Keepers of the Crown

by Lydia Redwine

  Cam glanced up at Fiera who looked...worse. Caleb looked as though he were about to collapse. “Come on. We have to keep going,” Cam urged as she passed him. She spoke the words more for herself than for him, but it seemed to lift his spirits. Another turn.

  “This spot looks familiar…” but so did the entire maze. It all looked the same: walls robed in ivy, floors robed in roses. But… “We’re back where we started.” Caleb released an irritated sigh. “We’ve found our way out, at least,” Cam added.

  “We have to keep going. I think I’m starting to figure this out,” Caleb said, disregarding any thought of leaving the maze once and for all. Cam tossed raven hair from her sweaty face and sighed. She reached for the door’s knob and turned it.

  The door did not budge. “It’s locked!” she cried. Caleb glanced over his shoulder at her.

  “Figures,” he mumbled. Cam slammed her body against the door, in vain. She fumbled aggressively with the door’s knob to no avail. “Come on,” Caleb said, and Cam had no choice but to re-enter the twists and turns, which sure made anyone go mad. This time, however, was different. Caleb seemed to know what he was doing. He did not walk in a state of confusion but rounded corner after corner, ambition lit in his eye.

  Finally, Cam made the effort to memorize his pattern. “Straight, right….this is almost like a circle,” she murmured. “Wait...we were just here. Didwe turn around?” She shifted her baggage again. Cam followed Caleb who was now going right back down the passage. “Another right...another circle. Wait, there’s only one opening here. Not a fork…”

  Cam’s shoulders slumped from both the weight of her baggage and the effort to memorize Caleb’s pattern. The sky was changing. It was melting into the madness of a night promising a storm. And perhaps the rain would feel nice on Cam’s sweat- laden skin. But for Fiera…

  Cam tried not to look at her sister. “If we just make it to the end of this maze...we can find whoever built it. Maybe.”

  Caleb’s steps ceased, and Cam, who had been trailing her eyes over the rosecovered floor crashed into his back. “Whoa…”

  Caleb raked a hand through his golden hair. “Cam...I can’t...I just don’t...know.”

  Cam pressedher hand into his back. “Look at me, Caleb.” Heturnedslowly, his eyes brimmingwith concern. “Rest. Let me look around. When I need to find my way back, I’ll whistle. And you will whistle back.” Caleb nodded slowly. “Keep Fiera awake, if you can.”

  Cam set off down the passage again, her feet still aching from the hours upon hours of walking. She dropped her sack and straightened her shoulders. Her head was spinning. “I need a drink...just...one,” she said through a rasping throat. She pulled the nearly empty flask from the smaller sack tied at her belt. Just one drink…

  She took three. Cam turned left. And then right. Or maybe it was left again… “This stupid semi-circle again,” she groaned. “No, think of something else.”

  The cool, night air brushed against her skin, dissolving the day’s sweat. “If only I could hunt in a maze,” she mused to herself aloud. She found that her sling was still tied to the belt swinging on her waist. A pouch of stones hung on the other side. She supposed it would make her feel safer, being awake in a maze she knew nothing about. But there didn’t seem to beanything to hunt...

  “Hunt for what?”

  Cam froze as the low voice faded in the air. Every muscle in her body tightened. She forced herself to turn around slowly while reaching for the slingshot at her side. A slice of moonlight and slight movement brought a flicker of shadow to Cam’s attention.

  The figure had moved. In one swift movement, she snatched a stone, placed it in the slingshot, and swung it over her head. The stone flew towards where she thought the voice had come from. Thump. A groan followed.

  Cam brushed back the hair from her forehead and let out a breath. With a brisk pace and tingling nerves, she bounded back down the passage. None of it looked familiar, not when it all looked the same and shadows creased every corner. The wind was rising above her but the rustle of vines stirring the air still alarmed Cam.

  She whirled. The figure jumped from atop the maze. “Wait, jump from the top of the maze?” Cam asked herself. She and Caleb had decided many hours ago that scaling the wall would be impossible. Even with the vines, which were too slippery.

  Her eyes darted from where the figure started to where it now crouched on the ground. Before she could think to withdraw another stone, it rushed towards her. It was before her in an instant, its long arms seizing her waist and pushing her back. They toppled to the ground, the figure on top of her. Cam’s sling fell to the ground. A cry clawed its way up her throat, but before it could echo into the maze, a hand clamped over her mouth.

  “Shh,” the figure said. It said it in agentle, quiet way. Not a hiss like she had expected.

  Cam adjusted her eyes, and in the moonlight, she made out the features of a male’s face. He was young, definitely older than she was, but young. He had a rectangular jaw and tan complexion. Fair hair hung in a wave over his long forehead. His mouth was thin and nose long and straight. His eyes were a startling shade of sea green even in the dark. Neither anger nor hatred flared in his expression. His demeanor was calm, and on his brow was a gradually growing goose egg caked in fresh blood.

  The spot where Cam had hit him with the stone. “Well aimed,” she thought for a split second. And the next she thought...the young man seemed completely harmless despite the fact that he had her pinned to the ground. Slowly, he released his hand from her mouth and rolled his body off to her side. She propped herself up on her elbows.

  “I didn’t want to hurt you,” he said, flashing a white smile. “But I didn’t want you to hurl another stone at my head either.” She frowned, glaring at him from where she lay.

  “Who are you?” she asked sharply.

  “What you should be saying is who you are. You are trespassing on private property.” He grinned as he raked his hand through his tousled hair.

  “This is your maze?”

  He nodded and then added, “Well, not exactly. It’s my father’s, but I help keep watch over it sometimes. Not that anyone ever comes here.” He tilted his head, though green eyes narrowing. “Which makes you a curiosity.” His eyes roved over Cam’s dirt-streaked face. He scratched his head, evidently surprised to find her there. “I was on a night watch,walking over the maze when I heard you. I saw you were armed too.”

  “How longhave youbeen watching me?” Cam askedwith narrowed eyes. She raised herself to a sitting position so that she was facing him.

  He shrugged. “Only a little while. I thought I’d figure out why you’re here.” He gazed expectantly, waiting for her to explain her purpose.

  “M-my sister sheuh is...really sick.” Sheswallowedhard. “She could be dead. Poisoned. We came to find help.” She tilted her headdown thepassage as if to indicatethat shewasn’t alone.

  “Poison, huh?” the boy asked with interest. Cam did not find it very interesting. She nodded curtly.

  “Why are you even in this area?” he asked.

  “We’re uh…on a quest…of some sort.” He raised an eyebrow but did not press Cam to explain further.

  “My home isn’t far from here. I can take you there. My mother can heal the sick. But uh…where is your sister?”

  “Down here...somewhere. My friend is with her. If I whistle, I can find him again.”

  The boy nodded. “We’re kind of far from the exit. I suppose we can get there within an hour though if we hurry.” By this point, Cam’s body felt rejuvenated.

  “Just...don’t get us lost, please,” Cam said with a shaky laugh.

  “Have no worries. I have had this maze memorized since I was twelve,” the boy said. He bounded to his feet and thrust his hand out. “Name is Joel.”

  “Camaria,” Cam replied. “But call me Cam.”

  Then they heard it. And both jumped.

  A scream. Caleb’s scream.

  Cam was fleeing
down the passage, leaving the shouting boy behind her. But she could hear his footsteps too. In the darkness, she could barely distinguish the corners and turns. But when she saw two figures on the ground, she knew she had found them.

  Cam skidded to a halt, nearly crashing into Caleb again. Her heart was thumping more wildly the more she took in of the scene.

  “We need to rewrap the wound,” Caleb was saying, his voice panicked. “She fell.” His hazel eyes flashed over the figure in his arms.

  Cam’s hands were still shaking when she unlatched the saddlebag and pulled out cloth. Caleb had Fiera lying on the ground when Cam ripped open her sister’s shirt to reveal the puncture wound. “Water,” she said. Caleb was gone and then back again, a flask in hand.

  Cam unwrapped the previous bandage from her sister’s side before Caleb dumped the water. Fiera’s cry was a knife in the air. Cam winced. She gritted her teeth together and tried to steady her hands.“Cam,you’reshakingtoomuch.Letme.”Caleb nearly shoved Cam aside.

  Hedidn’t even seem to noticeJoel whowas standingover them, his mouth opened as if he was trying to say something.

  The images flashed in Cam’s head. Terra lying in a heap of thorns, cut and battered. Poison filling her lungs, taking everything away from her. Fiera looked this way now. She appeared to be decaying as if something was eating her away. Fiera didn’t even stir, still and silent as the dead. Fear gripped Cam.

  Fiera’s lips parted, and she murmured. “What is it, Fi?” Cam askedas calmly as shecould. SheliftedFiera’s headinto her lap. “What do you think about the deer, Lilah? Do you think it would like me much?”

  Caleb was frowning when he exchanged a questioning glance with Cam. “She’s delirious.”

  Cam pressed a palm to Fiera’s brow. And nearly cried out at theheat. Sweat in a sheen was spreadacross all ofFiera’s skin. Her brow was simmering. Fever. An immensely high fever.

  “Come on, Fi, open your eyes. Look at me-” Fiera’s eyes widened just a bit. Just enough to see that they were red and bloodshot. The skin around her eyes was also red and somewhat rippling. Cam’s gaze shot up. “What is happening to her!”

  “There’s too much poison in her system,” Caleb said quickly. His hands were making quick work of the bandage, but Cam knew that simply holding the blood in wasn’t enough.

  Cam’s body quavered, and tears pressed into her eyes. Hot, angry, frustrated tears. In Imber Fel they had learned about poisons but…

  Cam felt a hand on her shoulder.

  She whirled. The boy was still there.

  “I-I...we could go to my home. My mother can help.”

  Caleb’s gaze darted up. “Who is he?” he demanded sharply.

  “Theonlyhelpwe’regoingtoget rightnow,” Camreplied. She stood on wobbling legs.

  The next instant, Joel was scrambling up some vines onto the wall. “What are you waiting for? Get her back on the horse,” he said.

  “We can’t get a horse up-” Caleb started.

  “I’m not stupid,” Joel said with a wave of his hand. “But I’ll direct you from up here. I can see my way back better this way. You can see nearly the whole maze from up here.”

  “Caleb, lead Fiera on the horse,” was all Cam said before she reached a hand out to the young man above her. After a second, he grasped Cam by her wrist and pulled her up beside him.

  Finally, Cam grasped onto the vine and with Joel’s aid, she hauled herself up next to him. At first, she was unsteady on her feet for she was positioned on a narrow ledge. As far as she could see, there were similar ledges placed at random intervals. Below them, the maze was merely passages of shadows. Joel, with proficient balance, took the lead, with Cam following behind him and Caleb below him. Cam’s eyes fell once again to the floor of the passage below her. “Why are there roses?” she asked aloud.

  “That,” Joel started, “is a long story.”

  “ Dear human, welcome to your life. You may not turn back. You are trapped in my realm to be festered and eaten alive. One day, you will burn. Your demise is a duty I have destined for myself. Enjoy your stay.”

  Yours truly,

  Lucius

  Nine

  Cam crouched on a wooden stool high in the tower. The kitchen

  was small but homelike, brimming with dishes, herbs, and food. Shelves high above her were laden with wooden and clay dishes. So much like the kitchen in her childhood home was this space, that even the cobwebs in the corners seemed welcoming. The floor of wood and walls of stone were also a resemblance. Though, in Medulla, the counters were not scattered with pots, jars of herbs, and random cheeses, fruits, and vegetation.

  Firelight danced in the hearth. Cam stared at the flames as if in a trance until she felt a warm bowl pressed into her hands. She glanced up to see Joel, offering her food with a smile. He seated himself on another stool between her and Caleb.

  Fiera was lying across the wooden slab the woman had called a table. Her jet-black hair hung over the edge. Her clothing, waist up, was stripped off, revealing every wound to the naked eye. The middle-aged woman wore a kind expression creased in concern and concentration beneath graying, bronze hair. The woman moved between bottles of herbs and mysterious plants, bowls of water and cloths, and the bloodbathed Fiera.

  The woman had politely told Cam to sit and wait until Joel could provide her and Caleb with some simmering stew. She slurped slowly at the food, barely registering its flavor. She couldn't force herself to feel content, not with a nearly dead sister beside her. They ate in silence, listening to the crackling of the fire and whatever Joel’s mother was doing. Upon their arrival at Joel’s home, a tower built at the end of the maze among sheltering trees, their guide had entered the structure.

  After a moment of quiet rustling inside, the door had creaked open and the woman had appeared. No questions were asked. Once she had consumed the offered food, Cam set about cleaning their dishes, so as to keep her hands and mind busy. Joel stood off to the side, tending to his own wound, which was forming on his head, with a dampened rag.

  When Camhadfinishedwiththedishes, Joel’smother l et out a long, contented sigh.

  “This young lady will be fine,” she said in a slightly lilting accent Cam was not familiar with. Her gaze softened, and her eyes lit up pleasantly. “I took the arrowhead out first, and if we keep her lying as she is, the poison should continue to drain. We’ll need to change the bandage every hour or so in order for theinfection to heal. She’ll needa constant watch andthis herbal remedy, as well.” The woman pressed a tin container into Cam’s palm. “She should make a full recovery in a few days.”

  Relief flooded Cam’s veins. A smile formed on her tired face. “What is your name?”

  “You can call me Belle. Now, I’ll keep watch over your friend while you all sleep. Elyon must know you need it.” Cam caught Caleb’s glance. Elyon. The name so familiar now but foreign when hearing it from a stranger in the middle of seemingly nowhere.

  Belle ushered Caleb and Cam to their feet and told Joel to lead them to a spare bedroom. They followed him up another winding staircase onto a snug looking floor with several bedrooms.

  “Hopefully this will suit you,” he said, swinging open a door to a room occupied by a large, comfortable looking bed.

  “Thank you for all you’ve done,” Cam said. For the first time since meeting Joel, she looked at him without suspicion, and he returned her gaze with a small nod of his head and a grin. Caleb followed Joel further down the hall.

  Cam did not know when she fell asleep. She only knew that time wasn’t a matter even worth regarding now.

  An orchestra of birds sang as sunlight drifted through the open

  window in Cam’s room. She stirred at the sounds to find that, at mid-morning, she could also hear laughing children from the halls and stairways from below. She smiled and rose to find her baggage tossed near the door. With a swift sweep of her hands, her hair was tied behind her head. She glanced into a mirror hanging on the wall. “A bath, Cam. Very
soon,” she told herself.

  Cam’s hand was glowing golden -brown in the sunlight as she traced it hand down the wood-carved railing. Her hand followed the light, and her steps followed the sounds of chattering younger voices. The voices drifted from the same kitchen they had been in earlier that morning when darkness still shifted beyond the tower walls.

  Cam approached the room and peered in. Joel and his mother were surrounded by several small children. Three were young girls and two were young boys. Two other males of taller stature, who looked older than Joel, sat at the table, gulping down their food. Their appearance, rugged and slightly disheveled, suggested they had been hunting. The two older boys had dark hair but the same sea-green eyes as Joel. The younger children all had golden hair like Joel’s. An older man, as old as Joel’s mother, sat on a stool, bouncing a young girl on his lap.

  A family. A happy family. And she was seeing Medulla again. Cam’s pulse quickened, her veins and chest warming at the thought. All four of her sisters and Grandfather in the library. The ballroom…

  The family conversed among themselves, passing food and all the while smiling warmly. Cam grinned, the warmth of the place surging through her. This place seemed almost like home, back when she had loved and respected Silva and Kazbek. Back when no secrets crept through the halls and haunted the cheery pictures framed on walls.

  Joel’s eyes rose to meet Cam’s gaze, and he offered her a smile. “Good morning,” he said quietly. He went to rise but tumbled back with a small fist grasped at the back of his shirt. His mouth split into an even wider smile as laughter bubbled from his mouth.

  “Nice of you to finally join us,” another voice announced. The voice of the older man quieted the room. All eyes turned to Cam, but she was looking to the man who had spoken. He was not smiling like the others.

  She entered the kitchen, one small step at a time. A little girl with bouncing, golden curls grasped the hem of her shirt.

  “Oooo! I am so glad we have another girl in the house!” she squealed.