[b]Miriam, Chapter 28: The God of Aspiration[/b]

The staircase had become thinner as they went down it, the rows of sturdy, mashed together houses seemed to hang above their heads in twisted, distorted angles. Walter strolled a few paces before Miriam, taking the occasional turn through some criss-crossed street. She had grown somewhat accustomed to the impossible sky and improbable space around her and could focus her attention on the vague wizard instead. 
	"So who are you. Really?" She asked, casually rolling her once broken arm in further attempts to assure herself it was now perfectly healthy.
	"Just an old coot trying to fix things, I'm afraid." Walter replied, tracing the steps of some invisible pathfinder he had while absently not looking back at Miriam.
	"So you're not going to tell me." Miriam concluded drolly.
	"Precisely." Said Walter gaily. "This way."And he went down another set of stairs. They'd been gradually descending and Miriam noticed that the further down they went the more claustrophobic the streets became.
	"Alright. Then what about these... ancestors of mine? You said they'd made a deal with this spirit we're looking for?" Miriam frowned, asking these questions bothered her. The fact that she had to ask for Walter to explain, and the fact that she cared enough to do so to begin with.
	"I said that, Miriam. Because it is the plain truth. A very long time ago the forefathers of your blood made a pact with this spirit. I had been looking for people of your... lineage... For some time already when I came across you in that cabin." Walter pondered something, then added quite glumly. "Twists of Fate, I suppose." And he sighed.
Miriam murmured and shifted her lips in general irritation. She made a turn as Walter did and they passed beneath an arch. Going further down.
	"And [b]my[/b] magic?" She asked.
	"Also like I told you before, dear. Because of your family's lineage you keep a certain strength that others do not. It must have activated automatically when you were in mortal peril."
	"I've been in 'mortal peril' before." Miriam sarcastically imitated the wizard.
	"Another mystery to the list, then." Walter chuckled and shrugged. "Ah - We're here." He pointed as they turned another corner. Miriam stopped in her tracks to observe the building; It was round, whereas most other buildings were square with pointed roofs this one was a dome with a brass colour that stuck out of the ordinary mesh of gray buildings and black sky that had surrounded them so far. The buildings was twice as large as the regular house and stood solitary in a square which made it seem more important than the honestly simple architecture would allow. Miriam however, who had never seen a building of any real grandness beyond ancient ruins and Monarch's rise from far away thought the brass dome to be quite appealing to the eye. Very homely, she concluded. The wizard and the huntress stopped in front of this building, looked up at it and then back to one another.
	"So... What do you need me to do?" The huntress asked.
	"Just step inside. And get me something." Answered the Wizard.
	"Get you what?" Asked Miriam. Confused and irate.
	"You'll know when you see it." Said Walter, condescending and patronizing. 
Miriam groaned but earned no sympathy from Walter whom simply ushered her forward toward the large wood door. When arriving at the entrance Miriam spared a brief moment to inspect it. It was made of a dark wood and it looked not only thick but without a handle of any kind. Miriam puffered a breath up at her raggedy bangs, which shone a faint blue as well, and she tried pressing her hand against the door. Noticing the door wasn't dark coloured but rather covered completely by ash she frowned, thoughts again straying to the cataclysm that must once have happened here. There was a sudden creak, by simply touching the door it seemed Miriam had opened it and she skipped back two steps while the door was slowly grinding its way open. She looked back to Walter who spared her a smile and then again airily gestured her forward. Miriam groaned and stepped inside. 

It was dark at first, pitch black, in fact and once Miriam had walked inside she looked back; Noticing the door was shut again without her even taking notice of it moving. She sighed and turned forward. Blinking a few times in the darkness. There was a sound, a sort of wooshing whistle and suddenly a light appeared out of the ceiling. Illuminating the center of the dome building. There was a circular base in the center and upon it stood a pedestal, covered with a cloth. Miriam shrugged and assumed the pedestal to hold whatever Walter wanted her to retrieve. With a few wary steps she approached it, looking around served little purpose. The edges of the room were still shrouded in darkness and it reminded her of the manor in the ruined town and the undead noble. She frowned at the thought but then shook it out of her head. She'd appeared before the pedestal. Stopping and blinking her dry eyes she scratched her thick hair and then brought her hand forward. Wiping the cloth off. She blinked. The bird blinked. It had turned its neck to face her and now looked at her with wide, amber eyes. The fowl moved its talons on the wooden perch where it sat inside the dome shaped cage that stood on the pedestal and now faced her completely. Miriam opened her mouth.
	"An owl?" She asked in utter disbelief, and her voice echoed through the large, empty hall. "... Owl... Owl... Owl..."
	"Walter dragged me here to get him a damn bird?!" She groaned. "This is unbelievable." And her voice echoed again. "...-Believable... Believable... Believable..."
	"He's going to pay for this. As soon as he brings me back to the real world." Miriam went to grab the handle that hung on the top of the owl's cage. Her voice echoed still. "... Leia... Leia..." Miriam paused. She was certain she hadn't said that. She looked around in silence. Gulped and then decided it'd be best to experiment. 
	"Hello?!" She shouted and waited for her echo. "...Hello... Hello... Hello Miriam." It said. Miriam froze. Her hand clutching the handle of the cage tightly. The fading echo continued as long as it was bouncing between walls.
	"... Miriam... Evening... Twilight... Midnight..."
	"Stop that!" Miriam shouted. "...That... That... Which you do not understand... That... That which you own..." The echo was making its own sentences with [b]her[/b] voice!
Miriam clutched the handle of the owl's cage and quickly turned, running briskly back toward the door. The heels of her shoes clicked against the parapet floor. "Click-clack... Click-clack... Cling... King... King's Blood... King's Wayward soul..." 
Miriam panted, terrified at this point. She ran to the door and pressed against it. The fowl made no objection or sound in its cage. Miriam couldn't find a knob or handle on the door. She pushed and grunted.
	"Nnh...! ... No... Know... Know your Fate... Know your right..." The sound echoed. Still in her own voice.
	"WALTER. OPEN THE DOOR. WALTER!" Miriam banged her free hand against the door. "... Walter..." Her voice echoed. "...Walter... Andalus... Traitor... Rebel... Usurper..."
Miriam felt the echo whisper over her shoulder, she banged against the door. Feeling her eyes dampening and her heart pounding. She resolved not to say anything more and instead slid down with her shoulder against the door until she fell against the ground. She put the cage next to her and the owl turned its head to look at her. Tilting it one way, then the other. Miriam blinked sadly and inhaled to combat the tears beneath her eyelids. The bird ruffled its feathers idly. Then hooted once. "Hoo'!" 
Miriam gasped in fright.
	"Hoo'..." It echoed. "Hoo'... Who.. Are you... Who..."