Pasu held Shita's hand and they ran towards the rolling hills before them. Shita tripped and landed on her arm. Pasu helped Shita up, but it was too late. The soldiers from the plane had already reached them. They surrounded the two teenagers.
Pasu pushed Shita behind him and said, "Don't you dare hurt her! Fight me first or let us go!"
A soldier behind them smacked Pasu's head with his gun. Pasu let out a small cry. He collapsed on the grass. Shita bent over him and cried, "Pasu, are you all right? Pasu!"
The soldiers pointed their guns at Pasu and Shita.
Shita hugged Pasu and said to the soldiers, "No, don't hurt him! I'll come with you!"
* * * *
Shita stared out the window. She saw soldiers walking, tanks and planes parked on the ground. She heard the commanders calling loudly at the soldiers, and the soldiers responding with a ‘Yes, sir'.
The door opened, Shita looked at the doorway, and saw Mooscar, the man on the big airship with her. He entered and looked at the new clothes and accessories laid on the table.
"You don't like these gifts, Shita?" he said, "I could buy you new ones."
"I want to see Pasu!" Shita said.
"Only if you tell me where Laputa is!" Mooscar raised his voice.
"I told you before, I don't know where Laputa is!" Shita exclaimed.
"You must know. You own this stone," Mooscar said, and took out the necklace out of his pocket. He showed it to Shita. "Did you know this stone was from Laputa? Did you know you are the only one who can solve this mystery?"
"I don't want to solve this mystery! I just want to be with Pasu! You can have the necklace!" Shita cried.
"You are so foolish! You don't know how important Laputa is!" Mooscar said. He turned to Shita and said, "Come, I want to show you something."
Shita looked happy. "Pasu?" she asked.
"No," Mooscar said, "I want to show you something you need to know. Maybe after this, you can tell me where Laputa is."
Shita felt scared. Am I really from Laputa? she thought.
* * * *
They came to a tower near the General's mansion. The guard nodded and opened the metal door. Mooscar led Shita down the dark stairway into another room. Shita looked up to the light at the top of the tall tower. It was dark everywhere, and cold. Mooscar lighted a candle, brightness appear again.
Shita gasped. Just inches next to her was a big... a huge something. She had no idea what it was.
"What...what is this?" Shita shivered.
"This is the world's most advanced robot," Mooscar explained, "It may be the oldest, hundreds years old, but it did not rust, or changed in any way."
He pointed to the broken arm and broken leg laid next to the still robot. "This robot fell from the sky seven hundred years ago," he said, "A farmer and his wife brought it to the army, where it is kept now."
He continued, "This robot was not made anywhere on the earth's surface. It has power almost beyond imagining. And its body--metallic? Ceramic? Our scientist still don't know for sure."
He looked at Shita, "Do you know how it fell from the sky?"
Shita shook her head.
"Hundreds of years ago, there was a legend about a castle in the sky. They named it Laputa. According to the books, there was a battle in the sky, fought by robots. One of the robots tried to save the queen of Laputa. It was hit, and fell down to the sky," Mooscar explained.
"What does this have to do with Pasu and I?" Shita asked.
Mooscar walked around the robot, and pointed to the small symbol on the robot's breast. "Does this look familiar to you?" he asked Shita, and held out the necklace.
Shita looked closely at the symbol, and gasped in shock. It had the same pattern as the stone on her necklace!
"How come...how come they are the same?" Shita asked, shivering.
"They are the same because they came from the same place," Mooscar answered, "Like you, they are from Laputa."
"I'm from Laputa?" Shita said quietly.
"Your ancestors must be from Laputa. If not, how come they have this levistone?" Mooscar said. He looked at Shita, "Did you know this stone has a great power? Only the royalties have this stone!"
"It did save me from falling. But I'm not any royalty...my family and I lived in a village up in the mountains. My family never mentioned anything like this to me," Shita said. She felt more scared every time Mooscar mentioned something about Laputa.
"Hear this, Shita. You are the last generation of Laputa. You are the princess, the queen!" Mooscar said, his eyes with anger. "Only you can control the stone. Only you know where Laputa is!"
Shita was shaken. She slowly shook her head. "I cannot be a princess...I do not know anything about Laputa, or...or the levistone."
"Your real name is Lushita Toelle Ul Laputa," Mooscar said, "‘Ul' means king in Laputan. ‘Toelle' is true. You are the rightful successor of the Laputan royal family--Queen Lushita."
"How did you know my name?" Shita asked in shock.
"I have researched on Laputa for a very long time. If this robot had not come falling out of the sky, nobody would have believed in Laputa," Mooscar said, "Laputa flies because of a formerly impressive scientific power. It once controlled the whole surface of the earth in an empire of fear. If it is still roving in the sky, is it not a danger to peace and humanity?"
Mooscar continued, "I think you understand. Laputa's location is in the levistone. Don't you want to save the earth from Laputa's neverending threat?"
"No! No, I don't want anything. Just let Pasu and I go. We never offended you!" Shita yelled. She started crying. Why didn't Mooscar just let them go?
Mooscar went over to Shita and shook her body, as if that would wake her up. "There has to be something that you know. Maybe your parents taught you a code, a password, or words of a spell. Something that can help us," Mooscar said.
"Please don't make it so hard for me. I don't know anything," Shita said tearfully.
Mooscar looked at Shita for a long time. A slow grin was plastered on his face. "Why don't we make a deal? If you tell me where Laputa is, then I will free your friend. I'll give you one night." He turned to the guard at the door and said, "Bring her back to her room."
Shita felt miserable. She knew she and Pasu were going to be imprisoned here for a long time.
Chapter 4
Pasu woke up with a start. He looked at the brick walls circling him, and the high roof at the top. Where am I? he thought, Where is Shita? Suddenly he remembered how he and Shita were captured by the soldiers, and how he was knocked down. Shita must be here, too, he thought.
He looked again at the high, narrow roof. How am I going to escape? he asked himself. He took a big step up on the bricks, and started climbing the narrow wall. Step by step he climbed.
This is too narrow, Pasu thought. His left foot reached for the little edge on the brick closest to him, but he slipped and fell on the ground with a loud crash.
"Ouch!" Pasu cried. He hurried and tried climbing again, but he kept slipping.
"Oh Shita, I wish you were here with me now," he said to himself.
* * * *
Shita reached for Pasu. "Pasu!" she cried. She saw the soldiers pulling him out of the tower. Pasu saw Shita and called to her, "Help me, Shita! Help me!" Shita watched as one of the soldiers aimed his gun at Pasu, and pulled the trigger. The loud sound of the gun killed Pasu. "Pasu, don't!" Shita yelled.
Shita woke up on her bed. "Don't, Pasu!" she cried, "Don't leave me!" Shita opened her eyes, and looked around her. She was still in her room, her prison, as she called it. It was just a dream, she thought, just a dream. Suddenly, she felt alarmed. What if they were really going to kill Pasu? she thought.
Shita got off the bed and sat at the window seat. She looked outside the window, and saw a few men guarding the front gate. It was still late at night, she thought, it was only yesterday when Mooscar imprisoned us here.
"I must get Pasu out of here first, then I'll face Mooscar myself," Shita said to herself, "I can't let Pasu get hurt because of me."
* * * *
It was the next morning. There was a knock on the door.
Shita was still seated at the window seat. "Come in," she answered.
Mooscar stepped in and smiled at Shita. "How are you this morning, Lushita?"
"When are you going to let Pasu go?" Shita asked.
"When you tell me where Laputa is," Mooscar said with a smile.
Shita took a deep breath. "All right, I'll tell you," she said slowly, "but you have to keep your promise."
"Certainly," Mooscar grinned, and showed Shita the way to Pasu's cell.
They were guided by a guard. They went to the big tower near the mansion. The guard opened the door. Mooscar brought Shita in.
"Pasu!" Shita cried. She saw him sitting on the stoned ground, with his dirty face and hands.
"Shita?" Pasu whispered. He could not believe his wish had came true.
Shita ran to embrace Pasu. They did not let go for a long time.
"I can't believe we're finally together," Pasu said, "They haven't done anything terrible to you, have they?"
Shita looked at Pasu. "You have to go, Pasu."
"What do you mean?" Pasu asked Shita, feeling alarmed.
"I am a princess, Pasu, from Laputa. I have to go there," Shita said, and looked at Mooscar, "with Mooscar."
"You're leaving me?" Pasu whispered.
Shita stepped away from Pasu. "I'm sorry. I...I just want to thank you for saving me. We had a wonderful time together. But...I...I have to go back to where I came from," she said sadly. Why was it so hard to talk against her heart?
"I cannot believe this. You...you're just going to forget what happened? Forget all that we've been through?" Pasu cried.
"I'm sorry," Shita whispered, and ran out of the tower.
Pasu looked after Shita in shock. What happened? he thought.
Mooscar walked toward Pasu. "Thanks for all you help, Pasu. And don't worry, I will take care of Lushita," he said, and put some money in Pasu's hand.
Pasu looked at the money, and slowly walked out of the tower.
He felt miserable. Did Shita really meant what she said? I guess I'll never know, he thought, since I'm never going to see her again. He began walking home.
* * * *
Shita watched Pasu walk away from the tower. She began to cry. Oh, Pasu, I did not mean what I have said, she thought, please forgive me.
Mooscar stepped into the Shita's bedroom. Shita instantly stopped crying. Mooscar put the necklace back on Shita's neck.
"So what are the secret words?" Mooscar ordered.
Shita looked down at the floor. "There are no secret words," she said.
Mooscar's eyes were wide open, and shook Shita's shoulders. "You lied to me?"
Shita shook herself out of Mooscar's madness and stepped back.
"You still got me," Shita said, "Don't worry, I won't try to escape."
"You better not," Mooscar said angrily, and stomped out of the room.
"Because I won't know where to go," Shita said to herself.
* * * *
It was midnight. Shita looked up in the sky at the bright, round moon. She felt scared and worried for Pasu, and for herself. What will Mooscar do to me? she asked herself. She wanted to cry for help, but she knew no one would hear her.
She remembered one time back at her homeland, in her early childhood. She had lost one of her baby sheep one day. She had looked for it everywhere, and had cried her way back home. She remembered putting her head on her grandmother's lap.
"Don't cry, Shita," her grandmother said, "When you are alone, you must help yourself."
Little Shita looked up at her grandmother's kind face, and stopped crying.
"Let me teach you some magic," her grandmother said, "When you feel lonely and lost, it will save you. When you are in danger, it will protect you. A spell for times of trouble."
Little Shita blinked her tears, "Really?"
"Yes, now listen closely. Le-ta-la-Pa-le-ta-Alus. Ale-alus-Pa-lu-Le-ta-le. It means ‘safe me, so I could see light again'." her grandmother explained.
"Le-ta-la-Pa...," little Shita repeated.
"Le-ta-la-Pa-le-ta-Alus. Ale-alus-Pa-lu...,"
"Le-ta-la-Pa-le-ta-Alus. Ale-alus-Pa-lu-Le-ta-le," Shita said to herself.
Suddenly, Shita felt the levistone burning from her chest. She looked took it out and saw a ray of blue light shining from her levistone towards the night sky. She screamed.
* * * *
The robot received its master's message. It responded with a flash of light shining from the top of its head. With its broken arm and leg, it got up on one foot, and struggled to walk on with his other arm, crawling towards the door. The guards outside the basement door heard the footsteps, and looked at each other in alarm.
The guard pushed the button on the radio.
"Sir, sir! There is something going on in the basement! Sir!" the guard shouted.
The robot saw no way to escape. It aimed its laser gun on the top of his head at the doorway, and blasted away the wall. The guards outside called for help. They stormed out of the basement. The robot continued crawling up the steps. It had to save its master.
View User's Journal
 |
