A/N: Alright guys, another chapter! Things are really starting to heat up now!
Review Reply to Gamergirl: Yes they are! And yes, poor Flora. She'll make it out of this though! And I thought the professor would teach her, considering he knows how to play (as seen in Eternal Diva), and it is a very lady-like pursuit.
Well, here we go!
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Chapter Nine: The City of Bronze
I stumbled along as Ms. Hertz dragged me toward the forest, the knife never once wavering from my neck. We were moving fast, not once giving the Inspector, or anyone really, time to catch up.
"Alright, girl. You know where the Stela is? Take me to it," Hertz hissed, pressing the knife closer to my neck. I could almost feel the metal biting into my skin.
"I-it's in the center of the forest," I said, my heart pounding against my ribs.
"I know that. Take me to the center."
"O-okay," I said. She let me walk forward slightly, though her hand stayed twisted in the fabric of my shirt, right between my shoulder blades, to keep me from running. The trip was a little harder in the dark, but finally, I found it again.
The clearing was empty when we stepped into it, but slowly, all of the kids who had went missing began to gather. My heart pounded when two stepped through the trees.
"Eric… Johnny…"
"Where's the entrance?" Hertz demanded, giving me another shake.
"At the base of the Stela. The City of Bronze is underground," I explained. She nodded, dragging me towards it, and my heart sank when I realized I had forgotten to scramble the puzzle again. Hertz found the entrance easily, and dragged me inside, the kids following.
The City of Bronze was deep underground, meaning we walked down stone steps for close to half an hour before we finally reached the bottom. A large cavern stretched before us, tall buildings made of Bronze shining in the light of phosphorescent mushrooms growing on the ceiling of the cavern.
"Oh my…" Hertz gasped, looking around. "It's just like the myths…" She then looked back at me. "Come. The Chalice is in the palace."
Once again, I was dragged along, the knife back at my throat, as we made our way to the center of the city. I looked from side to side, hoping for some escape, but unable to find any. Eric walked along side us, his focus ahead of us. I frowned at that, hatred, an almost foreign emotion to me, surging through me for the woman holding me captive.
We soon reached the palace, and found our way to the throne room. Hertz had the kids stay back, and dragged me right up to the throne, where the Chalice was said to sit.
The throne was empty. A clean, perfect circle stood out from the dust, marking that the Chalice of Youth had sat there, just recently.
Inspiration struck, just in time.
"You miserable—" Hertz began. I reached up, grabbing the wrist that held the knife, and stomped down as hard as I could on her foot. She was still in the guise of a governess, meaning she was wearing slipper like shoes, and I dug my heel in. She yelped in pain and surprise, and let go of the back of my shirt.
I ran, hard and fast, barreling through the kids at the door, and down the hall, towards the entrance of the palace.
"Stop her!" Hertz yelled. I kept running, trying to ignore the footsteps behind me, and burst through the door.
Rather then going straight, I turned and ran alongside the palace, cutting the corner to duck into the ally between the palace and the walls to protect it.
In one of the walls was a hole, one I had found my first time here, and I squeezed through it, into a confusing maze of side streets. I ran a bit more, to put distance between myself and the palace, and hid in one of the buildings, panting.
By now, the way back into Seacreast will be blocked, so that escape route was out of the question. I had to find some way to free the kids from her control. Without the kids, she would be powerless.
The book! I quickly pulled it out of my bag, searching through it, until I found what I needed.
To Free From Hypnotism
"Yes!" I breathed, humming it softly until I was sure I had the notes down.
Now all I had to do was find the highest point in the city, get there without being caught, and sing at the top of my lungs.
Piece of cake.
Not.
Just then, a pair of arms locked around my chest from behind, pinning my arms. I gasped in surprise, struggling against my captor. Whoever it was, was taller and broader then me, and definitely more powerful. I twisted my head back, trying to see who it was, and gasped.
"Eric!?"
He didn't respond as he picked me up, carrying me towards the entrance of the building. My heart jumped into my throat as I realized that he was about to take me back to Hertz.
The song!
Taking a deep breath, I began to sing. My voice faltered at first, but grew stronger as my confidence grew.
Eric slowly put me down, his arms loosening until I could duck out from under them. I moved a few steps away, turning to watch him as I finished the song. He was holding his head, looking confused.
"Ugh… What happened?" he muttered.
"Eric!" I gasped, darting forward and hugging him tightly.
"F-Flora?" he gasped in surprise. I looked up at him. "Where are we?"
"The City of Bronze. Long story short, those thorns had a hypnotic drug on them, you were hypnotized, and Roma Hertz was behind everything. She's not a governess. She kidnapped me and bought me here, but I came earlier and hid the Chalice," I explained, all in one big breath.
"Um… okay. You'll have to fill me in a bit more later. What's the plan for right now?" he asked.
"We have to find the highest point in the city. I found a song to free everyone from the hypnotism."
"Right. Come on, then," he said, and I couldn't help but smile in relief as we continued forward once more.
…
A/N: Tada! In answer to my question from the last chapter, of who will rescue Flora? Flora will rescue herself. She's tired of being a damsel in distress!
Don't worry, future stories will still have the professor save her, but she won't be totally helpless either!
