by CS Patra
“They are just creatures like anything else living in this forest. There is nothing to fear since they are not invading my territory. I’m coming into their land.” Alice explained.
“Very wise answer. You are aware of how wrong it is to come into someone else’s home. For example, imagine if you walked right into a nest of birds. Imagine how that would feel.”
No one needed to imagine a thing because there was a squawking and suddenly they felt something swoop down on them. The feathers and wings of several birds were brushing against Alice’s arms. They were trying to peck away at her arms and legs yet she couldn’t show her discomfort. As much as it hurt, she couldn’t break and show the pain. She needed that key into the Petal Kingdom.
“Your will is strong.” The Spider Lady said. “You are hurt and you bleed but you don’t cry. Tell me, Alice of Themasa, why are you cursed?”
“It is a question I’m trying to answer. No one has told me about my past but I know I can find some answers out there. I know there is someone who can cure this curse.”
“And what of your friends? Do they have curses too?”
“Oh!” Coryn finally spoke, realizing she was on the spotlight. “There is something that I must also take care of in the Petal Kingdom. I wish to know more about where I came from and I feel it might be the key.” Light nodded behind her. “And our friend back here just needs to know who he is. By visiting the Petal Kingdom, we might learn more about him. As for the dragon and snake, they are nothing more than traveling partners and friends. They are here for the journey.”
“Interesting,” the Spider Lady murmured. “Very well. You do have reasons to move forward but there is something you must do in order to pass. You’ve proven you can face your fears. Now I want you to ask me three questions. In turn, I will ask you three of them. Based on your answers and questions, I will decide whether you are worthy of getting the key to the Petal Kingdom and moving forward.”
“I agree to these conditions,” Alice said. “The first question I wish to ask is what way is the quickest way to get to the Petal Kingdom?”
“Hmm, that’s a simple question. Through this forest and past me is the quickest way. You will have to walk a long distance but if you were to have a horse or dragon, you can make it there faster. Walking through darkness would be dangerous for a girl as young as yourself. You don’t know what is lurking out there.”
As she said that, Alice noticed all the rats starting to run out and crawling over her feet. Their little legs were going over her toes and ankles but she did her best to stay calm. Inside her head, she kept telling herself that this would be over soon. If this was another test, she had to pass it or the Spider Lady would devour her and her companions. On the side, she could see Coryn was doing her best to stay calm. Those squeaking rats did what they could to get her attention but she would not budge. They had to get through this. After what felt like an hour, the rats stopped squeaking and she felt nothing over her feet. They were gone.
They must have been an illusion. As long as I think that, I will be fine. She told herself. When she looked up again, she decided to ask her second question. “My next question is how do I find a sorcerer or sorceress who can remove a curse or cause one?”
“My my my, you have been asking some interesting questions. The one thing you must know about sorcerers is that they aren’t easy to find. You cannot walk up to one and ask them to remove a curse for you. You cannot get them to curse anyone for you either. To get one’s attention, you must prove yourself to them. They may give you a test at any time and you have to pass it. You may not know what that test is but they will keep their eye on you. They want to see how you react to certain situations. Only then will they determine if you are worthy of their time. In that case, they will appear before you to grant a wish. It can be only one wish though so think wisely before you make your choice. Pick something that will affect your life forever.”
That part didn’t seem very hard as Alice already knew what she wanted. She knew that removing her curse would definitely make her life a lot easier. The harder part would be to prove herself to anyone. What if she thought she was doing the right thing but it was the wrong thing according to a sorcerer? They would never grant her wish then if she couldn’t do what they wanted. She would have to take her chances and hope that she was making the right decisions. She needed to trust herself to make those right decisions.
“Are you ready for what I am about to tell you?” She finally asked. It wasn’t the question she was expecting to ask but it would have to do. She just wanted all of this to be over with.
“I am.”
“Now that you have asked me your two questions, allow me to pick at your mind. There’s one more thing you need to understand” The Spider Lady began. “Should you succeed and answer correctly, you will be allowed to pass. Should you fail, consider this your final resting place. Do you understand?”
“I do.” Alice kept her lips pressed together so that a smile or frown didn’t escape her face. She was not going to take her cautions. “I am ready to answer anything you ask.”
“All right then. First off, tell me what holds water but never gets wet?”
Alice was almost ready to say a glass does but technically a glass could get wet. If the water spilled over or was washed, then a glass would get wet. She had to think carefully because she could feel something cold nipping away at her ankles. She didn’t know if it was the wind or another illusion that was just trying to get her to react. Her mind went through a few answers until she settled upon one that sounded right.
“A cloud.” She felt the wind stop blowing at that moment and waited for the Spider Lady to decide if this was right. “A cloud holds water but it can never get wet.”
“Very good.” The Spider Lady approved. “You are certainly more clever than I expected. Now here is the next question and you may consult with your friends on this one; what can be heard and controlled but never seen or touched?”
This was a little more difficult so Alice turned to Coryn and Dark who were as stumped as she was. “What do you think this could be? Do you know what is heard and controlled but never seen or touched?”
“I’m thinking, Miss Alice,” Coryn whispered. “It’s very hard to think with the wind blowing everywhere. I can hardly hear what I’m saying, let alone anyone else.”
At that moment, Alice found the answer. “That’s it! You solved it!”
“I did?”
The wind picked up harder so Alice quickly fell back into a stone cold gaze and turned back to the Spider Lady. “A voice. A voice is heard and controlled but never seen or touched.”
“Oh.” Coryn realized, trying not to seem too excited. The Spider Lady had the ability to sense when someone was about to crack and show how happy they were. Her lips stayed together and she kept her eyes on the ground. “That does make sense.”
“Correct.” The Spider Lady said. “Now this is the last question and if you answer it correctly, you will be allowed to pass. This should be no problem for you as you seem to know what I want.”
Alice tried hard not to show her nerves and just nodded. “I am ready.”
“What is it that you truly desire?”
This was not a question Alice was expecting because it wasn’t a riddle. There were many answers that she could give to this; remove her curse, be a part of society, be the best baker she could be, hold a human being, and the list could go on. She had to look deep into her heart and find the real answer to this question. The wrong one meant certain doom and The Spider Lady wasn’t going to wait for her.
“Well?” She prompted. “What do you desire?”
“I desire to be with the Princess of Themasa,” Alice finally said. “I want to be able to spend time with her and hold her hand. I want to listen to her stories and help her understand everything there is. I just want to be with her.”
There was a long pause but neither Alice nor Coryn dared to show
any emotion. The Spider Lady looked as though she was thinking about this before moving to the side. “You may proceed. Go quickly before my children catch up to you. I promise you they aren’t as understanding as I am and they are far more hungry than I am. Tell your dragon to fly ahead and you run without looking back.”
“Thank you,” Alice whispered, trying desperately to hide her excitement. She took Coryn’s hand with her gloved one and they began to make their way through the forest. The spiders were still crawling over their legs but she didn’t dare make a sound. She knew they wanted to eat her but she wouldn’t give them the chance. As soon as she saw a clearing ahead, she picked up speed and then started to run. She gave the dragon the cue to fly and he did so, taking into the air with a roar.
“Follow me, Coryn!” She yelled as the spiders began to give chase. “We’re almost at the end!”
“Be careful, Miss Alice!” Coryn yelled back. “They’re faster than they look!”
“Keep running and don’t look back!” Alice jumped over vines and managed to pull off one glove so she could try to make a wall to separate them. Her hand brushed against a tree and vines started to grow from it. Coryn didn’t seem to notice because she was too busy looking ahead. The vines quickly created a wall and they were soon well out of the forest. The light was starting to pour in. “We’re almost there!”
“I know! I can feel the sun!”
Within seconds, they were out of the forest and Alice saw the green grass around her. Flowers were blooming and there was indeed a sun in the sky. She looked ahead and saw all the foliage before her. This was no longer the ice-filled area she had been in. She kept moving forward to get a better look and was impressed by all the colors. This warm area was what she needed. Her head seemed to clear up and she felt more at home.
“Where am I?” She asked.
Coryn sighed, trying to find the nearest tree and get under the shade. She wasn’t as thrilled with the sun but at least they were no longer in the forest.
“Welcome to the Petal Kingdom, Miss Alice.”
Chapter 8
Lavinia was getting more worried when the doctor had come around in the evening with news no one wanted. Kian was not only sick but he wouldn’t be able to travel for three days. The doctor was recommending some medicine for him that would make him drowsy and unable to do much. Kian wanted to protest this by trying to sit up and prove that he was fine. That only resulted in him coughing and throwing up before falling back down in bed again.
If that wasn’t bad enough, his face fell when he heard that Alice and all the creatures had left camp. Lavinia had kept details about the fact that Alice had been attacked by bandits but he could tell something went wrong. The only thing that calmed him was that he knew she had survived. She didn’t say how Alice got by, just that she had made through several vines that she had come across. The doctor was nearby so they had to stay as vague as possible. Fortunately, Kian understood everything well. Her curse had come in handy to ward off the robbers but now they knew that she had this ability. They knew someone like this existed. Everyone in the bakery knew about Alice’s curse and it wouldn’t take them long to figure out who did this. He wanted to go out and find her at the moment but his body was falling apart.
“I’m sorry, Vinnie.” He apologized as the doctor was leaving, covering his mouth when he coughed. It was clear that this trip had taken the best out of him. The color in his face was gone and he was zapped of all strength. “I didn’t mean to slow you down like this. You should continue on without me.”
“And leave you behind? That’s not fair to you. I would suggest sending you back to Themasa but that’s another long journey right there,” she murmured. “You were told not to travel at all until you started to feel better.”
“I don’t know when that will be, Vinnie. I’m praying that my strength comes back soon. More importantly, how are we going to find Alice and everything else? They’re gone now and I don’t know when we’ll see them again.” He rubbed his forehead and groaned. “Trust me. If you want to move forward, you should do it without me.”
“Moving forward is not the hard part. It’s not the thing that matters right now. There are only two things in my mind: finding Alice and making sure you get better. Unfortunately, I don’t know where Alice is. The best way I can find her is either going out to look for her or sending her a messenger bird. The latter is being taken care of now but I don’t want to sit and wait. I need to do something.”
Kian blinked. “You sent a messenger bird already? I thought you came straight back here.”
“I did but I dropped off a new friend to send the message first. In fact, here he comes now.” She turned around when she heard the door open. Silas took a look into the room and paused. He looked up at her as if waiting for her approval. Something was keeping him from making the step forward and she wondered if it was because he was afraid of catching what Kian had. “It’s all right. Kian’s ill but I don’t think it is contagious.”
“No, this illness won’t spread.” Kian assured him. “I would advise you not to get too close to me but you can stay in the room.”
Silas took a deep breath and got inside, closing the door behind him. “I sent that messenger bird out to her. I’m pretty sure it will make its way to the Petal Kingdom if that is where she’s headed. That’s the best I can do right now.”
“That’s just fine. It’s difficult to communicate when you are so far away,” Lavinia murmured.
“Speaking of which, are we sure she went to the Petal Kingdom?” Kian asked. “What if she changed her mind and decided to go the Sugar Kingdom? Maybe she’s in another village or town. She might not get the message.”
“It may take her time but I can’t see Alice taking any detours or walking away from this. We’ve decided to go to the Petal Kingdom and that’s where she’ll want to go. She’ll come here or go there.” Lavinia nodded. “I have faith that she won’t fall into trouble.”
“How?” Silas wanted to know. “Maybe she got lucky the last time but I know that some of these forests are dangerous. All kinds of creatures are lurking about and more bandits will be hiding in the shadows. I really hope she doesn’t try to walk into the forest at night. That’s the worst time to go anywhere.”
“What’s lurking in the forest at night?”
He swallowed. “Well, for one, there is the Spider Lady. If you come across her, you have to complete her test of asking her three questions and answering her three questions. During that time, you cannot show emotion to her or she will devour you. Either that or she sends her children to devour you. I’m hoping Alice doesn’t try to go into that forest.”
“A Spider Lady?” Lavinia suddenly didn’t feel so confident. “I’ve read about her in a book but I didn’t think she was real. I thought it was a story that people told their children so they would behave.”
“Oh, she is real and very deadly. Not only that, she rarely lets anyone pass through her forest, whether they go into it on purpose or end up in by accident. You cannot show any sign of emotion when she’s nearby. She might send snakes, rats, or even her own spiders after you to see if you will flinch. If you do, that’s it for you. It’s very hard not to panic when you feel snakes over your body or rats nipping at you.”
Lavinia shuddered at the thought. She knew all about this but she didn’t want to believe the Spider Lady was real. She didn’t want to think about such a creature that devoured unsuspecting travelers solely for showing emotion. “There has to be another way around that forest, right? I mean, if they want to avoid running into her, a person would find another way.”
“There are other ways but they are longer and sometimes more dangerous. Just because the Spider Lady isn’t there doesn’t mean other creatures and dangers aren’t. You’d have to keep an eye on the weather cause the winds are always changing directions and blizzards can start up at any time. Then of course, you have to be careful on the roads. The ice makes it hard to mo
ve on and the snow just piles up. You could easily find yourself sinking into that snow and struggling to get out. Not only that, any horses or creatures you take with you can also fall through.”
“I figured there would be problems with the weather. However, I’m more interested in the other dangers. Besides the Spider Lady, what else lurks out there?” Kian asked.
“Well, there are the usual snakes and insects crawling around. There are also ice tigers and bears hidden deep within. They are much worse than normal ones, so much stronger and much faster. Outrunning them is a challenge. Of course, if you’re careful and you move without making much sound, I doubt you’ll alert them. There are also ways that are much longer but safer.”