Muirin's+Gate

=
After receiving the message from the Fox, Muirin tucked her brothers in and went and sat upon her bed. She watched the stars come out, seemingly one by one, and then fade as dawn came. Before the sun had risen, Muirin abruptly got to her feet. She took a canteen, a piece of bread and an apple, and tossed them roughly into a leather pouch she'd been traded for coal. She kissed her sleeping brothers goodbye, and, leaving them the vast majority of the food she'd earned, departed. She walked outside as the sun was cresting the mountain, but she did not have time to appreciate it's beauty. She crept around houses and trees, making sure to avoid the garda síochána who were swapping stories about dames and drinks.======

=
"Pigs," she thought to herself as she hurried down to the rocky shore. She was not sure what propelled her in this direction, but she was being guided by something. It was almost as if she'd done this before, but when and why? She could not remember. She made it to the rocks, taking care to maintain her balance, as one misstep on this shore could be fatal. She jumped over tide pools, darting from rock to rock until she at last reached the craggy drop-off. As she faced the black water below, she hesitated, staring at a thin, pale creature. Blonde hair hung lank around a tired face, with hollow eyes and thin lips. A long neck broke off into sharp collar bones, down into pointy shoulders, attached to small but wiry arms. A prominent rib cage gave way to a thin torso, which was followed by narrow hips and slender legs. Startled, she realized it was herself. She could not remember the last time she'd looked into a mirror. Had her hair grown that long? Had she really had so little to eat, and slept for so few hours? But this was not a time for vanity. After quickly scarfing down her piece of bread, Muirin tied her bag tightly closed, took a deep breath and jumped.======

The frigid water hit her like a swift blow to the chest, and she resurfaced gasping for air. Her clothes and her bag caused the water's underlying currents to pull her down like cold, wet hands. But Muirin was strong from working in the mines, and her thin, yet powerful arms and legs beat the water back as she began to swim around the bottom of the stony cliffs. Teems of the spiny fish native to Arlyn flocked to her ankles, but she kicked violently until they gave up to seek easier prey.

After twenty minutes of swimmiaround the base of the bluffs she found a place where the rocky crags gave way to a small cave. It was easy to overlook, for one to swim right by, (were there ever any swimmers around Arlyn who dared brave the cold dark currents of the surrounding sea), but Muirin somehow knew to swim in. She swam around rocks, careful not to scrape her cold, nearly numb ankles on their jagged edges, and entered the cave. It was deep inside, and the water didn't break from the top enough for her to surface her head. She had to tilt her head back to breathe the damp, musty air, and even then, her nose came dangerously close to dragging along the cave's ceiling.

After what seemed like hours, the water get more shallow and sloped into a rock slide down. Muirin followed the slide, until she found herself hurled onto a stone beach at the bottom. It was cold and wet, and the rocks were covered in a blanket of some sort of moss. She stood and crouched low, trying to maintain her balance as she skirted along the stone walls. On the opposite side from where she had fallen, Muirin found herself trapped. Where instinct had pushed her before, there was now confusion and doubt. //What am I doing here?// She felt along the wall, but found nothing. She started back to the rock slide, wondering how in the hell she'd be able to make it back up, but in her frustration, she had dropped the caution she'd had before. She slipped on the moss, and fell with a dull thud onto the ground, hitting her head off of the rock on the wall. Dazed she put her hand on the door handle to steady herself.

//Wait. Door handle? Where in God's name did that come from?//

Even more confused and frustrated than before, Muirin stood. She eyed the door handle mistrustfully, and looked back at the steep slide. Realizing that she had no other options, and very little to lose, she gave the handle a turn. The walls shook, and she fell once again, cursing. The cave began to spin, and the walls came down around her. Muirin felt sick, and lay where she was, hoping that when the shaking stopped she'd be in her bed again. When the chaos finally subsided//,// Muirin dared look up. She was in a perfectly round room, full of people she'd never seen before. Or maybe she had seen them. The golden light assaulting her eyes that had become accustomed to the dark made it hard to tell.

She was suddenly being helped up by a tall, strong man with amber eyes that seemed to laugh at her confusion, though his mouth did not move. Irritated by his seeming arrogance, she shrugged him off, but after a moment she began to realize she'd met this man before ...

"Well, it's about time," said the Fox, "We thought we were going to have to start without you."