The Tale of Tara and Emiko

VII. Tara

Emiko looked around, her wide eyes taking in every minute detail around her, from the smooth stone walls to the soft plip plops of the water dripping from the ceiling.

Sheesh, this place really needs some cleaning up.

We walked on for a few minutes down the humid, dark hallway that seemed to go on forever.

"Where are we going?" Emiko asked.

I turned towards her. "These things take time. You want safety, this is how you're gonna get it. Plus, the further you walk here, the further your parents will have to walk to get to you. That is, if they even think to go down here. I closed and locked the door, so there shouldn't be any way to-GET DOWN!"

Arrows flew out from the left wall, faster than I could blink, the lowest one barely skimming the top of Emiko's perfect, golden, honeypot blonde hair. I'd pulled her down in the nick of time, my hand still on her shoulder.

"W-what was that??" she asked, her eyes worried and wide.

I smiled warmly. "A trap. I've set them all up myself and therefore know how to disassemble them. No reason to worry."

Emiko looked like she wanted to say something, but changed her mind at the last minute. "Please don't make me regret trusting you."

"I'll do my best. Here, it's better for you to stay behind me. I told you before, I've made all these traps myself, but I haven't been here in a while and my memory's a little rusty due to the enchantments, so it's better if I'm able to survey our surroundings." Emiko nodded confidently.

She trusts you. Don't mess this up.

We continued on in this way, dodging rolling boulders and fiery axes and bucketfuls of poison, Emiko looking on in wide-eyed awe with every trap I dismantled. Eventually, we reached a room much larger than the corridors before, empty and spacious.

Emiko tapped me on the shoulder. "Is this one also a trap?"

My forehead creased in frustration. I couldn't remember. "I don't think so," I replied. Better to have a slightly scared yet trusting companion than one that's totally freaking out.

"Oh, okay. Does that mean this room is safe-"

A brown, scruffy creature that seemed to be a cross between a bear and a falcon phased through the left wall into the room, its transparent form solidifying as it let out a screech. Didn't seem like it had eaten in months. Or was it years to the beast? Time moves differently here.

"Not safe at all!" I replied cheerfully. The beast was pawing at the ground, growling, and as Emiko stepped back a small lilac flower bloomed under her foot. I smacked my forehead, the memories coming back to me. "It's cursed! The room is cursed, that's the trap!"

"W-what?!?" Emiko cried. She looked terrified now. This girl was getting really annoying.

"Just...don't take any steps. The beast is attracted to the flowers that grow every time you lift your foot above the ground."

"Then how do we move?"

"You don't."

"What? Wait, what do you mean? What about you, what are you going to do-"

"I fight." This time, only two flowers had to bloom as I leapt up, twisting to catch the invisible current in the air I really hoped was there that brought me back to solid ground. Only difference was, I was standing on the wall.

Emiko's eyes widened. "How did you-"

"Gravity currents! I'll explain later, but flowers don't grow on the walls for some weird reason. You didn't find this maze yourself, you didn't create the horrors within, you don't know how it works, and you don't know how to stay alive without help, so STAY PUT!" Sprinting across the wall, I leaped into another current that catapulted me onto the ceiling a lot faster than I anticipated. The impact caused a slightly awkward moment of skip-jump-hopping, the blood rushing in my ears until I was able to regain my balance. Strangely enough, the beast wasn't really focused on Emiko anymore. It should've been, since there were a bunch of flowers around her and she also looked like pretty easy prey, just standing there like a scared little wimp.

Then its red eyes locked onto me, its beak snapping. Even with the face of a bird, it still had the teeth of a bear, and the result was nothing short of nightmare fuel.

Great.

The creature, which I'd chosen to name Fred so he was a little less scary, leaped in the air, claws extended, wings out, ready to slice me open from nose tip to toe.

And then it got caught in the invisible gravity current between me and him. Thankfully physics still work here, so Fred got slammed into the wall, an audible and satisfying crack coming simultaneously from both of its wings.

Emiko stared up at me in awe. "Is it dead? Did you kill it? Are we safe?"

She sounded so much like my sister it actually hurt me to tell her, "No, no, and no. Sorry." The monster-oop, Fred was clambering back up onto its hind paws, ready to launch another attack.

Why won't it just attack Emiko and not me so I can land a killing blow? Why does it keep going for me?-

My hand reached up to softly caress the lilac blossoms attached to the two chopsticks holding up my hair.

Ah.

Well, I can't dispose of them now, can I? I'd only mess with my vision. I knocked my heel against the wall, dislodging a hidden dagger from my boot sole. Time to kill Fred for the umpteenth time, I guess. I widened my stance, twirling the dagger between my fingers, ready to jump back into the currents and sink a dagger into the beast's heart, as a bright yellow rubber duck hit him in the head.

Wait, what?

I glanced down at Emiko, her arm still extended in the release position. Her bag at her hip was open, revealing more rubber ducks. What were silly little children's toys gonna do to Fred other than enrage him even more?

Then the duck split in half, its head severing from the body, emitting a bright flash of white light as it swallowed Fred in one gulp. It clattered down on the ground, silent once more. Emiko picked it up as if it weighed no more than a feather and tossed it in her bag. "You can come down now!" she called. A few seconds later, probably due to Fred's lack of oxygen, suffocation and death by rubber duck, a doorway opened, leading to another set of hallways.

I leaped down, flipping in the air so I wouldn't get sucked into another current. "What...was that?"
"A rubber duck." Emiko blinked, as if rubber ducks in any other part of the world could eat mythical creatures alive. "Why?"

"Uhhh...no reason. Hey, can I have one of those?" I held my hand out, and Emiko plopped one into my open palm. It was, indeed, a rubber duck. Nowhere on the smooth yellow surface was there a little bump, dip, or slash to indicate an opening or a pair of hinges. It was oddly light for something that could swallow a beareagle whole, which scared me. I muttered a curse under my breath in awe. This girl was good.

Emiko gasped. "Profanity!" She stared at me, eyes wide, her hands covering her mouth.

I laughed, turning the duck over in my fingers and inspecting every crevice. "Is this thing enchanted?"

Emiko nodded in response. "Is that all you need for me to prove my worth here, or should I show you some of my other magic items?" she asked, a cocky yet satisfied look on her face. "I'm not as helpless as I look."

I smiled. "I trust that."