The master spy or Puss in the boot adventures

Twilight valley13, Part 87

Lila's eyes sparkled with both fear and exhilaration as she sprinted behind Shadowcat, her small frame darting nimbly from one fragile segment to the next. Each leap felt like a heartbeat, quickening with the fading bridge below them.

"Keep moving!" Shadowcat urged, glancing back to see Mer-mer lagging, his usual confidence overshadowed by the urgency of their predicament.

"I'm trying!" he shouted, his voice tinged with panic as he struggled to maintain his balance on the disappearing platform. But just as he took another step, a tremor surged through the bridge, and a segment crumbled away under him.

"Mer-mer!" Lila cried, her heart dropping. Without thinking, she reached out her paw, and a flicker of intuition sparked within her. "Try to grab my hand!"

Mer-mer lunged forward, grasping at air before his claws caught Lila's outstretched paw. With a sudden jerk, she pulled him back just in time, but the effort nearly sent them both tumbling into the abyss.

"Forget about me! We have to go!" Shadowcat yelled, her voice rising over the cacophony of cracking crystal. She was halfway across now, but her anxious glances towards the chasm betrayed her own fears.

"No way! We're not leaving anyone behind!" Lila insisted, refusing to let go of Mer-mer's paw despite their precarious position. "We can do this together!"

With renewed determination sparking in his veins, Mer-mer nodded and steadied himself. "Alright. On three," he said, his voice steadying as he focused on Shadowcat ahead of them. "One... two... three!"

They leapt in unison, each landing precisely as the last segments of crystal began to shimmer and wink out like stars falling from the night sky. The bridge became a dance of instinct and timing; one miscalculation could spell disaster.

Shadowcat reached the final stretch of stable ground just as another segment vanished beneath her paws. "Come on! It's just a little further!"

With hands clasped tightly, Mer-mer and Lila leapt together again. This time, they landed firmly on solid ground just as the last piece of the bridge dissolved into mist behind them. Gasping for breath and sweat glistening on their brows, they turned to witness what lay ahead.

Breathing heavily, they paused just in front of the princess's prison. It was a lavish structure encased in swirling tendrils of energy that shimmered like starlight caught in an eternal dance. The sight filled them with awe but also urgency; they had come this far.

"How do we break through?" Mer-mer asked breathlessly, scanning the arcane symbols that danced around the prison.

"I think I have an idea," Lila said in a sudden burst of inspiration. She spotted a small stone pedestal nearby, adorned with three slots that mirrored the symbols on the doors: sun, moon, and star.

"We need to use what we found," she suggested eagerly. "Maybe if we press those symbols in order..."

Shadowcat nodded in agreement, glancing around for something to use as an emblem. "I'll keep watch while you figure it out."

With shaking fingers, Lila placed her paw on the sun symbol first; its warmth pulsed beneath her touch. Next came the moon—cool and serene—followed finally by the star that radiated with brilliance.

As she pressed down on each one in sequence, a harmonious chime resonated through the air. The energy surrounding the prison began to swirl faster until it erupted into a brilliant display of light.

"Step back!" shouted Shadowcat.

With a blinding flash, the prison dissolved like mist under sunlight, revealing Princess Elara standing amidst shards of fading magic—a vision wrapped in silken robes and golden light.

"Thank you for coming," she said softly, a smile gracing her lips despite her disheveled appearance. "But we must hurry; he knows we're here."

"Who?" Mer-mer gasped as they turned towards their path of escape.

"The wizard," Elara replied sternly as shadows began to stretch across their path. "And he won't let us leave so easily."

A dark laughter echoed from behind them as the air thickened with tension. 

As the door swung open, an unexpected sight greeted our heroes: another woman stood behind it, her expression hostile.

"I am the true princess," she declared confidently.

"Don't believe her, I am the real one," argued the first girl.

Confused, our heroes couldn't determine which of the two was telling the truth. Suddenly, a third princess emerged from a different door, identical to the other two.

"Choose wisely, for one wrong choice and you will be turned to stone," warned all three girls in unison.

"I am the real princess," each one claimed.

Now faced with three options, our heroes must decide who is truly the real princess...