Inherent Fate

by Geanna Culbertson

  The woman was standing with her back to the countertop. There were no weapons in sight—the knife rack was empty.

  “You will die here,” she said. “Maybe not by my hand, but by someone else’s. There’s no protagonist out there who can escape the fate chosen for them.”

  “Let’s agree to disagree,” I replied. “And anyways, I hardly think you’re in a position to comment on anyone’s fate, given that I haven’t decided what yours should be.”

  My wicked step-grandmother eyed the knife I twirled in my hand. “Crisanta, you’re a princess. And your mother would want you to show mercy.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “I am a princess, and my mother would want me to show mercy.” I stepped closer until I was barely a foot from her. I held up the knife. “But your logic is flawed in two ways. One, I’m a new kind of princess. And two, my mother’s not here.”

  With that, I punched the wicked woman in the face, knocking her out cold.

  “Get that out of your system?” Daniel asked as I strode up to meet him. He stood under the eaves of a nearby building. I checked left and right to make sure we weren’t being watched.

  “I think so.” I shook my fist, relaxing the tension in my fingers. “That woman needed to be punched.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” he commented. “I just can’t believe you did it.”

  “You’ve seen me punch people before.”

  “Yeah, but in self-defense. I never really thought of you as the vengeful type. You must really hate her to go all dark like that.”

  His comment startled me and I was instantly unsettled. My step-grandmother’s words about darkness echoed in the back of my mind.

  “You’d be surprised how easy it comes. It starts small, but it seeps through with the right amount of anger and hatred.”

  I shook away her disturbing comment and readdressed Daniel. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the same if you ever came face-to-face with someone who’d wronged one of your parents.”

  Daniel didn’t answer my question. He swallowed like he was holding something back, then looked away. “The river picks up over there. Let’s go.”

  The two of us found our way back to the Weser and followed the red sand along its banks. Everything was calm for the next twenty minutes.

  There was no wind, no Rabullfrogs, no monsters. By the potent light of the Weser’s greenish glow Daniel and I trekked across the red desert in silence as we searched for our marker. Once again I thought back to our group’s conversation regarding the subject when we were staying with Ashlyn on Earth.

  “An enchanted rock?” SJ had asked Blue.

  “No. Just a normal rock,” Blue said, slightly irritated. “Why does everything have to be enchanted?”

  “Blue, to be fair, the rock may not be enchanted, but the grave marker that’s supposed to be in front of it is,” Jason commented. “It’s how the cave knows when to rise.”

  “Knight . . .”

  My mind returned to the present. Daniel was pointing at an area about fifty feet away where the sand was noticeably darker. Under the shadow of night, it was the color of dried blood.

  Daniel directed my attention to a small lump amidst three tall dunes. From where we stood it looked like a mole on the desert’s back, but I had a feeling it was the very target we’d been searching for.

  A flicker of hope sparked in my chest. I instinctively glanced around. Daniel and I had hoped that SJ, Blue, and Jason would head to the Cave of Mysteries to find us and the next object on our list to break the In and Out Spell. Perhaps it was silly to think that fate would allow our groups to arrive at the same time. Nevertheless, I felt disappointed to see no one else there.

  I tried not to let it dampen my spirits. The Valley of Strife was a big place and SJ, Blue, and Jason had obviously taken a much different route than we had—Fairy Godmother zaps and inter-dimensional hole-hopping and all. Maybe Daniel and I had just beaten them here.

  When he and I arrived at the rock I discovered it was bigger than it looked from far away—about three feet in height and five feet in width. Blue had been right; there was nothing remarkable about it, except for maybe the fact that it was unusually smooth. But Jason had also been right. The grave marker at the foot of the stone was clearly something special.

  Away from the river, with nothing but the stars and moon to light the night, it was hard to see what was engraved on the marker. I drew out my wandpin and transformed it so that the weapon’s silvery glow would offer some luminescence.

  The slab of black marble was about the size of a textbook. The light of my wand revealed two images. The one on top was a gold emblem of a ram’s head. Directly below it was a gold outline of a handprint.

  “You want to take this one?” I asked. “There’s no instructions, but the next step looks pretty self-explanatory.”

  “Yeah, why not.” Daniel moved past me and bent down in front of the marble. He held out his hand then placed the palm on the marker—aligning it perfectly with the outline of the handprint.

  The world stood still for a moment. Then the outline around Daniel’s hand began to glow. Daniel stepped back. The whole of the outline was filled with gold light now, so bright we had to shield our eyes. The marble block began to descend into the sand until it was completely gone.

  Silence.

  “Nothing’s happening,” Daniel said, stating the obvious as he looked around. “Maybe we’re in the wrong spot.”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but the ground beneath our feet started to tremble and part. The two of us jumped out of the way as a crevice began to open in the sand. To avoid falling in we dove to the side, rolling out of the way.

  The ground had split and sand fell into the great crevice like a waterfall. An enormous structure began rising from beneath. It was shaped like a ram’s head, horns and all, and gave off a potent, eerie glow that illuminated the area around us. The creature’s eyes were radiant sapphires that sparkled with power.

  We got up and I stowed my wandpin as the figure finished rising.

  “Daniel, I know you’re relatively new to the whole fairytale main character thing,” I whispered. “But in case you haven’t learned it enough times in the last few weeks, expect the unexpected. You gotta roll with the punches and have a little faith.”

  “Really? You’re gonna lecture me about having a little faith?”

  “All right, point taken.”

  “Who dares approach the Cave of Mysteries?” the ram’s head bellowed. The voice was so loud that it shook the sand from our clothes.

  Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward. “Uh, hi. Crisanta Knight, Princess of Midveil here, and Daniel, um . . .” I turned to Daniel. “Wait, what the heck is your last name?”

  He brushed his hair back sheepishly. “Daniels.”

  I grinned. “Really? Daniel Daniels? Now I know there’s a backstory there. Who names their kid Daniel Daniels? That’s ridiculous.”

  Daniel glowered. “Knight, focus.”

  “All right, all right.” I turned back to face the ram’s head. “Crisanta Knight, Princess of Midveil and Daniel Daniels . . . other guy.”

  Daniel punched me in the arm.

  “What?” I murmured with a smirk on my face. “Would you have preferred Daniel Daniels, Lord of the Two First Names?”

  The ram’s head roared at us again.

  “Only the diamond within the tough may enter this cave!”

  Neither of us was as familiar with fairytale history as Blue, but most people in Book had read at least some accounts of Aladdin as well as the Arabian Nights stories. Even if the various versions were diverse, many of them had common points. Thus, we’d somewhat expected this magic cave to present us with a proposition when we sought to enter its domain. However, my understanding was that he was supposed to say something slightly different.

  “Hold on, ‘the tough?’” I repeated, furrowing my brows. I regularly got my butt handed to me in most classes at Lady Agnue’s, but I’d alw
ays done okay in Fairytale History thanks to Blue. Getting this wrong irritated me. “I thought it was—”

  “I know what you thought it was!” the ram’s head interrupted, rolling his giant eyes. “But it is not!”

  “But the most popular versions say—”

  “I was misquoted!”

  “Come on, Knight,” Daniel mocked. “You’ve gotta roll with the punches.”

  “Ugh, whatever.” I looked at Daniel and gestured at the ram’s head. “That’s your cue, Daniel Daniels. Time to shine.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Go and try to enter the cave,” I directed.

  “Are you serious? If that thing doesn’t buy me as some ‘diamond within the tough,’ I’m history while you stand here and watch me get eaten alive.”

  “Daniel, why do you always have to be so difficult? Obviously I don’t want you to try it because I want you to get killed. We’ve got to get inside to find this Mysterious Flower. The reason I think it should be you that tries to pass the ram’s test is because of the two of us you’re way more likely to be the special one.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Nice try, Knight. I’m not buying it.”

  “Really, Daniel. I’m not joking.” I let out a sigh as the confession came out. “I mean, if you tell anyone I said this, I’ll flat out deny it. But the fact is that as a protagonist you’ve proven yourself to be more worthy of the title in the last few weeks than most people do in a lifetime.”

  Daniel studied me. “And you haven’t? Knight, if anyone could pass through that cave it’s you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Save the obligatory return compliment, Daniel. Lady Agnue once told me that there’s a difference between being a hero and being heroic. And she was right. Much as I wish it were different, I’ve realized over the course of this adventure that I’m no hero. I have some heroic qualities that I’m proud of, but the fact is that I’ve failed, hurt, and lied to too many people—myself included—to qualify as a good hero or a good princess. Right now I simply lack the merits to fit either role—not on everyone else’s terms, but my own.”

  I felt my hand tingle with the magic watering can’s liquid metal effect, but I ignored it, clenching my fist and drawing it behind my back.

  “It’s a hard truth, but I accept it. I may attract a lot of villains and put up a good fight, but I’m not as honorable as a hero or a princess should be.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, Knight. In my book you have all three bases covered.” Daniel’s tone shifted from jest to sincerity as he met my eyes. “I just wish you would accept yourself for everything that you are. Maybe if you did, you’d finally know what that protagonist title means to you, and maybe you’d see what I see.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Someone with the potential to affect more than who she is and build something better.”

  This rare moment of real, unprovoked openness between us was interrupted by the sound of the massive ram’s head clearing his throat.

  “If you two are done, could someone get over here and enter my cave? Just because I am an eternal magic head does not mean I have all day to wait around listening to a pair of lovebirds squawk away.”

  Both our faces turned redder than the sand. “We’re not lovebirds!” Daniel and I—equally struck by humiliation and horror—yelled in unison.

  The ram’s head scoffed. “Oh please. You have that whole ‘will they, won’t they’ thing written all over you. If I had time to write protagonist fan fiction I would be shipping for you right now. Alas, I am an enchanted cave, not a couples’ counselor or a fangirl. All I care about is who wishes to enter my domain. The two of you can figure out all those other diddlewatts on your own time.”

  “Right,” I said, turning to Daniel. “How about we try going into the cave together? It’ll double our chances of getting across the threshold. And if that doesn’t work and we get crushed and buried alive, then neither of us will have to worry about being traumatically scarred by what that ram’s head just said.”

  Daniel nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

  We turned to readdress the opinionated, presumptuous, and extremely mistaken mystical ram’s head.

  “We’ll go in together,” I announced.

  “Fine by me,” the ram’s head replied, seeming to shrug his unseen shoulders. “I like some variety in my meals.”

  He cleared his throat again. “Approach then, meager mortals. But be warned—should you be deemed worthy enough to enter, only the object inspiring the mission that brought you here will allow you safe passage out. Claim it and it alone, or suffer the consequences.”

  Daniel and I expected the ram’s head to lower his gigantic face to the ground so we could step inside his mouth to enter the threshold of the cave. Instead the ram rammed his head into the sand and exhaled deeply—expanding his epic nostrils until they were wide enough for us to walk through like dual entrances.

  Daniel and I exchanged a glance then went inside.

  The interior of the nasal cavity was vast and cylindrical. Past the entrance foyer it plunged downward in the form of a massive, zigzagging staircase. The walls were vaguely moist and carved from jagged stone; vines clung to every surface.

  Daniel and I stood on the edge of the first step and stared at the seemingly endless descent. This was it. All the stories about the Cave of Mysteries agreed that once inside the cave all it would take was that first step to pass judgment.

  One step and we’d either have free passage into the depths below or be this enchanted ram’s midnight snack.

  “It’s now or never,” Daniel said, preparing to go forward.

  “Wait.” I held up my hand to block him. “I just had a thought.”

  “What?”

  “Well, what about SJ, Blue, and Jason? The cave was buried when we arrived. I thought at first that it was because we might’ve beaten them here. But what if they beat us here and tried to get through, only they couldn’t get across the threshold and got swallowed up instead?”

  Daniel thought it over for a second then answered with complete confidence. “They didn’t,” he said simply. “We got here first. We’ll find this Mysterious Flower and probably run into them on our way back out.”

  “How can you be sure?” I pressed.

  “Because like you I know those guys. So I know they, of all people, would make it through. Don’t stop having faith in them, Knight. Trust is a good look on you. Come on, enough worrying. We’ll do this together.”

  “Together,” I echoed.

  “On three,” he said. “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”

  he both of us took one step forward and waited.

  There was no earth-quaking, ram’s-head wrath. Other than some sand falling from the cave roof, nothing happened at all. Which meant we’d done it! The cave accepted us as worthy and was giving us passage. Unless we violated some rule while we were inside, it would remain open until we emerged with what we came for.

  The tension lifted. Without hesitation Daniel and I proceeded into the heart of the mystical cave. The deeper we went, the lighter it became.

  Finally, we reached the bottom.

  The first room we found was nothing special—just rock walls and an insanely high ceiling. But as we went through the tunnel that led to the caverns beyond, the surroundings changed. The cave walls had a rusty red tint about them and the pathway cutting across the floor was made of tangerine crystal tile that reminded me of my favorite type of ice pop. Stalactites hung everywhere like icicles, making me feel like we were inside one giant mouth. Mountains of gold coins, a rainbow array of jewels, and other precious goodies glittered throughout the next half dozen caverns we wandered through. Dark green vines I couldn’t explain wormed around the glitz like serpents trying to strangle the individual piles.

  After several minutes I began to notice other less-than-beautiful things scattered amongst the treasures. There were solid gold statues of people wit
h terrified expressions, burnt outlines of bodies on walls, and the occasional skeleton peeking out from beneath the mounds of jewels.

  “Remember,” I reminded Daniel as we kept moving. “Don’t touch any of the treasure. You know the legends of this cave—the supposed ‘Mysteries’ in individual alcoves are the real prizes. Everything else is just a distraction meant to detour people from reaching their goals. The story goes that if we touch anything other than what we came for, we won’t have safe passage out like the ram’s head said. The cave will implode and we’ll be buried.”

  “I got it, I got it,” Daniel said, brushing me off. “Step down from the know-it-all, protagonist perch, Knight. I may be a common at heart, but I’ve read the stories. I’m not an idiot.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, Daniel Daniels. In my book, you have both bases covered.”

  “Hilarious.” Daniel rolled his eyes. “Look, don’t worry, Knight. I’ll just treat this cave like I do our relationship—like it’s a trap waiting to tear me a new one.”

  “An accident waiting to happen,” I countered.

  “A disaster in the making,” he countered back.

  “Well, good.” I smirked. “At least we’re on the same page.”

  We continued forward with great care. Daniel and I searched room after room for the Mysteries that were the cave’s true trophies, believing that among them we would find the Mysterious Flower.

  Unfortunately, our passage seemed to drag on for an eternity. There were so many treasure rooms, and multiple levels of them too. Many had staircases, which Daniel and I explored only to find more gigantic places where treasure dwelled. Everywhere we went there was just gold, gold, and more gold. It was enough to make Chance Darling (the grandson of King Midas) humble.

  I was beginning to wonder if there was no end to these rooms of riches until we came upon a cavern filled with something quite different. Furniture.

  Decorative carpets, throw rugs, and woven mats were strewn across the floor. Couches, loveseats, and futons were stacked across the room in skyscraper-high piles. Lawn chairs in an assortment of colors lined the walls. It was like a graveyard for a home furnishings emporium.