Chapter 19: Journeying into Uncertainty
"And before we get out of here, would you mind telling me who in the fuck you are?" My intense gaze then focused upon the pretty face of the woman who had somewhat rudely interrupted me-- she looked as if she were a few years older than me, and had long blonde hair that was done up in a bun. She wore strange gauzy, silvery gray clothes that made me almost want to question her particular taste in fashion. I didn't recognize her from anything or anywhere, so I was surprised, to say the least, to see her standing there, staring at me with a look of mild worry in her eyes.
She opened her pretty red pointed mouth to reply, "My name is unimportant, but I will nevertheless give it to you to further our acquaintance. It is Nzinga, and I have come here to escort you on your journey-- as I know that my predecessor met an unfortunate demise at your hands. The Queen has sent me to provide you with a bit more stability and safety."
"Your predecessor tried to rape me," I hissed, "so I would prefer if you did not act as if he did not get exactly what he deserved--"
"I'm not here to judge."
"I really don't care why you're here," I hissed, the tears that had lingered upon my cheeks now dry and nonexistent, "and besides, how do I know if I can even trust you…?"
"Do you even have any other options?" she asked, lowering her eyebrows, "I know who you are, and I know who you're trying to find on your journey, and I do not doubt that you were successful in discovering the rest of that prophecy-- do not bore me with the details--"
"I wasn't planning on it," I hissed, taking an immediate disliking to the bitch. She was just as bad as that sickening Viscount-- well not 'just as bad' per say, but she was so damn arrogant! Who did she think she was? She almost reminded me of Jacqueline-- she was even blonde, and had an excellent figure that would make any woman who remotely cared about such matters jealous as hell. I rolled my eyes at this "replacement." Gee, I thought, sarcastically, That REHtoMna sure knows how to pick keepers.
"Please try to be a bit more decent," she whispered; her voice becoming increasingly annoying, "It was hell getting here on such short notice-- I could have been--"
"Cut the crap, and tell me where exactly we're going before I'm forced to shake the answer out of you," I whispered.
She decided to ignore my bluntness-- although I could tell it was with much contempt on her part, "Well, don't you know? The only place where Matthew could possibly be, of course… The Land of the Shaska."
"What? I asked, "They actually have a world of their own?"
She nodded, "Yes, and there will be thousands upon thousands of them there. It will be extremely dangerous for a girl of your-- mortality," she nearly spat the word out at me as if I were unworthy of her presence. I rolled my eyes. Again. Could this day possibly get any worse? I wondered, as she approached me.
"Here," she whispered, now trying to sound a bit more motherly as opposed to sounding so very bitchy, "Wear this," she pulled a necklace out of her pocket-- identical to the one I now noticed she was wearing upon her neck. It had a single jade-green diamond upon it, "What the hell is this?" I asked, as she carefully placed it over my head, and around my neck. I carefully tucked the stone I always wore into my shirt, and stared at her skeptically.
"It will provide us transport out of this desolate place-- we cannot journey into the Land of the Shaska directly, as it is overly-protected by both spells and other things."
"Other things…? What the hell does that--?"
"Please hold that damn tongue of yours," she hissed; now opting to slip back into her previous-- and obviously more natural bitchy tone. I rolled my eyes for what seemed the millionth time since her arrival, and bit my lip in order to prevent myself from shouting my head off at her to vent out some of my anger at all of the frivolous uncertainties that now seemed to be surrounding me.
She closed her eyes in deep concentration, and I saw that she was wearing sparkling jade-green eye shadow-- to match the diamond, I instantly presumed. Her eyes remained shut, and she began trembling all over. I instantly wondered if she was having a seizure, "What the--?" But I could not finish my sentence due to the surprise on my part that followed. She grabbed my diamond, as hers emitted a bright green light that nearly made me go blind; she grabbed her diamond, although I could tell that it was burning hot to the touch, and placed it directly on top of mine-- which also produced the same strange light. I closed my eyes to shut out the pain, now realizing why she had done so, and felt a strange uncomfortable feeling of being finely compressed… I screamed at the strange pain, and the stretch of beach, the ocean, and the rocky cliffs disappeared in an instant.
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"Open your eyes," a soft voice whispered through the void.
I did so, and my gaze fell once again upon Nzinga-- the second guide who had been entrusted to me. I groaned angrily, "Where are we now, exactly?" I asked, vaguely remembering her saying something about traveling to the Land of the Shaska.
"I cannot say that I truly know that," she whispered, still not slipping back into her usual bitchy tone, "Just stand, and we can begin the rest of the journey to the evil lands."
"All right, all right… Just wait a moment-- I feel like I'm going to throw up."
Surprisingly, I immediately did so, and she stared at it distastefully, "A normal side affect… Our way of travel does take a while of getting used to-- that is, at least for those of mortal blood," once again, I felt like she was coming out, and labeling me as unworthy. I wanted to immediately rip off her ugly blonde hair, and give her a black eye just for her attitude alone towards me. God. It wasn't like I had asked for a bitch like her to guide me towards my missing husband. Who did she think she was? Who in the hell did she think she was?
I stood, in order to avoid further displeasings of the bitch, and stared at her long and hard, "Lead the way," I whispered, and I stared around us. We were standing in the middle of a dark world; completely deprived of light. I was frightened as hell, "Are you ready?" she asked, coldly, and I nodded my head in response, "Alright, then. Simply take my hand, and do not stray from our path… That's what they would want you to end up doing… I suspect that there are some with us here, watching and waiting for you to make such a mistake."
I rolled my eyes once again, and unwillingly took a hold of her outstretched hand. Her hand was perfect as well; smooth and I somehow caught the scent of apples and roses from it. I gagged, "What is this place?"
"If you didn't hear me the first time, I shall repeat myself once again, mortal. I do not know," I bit my tongue once again to restrain the urge of shouting at her, and decided to harp on the fact that I could be just hours away from reuniting with Matthew, and sharing the news with him of our baby-- and the fact that she would prove to be the final decider in the battle that was currently waging on… I even smiled at the thought of holding him again, and kissing him-- although I would of course be interrupted by his captors-- whoever they ended up being.
After having made sure that I was firmly gripping her hand, Nzinga put one foot in front of the other, and we began our descent (for I soon realized we were going down instead of straight across) down into whatever was awaiting us-- mainly me.
"You are a beautiful creature for a mortal," she was now whispering; obviously a stab at trying to make small talk. I grunted in response, "Won't you repay the compliment?" she asked, after the silence that followed.
"My God," I replied, "I must say that you are just about the vainest person I have ever met in all my life-- if you can count that as a compliment, then I say Congratulations."
She remained silent; as if she had just received a smart slap across the face-- something she truly deserved, "I cannot say that I do not pride myself on my looks," she retorted, icily, "But that doesn't mean that you can make the assessment that I am vain as well."
"Whatever," I replied, "I really don't care whether or not you think you're beautiful… Just get me out of this place."
"How I hate mortals," I heard her unsuccessfully trying to hiss under her breath. I smiled at the strong choice of words I had made, and then cried out in pain as her sharp green-painted nails dug deeply into my hand-- probably drawing blood. Well, two could play this game. I didn't have as sharp nails as she, but I could use them equally well. I dug mine into her hand, and she cried out in pain as well, "Would you stop that?" she demanded.
"Only if you do."
"Alright, alright-- such a child," she unloosened her grip, and I did as well, still smiling over the fact that I had so deeply irked her.
"How much longer will this dark place last?" I demanded, and for once, she gave me a decent reply, "About another quarter of a mile, I'd say… I can't be too sure, as the last time I was here was with the Queen herself, thousands of years ago."
"I see," I replied, and the uncomfortable silence was lessened between us, and we finally stayed off of each other's nerves for the rest of the way through the 'dark place' as I had so aptly nicknamed it.
After nearly three hours of walking, Nzinga suddenly came to a complete halt with no explanation, and so I continued walking, and slammed into her, "Sorry," I murmured, truly sorry for having done so.
"Could you try to be a bit more careful?" she snapped, ultimately ending our silent agreement to be a bit nicer to each other.
"I suppose," I snapped right back and a while later, "Would you mind telling me why we have stopped now?"
"We have stopped because this is the end of the… dark place," I rolled my eyes at her usage of my own personal name for the place, as she went on, "Although you cannot tell, we have come to a strange barrier that prevents us from entering the Land of the Shaska-- it is neither liquid nor solid, and it will not allow us to pass through."
"So, basically, we're trapped here," I summarized.
"No… We are not 'trapped.' My Lord, you must think me a simpleton-- I am the Princess Nzinga, and I know enough about magic to get us through."
"Don't be so conceited," I whispered, "I know that--"
"Okay. Okay. Just shut up, and let me figure this out."
I immediately tore my hand from out of her tight grasp, and tried to watch as she attempted again and again to get herself through the barrier via the use of magic spells and incantations.
After what seemed like eons had passed, I heard her cry out in glee as her hand sunk through, "Okay then, Miss Beatrice," she whispered, "take my hand once again… that's right, and close your eyes. Do not be afraid as we pass, or you will be stuck inside for hundreds of years."
I obeyed, and walked with her, and into the barrier. I immediately screamed upon entering; it felt as if we had been stuck in the middle of a burning-hot jelly-like substance. I felt as if I were on fire-- excruciating pain, "Do not make a sound," the Princess whispered, and I nodded, and shut my mouth. I refused to open my eyes, for I felt that if I did so, I would find us surrounded by white-hot flames, and that sight would most likely intensify my mounting panic.
Eventually, I felt the heat dissipate, replaced by a normal temperature, and immediately opened my eyes again. We had successfully passed through the barrier. I was still sweating buckets, but the Princess remained almost unperturbed, "Welcome," she whispered, with a dramatic flair of her arms.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"The Land of the Shaska."