Labyrinth : Hidden Legacy

Chapter 14 Chasing Sarah

Toby thought and thought but did not know the answer. "What am I going to do?" he asked himself.

Be brave. He thought. "Be brave."

Toby leaped off the side of the boat onto a giant lilypad in hopes he could swim to the bank. Toby's clothes had mostly dried at this point and he was about to immerse himself in water once again.

As Toby prepared to leap into the water the frog appeared. "Hold onto my back and we'll swim" he said kindly. "Which side of the lake would you like?" he asked. Toby pointed to the side he had not been to yet. That must be the way forward.

The pirates hollered angrily at the two as they swam. The pirates even threw a few items from their boat, trying to hit the swimmers. Luckily for Toby, they missed.

On the side of the lake Toby climbed out of the water.

"Is there a treasure here?" Toby asked curiously.

"It is true" said the frog "and I know just where it is." He smiled a cheeky smile.

"Will you go get it for yourself?" Toby asked.

"I have no need for gold or jewels" the frog replied. "I do like outsmarting the pirates though."

"If you just give them the treasure they will leave your lake. Don't you want that?" Toby asked.

"Sometimes I consider it" the frog said. "Perhaps one day I will. Or maybe I will give it to another stranger who comes along...just to get it away from the lake."

"What is the answer to the riddle? I couldn't figure it out" Toby said.

The frog swam down into the lake. He was gone. Toby wondered if that was his goodbye. Slowly Toby stood and stared at the water. He looked over at the pirates who were fighting each other about where to look next.

He saw bubbles reaching the top of the water. Then he turned around to walk away, hoping he would dry out as he walked.

Before he got too far the frog was back! Toby turned around. The frog handed Toby a gold necklace with a large blue jewel on it. "Take this with you. You might need it at some point...more than I", the frog said.

"Wow!" Toby whispered. "Thank you." He tucked it into his pocket as best he could.

The pirates spotted the necklace and cried out. They turned their boat toward the frog and the boy to try and catch them and retrieve the treasure piece.

"The reflection" the frog admitted "Is not atop the water. It is at the bottom of the lake! The treasure hides beneath a cloth that appears to be the ground just like the ground it sits upon. The cloth itself is reflective. So, when you view it from above it reflects the views around it."

"That is wonderful, isn't it?!" Toby said.

"You better get moving! The pirates are heading our way." The frog said and he dived back into the lake.

Toby decided he had better run. As he began to run he noticed that the giant human sculpture over by the green hills had an outstretched arm and was pointing a finger. Pointing to his right.. "In this place you never can tell which signs to follow and which to ignore to get to the center of the labyrinth" Toby thought.

He looked the direction the finger was pointing. There was the bridge and a woman who hadn't been there previously. On the bridge. She was wearing a green cloak and she was tall...human. Swiftly and quickly crossing the bridge, holding the hood so it would not fall and reveal her face.

Was it Sarah?!

Toby stopped! He started running in her direction instead. "Sarah!" he yelled as loud as he could. "Sarah, wait!!!"

She did not stop. When Toby reached the center of the bridge he had to catch his breath. His eyes searched for her.
She ducked into a small grove of trees. As soon as Toby could he was off again...chasing after Sarah.

When he entered the trees he looked around. Where did she go to? Then he saw it...a small door adorned with bronze flowers and vines. He pushed the door open and was back in the paths of the maze but the woman was gone.