Author's Note
I apologise for the long wait, but this chapter is a little longer than the others, and I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Four: Watch Your Feet
Sarah tumbled to the bottom of the hill, the hard ground bruising her skin and rocks tearing her clothes. By the time she finally slowed to a halt at the bottom of the decline, she felt thoroughly beaten. Several gasping breaths came out of her as she recovered from the shock and it was several more moments before she could bring herself to stop crying. Slowly she sat up and tried to gather her thoughts, checking her bag and taking out a handkerchief to wipe her face with. Taking a few more calming breaths, she found an apple in her bag that was not too bruised and ate it before taking quite a few sips from her water bottle.
"Just a little tumble," Sarah whispered to herself, finding the sound of her own voice oddly reassuring. "You can move on from this and keep going. You just need to be more careful."
The encounter with the flowers and the following fall had certainly scared her, but at least now she knew not to underestimate anything she saw, and to be more careful where she put her feet.
After a little more rest, Sarah carefully stood up and started walking again, finding herself on a wide path through a vibrant forest. She tried to walk quietly so as not to disturb any creatures that might live in the forest, but eventually she could see something moving through the trees ahead, and the closer she got the more she could hear all the noise they were making. Perhaps she could walk around without them even noticing her.
But her curiosity got the better of her and just as she peaked through a gap in the trees to look at the creatures, red fur bursting out all over their thin bodies, one of them looked up and spotted her.
It shrieked and jumped high in the air, pointing at her, "Look! A girlie!"
Before she could get away, suddenly she was surrounded by four or five of them, it was difficult to keep count as they all danced around so much, and, to her horror, she realised they were throwing their body parts at each other, arms and legs and all sorts.
With a voice that came out shakier than she wanted it to, she said "I'm sorry for intruding, I'm just trying to get through the forest to the castle."
"What do you want to go there for?" One of them, rather rudely she felt, asked.
"Yeah, stay and play with us!" Another shouted in her ear and she winced, leaning back.
"I'm afraid I don't really have time for playing."
"How boring," a third one complained, "perhaps we'll play with you instead."
This sounded rather sinister, so Sarah tried to unsuccessfully move away from them.
"I need to see the king." She protested.
"Just play for a moment, come on, take off your head!"
Sarah gaped at the determined creature, "I beg your pardon?"
"Like this!" It grinned and Sarah thought she might faint when it literally took of its head, throwing it up in the air and catching it again. Another one took out its eyes and began to juggle them, and it was at this point Sarah decided she needed to run.
"No thank you!" She called as she took off at a sprint, ducking under their arms as they reached out after her.
She could hear them calling out to her still as she ran, could hear their large feet hitting the ground as they scrambled after her, but she kept on pushing forward, despite her already sore muscles. As she rushed around a corner, a large tree appeared before her, and without thinking about it, she rushed to climb up the it, the big branches thankfully making it easy to quickly climb up and hide herself.
Sarah tried to calm her breathing, swallowing and looking down as she heard the strange creatures approaching. She watched them dance around the tree for a few minutes, but they could not seem to see her, and eventually seemed to grow bored of looking for her, running off to play some other game. She sighed in relief and leant against the truck, closing her eyes for several moments.
"My lady?" She heard a high-pitched voice enquire.
Looking down, blinking in surprise, she saw a small fox-like creature, oddly dressed somewhat like a knight, standing next to a much larger creature that she could not have given a name to if she tried, but that certainly had a lot of fur. Peaking out from behind the fox knight was a rather normal looking dog, somehow the most out-of-place of the lot.
Sarah cleared her throat, rather bewildered. "Yes?"
The fox knight smiled up at her gallantly. "We saw the fireys running away from here and thought we might find a damsel in distress! I am Sir Didymus, this is my noble stead Ambrosius, and my brother Ludo."
Sarah thought she had never seen two people who looked less like brothers, but she supposed if that was what they had decided to be then it would be rude to question it. Ambrosius did not look particularly noble, in fact he looked as if he might run away if she looked at him funny, but she thought it would be probably be rude to say that too.
"Well, I'm Sarah, and it's very kind of you to come to my aid," she began, not wanting to be ungrateful. "But I think the danger has passed now that they're gone, I just need to climb down from this tree."
Sir Didymus nodded. "Ah, of course, brave maiden! Brother Ludo will be happy to catch you, I'm sure."
Ludo nodded and held out his arms. "Ludo catch." His voice rumbled, but Sarah found it unusually reassuring. Still, she did not plan on jumping down from such a height.
"Thank you for the offer, Ludo," she said, something in his kind eyes making her voice turn soft, "but I shall try to climb down first."
She carefully placed her feet on the next branch down, keeping a firm grip on the tree. Slowly she made her way down, Sir Didymus almost constantly proclaiming how impressive he found this. Eventually she reached a low branch, and dropped from there into Ludo's arms, which she found to be a very comfortable place to land.
She smiled at him. "Thank you."
He smiled back at her and gently put her down. "Ludo friend."
"And I would also be proud to call you my friend my Lady!" Didymus announced. "Do tell us where you are headed on your journey, perhaps we will be able to accompany you."
Sarah gave them all a kind smile but shook her head. "I think this is something I am supposed to do on my own, I am going to the castle to ask the king for a wish."
They all looked at her with wide eyes, and Sir Didymus looked as if he was about to get down on his knees. "A noble quest indeed! Might I suggest taking the bridge over the Bog? That is a beautiful spot." He gestured with his small arm to one of the paths leading away from the large tree.
Ludo shook his head. "Bog smell bad."
Didymus looked at him in astonishment, "My friend, I have never smelt such a wonderful scent as that which comes from the Bog of Eternal Stench!"
Sarah was sure there must be quite the story behind this bog, but she already felt she had dealt enough with misleading scents for one journey. "Do any of the other paths lead towards the castle?"
The knight nodded, gesturing to another path. "That leads through the crystal pools," he looked uncertain for a moment, "although you must be very careful not to step in the water, my lady."
Sarah considered, then nodded. "I will take that path and make sure to be careful, thank you for your advice."
"You are most welcome; I hope we shall meet again." Sir Didymus bowed.
Ludo nodded and waved. "Sarah friend."
She smiled softly at them and even managed to give Ambrosius a small pat on his head, before waving to them all and setting off again.
"There are so many different people here." She remarked to herself. "Some so terrifying and some so sweet."
But her thoughts of the creatures she had met soon left her mind as she came upon the sight of the crystal pools. There were hundreds of them sitting between the trees of the forest, which stood on small grassy paths weaving their way between the very still, glassy pools of water. It looked like someone had set hundreds of mirrors into the ground. The whole area was very quiet, she could hear herself breathing and no breeze disturbed the water or leaves of the trees.
She started walking along one path, careful not to let her feet touch the water, remembering Sir Didymus' words. Looking into one of the pools as she passed it, she could not see the bottom, although the water was very clear, which unnerved her. There did not seem to be anything in the pools at all, and yet she could not help but feel that there was something in the depths of the water.
Sarah could not be sure how long she walked through this part of the forest, but as every minute passed, she felt more and more sure there was something else there with her in the quietness, something waiting for her to slip up and make a mistake. It was the most beautiful and peaceful part of the Labyrinth she had been in so far, but it was quickly becoming the most terrifying too. She felt like there was a chill constantly running down her back.
A small smile of relief graced her lips when she noticed the forest thinning out and discovered she could see a meadow through the trees up ahead. Reaching the tree line bordering the edge of the meadow, she stopped for a moment and put her bag down at the base of a tree, lifting her arms upwards and stretching out the tension in her muscles. Looking out across the meadow as a soft breeze blew through the long grass, she saw a tall wall on the other side, and beyond that, the tall towers of the castle.
Her breath was stolen from her throat at the sight of it. She was so close. The Goblin City was just inside those walls, she just had to find the gate. A happy laugh spilled from her mouth, then was suddenly brought to a halt when she heard a splash behind her.
Very slowly and carefully, Sarah turned and looked at the pool behind her, but the water was still, and the forest was as quiet as it had been when she was walking through it. She looked down and confirmed to herself that her bag was still where she left it and had not fallen into the water. Moving a very small step closer to the pool, she looked down to check there was nothing in it, then gasped as the ground underneath her foot crumbled slightly, causing her boot to slip slightly into the water. Before she could pull herself away, a hand shot out of the water and gripped her ankle. A scream escaped Sarah's throat and then was cut short as she was pulled sharply into the water, the cold water suddenly surrounding her a harsh shock.
Suddenly she was under the surface, struggling against the hand around her leg, trying to fight her way back above the water, her body already straining for air. But the hand kept pulling her down until she was face to face with the creature that had stolen her away into the pool. It was something like a mermaid, its upper half vaguely human, but its skin matching the blue-green colour of its tail, its hair floating around its head was a dark silky blue. It blinked at her with dark eyes and touched her face as Sarah saw black spots beginning to obscure her vision.
She had never noticed how valuable a breath was until she was not able to take another one.
She looked up, trying to swim to the surface, but everything felt heavy, and the creature was still clutching at her, in fact it was showing its sharp teeth and looked ready to take a bite.
This could not be it. Not the end. Not when she was so close.
Her family would never know what had happened to her.
She had promised Toby she would come back.
Her thoughts were swimming through a fog, she could not seem to focus.
She suddenly thought of the angel in her dream. Somehow, as she imagined him gazing upon her, his expression changed, his expression firm, judging.
"I suppose your wish was not so worthwhile, if you cannot overcome this trial." She imagined him murmuring.
It sparked something within her, her body might be weakening more with every second, her mind delirious with lack of air, but her soul was still determined. With a power she did not know she was capable of, she turned and looked sharply at the creature, her last breath coming out in a hiss, bubbles exploding around her face. The creature let go of her in surprise and Sarah used the opportunity to burst upwards, finally breaking the surface. She coughed and choked and took in great gasping breaths, then, struggling up onto the bank, she crawled out into the meadow and laid down on her back, sunlight slowly bringing back her warmth as she recovered.
Be careful where you put your feet. Sometimes you need to learn a lesson twice before it really sinks in.
She felt on the brink of tears, but took deep, slow breaths, determined to calm down and move on. She was still alive; she was still determined. She could do this.
"I can do this." She whispered to herself, her voice slightly croaky. She sat up slowly and pulled her bag towards her. First, she took careful sips from her water bottle, then she looked around to check she was alone before taking off her wet clothes, using the towel in the bag to dry herself, then putting on the dry spare clothes in her bag. She wrapped the wet clothes back in the towel, put them in her bag, then brushed her fingers through her wet hair and redid her braid. After taking a few more moments to eat a snack, she stood up, put the bag on her back, and faced the wall.
"I will find my way in, and I will see the king." She spoke the words out loud, hoping that would give them more truth, then set off, walking along the wall to find the gate.