by Day Leitao
Cayla nodded. Karina held her friend’s hand and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she felt through her eyelids some strong flashes of light and felt as if the ground beneath her had disappeared. The feeling didn’t bother her. She knew what it was. After a while, she felt ground beneath her again. She didn't fall or lose balance, but stood straight and opened her eyes.
Cool, humid air reached her lungs and skin, chilling her. She was in a circular tall tower without a ceiling, made of very old, rugged stones. The wall was partly broken and had many holes as if it was part of some ruins. That perhaps explained why teleporting had been hard. Darian stood at the entrance, looking outside as if guarding it. He turned when they came and had a smile of relief when he saw Cayla, whose eyes lit up when she saw him. There was something amazing in seeing these two look at each other. It was quite different from what she saw with her friends back home.
Darian seemed tense as he walked towards them. Karina realized she hadn’t asked a thing about any potential danger.
“What’s this place?” Karina asked.
Darian said, “Ruins of what once was Whyland’s capital. Thousands of years ago. It’s close to the garden of the Lost Castle, where my brother is. We’ll have to walk there. It should take us about one hour or so.”
Karina didn’t mind the walking, but they had flying machines, which they called lifts, in Whyland. “Any reason we can’t fly?”
“That castle has been abandoned for millennia,” Darian said. “There shouldn’t be any danger there. Still, it’s better not to make a fuss of our arrival. Just in case.”
Vague words for a vague fear. Cayla also seemed slightly tense. They walked out of the tower. Karina had never seen such thick fog. She put her hoodie on and zipped it up. There was nothing but whiteness.
Darian frowned. “It’s not usually that bad.”
Cayla put her hand on Karina’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. It’s just fog.”
For Karina, the fog had been just was a nuisance, but Cayla’s words had the opposite effect as intended because they seemed to have been spoken both to Karina and to herself.
3
The Garden
Cayla squeezed Karina’s shoulder and whispered. “Nothing should happen. But if it does, you can still teleport from any place apart from the cursed garden. You don’t need a tower. It’s a gift you have.”
Teleporting. Of course. Karina had done it twice, but more than a year before, and she wasn’t sure how exactly it worked. Karina wondered why Cayla had whispered that. More and more she felt that there was more to the task than simply kissing a statue and returning home.
Darian turned. “What’s that?”
“I was telling her not to be afraid,” Cayla said.
He shook his head. “It’s all good. Nobody will see us.” He touched his chest and pulled his necklace with its bright orange stone. “And this will prevent us from getting lost.”
Darian took Cayla’s hand. Karina walked beside the princess. She wanted them to keep talking because that whiteness was gloomy.
“And how did you find out where Sian is?”
“One of his friends came to me,” Darian replied. “They were a small group in the Lost Castle.”
“Doing what?”
“He didn’t say it, but I believe my brother was studying magic.”
Sian hadn't struck Karina as the studious type, but she didn’t know him that well. On the other hand, he’d struck her as ambitious and cunning, so perhaps studying did suit him, if it was to achieve some goal. “Are his friends still there?”
“They left after Sian was enchanted.”
“Who did it to him?” How weird that only now this question came to Karina.
Darian looked down. “No one seems to know.”
What a mess Karina was getting herself into. It sounded super fishy. But hey, Karina liked fish—and adventures.
“It will be quick,” Cayla said. “Nobody will even see us or notice what we’re doing.”
So the strategy was sneaking in. Karina took a deep breath. She did like adventure, but sometimes she wondered how sane that was. She wanted to keep talking, so she asked Cayla about what happened after she left. The princess told her that Lylah had become queen and that peace had been established in Whyland, but she didn’t sound super happy with it.
“Is there a catch or something I’m missing?”
“Years of infighting have made us vulnerable and we might have other kingdoms planning to attack us.”
So now Whyland had other potential enemies. Perhaps things would never be calm. “And shouldn’t you be in the castle?”
“I thought so. But my mother insisted that I travel. She told me to get to know the four corners of Whyland. Get to know the people.”
“What about Darian?”
“He was assigned to travel with me.” She then whispered, “I know he’d prefer to be involved in the leadership of the army.”
“I heard that,” he said. “I’m exactly where I’ve always wanted to be.”
“And where’s that?” Cayla asked.
“Holding your hand.”
She looked down and smiled. “I know. But maybe we could do both. I’ll talk to my mother when we get back. You can do a lot more than be my bodyguard.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said.
“And what about you?” Karina asked Cayla.
“I want to help with the politics, the administration. That’s why I’m traveling. Of course, we stopped a little to figure out the flowing tower and get you here.” She had a smile and put her hand on Karina’s. “Thank you for your kindness.”
Karina shrugged. “It’s nothing. It’ll be quick, right?”
Cayla nodded. Karina smiled, but her face was the opposite of what she felt. Somehow, the fact that it would be quick disappointed her. She was not sure of what exactly she wanted or expected. The one thing she was sure was that she was feeling cold and should have brought a thicker jacket. Despite her hands in her pockets, the tips of her fingers were getting numb. The hood didn’t do much to warm her ears. Darian and Cayla’s clothes didn’t look that warm, though, but the couple seemed to be comfortable.
The whiteness surrounding them was oppressive. And Karina was anxious. Of course, maybe it was just that Karina had always hoped her first kiss would be more special, or romantic. Sure, a kiss to break a spell was as romantic and special as it could get, but not if there weren’t any real feelings between the parties concerned, and if she would simply turn around, forget it, and go home. It would be better this way. Sian wasn’t trustworthy. That was the part she needed to remember.
Darian guided their way, with some help from Cayla. Karina understood why the castle would be called “lost” amidst all that fog, but she had a hunch that it was not the castle, but the people looking for it. They walked for many minutes until they reached a point where the weather cleared. While it was still cold, the sky was blue, and sunshine reached them like a golden shower melting the fog. They were on a hill from where Karina saw a valley below, then a building on a small hill, with dark stone walls. It was probably the castle, but its shape was square, without any outer walls or towers. Below the castle, in the valley, there was a narrow river and a garden.
“He’s down there,” Darian said.
At least the view was pretty and the creepy fog was gone. There were flowers in many colors among hedge corridors. White and black pebbles formed shapes such as flowers, birds, stars, and some other symbols on the paths. It all had a fresh, pleasant, flowery smell.
“Who tends this garden?” Karina asked.
Darian grimaced. “Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?”
“It’s all enchanted,” Cayla said. “Apparently it’s been so since the time it was abandoned.”
Right. From lovely, the flowers seemed rather creepy. They approached a statue in the middle of a circle of drawings on the floor. Perhaps that was the prince or young king to whom this castle had belong
ed.
“Here we are,” Darian said.
Here? Karina took a better look. Of course. That was not a statue, but Sian. The stone was light grey and very smooth. Perhaps it was just that she’d imagined his skin would still look like skin, not like marble. Plus, the statue didn’t look like him, or maybe Karina didn’t remember him that well. First, the statue wasn’t smirking, and second, it looked rather handsome. She felt a cold breeze in her chest.
“What am I supposed to do?” Karina asked, her heart almost jumping out of her body. Fine. She knew—in theory—what she had to do, but knowing and really knowing are different things.
“Just kiss him,” Darian said.
Karina took a deep breath, gathered all her courage and approached the statue. She tiptoed to reach him, but it was really hard, especially because the statue had its head looking up, which made reaching it difficult.
“Here,” Darian said, as he put a log near the statue.
Now Karina had a place to step on. She would still need to reach up, but it made things easier. Kissing a statue. Only now the madness in all this was dawning on her. But it wasn’t a statue. There was a person within it.
Karina hesitated. “Uh, on the lips?”
“You can do it quickly,” Cayla replied.
That was a yes. Karina still felt uncomfortable. “How do we know he’d want this? I mean, he’s not awake to give his opinion.”
Darian rolled his eyes and waved his arms. “And he won’t ever be awake if we don’t try. Trust me, Sian wouldn’t have a problem with a kiss from a girl he thinks is pretty.”
Karina wouldn't want anyone to assume something like that about her.
“You need to think about it in a different way,” Cayla said. “If you saved someone from drowning, and if you had to do mouth to mouth breathing, you wouldn’t wonder whether they wanted it or not, would you? It’s the same here.”
At least Cayla understood Karina better. That made sense. Karina could hear her own heart and wondered if the others heard it too. She stepped on the log, terrified of what would happen, tiptoed, and pressed her lips against the statue. She kissed it lightly, as she sometimes kissed people’s cheeks when saying hello; barely touching. She wasn’t sure if she’d done it right. Nothing seemed to change.
“Is this how it’s supposed to work?”
“I don’t know,” Darian replied. “You barely kissed him. I think it needs more feeling.”
“You said my feelings don’t matter.”
“No, but it must be a real kiss, I think.”
Cayla turned to him. “Since when you’re a specialist in magic? We knew there was a chance it wouldn’t work.”
“It will,” Darian said. “I know it. Maybe she needs to concentrate more, and more privacy.” He held Cayla’s hand and pointed to the other side of the hedge. “Why don’t we go over there?”
Before they went anywhere, Karina had an idea. “Darian! Why don’t you kiss him? You love him, don’t you?”
He looked as if he’d just sucked a sour lemon.
“On the cheek,” Karina added.
Darian scratched his neck and laughed. “Good luck with that. I’m not sure there’s much love there. Take your time. I’m sure you can do it.”
They walked away. Cayla cast a guilty look before disappearing behind the hedge with Darian.
Karina stared at the statue in front of her. What was she supposed to do? She tried to imagine the boy she had met almost a year before. She imagined him with a superiority smirk, saying that he was stealing a kiss from “a pretty girl”. But hey, if that was what would bring him back, so be it. She wondered what would happen when he woke up. He would certainly tease her about it. Karina touched the lips of the statue, imagining those were the lips of the boy she had seen, and kissed them. But again nothing happened. Karina knew that this time she had really kissed the statue.
Odd. She had dreaded seeing him wake up, and now that nothing was happening, she felt disappointed. It perhaps meant that she wasn’t even included in his broad definition of love. All the flirting and the book he’d sent her had meant nothing after all. Maybe he didn’t even think she was pretty, and the whole thing was to get her to help him, or some joke to make her confused. Well, true that if he didn’t think she was pretty enough for him, he suffered from some serious poor taste issue. Or vision problems. Or maybe it was Karina who was on a too high horse. She was getting annoyed at statue Sian, especially because he had his chin up and a confident air, as if thinking he was too hot for her. How dare he? And he wasn’t even hot.
Would he mock her? Maybe she’d never know. Whatever his story was, there was no part for her to play in it. She felt disappointed, which was silly. No reason to feel that way. Regardless of the result of the kiss, Karina knew it didn’t mean anything special. She knew it. And yet… Perhaps it’s just that she had been expecting something to happen, and nothing happened, and that was super disappointing. Not to mention she would no longer be able to brag that a guy’s love for her, as superficial as it was, broke a spell. Of course, she wouldn’t have anyone to brag to, cause they’d think she was crazy, but she could perhaps do some inner bragging. Anyway.
Karina stepped out of the log feeling silly and stupid, even though in theory the silly and stupid person was Darian, who had gone through all this trouble of bringing her for no reason. She felt a little hurt too, but she knew it was not their fault. It was nobody’s fault, really. The idea had been outrageous from the start and she should have known it.
Cayla and Darian were nowhere to be seen. She considered looking for them but somehow felt afraid of getting lost in that garden. Well, she was in a magic garden surrounding a likely lost castle, where an annoying acquaintance had been enchanted. No wonder Karina felt uncomfortable. And she hated being there only near Sian’s statue. Ugh, she hated that statue and didn’t want to ever look at it again. She hated that whole plan and what a fool she felt.
“Cayla, Darian!” she yelled. “Come back. It didn’t—”
Something caught Karina’s eye. A movement on the floor. From beneath the pebbles on the paths, a few forms rose. All around her, these forms were coming out of the ground; something gray with a skin that looked thick and rough. She shivered. Cayla and Darian came running. The princess had a gun on her hand, shooting their weird fire at those forms. Nothing happened to those shapes, and they encircled them. Darian picked up an ax from the floor and cut in half the forms surrounding Cayla and Karina. They fell on the ground, but slowly started joining together again. That gave the girls and Darian time to get some distance from them, though.
Karina was horrified. “What are those?”
“No idea,” Cayla yelled. “Stay close to us.”
All around them, in all visible parts of the garden, forms were coming up from the ground. Most had human forms, but some seemed to have tails or wings. Others were some kind of four-legged animal. They had no eyes or mouth, but were rather shapes, like rough molds of clay that still hadn’t received any details.
Darian tossed Cayla the axe. Karina kept close to them, as the shapes started moving towards them. They ran halfway to the hill, while those creatures closed in. Cayla was fast and used the ax to cut the figures that approached them. Even if they joined together after that, at least cutting them slowed them down, and Cayla, Darian, and Karina could find a path to escape.
Darian did his best with a stick and also kept some forms at bay. He must have tossed the ax to Cayla to protect her or because the girl was faster than he was. Cayla and Darian were very capable fighters and would certainly come out of that garden. Karina felt she was a burden to them, as she had no idea how to fight, and no idea how to fight against multiple enemies, especially undying enemies.
Something else knotted Karina’s chest, though. She looked back. Down there, in the middle of the garden, a lonely statue was surrounded by shapeless forms. Would Sian be in danger? He was annoying, and he didn’t like Karina at all, but she didn’t want any
thing bad to happen to him.
“What about Sian?” Karina yelled.
“We’ll come back later,” Darian replied.
Karina didn’t think they would ever return. Not when those awful shapes took over what once had been a beautiful garden. The boy would remain transformed forever. She felt something heavy inside her.
“Karina!” Cayla yelled, snapping Karina out of her thoughts.
She’d been staring down at the statue and had forgotten to keep moving with her friends. Forms were closing in on them from every direction, especially near where Sian was. They walked, though. Karina thought she could maybe outrun them. Not really outrun the forms, as she’d need to move across where they were, but maybe run fast enough that they would not touch her. She was now looking at the distance between her and the statue.
“Karina! Come!” Cayla pleaded.
Karina took a deep breath and made her decision. Teleporting. She could teleport in Whyland. That was her gift. She’d better use it for something good.
“Go,” Karina said. “I’ll teleport.”
Cayla screamed “No,” and something else, but Karina was too focused on the distance between her and the statue to make out the words. She ran as fast as she could, zigzagging amidst horrible forms, swallowing and burying her fear deep within her, heart racing as fast as it had ever raced, from the fear and the running. A couple times those figures almost touched her. Teleport. All she needed to teleport was to hold someone’s hand and imagine herself somewhere else. She ran towards the statue. Of course, if by any chance she failed, that would be her end. Or something else. Who knew what those forms wanted?
Karina reached Sian’s statue and held its hand. She thought about the blue tower in the main castle in Whyland, about safety, about the janky old tower amidst the fog. She kept that image in her mind. Nothing happened. Forms closed in. One started to pull her arm. It hurt, and she screamed.
All she wanted was to be back home. Karina felt as if she was falling, but she kept holding the statue’s hand. She closed her eyes and felt flashes of bright light. The thing holding her arm stopped holding it, and the part of the statue she held became soft. She felt floor beneath her, opened her eyes, and saw the ruined tower, but only for a brief second, as the flashes started again together with the sensation of teleporting.