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Description
Part Two

Lost

Gwen shot awake, gasping with surprise as loud shouting in a language they didn’t know erupted around them, echoing. Kara was wide awake and looking as scared and surprised as she did. The fairies that had been sleeping around them when they fell asleep had disappeared; most likely they had retreated back into the hole from which they had came from. “What was that?” Gwen asked, her voice a terrified squeak. Kara just shook her head, unable to make out any words. More shouting rang out around them and Gwen crawled over to Kara.
The ground shook with, what they supposed was the impact of the
beast’s feet, and because of the quick jolts, they could tell it was running. The girls looked at each other, terrified. A beast then turned the corner and came into view. The beast was what appeared to be half horse, half man. A centaur. When he spotted them, he reared up onto his back legs. The girls sat, unable to move.
“Who are you two?” He said, calmly landing back down on the ground. He walked over to them slowly, as if he cared if he frightened them. “W-well, I’m Kara.” Said Kara, staring at him intently. “And this is Gwen.” She said, motioning to Gwen with her head.
“Kara! Don’t talk to him!” Gwen said shrilly, not really thinking it through before she blurted it out. She then became quiet and looked at the centaur nervously, waiting to see if he’d punish her for her insolence. The centaur just smiled. “Why wouldn’t you want to talk to me, young lady? I mean no harm to you.” Gwen blushed with embarrassment.
The centaur lowered himself into a laying position as a peace offering. The girls relaxed as he did. “Where do you two come from?” He said gently.
“The village not too far from here. It’s called Torton.” Kara said, glancing at Gwen.
“Torton?” The centaur said, looking puzzled. “I’ve never heard of such a village and I’ve been to every village around here.” Gwen looked at Kara.
“Well it is nearby. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it, it’s one of the trading capitals of the world.” Kara said, standing up and brushing bits off of grass and dirt off of the skirt of her dress. Gwen stood up and tugged on Kara’s arm a bit. Kara turned to her.
“Kara, I think we’re a lot farther from home then we think. I mean, last night I thought I was just tired, but I couldn’t find the North Star.” Gwen said, biting on her bottom lip.
“What do you mean?” Kara said nervously. Instead of answering her, Gwen turned to the centaur. “Excuse me sir, could you tell us were we are?”
The centaur smiled kindly. “Certainly, Miss. You’re in the Labyrinth of Wings. Fairy territory.”
Gwen looked at Kara. “We didn’t go too far, Kara. I’m sure if we were home, people would have known of this place.”
“What are you saying?” Kara insisted again.
“Basically, we’re a long way from Kansas, Dorothy.”
Kara turned away from Gwen and back to the centaur. “Mister Centaur, do you think you could be so kind to take us to the entrance of this labyrinth?”
The centaur stood up. “I suppose I have the time to do that, Miss. Hop aboard!” He said, lowering one leg so they could climb up. “Oh, and call me Kallistor.”Kara curtsied,
“Thank you very much, Kallistor.” She walked over to Kallistor and climbed onto his back. She motioned to Gwen to do the same. Gwen walked over to him nervously, but she too, climbed onto his back.
"We'll be there in a jiffy, Ladies. Hold on tight now!" exclaimed Kallistor, turning to the labrinyth. Kara wrapped her arms around His neck and Gwen held onto Kara's waist. Kallistor then started galloping through the hedges. Gwen caught glimpses here and there of other centaurs and even more fairies during their short trip. Kallistor ran for a little longer, then Kara could see the entrance; her heart leapt. It wasn't the place they came in. Kallistor lowered himself down a bit so that the girls could get down easily.
Kara landed softly on the ground. "Kallistor, this isn't right. This isn't the way we came in. There should be another entrance. A door." She said, sounding a little panicky.
"Door? There's no door in the labrinyth, Miss." He said, looking at her curiously.
"But I've been through it a million times!" She said, raising her voice a bit.
"I've been down every passageway in that there labrinyth, Miss Kara. I've made maps of it. In all this time, I've never came across a door." He said, sympathetically.
Kara looked at Gwen frightened, then turned from the labrinyth and looked straight ahead. The flowers looked just like the ones that were in front of the door they had entered through. A worn path was laid out in front of them. Kara turned to Kallistor. "Where does this path lead?" Kara asked as Gwen stepped next to her.
"Semptra." Kallistor said, turning back to the labrinyth. "My village. You'll be welcome there." He then reared up onto his back legs and took off at full speed. Kara looked at Gwen.
"I guess we should start walking." She said, sighing. Gwen suddenly burst into tears, and Kara stood shocked by Gwen's sobs. "Gwen! What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What do you mean what's wrong?! Here we are, in a different world. I have no idea how for away from home we really are. We're stuck in the middle of no where and all we can do is start walking down this path to a strange town! And you know what, Kara? It's all your fault!" She said, shouting the last part directly to Kara and turning away angrily, continuing to cry. Kara wrapped her arms comfortly around Gwen's shoulders.
"Gwen, I didn't mean to get us into this mess. I promise I'll get us out, though. We'll be home in no time." Kara said, smiling a bit to cheer her friend up. Gwen didn't respond and kept crying, only not as hard as she was seconds ago. "Come on, Gwen. Cheer up! Crying will not help one bit. Let's just get going, maybe someone can help us in that village."
Gwen sighed and lifted her face from her hands. There were tears stains down her cheeks, and she didn't bother to wipe them away. She silently began walking down the path, not saying a word to Kara. Kara sighed and caught up to her.

********

They walked slowly, neither of them saying a word for the longest time. Kara turned to Gwen while keeping her pace. "Are you going to hate me forever?" She said, sadly. Gwen stared forward for a minute and then stopped walking. Kara stopped a couple steps ahead.
"No, I'm not going to stay mad at you forever." She said, shuffling her feet a little bit, and staring at the ground as if really interested in the flower next to her foot. "I couldn't do that to my best friend." She looked up, smiling a little. Kara sighed happily.
"I'm sorry, Gwen. I really didn't mean to get us in this predicament."
"I know. Friends forgive."
Kara smiled sheepishly. "Good. Don't worry, Gwen. I promise you, I will find us a way to get home. One way or another."
Gwen grinned, "You always do, Kara." They continued slowly down the path again. "Well, it isn't that bad out here, anyways. It's sunny, warm and really pretty."
"I know, I've never seen flowers like this before; they're beautiful!"
Gwen smiled and leaned down to pick a pink, sparkling flower. She had just touched it when it shuddered and cried out in fright. Gwen gasped and fell back onto the path. "Hey there! What do you think you're doin'? Are you trying to kill me?" yelled the flower angrily.
Gwen's mouth fell open. "Well I -- I didn't know that -- You're a flower!"
"Nothing gets passed you, now does it?" Said the flower, shaking its petal-rimmed head. Kara helped Gwen up, her mouth also hanging open in surprise.
"Close your mouth, dear. It's rude to leave it open like that." Said a purple glitter flower behind them. Kara and Gwen looked at each other, closing their mouths as they did.
"We're sorry," Kara said, "Back at our home, flowers don't usually talk and move like you do. We just didn't know."
"Didn't know? Well now you do!" shouted the pink flower.
"Settle down, Cort." The purple flower said gently. "No need to be mean to these girls. They meant no harm."
Cort shook his head again, and said nothing. The purple flower sighed, sending some pollen out in front of it. "I apologize for him. He's just a little cranky flower."
"I'm not little." He blurted out.
"Mhmm, anyways, where are you off to, ladies?" The purple flower said pleasantly.
"Semptra. It's supposed to be a village no too far from here." Kara said, smiling at the purple flower.
"Ah yes! The centaur village! You'll like it there."
"Psht, I hate the centaur village." Cort chimed in.
"You've never been there!"
"Neither have you, Miss smarty pants!" Cort said, shaking his petaled head.
"For your information, I was grown there." The purple flower said, fluffing up her petals with one of her leaves. "So, like I said, girls, you'll like it there."
Kara curtsied and smiled. "Why thank you, umm, ma'am. I appreciate your kindness." The purple flower made a bowing motion.
"You're very welcome, dear. It's nice to talk to someone as charming as you every once and a while."
"Now if you don't mind, we must be on our way." Kara said, grabbing Gwen by the elbow.
"Not at all dear, have a pleasant walk!" The purple flower said, waving a leaf as Cort snorted in disgust.
"And don't try to murder any more of our kind!" Cort called out after them, causing them to pick up their pace.
Kara and Gwen slowed down after they decided they had distanced themselves enough away from the flowers. Gwen exhaled a sigh. "I don't like this place, Kara. It's weird."
Kara glanced to her side at Gwen. "It's just a little different. I like it; you'll get used to it." Gwen stopped dead in her tracks.
"Get used to it? We're not staying here long enough for me to 'get used to it', Kara. We're leaving today."
"You know as well as I do that may not be possible."
Gwen scowled at Kara and then looked at the ground, knowing she was right. "I miss home."
"Me too. Come on, we're almost there."
They could see the tops of the small misshapen houses of Semptra. The roofs looked thatched but surprisingly well made for people with four hooved legs. As they drew nearer they could see the hustle and bustle of the village's midday as it neared noon. The market place seemed to be placed at the edge of the town as it was skirted with lines of booths that seemed to go quite a distance into town. All the booths had a centaur working behind it. The girls walked a little bit farther and came to the first booth at the very end of the village. The booth was a bakery booth, filled with bread and pasteries, although they couldn't recognize them. The centaur working behind the booth did not notice the two young girls standing in front of him. He was too absorbed in his paper. Gwen and Kara stared at the food hungrily. They had eaten anything since lunch yesterday and didn't know how hungry they were until now.
Gwen leaned over to Kara. "Are you sure we can eat this stuff. I mean what if we die from them?" she whispered in her ear.
"They look harmless to me." Kara blurted out, louder than she intended. The centaur looked up at them.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He blinked a couple times, "Hey! You're... human, right?" he said, tilting his head.
"Yep." Kara said, smiling brightly causing him to return the smile.
"Well girls, interested in something here? I've got the best baked goods in the entire city!" He said proudly.
Gwen and Kara stared at the bread hungrily. Kara pointed to a large loaf of baked white bread. "That one."
The centaur smiled. "Good choice! That'll be 7 pruts."
"Pruts" Kara said, looking at Gwen.
"Of course. 7 pruts. You didn't think you'd be gettin' it for free, now did you?"
"Well I--"
"What, don't you have any money?"
"No sir."
"Well get on then! This ain't no charity, miss."
Kara and Gwen backed away from the booth as the centaur angrily went back to his paper. Kara sighed loudly as Gwen started to pout.
"Now what are supposed to do, Kara? I'm absolutely starving!"
"We'll find something to eat. Stop pouting."
Gwen sniffed back tears.
"Girls are you hungry?" said a kind female voice from behind them and Kara and Gwen spun around. "I apologize for Tarik, he's just a little grumpy." she said, smiling. "How would you two like some soup?" Kara grinned and started to walk over to the woman's booth, but Gwen grabbed her arm before she could.
"How do we know we can trust her?" Gwen said, looking over in her direction nervously.
"You don't trust anyone. You're hungry, arn't you?"
"Yes but I--"
"Well then let's go."
Gwen sighed and reluctantly followed her friend over to the booth. The woman gestured to the restaurant behind her.
"Come on in, ladies."
Kara and Gwen followed the woman into the restaurant. It was warm inside. Despite it being a decent temperature outside, there was a small fire glowing in the corner of the restaurant in a stone fireplace. There were round tables of polished wood accompanied by matching chairs scattered throughout the restaurant, and a couple booths lined the walls by the windows.
"Have a seat, girls, and I'll go get you your soup." She smiled warmly and turned to the kitchen. Kara walked over to a booth and sat down in it. Gwen followed and sat opposite of her, looking around curiously but approvingly. After about five minutes, the woman appeared with a bowl in each hand. Gwen and Kara stared at her hungrily. She set a bowl down in front of each girl.
"Enjoy!" she said cheerfully and headed back towards the kitched. They looked down at their soup. It seemed to be a vegetable soup. They could see carrots, green beans, tomatoes and potatoes floating around in the steaming broth.
"Looks edible to me." Kara said, shrugging and began to eat as Gwen watched her doubtfully. Kara's eyes lit up after a few bites. "Try it!" she exclaimed and started to gulp it down quickly. Gwen smiled and dipped her spoon into the soup. She brought it up to her mouth and tasted it cautiously. She looked up in surprise; it tasted delicious! Probably the best she had ever tasted. She too, started gulping it down. Once both of them were finished, they sat back patting their tummies, full and content. The woman returned after a couple minutes and smiled.
"How did you like it?"
"It was wonderful! The best ever!" Kara exclaimed loudly and the woman laughed bowing down on her front legs a bit, most likely representing a curtsey.
"Thank you so much, girls, I'm glad you enjoyed it. So where you headed to next, have someone to see in this small village of ours?"
"Not exactly, ma'am." said Gwen timidly. "We're kind of lost."
"Lost? So you don't have a place to stay?" She said, her voice filling with concern. Both girls shook their heads at the same time. "Well you can stay here! We have an extra room."
"We wouldn't want to be a bother..." Kara said, starting to slide out of the booth.
"You wouldn't be a bother at all, girls! I would be glad to have you here."
"Well if you're sure, we'd be happy to stay a night."
The door opened and another centaur walked in. It was the centaur that had given them a ride out of the labyrinth; Kallistor. The woman went over to Kallistor and hugged him, smiling.
"Kallis, back already? How much mapping did you get done?" she said, leading him in by the hand. "Oh, these are our guests--"
"Miss Kara and Gwen! Glad to see you found my wife's place. She's the nicest in the whole village." He said, not answering her first question.
"You know them already?" she said, surprised and glancing over toward the girls.
"I gave them a ride out of the labyrinth this morning. I'm hungry."
"There's soup in the kitchen."
Kallistor smiled at the girls and went into the kitchen. "Well girls, I'll take you to the room you can stay in tonight." She turned and started toward a hallway on the other side of the cozy restaurant. Kara gestured to Gwen to stand up and follow her. Gwen stood up and followed Kara as she retreated down the same hallway the woman went down. The woman opened a door and stood back so they could walk in. Kara stepped and and Gwen went in close behind, her hand on her shoulder.
The room was a decent size. There were two twin sized beds against opposite walls. There was a dresser at the left wall and there was an end table at the far end of the room underneath a window.
"Think this will do, girls?" The woman said, smiling. "We kept this room to accompany our human guests. I hope the beds arn't too small."
"No this will be wonderful, ma'am. Thank you so much." Kara said, barely hiding her excitement that she will be sleeping in a warm bed for the night. The woman smiled and noddded, closing the door as she began to walk back down the hallway.
The sun was beginning to set and Gwen yawned sleepily. "Wanna go to bed early?" Kara said, noticing her companion's tiredness. Gwen nodded. Kara went over to the bed on the left wall, pulled back the covers and crawled in. SHe looked over to the opposite wall and saw Gwen had done the same.
"Night, Gwen. Sleep well." Kara yawned.
"Goodnight." And Gwen quickly fell asleep.
Kara smiled. "Night." and she dozed off.

********

Kara woke with a start as a loud scream rung in her ears. She shot up in bed and looked over at Gwen seeing she was just as alarmed. Kara got out bed and went to the window. She gasped and ran over to Gwen, pulling her out of bed.
"What's wrong?" Gwen exclaimed. Kara didn't answer. She pulled her through the hallway and ran out the front door of the restaurant. Heat slapped them both in the face and Kara shielded her eyes from the flames across the street. Kara turned to face her friend and as she did she saw a firey arrow land in the thatched roof of the restaurant. Gwen screamed in horror. Kara numbly grabbed her hand and fleed the way they first came as centaurs galloped in front of them in panic, headed in the same direction.
Kara screamed as she saw one of the centaurs that were causing the panic pick up a centaur child and carry it off while it was screaming for its parents. Kara and Gwen ran down the path a bit and turned right, heading towards a forest not too far away.
They ran until they were safe in the canopy of the trees and the screams and shouts from Semptra sounded distant. Gwen buried her face in her hands.
"Who would do something like that to that village?" She said, sounding muffled.
"I don't know."
Gwen began to sob, her shoulders shaking as she did. Kara wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders and for the first time ever, began to cry with her.

Description
Part Two

Lost

Gwen shot awake, gasping with surprise as loud shouting in a language they didn’t know erupted around them, echoing. Kara was wide awake and looking as scared and surprised as she did. The fairies that had been sleeping around them when they fell asleep had disappeared; most likely they had retreated back into the hole from which they had came from. “What was that?” Gwen asked, her voice a terrified squeak. Kara just shook her head, unable to make out any words. More shouting rang out around them and Gwen crawled over to Kara.
The ground shook with, what they supposed was the impact of the
beast’s feet, and because of the quick jolts, they could tell it was running. The girls looked at each other, terrified. A beast then turned the corner and came into view. The beast was what appeared to be half horse, half man. A centaur. When he spotted them, he reared up onto his back legs. The girls sat, unable to move.
“Who are you two?” He said, calmly landing back down on the ground. He walked over to them slowly, as if he cared if he frightened them. “W-well, I’m Kara.” Said Kara, staring at him intently. “And this is Gwen.” She said, motioning to Gwen with her head.
“Kara! Don’t talk to him!” Gwen said shrilly, not really thinking it through before she blurted it out. She then became quiet and looked at the centaur nervously, waiting to see if he’d punish her for her insolence. The centaur just smiled. “Why wouldn’t you want to talk to me, young lady? I mean no harm to you.” Gwen blushed with embarrassment.
The centaur lowered himself into a laying position as a peace offering. The girls relaxed as he did. “Where do you two come from?” He said gently.
“The village not too far from here. It’s called Torton.” Kara said, glancing at Gwen.
“Torton?” The centaur said, looking puzzled. “I’ve never heard of such a village and I’ve been to every village around here.” Gwen looked at Kara.
“Well it is nearby. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it, it’s one of the trading capitals of the world.” Kara said, standing up and brushing bits off of grass and dirt off of the skirt of her dress. Gwen stood up and tugged on Kara’s arm a bit. Kara turned to her.
“Kara, I think we’re a lot farther from home then we think. I mean, last night I thought I was just tired, but I couldn’t find the North Star.” Gwen said, biting on her bottom lip.
“What do you mean?” Kara said nervously. Instead of answering her, Gwen turned to the centaur. “Excuse me sir, could you tell us were we are?”
The centaur smiled kindly. “Certainly, Miss. You’re in the Labyrinth of Wings. Fairy territory.”
Gwen looked at Kara. “We didn’t go too far, Kara. I’m sure if we were home, people would have known of this place.”
“What are you saying?” Kara insisted again.
“Basically, we’re a long way from Kansas, Dorothy.”
Kara turned away from Gwen and back to the centaur. “Mister Centaur, do you think you could be so kind to take us to the entrance of this labyrinth?”
The centaur stood up. “I suppose I have the time to do that, Miss. Hop aboard!” He said, lowering one leg so they could climb up. “Oh, and call me Kallistor.”Kara curtsied,
“Thank you very much, Kallistor.” She walked over to Kallistor and climbed onto his back. She motioned to Gwen to do the same. Gwen walked over to him nervously, but she too, climbed onto his back.
"We'll be there in a jiffy, Ladies. Hold on tight now!" exclaimed Kallistor, turning to the labrinyth. Kara wrapped her arms around His neck and Gwen held onto Kara's waist. Kallistor then started galloping through the hedges. Gwen caught glimpses here and there of other centaurs and even more fairies during their short trip. Kallistor ran for a little longer, then Kara could see the entrance; her heart leapt. It wasn't the place they came in. Kallistor lowered himself down a bit so that the girls could get down easily.
Kara landed softly on the ground. "Kallistor, this isn't right. This isn't the way we came in. There should be another entrance. A door." She said, sounding a little panicky.
"Door? There's no door in the labrinyth, Miss." He said, looking at her curiously.
"But I've been through it a million times!" She said, raising her voice a bit.
"I've been down every passageway in that there labrinyth, Miss Kara. I've made maps of it. In all this time, I've never came across a door." He said, sympathetically.
Kara looked at Gwen frightened, then turned from the labrinyth and looked straight ahead. The flowers looked just like the ones that were in front of the door they had entered through. A worn path was laid out in front of them. Kara turned to Kallistor. "Where does this path lead?" Kara asked as Gwen stepped next to her.
"Semptra." Kallistor said, turning back to the labrinyth. "My village. You'll be welcome there." He then reared up onto his back legs and took off at full speed. Kara looked at Gwen.
"I guess we should start walking." She said, sighing. Gwen suddenly burst into tears, and Kara stood shocked by Gwen's sobs. "Gwen! What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What do you mean what's wrong?! Here we are, in a different world. I have no idea how for away from home we really are. We're stuck in the middle of no where and all we can do is start walking down this path to a strange town! And you know what, Kara? It's all your fault!" She said, shouting the last part directly to Kara and turning away angrily, continuing to cry. Kara wrapped her arms comfortly around Gwen's shoulders.
"Gwen, I didn't mean to get us into this mess. I promise I'll get us out, though. We'll be home in no time." Kara said, smiling a bit to cheer her friend up. Gwen didn't respond and kept crying, only not as hard as she was seconds ago. "Come on, Gwen. Cheer up! Crying will not help one bit. Let's just get going, maybe someone can help us in that village."
Gwen sighed and lifted her face from her hands. There were tears stains down her cheeks, and she didn't bother to wipe them away. She silently began walking down the path, not saying a word to Kara. Kara sighed and caught up to her.

********

They walked slowly, neither of them saying a word for the longest time. Kara turned to Gwen while keeping her pace. "Are you going to hate me forever?" She said, sadly. Gwen stared forward for a minute and then stopped walking. Kara stopped a couple steps ahead.
"No, I'm not going to stay mad at you forever." She said, shuffling her feet a little bit, and staring at the ground as if really interested in the flower next to her foot. "I couldn't do that to my best friend." She looked up, smiling a little. Kara sighed happily.
"I'm sorry, Gwen. I really didn't mean to get us in this predicament."
"I know. Friends forgive."
Kara smiled sheepishly. "Good. Don't worry, Gwen. I promise you, I will find us a way to get home. One way or another."
Gwen grinned, "You always do, Kara." They continued slowly down the path again. "Well, it isn't that bad out here, anyways. It's sunny, warm and really pretty."
"I know, I've never seen flowers like this before; they're beautiful!"
Gwen smiled and leaned down to pick a pink, sparkling flower. She had just touched it when it shuddered and cried out in fright. Gwen gasped and fell back onto the path. "Hey there! What do you think you're doin'? Are you trying to kill me?" yelled the flower angrily.
Gwen's mouth fell open. "Well I -- I didn't know that -- You're a flower!"
"Nothing gets passed you, now does it?" Said the flower, shaking its petal-rimmed head. Kara helped Gwen up, her mouth also hanging open in surprise.
"Close your mouth, dear. It's rude to leave it open like that." Said a purple glitter flower behind them. Kara and Gwen looked at each other, closing their mouths as they did.
"We're sorry," Kara said, "Back at our home, flowers don't usually talk and move like you do. We just didn't know."
"Didn't know? Well now you do!" shouted the pink flower.
"Settle down, Cort." The purple flower said gently. "No need to be mean to these girls. They meant no harm."
Cort shook his head again, and said nothing. The purple flower sighed, sending some pollen out in front of it. "I apologize for him. He's just a little cranky flower."
"I'm not little." He blurted out.
"Mhmm, anyways, where are you off to, ladies?" The purple flower said pleasantly.
"Semptra. It's supposed to be a village no too far from here." Kara said, smiling at the purple flower.
"Ah yes! The centaur village! You'll like it there."
"Psht, I hate the centaur village." Cort chimed in.
"You've never been there!"
"Neither have you, Miss smarty pants!" Cort said, shaking his petaled head.
"For your information, I was grown there." The purple flower said, fluffing up her petals with one of her leaves. "So, like I said, girls, you'll like it there."
Kara curtsied and smiled. "Why thank you, umm, ma'am. I appreciate your kindness." The purple flower made a bowing motion.
"You're very welcome, dear. It's nice to talk to someone as charming as you every once and a while."
"Now if you don't mind, we must be on our way." Kara said, grabbing Gwen by the elbow.
"Not at all dear, have a pleasant walk!" The purple flower said, waving a leaf as Cort snorted in disgust.
"And don't try to murder any more of our kind!" Cort called out after them, causing them to pick up their pace.
Kara and Gwen slowed down after they decided they had distanced themselves enough away from the flowers. Gwen exhaled a sigh. "I don't like this place, Kara. It's weird."
Kara glanced to her side at Gwen. "It's just a little different. I like it; you'll get used to it." Gwen stopped dead in her tracks.
"Get used to it? We're not staying here long enough for me to 'get used to it', Kara. We're leaving today."
"You know as well as I do that may not be possible."
Gwen scowled at Kara and then looked at the ground, knowing she was right. "I miss home."
"Me too. Come on, we're almost there."
They could see the tops of the small misshapen houses of Semptra. The roofs looked thatched but surprisingly well made for people with four hooved legs. As they drew nearer they could see the hustle and bustle of the village's midday as it neared noon. The market place seemed to be placed at the edge of the town as it was skirted with lines of booths that seemed to go quite a distance into town. All the booths had a centaur working behind it. The girls walked a little bit farther and came to the first booth at the very end of the village. The booth was a bakery booth, filled with bread and pasteries, although they couldn't recognize them. The centaur working behind the booth did not notice the two young girls standing in front of him. He was too absorbed in his paper. Gwen and Kara stared at the food hungrily. They had eaten anything since lunch yesterday and didn't know how hungry they were until now.
Gwen leaned over to Kara. "Are you sure we can eat this stuff. I mean what if we die from them?" she whispered in her ear.
"They look harmless to me." Kara blurted out, louder than she intended. The centaur looked up at them.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He blinked a couple times, "Hey! You're... human, right?" he said, tilting his head.
"Yep." Kara said, smiling brightly causing him to return the smile.
"Well girls, interested in something here? I've got the best baked goods in the entire city!" He said proudly.
Gwen and Kara stared at the bread hungrily. Kara pointed to a large loaf of baked white bread. "That one."
The centaur smiled. "Good choice! That'll be 7 pruts."
"Pruts" Kara said, looking at Gwen.
"Of course. 7 pruts. You didn't think you'd be gettin' it for free, now did you?"
"Well I--"
"What, don't you have any money?"
"No sir."
"Well get on then! This ain't no charity, miss."
Kara and Gwen backed away from the booth as the centaur angrily went back to his paper. Kara sighed loudly as Gwen started to pout.
"Now what are supposed to do, Kara? I'm absolutely starving!"
"We'll find something to eat. Stop pouting."
Gwen sniffed back tears.
"Girls are you hungry?" said a kind female voice from behind them and Kara and Gwen spun around. "I apologize for Tarik, he's just a little grumpy." she said, smiling. "How would you two like some soup?" Kara grinned and started to walk over to the woman's booth, but Gwen grabbed her arm before she could.
"How do we know we can trust her?" Gwen said, looking over in her direction nervously.
"You don't trust anyone. You're hungry, arn't you?"
"Yes but I--"
"Well then let's go."
Gwen sighed and reluctantly followed her friend over to the booth. The woman gestured to the restaurant behind her.
"Come on in, ladies."
Kara and Gwen followed the woman into the restaurant. It was warm inside. Despite it being a decent temperature outside, there was a small fire glowing in the corner of the restaurant in a stone fireplace. There were round tables of polished wood accompanied by matching chairs scattered throughout the restaurant, and a couple booths lined the walls by the windows.
"Have a seat, girls, and I'll go get you your soup." She smiled warmly and turned to the kitchen. Kara walked over to a booth and sat down in it. Gwen followed and sat opposite of her, looking around curiously but approvingly. After about five minutes, the woman appeared with a bowl in each hand. Gwen and Kara stared at her hungrily. She set a bowl down in front of each girl.
"Enjoy!" she said cheerfully and headed back towards the kitched. They looked down at their soup. It seemed to be a vegetable soup. They could see carrots, green beans, tomatoes and potatoes floating around in the steaming broth.
"Looks edible to me." Kara said, shrugging and began to eat as Gwen watched her doubtfully. Kara's eyes lit up after a few bites. "Try it!" she exclaimed and started to gulp it down quickly. Gwen smiled and dipped her spoon into the soup. She brought it up to her mouth and tasted it cautiously. She looked up in surprise; it tasted delicious! Probably the best she had ever tasted. She too, started gulping it down. Once both of them were finished, they sat back patting their tummies, full and content. The woman returned after a couple minutes and smiled.
"How did you like it?"
"It was wonderful! The best ever!" Kara exclaimed loudly and the woman laughed bowing down on her front legs a bit, most likely representing a curtsey.
"Thank you so much, girls, I'm glad you enjoyed it. So where you headed to next, have someone to see in this small village of ours?"
"Not exactly, ma'am." said Gwen timidly. "We're kind of lost."
"Lost? So you don't have a place to stay?" She said, her voice filling with concern. Both girls shook their heads at the same time. "Well you can stay here! We have an extra room."
"We wouldn't want to be a bother..." Kara said, starting to slide out of the booth.
"You wouldn't be a bother at all, girls! I would be glad to have you here."
"Well if you're sure, we'd be happy to stay a night."
The door opened and another centaur walked in. It was the centaur that had given them a ride out of the labyrinth; Kallistor. The woman went over to Kallistor and hugged him, smiling.
"Kallis, back already? How much mapping did you get done?" she said, leading him in by the hand. "Oh, these are our guests--"
"Miss Kara and Gwen! Glad to see you found my wife's place. She's the nicest in the whole village." He said, not answering her first question.
"You know them already?" she said, surprised and glancing over toward the girls.
"I gave them a ride out of the labyrinth this morning. I'm hungry."
"There's soup in the kitchen."
Kallistor smiled at the girls and went into the kitchen. "Well girls, I'll take you to the room you can stay in tonight." She turned and started toward a hallway on the other side of the cozy restaurant. Kara gestured to Gwen to stand up and follow her. Gwen stood up and followed Kara as she retreated down the same hallway the woman went down. The woman opened a door and stood back so they could walk in. Kara stepped and and Gwen went in close behind, her hand on her shoulder.
The room was a decent size. There were two twin sized beds against opposite walls. There was a dresser at the left wall and there was an end table at the far end of the room underneath a window.
"Think this will do, girls?" The woman said, smiling. "We kept this room to accompany our human guests. I hope the beds arn't too small."
"No this will be wonderful, ma'am. Thank you so much." Kara said, barely hiding her excitement that she will be sleeping in a warm bed for the night. The woman smiled and noddded, closing the door as she began to walk back down the hallway.
The sun was beginning to set and Gwen yawned sleepily. "Wanna go to bed early?" Kara said, noticing her companion's tiredness. Gwen nodded. Kara went over to the bed on the left wall, pulled back the covers and crawled in. SHe looked over to the opposite wall and saw Gwen had done the same.
"Night, Gwen. Sleep well." Kara yawned.
"Goodnight." And Gwen quickly fell asleep.
Kara smiled. "Night." and she dozed off.

********

Kara woke with a start as a loud scream rung in her ears. She shot up in bed and looked over at Gwen seeing she was just as alarmed. Kara got out bed and went to the window. She gasped and ran over to Gwen, pulling her out of bed.
"What's wrong?" Gwen exclaimed. Kara didn't answer. She pulled her through the hallway and ran out the front door of the restaurant. Heat slapped them both in the face and Kara shielded her eyes from the flames across the street. Kara turned to face her friend and as she did she saw a firey arrow land in the thatched roof of the restaurant. Gwen screamed in horror. Kara numbly grabbed her hand and fleed the way they first came as centaurs galloped in front of them in panic, headed in the same direction.
Kara screamed as she saw one of the centaurs that were causing the panic pick up a centaur child and carry it off while it was screaming for its parents. Kara and Gwen ran down the path a bit and turned right, heading towards a forest not too far away.
They ran until they were safe in the canopy of the trees and the screams and shouts from Semptra sounded distant. Gwen buried her face in her hands.
"Who would do something like that to that village?" She said, sounding muffled.
"I don't know."
Gwen began to sob, her shoulders shaking as she did. Kara wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders and for the first time ever, began to cry with her.