10. Cliffside Reckoning

"What? I didn't even notice that there was a demi-human here. Your kind are enemies of god, and animals like you shouldn't talk so casually in front of royals and the divine beings such as myself,"Mr Seith, leader of the church declared, feeling disgusted by Mimi's presence.

"Guards. Quickly arrest this girl at once. She should suffer severe divine judgment for her sins."

"No, please.. Don't arrest me. I have to go to the forest of Dyrads to get mana restorative potions for my master,"Mimi pleaded, but of course, as a demi-human, no one paid head to her words.

She was left with no other choice but to flee. She didn't want such an important mission of saving her master to be given to the kingdom's incapable knights who only care about their royal statuses.

"Athena,"she whispered in her ear. " I need your help to save the master. What do you say. Should we run?"

Athena nodded. In that moment, Mimi crouched down low to the ground, now standing with both her hands and legs like a fox. Her fingers grew claws that dug deep into the ground, and her tail started wiggling. Before the knights could react to her stance, she took off at an incredible speed like a springbok, and Athena ran as well, following her behind. The two sped up, crossing in between the knights who were present.

"Don't let them escape!!,"apostle Seith shouted. "They are enemies of god. Bring them here now for divine punishment,"he yelled.

Since the great colosseum and the houses nearby were now a mess, the knights who were chasing after the two girls couldn't catch up as they stumbled across broken bricks and blood of the people who were too unfortunate to meet their end during the dragon attack. Thanks to the speed and jumping boost spells that Flynn casted on them, their moves were enhanced and too agile for a normal human.

They ran fast, passing by the kingdom's market district, jumping on top of shops and buildings. Before long, they made it into the nearby forest. They looked back and didn't see anyone following them, so they decided to take a break and catch their breath.

"Athena, was it?,"Mimi broke the silence. "Listen, l don't want you to slow me down, and at the same time, l want your help to go to the forest of Dyrads. I heard that their tests require two or more people. So try to catch up or else..."

Athena grabbed Mimi by her long ears. "Listen, you pussy- cat. I'm the master's mistress, and that means I'll do everything l can to cure my master. So, please. You're the one who should be worried about slowing me down.

Mimi growled, her claws growing large. "If I hear you call me a cat again, I'll dip these straight to your heart. You hear me, human!!,"she threatened."

Athena scoffed. "Huh! A typical animal acts like an animal for real. It's no surprise you're this barbaric. "

As the two kept arguing, they heard loud noises of horses not far from them running towards them.

"DAMMIT!! They are now bringing horses. Let's run quickly,"Mimi said, taking her running stance. She flicked her big ears, listening to their sound. "Shit... not only horses, but dogs too.

"We're doomed. The kingdom's dogs have a keen sense of smell, especially when they are tracking a cat like you. They'll catch us at any moment from now. "

"Stop whining and get moving, pathetic human!"

They started running, and as if things couldn't get any worse, their speed boost spells started wearing off. It could be because they were now far from their master or because their master was growing weak at every passing second. They couldn't tell which was which for sure. They just kept running until they reached the edge of a very massive cliff. There was a very old looking bridge made of ropes and planks, and they tried stepping on it, but some planks were even falling down. The cliff was so high that when they looked down, all they could see was nothing but darkness.

"I'm not crossing this bridge. Isn't there some other way, pussy-cat,"Athena asked, her knees shaking from just seeing the height of the bridge. She knew that if she fell from it, there won't be nothing left of her which means she wouldn't be able to get her father healed or support her family when she's dead, would she?

"Don't be a chicken. We're crossing the bridge,"Mimi paused and inhaled deepyly. "For master's sake."

It was clear that she was as much scared to cross it as Athena was, but she just didn't want to call it quits and wait to be caught. There was no time to look for another way to cross the cliff. The only thing they could use was this old, rotten bridge.

They gulped hard some lumps that had foamed on their throats before stepping onto the bridge, carefully walking slowly so as to prevent it from collapsing.

That's when the knights reached up to them, led by none other than the first prince, Cyrus.

He was ashamed that he couldn't do anything when the dragon attacked, so chasing after Mimi and Athena was the least he could do to protect his reputation and self-esteem. He was wearing a golden armor, and even his horse was protected with a golden armor, which made him stand out from everyone else.

When the ladies saw that they've been caught, they started walking a little bit faster to cross the bridge.

"Hahaha,"Cyrus laughed, watching them try to run away. "These fools. Do they have a death wish or something? Not that I care, but honestly. Who in their right mind will cross such a rotting bridge in a massive cliff like this. The way commoners and animals think is beyond my comprehension. Oh, well.... let's get this mission over with, shall we?,"he looked at the knights accompanying him. "I want to go back and take a royal bath with my new mistresses. This sun is scorching hot."

One of the knights drew out his sword and started cutting the ropes that held the bridge until Cyrus stopped him.

"Don't cut the rope, you fool. Are you trying to make them escape? If you cut the rope on our end, the chances of them flinging with the bridge all the way to the other side of the cliff are high. But if you destroy the bridge in front of them, then there's no way they will escape. Honestly, should l always think for you, guys,"he said in a pompous tone, feeling pleased with himself.

"So, what should we do, my prince. They are already in the middle of the bridge,"the knight asked, bowing his head low."

"I'll take care of this,"Cyrus responded, magistically climbing down from his hoarse and then removing his white gloves. He started chanting a spell, and a fire ball emerged from the palm of his hand, hitting the bridge just in front of Athena and Miriamelody.  The bridge started shaking, and they could hardly hold on to it. They started screaming, knowing that anytime they might fall off the cliff.

Their screams just made Cyrus enjoy tormenting them even more.

"Die, you peasants. The mere fact of having you stay in the same palace with me makes my skin crawl. I don't know what my foolish brother, Flynn sees in both of you, but as an older brother, I'll do him a favor and eliminate little rodents and cockroaches that are clinging onto him,"he fired another fire ball and by this time, the bridge was hanging with only one rope.

Athena sat down and gave up on her life. She feared this would happen, but well.... it was too late to think about it anyway. She kneeled down and said a little prayer.

"If there's a god out there, please help me. I don't care if you're Blumund, the god of calamity or any other gods. Just help us!!!,"she yelled, tears rolling down her eyes.

Ever since she was born, she never really believed in gods. She lost belief in them when she realized that her parents always prayed for a better life, but their prayers were never answered. They still struggled, worked hard on the fields, and still, their lives never changed. Even now, her father still prays on his sickbed, which only made her hate the gods even more.

"Don't give up, human!!,"Mimi yelled at Athena, slapping her across the face.

"It's too late, pussy cat. We're gonna die, here,"she said weakly.

Prince Cyrus's malevolent laughter echoed throughout the forest. He couldn't contain himself. Not after watching a pathetic moment between two commoners who were about to die.

He raised his hand again, and let out a smirk. "Be gone, peasants. Let me remove yourselves from my presence as once! "he said, firing his final fire ball that hit the remaining rope apart and the bridge started falling.

Athena just closed her eyes and fell down, waiting for the worst. Mimi held on to the other side of the rope with her claws, but when she saw Athena falling down, she screamed,"ATHENA!!!!!"

She let go of the rope and opened her arms wide, and caught Athena in mid-air. If they were going to die, then at least she would prefer to die knowing she tried her best to protect her master's mistress. If she failed to do that, then what kind of a guard would she be?

Tbc

I hope you guys love the story😊