Deadly Secret

Underground

It was dark underground.

Roots and soil brushed Esther's skin as she clung to Bramble. He continued to mumble an ancient song, a subterranean melody that irked Esther to no end.

'What are you singing? Luna is confused, and I— she, I meant she— doesn't like this dark place. It's creepy, and your song is creepy. This place is worse than the castle..." Esther rambled on until Bramble told her to be quiet.

A few minutes passed while the gnome frantically hummed, and his words began to jumble together, faster and faster, but nothing happened. He stopped and faced Esther, a look of dread painted across his face.

"What?" she whispered.

He stiffened, rubbing his two green thumbs together, "Well, my song won't work,"

"What do you mean your song won't work?"

"I mean we're stuck down here," he said, "Until I figure it out,"

"WHAT?"

A tune escaped his mouth instead of an answer.

Esther stared at Bramble, too stunned to think. They were stuck in this dark, creepy tunnel because he couldn't sing right? 

A sigh escaped the young gnome's mouth, "I haven't done this in a while, okay? I saved our lives, you should be grateful,"

"Saved our lives by trapping us underground? I can't believe this is happening," Esther paced the floor furiously, almost considering hurling Luna at Bramble's head. But she wouldn't want to hurt Luna, so the young elf settled for glaring at Bramble while he frantically tried to activate his magic gnome powers.

Esther slumped in a corner, surrounded by frigid soil and rocks. Time passed, and the air grew staler. All she could do was watch as Bramble urged a few green shoots to sprout on the roots he sang to life.

"Oh, Luna," she rubbed a smooth pebble and chucked it into the darkness, "Do you think mother will miss me? No? Why not? Well, I know that, and I know I'm a mess right now, but... "

Bramble shot her a look, and Esther ceased her conversation.

As she searched among the earth for interesting pebbles, a faint light caught Esther's attention.

She scraped the dirt and rocks away to reveal a wand decorated with a clear, sparkling crystal. A pathfinder.

Esther stared at the gem, hardly daring to breathe.

It's going to disappear any second, it's a dream, I'm hallucinating.

 But the sharp edges felt very real, and she gazed at a drop of blood splattered on her finger in disbelief. It was real.

How? Why? A million questions flooded her mind. A pathfinder? Underground? Who left it here?

And more than just existing... it was shining. Esther jumped to her feet and began pacing the tunnel, searching for the light source.

There. A crack of sunlight shone through a distant wall of rubble, and she chased it, holding the pathfinder to the faint glow.

"Bramble!" she called, "Pathfinder!"

The confused gnome jogged to where she stood, and Esther grabbed his hand, "Do you know any places in the Lost Cities?"

"Have you ever light lept?" Bramble squinted at her.

She bit her lip, "Not exactly, but it'll be fine. I've heard it's natural for elves. Anyway, name a place, we need to escape,"

"Your mother mentioned Candleshade quite frequently..." he offered.

Esther nodded, "But what if that's a secret base of hers? It could be the first place she looked. I need... someplace random,"

Bramble frowned, "Well, I suppose there's always Foxfire. One of my cousins worked there,"

"Foxfire!" Esther shouted.

She held the crystal to the glitter of sky, gripping Luna and Bramble close. For a second, nothing happened, but then a flood of feathers and light swarmed her.

A thousand pieces of her broke apart and spun, shattered by the radiance, and she struggled to hold herself together. A thousand waves washed over Esther. Each one begged her to join them and her world was falling, and the light was warm, and...

Silence. Esther woke in a dark hallway, gasping for air.

Bramble's familiar grumbling soon pierced the quiet, and Esther squeezed his hand. Her eyes welled with tears, but those could wait.

"We're safe," she breathed. The words echoed in the dim space, trembling with comfort and life. And for once, Bramble smiled.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you so much for reading! Who do you think the trio will encounter at Foxfire?