Labyrinth: Into the Malignant Book 2

Family

Running. Everything is blurry. Green flashes by with specks of pink, orange, white and yellow in its wake. The cobblestone ground pulls and pushes at my fleeing feet. Silence surrounds me creating a peace that settles within the very foundation. The shining sun warms my skin. New discoveries lie beyond each twist and turn even if you've been to that exact spot a million times. My eyes never stray from the path ahead. Never once do I stop running towards my destination, even if I cannot see where I'm going. I never stop running.

A smile spreads across my face as I begin to feel a presence around me. I turn around a corner and wait. I can hear their hesitant approach. I unsheathe my sword. As soon as the person nears, I hold my sword out, hear a rip, and turn around the corner to see my brother staring daggers at me. "You tore my shirt" He said as I looked to the ripped fabric below his chin. "That is hardly two inches!" I teased. His sword was suddenly in his hands against my own. "Do to others what you would do to yourself. Mom's rule, not mine" He said bringing his sword back.

I narrowed my eyes at him and held up my sword. "Do your worst" I hissed. "With pleasure" He replied before attacking.

We countered each other's strikes as we moved throughout the new labyrinth. It was my mother's idea to make a bit of the labyrinth to the side a garden for her use. She would bring my brother Leegan and me here very often to play outside. My father used the rest of the Labyrinth for his use of punishing criminals. He would offer them freedom if they could beat his new labyrinth. No one has ever won.

Leegan stepped on my long blue dress and I fell hard into a hedge. I felt a hundred tiny hands on my back then. The small sprites shoved me forwards so I wouldn't lose the fight. Those pesky little creatures took care of the gardens with my mother. They always cheered for me when Leegan and I were fighting. Immediately after pushing me off their hedge, I heard them quickly repairing it to perfection.

"You're going to have to do better than that" Leegan said twisting his sword against mine. The strange pressure and twisting of my wrist sent my sword out of my hand. I glared at my brother as he raised his sword to my throat victoriously. "I always win" He teased bringing the sword down and tearing a two inch rip on my stomach. If it were anyone else, they would have sliced my skin, but Leegan has trained with the High Guard since he was very young. It had turned him into a jerk sometimes. I trained to, but not as much as him. My mother saw to it that I had time to be a girl instead of a full on warrior.

"Mom's going to kill you" I said looking at the rip. Leegan gave me a smirk. "I don't think she will take too kindly to my shirt either. These are our attire for our birthday tomorrow" He replied. Of course he was right. We were just making sure the clothing fit us this morning. I was allowed to walk around the garden in the outfit before I had to take it off. "Should we face her together?" I asked. "I don't see why not" He replied.

"How was the High Kingdom?" I asked as we walked through the garden. "It's usual self" He said. "Have you forgotten the last time I was there was a year ago?" I asked. It was the last time I trained with the guard. I was better than Leegan then. "You'll be there tomorrow" Leegan said as we walked up to the gates of the castle.

"Your mother has been lookin' all over for the two of you! You've torn your outfits! Your parents will kill me. I should've kept you under lock and key from the start" Hoggle whined from the other side of the gate. He put his head in his hands and I knew he was trying to get a reaction. He's never gotten one before. "Hoggle we're so sorry. Please forgive us, we never meant to put you through so much since we were little. Now that we will be sixteen tomorrow, we believe it is high time to grow up. We are taking our actions into our own hands and acting like adults" I said. Hoggle's hands slowly went away from his face and he stared at us like we had grown three heads. "Really?" He asked astounded.