A New Discovery
The sound of metal colliding with metal was all that could be heard near the castle’s front doors-along with numerous grunts,helps and growls.
Marcy, now 11, was currently engaged in what was now an hour long sword fight with General Yunan, the very salamander who had found her in the forests those many years ago.
King Andrias, believing the root of Marcy’s problems to be her low self confidence, had decided that having Yunan teach her how to sword fight and stand up for herself could be beneficial to her-help her build confidence and character. Plus if the inhabitants of Amphibia knew that their monarch knew how to fight-they might have a bit more confidence in Marcy as a leader.
For the first few lessons-which were held daily before lunch-Marcy hadn’t exactly….. done the best.
She tripped over her own feet, dropped her sword, misaimed,she even accidentally threw the sword,which almost flew into and could possibly have killed a passing royal patrol guard.
However-the lessons had actually been working.
As weeks passed,Marcy began to find herself overcoming her meekness and learning how to fight properly-Thanks to Yunan’s instructions,encouragement and help-had started feeling a bit more confident in herself now that she could actually fight without tripping and falling every ten seconds.
She jumped back, staring at Yunan, sword clenched in hand. She waited for Yunan to make her next move,the salamander sneaking around her like a big cat.
Just as she saw Yunnan’s foot shift closer, she lunged at her,their swords colliding and clashing against each other once again. Yunan spun around,letting their swords fly free for a split second before colliding again, Marcy thrown back an inch before lunging at her again.The tip of Marcy’s sword grazed Yunan’s chest, the armor squealing as the tip of the blade scratched it’s surface.Yunnan jumped back, then charged again, swords clashing as Marcy blocked every lunge and swung the salamander made at her.
Eventually,after many lunges,jumps,and turns-Marcy struck Yunan’s hand,the salamander dropping her sword in surprise. Marcy pointed her sword right in the General’s face, staring at the small, pale scratch she’d left on Yunan’s plackart.She wondered if Yunan would be upset...
After a few moments of them being frozen in place,Marcy moved back,putting her sword back in it’s sheath. Yunan chuckled,picking up her sword and giving Marcy an impressed smile.
“That was some of the best fighting I’ve seen you do thus far!Had it been an actual battle you might’ve been able to take me down!”
“You mean it? Thank you! I’m sorry about your armor..”
“Bah! It’s nothing! Nothing the blacksmith can’t fix or replace….Be proud that you did that, cuz I am…”
Marcy smiled softly.It wasn’t often that people told her to be proud of herself…..
The general sheathed her sword,sighing.
”You’re doing well,Lady Marcy....And I have no doubt you’ll do even better tomorrow with all the effort you’ve been putting in...”
Marcy smiled wider, rubbing the back of her neck as she walked over to the palace doors. She enjoyed the lessons-not just because she actually felt strong and capable of doing something right while she was sword fighting-but because she genuinely liked General Yunan.
She was everything Marcy wanted to be- Strong,confident,brave, successful, respected, and besides that, she was one of the few people who didn’t look at Marcy like she was some kind of wild animal or annoying problem.
She saw Marcy as a challenge-a student that she could teach and try and make into one of the greatest warriors there ever was-although Yunnan did have to remind herself at times that Marcy was Andrias’s successor, not hers-she was just training the girl in combat and swordsmanship.
Nevertheless, Yunnan was a proud teacher-Seeing Marcy grow and thrive,get more confident with every victory and learn from every mistake and slip up-it gave her a sense of fulfillment that was almost equal to the feeling of victory in an important battle.
”Thanks.......I’m glad I’ve been able to im-WHOA!”
As soon as Marcy had opened the front palace door,she’d tripped and fallen, falling flat on her face with an annoyed groan.
Unfortunately, after her chronic clumsiness still plagued her and made her trip,fall and sustain a new bruise or cut every day, even with the lessons helping her become less accident prone and less oblivious to her surroundings.
She got back up, brushing herself off as Yunan sighed,examining the cut Marcy had left on her plackart….an easy fix, and if not King Andrias was always willing to supply his general with new, stronger armor.
As they walked into the main courtyard, an absolutely ungodly loud shriek pierced their ears.It resonated through the air, then another demonic shriek followed it.
Marcy, startled yet interested and excited to possibly try out the battle skills she’d acquired- immediately jumped into action,grabbing her sword and running towards the noise-which was coming from outside, near the main front gates in front of the palace.
Yunan immediately bolted after her, panicking.”MARCY!WAIT!” She yelled, ripping her own sword from its sheath and preparing to attack.
Marcy was only just improving-she definitely wasn’t skilled and experienced enough yet to take down potential threats-and if anything happened to her she knew damn well that King Andrias would kill her and have her then gutted, stuffed and mounted above his throne by the next morning.......
Marcy ran out of the gates, running around the outer palace grounds till she saw an enormous cage that had been mounted on a wheeled platform in front of one of the walls,a group of newts in white coats surrounding it as Lady Olivia talked to a particularly tall,red colored newt in a white coat, with huge round glasses obscuring his face.
Marcy grew curious, sheathing her sword and slowly walking over to them,trying to see the creature in the cage.
It was a truly terrifying,ungodly thing-A giant ant, with brightly colored horn-like structures atop its head, bashing against the thick bars of it’s cage.
Marcy was,naturally,terrified......but intrigued as well.
This creature,in all its alien strangeness, fascinated her.
She drew closer to the cage,then jumped in surprise as she felt a hand grab her elbow.
”Wait! Don’t get too close, these brutish things are vicious!”
Marcy turned to see a bespectacled green newt standing behind her, unhanding her and giving her a light smile. The name tag on his white lab coat read , “ Samuel Moss, PhD- Royal Anthropologist and Associate of The Official Board of Science and Environmental Affairs of Amphibia.”
Samuel looked up at the creature, staring at it with both terror and fascination.
Marcy’s eyes reflected the same emotions.
She'd always been intrigued by the wildlife of her strange home, but had never gotten the chance to wander around into the vast Amphibian wetlands, The surrounding sea and beaches and the forests where Yunan had first found the girl while on border area patrol-she was always too busy with her studies or royal lessons. Plus Lady Olivia said it would be “unseemly” for the future ruler to be seen running around in the wilderness .
”Are these........what are these?” She asked,eyeing the beastly thing as it bashed it’s head against the bars of its cage.
“Barbari-Ants- One of the most vicious beasts known to Amphibia.......almost lost my damn arm trying to help the others wrangle the brute.”
Samuel rolled his sleeve up, showing off a heavily bandaged arm.Marcy winced,eyeing the barbari-Ant’s sharp-looking mandibles.
”Why’d you guys capture it?”
”Well, we figured that if we could study them, learn more about them, we can better guard the kingdom from them....and perhaps unlock some potential biological secrets...”
“What kind of biological secrets?”
“We don’t know….that's for us to find out…”
“Samuel! Lady Olivia wishes to speak with you!” One of Samuel’s colleagues called out.Samuel nodded over to him, then looked back at Marcy.
”Well,I must be going….a pleasure to meet you….strange creature yourself, maybe we can study you sometime?”
Marcy shifted, a little uneasy….what did he mean by “study”?
”Uuhh..sure…”
“Oh I’m just teasing! You take care, hope we can see each other again soon.”
He extended his hand, and Marcy, after a sigh of relief knowing that she wasn’t at risk of being studied like a science experiment- took it, exchanging a handshake.
Samuel ave her one last small nod and smile, then over to join his colleagues.
Marcy looked up at the Barbari-Ant, which looked down at her with dark, soulless-looking eyes.
Marcy was fascinated. This creature, this bloodthirsty monster.....what could they possibly learn from it? From studying it?
A few royal guards came through the gates,getting behind the cage and slowly pushing it through the open gates, the barbari-Ant letting out more loud screeches as the scientists followed it.
Marcy followed them slowly, wanting to know more about what they did. Did they work at the palace? Could she visit them after her lessons? What if she could join them???
”Marcy? Marcy!!”
Yunnan called out to her, but Marcy was deaf to her calls, following the group of scientists and their captive beast into a farther part of the castle,reaching a wide metal door at the very back of the palace.One of the scientists pulled a plastic ID card from his coat and slipped it into the ID reader by the door, a small beep sounding and the metal door swinging open,the scientist stepping aside so that the royal guards could usher the caged Barbari-Ant inside, the scientists following, one of them neglecting to close the door fully.
Marcy sprinted over, opening the door and running inside, eager to see this whole new place that she had never seen before, despite having lived in the palace for five whole years...Then again, she wasn’t really allowed to wander around much, and was pretty much confined to her room or the small study room where her lessons where held.
As soon as she stepped inside,she was hit with a rush of freezing cold air. She froze in place, shivering violently, closing her eyes as her body slowly grew used to the sudden drop in temperature.
When she finally adapted to the frigid temperature and opened her eyes,it was as if she’d entered a whole other world.
Tall tanks full of various aquatic creatures, strange machines and shiny metal tables covered in vials,needles and medical equipment surrounded her.The sound of bubbling liquids, birds chirping and squawking, and the Barbari-Ant’s now very faint screeches filled her ears.Chalkboards coated in math equations and x-ray photos coated the walls as if they were wallpaper, and plants of all kinds-ones Marcy had never seen before- were all hanging in clear glass bowls and jars on the ceiling.A huge lamp was in the center on the room, illuminating everything with it’s harsh, bright light.
Marcy slowly walked in further, feeling the cold air flow all around her as if it were water.
The stimuli was overwhelming….and everything was just….. oh so…….
Intriguing!
She’d always loved science, despite not having studied it much outside of her school lessons-and this place was like a magical wonderland of science........An escape from the drab, heavily controlled and damn near joyless life that she’d been forced to live….
She wanted to just stay here, stay in this icy, ethereal world and look at everything and study every little detail about every little thing and-
”MARCY!”
Marcy whipped around, seeing Yunan sanding behind her, arms crossed, looking at her with both annoyance and concern.
”Are you deaf or something? I’ve been calling for you! What are you doing in here?”
”Ah! Sorry General.....just got carried away...” Marcy blushed out of embarrassment.
“ It’s alright, just come when I call you next time..”
Marcy nodded, then continued looking around, resisting the urge to go over and look at every specimen and tool there was.
”Well,c’mon.....let’s go....”
Marcy sighed, about to leave when she spotted Lady Olivia, who was examining a mushroom on a nearby table as a scientist explained what it was and how it could be used.
“One minute…”
She walked over to Lady Olivia,who was now eyeing a bright green pod-like object that was contained in a glass cube.
”Lady Olivia?”
Olivia turned, looking at her, eyes widening.
”Lady Marcy?What brings you here? Did the King send you?”
“No! No....I was just wondering what this place is..”
”Royal laboratory, I’m surprised you didn’t know about it sooner!”
“King Andrias never showed me....and you won’t let me wander...” She said, looking around.
Lady Olivia sighed, looking up at the many plants hanging from the ceiling.
”It is an astounding place,isn’t it? You wouldn’t have thought Amphibia could hold these kinds of beasts and organisms....”
“It’s amazing.....A whole new world..”” Marcy replied breathily, immersed in the wonder of the place.
She wanted to see everything in the lab. EVERYTHING. She wanted to look at every creature and plant and fungus and learn all she could about them.
”...Lady Olivia? Can I.....come down here?”
Olivia raised an eyebrow, considering this question.
“Well...If the King gives you his permission, and it doesn’t interfere with your lessons, and the scientists don’t mind your presence...”
She sounded hesitant, Marcy’s clumsiness obviously at the front of her mind.
Marcy sighed, knowing that she was probably taking her clumsy nature into consideration.
”.....I’ll be very careful,I promise...”
Lady Olivia sighed.She still wasn’t sure if Marcy should be visiting and interfering with the scientist’s work…
”If her ladyship wishes to visit and view our work from time to time, we wouldn’t mind!” One scientist said, smiling at Marcy.
Marcy smiled back, looking at Olivia, who still looked hesitant.
”.....Ask King Andrias....”
Marcy immediately bounded out of the lab, running off to go look for Andrias, smiling wide.
”Hey! Marcy! Where in the name of Frog are you going now?” Yunan yelled, walking out of the lab.
”King Andrias! I need to ask him something!”
“Ask him what??”
Marcy didn’t answer her. She went sprinting to the front entrance of the palace, accidentally running into the front door and sustaining a large bruise on her forehead before running inside, smiling from ear to ear.
Lady Olivia sighed, watching the young human run inside.
”I will never understand that girl....” She said,shaking her head.
”Me neither.....wanna go into town and grab a pint or two from the Abalone Inn?” Yunan asked,turning to the shorter newt.” Or...perhaps you’d be more partial to a few glasses of wine and millipede wellington at that swanky restaurant near the Hemisphere Hotel?”
”...Actually, The Abalone sounds nice,actually...,” Olivia said.
“Shall I escort you out, m’lady?” Yunan bowed to her, extending her arm.
Lady Olivia rolled her eyes, taking her arm, then walking with the armored salamander out the palace gates and into town, Olivia wondering all the while what in the world the human girl could possibly want to do in the lab.