It was a long, downward climb before Saresh reached the bottom of the well. The ground felt spongy and damp, as though it were made of soft earth. At least we know there's water somewhere down here. He felt his way forward through a narrow tunnel, the dim, flickering glow of Sarah's fire visible farther on. He had taken up the rear, curious to try his portal magic one last time before proceeding deeper into the depths of the inner labyrinth. As before, nothing had happened.
He reached the end of the tunnel, staring in amazement at the sight before him. They were in a vast cavern, almost the size of the Labyrinth. Walls covered in bioluminescent plants stretched before them, offering a vast number of different paths to choose from. They were in a labyrinth beneath the labyrinth.
He noticed Raelia inspecting a glowing blue flower that bloomed on the wall before her. He walked towards her, entranced by the beauty of the strange plant.
"Dreamflower," she said, almost reverently, "they're incredibly rare."
"Any good to eat?" He asked, half-jokingly.
"Not unless you have a death wish." She said, turning to face him, "the dried blossoms can be ground into Reveicum powder. Relatively harmless in small doses, but one blossom can produce a fatal dose."
"Harmless? You tell that to the nasty hangover I had after you dosed us!"
It wasn't the only thing awful about that morning. He cringed at the memory.
"I did say relatively," the Fae said picking the bud.
"Well, in any case, you keep that stuff to yourself this time," he said, eliciting a laugh from Raelia.
"It does have other uses," she said, tucking the glowing flower into a pouch at her hip. "If you or someone else gets seriously injured you'd be begging me for it. It can induce sleep even when one is in severe pain."
He shuddered, not liking the idea of being put into a drug induced sleep. It reminded him too much of when he had been a goblin, unknowingly controlled by external forces. He had no desire to relinquish his mind's control over his body, no matter how much pain he might suffer.
"Always so serious. Relax, Saresh! You're safe from poisoning….for now," she added with a wink, before darting back to join the group.
"I better be safe from poisoning indefinitely!" He called after her, following.
He had to admit, the Fae woman was starting to grow on him. Her wry, joking manner reminded him of the way he and Sarah used to…
Sarah, he thought guiltily as he and Raelia approached the group. He hadn't yet attempted to work things out with her. If anything, the rift between them was deeper than ever. They hadn't spoken since he'd woken up in the tunnel. He kept thinking that he'd find the right moment talk to her, figure out the right words to say, but he was as lost on how to begin now as he'd been back at the castle.
Tonight, he thought as the group proceeded down a passageway of Sarah's choosing, I'll do it tonight.
By the time the group stopped for the night, however, Saresh had still not worked out how to approach Sarah. He sat by the fire, stewing over how to get her alone, what to say, but by the time he worked up the nerve to speak to her, she was fast asleep.
It had been a grueling day. The Underlabyrinth, as the group had taken to calling this part of the maze, was a desolate place, eerily silent except for the sounds of their footsteps. Though they encountered no one, they were forced to change course many times after the path they were on reached a dead end. Saresh had lost count of how many times they'd backtracked to the entrance of the Underlabyrinth.
There were a few minor victories, however. Jarvi had filled her pack with small kindling bundles and mushrooms from the forest the night before, so the group had a warm meal and a fire to lift their spirits. Plus, given the utter lack of life beyond the bioluminescent plants covering the walls, there was little concern that the fire would attract the wrong kind of attention.
And they had found fresh water…of a sort. With Raelia's plant knowledge, they discovered that some of the thicker vines covering the walls could be tapped for water. It was warm and had a sweet, earthy taste to it, but it would keep them alive. This discovery alone was cause enough for the group to celebrate, but through it all, Sarah seemed distant. Outwardly she appeared to share in their collective joy, but looking in her eyes, Saresh could tell her mind was elsewhere.
In the soft, dim glow of the Underlabyrinth flora, Saresh could see the toll the last few days had taken on Sarah. How could it not, she's been the deciding voice behind every decision we've made. Hell, half the time she's the only vote. The incident in the forest had rallied the group behind Sarah as a leader. No longer did the other Order members second-guess her decisions. In fact, they often spoke highly of her, how she'd managed to get them this far in such a short time, but they also seemed content to let her bear all the decision-making alone. Of course she would be exhausted. Still, Saresh couldn't help but feel disappointed that he'd once again missed his moment.
The camp had split into its usual groups. Jarvi and Sonya sat by the fire holding hands, engrossed, as always, in conversation. Raelia had wandered off in search of more dreamflower buds, though her absence was not entirely unusual. She seemed to have a hard time sitting still, and often wandered the perimeter of their camp in the evenings, claiming to be keeping watch for any danger. She had missed the thing with the trees though, he thought, slipping that fact away to tease her about the next time she mentioned keeping watch.
Ludo had just finished mending a tear in his shirt, which bore signs of the tree's assault in several places. Pulling the garment back over his head, he grabbed his canteen and came to sit by Saresh.
"Just like old times, isn't it," the older man said, the orange glow of the fire softening the lines of his face.
"Sort of," Saresh said, his eyes wandering to the far edge of camp, where Sarah lay sleeping.
"Whatever happened between the two of you, you'll work it out. That's what friends do."
"Does everyone know?" Saresh asked. He hadn't thought Raelia would go around talking about his feelings for Sarah behind his back, but then again, she was still quite new to the group.
Ludo rolled his eyes at Saresh.
"Please, when it comes to your feelings, you and Sarah are about as subtle as an arson of fierys. I don't have any idea what happened between you two, but I do know two things; you're both sorry about it and stubborn as hell. The minute one of you decides to put this thing behind you, it's going to be fine."
So she hadn't said anything. But Ludo's implication meant that Saresh's gut instinct had been right. It was past time he and Sarah talked. The older man clapped Saresh on the shoulder paternally, before retiring for the night.
Saresh claimed a spot by the fire. Having lost his pack, which contained his bedding, he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity for a good, warm place to sleep, even if the light flickered brightly behind his closed eyelids.
Tomorrow, I'll talk to her tomorrow.
But when Saresh awoke the next morning, Sarah was gone. If you could properly call it morning. Telling time in the Underlabyrinth was next to impossible, as it stayed the same level of dark, broken only by the glow of the plants along the walls.
He shot up, striding to the nearest Order member, Sonya, who seemed utterly unconcerned at their Queen's disappearance.
"Where is Sarah?"
"Up there," Sonya said, pointing at the cavernous ceiling high above the walls, "She's scouting ahead."
"Alone?"
Sonya laughed.
"How exactly am I or anyone else supposed to stop her? If you've suddenly developed the ability to turn into a duck, then by all means go ahead and fly after her!"
He had no response to that. Fortunately, Raelia interrupted the conversation, saving him from further embarrassment.
"Finally, you're awake!" She said, looping her arm through his, "I need your help breaking down my section of camp. Honestly, things never seem to fold back up as neatly as when you first put them there!"
It was an excuse, she didn't really need his help, but Saresh couldn't help but be grateful to have something to do besides wait for Sarah to return. He nodded, and let Raelia lead him over to her mostly full pack. The work passed quickly with the two of them. Raelia hummed a haunting, unfamiliar tune as they went. Not even the constant dark seemed to damp her spirits.
Sarah returned right as they finished. In the dark, he almost missed the shape of her red-tail hawk form as it glided toward the camp. She changed back into human form, scooping up her pack as she landed without breaking her pace.
"Well, the bad news is, the Underlabyrinth is massive," she said, addressing the group, "but the good news is, I think I know how to navigate it."
"You saw it, then?" Raelia asked, excitedly "the Heart of the Labyrinth?"
"No, but…I don't really know how to explain it. When I was up there, there was a place near the center that I flew over and…I felt it. My magic felt so strong and alive inside me. If we can make our way to the center, I'm sure I'll feel it again."
"See anything that looks like it might want to eat us?" Jarvi asked, shrugging her own pack over her shoulder.
Sarah shook her head.
"From what I could see, we're all that's down here. Still though, best to be on our guard."
With that, the group began the day's long trudge. Sarah still led the way, though it was harder to make her out without her little handful of flame. Since the plants provided sufficient light to see by, Sarah no longer had to light the way. Still, he hadn't realized how comforting he'd found the sight of her flickering handful of light until it was gone. Several times throughout the day he thought to press up toward the front of the group, but in the silence of the Underlabyrinth he hesitated. He doubted Sarah would be very appreciative of him trying to clear the air in front of the rest of the Order, and he wasn't exactly keen on anyone else hearing their private conversation either.
So he hung back in his usual post, taking up the rear, keeping a watchful eye for anything lurking in the dark. When they stopped for rest around what they presumed was midday, Saresh determined to find Sarah, but as he approached she was already walking away from the camp, shifting into a bird again in mid-stride. In the dark, he couldn't be certain if she'd left because she'd seen him approaching or not.
Days passed in this manner. Every time he worked up the nerve to speak to Sarah, she was either asleep or had taken off on one of her solo scouting missions. It couldn't be a coincidence. He started to believe she was deliberately avoiding him. But then, she had grown distant from everyone. Beyond her periodic scouting reports to let them know if we were still on track, she barely tried to engage with the group. She wasn't rude, but aloof in the way that a general might be to his troops, concerned in a general sense for their well-being, but not involved too closely with any of them.
On the morning of the fourth day in the Underlabyrinth, sixth day overall, he finally managed to catch her as she returned from a flight. He waited for her near her pack, which she usually set up a short distance from the others, near enough to be part of the camp, but far enough for her to be apart from the rest. She landed smoothly, not breaking pace as she strode towards her pack.
"Hey," Saresh said, pushing off of the wall he'd been leaning on. He took a few quick steps to catch up to her.
"I'll give the update in a minute—"
"No, that's not—can we…talk? For a minute?"
"Can it wait?" She asked, slinging her pack over her shoulder, not looking at him, "We really need to get going."
"I guess, but—no. No, it can't. Sarah, I really need to talk to you. It's important, and would you please look at me?"
He grabbed her shoulder, turning her to face him. She gave little resistance, and when he saw her face he could see why. In this close distance, the darkness couldn't hide the deep circles under her eyes, or the weary look inside them. She shrugged his hand away, using the least amount of effort possible to remove his hand.
"Well? What?" She asked with the air of an exhausted parent, clinging to the last edges of her frayed patience.
"I—just came to apologize…for, well…that morning"
"Oh, that," She said, as though it meant nothing to her at all. He tried to chalk it up to whatever was causing her to be worn this ragged, but the empty tone in her voice stung. "I've been meaning to apologize to you as well. I should never have allowed us to be that close in the first place."
"Wait, what? I don't understand. Are you saying you don't want us to be friends?"
"I'm saying that it's better for both of us if we aren't too close."
He was shocked. Part of him wondered if this was because he'd taken so long to speak to her. Then again, she hadn't spoken to him either. And now his fears that she'd been avoiding him were confirmed. But, catching a glimpse of sadness in her eyes as she turned to walk away, he couldn't help feeling that something was wrong.
"You don't mean that. Sarah, this isn't like you. Just stop for a minute and tell me what's going on with you."
She stopped with her back to him and breathed a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry I hurt you," she said without looking at him. "Things were different before I became Queen. If I'd understood that sooner…I'm sorry." Her apology came out choked, as though she were biting back tears.
He stood rooted to the ground, a cold feeling descending upon him. He had been so afraid to talk to her, but he never really considered that Sarah might not want to repair their friendship. He felt like the air had been removed from his lungs, and suddenly the vast Underlabyrinth felt oppressive, the walls seemingly closing in. And yet, no matter how much her words had hurt, he felt that unequivocally something was wrong. They hadn't encountered anything in the Underlabyrinth, but somehow, something poisonous had taken ahold of Sarah.
He fell in behind the group in his usual place, but this time instead of searching for foes that never appeared, his eyes were fixed on the dim outline of Sarah's head. He didn't care what she said. This wasn't her. And he wasn't giving up on his friend.