Chapter 3: A riddle
Filia turned to the right and began walking down the corridor. She stepped carefully over fallen branches and walked around piles of leaves, careful not to touch the apparently slimy walls.
"Only Xellos would have a labyrinth that went strait, no turns or side passages at all." She muttered to herself. "Maybe I'm just taking it for granted that there aren't any..."
With that, Filia began running down the passage. She ran until her side started to hurt, and her legs cramp from running in the unfamiliar human form. She skidded to a stop, discomfort overcoming her anger-induced desire to beat Xellos at his own game. She panted for a moment, leaning her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
"That stupid monster!" she cried, reaching for her trusty mace. Instead, her hand met her denim-covered thigh. "Oh! He took my mace!"
Flames shot from Filia's eyes as her form began to shimmer... then she remembered the rules of the game and tried to calm down. She thought about Val in his egg, but that only worked to remind her of his current predicament, so she decided to handle her anger in time-honored tradition.
After a few moments, Filia was sitting next to a spread tablecloth, cup and saucer set out and tea brewing. She poured herself a cup of her favorite blend, and began sipping from her pink flower petal cup.
"I can't let that stupid Xellos win so easily. I bet he's just waiting for me to change into a dragon to try to skip this maze, just so he can declare himself the winner. I won't let it happen! Oh! This tea is so relaxing!" The dragon maiden slowly calmed herself down, reminding herself that any breech in her playing would end in her forfeiting the game, and Val's egg.
"Oh, tea!" a little voice cried out. "Miss Filia, you're havin' tea!"
"Jillas? What are you doing here?" Filia asked in surprise at seeing the little fox man.
"Why, I don't really know, Miss Filia." Jillas looked confused for a bit, the noticed that something appeared to be missing. "Miss Filia, why're you sittin' here havin' tea when Lord Val needs rescuin'?"
"I'm having a little trouble with the maze." Filia admitted, hanging her head in shame. "I can't seem to find any doors or corridors or anything."
Jillas was concerned, he'd never seen Miss Filia at a loss for anything. Maybe he could help.
"What about that one?" he said, pointing at the wall across from where Filia was sitting. "You could try that one."
Filia looked up, staring at the wall. She stood, abandoning her empty teacup to walk closer.
"I don't see any opening," she began, placing her hands palm out at chest height. Her confusion turned to astonishment as she walked through the space where her eyes had told her the wall was and into another corridor. She turned back to Jillas.
"Thank you so very much!" she cried as she ran into the new passageway.
"Wait, Miss Filia!" Jillas cried. The young dragon maid was so excited that she simply waved goodbye and ran up the passage.
"Well, I suppose I should take care of this... never known Miss Filia to forget about her tea set before..." The little fox man shrugged, gathering up Filia's tablecloth and tea set, humming to himself while visions of Miss Filia rescuing his egg-bound lord danced in his head.
Meanwhile:
Xellos was bored. Filia was just running through the outskirts of the labyrinth, and Zelas was bound to become bored. He looked around the room he had assembled the lesser Mazoku in. They were sitting around playing cards and tormenting the extras for the next scene.
A sudden inspiration hit him, and he grabbed a lesser Mazoku, whirling the group into a dance number.
Zelas was bound to be amused by this...
Back with Filia:
Filia was feeling a little lost. She was carefully marking the route she had taken, but she was almost certain that the labyrinth was changing as she walked through it. Her suspicion was confirmed when she walked back through a doorway only to find the passage that she had just come from had disappeared.
"Oh! That Xellos, he's not playing fair!" She complained out loud.
"Did you really expect him to?" A voice called from off to the side.
Filia looked up to find the dead end she had just been contemplating now had two strange figures standing in it in front of two oddly shaped doors. The figures appeared to be odd little beastmen carrying shields. As she watched, a second pair of heads peaked out from beneath the shields, looking at her quizzically.
"Where did you come from?" She asked the figures. "This was a dead end a moment ago."
"No," The second upside down man announced. "The dead end is right behind you."
Filia turned to check as all four men laughed. They were correct; the passage she had just come through was gone, replaced by a blank stonewall. She sighed.
"What am I supposed to do now?" She asked, turning back to the pair... err, pairs.
The little men laughed.
"Well," said one, "the only way out of here is to try one of these doors."
"One of them leads to the castle, and the other leads to certain death." Said the other.
Filia looked between the doors, they appeared the same. The only difference she could see was that one set of the little men was wearing red and carrying a shield with a red design and the other was wearing blue and carrying a blue designed shield.
"Well," she asked quietly, "Can you tell me which is which?"
The upright beast men hid their heads as the upside-down ones considered her questions. They looked at each other, then in unison replied.
"Nope. We don't know!" The upside-down beast men motioned to the now hiding upright beast men with their chins. "But they do!"
Filia sighed in annoyance, glad she had some practice at patience earlier with Lina/Hoggle. She unclenched her fists, and took a deep breath before replying.
"So, can you tell me the way to the castle?" she asked sweetly.
"We can, but you can only ask one of us. It's in the rules." The beast man on the left replied.
"And one of us always tells the truth, while the other one always lies." The one on the right broke in. "It's in the rules, too."
Filia's right eyebrow twitched. Her hands tightened into fists, and she drew in another deep breath. Both beast men hid behind their shields, not wanting to be trapped in a small space with an enraged dragon. Not even one in human form. They peeked out from behind the shields and Filia paused, deep in thought.
Suddenly, the dragon maiden sprang forward with a smile. She walked up to the beast man on the left and leaned in close to him.
"So, if I asked you if he" she began, motioning to the beast man on the right, "would tell me that this door leads to the castle, what would you say?"
The beast man looked at her, his eyes going wide. He ducked behind the shield to converse with the upside-down beast man, who could be heard replying, "I don't know!" over and over again. After a moment of conversing, the upright beast man peeked back over the shield.
"Yes..." he replied hesitantly.
"Hah!" Filia jumped up and down in glee. "Then it's this door that leads to certain doom"
"Death!" interrupted the upside-down beast men.
"And the other that leads to the castle!" Filia continued, ignoring the interruption.
"But what if I was lying?" Asked the beast man who had answered the question.
"Then he wouldn't be, and the answer would be no." Filia replied.
"But what if HE was lying?" asked the beast man.
"Then you wouldn't be, and the answer would still be no!" Filia replied, making her way over to the other door. "I can't believe that I really got it! I'm better at this than that stupid Mazoku!"
With a grin to the beast men, and a jaunty wave, Filia stepped through the door on the right.
Filia turned to the right and began walking down the corridor. She stepped carefully over fallen branches and walked around piles of leaves, careful not to touch the apparently slimy walls.
"Only Xellos would have a labyrinth that went strait, no turns or side passages at all." She muttered to herself. "Maybe I'm just taking it for granted that there aren't any..."
With that, Filia began running down the passage. She ran until her side started to hurt, and her legs cramp from running in the unfamiliar human form. She skidded to a stop, discomfort overcoming her anger-induced desire to beat Xellos at his own game. She panted for a moment, leaning her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
"That stupid monster!" she cried, reaching for her trusty mace. Instead, her hand met her denim-covered thigh. "Oh! He took my mace!"
Flames shot from Filia's eyes as her form began to shimmer... then she remembered the rules of the game and tried to calm down. She thought about Val in his egg, but that only worked to remind her of his current predicament, so she decided to handle her anger in time-honored tradition.
After a few moments, Filia was sitting next to a spread tablecloth, cup and saucer set out and tea brewing. She poured herself a cup of her favorite blend, and began sipping from her pink flower petal cup.
"I can't let that stupid Xellos win so easily. I bet he's just waiting for me to change into a dragon to try to skip this maze, just so he can declare himself the winner. I won't let it happen! Oh! This tea is so relaxing!" The dragon maiden slowly calmed herself down, reminding herself that any breech in her playing would end in her forfeiting the game, and Val's egg.
"Oh, tea!" a little voice cried out. "Miss Filia, you're havin' tea!"
"Jillas? What are you doing here?" Filia asked in surprise at seeing the little fox man.
"Why, I don't really know, Miss Filia." Jillas looked confused for a bit, the noticed that something appeared to be missing. "Miss Filia, why're you sittin' here havin' tea when Lord Val needs rescuin'?"
"I'm having a little trouble with the maze." Filia admitted, hanging her head in shame. "I can't seem to find any doors or corridors or anything."
Jillas was concerned, he'd never seen Miss Filia at a loss for anything. Maybe he could help.
"What about that one?" he said, pointing at the wall across from where Filia was sitting. "You could try that one."
Filia looked up, staring at the wall. She stood, abandoning her empty teacup to walk closer.
"I don't see any opening," she began, placing her hands palm out at chest height. Her confusion turned to astonishment as she walked through the space where her eyes had told her the wall was and into another corridor. She turned back to Jillas.
"Thank you so very much!" she cried as she ran into the new passageway.
"Wait, Miss Filia!" Jillas cried. The young dragon maid was so excited that she simply waved goodbye and ran up the passage.
"Well, I suppose I should take care of this... never known Miss Filia to forget about her tea set before..." The little fox man shrugged, gathering up Filia's tablecloth and tea set, humming to himself while visions of Miss Filia rescuing his egg-bound lord danced in his head.
Meanwhile:
Xellos was bored. Filia was just running through the outskirts of the labyrinth, and Zelas was bound to become bored. He looked around the room he had assembled the lesser Mazoku in. They were sitting around playing cards and tormenting the extras for the next scene.
A sudden inspiration hit him, and he grabbed a lesser Mazoku, whirling the group into a dance number.
Zelas was bound to be amused by this...
Back with Filia:
Filia was feeling a little lost. She was carefully marking the route she had taken, but she was almost certain that the labyrinth was changing as she walked through it. Her suspicion was confirmed when she walked back through a doorway only to find the passage that she had just come from had disappeared.
"Oh! That Xellos, he's not playing fair!" She complained out loud.
"Did you really expect him to?" A voice called from off to the side.
Filia looked up to find the dead end she had just been contemplating now had two strange figures standing in it in front of two oddly shaped doors. The figures appeared to be odd little beastmen carrying shields. As she watched, a second pair of heads peaked out from beneath the shields, looking at her quizzically.
"Where did you come from?" She asked the figures. "This was a dead end a moment ago."
"No," The second upside down man announced. "The dead end is right behind you."
Filia turned to check as all four men laughed. They were correct; the passage she had just come through was gone, replaced by a blank stonewall. She sighed.
"What am I supposed to do now?" She asked, turning back to the pair... err, pairs.
The little men laughed.
"Well," said one, "the only way out of here is to try one of these doors."
"One of them leads to the castle, and the other leads to certain death." Said the other.
Filia looked between the doors, they appeared the same. The only difference she could see was that one set of the little men was wearing red and carrying a shield with a red design and the other was wearing blue and carrying a blue designed shield.
"Well," she asked quietly, "Can you tell me which is which?"
The upright beast men hid their heads as the upside-down ones considered her questions. They looked at each other, then in unison replied.
"Nope. We don't know!" The upside-down beast men motioned to the now hiding upright beast men with their chins. "But they do!"
Filia sighed in annoyance, glad she had some practice at patience earlier with Lina/Hoggle. She unclenched her fists, and took a deep breath before replying.
"So, can you tell me the way to the castle?" she asked sweetly.
"We can, but you can only ask one of us. It's in the rules." The beast man on the left replied.
"And one of us always tells the truth, while the other one always lies." The one on the right broke in. "It's in the rules, too."
Filia's right eyebrow twitched. Her hands tightened into fists, and she drew in another deep breath. Both beast men hid behind their shields, not wanting to be trapped in a small space with an enraged dragon. Not even one in human form. They peeked out from behind the shields and Filia paused, deep in thought.
Suddenly, the dragon maiden sprang forward with a smile. She walked up to the beast man on the left and leaned in close to him.
"So, if I asked you if he" she began, motioning to the beast man on the right, "would tell me that this door leads to the castle, what would you say?"
The beast man looked at her, his eyes going wide. He ducked behind the shield to converse with the upside-down beast man, who could be heard replying, "I don't know!" over and over again. After a moment of conversing, the upright beast man peeked back over the shield.
"Yes..." he replied hesitantly.
"Hah!" Filia jumped up and down in glee. "Then it's this door that leads to certain doom"
"Death!" interrupted the upside-down beast men.
"And the other that leads to the castle!" Filia continued, ignoring the interruption.
"But what if I was lying?" Asked the beast man who had answered the question.
"Then he wouldn't be, and the answer would be no." Filia replied.
"But what if HE was lying?" asked the beast man.
"Then you wouldn't be, and the answer would still be no!" Filia replied, making her way over to the other door. "I can't believe that I really got it! I'm better at this than that stupid Mazoku!"
With a grin to the beast men, and a jaunty wave, Filia stepped through the door on the right.
