Princesses, heroes, villains, magicians, scientists, talking trees, Queens, idiots, humanoids, lovers, warriors, soldiers...
Where can you find a single book that manages to incorporate such a diverse range of characters?
A short stories anthology...
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My heart hammers dully when I realize that we're once again lost.
I turn to the nearest wall, slam my fist into its blue mosaic pattern, and swear when my knuckles start hurting. Behind me, my friends and family must be watching with worried expressions; wondering if I've finally gone mad.
And who wouldn't, in this muddlesome heap of a palace?
We've been wandering for who knows how long; stumbling across corridors with antiques and high ceilings, running through passageways with a musty smell that makes me want to gag.
These aren't even the worst parts of this palace.
At one point, we came across a door. We tried to cross it, but the 'door' was actually a wall artfully crafted to look like a door. From that point, we began to be deceived by the palace in various ways.
Sometimes, the floor looked like a pool of water, but it turned out to be crystal shaped into a pool. When we saw a real pool, I thought of it as crystal and stepped on it; falling embarrassingly into real water.
We didn't trust our vision anymore and slowly inched our way through the palace, looking for an exit with more caution.
"There, there, little one," a soothing voice called out to me. I stopped slamming the wall and turned around to face the stranger. A black cloth covered his face, sparing only the eyes for vision. The rest of his clothes were made of the deepest black. In this glittery palace, they stuck out like a sore thumb.
"There's no need to get angry. I'm here now. I'll answer all your questions."
Now. I'm not one to get fooled so easily by a stranger, but I'm in a desperate situation. My friends and family are in danger and they depend on me. I'm going to take all the help I get.
"Tell me then," I said evenly. "Who are you? Why are we trapped here? Why is there nobody else in this huge place? How do we get out? Why..."
"Woah, little one," he chuckled humourlessly. "Easy with the questions. Since you've asked so many, I'll answer them individually.
"My identity is to remain a mystery. You've been brought here for their entertainment. If you happen to bore them while trying to escape, they'll finish you."
"They... they who?"
"That's a mystery as well. Don't dwell on it. And for your escape... the answer lies in mythological tales."
"What?" I scream at him, but the moment I blink, he's vanished. I turn around to my people and search for answers in their eyes. Finding none, I begin to think of a solution myself.
Mythology... Indian mythology... An old legend pops into my head then, and I gasp in delight.
"This is the Palace of Illusions!" I exclaim. "It was built for the Pandavas by Mayasura! Duryodhana was fooled by it as well!"
"It fools the eyes," my mother added. "Meaning, we need to use our other senses to escape."
Everyone closes their eyes at once, forming a chain with me in the lead, and begins walking forward. My other senses sharpen, and I can avoid obstacles more easily.
We move without a fixed direction; only focusing on avoiding illusions, until the path ahead begins to brighten. We walk faster and faster into the light. The next thing I see when I open my eyes is our dining hall; all my people are seated around it with relief in their eyes.
