Marionette

              “Daddy?”  Naliah spoke softly from the top of the stairs.  She had heard glass shatter on floor below her, followed by several thuds. “Daddy, what’s going on?” Again she cried.

         “R-r-r-run!” Her father’s voice replied from below.  Rather than his normal, deep bellowing voice, he sounded weak and out of breath.  He continued to gasp for several minutes, until she heard another thud, in which the panting stopped.

         Tears welled up in Naliah’s eyes as the realization of what had happened dawned upon her. Unable to move, she stood, frozen in her spot.  Someone had killed her father and was still in their house.  Her father was all that she had.  Her mother was kidnapped ten years ago, when Naliah was nine.  She and her father had lived alone since then, and occasionally struggled without a mother’s help.  Now her father was gone also. 

         She stood mulling over her thoughts until she saw someone at the bottom of the stairs.  Naliah knew that this strange man was the one that had killed her father, but he didn’t look like what she expected a killer to look like.  He was tall and thin, he was clean and, even his clothes were nice looking; a black tuxedo with a fastidious overcoat.  The only thing that was abnormal about him was his face.  It was that of a puppet rather than a man, a wicked smile eternally carved across his face.

         “Wh-h-h-o are y-y-you?” Naliah inquired.  Out of fear, she couldn’t think of anything more than to back up while stuttering a simple question.

         “My, my, how you and your father are so much alike; stuttering out of fear, not thinking of how to get to safety!  You know, I had expected more of a challenge.”  He replied, his voice was higher than most of the men Naliah knew, and sounded much like the way people from the Lake Zamiir region spoke.

         By now, Naliah was thinking normally.  She reached onto the table next to her and grabbed the Elvin vase that had sat there for twenty years, and threw it as hard as she could at the puppet-man below her.  Before she heard the vase shatter, Naliah turned and ran down the hallway behind her.  She thought of her option for where to go.  To her left, were several bedrooms; in front of her was a large window.  If she went into one of the bedrooms, he would likely just break in and kill her anyway.  Outside, she had a chance.  She continued running, picking up speed and momentum.  From behind her, a knife flew over her shoulder, and broke the window. 

         With a scream, Naliah dove from the second story of her house.  She hit the ground pretty hard, but was able to get up and start walking. 

         “Sorry, puppet.” The strange man hissed as he landed on the ground in front of Naliah.  From a sheath hidden under his overcoat, he drew forth an evil looking blade and began to step forward.  Naliah stumbled backwards as the strange assassin moved closer. The man let out an evil laugh when he was only a few feet away. 

         Naliah closed her eyes and prepared for death.  To her surprise, she heard a snarling and growling from behind her.  She looked to her left and saw a great, giant wolf that seemed to be guarding her. 

         “You fool!  To defy me will be death.”  The assassin screamed before turning around and running off into the forest.

         “Good luck surviving the centaurs and canus that patrol the woods.”  Naliah sarcastically muttered under her breath.  “Wait! Are you a canus?!”  She thought turning towards where the wolf was, but only saw foot prints.  Whatever had saved her was gone now.  She then came to the realization that she was alone.  She looked around her; she was behind her house, with no one else.  Her father lay dead in her house and she felt like there was no possible way for her to return.  All she could do was sit, and weep.

         “Get ‘cha paper he’ar” The local city crier yelled, his low voice boomed over the squawking of the crows.  Maybe Naliah thought this little man will do something kind and help me.

         The town crier wasn’t a friendly little being.  He was one of the few people in their small town that was part gnome, and part elf.  He had large ears, and bright eyes like elves did, but the rest of him was short and squatty and he had a broad nose.  He was always grouchy and grunted when he spoke; people looked at him as rude, but Naliah thought he was just funny.

         She stood up and ran around the house. 

         “Young lady, you r’all scretched upped!” The stubby little man grunted.

         “Sir, sir please help me!  Someone has killed my father!  It was this weird looking man with the face of a puppet! Please I need help.”  Naliah pleaded, but felt at a loss when the town criers face saddened. 

         Rather than helping, the crier ran off into the town screaming something in the gnome tongue.  He had looked like he was going to help, until she mentioned the Puppet Man. 

         “I almost wish he would have killed me too.”  Naliah moaned to herself.

         “Oh, no child; be glad that you are still okay.” A strange woman said from behind her.  Naliah whipped around, startled by the woman’s unsuspected statement.  Before Naliah could speak, the woman continued.  “No doubt you were saved by a great wolf.  The fact that you encountered him and survived is proof of that.  Still, you are in grave danger!  Don’t question me, just come with me.  In a few moments we won’t be able to talk, so take these clothes and put them on.  I know this seems like a bit too much, and you want someone to get your father, but you have to trust me.”

         Naliah was stunned.  Even if that woman had been behind her the entire time she pleaded to the crier, she couldn’t have known that much.  She wasn’t really sure why, but Naliah felt like this woman was safe.  The clothes that she had been handed were nothing more than a silk cloak with a lace wrap that covered her face. 

         “Hurry child, hurry.”  The woman commanded Naliah in hushed tones while looking around her cautiously.

         Naliah hastily slipped the robe on over the clothes she already wore, and wrapped the cloth around her face.  The strange woman grabbed her arm and began to lead Naliah towards the eastern edge of town, away from where the Puppet Man had ran. Naliah had a hard time keeping up with the woman, and every time Naliah would ask her to either slow down or what her name was, the woman would simply hold up her finger and signal Naliah to be quiet.

         After walking past the edge of the town, the two women arrived at the local stable.  The horses there were very nice, well groomed horses, which Naliah never could have afforded.  To Naliah’s surprise however, the mysterious lady drew twenty large gold coins from her purse and bought two of the finest horses they had; two white stallions.  Luckily, Naliah’s mother taught her how to ride a horse before she had passed away; Naliah mounted her steed with confidence, and continued to follow the masked woman.

         After they had ridden for a while, the mysterious woman spoke.  “We should be safe to talk now.  In fact, you’re lucky that the town crier was the only gnome in your town.  The Puppet Man is one of the people that have long enslaved the gnome people.  Even so, he did protect the gnomes, and the gnomes stayed loyal to him. Now, whenever something happens that could be a threat to creatures like the Puppet Man, the gnomes send an early warning.”

         “What!?” Natalia exclaimed, completely surprised.  She had never heard of gnomes being enslaved, not only that, but she had expected the Puppet Man to be nothing more than an elf or human that had trained to be an assassin, but the woman referred to him as a ‘creature’.  “What do you mean by ‘enslaved the gnomes’? If this man isn’t human or elf, what is he?”

         “All in due time child, all in due time.  But for now, why don’t you tell me your name.”

         Surprised by the woman’s civility in such a time, Naliah replied cheerfully.  “My name is Naliah.  What about your name?”

         “Oh, my name is not one from around here, but you can call me simply Belgar.”  The woman replied. 

         Now things were starting to get weird.  Normally, when someone asked for a name, you gave it to them freely.  Not only this, but Belgar was a name from the Lake Zamiir region, the same area she thought the Puppet Man sounded like he came from. 

         “What about the Puppet Man, what is he?”  Naliah continued, hoping to find out more.

         “He is one of many dark creatures.  There aren’t very many creatures like him, but those that do exist are terribly powerful and dangerous.  Not all are exactly like the Puppet Man, as you call him, but they are similar.  This man, is the most bold, in the fact that he has shown himself the most and has unfortunately done the most damage.”

         Everything was getting weirder and weirder for Naliah.  Belgar didn’t want to say what the monster Puppet Man was, and was pretty elusive themselves.  Naliah had to find out more information.

         “So, where are we going?”  She asked.

         “We are going to a small settlement just south of here.  It is called Domremi.  When we get there, I might as well go ahead and tell you, you will be staying with an elderly man named Gepetto.  He might seem old, but I would say that he could hold his own against this Puppet Man.  He can teach you much, and it would be to your benefit to learn everything that you can from him.” Belgar replied. 

         Naliah and Belgar rode in silence most of the way to Domremi.  Occasionally, the mysterious Belgar would point something out or simply hum to herself.  After they had stopped speaking, it wasn’t long for the events of the day to replay in Naliah’s mind.  She was travelling with some woman she didn’t know to stay with a man that she didn’t know, because her father’s body lies dead in the floor of her house.  As tears began to flow down Naliah’s cheeks, it began to rain, and Belgar simply looked over and smiled.

         Until they reached the city, it rained, and Naliah cried.  The rain didn’t bother her, it covered up her tears, and Belgar seemed to enjoy the rain also.  It stopped raining when the two women were a few yards outside of Domremi.  Naliah could tell that the town was Domremi, from the second she saw it.  It looked peaceful and calm.  Even the houses had a softer look about them. 

         “You need to ride straight on into the town, and ask anyone for Gepetto.  I must be leaving now.  Good luck Naliah!”  The woman stopped her horse and waved at Naliah as she rode on into town. 

         As Naliah entered the town, jubilant people smiled and waved from windows and curbs.  A man walked up to her horse and asked her if she wanted him to take her horse to the stables.

         “Yes please.”  Naliah replied.  “Oh, and could you show me where the man, Gepetto, is?”

         The man snickered and motioned for Naliah to follow him.  He led her horse by its reigns, and Naliah followed him as he strolled down the street.  It wasn’t after very long that they arrived outside of an old house.  The roof didn’t slant at harsh angles like those from Naliah’s village, but were curved and came low to the ground.

         “You’ve got a visita’ mista’ Gepetto!”  The man yelled, and after a couple seconds, an elderly little man appeared in the doorway.

         “Ahh, so you must be the young girl that I was told would be coming.  You’ve had a rough morning, so why don’t you come in and have a meal.”  He gestured for Naliah to come to the door.

         “Thank you.”  She replied.  She was about to start eating breakfast when her father had been attacked that morning.  She was definitely hungry and was more than ready to eat.  This was only amplified by the smell of a freshly baked ham.  As Naliah walked into his house, she knew that the mysterious Belgar was right, Naliah would be safe here. 

         The little man politely showed Naliah to the table and handed her a plate full of food.  Naliah ate and talked to Gepetto.  After they ate, Gepetto showed Naliah to the room that she would be staying in.  When he opened the door, Naliah was surprised by what she saw.  The room was large, and had all the furniture that she could need, but the most surprising thing to Naliah was that the room was definitely very feminine.  Gepetto saw the look on her face and chuckled.

         “This used to be my daughter’s room.”  He smiled as he walked into the room, looking sentimentally at the trinkets that covered the wardrobe.  “She moved out a couple years ago.  She went to study in the Lake Zamiir region.”

         Again, the Lake Zamiir region, I wonder how this is going to play into everything?  Naliah thought to herself.  She was sure that it wasn’t just a coincidence that all of these people had some connection to Lake Zamiir. 

*******

         “We must grow faster!”  The Puppet Man yelled, anger building.  “Now, not only is the girl still living, but the Track have decided to join forces with her!  Had your idiot parents been able to take care of those beasts, we wouldn’t have this problem right now!  It is time, time for our dream to become a reality.  We don’t have to live the way we are.  If we can extinguish those few that stand in our way, we can finally be rulers.  We will be able to live as royalty, not as scum!”

         A cheer of admiration rose from the crowd.  Most there were descendents of the original Helia, but there were also many ‘creatures’.  Among them were the Huntress, evil witches, many soldiers, several Minotaur, and even a few of the infamous Night Stalkers.  Most people looked upon them as evil beings, for they very much were.  The Huntress, was known for her brutality against all the Track that she targeted, and wasn’t exactly humane when dealing with people.  The witches used black magic and were identified by their use of ceroscopy to spy on enemies, not only that, but witches are tricky.  They are stronger than normal people, and depending on if they use white or black magic, bloodthirsty.  Night Stalkers were the scariest figures of mythical tales.  They were the color of night, and flew over the Kiltar region, looking for victims.  The only thing that Night Stalkers fear, are raptor members of the Track. 

         “We are far more powerful than those sorry excuses for people!  Look at us; we are so much better, so much stronger, so much more….” The Puppet Man paused.  “We are so much more intelligent than they are.  Don’t you see, it is time for them to learn of our superiority?”

         The crowd of people cheered ravenously.  After their parents, or even themselves, had failed to conquer the Lake Zamiir region a decade ago.  Now, a new, mysterious leader has risen among them hoping to lead them to victory.

         The Puppet Man turned away from the mass.  He wanted nothing more than to finally conquer the southern Zamiir banks, and some day, topple the Belgar Empire.  The only thing that the Puppet Man needed was to bring down Brom Belgar’s western militia, and now Naliah.

         Why?  Does it have to be so?  If only we wouldn’t have figured out your powers.