Hand in hand, Sofin and Oona came across another fork in the maze. Three ways to go, again. Left, right or forward. All of them looked exactly the same as the pathway they had just been down. Green stone walls. Wide passageway. No indicators of direction at all.
Oona groaned. "Another one? What is this, the twenty-fifth intersection?"
Sofin sighed. "Something like that." He was starting to lose count himself. "You can decide which way we go this time." He reached over to his side, opening his pouch of fruit as Oona looked over the options.
"Let's go…straight ahead, I think," decided Oona. Sofin nodded and pulled a fresh strawberry from his pouch. He tore it into two pieces, then put half the strawberry back in his bag, for the next intersection. The other half, he put into the center passageway. It floated up in the water, coming to a stop at the ceiling of the corridor. They had come up with this plan together after the first few intersections, to mark which passageways they had already been down using Sofin's limited supply of fruit. It was just like the story of Hansel and Gretel, where the children had used white pebbles to find their way home.
Sofin closed his pouch, which only had a handful of strawberries and the carrot in it. "I don't have many strawberries left," he warned Oona.
The mermaid princess sighed. "We can start splitting them in four," she said. "Ugh. I hate this stupid maze of corridors. Why did they have to make Atlantis so complicated, anyways?" The mermaid princess clenched her free fist in frustration.
The prince shrugged. "No idea," he said, more than a little frustrated himself. They had been wandering the maze for what felt like hours but was probably less than thirty minutes. He was starting to get sick of green stones. And being terrified of the thief had gotten real boring after no sign of her presence—or of the heart. All they had found was various empty rooms: bedrooms, bathrooms, empty closets, and other abandoned living spaces. Nothing special, like the first room they had found. None of them even had a sign that the thief had already been there. "At least we're not going in circles," he said.
Oona poked the strawberry floating above them. "Well, who knows? Maybe the thief has just been following behind us, snacking on these things so we think we haven't been here before." She lightly kicked a wall with her tail. "No one said being a hero was going to be this boring."
"Well, at least it's boring and not dangerous," remarked Sofin. He looked ahead at the end of the corridor they were in. "Hey, another room!" He started swimming faster, hoping it would be the room containing the heart of Atlantis.
"Bet it's another bedroom," said Oona, but she sped up anyway.
But as the friends approached, it became very clear that this was not just another bedroom. The corridor opened into a wide spherical room, maybe twenty feet across, and in its center was a tall pedestal, circular in shape, three feet wide and made of green stone. Atop it was a glass cover, and something beneath the cover glowed with green light.
"Is that the heart?" questioned Oona excitedly. She swam to the top of the cover at a rapid pace, dragging Sofin along by the hand. He pumped his tail furiously to catch up, the adrenaline hitting him in full force. Was this it? Had they finally found the heart?
Oona reached the top of the pedestal and looked down to see what was inside, and her jaw dropped. Sofin was just a moment behind, and he too peered into the glass, then laughed in relief.
"Even better," said Sofin. "A map." Beneath the glass, glowing in green light, a map of Atlantis was etched into the stone. He could see the maze of corridors, and all the rooms were labeled with names. He pointed at a circular room labeled 'The Hall of Prophecy'. "That must have been where we came from," he said.
Oona nodded, then pointed at a different circular room, smaller than the last, labeled 'Map'. "And this is where we are now."
Sofin scanned the map carefully. Then he found it: a huge circular room, right in the center, labeled with just one word. "Heart," he said, pointing at it. He grinned. "Now we know which way it is." No more blind wandering for the two of them.
"And there's more," said Oona. She pointed at a square-shaped room in the map labeled 'Exit'. "We have a way out, too."
Sofin took a deep breath in, then exhaled with a huge smile on his face. In just a few moments, they had gone from totally hopeless, wandering through an abandoned labyrinth, to knowing where they were, where they needed to go, and how they could escape. The relief was almost palpable.
Oona's own face was alight with joy. "Come on Sofin, let's get to that heart and protect Atlantis!" She turned to leave, but Sofin pulled her back.
"Are you sure that's the best idea?" whispered Sofin. His eyes drifted across the room marked 'Exit'. "If we wanted, we could leave this maze right now."
Oona gasped. "And let the heart be stolen?" she exclaimed, shocked.
"No, no, nothing like that!" exclaimed Sofin. "I mean, if we left now, we could tell the mermaid guards about what was happening down here. We could get your older sister, Princess Cora, to help with keeping the heart safe. The prophecy would still be true. And then, the guards could find and capture the thief." He looked at Princess Oona desperately, pleading with his eyes. "We're just children, Oona! We're not strong enough to fight a full-grown mermaid or keep a gemstone safe. What if we mess up?"
Oona's vibrant brown eyes were full of resolve. "But we won't mess up," said the princess. "I know it's scary to think about what might happen. I'm scared, too. We don't even know anything about what this thief is like or what she can do. But we've already spent so long down here, and time isn't on our side. Every minute we spend trying to find Cora and the guards as another chance for the thief to take the heart of Atlantis." She took a deep breath. "Sofin, I'm sorry, but this is something I have to do. As princess of the mermaid kingdom, it's my responsibility to keep my kingdom safe—and I can't risk not being there to save my people. I have to stop that thief." She held out her other hand to Sofin. "Are you with me?"
Without hesitation, Sofin took her other hand into his own. "Always." He pulled Oona into a hug, who returned it gratefully. They stood there, embracing for a moment, until Sofin pulled away.
The Enchancian prince looked once more at the map. "To get to the heart, we need to take a left, then go forward twice, then take a right, starting from that exit," he said, pointing at one of the four corridors leaving the map room. "But if we're really going to face the thief alone, maybe we should take a small detour?"
"What do you mean?" asked Oona. She turned back to the map as Sofin pointed at a square-shaped room labeled 'Armory'.
"The armory is just along the way to the heart," explained Sofin. "It probably has stuff that would be useful in a fight: weapons or armor or something. If we take a slightly different path, we can explore the armory on our way to the heart, and take something from there."
"Great idea, Sofin!" said Oona. "To the armory we go!" She swam down to the exit Sofin had pointed to, and, after making sure he knew the directions by heart, Sofin followed.
The trip to the armory was made in silence, but instead of the eerie silence from earlier, the quiet actually gave Sofin a moment to rest and think. They were going to an armory, but what could they actually take that would be useful to them? He doubted there were any suits of armor small enough for him or Oona, and even if there were, they would still make it harder to swim or to see. Armor probably wasn't useful for either of them. And weapons? James had tried to teach the prince sword fighting too many times to count, but he wasn't sure how useful those lessons would be underwater. And if there was one thing he remembered from all the practice, it was that swords were really heavy. Sofin didn't know if he could really use an adult-sized sword from the armory.
"We're here!" announced Oona excitedly. She swam into the armory, Sofin following behind. Each of the four walls was lined with stands of plate armor, complete with helmets, chestplates, and leggings. Each suit of armor held a weapon in its hands: spears and tridents mostly, but also a handful of other weapons Sofin had never seen. To his disappointment, all the suits of armor were indeed fit for the size of a fully-grown adult. "We're never going to be able to wear this armor," said Sofin, disheartened. "It's way too big."
Oona looked at the walls herself. "Yeah, you're right. But maybe there's a trident here that I can use?"
Sofin shrugged. None of the suits held swords, which was the only weapon he even slightly knew how to use. At least Oona knew how to use a trident. Wait.
"Oona, have you ever used a trident before?" asked Sofin. Unless mermaid princess education was a lot different than his own, he doubted it.
Oona shook her head. "No, but I've watched the guards use them dozens of times. How hard can it be?"
"Well…" said Sofin. "It might be really hard to use a trident if you've never practiced with one before."
Oona didn't seem too concerned. She surveyed the room once more, and eventually her eyes landed on the center of the room, where a stand held up a lone trident. It had a blue handle and golden prongs, and though it looked to be meant for a full-sized warrior, it seemed small enough that Sofin and Oona might be able carry it together. Lancing up and down the trident were little wisps of green light, like little bolts of magic surrounding the trident. The trident looked powerful—very powerful, and the green light surrounding it made Sofin wonder if it had magic. It would be perfect for what the two of them needed.
Too perfect.
Oona let go of Sofin's hand and swam down towards the trident even as Sofin's mind churned at a rapid pace. The armory was directly on the way from the map to the heart. The powerful trident was right in the center of the armory, easily visible. It glowed with green light that would make it instantly noticeable. When Atlantis had been abandoned, the mermaids knew a thief would one day come to steal the heart and a young, child-sized princess would come to stop her. The trident, left there in the abandoned armory, was sized for a fully grown mermaid.
Sofin's eyes opened wide as Oona reached for the trident. "Wait!" he screamed. But he was too slow. Time slowed to a trickle. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest. Eyes open, unable to look away, Sofin watched his friend's fingers close around the grip of the trident in the center of the room.
Sirens screamed. The green light coming from the walls changed to a crimson blood-red color. The sound of a wailing alarm pierced through the air. Oona recoiled at once and dropped the trident, but it was too late. She'd already activated the trap, meant for the thief coming to Altantis. The suits of armor along the walls, which Sofin had thought were motionless stands, began to creak as they moved. Each suit brandished its spear or trident with both hands. Spears and tridents, the only weapons Sofin knew that were meant to be thrown.
Sofin felt like he was seeing things in slow motion. He watched as the suits of armor slowly shifted, moving into a position to throw their weapons. Oona, still standing above the trident, started to swim towards the exit. But Sofin knew she would be too slow. And even as the mermaid moved, the suits of armor adjusted their positions imperceptibly to aim towards Oona's moving form.
Wait.
Sofin was thinking at a million miles per hour, his mind jumping from thought to thought in an instant. Atlantis had been abandoned for many years. Aside from the two children and the thief, there was nothing alive in this kingdom. The suits of armor weren't really alive; they were just moving, pointing their weapons directly at Oona no matter which way she swam or tried to dodge. A half-formed idea sprung into Sofin's head, and he followed it, desperately.
"Stop!" screamed Sofin at the top of his lungs, audible over the piercing alarm ringing through the room. Oona froze in place immediately, even as Sofin reached for his pouch, his hand entering it and his fingers desperately grabbing at a hard vegetable. Sofin pulled the carrot from his pouch and flung it, with all his might, towards the top of the room, far away from Oona or himself. It moved through the water, making tiny ripples, easily visible in the bright red light from the walls.
The suits of armor stopped pointing at Oona, and instead aimed at the carrot, moving high above them. When the carrot slowed to a stop, far above Sofin and Oona, the suits of armor threw their weapons, spears and tridents whizzing through the air, each of them locked onto the carrot, slicing it into a dozen pieces as the weapons collided with a loud clang.
Sofin stared at the little pieces of carrot slowly sinking through the water. Sorry, Clover. The adrenaline pumping through his veins disappeared, time moving at a normal pace once more as a strong wave of relief passed through him.
Oona's hand grabbed his wrist, and the mermaid princess, who had been swimming rapidly towards the armory's exit, dragged Sofin along with her. With a gasp of surprise, Sofin was pulled out of the armory, and down a long corridor, the wail of the alarm still ringing behind them. Oona swam down the corridor rapidly, Sofin twisting in her grip so he could see where they were going. They reached an intersection and Oona went barrelling forward, as far away from the armory as possible. Sofin could hear her heavy, labored gasps for air, but the mermaid princess didn't stop swimming until the two could no longer hear the alarm behind them.
Sofin felt Oona release his wrist, and he pulled himself into a swimming position. The mermaid princess, panting, locked eyes with Sofin, in the middle of one of the long green corridors. There was a wild look in her eyes as her heavy breathing slowed.
Sofin had to explain what had happened, but he was still in shock himself. "I just—trap—for thief—the suits—not alive—movement—threw carrot—thought they would track—" he babbled.
Oona put her hand on Sofin's mouth, silencing him. She took a few more deep breaths, to steady her nerves. "It doesn't matter," said the mermaid princess. "You saved my life, Sofin." She pulled the prince into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Thank you."
Sofin's cheeks flushed slightly red. "It's—It's what anyone would have done," he stammered.
Oona didn't respond, just tightening her grip around the prince. Sofin's embarrassment gave way to relief. She was here. She was safe. They both were. They were still together. Sofin returned the hug tightly, and hoped they would never let go.
After a minute, Oona pulled away. She sighed deeply. "We still have to protect the heart," she said, resigned.
"Yeah," said Sofin sadly, wishing the moment could last forever. "We can retrace our steps, and I know the way there from the armory."
"Good," said Oona. "But first." She took Sofin's hand in her own, holding it tightly. "This time, I'm not letting go."
Sofin's finger wrapped around Oona's own hand. "Me neither," he said.
The trip back to the armory was uneventful. Sofin made sure to swim at a slow pace. Oona had tired herself out a lot swimming away from the armory, and the last thing he wanted was for her to collapse when they faced the thief. So he made sure Oona wouldn't tire herself out by swimming slowly. Eventually they reached the armory, where the room still flashed red and the sirens still loudly wailed in the air.
"Which way is the heart?" asked Oona.
Sofin tried to remember the directions he had seen on the map. "That way, then we turn right, go forward, and then turn right again, and that should take us to the room," he said.
Oona nodded and followed him down the corridor. They swam, side by side, hands linked, for a moment. Suddenly, a mermaid with a black tail, swimming much faster than either of the two, pushed right through them, barreling down the corridor and towards the heart. Before either of them realized what had happened, she reached the next intersection, ducked to the right, and swam out of view.
"Who was that?" exclaimed Oona in surprise.
"Oh no, it must have been the thief!" realized Sofin. "She must have followed the sounds to the armory and heard my directions to the heart!"
"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Oona. "After her!" She put on a burst of speed, and Sofin followed, swimming through the water as fast as his mermaid tail could take him.
Reaching the intersection, Sofin and Oona swerved to the right, catching sight of the thief far ahead of them. The librarian's description had been accurate: she was wearing a black jacket and mask to conceal her face, and had a black tail and gray fin. She also wore a brown satchel around her side, big enough to hold a few books. And she was fast, too! Even swimming the fastest he could, the gap between them was only widening. They passed another intersection, and the thief went straight forward. He pumped his tail furiously, trying to catch up. Beside him, Oona was swimming as fast as she could, too. He could see her blond ponytail waving wildly through the water behind her. But neither he nor Oona was getting any closer.
The thief reached the final intersection, and she turned right, disappearing out of Sofin and Oona's sight. Sofin gasped as his lungs demanded oxygen. Oona was breathing heavily too, but neither royal dared to slow down. Every second they lost was another second for the thief to steal the heart. Finally, after agonizing seconds, Sofin finally reached the fork and turned right, Oona just behind him.
The room containing the heart was huge. It was shaped like a sphere, the walls lined with green stone. In the center of the room, the heart of Atlantis floated freely, suspended in the water. It was surrounded by a green, transparent spherical shield a foot wide. Attached to the shield were four thick pillars, going up, down, left, and right from the heart, and connecting to the walls. Bright green arcs of energy emanated from the heart and coursed along the pillars, eventually reaching the walls.
By the time Sofin and Oona rounded the corner, the thief had already reached the center of the huge room. She opened the brown satchel at her side and reached in, pulling out an ancient-looking gray dagger with a black hilt. The thief held the dagger and stabbed the translucent green energy shield protecting the heart. It immediately shattered, dissolving into motes of green light.
The thief threw her head back and cackled maniacally. "Finally!" she screamed in delight. "The heart of Atlantis is mine!"
"No!" screamed Oona. She put on a burst of speed, letting go of Sofin, swimming at the thief with reckless abandon. But it was too late. The thief, laughing evilly, grabbed the green heart-shaped gemstone out of the water, pulling it outside the pillars and outside its formation. There was a blinding, green flash of light, and Oona recoiled from the shock.
The four pillars which had supported the gemstone, once shining with green light, dimmed, then faded to a dark gray. The walls soon followed, darkness spreading outwards from where the heart had been. In seconds, the whole room was completely dark, and the corridor behind them rapidly lost its light, too. Soon, all of Atlantis would lose its light, and the mermaid kingdom would be soon to follow.
For a moment, Sofin thought he was completely blind. But, putting a hand up to his face, he realized the faint glow coming off his amulet was enough to see by. He and Oona had noticed it so long ago; he had almost forgotten his amulet had been glowing the whole time. But the tiny purple light was too dim to see any further than a few inches. Looking forward, he could see the aqua glow of Oona's comb, though he couldn't see Oona herself.
The heart of Atlantis, however, was still shining with green light. Its bright glow was much stronger than the light from the comb or the amulet, and Sofin could see the thief's face as she slipped her dagger back into her satchel.
"Why are you stealing the heart of Atlantis?" cried Sofin, hoping to stall for time.
The thief turned away. "I don't have time to explain," she said. He wasn't sure, but the thief sounded a little desperate. "I need to leave now!" Clutching the heart with both hands, the thief swam away from Sofin and Oona, towards another exit of the room.
"Don't let her get away!" yelled Oona, and Sofin gave chase, following the green light of the heart. To his right, he could see a faint aqua glow, moving with him. Oona was chasing her, too.
Sofin followed the thief into a corridor. He couldn't see where he was going, but he swam towards the green light of the heart, knowing the thief was there. "Why do you want to start a war between the mermaids and humans?" he yelled. "You're a mermaid too!"
The thief was swimming in a straight line, holding the heart tightly, but she slowed upon hearing Sofin's words. "What?" she screamed back. "Why would you think I want that?"
Sofin almost stopped in shock. She didn't know? No, she must have been trying to distract him. But the mermaid had slowed down for a moment, he just needed to keep her talking. "That's what'll happen if you take the heart of Atlantis!" he yelled. "The mermaids will have to leave the kingdom, and then there'll be a war!"
"Nonsense!" shouted the thief, but she'd slowed down once more. "The mermaids will go to the surface at night. What does that have to do with war?"
Sofin couldn't answer, because he didn't really know himself. But he knew there would be a war! "Because the prophecy says so!" he yelled.
"No it doesn't!" yelled the thief. She let out a frustrated scream. "There's no time for this! I need to find a way out, now!"
The green light bobbed in Sofin's vision, then moved slightly to the left before disappearing. The thief must have rounded a corner. Sofin kept swimming forwards as fast as he could, even though he couldn't see anything more than a few inches in front of him. Beside him, Oona did the same. All he needed to do was turn left at the right moment…now!
"OW!" shrieked Sofin in pain. He'd mistimed the turn, not being able to see the walls since they were no longer illuminated by green light. Instead, he had hit part of the wall, hitting his left shoulder hard. It throbbed with an aching pain.
"Sofin!" screamed Oona. She'd made the turn, but upon hearing the shriek of her friend, the mermaid princess stopped chasing the thief and turned back to find Sofin. She swam right in front of his face, so that Sofin could see her by the dim light of his amulet and her comb. "Are you okay?"
Sofin rubbed his shoulder, the pain slowly subsiding. "I think so," he said. "It feels fine, it just hurts a little." He raised his left arm and wiggled it. "I'm okay, just shaken up."
Oona, breathing heavily, looked around. But the green light of the thief was long gone. "Ugh!" she groaned. "Where is she? And where are we?"
"I don't know," replied Sofin. "And I don't know where we are, either. I wasn't paying attention to where we were going." He took a few deep breaths. "But I don't think this is the way to the exit." He peered at Oona's comb closely, noticing something now that they were in the dark. "Oona, your comb isn't actually glowing," he realized. "It's just letting off mist made of little bits of light."
Oona looked up at her comb, then turned her gaze to Sofin's chest. "You're right. It's the same with your amulet, too. Actually, your amulet seems a little more dim now than it did before. But what does that have to do with finding the thief?"
Sofin looked down. She was right. His amulet, which was normally a bright purple, was starting to look a little gray. And it was letting out little bits of light, it had been ever since they entered Atlantis…
Sofin's heart stopped.
What had the last line of the mermaid's song been again?
With your power, please defend, the bright heart of magic's end.
Sofin raised his head to look Oona in the eyes, his body trembling. "Oona," he whispered, "I think my amulet is losing its magic."