CHAPTER 788: A DESPERATE GAMBLE (PART TWO)

"The villa," Samira said as she fumbled with the ring of keys, trying to find the right one to open the captive woman’s cell. "The villa under attack. I, I don’t know which ’clan’ these giants are from but they’re breaking down the gates and I don’t think Sir Cathal can do anything to stop them," she said as she pulled the iron door to the cell open at last.

"Pass me Saku and put this on," she said as she entered the cell to set the dress and cloak next to the captive woman from the Heartwood clan. "I, I don’t know if the dress will fit you, but it’s loose and baggy enough for me," she said, gesturing to her distended belly. "And it’s warm."

The dress was more than just warm. It was a breathtakingly beautiful dress made from layers of deep blue silk and trimmed with white seal fur in a way that gave the impression of cresting waves on the ocean shores.

For a moment, Noomi hesitated to touch it, reflexively flinching away from it in fear that she would stain such a beautiful garment with the filth of her unwashed body. But practicality asserted itself quickly enough as she clutched the beautiful fabric and felt greater warmth from it than almost anything she’d touched in weeks, if not months.

"You think we can escape?" Noomi said, using the cold, stone wall to support herself as she stood before passing her sleeping child over to Samira. Ever since the other woman had smuggled her a stick of firewood to carve into a weaning spoon for her infant son, she’d lowered her guard against the human she’d once called her ’lady jailor’ and by now, she didn’t feel the slightest hesitation in letting the other woman hold her son.

"We won’t be able to run fast with you like that," Noomi pointed out, gesturing to Samira’s belly. "Your child may come any day now. A month at most. Rushing about may bring him early," she warned.

"I, I know," Samira said as she wrapped Saku in a small, fur blanket against the chill in the air. It would be even colder once they were outside but at least it hadn’t started to snow yet. "I, I won’t lie to you. I think the de, er, the Eldritch people who are attacking the villa might capture us when we try to escape. If they do..."

"You want me to tell them that you’re my friend," Noomi said as she stood, wrapping the fur trimmed cloak around her shoulders and twitching her whiskers at the human she’d never thought she’d apply a word like ’friend’ to.

If Samira was right and the people attacking the villa really were from a friendly Eldritch nation that would see Noomi as one of their own rather than as another foe to defeat or prize to capture, then having a member of the Heartwood Clan claim friendship might just be enough to preserve Samira’s life.

Of course, the reverse wasn’t true at all. By letting Noomi out, Samira was taking a tremendous risk. If the humans won the battle, seeing her helping a ’demon’ to escape would likely spell her doom. Just by coming here, Samira was not only giving Noomi a chance to escape, she was gambling that it would be safer to be with Noomi and the Eldritch than remaining locked safely in her own room and hoping that the humans would win.

"Saku might have starved without you adding to our meals," Noomi said as she held out her arms for her son, taking Saku gently back into her embrace and cooing to him softly before she continued speaking. "And I might have died of a broken heart without your company. We’ll survive this together," she said as she reached out to take Samira’s hand gently in her own.

"We will," Samira said, straining her ears as she tried to listen for sounds of the battle above them through the tiny window at the other end of the dungeon. There were shouts and cries, along with the occasional trumpet blast from one of the giants, but nothing was clear enough for her to know how the battle was progressing without being able to see it.

"Do you know anything about these Eldritch giants?" Samira asked as she turned back to her friend, surprised to see that the dress fit the Eldritch woman fairly well, though it bunched up around her tail and the hem dragged a bit on the floor. "The giants are taller than a man on horseback and they make these strange sounds like a horn blowing."

"I, I don’t know," Noomi said. For a moment, she’d hoped that one of the Eldritch Lords, perhaps even the famed Eldritch Lady of the Vale of Mists had sent their forces to destroy the Lothian’s fortified manor, but none of the Eldritch lords that she’d ever heard of sounded like this.

"Do they have white fur and shining horns like an icicle on their heads?" Noomi asked after thinking for a moment that the Frost Walkers of the High Pass might have found a reason to come this far, though she couldn’t think of what it would be for them to leave their mountain peaks and come so far into the foothills.

"I didn’t see any horns," Samira said. "But maybe. I couldn’t see them well from my room. They were carrying large shields and a heavy battering ram. They’ve probably broken the gate by now. Are they friendly? Or are they enemies of your people?"

"I don’t know," Noomi said as her tail lowered to the floor, trembling in uncertainty. "But whether they’re friends or foes, we should get moving. If we’re going to escape, we’ll need supplies, at least for a few days if we’re going to reach somewhere that will take us in."

Already, she was trying to think of how they could escape if they managed to get free from the Summer Villa. For two women, one pregnant and the other carrying an infant child, it would be impossible to get anywhere quickly. The Vale of Mists was probably their best hope. After all, there were people from her village who had taken the red-haired human’s warning and fled to the Vale for safety, so there might be people there who would take them in.

The question was whether or not they could manage the trek through the wilderness in the cold of approaching winter long enough to get there.

"No," Samira said, shaking her head. "You stay here, let me go. I can probably make it to the kitchens if I’m careful, or at least a storehouse. I’ll come back with food so we can make a run for it if there’s a chance," she insisted. "I just need you to stay here and wait for me to come back."

"Samira," Noomi said, frowning at her friend. "You can’t go rushing about like this! You need my help to carry things. Let me come with you," she pleaded.

"No, please, you don’t understand," Samira said, shaking her head fiercely. "The soldiers all went to the wall, but I don’t know where the servants are. There was a servant girl here once, her name was Lynnda," she said, thinking of the dark-haired woman who had brought her dinner when she first arrived at the Summer Villa.

"Lynnda killed a knight with a knife and fled the villa," Samira explained. "She was just a servant girl, just like I was... but she still killed a knight with a knife. If one of the servants sees you and they don’t understand..."

Dead was dead. She didn’t say the words, but she saw the comprehension dawning on Noomi’s face. If either of them were trained warriors, just having the soldiers diverted elsewhere would likely be enough for them to escape. But neither of them was a soldier, and a servant with a knife in their hand and a belly full of hatred for ’demons’ could be enough to doom them both.

Even if Samira or Noomi managed to overcome anyone they encountered along the way, just the noise they made in the fight could draw attention and ruin their chances of escape. Instead, it would be better if Samira could gather the food they’d need to survive for a few days in the wilderness, even if it was more difficult for her to do it.

The alternative, having Noomi accompany her through the villa as they gathered what they’d need to run, was just too dangerous.

"All right," Noomi said reluctantly, giving Samira’s hand a reassuring squeeze. "But if anyone threatens you," she said, holding up her sharpened claws that could peel away layers of the hardest wood as though they were sliding through butter. "You come as fast as you can and call for me. I’ll come running. We’ll get out of here together."

"Together," Samira promised before she turned back to the narrow stairs. In her hands, she clutched the iron-studded club while she waddled her way back up to the ground floor, hoping all the while that the servants were hiding somewhere sensible and not in the kitchens.

She only had one chance to escape, and she refused to let it slip through her fingers... Just as much as she refused to leave her friend Noomi behind.