Maria
Maria was a small Norn. She always had been,
in infancy she had been under strict medical watch for fear that her tiny
body would fail. But she had survived. That was the surprising thing about
her; she was small and quiet, but she was a survivor. And that seemed to
be what was needed to live comfortably in Albia
One day, Maria wandered down to her secret
hideout. She took the lift down under the garden and walked to the right.
Just underneath the Gelsemium plant was a narrow tube that stuck out slightly
into the ocean. The only way to get in was to move the stone that covered
a hole in the top. It was here that Maria went when she wanted to
be alone. It was sandy, but she didn’t mind. She had filled a basket with
food, bottles of water and toys and kept it at the end of the tube. Maria
liked it there because she could see the Norns playing in the new rooms
of the now waterless ocean, but they couldn’t see her because of the tinted
glass the tube was made of. She didn’t worry about the stuff she left there;
she was the only Norn who had figured out how to move the stone that blocked
the entrance.
One day, there was a party in the Ocean
room. All the Norns were invited, and all of them came. Except Maria, who
sat in her tube and watched. Everyone seemed to be having fun. Suddenly,
she heard a noise. A low, growly, slightly bubbly noise. The other Norns
had heard it too, she could see them looking around in terror. Then the
sea monster emerged from behind the rocks. “Run badcritter!” shouted all
the Norns, but the lift was on the top level and it wasn’t coming fast
enough. Borland moved in on them slowly, angry and sluggish because there
was no more water in his home. All Maria could do was watch in horror as
the monster devoured each of the Norns. “No badcritter!” she sobbed. But
it was too late. She watched the monster as it swallowed the last Norn.
Then it stopped. It seemed to be struggling. Maria pressed her face closer
to the glass of the tube and watched. It can’t breathe! She thought to
herself. There’s no water! It can’t breathe! The sea monster struggled
again then flopped on the floor. It was still. Maria jumped on the spring
pad and catapulted out of the tube. She hopped into the lift and rode it
up into the garden where she ran out on the bridge and took the lift down
to where Borland lay. He seemed still enough. Maria picked up a nearby
lightsaber toy and whacked him with it. The monster didn’t move. She watched
as the monster slowly disintegrated into thin air.
Maria rode the lift back up to the bridge.
It was there that the aloneness hit her. She was the last Norn left in
Albia. She was sure of it. “There may be a few eggs lying around, but I
know everyone was at the party.” She thought to herself. Maria then
walked into the volcano and rode the lift down to where the Grendel eggs
were. Far below, at the bottom she could see a young Grendel playing with
an Ettin. That meant she did not have to worry about any being in the hatchery.
She walked among the Grendel eggs, noticing that they were all the same
colour. Towards the back of the group of eggs she glimpsed something blue.
Maria picked her way through the Grendel eggs and picked up the object
that had caught her eye. It was a Norn egg, no doubt laid here by mistake
and then abandoned by panicking parents. She held it to her ear and listened.
She could feel a faint movement within. But would it hatch? She took the
submarine to the incubator to find out.
Maria pressed a button on the incubator
to open the door. She placed the egg inside and shut the door, gathering
some food and toys while she waited for the egg to hatch. A relatively
long time later, the door popped open. A tiny green Norn crawled out and
made its way over to Maria. “Em foo da?” said the tiny creature. Maria
decided to call her (she could tell it was female by the ears) Em. Em crawled
over to a wedge of cheese and picked it up. She sniffed it and threw it
into the pond. Maria laughed. She picked up another piece of cheese and
brought it to Em. “Em food” she said to the little Norn. “Em eat food,”
Maria said, demonstrating. “Food yes”. “Em food yes?” asked Em, picking
up a wedge of cheese and eyeing it suspiciously. Then she took a bite.
Her little face broke into a grin “Em food yes!!” she exclaimed, already
scrambling for another piece. Maria smiled as she watched the Norn eat
through the pile of cheese. Soon the Baby Norn was fast asleep in front
of the computer. “Em sleep yes,” said Maria softly. The she lay down
next to Em and shut her eyes, snoring lightly as she slept.
To be continued?
I wouldn't count on it :)
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