CHAMBER: Rush to the Castle
(Text for possible inclusion into The Cat, Crow, & Knitten Show - Vol. 2)
With him having disappeared, there is no way to ask more questions and no more reason to stay in the town. Crow rushes back to the castle as fast as he can, excusing himself as they run by the gate guards, startling them.
About a mile down the road, Crow is getting exhausted. He slips and falls on some loose gravel, skinning his knee. After making sure that Knitten, who slipped out of his pocket, is not hurt, he lifts himself back to his feet, thinking 'The pain can wait,' and resumes the walk. No, this pain is doing a really good job of beckoning his attention.
What can he do? What choice does he have? The only alternative is to fly with Knitten back to the castle. Memories of what happened the last time he took flight with her in his pocket come rushing back. There is no way that he is going to risk her falling loose in the sky again. He explains to her what must be done and then tucks her into his bag that holds far more than it should. As soon as he does, he realizes the risk involved. She will be unable to breathe in there! But he calms down upon reminding himself that she is only made of fabric and thread and does not need to breathe.
With his mind made up, he stumbles through the motions of building up enough speed, wings spread and ready, and then lifts above the ground. The pain made it difficult, but now he can relax a little bit as it cools down, afloat on a cushion of air. Someday he will become proficient enough to lift straight up from the ground rather than needing a running start.
Following the curve of the road from above the trees, they make their way back to Castle Reignith, much faster than if he had remained running. The wind causes Crow to falter at times and dip to each side, but they make it home in one piece. The landing is another story, with his knee pain at touch down causing him to yelp and somersault to a less than graceful halt. One of the two castle gate guards rushes over to help him up, but Crow sees him coming and hurries to stand and usher himself in.
As he limps through the courtyard toward his destination, he extracts Knitten from the bag, none the worse for wear, and gives her a hug.
"Wow, daddy! We got here so fast! I don't even know what happened while I was in the bag. It just felt as though I was floating. I could barely hear the narrator."
"You could barely what?"
"Oh. I just... Sometimes I... Never mind, daddy. Forget I said anything. Have we found mommy?"
"We're about to, I hope. Just a little farther."
They finally reach the spot where both Crow and Knitten met Cat for the first time. Crow takes a deep breathe and lets it out slow, then pulls aside the tapestry so that he and Knitten can enter the chamber where Cat's mirror is stored. He hopes that what the man said was true, that she is simply trapped back in it. What he hopes is not the case is that she is now unable to go on adventures with them. Even worse, what if being forced back into the mirror caused her to lose her memory of them?
With him having disappeared, there is no way to ask more questions and no more reason to stay in the town. Crow rushes back to the castle as fast as he can, excusing himself as they run by the gate guards, startling them.
About a mile down the road, Crow is getting exhausted. He slips and falls on some loose gravel, skinning his knee. After making sure that Knitten, who slipped out of his pocket, is not hurt, he lifts himself back to his feet, thinking 'The pain can wait,' and resumes the walk. No, this pain is doing a really good job of beckoning his attention.
What can he do? What choice does he have? The only alternative is to fly with Knitten back to the castle. Memories of what happened the last time he took flight with her in his pocket come rushing back. There is no way that he is going to risk her falling loose in the sky again. He explains to her what must be done and then tucks her into his bag that holds far more than it should. As soon as he does, he realizes the risk involved. She will be unable to breathe in there! But he calms down upon reminding himself that she is only made of fabric and thread and does not need to breathe.
With his mind made up, he stumbles through the motions of building up enough speed, wings spread and ready, and then lifts above the ground. The pain made it difficult, but now he can relax a little bit as it cools down, afloat on a cushion of air. Someday he will become proficient enough to lift straight up from the ground rather than needing a running start.
Following the curve of the road from above the trees, they make their way back to Castle Reignith, much faster than if he had remained running. The wind causes Crow to falter at times and dip to each side, but they make it home in one piece. The landing is another story, with his knee pain at touch down causing him to yelp and somersault to a less than graceful halt. One of the two castle gate guards rushes over to help him up, but Crow sees him coming and hurries to stand and usher himself in.
As he limps through the courtyard toward his destination, he extracts Knitten from the bag, none the worse for wear, and gives her a hug.
"Wow, daddy! We got here so fast! I don't even know what happened while I was in the bag. It just felt as though I was floating. I could barely hear the narrator."
"You could barely what?"
"Oh. I just... Sometimes I... Never mind, daddy. Forget I said anything. Have we found mommy?"
"We're about to, I hope. Just a little farther."
They finally reach the spot where both Crow and Knitten met Cat for the first time. Crow takes a deep breathe and lets it out slow, then pulls aside the tapestry so that he and Knitten can enter the chamber where Cat's mirror is stored. He hopes that what the man said was true, that she is simply trapped back in it. What he hopes is not the case is that she is now unable to go on adventures with them. Even worse, what if being forced back into the mirror caused her to lose her memory of them?
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