herself.

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

The ship’s computer let Leon know he had arrived. He used the scanners to check out humanoid lifeforms. He found a few hundred orcs, one werewolf, and one elf. The scanner showed him the orcs and the werewolf were getting closer to the elf.

He frowned. He flew to where she was. Without any warning the computer told him there were high levels of psi energy. He checked the screen. It was coming from Silver Moon. By that time he was flying right over her.

He could see the pure white light emanating from her. “Wow!”

The orcs were driven back. The werewolf was surrounded by orcs. He howled. The orcs turned to the werewolf. Leon opened the hatch as he flew lower.

“Milady! Get on board quick!”

Silver Moon opened her eyes. She saw the flyer nearby with the open hatch. She could see the back of Leon in the pilot seat. She pushed herself with her hands off the ground. She was dizzy, but she ran into the ship and collapsed on the floor. She still held the strap of the backpack.

Leon closed the hatch and flew off. She lifted her head up and climbed into the other chair. She let go of the backpack. She watched the screen which showed the orcs surrounding the werewolf. The screen soon showed the werewolf was dead.

She gasped.

“Milady? Are you alright?”

“Leon…”

“I see it.”

She pulled out her water bottle and drank what was left of it.

He glanced at her. He set the flyer to automatically fly back to Elsewhere in the hangar. He turned to face her. “Milady, there is plenty of water and food. Let me fix you something.” He stood up and took a couple of steps to the pantry.

She watched him fix her a bowl of soup. He set it down on the table between their chairs. He took her water bottle and prepared her some tea. He gave her the cup of tea.

“Eat. You should start to feel better. It’s concentrated nutrition. It’s okay if you go to sleep afterwards.”

She continued to stare at him.

He held up both his hands. “I’ll let you sleep. You look exhausted.”

“I am.” She blinked and looked at the food on the table. She picked up the spoon and began to eat the soup.

Leon sat down in the pilot’s seat and kept an eye on her and on the board. He let the other Guardians know he had her and that the werewolf was killed by orcs. He glanced at her. She was eating slowly. Her hands were unsteady.

She looked up at him. She briefly stopped eating. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Where are White Lion and Claira Jaen now?”

“In my apartment.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I knew they had no place to go. I volunteered to take them. You’re welcome to stay at my place. It has three bedrooms. The nekos are sharing one, so you can have one to yourself.”

“Oh, okay.” She resumed eating.

He watched her eat. He tried to read her face. He thought she had taken it well. He knew she needed time. There was no one in the way now. He knew he could keep her safe. He just hoped she would trust him and not feel so afraid.

“Are they alone in your apartment?”

“No, my best friend is looking after them. I suggested they go to school to learn the local language. They both readily agreed. Loren should have signed them up.”

“Sounds delightful. Perhaps I should take that class as well.”

“You and I have work to do.” He paused to read the message from the Guardians. “But I’d be happy to help you learn.”

“Okay. Good. I have to warn you, I do better with reading than I do with listening.”

“So, you’re one of those learners. Not a problem. I can find plenty for you to read.”