“Good night, milady.” The way his tiny little body curled in a bow made me smile.
“Good night, Ziggy. Thank you for your kindness.”
He shot up with a look of horror. “Never say that again.” Then he took off through the tapestry.
How strange. I set the platter on the table and took the remaining slices with me. The halls were barely luminated by small torches on the walls and were eerily quiet. When I reached what I assumed was the exit, I peered outside. It led to the courtyard in front of the castle. Not a soul was around that I could see. I could try to escape now, but this dress was a cumbersome death trap. I needed my own clothes.
I was exhausted by the time I reached the top of the stairs, not just from climbing but from holding all the fabric up so I wouldn’t trip on it. And it was dark as shit. I stuffed a slice of pizza in my mouth and held it there as I stripped out of the dress and went for something more comfortable. Once I was redressed, I snuck out on the balcony and searched the castle wall. There were only two guards remaining. They walked separate ways, turned, met in the middle of the drawbridge, then turned and walked away again. That was my chance.
My heart raced as I stood there. I felt like a teen sneaking out of the house with the hopes I wouldn’t get caught. I needed to move while I had time, but my feet were glued to the spot. There were literal monsters out there, not your average creepy weirdos looking to defile young kids. Maybe I should wait until daytime when I could see.
Maybe you can wait until he decides to force himself on you. Maybe you can wait until you’re pregnant. Move your ass, Calista!
I ran.
“I’m not scared. I’m excited.”
Who was I kidding? I was terrified. Trying to trick myself into an adventure only added to my anxiety.
Entering the labyrinth made the past decade feel like a dream. It was pointless, all those years of struggle and hope. Had I known it would come to this, I would’ve lived life to the fullest: made grandiose wishes, became rich and famous, taken lavish trips, lived fearlessly, spent more time with my brother instead of festering in the resentfulness I denied having. All of it waswasted. Instead, I was living in regret, staring at the same stone walls that have imprisoned me since the moment I stepped foot inside them ten years ago. They never released me.
I pushed the hood of my sweatshirt back some and peered down the dark corridor, careful to avoid the presumably poisonous, invasive plant that had taken over since my last visit, and looked left then right. Squeezing my eyes shut, I thought back to how I traversed this maze when I was younger. With careful, quiet steps, I eased along the inner wall trying to spot the hidden openings that blended in. It was nearly impossible. They hid in the darkness and the vines disrupted what little view I had, making it difficult to see the mismatched bricks that were an indicative sign you found one.
The warm glow of a pixie orb illuminated the uneven path ahead. I gripped the spear staff I found leaning against the gate wall when I snuck through, thankful to have a weapon, and stared past it at the pitch blackness that awaited me. The path behind me didn’t feel as sinister as where I was headed.
The light flickered wildly as I approached, putting me on edge. Hung high with a vine wrapped tightly around it, the orb rested above my head. The pixie sat on hands and knees, looking at me through the bottom of it. If I could get it down, I could carry it with me until I found a way out, and then set it free. But the vines made me nervous. They weren’t black as I previously thought, but a green so deep it looked black with threads of brighter green that almost appeared metallic in the soft light.
The strobe effect from the pixie made it hard to focus. “Can you stop flickering so I can see?”
It flickered faster.
“Over there!” A gravelly voice shouted from a nearby corridor.
“Shhh!” I begged it. I needed it, and it needed me. We could get each other out of here.
Echoing footsteps were headed my way. I grabbed the orb ready to tug it down, and it shocked me. Cradling my hands to my chest, I watched the vines come to life and lift the pixie higher. They slowly writhed the length of the walls, making the sides of the dark path undulate. It was the creepiest shit ever.
I couldn’t stick around. The goblins would find me and take me back.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
I moved as quickly as I could, making as little noise as possible. Spots stained my vision from staring at the light. Every time I brushed against the leafy vines on the walls, I damn near screamed. The uneven bricks caught my toes here and there, and I would pause after stumbling to make sure nothing heard me. Even if I wanted to, there was no going back. I wouldn’t be able to see the way I came. This was it. I was on my own.
Light was sparse, and when I did see another orb, I would run by it as fast as I could. I didn’t need them signaling my path, which so far was a single winding corridor. I needed to face my fear and search the vine-covered walls for the hidden doorways.
I walked toward the next bend in the wall and peered around before entering. You never knew what awaited you around every corner or hid in the cubbyholes. The entire maze was a giant trap ready for you to trigger it. If a brick looked misplaced, it probably was. And some were so cleverly disguised that your eyes automatically skimmed over it, not sensing it for the danger it was. My body remembered, though. Tense and ready, my eyes flicked back and forth, on the watch for anything extraordinary and seemingly too ordinary at the same time. It amazed me how quickly the brain could compute two different directives at once.
That wasn’t even the most frustrating part. Every inch of the labyrinth looked exactly the same. You never knew if you were going in circles or making progress. I understood that was thegist of a labyrinth. It was meant to confuse you and keep you lost, but it didn’t make it any less irritating.
A feathery touch brushed my face, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. The leaves of an ivy branch stretched out to me. “What the hell.”
Intrigued and terrified, I extended my hand and met the vine. The leaf curled into the center of my palm. I smiled through my fear and tickled it with my finger. The pendant pulsed against my chest and began to glow. Scared that I did something wrong, I yanked my hand back. The pendant returned to normal, and so did the vine.
“Calista!” Astaroth’s voice boomed like thunder through the labyrinth.
Panicked, I bolted. No longer concerned with whether the vines were poisonous or not, I felt along the walls looking for a way through. A brick gave under my foot and my next step was into a hole. I plummeted with a scream, coming to a jolting stop when the spear lay over the opening. The muscle in my arm pit felt like it tore as I hung from the wooden staff. Then it gave with a loud crack that echoed through the pit. I hit a hard surface and slid down a pitch-black tunnel. Cobwebs shredded as I zipped along the stone slide, the remnants billowing and tickling my face. I closed my eyes and prayed I didn’t get stuck inside this hole with a man-eating spider. A moment later, I crashed into a wall.
Sprawled on the ground, I looked around and found myself back in the labyrinth, right in front of a massive wooden gate. Pixie orbs flickered to life, illuminating it. These resembled the same doors I entered when I came to save my brother.
