The gates of the border opened and Mary turned to Eleanore for one last farewell. "Take good care of yourself, Madam. If God permits, we might meet again."
Eleanore stood there until Mary disappeared in her lands and the door closed. She thanked the officer and returned to the carriage. They had barely completed twenty feet back to the capital, when the air in front of her rippled.
It happened too fast to properly register. One moment the path ahead was clear, empty dirt road leading back toward the capital, and the next, something dark and formless surged up from the ground itself, thick and viscous, more shadow than substance, coiling upward with a speed that defied every instinct her body had for what should have been physically possible.
Eleanore was too scared to get off the carriage. However, the door swung open and the Carriage twisted on its own, throwing Eleanore out on the road.
