This Gothic World
Chapter 12

Penelope

She would run away. Farther…deeper…no matter what happened she would run…

“Stop right there in the name of the King!”

Run…run…run…

Name of the King…Bullshit!

Penelope cursed while her feet ached with strain. The strain of having to run through the Forest of Zolios was something alright…but running away from one’s home…was something else altogether.

“Stop! Or we will kill you!”

Kill her! Ha!

If she stopped they’d make her life a living hell. A hell which was worth disobeying the King…

Penelope’s heart beat faster by the second when suddenly she felt an unknown energy call to her…the gentle voice of a woman…

“Huna i raro i te rakau…”

“Hide under the tree…”

She didn’t think. She just obeyed without question. Her gut instincts told her it wasn’t safe yet she remained. The weeping willow was beautifully spreading its shade all round when Penelope caught one of its leafy branches and swung herself up before anyone would dare to catch her. Lucky for her, the action made no sound and the tree to her surprise enveloped her entirely…

“Where did she go?”

She heard their voices like the blaring horns of the Mountains…Her heartbeat quickened exponentially while she covered her mouth to keep the sound of her breathing from reaching the pursuers…

“I saw her coming this way…”

They were exasperated. Their voices were angry and sickeningly dirty. Penelope shuddered in disgust.

Was this how the King felt for all his subjects?

After a few moments of shuffling feet, the sound of footsteps receded. Penelope held on fast within the confines of the tree. Her heart did not calm down while her breathing became more and more shallow.

“He haumaru. Ka taea e koe te heke mai i tenei wa.”

It’s safe. You can come down now.

Safe…? Penelope doubted it. Her body was still on edge. Her mind was muddled with confusion and fear. Come down…? Fat chance!

“Haere mai, e te tamahine nui”

Come on down, Great daughter.

Penelope felt the presence of a temperate energy. It made her feel…safe…

Despite her suspicions she came down…rather, the tree put her down gently as if she was a kitten and it was her mother…

She looked around but found no one which calmed her further down. Phew!

“Kei te haumaru koe i konei ... inaianei”

You are safe here…for now…

Penelope broke down to the ground. This world…her world…

“Why…?”

Tears raged down her cheeks making trails of depression over her face. Her raven hair fell down in waves concealing her face from view. She wept and wept…

“Kaua e mamae, e taku tamahine nui”

Do not fret my great daughter…

But her tears never stopped…they fell to the ground until finally a soft wind blew her hair away allowing her to perceive the soft golden glow of her hands. When she lifted her head and began to truly observe her skin…her body…her body was giving off a sheer golden aura…sparkly rainbows spread off of them in a subtle flair like a thousand diamonds were dusted over her skin…

Whakatika…Tamahine nui…

Arise…Great daughter…

A sweet breeze whirled around her body like a gentle caress. Penelope’s confusion increased but a desire…no a determination unlike any other coursed through her veins…a desire to become…a desire to be free…a desire to be alive…

Whakatika Tamahine nui…whakatika mai i tenei raruraru pakaru…

Arise Great daughter…arise from this broken dream…

Penelope grasped this desire…this determination…finally…finally she’d be free…Her hands closed up into a fist.

She would live…

She would live through this…

She would rise up from the ashes of the dead…