In the dark, Audriana waited. And waited. And then, she waited some more. Waiting was something she had become really good at and darkness had long since become her friend. She was convinced that she could now see better in the dark than the cook’s cat ever had.
To pass the time, she picked up one of the toy soldiers that lay about her and started polishing his shield with the hem of her dress. It was a very pretty, summery dress. If it hadn’t been quite so dark, you could’ve made out that it was a creamy sort of white, embroidered with tiny pink roses. Delicate lace lined the collar and sleeves. It was the kind of dress you could imagine a little princess wearing for some leisure activity that didn’t require the strict protocol of the Court – like going for a picnic with her elder sisters or maybe accompanying her father on a hunt. It would have been a fitting thought to have – for Audriana was a princess.
In the dark, the shield of the toy soldier glimmered from the thorough polishing. Audriana had gone very methodically about her task, and with infinite patience. No one could these days accuse her of being rash and impatient. The soldier was cautiously peeking above his shield and had his sword raised in a defensive gesture. He looked very realistic. Audriana eyed his armor critically. She rather liked this one. The tiny armor bore intricate designs, indicating that the soldier might have been, if not noble, at least rich. It was a piece of her collection in which she took pride.
Satisfied with the result of her inspection, she set him down and turned toward the rest of the toys strewn about. He would need a worthy opponent. For a moment she considered a Barbarian with a horned helmet and savage looking garments (She thought it might have been bison skins because of the long hair, but she wasn’t sure. She had never seen a bison before.), but quickly discarded the idea. His build and clothes were impressive, but he had a clearly terrified look on his face and seemed ready to turn tail and run. That didn’t really make for a worthy opponent.
Audriana idly toyed with a dairy maid that looked like taken out of a picture storybook, complete with pretty white bonnet and long blond piggy tails. She was covering her mouth with both hands and the pails she was carrying lay at her feet, milk splattered over her pretty shoes. They seemed to be her town shoes, like she was on her way to a Sunday market or maybe a Spring Fair. Audriana considered placing her behind the toy soldier, so that he would seem to be protecting her from whatever monster they had encountered, but in the end didn’t. She had played that scene out one too many times and had gotten bored with the dairy damsel in distress story.
Finally, she found what she was looking for. She picked up the figure of an ugly troll, almost twice as tall as the soldier. This was the opponent she was looking for. He had a dumb looking face, but the eyes were masterfully painted to show a spark of malice. His skin was dark green, like marsh ferns, and covered in warts. His arms, hanging down to his knees, were bulging with muscles. One oversized hand dragged a spiked club behind him and the other held a pair of hares by their ears. Audriana arranged the animal skins covering his loins, then took out a tiny, tiny brush from a wooden box and proceeded to brush them and the hares. When all dust was removed from the clothes and the hares looked like fresh kill, she placed the troll in front of the toy soldier. Yes, this would do nicely.
***
The wooden planks of the bridge creaked and groaned in protest under the weight of the creature. It moved slowly, setting one foot in front of the other carefully. Its head swiveled on its neck, allowing its red shimmering eyes to take in its surroundings. A few chunks of dried clay from its neck got dislodged and clattered onto the wooden bridge.
That was the problem with golem messengers – they always got damaged in the blazing heat when crossing the Sun Plains. They were sturdy and reliable fellows, created through complicated and powerful magic and nearly indestructible. However, not even the most expensive of golems (and this one certainly seemed to rank among them) came even close to the ones created by the rabbis of old. Weathering wore them down and they couldn’t simply reform like their legendary cousins. A crumbled golem these days remained crumbled.
The creature stared for a few moments at the bits of clay, then set about its way. Losing them didn’t really hurt, for a golem couldn’t feel pain. But it tugged at the magic that was animating it, as it was ordered to reach its destination in a good enough condition to deliver its message. It had done its best to fulfil its Master’s bidding to take shelter from the sun whenever it could.
However, the Master had also clearly impressed upon it that delivering the message on time took precedence over any other command. The cost of a golem was nothing compared to the ravages of the drought. So two weeks after it had set out, it was relentlessly marching day and night, even while crossing the dry expanse of the Sun Plains. The instructions were clear after all, and a golem had no choice but to follow them.
Leaving the bridge and the dried out creek it crossed behind, on and on it plodded, raising a little cloud of dust every time it set one if its chunky feet on the dry road. Having ascertained that the bridge it had just crossed was not the one its Master had mentioned, it increased its pace and was soon lost on the horizon within a cloud of yellowish dust and a faint thumping noise.
***
Audriana rose from where she had sat crouched on the ground and wiped her hands clean of dust. She then smoothed the creases of her dress and reached for the wooden box on the ground. She peered inside and selected a wand from the assembled treasures there. After a moment’s hesitation, she also took out a pink tiara, the same color as the rose pattern on her dress, and placed it on her head. After considering the wand for a while, she nodded happily to herself, as it sprouted some pink rose blossoms on one end. It was a full moon after all, she might as well put a little of her royal heritage on display.
The faint thudding was drawing nearer. Audriana smiled and skipped to a little pool of water where she admired her reflection. A little barefoot princess wearing a pretty lacy dress and holding a rose tipped wand like a scepter smiled back at her. Giddy with excitement, she did a little pirouette, then made for the cave entrance. A rustle like wind through dry leaves went through the scattered toys on the ground.
“Oh, shush you”, she giggled and went out into the moonlit night.
***
The golem slowed down as it heard the rushing of water over stones. Visible cracks ran all over its head, neck and torso. It had shed a lot more chunks of clay from its outer layer since the first bits had fallen off three days ago. The irregularities of its once smooth body were even more evident under the merciless shine of the full moon. Its strength however hadn’t waned and its eyes shimmered red as brightly as ever. The magic that had willed it into existence also urged it on relentlessly.
The turning of its head was accompanied by a dry creaking. As it approached the bridge, it took in the stone arch spanning the riverbed. Even here, so far from the Sun Plains, signs of the drought were all too apparent. Only a trickle of water skipped over and around the boulders on the bottom of the riverbed. Even though it was not the tumultuous river its Master had mentioned, the golem was certain that this was the bridge it had been warned about.
Thumping on, the golem was cautiously approaching the foot of the bridge when it stopped dead in its tracks. It had spotted a faint pink glimmer on the other side of the bridge. Had it been able to feel anything, it would have identified its feeling as bewilderment. As that was not the case, it was merely standing still, arms hanging limply by its side, the moonlight playing upon the cracks on its body. The glimmer came from a raised wand. Underneath it, a small girl was perched barefoot on a flat boulder in the middle of the riverbed.
***
Audriana raised herself on tiptoes. Sometimes, being small came in very handy, like when she found the little entrance to the cave that was her shelter. Other times, such as now, it annoyed her to no end. Nevertheless, she smiled sweetly at the creature.
“Have you come to play with me?”, she asked.
The creature didn’t answer. It didn’t move either. This puzzled Audriana somewhat. It was not how these encounters usually played out. Figuring that the lumbering hulk must be hard of hearing – no wonder, since it was so tall – she asked again, a little louder.
“Have you come to play with me?”
The golem looked at the child and remained silent. After all, golems cannot talk. And even if it could, it would not know what to answer. It was to deliver its Master’s message. Should it encounter the Bridge Troll that had, according to rumors, taken residence under this bridge, it was to either smash or outrun it, making sure it got away in time to deliver its Master’s message.
“I am a Princess, you know…”, Audriana said, with a hint of her old impatience in her voice.
The golem lifted its right foot off the ground. A Princess was not a troll. It had no orders regarding Princesses, so it should be about its way. With a loud thud, its foot came down in precisely the same spot from where it had lifted it. The golem looked down. It then raised its left foot and tried to take a step. Thud, it came down. Right foot; left foot. The golem was marching in place. After a couple more attempts, it stopped stomping and looked up again.
A smiled had crept back on Audriana’s face. Her raised wand shimmered brightly.
“I am a Princess. So you must do as I say. Everybody must do as I say!”
The golem stood, unmoving. Its magic compelled it to march on, but for the first time since its creation, that magic proved powerless.
“Come here!”, the little Princess beckoned, once again smiling sweetly.
When the creature failed to comply, she stomped her bare foot on the boulder. Bright pink sparks flew from the wand.
“I told you to come here!”
Creaking pitifully, the golem ambled a step toward her. Its head turned toward the road. There lay the path it must follow. It could see it, across the bridge, snaking into the distance – a clear road ahead underneath the moonlight. Without meaning to, it took another step toward the girl instead.
Audriana waited patiently, a little girl bathed in pink light standing out in the frosty blue landscape. She was thankful for the aid of the full moon as she concentrated on overcoming the powerful magic she felt emanating from the huge clay creature in front of her. But the magic she wielded, that was the oldest magic of them all. The Rules that governed crossings and crossroads had been laid out long before people had walked the lands. The Toll was her sacred claim as part of the deal she had made with the old troll.
Slowly, as if resisting every step, the huge creature drew nearer. Bits of dried clay lay scattered behind it and its gaze was still riveted on the road it had followed upon its Master’s bidding.
A little cry of triumph escaped Audriana’s lips when the creature stopped in front of her. This one would be a crowning piece in her collection. None had escaped her so far. Not even those who had too late realized the truth. Ever since she had made the deal, everyone had stayed to play with her when she had told them to. The soldier, the dairy maid, the Barbarian. Even the old, dumb troll.
Smiling, Audriana bent to pick up a figurine of a cracked clay golem. Its eyes were sparkling a vivid red in its turned head. Toying with it, the little Princess headed toward the entrance to her hideout. This new toy would alleviate her boredom for a while. Though she still rather hoped that one day, a hunting king would join the pile of playing companions in her cave.
