"Sir, you have returned!" Raphael welcomed warmly as he saw his master appear in his room. He received a cold glare for the Sovereign, who stalked past him and propped in his throne, his expression the one of a somewhat confused man. That look wasn't one the dragon expected to see in his omniscient Sovereign and didn't quite pleased or appeased him. It made his utterly nervous.
"What happened, milord?" he enquired, bewildered. The Dragon King pointed at the huge crystal Ball showing an image of the Labyrinthine visitor heading towards the Egyptian Maze. Raphael's eyes widened then, and he almost let his jaw drop from the impression.
"The girl is still on the Labyrinth!" he blurted out, as if it was the strangest thing he had ever seen "But, Milord, I thought you had…seduced her, just like the others"
Gareth sighed and then stood up, walking towards the crystal ball and gazing intently at it, as if he wanted to make it implode with his eyes. Not that he couldn't do that, mind you.
"I… I was charming. I behaved exactly like my twin, every time I do that ladies fall at my feet, and the game is over" he snorted "I hate it, but I do it nevertheless! I have had women throwing their selves at me for much less"
'That's an understatement' Raphael thought silently. Yet he couldn't decipher what had gone wrong. His Highness might be aloof, antisocial and terribly cold, but when he wanted to be charming, heck, he was so damn charming that one could have mistaken him for his twin. It was something he did, seduce female Labyrinthine travelers. It saved him a lot of time. Clueless, lovesick, petty little teenagers were what his Monarch hated the most. He had lost several hours seeing them try and fail the Labyrinth again and again till he had decided something. To seduce them, to charm them into submission. And, after that, the game was over, and he always won.
Well, that was till the day that damned girl had crossed the doors of his precious construction.
"Why didn't she… fall for you, Milord?" the Advisor chose his words wisely, for he knew any wrong impression he might give could quickly ignite the feared Royal wrath. The monarch just shrugged, turning his attention to a stake of papers and a pile of books in a table near the bubble.
"She is made of ice, the kind of ice that the simple fire of Lust alone can't melt" he replied "But it doesn't matter. Let her transverse my Labyrinth and die trying…" a small smile flashed across his chiseled features "I couldn't care less"
After saying that he returned to his books and knowledge, leaving a crestfallen Dragon asking himself whether his liege had a heart and a couple of mortals, trapped in a cage, fearing for the life of one whom they had done great harm to, and in exchange was trying to do great good to them…
"Hollywood's theatrical designers, eat your hearts" Augustine mumbled calmly as her eyes swept over the triangular structure in front of her. The sand from which the blocks that formed the pyramid were made was as golden as the very metal itself, shinning a bright golden hue as if rivaling the pale silver of the moonlight above it. It was a geometrically impeccable work, tastefully decorated with the bright reds, blues, golds and greens of the Egyptian Culture. Black statues of Anubis in his animal form (a jackal) with a typical headdress used mostly by pharaohs guarded the entrance. Being Anubis the God protector of Tombs, it was customary to set statues of him as protectors, sentinels of the Pharaoh's body and place of eternal rest, meaning the Pyramid. The structure was positioned in a favorable way, bearing in mind the constellations shinning above it. The location of such a work of architecture musk have taken experts a long time to decipher, taking all things needed in account so to please the Gods and keep out the bad spirits. Anubis, with his canine face and feral expression, was meant to scare both tomb raiders and jackals, which had the annoying habit of digging there way into the pyramid and making havoc in it. That is why that particular vigilant God was represented with that particular animal. Call it irony…
"This is not exactly the time for an Anthropologist lesson" she scolded herself, tearing her eyes away from the wonder displaying it selves in front of her. She walked towards what seemed to be the entrance of the Pyramid and took in the hieroglyphic message above it.
"They must be a warning, or an advise. It's useless, for I know not what it means"
She was answered by a soft, almost muffled 'meow'. From the black depths of the Pyramid appeared a black cat, with shinning gold eyes, an Egyptian necklace made out of gold painted with blue and adorned with rubies and a pendant hanging from the collar. It was a golden disk adorned with the face of a cobra on the base, much like the 'infinity' symbol the Egyptian Royal Family used.
"Thanks, kitty, but I don't think that you can help me" she muttered to the feline, who seemed offended. When the cat repeated his meow the girl looked at him/her and remembered two things: one, that she shouldn't take things for granted and two, that the gold disk and the cobra were symbols of…
"Bast?" she asked, eyeing the cat "Goddess Bast, Lady of the East, Bearer of Light, Goddess of the Chamber… Bastet?" she enquired, bewildered. The cat didn't meow this time… The cat laughed. A true, amused laugh that sounded feminine for the girl's ears.
"So you, mortal, know me… Well, you deserve to transverse the Egyptian Maze then. Your knowledge will be the thing tested here, and your most useful tool" she bowed and Augustine noticed the gold earring in her right eye and the bracelets around her wrists and ankles "I am indeed Bast, or rather her avatar, her incarnation. And, for deciphering me and returning me my ability to speak, I shall be your guider. By no means I will tell you the way out of the maze, but I will aid you if necessity arises"
The cat, now stated that it was a female, seemed both kind and haughty and Augustine decided that she couldn't trust her more than the animal trusted her, which obviously wasn't much. But she decided not to push it too far and asked her whether she could tell her what the message above the entrance of the triangular construction read. The feline stared at the complex set of figures and symbols before replying:
"It's a riddle and a warning. You must solve the riddle to enter the pyramid, or the moment you step into it the whole structure will crumble and fall apart. The riddle reads:
I welcome the day with a show of light,
I stealthily came here in the night.
I bathe the earthy stuff at dawn,
But by the noon, alas! I'm gone.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Augustine wondered aloud "It doesn't make sense!"
Bast smiled patronizingly at her and almost shrugged, smiling.
"I would be careful with the answer, because she must say it as you trespass the entrance. If your answer is wrong, then the entire pyramid will collapse over you" she told her suddenly, as if she had just remembered that important little detail. The mortal gasped, looking at the cat as if she couldn't believe her.
"But the pyramid is still intact!" she huffed "Does it mean that everyone that reached it has solved the puzzle?" she asked with a heavy heart. The feline's smile broadened, thing that didn't please Augustine at all, and Bast shook her head.
"No, it means that no one has dared to try and see if they had the right answer. They took other paths, which made them loose time, but didn't have the courage to try and see if they were right. But I haven't heard, in all my thousands of years, any mortal utter the right answer. They were all wise and preferred to take another path" she explained rather devilishly, absentmindedly licking on of her paws and looking at the woman-girl in front of her with her unnerving, golden eyes.
"You are enjoying my torment" she accused her guider plainly, sighing and trying hard to solve the riddle.
"I bet I'm not the only one" the avatar muttered under her breath, wondering briefly who the mortal girl had managed to get past the 'Master's Ministrations'. She didn't trust the girl at all and the reason for that was that she had and icy soul. She, being an avatar, was able to see that. A cold, solid aura that surrounded her, very different from the nice, warm glow of mortal girl's auras.
In other words, she wasn't an ordinary kind of girl.
"I don't have all day, you know?" Bastet spat out, utterly annoyed after a couple of minutes of sitting there, watching the red-haired girl doubt. It was human nature to doubt, to distrust the capacity of their own mind, just as it was Fae nature to be over-confident. They were as opposite as it was possible, and yet so much alike…
"Don't be foolish, turn around and stop wasting so much time. You can still make it if you go down that path" the cat said, taking pity on the girl's situation; even though it was probably her own foolishness the one who made her end up there on the first place. Augustine looked at the other path and sighed. The Avatar was right, she had to be. It was crazy to risk her life for a couple of hours of advantage.
Feeling totally defeated the girl backed away from the pyramid and started going towards the other path when something made her ears perk up: it was the faint, almost elusive sound of laugh. Not a merry, joyous laugh but a mocking, sardonic one. A laugh she had heard too many times. And then something clicked, and a whisper rose above the weak chuckle. And in that instant she knew that, somehow, she had gotten it right. The answer.
Without warning she twirled around and ran back to the entrance of the Egyptian tomb. If she gave up there, she would never make it to the center and she knew it. And she would not be defeated. For her it was more than a quest to rescue people who had put her on that situation on the first place… It was a way to prove herself that she was important, that all the years spent being an outcast had forged a will of iron and that it wouldn't go away, not when she needed it. And she needed answers as well.
"Are you crazy? Don't be foolish, little mortal, you will die! Come back; come back before it's too late!" Bastet practically begged, her eyes the size of spoons and a look of both fear and disdain glowing in them. That mortal was just too stubborn and too foolish, she was racing towards her own death.
"the answer to the riddle is 'the morning Dew!'" she said aloud as she trespassed the entrance. As her feet touched the floor of the pyramid she went still, looking above her for any signs of a collapse. However, there was nothing but silence.
For a moment she felt like jumping, like hugging Bast and like dancing around, but her emotions were always kept at leash, always in control. She threw the flabbergasted avatar a look and then grabbed a torch that had magically lit up itself the moment she had stepped into the maze.
"Aren't you coming, Bast?" she asked aloud before venturing deeper into the unknown, a twinkle in her eyes as the only sign of her joy for the victory.
"My God… I can't even look!" Professor Aberline muttered under his breath, in a state near fainting from the apprehension and fear he was feeling. He wondered briefly why everything in the realm he was had to be a 'life or death' kind of thing and he felt grateful when Justine told him that Augustine had decided not to try her luck with the riddle thing.
"The stupid twit is loosing her opportunity of a shortcut! That is gonna cost her hours that she could have spent saving us!" Constance practically growled from her spot in the cage. Her chocolate-brown eyes were spitting fire and fixed in the read mane of hair that was visible from the interior of the crystal ball that functioned as a sort of TV screen. But her gaze darted from the perfectly-rounded orb to the lithe form of her captor, whose face was buried in some thick book and his legs were crossed elegantly over one of the chair's arms, in an almost defiantly lazy posture that contrasted with the look of utter concentration he was wearing. Papers were sprawled across the oak table in front of the throne-like chair he was perched in, and he casually glanced at one or two of them every now and then. She licked her lips in a nearly unconscious motion. He was simply to die for! All of him, from his silvery-white seemly untamable mane of hair to his strong, toned legs and incredibly sexy leather ridding booths screamed sensuality and power, and that was something no girl could ignore. Well, almost no girl…
"Hey, do you think maybe the dork is in the… 'all girls team'?" someone asked near her. Constance twirled around to see her friend Bianca, who was smiling almost viciously, hoping she had found another way to torture their favorite doormat once they returned to good old normality, of course. But the questioned girl shook her head.
"Nope… She is just too frigid" she dismissed the subject with the wave of a hand "Now, on the other hand, I know of someone with whom I would like to get hot" she smiled almost sinfully, making a slight gesture with her head to signalize the Dragon King. As slow as she was, it took some minutes for Bianca to process everything and understand the meaning of her friend's words.
"So what are you gonna do to get'im?" she asked with obvious interest as she looked towards her friend and then their captor "I'll do anything to help" she added, thinking mentally that it was a good way to get Constance's boyfriend to break up with her and then she surely would be ready to make her move.
"Just follow my lead" Constance whispered back, an all-knowing grin adorning her features.
"Hey, you got us all in this trouble, made some poor girl cross that dead trap called Labyrinth and all you can think of is shagging your captor? What kind of rotten, twisted mind is yours?" Justine muttered almost disgustedly near her left, making a face, her eyes holding disbelief.
"I don't want *just* to shag him" the girl snapped angrily, trying to defend herself when… She discovered something else. It was true, she didn't want *just* to shag him… She wanted so much more.
'My God, she ain't kidding' Justine thought with a surprised look. The popular cheerleader had that funny, almost warm glow in her eyes every time she even glanced at the Sovereign. A small smile crept over her mouth, even when she knew she shouldn't be amused. Someone was about to get her heart broken into million of tiny little pieces and even the thought of it made her snicker and wait in anticipation. Of course, her guilt appeared not so long after her amusement.
'It will be good for her to taste some heartache to help her understand that emotions weren't things to be toyed with… Aw, who am I kidding? She will never learn'
As this inner battle of delight and guilt occurred inside Justine's head, Constance had already taken her first step: set the scene to be damsel in distress. So, of course, she had to be hurt. She instructed Bianca to pusher and made her trip and Bianca, eager to have Dean for herself, did as she was told without hesitation, so Constance was promptly in the floor, acting her part.
"Aw… my ankle!" she yelped, wincing in fake pain. Professor Aberline resisted his urge to roll his eyes heavenward, having seen Constance 'pick up' act thousands of times before "It's killing me!!!" the girl shouted again, trying not to be so damn evident. Her yelling distracted the King from his reading and he patiently put the book down, glancing at the cage with his mismatched eyes showing no apparent interest. He took off his gold-rimmed glasses- that had the sole purpose of making him read ten times faster than he could with the use of a spell he had cast on them- and finally, in one sweep, natural movement, he stood up.
"What's the matter?" he enquired with his heavy, incredibly maddening British accent. He drawled the word with such naturalness that it seemed as if he had been born speaking that way. Thinking about it, no one could be sure he had been born at all.
"She twisted her ankle. You know, there can be lots of accidents in the confined space of a cage" Justine answered, with sarcasm bordering her tone. He seemed to ignore it (as he did with most things) and simply walked towards the cage, opening it with a wave of his hand. Of course, after learning lesson number one in the Underground (Don't defy the person who can blast you into next week) nobody dared to try and escape. After all, better to be trapped in a tiny little cage than to run away towards the Labyrinth and its numerous and mostly deadly dangers untold and hardships unnumbered. He eyed the mortal with disdain written all over his chiseled features, his brow frowning.
"Can you stand?" he asked with a rather frigid voice, his mind preoccupied with other things. Constance tried to hide her disappointment, and decided not to give up, so she shook her head in denial.
"The rules of the Labyrinth state that the 'wished-away's must not come to harm while the challenger is trespassing the Labyrinth, so I'll better have a look at your ankle" he said nonchalantly, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her towards a chair. Constance was in cloud nine, waiting for the time when he would place his elegant, pale hands in her ankle… Though the moment never came. He simple looked at her in the eye and frowned.
"There is nothing wrong with your ankle, dearest…" he said knowingly "But that was a good try"
He moved away so quickly she barely had time to register it. In one perfectly coordinated movement he had returned to his position in the throne-like chair he had been previously occupying.
"You are just going to leave me here?" she said, almost shocked to the core, her eyes wide. Nobody had ever refused Constance Archer, and even the thought of that happening made her feel strangely defeated.
"What makes you think, mortal, that you can accomplish what thousands of immortal women have failed to achieve?" he asked, a look of cold amusement set in his features. Constance felt suddenly very silly and said nothing. Raphael shook his head as he watched his liege return to his papers, books and ancient knowledge. He looked at the mortal woman with mild interest in his eyes. She wasn't breathtakingly stunning or anything, but the way she gave herself to men had some fake, she undeniable allure, something that drew men to her and captured their attention, if only for some minutes.
"He has been lust after for various reasons since the beginning of time, child. Not a woman, Fae, elf, fairy or of any other kind has ever truly captured my attention ever. He is damned, and his damnation caused his lack of emotions" he told her softly, trying to get her to give up.
Just when he finished saying that there were several gasps and a yell came out of the floating crystal orb.
"Are you crazy? Don't be foolish, little mortal, you will die! Come back; come back before it's too late!" a female voice pleaded, sounding almost exasperated.
"My God, she is going to try and answer the riddle!" Justine exclaimed, her voice sounding a little high-pitched from fear.
"What?"
Everyone turned their eyes towards the now slightly agitated figure of the dragon King, who stood up so suddenly that threw the chair to the floor. With quick strides he approached his levitating glass ball and peered into it.
"The Bloody Fool…" he muttered under his breath as his heart unconsciously speeded up. He held his breath as she passed the entrance, a firm look placed on her face and… Nothing. Nothing happened; the world didn't fall down, so to speak. She was there, standing inside the tomb, completely safe. And she didn't seem surprised by that.
He watched her as she grabbed a torch and thought, amusedly, that it was way too big for her petit, almost weightless form. She called for her avatar, who was at a loss of words. Finally the cat enquired how she had managed to get the courage to test her own intelligence at the cost of her life.
"Una Voluntad de Hierro… Una voz…" the girl replied in a strange language that rolled out of her tongue as smooth and as caressing as silk, a smile tugging the left corner of her mouth. At the puzzled expression of Bast the girl translated easily "A Will of Iron… A voice"
He felt desire as he had never felt before. He wanted her mind, he craved for it. It was strictly intellectual the need. Her puzzling, cryptic mind would be an excellent addition to his Labyrinth's essence.
"I'll have you soon enough, my little one" he whispered to her image inside the glass orb, practically purring. He smiled wolfishly and then snapped his fingers and the huge oak table moved towards him, stopping near the orb and the cage. Constance chair and his own follow the table. Settling down as they reached it. He returned to his seat then, fumbling over papers and books, but with half of his mind and attention focused on the red-haired girl and her journey.
Author's Note: Well, that's it. This chapter got out of my hands, if you know what I mean. I intended to write one thin, but then the 'keyboard demon' took hold of me and then this happened. It's as if the story was alive and wrote itself as I go along. I didn't even intended to write half the things written here!
Well, I'm happy to say that it's a lot of reviews the ones I'm getting. A true inspiration, and thanks to Rhiannon Faylinn for your suggestion, it was brilliant and I'm trying to include it in the story, hopefully with some success. And thank you Starbrat for actually taking the time to discuss Shakespeare with me. I'm glad you paid attention to that part of the story, for it is my opinion of the play. It was really good of you to send that review and, though I partially agree with you, I beg to differ in some points. Well, both are valuable opinions and well… thanks again fro your review and for taking that Shakespeare part seriously. And to all my other reviewers, thank you very much for you comments and you loyalty to my fanfic (or fanfics, if your read more than one of them).
The update of The Night of the Blue Moon will come soon and the next chapter of The Masks we Wear is slowly progressing. I'm sorry, but I had thins thing for endings. I don't know quite how to write them because they have to be impressive. See you soon (hopefully),
Sabina (who is going to Brazil on holidays soon, so don't think she just vanished!)
