Ch. 1

Ch. 1

Two wonderful weeks had passed since her wedding. Things had been so perfect. Yet this morning she had woken with such a feeling of dread. Some weird feeling that the universe did not give so much with out taking more. Where this came from she didn't know. Travail had always been a place of simple lives, simple loves, simple clear problems and resolves. But it seemed the universe was disagreeing. She was feeling that things didn't work that way, despite all she could remember. She always felt that virtue wold win a good life, and she had felt that way right up to this morning. Now it felt as if she had learned different life lessons, lessons that the universe was unpredictable, that rewards went to the strongest. And something was not right, she felt she was a stranger to herself. When she walked down to the kitchen for breakfast. Hart looked at her with his beautiful eyes, his perfect features, his hair that moved with the slightest breeze, and she saw a stranger looking through his eyes. She was terrified.
"What's wrong darling?" He asked. A slight note in his voice off, like he was enjoying a joke at her expense.
Instincts she didn't know she had kicked in. "Nothing. I-it's just the rain. I was going to plant flowers this morning."
"I wouldn't worry about doing that," Hart said. Was there a slight sneer in his voice she couldn't be sure.
"Breakfast, dears!" called Mr. Hails, the loyal servant Miria had rescued from the Dean. The Dean's sister had turned him into a dog for standing up to her over a rutabaga they both wanted in the market. Mr Hails seemed the same as ever, Cheerful and wiry, an elderly man who was happy to live with the new couple being completely devoted to them, especially Miria.
Hart held the dining room chair for Miria, seating her a bit hard, absentmindedly or resentfully she couldn't tell. "Hart....Is something the matter this morning?"
"Quite the contrary! today is a perfect day," he replied with a wry chuckle. "Eggs?"
Miria took the silver tray with far to many eggs for the three of them. "Thank you," she replied quietly.
A jangle of bells took her out of her revelry, Hails when into the hall toward the front door. Before he could reach it it burst open with Holly, Miria's sister, coming in full sail. "Morning Hails!" she shouted and gave him a huge kiss on the cheek. Holly was usually serious and her intensity was in a wound way, like the clockwork and watches she made. She seemed a completely different person, so different it was frightening.
"You're too early," Hart said, not looking up but sopping up the running eggs yellows with a piece of toast.
"Couldn't care less," Holly said as she grabbed a couple of slices of over crisp bacon. Normally she would have observed etiquette to a T. Something was obviously very wrong.
"Do you have plans this morning, Hart?" Miria's voice broke.
"I'm all packed," Holly said, "two carry-ons, I couldn't part with more, you?" She hadn't even looked at Miria, as if she wasn't even there.
"Holly has some business to due with the flight squadron at the university, I offered to be her guide," Hart's explanation came across as dull and an unimportant lie, as if Miria's belief in it didn't matter. He turned back to Holly and replied,"I'm only taking these." He held up his gold watch that Miria had given him and his ever important set of keys.
Holly's nose wrinkled in disgust, "Why the watch?" She glared briefly at Miria.
"Changed you mind a bit late, darling," Hart chuckled, "But you wanted to fly." Holding up his cup with the last swill of tea.
"I didn't want to be a limp, old fashion dish mop!" Holly said waving toward Miria.
"Holly!" Miria was in a panic, like suddenly waking in a baer's den not sure what was next.
Hart stood, swept Miria into a huge embrace, and kissed her hard and long. "Goodbye, my dearest. "
Holly continued to glare, Hart took her arm and one of her bags, grabbed his coat and an umbrella and headed off into the street, toward the university. Holly's mocking laugh echoing through the rain. Miria stood int he door watching them go. Nothing in the world made sense in this moment. Her skirt was getting wet as the rain splattered the stoop. Miria tried to process what was happening, with her Husband, her sister, even in her own head. Suddenly she heard a scream from down the street, toward the town center. She stepped back and quietly closed the door. Why she felt like quiet was necessary, she didn't know. Something bad was happening. She turned and hurried up the three floors of the house and then stood at the bottom of the wrot iron spiral staircase that lead tot he roof.
Mr. Hails came puffing up behind her and handed her a cape and an umbrella. With out a word they climbed tot he roof. The rain was letting up a bit. Hart and Miria had a lovely brass telescope in a glass dome. They entered and Miria opened a window toward the university. She adjusted and peered toward the formidable front gate of the university. She spotted Hart and Holly with a small group being ushered into the gate with a great deal of deference from the guards. Guards? There was only an elderly porter that manned the gate for as long as anyone could remember. These guards were dressed in black, polished and shiny and gave the impression of wanting to prove how tough they were. A number of professors and students were roughly turned away and a few were man handled into a wagon. She hardly recognized those turned away, but knew most of those in the wagon. She looked again at the group Hart was chatting and laughing with, she gasped and her heart that she thought was at it's lowest dropped again. The turncoat ladies maid, The dean's Secretary and others who upheld the tyranny Hart, Holly, and Miria had fought so hard against was there as well as the queen herself, the admiral of the sky ship fleet. But he had died in the last battle! It was impossible.
The noise down the street had turned into a loud struggle and the sound of a bull horn barking orders was heard, though they weren't close enough to make out the words. Hails was already opening the window on that side of the dome. As Miria looked through it, she saw more soldiers, they must be soldiers, carrying out the fishmonger's wife that had rallied the resistance with the market folk. They had nudged her lay about hubby back into the house with the children. "It will be alright!" The man with the Bull horn was closer and the rain had stopped completely now, so they could hear. "We simply need to speak with certain citizens! No one will be harmed!" as we read out your name, come out!" The wagon they lead up the street was nearly full.
"We should head to the university, we'll be safe there." Hail's voice quavered with fear.
"No, hurry grab a bag and put food and a few tools....and the hand gun under your bed."Miria had never told Hails she knew of the hand gun, but now explanations had to be quick. This was bad, she didn't know what it was, but the word 'Nazis' floated through her mind with images of rail cars filled with people. She didn't know where this knowledge came from, but she had to trust it. Nothing else was what it had seem to be yesterday. "Meet me int he kitchen with your warmest coat."
She ran to the bedroom, 'if the house was on fire what would you save...." she opened her jewelry box and grabbed a pendant her father had made for Hart's father to give to Hart's mother. Hart had given it to her on their wedding day. It meant so much to her. She threw it around her neck, grabbed a slim book of poems she had borrowed from the university library, threw her ridding bloomers and a few clothes in a small bag and left.
From the kitchen to the basement she explained to Hails what she had seen at the university. "We had better find another place to go, Miri. We can't hide int he basement, we'll be found quickly," He responded.
"We're not staying," Miria said as she reached the Eldrich looking door that lead to Hart's Laboratory.
"Master Hart has the only key, and you asw he took them."
"The old mangy tabby cat told me where the Hart's father kept a spare, " Miria whispered and she counted stones and reached under a nondescript stone. A catch clicked and a stone near the door sprang out with a key identical to the master key Hart had on his chain. She gingerly picked it up the key and with shaking fingers put it int he lock. With a deep breath she turned it. It turned easily but cogs and wheels sounded loudly from behind the door. Finally the locks slide back and the door opened with a loud creek. Dramatics, Hart was good at that. Miria took the key and slid it in a small dark blue velvet drawstring purse in her bag. Hails ushered her in and closed and locked the monstrous door from the inside.
Many vials and potions lined the stone shelves all the way up to where the ceilings started to vault to the roof. Passages lead off into the dark but it was a simple wooden door on the dais behind Hart's desk that took up all Mira's attention. It wood was a rich, warm, dark honey color, worn around the handle. Hails had never been in this sanctuary of Hart's and he didn't know whta to look at next. Finally Miria's stillness caught his attention. "what is it?" he whispered.
"it's a door," Miria replied. realizing the stupidity of the reply she continued, "A portal. Hart could open it to almost anywhere in Travail and even beyond with his keys."
Hails knew Hart's keys were important, but never knew why til now, "What good is it without the keys?"
" The keys were just an easy way to keep the things he needed," Miria was rummaging in her bag and pulled out the slim volume from the bottom of the bag. Hart had taught her how to work the door, and she had managed it alone that fateful night of the last battle of Travail. She would need to do it now. She silently prayed she could. Suddenly they heard boots on the stone steps outside the lab.
Miria and Hails exchanged a silent fearful glance. as the door handle rattled outside. "they can't be in dere!" A northern English accent derided.
"How do you know?" an American voice asked.
"I did my homework, didn't I?" They were checking the wine and food cellar as far as Miria could make out.
"Like you knew were we'd be sent." The voices receded with the clunk of boots back up the stairs.
Miria took a long quiet deep breathe. She placed the book on the lock and it stuck as if magnetism held it.
"Where are we going,?" Hails breathed.
"To the university."
"I thought that was a bad idea."
"If I'm right we should be safe, we aren't using the front door. Miria replied. Planting her feet shoulder width apart, knees just slightly bent, she held her arms bent with the palms facing each other. She brought them together til she felt the slight resistance of energy. She breathed out and moved her hands apart, she brought them back together with an inward breathe. She continued this as the energy between her hands took form and gained energy. She could see a faint light start in the energy bubble. Could she do it? No, she had to relax and concentrate, doubt would defeat them. Finally the energy was a brilliant white and the size of a basketball. Basketball?! Another hidden knowledge coming out a pebbled surface and black groves. No time for this! She moved the energy toward the lock of the door. It absorbed it and she reached for the latch and pulled the door open.

{Again, a very rough raft, ignore grammar and other major problems. Just getting it down.}