“What if I do look at it? What happens?”
Eladril lowered her gaze to the ground, paling in the illumination of the witch light. “Look at the darkness enough times and you wither to nothing, or worse….go mad and become one of them.”
Aveta swallowed the knot formed in her throat. She tightened her grip around Eladril’s fingers, sweat already slicking across both their skins.
“Why do I have to do this?”
Eladril sucked in a breath and moments felt like an eternity before she answered.
“You will be queen one day, and the challenge against your mother will not be easy. You will first match wits, then, if that does not choose a victor, the labyrinth is the second challenge. Whomever makes it through this labyrinth alive, claims the crown.”
“Did my mother win that way?”
Eladril’s fingers let her go as she kneeled down once more beside her. “Your mother won in a most treacherous way. Your grandmother was the rightful queen, but Elisandra killed her still. Queen Analise could’ve chosen her heir, too, which would’ve been you, eventually. But your mother, in her wicked ways, chose her destiny and damned herself for killing the rightful queen. The palace will never accept her as queen, it will never be rightfully hers. She will never have the full power of it. Only you can do this. You were born to.”
She stood once more, lacing her fingers through the young princess’ hand.
“What if I’m not strong enough to challenge her and win?” Aveta never felt smaller. Her mother scared her more than the sluagh creatures of her vast army.
“You will. In time, you will be much stronger than you’ll ever imagine.”
Chapter Three
Stepping into the vast oblivion before them, the walls rose high above them, stretching toward the darkened ceiling of the cavern. It disappeared beyond the witchlight, making it feel smaller than it was. Aveta struggled to not pull away from Eladril and run screaming from the monstrosity before them. The length of this leg of the Labyrinth looked endless before it sharply turned and faded into the inky blackness surrounding them.
“Don’t look up, they come from all directions. Focus on stepping forward. It’s a labyrinth but it’s not a traditional labyrinth. If it tests you long enough and fails, it will drop you out the other side. That’s what we need to focus on.”
Aveta tilted her chin, biting down on her lip hard as each step crunched against the grit on the cavern floor. Nothing but their sharp, quick breaths could be heard above the silence, but it roared in her ears like a violent funnel. If it was really going to be as bad as Eladril said, she had to gather her wits and strength about her before she shivered her fear into being and her life was sucked away.
No, she wouldn’t let that happen, there was no way to fail. It was this or certain death. There was nothing that could make her more determined to not die in this treacherous place. It made her want to live even more.
The first few minutes were maddening more than anything else. Distant echoes of screeching things and flapping wings made her skin crawl. Only the constant tug from Eladril to keep moving kept her wits intact, though she doubted she could scream if she had to. The sandpaper her throat had morphed into stuck to itself. Even her heart was hammering loudly in her chest, almost drowning out the void of sparse noise before them.
So this is what it felt to drown. If not, it was probably quite close to it. Even though they were immortal, faeries could still die from such mundane tragedies. Aveta preferred to never have to experience such a thing as dying. One day maybe, years from now, when time had left her bitter and cold, maybe then would she embrace the sweet arms of death. Until then, she’d make it through. There was no other choice.
“Aveta…,” Eladril’s voice cut off as they turned down the first bend and stood face to face with two figures at the other end. They were wrapped in darkness, which was all they could tell from the distance. Still, as they walked forward, the two figures, one shorter than the other matched their pace and continued towards them at an equal stance.
“I know, don’t look at them.”
She could feel Eladril’s fear leak across her skin. The woman may have just been a handmaiden to the royal family, but she was an Empath, and had traits of an oracle, a faery gifted with telepathy, precognitive abilities and healing magic. She wasn’t strong enough to be considered special and under the Queen’s direct counsel, but she was gifted enough to be placed on the princess’ guard and servitude. Eladril’s long, brown hair was tied back in a twisted braid, weaved with intricate knots for it was so long. It complimented her creamy complexion well. Aveta hoped her long, black hair would be just as beautiful against her pale skin when she grew older. Though she considered herself beautiful, she didn’t believe that her beauty would ever match that of her mother’s or Eladril’s.
The figures were just feet from them and the closer they approached, the colder the cavern air became. The stench of death filled Aveta’s nostrils, gagging her on the choking fumes.
Don’t look at them, follow the ground, the dirt… the snakes?
She gasped, no longer worried about the figures, who were now gone from sight while the ground was moving in slithering, shiny coils. She gripped Eladril’s hand as she stepped on one, feeling its body jerk under her boot, but she refused to look down again. The darkness ahead was all she could take as her eyes peeled wide open, half immersed in the witchlight shaking in Eladril’s palm and the closing dark.
I can do this, I can do this.
She wasn’t feeling positive as the words swirled about in her head. She felt the snakes coiling around her ankles, taking all she had to not kick at them.
“Eladril?” The older faery seemed more grounded than Aveta, even though from their contact, the child could feel the growing dread emanating from her guardian. “What’s on the other side of the labyrinth?”
The crawling sensation remained for few moments more, until it felt as if the ground had solidified and they were walking along the moist rock once more.
“Well, it’s the exit of this cavern. It leads into another place, a safe one. But, there are dangers there too. It’s a territory of Faerie, but it’s not ruled by the Unseelie or the Seelie courts.”
Fascinated, Aveta pressed on for more details. “What do you mean?”
Eladril sucked in a breath, the air turning thicker as they took more turns in the tangle of halls and dead ends they kept running into. There were no imaginary threats here, but the constant turns and disorientation were frightening nonetheless.
“Well, the sky is a constant pink tangerine, like an everlasting sunset. There are trees that grow in Faerie and the human world and things that grow in neither. The poppies are deadly, so stay away from them. Only a few lucky ones are immune, and most live in this part of the land.”
“Is it as dangerous as our land?”
“No, but if you’re not meant to be there, it will slowly kill you from the poison drifts of poppy vapor.”
“How will we survive that?”
Eladril peered down at the girl, her lovely blue eyes crinkling as she smiled. “I know I’m immune, my brother lives there too and has not had any lasting effects. He’s safe there. You’ll know if it’s toxic to you, soon enough. If not, you won’t feel any different.”
The thought made her skin crawl, but Aveta pressed on, following Eladril around another corner where the path led up into steps carved out of stone into a dark, black hole, big enough for just one of them to crawl through at a time.
“Eladril?” Aveta peered over to her guardian, fear ebbing into her shiny dark eyes.
“Here,” Eladril slipped the witchlight into Aveta’s tiny palm and curled her fingers around them. “You take this, I have another. If we get separated, keep going. Don’t try to find me, I’ll get there.”
Aveta nodded, bleary eyed as the tears stung behind her lids. She didn’t want to let go of Eladril. The sickening feeling filling her up as she watched the woman step up the st
airs ahead of her made her wonder if they would be separated. It was a small comfort that she’d told her that she’d made it through here and back before, but it was only just.
Now that Eladril was several steps ahead, the lonely darkness behind her made her feel more exposed and she hurried up behind her guardian. As the hole swallowed Eladril, she no longer could hear the woman shuffling as her dresses brushed against the stone. Aveta gulped down the bile rising to her throat as she took the first crawling steps into the nothingness ahead. It was hard to crawl with the witchlight in hand, and hold the tiny stone high enough to see ahead.
It didn’t matter though because once the last of her body made it into the tight space, the witchlight extinguished with one rushed gust of air.
She paused, wondering what dark magic had done such a thing. There was no up or down and the light had vanquished from behind her too. There was nothing, just black, inky darkness. Tentatively, she pressed forward, feeling her way through the slick, grimy rock and what felt like tendrils of underground foliage snaking their way down the walls and grabbing onto her hair as if it had fingers.
Aveta…
She gasped, hearing a voice whispering across her face. It was so close she could almost feel the air move by her nose. What if it was something dreadful? The unknown was even more terrifying without light and Aveta struggled to keep her hands and knees inching forward.
Aveta…
It got even closer, and louder by her ear. She swatted at her side like there was a buzzing fly next to her.
No! Don’t acknowledge it! You’ll give it more power… Eladril’s words echoed in her mind and she gritted her teeth, closing her eyes to feel more with her senses.
Eladril, where are you?
Aveta!
“Eladril?” It was her guardian’s scream that made her almost fall forward, catching her muddy dress under her knees. What had her? Where was she?
Help me!
“Eladril!” It couldn’t be, the woman’s screeches paralyzed her as her breaths sped out of control, and her palms and knees becoming raw from crawling forward as fast as she could. The stone was hard against her skin and stabbed at her joints and palms with each excruciating moment that passed.
Help me!
Aveta fell forward, tumbling down another set of stairs, knocking her head and arms as she rolled down them, landing in a pile of dirty leaves and squishy mud. The voice had startled her and all she could do was lay there in the filth of old water mixed in whatever grit had sat in the puddle she now laid in. The stench was worse, like a pit of death and stale air. She gasped to catch her breath and stared up at the…night sky?
There were stars above, swirling across the sky, twinkling like distant lighthouses, flashing their marked safety, calling her to their embrace.
No, they aren’t real. There were no formations in this sky like the ones she’d studied over and over on the endless nights she’d spend out on her balcony, counting the falling stars as they slit the sky with their fires. This was a mirage with star formations she’d never laid eyes upon.
Still, with their enticing twinkles and soft aurora lights off to her right beckoning her to lay there forever, and absorb the beauty, she felt the fatigue and ache of the day’s torture overcoming her now, like a weary drug, ready to overtake her consciousness. It would be so easy to just close her eyes and sleep.
Chapter Four
No, must get up, must keep going…the poppy fields waited, they called to her, to a place where there was an endless sunset and the trees dangled cherry blossoms down to tangle into her obsidian strands. A safe place, a sanctuary not even her mother could touch.
She pulled her body out of the muck, first her arms to turn her over and then willed her slack legs to inch forward, slipping from the grip of the dead leaves and clinging mud. Her limbs protested every pull and strain, begging for release from the endless torment plaguing her body.
Once free from the puddle, her mind cleared up enough for her to peer about. The constant emptiness, which hovered in the air, somehow made it easier to breathe now, but the endless dark was still overbearing. She’d lost the witchlight in the muck. Eladril was gone, probably having gone through a similar trance. She was sure the woman had broken free much faster than Aveta, but she hoped she hadn’t left her behind.
What now? Aveta struggled to her feet, cold and wet, her dress in tatters as she stepped forward. There was nothing but dark, black inky death waiting ahead. Pushing her stringy strands of hair back, she focused as she reined in her fear and swallowed it down. She needed another witchlight, they weren’t hard to make. Reaching down, she felt around on the gritty floor before finding a suitable loose stone and gripped it tight in her palm.
She pressed her hands together, closing her eyes as she infused her magic into the rock. Eladril had shown her this very lesson but a week ago, and Aveta’s gratitude for it was beyond measure. She pressed her skin against the stone until it ached, and it dug in, probably drawing a tiny slip of blood. She didn’t care. The light was vital in this vacuum of life.
Peering down to sneak a look through the crack of her palms, she saw it softly glowing.
“Brighter.” She whispered to it and it pulsated softly, as if struggling to do her bidding. “Come, on, more light!” Her voice was soft, but it echoed loudly against the cavern walls, amplifying it enough to send shivers down her spine. Almost reluctantly, maybe because it was a stone of the darkness, the rock obeyed and shone brighter, making her look away before her night vision was affected by the light.
She grinned down at her twinkling prize, not noticing the approaching figure. As it approached into the circle of light the stone created, Aveta glanced up and gasped, almost dropping her newly formed witchlight.
“Mother?” The form took the shape of the Queen, with matching malicious intents in her dark twinkling eyes.
“You disobeyed me again child.” The woman stepped forward, her long swishing skirts brushing the dirty floor of the cavern. Other than the filth clinging to the hem of her dress, she looked pristine, as if she’d been freshly washed and brushed. “You disgusting little tramp. How dare you call yourself my daughter if you run about looking like faery trash?”
Aveta flinched as her mother stalked forward. Was this her greatest fear? Her mother coming to find her and inflicting more endless torment? If that’s what it was, and it was only a vision, it should easily go away. Shouldn’t it?
She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, though it became infused with the nose prickling scent of her mother’s perfume. Choking on it like a noxious fume, she squeezed her eyes even tighter, willing her mother away.
“You can’t make everything disappear. This is the oblivion of your mind. This is who you really are inside. How do you make yourself be gone and still survive? You can’t”
“You’re not real.” Tighter, tighter, keep the eyes closed.
“You know nothing. I never saw anything worth saving in you from the moment of your birth. Your father, he saved you, but I…I should’ve done what I wanted to at that exact minute. End your pathetic life.”
Don’t listen, shut out her words. The tiny voice in Aveta’s head morphed into Eladril, and she flung her eyes open, seeing past the Queen to find Eladril watching her quietly ahead.
“Eladril!” She ran forward, aware that she would bump into her mother, but it didn’t matter. Her mother wasn’t real. Eladril was.
With that, the moment she touched her mother’s apparition, it disintegrated into wisps of blackened smoke, screeching as it flew away from them. Could it be so easy to keep the demons at bay? Could they really not hurt them if they knew how to do away with them?
Eladril smiled, arms opened wide as she let the girl fall into her embrace.
“We’re almost out of here. Just hang on a bit longer.”
“Alright,” Aveta found her cheeks wet, doused in salty tears. Maybe this would all end up fine. Maybe she’d learn to walk right through this dr
eadful place to a safe haven, far from her mother, far from the oppressive life of an Unseelie princess. Somehow, she hoped it would be that way. A place where no one else could follow.
“Come,” Eladril tugged on her hand and they walked through more turns, twists and open rooms than they cared to count.
“How much longer until we reach the other side?”
“Not much longer. You’ve done excellent here. I’m truly impressed that you can handle yourself so well, you’re so young.” Eladril stepped forward, limping and grimacing. It was only then that Aveta noticed the dark, crimson stain on the side of her dress.
“You’re hurt!” Aveta stared wide eyed, fear crawling back into her.
“Yes, child. Don’t worry, once we leave here, all will be well.”
Aveta wasn’t so sure. She gripped her guardian’s hand even tighter, feeling the sting of tears flurrying up behind her eyes. She had to keep it together, just a bit longer. It would be okay in the end. Eladril couldn’t lie. No faeries could. The land of Faerie forbade it.
“See? Here we are.”
In the area ahead, a tiny sliver of light grew as they approached. Soon enough, it was as big as a doorway and Aveta stared into it, hoping to see what lingered on the other side.
“Go on now, I’ll be right behind you.” Eladril’s strained voice made Aveta turn, worry engulfing her as she watched her beloved handmaiden collapse.
“Eladril!” She threw herself on the ground beside her fallen companion. “No! You have to come with me! You have to make it. You said it would be okay.”
Eladril smiled, her hand pressed against the wound on her abdomen. It was sticky with dark crimson blood encrusting her fingers. It looked fatal and Aveta swung her eyes from her to the light at the end of the cavern. She could never drag her caretaker that far, she was too heavy for her little seven year old frame.
“Please, get back up. It’s not that far. Please…” The girl begged, her tears already dripping to the ground.
“I’m so sorry my dear. I lost concentration. I saw you with your mother and I let the wraith overpower me. I’m so sorry. You can make it. Just go through to the light and all will be fine. It’s alright, go.”
Faery Realms: Ten Magical Titles: Multi-Author Bundle of Novels & Novellas Page 25
