I'm sorry about the long wait, guys. In atonement, I offer you two chapters. Haha! Well, in complete and utter honesty, this was going to be only one chapter, but it was so long, I split into two. So enjoy:cD
Tiger Lily21: Ah. Thank you! I'm so glad people enjoy this story besides me.
Glaze: It's okay. I actually wondered how many WOO references I was going to get.
fell4adeadguy: Heehee. At least there aren't little short people in my story.
Dragonblade Goddess: I'll try! Thank you for the congrats! It's very exciting and scary at the same time.
Sirenic Griffin: Yeah. I know I would be weirded out. Thank you for all the complements. :c) But, about the waiting homework, I should get going for Calculus.
rainkisser: Thank you! I also love your story! Woot!
Akwyn: Well, they're only cousins by marriage. So, uh, yeah. ((shifty eyes))
enchantedcameo: Thank you. :c)
UruvielTinuviel: Heehee! That was so hilarious, I remember that. You should update soonish! Yeah. Her senses are kind of on overload. Poor Danni. Yay!
Woot, guys, woot.
End with a matrix!
-Lulai
Chapter Nineteen: The Cave of Wonders
Danni trudged along behind Aiden, the urge to start whining until she was blue in the face almost overwhelming. They had been walking for eons, or so it felt to Danni. Most of it had been uphill too. Her hair was wet, causing her damp tunic to rub against the back of her neck, irritating her skin.
A semi-permanent scowl marred her face. The dampness in her boots had seeped into her socks and they were rubbing very painfully. All nine of her toes were screaming in agony. Her tenth toe, the smallest one on her right foot, had given up long ago. He was probably sitting in toe heaven, celebrating his early demise. Her scowl deepened. If only she could go join her toe.
She looked at Aiden, walking up ahead of her. His shoulders were set: a man on a mission. She started making faces at his back. Childish, yes, but it did help take her mind off of the pain in her feet and neck.
"How are you holding up back there?" Aiden asked, turning his head to look at her.
She immediately uncrossed her eyes and gave him a small smile. "I'm doing okay," she lied. "How close do you think we are?" she asked, fighting to keep the plaintive tone out of the question.
He gave her a smile with a raised eyebrow. Obviously, she hadn't uncrossed her eyes fast enough. "I don't know," he said. "We can take a break if you want to."
"No, no," she protested against her better judgement. "I'll be fine. Let's keep going."
He shrugged and turned back.
Her feet were going to fall off. She was sure of it. She gave herself a self-mocking smile. But what was she going to do? Have Aiden carry her?
That thought was quickly followed by images of being in Aiden's arms, in the forefront, the kiss he gave her the other day.
She blushed furiously, even though Aiden wasn't looking at her. She had managed to avoid thinking of that kiss before her stupid feet caused her thoughts to veer in that direction.
It wasn't like it had meant anything, she tried to convince herself. They were about to be eaten by griffins. He was just saying goodbye. He kissed her the last time they said goodbye as well.
Her face went a deeper shade of crimson. Even so, as wanton as she was, she wanted to repeat the experience again. Not the griffins, but the kiss.
It had been brief, but it had been oh-so warm. It was like being branded by the sun. She could still feel the pressure of his lips against hers.
So wrapped up was she in her scandalous thoughts, that she didn't notice when Aiden had stopped and turned to face her. She bumped face-to-chest into him.
Aiden raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was thinking that would turn her face such a deep shade of pink.
"Sorry," she muttered. She looked up into his face. "What is it?"
"I don't know," he said, swinging his arm out behind him. "The path just… stops. We've reached a dead end."
"No!" Danni exclaimed. All that walking, her poor beleaguered feet, for nothing? She rushed past him. Sure enough, the quartz vein ran right into the wall.
She collapsed against the opposite wall to the one that they were staring at. "I'm so sorry, Aiden," she whispered, her eyes full. She had wasted their time. Danni had felt so sure that she was right.
"For what?" he asked. "It wasn't your fault that this ended here." His lips tightened angrily. "It wasn't your fault that this is a dead end. That we walked all this way for nothing." Frustrated, he slapped his hand against the wall.
To the amazement of both of them, the wall swung in, revealing that the vein of quartz continued on into the darkness.
"Aiden," she said, "I think you've found something."
"Yes, I think I did, didn't I?" he said, shocked. He cleared his throat and offered her a hand up. She rose to her feet, wincing.
They walked a little ways into the darkness.
"I guess it would be a little too much to ask for to have a light, isn't it?" she said dryly.
"Probably is," Aiden agreed, a smile in his voice.
Almost immediately, the huge cavern was flooded with light. Danni and Aiden stood, speechless, as they gazed around at the place around them.
It was not very big, or at least not as big as the first cave they were in. They stood on a slight incline that dipped down slowly to the middle where a large spring bubbled out of the centre of the room, pooling first at the bottom before becoming a large stream that wound its way out of the cavern. The entire floor was covered in a thick green grass. Butterflies of all sizes, shapes, and colours flitted about, dancing between little glowing orbs of white, pink, and yellow light. Here and there a moss covered stone poked out of the grass, making the place look not so much forgotten, but old.
"Did someone up there hear us?" Danni whispered to Aiden. He shrugged, looking as bewildered as she.
"I think we're here," he said unnecessarily.
"Well, thank God," Danni breathed. She immediately plunked down on the grass and removed her boots and socks.
"Danni! Your feet!" Aiden exclaimed, crouching down beside her. Her feet looked sore. They were red, and a few of her toes had blisters on them. "You should have said something."
"Like what?" Danni asked amusedly. She clasped her hands together and looked up at him with big fake eyes. "'Oh, Aiden, my feet hurt so very much. Perhaps it would be possible if you would carry me?'"
He quirked an eyebrow at her and lifted her foot gently in his hand.
"Aiden!" she exclaimed, his touch sending a shiver through her foot and up her spine.
"Danni!" he imitated with a grin.
"What are you doing?" she demanded of him, gently trying to pull her foot from his grasp.
"Trying to see how bad your feet are and if I really am going to have to carry you," he responded.
"It is not necessary," Danni said nervously.
The lights went out, plunging them both into darkness.
"Now what?" she heard Aiden say exasperatedly.
"Do the lights blink on and off periodically?" Danni asked.
"How should I know?" Aiden said irritably. "This is a faerie cave. For all we know, they're the ones turning on and off the light."
The light turned back on again, causing both of them to squint.
Aiden put down her foot, much to Danni's relief, and held out his hand to help her to her feet. As soon as she was standing, however, he crooked an arm behind her knees and lifted her in his arms.
"Aiden!" she said, pushing at his chest to make him let her down. It had about as much impact as pushing at a stone wall. "Put me down."
"No," Aiden said smugly.
Danni was torn between relief at not having to walk anymore and anger at his extreme egotism. She chose the latter.
"This is so arrogant of you," she exclaimed. The light went out again.
"Botheration! Turn the light back on this instant!" Danni exclaimed, irritated beyond belief. She could feel Aiden's chest rumble as he chuckled, and, to make matters worse, the light didn't listen to her. At least Aiden had the intelligence to stop walking in case he tripped.
They waited several minutes for the light to turn back on, but to no avail.
"Perhaps the light isn't automatic," Aiden finally suggested.
"Then why does it flick on and off?" Danni asked, glaring at him in the dark. He still hadn't put her down, and, judging by the rock steadiness of his arms, he could probably hold her up until the cave fell in.
"I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe there is a word that triggers it." The light turned back on. Aiden winced at the brightness, then continued towards the spring in the middle of the floor.
He finally set her down on the edge of the spring and ordered her to put her feet in the water. She didn't want to, just to be obstinate, but her feet really were sore. She dipped them in and moaned in pleasure.
The water immediately cooled the burning of her feet. Her little toe even resurrected himself, and she wiggled all her digits under the steady stream of water.
Aiden also sat on the edge of the stream, but instead of dipping in his feet, he was thinking. They sat like that for a couple moments.
"What are you thinking about?" she finally asked, breaking his concentration.
"About what the word that turns on the light might be," he answered.
"Well," she mused, "what was the last thing you said before the lights turned back on?"
"Maybe there's a word that triggers it," he responded. They waited for something to happen. Nothing did.
"Maybe not," she said. She was reluctant to take her feet out of the water, but she did anyway.
"We should start looking for that sword," she suggested.
"Actually," he said, standing, "I'm going to look for the sword. You are going to sit there and rest your feet."
"I most certainly am not!" she exclaimed. She began to rise.
"You will sit back down, or I will throw you into the spring," he said. Danni gulped and sat back down. He would throw her into the spring.
"Egotistical jerk," she muttered.
"What was that?" Aiden asked in a voice that told her that he heard exactly what she had said. She didn't think his question dignified an answer. She returned her feet to the water.
"So, do you even know where this sword is?" she asked. The light turned off. "Oh, for the love of-"
"I think I know what the word that turns the light on and off is," Aiden said. The light turned back on.
"Oh?" she asked, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Pray, do tell."
"I think it's 'is'." The light turned off.
"Is?" The light turned on.
"Yes," Aiden said, starting to walk to the other side of the spring.
"Why in the world would it be 'is'?" The light turned off. "Is!" she snapped. The light switched back on.
He raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing, continuing on his search of the spring.
Danni twisted around to watch him. She felt a little guilty about snapping at him. Sure, he was acting a little high handed (well, extremely high handed), but he was only doing it because he cared about her.
"What are you doing?" she asked in a pleasanter tone.
"I figure the sword must be in this spring somewhere," he responded.
"Why do you figure that?"
"Well, besides these moss covered rocks, it's the only thing here, really."
"Oh," she said, becoming distracted. One of the floating orbs was veering towards them. She wondered why they didn't glow in the dark. As she watched, the little yellow ball landed on her arm and chittered.
"Um, Aiden?" she asked, a bit nervously, not taking her eyes off the orb.
"Yeah?" he responded, sounding equally distracted. She tore her gaze off the yellow ball on her arm and looked over to where he was standing stock still by the spring.
He was also being inspected by the glowing orbs. But while she only had one, he had about seven all over him, chittering away. Their eyes locked.
"What are they doing?" she whispered.
"The heck if I know," he responded. About three more little balls of light landed on him, but suddenly, they all flew off him. The orbs made a horizontal line, and every single orb of light, except for the one on Danni's arm, joined the different coloured globes until they had made a glowing sort of rectangle that reached the floor.
"What's that?" Aiden asked, almost to himself, looking at the glowing curtain. He put his hand against them… and disappeared.