Chapter 5 Can’t We Just Fly?
Can’t We Just Fly?
Morning was in full swing by the time Tarran, the Carls, and I set off toward the first kingdom the next day. Our motley crew was complete with bulging satchels, oddly matched clothing, and Carl-Two’s oversized sunhat he insisted on wearing.
“The sun can be very damaging, you know,” he’d huffed when I’d given him a strange look. I was all for protection against harmful UV rays—if that even existed in a fictional world taking place inside a novel—but the sheer size of the floppy hat in comparison to his body was comical.
Tarran walked gracefully at the front, her multicolored skirts rustling softly with each step. Today, she had opted for a blue and purple, and I suspected it was to match the color of her eye.
“Is it just me,” I began, readjusting my backpack for the third time in ten minutes, “or does every journey in these stories always involve ridiculous amounts of walking?”
“You prefer we fly?” Carl-One asked hopefully, bouncing along energetically. He’d given his brother a wider birth so as not to get wacked by the hat in question.
“If that’s an option, why are we not doing it?”
“It’s not,” Tarran interjected gently, a smile playing on her lips. “He’s just teasing you.”
“Of course, because heaven forbid anything here be convenient and easy. How long is it going to take us to get there?”
Tarran lifted a shoulder, a small bit of skin peeking out as the collar of her blouse slipped. “We will get there when the book wants us to.”
“That sounds terrifying. What if it never wants us to?”
“It will let us arrive eventually,” Carl-Two chimed in helpfully, one hand holding his hat firmly in place as he jogged a few steps to catch up to us. “When the time is right. You just have to trust the process.”
“What if it takes days? Or weeks? I’m sure we didn’t bring enough supplies for weeks.”
“The supplies are more of a suggestion,” Tarran told me, and I noticed she’d chosen to wear thong sandals, not anything practical like boots. “You’d have to try really hard for your story to end right here in the woods.”
We ambled on for a few hours, and when we finally took a break for lunch, I was grateful, my stomach growling even as I devoured the meager sandwich Tarran handed me.
“So tell me about this warrior king,” I prompted around bites of salted meat and semi-stale bread.
“Very strong, very proud. Values courage above all else,” Tarran explained. “It will be physical, whatever it is.”
“Ah, yes. Proving my worth through violence,” I drawled, rolling my eyes. “Do I at least get some sort of magical weapon?”
“You will,” Tarran confirmed, a bit more serious now. “Or, at least, you should. Usually a weapon of your choosing.”
“How many of the other girls have passed this trial?”
Carl-One blinked, crinkling up the paper his sandwich had been wrapped in, already having inhaled it. “Dunno.”
Carl-Two added, “The book resets with each girl. We don’t remember much.” He glanced warily at Tarran. She said nothing, her gaze distant.
“I don’t remember much about the others,” she said at last. “Only pieces. The challenges are different every time.”
The Carls fell uncharacteristically quiet, and before long, we were back on the road, trotting alongside us with smaller, more thoughtful steps.
The terrain grew stranger as we progressed. Trees twisted at impossible angles, their leaves shimmering unnaturally. Every now and then, peculiar creatures darted through the underbrush—red rabbits, squirrels with five legs, and at one point, a deer I could have sworn wore a crown.
“Are hallucinations a common occurrence here?” I asked, becoming increasingly more concerned with my mental health after another strange animal crossed our paths.
“You’ll get used to it,” Tarran replied calmly. “Mostly.”
“Oh look, a cave!” Carl-Two exclaimed suddenly, pointing excitedly to a shadowed opening nestled within a moss-covered hillside.
“Let me guess,” I sighed. “We have to go through it, even though it screams ‘bad idea’?”
Tarran hesitated. “Well actually—”
But Carl-One was already rushing forward. “Adventure awaits!” he declared, not waiting for us to voice anything further.
Carl-Two hurried after him, sunhat flopping. “Wait for me!”
“Can’t we just go around?” I nearly whined as Tarran and I exchanged weary glances.
But as I looked around further, I realized there wasn’t another option.
We had been walking along a marked path from Tarran’s map, but it really wasn’t needed.
There was only one route unless we wanted to go entirely off the beaten path.
“Just stay close,” Tarran said, stepping closer to me as we cautiously approached the cave. “The route changes every time we do this with a sky girl. I’m not sure what to expect.”
“Oh, trust me, you don’t have to worry about that,” I replied without thinking. She turned toward the cave with a soft clearing of her throat.
Inside, the cave walls glittered faintly, lined with tiny, luminescent mushrooms. It would have been beautiful if not for the eerie tickle prickling along my spine. Carl-One and Carl-Two whispered excitedly ahead, their voices echoing back to us as we moved through.
Suddenly, Carl-One let out a terrified squawk. “What is that?”
A creature stepped from the shadows, tall and slender, dressed impeccably in a velvet suit and a top hat. He was almost bird-like, with a narrow beak instead of a face, but his body was humanoid. He towered over us, only two glowing golden orbs visible under his hat.
“Welcome, weary travelers.” His voice was smooth and low, dripping charm and condescension in equal measure. “I am the Master of Riddles. Foreverland must deem you worthy before you can continue your journey.”
“Oh, fantastic,” I muttered, looking from the Riddle Master to my companions. “Is this really necessary?”
The Riddle Master smiled thinly. “Answer my riddles correctly, and you may pass safely. Fail, and you shall remain my guests forever.” He looked excited at the prospect, a mischievous glint in his eye that made me entirely uncomfortable.
I’d sooner die then spend eternity trapped in this cave with this weirdo.
“Forever seems unnecessarily harsh for a guessing game,” Tarran murmured nervously.
Carl-Two trembled—he actually trembled in his boots. “We’re doomed!”
“Calm down, drama queen,” I whispered. Turning to the creature, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Fine. Hit us with your best shot.”
It smirked, clearly enjoying the chaos he was wreaking among our ragtag group. “What is always coming but never arrives?”
I nearly laughed. Was he serious? I wasn’t a huge fan of riddles, but I’d definitely had a phase in middle school in which my friends and I had spent way too much time telling each other riddles and seeing who could guess them first.
“Tomorrow,” I answered confidently.
The creatures eyes narrowed. “What has keys but opens no doors?”
A beat passed as I searched my brain, thinking hard. “A piano,” I answered, gaining confidence. I could have ripped these right from a middle school joke book.
Irritation bloomed across the Riddle Master’s face, firing off another. “I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. What am I?”
“An echo,” I replied, barely needing to think about it.
The Riddle Master glared at me. “You’re cheating!”
“Its hardly my fault your riddles are so basic,” I retorted. “Are you going to move or what?”
Frustrated, he vanished with an indignant huff, leaving behind a clear pathway to daylight on the other end of the cave.
Carl-One cheered enthusiastically, clapping his hands with glee. “That was amazing!”
“That was stupid is what that was.” I sighed. “I guess this book must have been written a very long time ago if those are the riddles it holds.”
Emerging from the cave, Tarran stepped closer, her shoulder brushing mine. “Good job. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but you impressed me. Maybe there is more to you than sarcasm after all.”
I smiled despite myself, feeling warmth bloom in my cheeks now that we were out of the dreary cave. “Don’t go spreading rumors. I have a reputation to uphold.”
After a few minutes, I asked, “So is there anything I can do at all to start preparing for the challenge?” The riddles had given me a small taste of what was to come, and if the warrior king’s task was anything like that one, maybe—just maybe—I’d be able to get myself out of this book after all. It was almost…fun.
Tarran exhaled slowly. “With it being different every time, not really. But the rules are always the same. You’ll have three days to prepare once the challenge is announced.”
“Three days? That’s not going to be long enough for me to learn how to use a weapon.”
“We’ll help you train as best we can,” was all she had to say. “Pick a weapon that feels most right to you. You’ll at least always get one.”
“Well, that’s something. Nothing screams romance heroine like swinging a sword she doesn’t know how to use,” I huffed.
Tarran’s gaze flickered toward me, eyes unreadable, her violet one bright. “The trials aren’t about becoming someone you’re not.”
“That sounds suspiciously like something out of a self-help book.”
“I think those are banned in Foreverland,” Carl-Two whispered.
“Good,” I said. “They suck. Trust me, Carl, you don’t need one of those.”