“You did it yesterday,” he pointed out.
She shook her head. “I was so terrified the whole time,” she whispered. “Every moment, I thought I was going to fall into that stuff down there, I could feel it!” The words spilled out faster than she wanted, but it felt strangely good to have them off of her chest. “And it’s not just the trapeze. I’m terrified of falling anywhere when I don’t feel in control of the situation. Diving boards are fine, as is rock climbing, but you – you saw me when I got to the top of the mountain. I could just feel myself sliding right over that edge and falling, falling…” She swallowed. “That’s the worst part, the inconsistency. The only thing that always gets me every time is the trapeze.”
“You face that fear.”
“I try to,” she admitted. “Once a year, I make myself get up onto mom and dad’s trapeze bars, try to do some sort of routine, but I’ve never finished one. At some point, I just freeze up and … fall again. And then the nightmares return worse than ever. I fail again, and again.” She pulled up her knees and hugged them to her chest. “I put so many people out of a job. The dare-devil four-year-old was one of Risby’s big attractions, and then I couldn’t get back up there. I was no longer a dare-devil. I was scared.”
“Risby was falling apart anyway,” the Fire Prince pointed out. “And they couldn’t rely on you for much longer. You were growing up.”
“I know, and I’d almost conquered the fear, but last year…” She squeezed her eyes shut again and couldn’t prevent the shudder that ran through her.
“What happened? Did, did you fall again?”
“Not me, my friends, Kath and Rich. We were taking a course in hang gliders. It was so much fun. I loved flying, and I felt safe. But then they both crashed, at the same moment, even. He took a nosedive, she ran into a tree.” She was quiet for several moments, before she added, “That’s when it really got bad.”
The silence that hung between them was heavy and painful.
“But you’re good at so many other things,” he pointed out.
She shook her head. “But not at what I should be good at, at what I used to be good at. My family has been in the trapeze business for generations. It’s in my blood, but I’m a failure. My mother fell, when she was just a bit older than I am now, was hurt, badly even, but she got back up there, wouldn’t let it stop her.”
“Your mother fell?”
She nodded. “She blames it for the fact that I’m an only child. Even I was born slightly premature. I’m her miracle baby she calls me. I’m a failure.”
“No, you’re not. You’re the Water Princess,” he protested, reaching forward and grabbing both of her shoulders and giving them an encouraging squeeze. “It wasn’t your fault that you fell as a kid, and it’s not your fault that you’re scared now. What I saw you do yesterday, get back up there and do that despite your fear, that’s courage, Clara. You’re a brave, determined girl. If anything, your fear has made you stronger.”
She shook her head, not willing to accept the praise, not in her current mood. “I didn’t tell you the whole riddle,” she admitted.
“Really, but it…”
“Was four lines, not two, I’m not sure why.” She took a deep breath. “The first half was: Hurling through darkness, air, and space//Your greatest fear, alone you face.”
“And you did face it – and succeeded.”
“Only because Alphego was there.”
“Alphego?” His eyebrow flickered as he withdrew his hands and fell back onto his heels.
“Didn’t you see him?” she asked in surprise. “He was there, so big and beautiful and white. His light even overpowered the purple.”
He shook his head. “I won’t argue that you saw Him, and I’m certain that you needed to, but he didn’t show Himself to anyone else.”
Taking a slow, ragged breath, she shook her head. “And now you know my deepest, darkest secret, pathetic though it is.”
The silence hanging between Andrew and the Water Princess was so heavy that Andrew could feel it. She looked so small and vulnerable – so unlike the fierce Amazon princess he had met just a few weeks before.
“They never found my mother’s body.” The words slipped out before he thought about them.
Her head shot up from her knees where it rested, confusion dancing through her eyes. “What?”
Andrew shrugged slightly, glancing down at his hands, which now rested in his lap. “They didn’t. That’s my deep, dark secret, I guess.”
She was quiet for several seconds, and then she uncurled herself and scooted back to his side, wrapping her arms around him. A small half-smile pulled at the corner of Andrew’s mouth as he stroked her hair.
“Why?” she asked, but then she quickly added. “If you want to talk about it, that is. Don’t think that I’m trying to pry or anything like that.”
“It was like she disappeared into thin air,” he said after a few seconds. It would have been so much easier to clam up and forget that he’d said it, but here in the darkness of this mountain, with water and fire flowing together not far from him, the story didn’t seem that far-fetched anymore, and perhaps she would believe him. “That’s because she did.”
She pushed herself up and stared at Andrew with a confused expression. “What do you mean?”
“Just that,” said Andrew. “She disappeared into thin air. She was driving Josh and me to a birthday party for one of his friends, and suddenly gave a cry of pain and slammed on the brake. One moment, she was there, and then she was gone – before the crash even happened.”
He took a long deep breath, trying to get a hold of the images that were conjured by the story. “Josh and I survived unscathed, miraculously, but she was gone. Dad was devastated and buried himself in his studies. We barely saw him for months after that. Mrs. Eaglechaser came over and helped when she could, as did an older lady from church, Miss Macready. We tried public school for a year, but our science homework upset dad so much, he refused to let us go back. I learned how to do everything mom used to do. Dad emerged from the lab. We survived.”
“Miss Macready?” Clara repeated.
“I know, we got quite a bit of amusement out of the fact that her name was the same as that of the book character, for they were nothing alike,” Andrew agreed. He heard the others stirring, so he extracted himself from her arms and then held out his hand for her to take. “But we have far to go, Water Princess. We’d best be on our way again.”
Chapter 9
The tunnel now followed alongside the chasm, so Clara kept the Fire Prince between her and it at all times. After nearly falling in it the day before, she didn’t want to run the risk again. Not that it was better for him to fall in – she didn’t like that thought either – but she trusted him to keep her safe.
The poor guy had been through so much in his life and had come out all the stronger for it. Maybe he wasn’t the best with the sword or any other sort of weaponry, but he was the guy someone could rely on. Did she like him? She wasn’t ready to go that far, but he had earned her grudging respect. And trust.
If someone had to be her Fire Prince, she was glad it was him. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if the guy couldn’t cook, after all. He was a good cook, she didn’t hesitate to admit.
Slowly her spirits rose, and she was soon able to appreciate the strangeness of the mixed water and fire. Never had she dreamed she’d ever see anything like it in her life. It was the stuff of fiction. She had to admit that it beat any bit of special effects she’d seen in movies.
With that thought, she turned to the Fire Prince with the exclamation, “Movie magic, I love it.”
He turned towards her with a confused expression on his face. “Movie magic?”
She pointed towards the chasm. “Don’t you just love movie magic?”
He got the joke this time and chuckled. “Water Princess, this isn’t a movie,” he pointed out. He sighed. “It’s real life. Our life.”
“Oh.” She let the silence sit for several seconds before she added. “I just keep getting mixed up.” She sighed. “But now that you mention it, you’re right. I just don’t think this is a movie. Probably just a book.”
“A book?”
“And, knowing our luck, not even one of the good ones. Probably some self-published work.” She shook her head. “I’d hate to know what the cover art looks like. Probably some photoshop fail.”
He laughed. “That would be just our luck.”
Andrew found it interesting that she willingly chose to walk beside him that day.
As they made camp for the night, Karlos approached him, eyes big and imploring. “When are we going to get out of this mountain, Fire Prince?”
Andrew took a deep breath and shook his head. “To tell the truth, I really don’t know.”
“Oh.” The word was pitiful and hung in the air for several moments before Karlos continued. “Father doesn’t know either.”
“We’ll have to come to an end of it sooner or later,” said Andrew, reaching over and rumpling the boy’s hair. “A mountain can only hold so much tunnel, after all, especially when it also has a castle in it. I’m quite certain that we’re almost at an end, even as we speak.”
The boy nodded slowly. “I hope so, Fire Prince, I really hope so.”
“So do I.” Andrew pulled Karlos into a quick hug, and then the boy scampered off to talk to Jasmine.
“We only have enough food for tonight and breakfast tomorrow,” Jill Anna announced, the next moment, “and that’s even with the fact that we’ve been at half rations for some time now.”
“Well, we can survive hungry for a few days after that,” the Water Princess spoke up. “We may not like it, but we can.”
“We’ll just have to trust that Alphego knows what He’s doing and will get us out of here soon,” added Andrew. “And who knows, He might tell us the way forward tonight.”
“Well spoken,” said Abraham. “We’ll trust him. The fate of Klarand depends on the two of you, so I’m quite certain that He isn’t going to let us starve to death down here.”
“Certainly not,” the Water Princess agreed.
Clara leaned against the cave wall, staring at the Fire Prince, who was still asleep, wondering if she dared cross over to where he was and wake him up. For one, he was a trifle closer to the edge than she was comfortable with, and secondly, she didn’t want to be disappointed with the news that he hadn’t dreamed them a way out of the mountain.
“Did you dream?” she demanded, as soon as she saw his eyes crack open.
He didn’t answer, and the eye closed again. She doubted he had heard her, so she found a rock and threw it at him.
“Ow!” His eyes flew open. “Clara? What’d you do that for?” he asked, sitting up.
“To get your attention, I’m not in the mood for kicking at the moment. So, did you dream last night?”
The Fire Prince raised his eyebrows, playing all innocent with her. “Why would I do that?” he asked. “We’re not stuck yet, and you only just had your dream the other night.”
“Because we only have enough food for breakfast,” she pointed out. “I don’t know about you, but I’m really not fond of being hungry, so we really need you to dream us a way out of here.”
“What makes you so sure it’d be me?” he asked. “You might dream it this time.”
“Well, it seems to be following a pattern,” Clara pointed out. “First you dreamed us into the mountain, I dreamed us past the first dead end, you dreamed us through the second, and then I dreamed us over that chasm. So, it’s your turn.”
He was quiet for several moments, and then asked, “Are you sure about that?”
She rolled her eyes. “Honestly, if you weren’t so close to the edge right now, I would have kicked you. Did you dream, or did you not?”
He didn’t answer, but stood up, walked over to where she stood, and sat back down. “Is that better?”
Taking a deep breath, she drew back a leg, with the full intention of kicking him and then she … didn’t.
“Well?” he asked, looking up at her.
She sighed and sat down cross-legged beside him. “It’s not the same if you’re letting me,” she admitted. “So, back to the question? Have we been told how we’ll be getting out of here, or are we just going to keep wandering until we do? I highly doubt we’re going to find a river of food anytime soon, as awesome as it might be to find one.”
“You happen to be in luck, I did dream,” he admitted.
She let out a long breath of relief. “What do we need to do?”
He was quiet for several seconds longer, then told her of his dream. “There was this metal circle in the wall and a pile of glass beneath it. Fallen pieces you must return//The last gate to open, this wheel you must turn.”
“The last gate, huh?” Clara repeated, allowing the words to thrill through her. “That sounds simply wonderful.”
“I know, right?” the Fire Prince agreed. “But there’s still the matter of what’s going to be beyond it. No one has been seen or heard of from the Kastle in years, except for Dular and Alith. We don’t know what we’re going to find.”
“Perhaps not,” Clara agreed. “But it is a step forward. Alphego has brought us this far. He’ll help us win the battle. Shall we go wake up the others?”
“That sounds like a plan to me,” he agreed.
There was a spring to everyone’s step that day, the words “last gate” having a certain magic that overcame even their scanty breakfast. They were now officially out of food, but they were no longer out of hope.
The day stretched on and on, however, and their path eventually led them away from the glowing chasm, and Andrew had to turn his flashlight back on. At long last, the light caught the glint of glass ahead of them, and they found the wheel and the glass pieces that they had to replace.
Since it was growing late, Jill Anna insisted on putting the two kids to bed, which they let her do. The others gathered around the metal circle and began discussing how to return the fallen pieces.
“It’s a puzzle, obviously,” the Water Princess observed, picking up one of the jagged pieces and holding it up to the frame. “But it’s not being as nice to us as that other one that got us into the mountain.”
“We don’t even know how the pieces should go together,” said Andrew, picking up another of the pieces. “I just saw what we have now, broken glass.”
“Too bad we don’t have any convenient box lids,” the Water Princess commented.
“Box lids, Water Princess?” asked Jakob.
“It’s a thing we have in our own world,” she explained. “Puzzles come in boxes, and on the lid of the box is a smaller picture of what the puzzle will look like when you finish it.”
“Ah, that makes sense,” said Jakob, nodding slowly. “Yes, it would be nice if we had a way to know what the finished version of this puzzle should look like, and now that you mention it…” He retreated, found his pack and dug through it, and at last pulled out a book.
“Through the Mountain,” the Water Princess gasped. “Oh, Jakob, that’s brilliant!”
“Um, I’m not following,” Andrew spoke up.
“Most of the legends don’t have any form of illustration,” Jakob explained, “But Through the Mountain does.” He opened the book to the last page to reveal a circle illustration that was drawn as though it were of stained glass.
“Alphego atop the Hill, as He stood at the creation of the world,” said Abraham. “How very fitting.”
“Yes, yes, the more I look at it, the more I’m convinced that this must be it,” the Water Princess added. “The colors and everything are perfect.”
And with that, the four of them plunged into the repairing of the puzzle. Piece after piece. It took quite some time, but they didn’t have the time constraint that pressed on them at the top of the mountain
. This picture was indeed the picture they were putting back together, and at last, it was done.
Part 4
The KASTLE
On the first day of the new year, they emerged from the mountain. They were received with joy by the Wind Prince and Leaf Princess, and plans were begun for the coming war.
Chapter 1
They turned the circle exactly seven times, and then the mountain gave one final great tremble. The wall before them split open, the glass pieces falling back out as the crack cut through them.
“All that work for nothing,” said Clara, shaking her head slightly.
“It wasn’t nothing,” Jakob pointed out. He took a deep breath of the fresh air that drifted through the doorway. “We’re free at last.”
“Go tell the kids,” Clara told him. “The Fire Prince and I will go scout out the area and find out if there’s anyone left alive.” She grabbed the Fire Prince’s wrist and pulled him out of the tunnel.
Only once they were both out did she remember that they were supposed to be last. However, the mountain didn’t close behind them, so she turned back to scouting, figuring that the first door had just been picky.
The moon glowed above them. It was probably just as well that it was night, for they had spent so long in the darkness. Daylight would have been blinding.
“We did it,” said the Fire Prince, after several moments. “We actually did it.”
“That was just the first step,” Clara pointed out, fingering the hilt of her sword. “We’re in the Kastle, but we still need to find a way to get Amber out of Klarand.”
“You there!” a voice suddenly yelled at them. “Who are you and how did you get into the Kastle?”
Clara exchanged a glance with the Fire Prince and then glanced about in search of their observer, who was possibly invisible since she couldn’t even determine where his voice came from.
“Um, we’re friendly,” the Fire Prince spoke up. “I’m the Fire Prince and she’s the Water Princess. We came through the Mountain, just as we were told to do.”
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