The Escape

Aunora's instinct had been correct. The path led into a thin, narrow passage, but she could see small traces of light at the end of the tunnel.

She trudged carefully but steadily, weary of knocking her unconscious rider off her back. The muscles on her scale-covered back had a strange tingle to them, as Aunora wasn't used to being ridden. It was slightly unpleasant, but that was the least of her concerns.

Her hind leg, the broken one, had the agonizing tendency to buckle and shift, throwing off her balance and gait. She gritted her fangs, muttering demonic curses under her breath as she stumbled over a rock.

The walls and ceiling of the tunnel rubbed against her sides and the tip of her horn, and her breathing started to speed up. Aunora hated tight spaces such as this, they made her feel antsy.

The demon horse's sharp hooves left grooves in the soft, cold soil of the ground, and Aunora shifted her focus to them. She could barely think straight, hunger, pain, and fear swirling together in a numbing mix of emotion that left her ears ringing. Aunora was surprised she was still standing.

The mouth of the cavern crept ever closer, giving Aunora a short burst of energy. She narrowed her blurry, fading vision, and she could see the heavenly expanse of pure white outside.

Gasping for breath, she surged out of the slender tunnel, landing in the soft, powdery snow. She almost collapsed, but she knew that if she did, she wouldn't rise again.

Aunora feverishly trudged through several feet of snow, the cold numbing her legs and making it even more difficult to walk. She raised her head, getting a scope of her surroundings.

The cave had spit them out in a different part of the mountain valley, but one thing was distinctly recognizable: the path that led to the village. It was cleared of snow and paved with tiny stones. It was a simple sight, promising a treacherous hike to the elves, but it was nonetheless a godsend to the tired demon horse. It meant that her journey would end soon.

Aunora broke into a uneven gallop, hope fueling her undaunted cries. It never crossed her mind that wild animals would flock to her noise, all she was worried about was attracting help. Her shattered bones screamed in agony, the bone shooting further out of the skin. A wave of hot blood leaked from the wound, but Aunora had become deaf to the pleas of her body.

"Umbra, you hanging in there?" she shouted, throwing her head back. Her eyes avoided her wounds, staring at Umbra. His form moved lifelessly with every jolt in Aunora's gait.

No answer. Aunora hadn't expected him to. He was close to succumbing to hypothermia. No warmth secreted from his body, it was like carrying a corpse on her back.

That morbid thought stung in her mind, and she shrugged off the possibility that Umbra could be dead. She didn't even want to consider it.

She saw it, up on the horizon. It was the beginning of the path, that opened up to the elven clearing.

She had made it.

Aunora whinnied with relief, her efforts had no been in vain.

She was on the final stretch, but the pain and exhaustion was becoming unbearable. Black spots clotted her vision dangerously, making her stagger. Breathing began to become difficult, and the world spun around her in a blur of white and grey.

No, no! I can't give up now! Tears sprang to her eyes as she swayed weakly. I'm so close!

With a wet snap, her back leg buckled entirely, and she fell to the ground. Aunora's head smacked into the snow, and she descended into the cold darkness of sleep.

Author's Note- let aunora be happy 2k16