The Maiden of Air

Chapter 5

While running, I kept on thinking of the things I was missing out on by running away. All the luxuries of staying at the Moon Palace. The thing I would probably miss the most was a comfy place to sleep. I imagine the food there is good too. They probably have the best chefs from all around the world that make special delicacies from different countries. I was practically drooling just thinking about it.

I shook my head and focused on the here and now. If I kept on thinking about that stuff, I might be tempted to go back. I had to think about what I was going to do after getting out of the mountains. I had to think of where I was going, how I would get food and water, and where I could find shelter.

I was too busy pondering to notice the tree root sticking out from the ground and carelessly tripped over it. I rolled over three times before falling into a small ditch. Face planted in the dirt, I groaned before putting my palm on the ground to lift myself up. But instead of dirt and grass, my hand landed on something wet and furry. A little grossed out by the feeling, I look up to see the corpse of a full-grown puma.

I gasped and used my other hand to cover my mouth. I stood up and backed away, but when I took my second step, my foot landed on something soft. I looked down to find another dead puma. But this one was only a cub. I looked around and found three more cubs, all dead. The bodies were all in a circle, inside the ditch. The blood on the bodies was fresh enough that this happened probably only a few hours ago. The puma and each cub had their throats torn. But the wounds didn’t look like an animal did.

The scene made me want to cry. This was obviously not a force of nature. But it didn’t look like a person did this either. The thought of some unknown being lurking around sent shivers down my spine.

At closer inspection of the ditch, I saw something was drawn in the dirt. A pentagram, and the bodies were at each point. It must have been some form of dark magic

Another shiver ran down my spine when I sensed the presence of something watching me. Something dark and sinister. My heart rate quickened, and my breathing became heavy. Frantic, and scared out of my mind, I searched for the thing watching me. I jumped when I heard rustling coming from a bush less than two yards away from me. I cautiously approached the bush. I know that is usually how a person dies in a horror movie, but, I’m the twelfth Maiden. Even though I never wanted to be the twelfth Maiden, I still have the powers and if there is evil lurking around, I should take care of it… right?

One more step and I would be within arm’s length of the bush. My whole body was trembling as I reached out for it. There was more rustling, and I just about had a heart attack as something jumped out at me. Tripping over my own feet, I landed on my butt, and cringed at the pain.

I looked down at the thing that jumped out at me, and it was baby puma. It stood at my feet, hissing and spitting at me. I breathed a sigh of relief. I can’t believe I was freaking out about there being an evil presence, when the only thing watching me was a frisky little cub.

“You scared me, little guy.” I reached out to pet it, but it just batted my hand away with its paw. “Yikes, you’re feisty.” The little kitty then jumped on my left foot and proceeded to bite and scratch it. Good thing I was wearing my combat boots.

While he was distracted, I slowly pulled my pack off my shoulder, and reached in for my blanket. Using it like a net, I threw it over the cub and scooped it up. It thrashed around wildly, almost making me drop it. It popped it’s head out of the blanket, but I had its paws trapped firmly in the blanket. So, all he could do was thrash its head around to bite anything he could get his jaws on, which happened to be the strings of my hoodie.

“Well, what do I do now?” I asked myself. Looking at the little guy, I saw that he had a cut over his left eye. Blood also stained the blanket. He must have been hurt some other place too.

I sighed, realizing what I had to do if I was going to try and save this little guy. I had to go back to the Moon Palace and take him with me. With the condition he’s in, and without his mother or siblings, he wouldn’t survive out here.

I groaned and put the cub in my pack and zipped it just enough to leave a small hole that he could breathe from or stick his head out if he wanted. It probably wasn’t the best idea to put him in there, but I didn’t really have another choice. I couldn’t easily run and hold him in my arms at the same time, and if I wanted to get back before anyone noticed I was gone, I had to hurry.

~~~

Luckily, I made it back before anyone noticed I was gone. Before I started the climb back up to my window, I glanced at the sky. The sun was still high. I probably had just enough time to take care of the little guys’ wounds, take another shower and get ready for tonight’s ceremony.

I cringed at the thought of going to that thing. But I had to stay just until the cub was at full health and could be released back to the wild, and if I was going to do that, I’d have to try to follow the rules, so they won’t suspect that I’d run away again. Although, I bet trying to convince Michael won’t be an easy task.

Fastening the buckle on my pack, I started climbing the ivy that lead to my window. I peeked inside the window before jumping in, to make sure no one had decided to check up on me and found out I was gone. There was no one there, and my room looked exactly as I left it.

I walked into the bathroom and carefully took my pack off my shoulders. Either he was just tired from what he just went through, or he has already lost a lot of blood and was weakening. Because he wasn’t putting up as much a fight as he was earlier.

Before doing anything, I looked the cub over to check its wounds. I was a little shocked that I didn't find anything other than the small gash above his eye, which had already stopped bleeding. All the blood must have been mostly from the other bodies. I grabbed a towel and a washcloth and turned on the water in to tub just to get an inch or two of water to wash the cub. Once I thought it was enough water, I began wiping him with the towel. Surprisingly, he wasn't fighting me anymore.

That was odd. I'm no expert in animal behavior, but I know it would have taken much longer and a lot of work to gain his trust. But he seemed perfectly fine with me moving him around in the tub to wash him. He didn't even try to nip at me.

I finished cleaning him and wrapped the towel around him to dry his fur. I took another look at the wound above his eye. It had stopped bleeding, but I needed to cover it, so it didn't become infected. I doubt this bathroom had a first aid kit, because I was told we had an infirmary for any medical needs.

That's when I remembered the knife if my bag. I grabbed another clean towel and pulled the knife out of my bag and began to cut and tear the towel into makeshift bandages. I wrapped those around his head and tied it just tight enough so he can't somehow take it off.

Now that I finished that, I thought that he must me hungry. He was still small, so I was going to assume that he still nursed. I remembered that the mini fridge in my room had milk bottles in it. I know that domestic cats shouldn't have cow’s milk. I learned that when Layla found a stray kitten and we took care of it until we found a good home for it. I was ten and she was eight. At least my mother wasn't a complete monster and let us keep it that long.

Maybe pumas were different? At the moment, I didn't really have any other choice. I would see if the palaces immaculate kitchen had any goats milk for him to drink later.

I grabbed a bottle and used the knife to make a hole just big enough for it to steadily drip out. I brought it up to his mouth and he sniffed it. Once we realized what it was, he started to greedily lap at it.

While he was distracted, I lifted his leg to see if he was actually a "he". As I investigated, I discovered that he, was in fact, a she. I was thinking that she was going to need a name. I had a feeling that she wasn't going anywhere soon, and if she was going to stay here, she needed one. I would need time to think about it though. I would want something that fits her. That and I was horrible at coming up with names...

I checked my watch for the time. It was fifteen past three, meaning I had less than three hours before the ceremony. But that wasn’t the only thing. What was I going to do about this little girl while I was at the ceremony? I may not know a lot about puma cubs, but since I have a younger sister, I knew enough that babies needed a lot of attention.

Once she was finished, he made a satisfied squeak, and cuddled up in my dirty old blanket that I had left on the bathroom floor. I reached to pet her head, but when she noticed my hand was getting closer, she backed up a little to avoid my hand. So, I guess I hadn't completely gained her trust. It was understandable though. Her family was just murdered by who knows what.

As I stared on at the little fur ball, I knew that I was going to need help to take care of her. With that in mind, I crossed the living room to Luke’s room, and knocked on the door.

Even though we just met, I trusted him to keep a secret more than Michael. If I told him I brought a wild animal into the Palace, he probably wouldn’t hesitate to call animal control. Okay, I might be over exaggerating and making a villain out of him. Maybe he has a soft spot for animals. I didn’t know him well enough yet to know if that was true or not, but for right now, I wasn’t going to risk that not being true.

Luke called out through the door and opened it a second later. He must have been getting ready for the ceremony, because his hair was a bit damp, and he wore his uniform coat unbuttoned.

“Erin? Do you need something?” He asked with a smile.

“Uh… yes.” I hesitated. I wasn’t sure how to tell him. Oh, I found this puma cub when I was trying to run away, and I need your help.

Yeah, saying that probably wouldn’t go over well.

“I need help with something. Once you’re finished getting ready can you come to my room?” I asked.

He furrowed his brow, but said, “Okay. Give me minute.”

I walked back into my room and headed for the bathroom. She was already sound asleep. As I waited for Luke, I put the dirty towels in the hamper next to the sink. I threw the extra pieces of the torn towel in the trash. I bet the maids will be wondering what I was up to when they come to clean my room. I then thought about that. How was I going to hide her?

When I heard a knock on my bedroom door, I called for Luke to come in.

“Erin?” Luke asked, as I heard the door shut.

“In the bathroom.” I said.

The first thing I noticed when he walked into the room, was that he looked almost completely different from when I first saw him. His hair was slicked back, with a few small rebellious strands of hair that fell back over his forehead. He donned the same uniform Michael had on earlier, and the whole look made him look much older and mature. Without his hair in the way, I had a clear view of his gorgeous green eyes, which seemed to have a special light to them.

“What did you…?” Luke started to say, then gasped when he saw what I needed “Help” with. “What in the world is a baby puma doing in here?!” He exclaimed as he got on the floor next to me. He was trying to be serious, but I could tell he wanted to pet her.

“Be quiet! She's asleep, and I don’t want Michael finding out. I found her while taking a walk in the woods. Her family was killed, and she was injured. I couldn’t leave her alone.” I doubt he would believe I was just taking a walk. But whether he knew or not, he showed no signs of it.

“Well, what do you plan on doing with her?” He asked as he reached out to pet her.

I stopped his hand midair. “I don’t know, and I doubt she'll let you pet her.” I said.

He pulled his hand back. “We should probably tell one of the staff to call someone to take her to a wildlife reserve, or something.” He suggested.

“No. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Whatever killed her family, wasn’t a thing of nature. I could tell that much.” I thought back to the gruesome scene and a shiver ran down my spine.

“What do you think it was?” He asked.

I shook my head. “I haven’t got a clue. All I know is that it was someone using dark magic. And this is the only place for miles with people. So, I don’t want anyone besides you and me to know that she’s here.”

“But you and I both have to go to the ceremony. Who will keep an eye on her?” He questioned.

“And that’s why I asked for your help. I was hoping you might have a solution.”

Luke pinched his chin and stared at the floor. He made a humming sound as he pondered. When he looked back at me, he opened his mouth and said, “I know you said you didn’t like the idea of anyone else knowing that she was here, but I might know someone who can help. She’s one of the maids, and she owes me a favor. Besides, you said that there was dark magic involved. The only ones capable of using dark magic, are the Maidens. So, I think asking her would be safe.”

I couldn’t really argue. We were going to need someone else’s help. If it was just a maid, it would probably be okay. I nodded, and said, “Okay.”