The New Hero

VI • Vera

When she opened her eyes, Cordelia was still in the fountain, holding onto the column. The first thing she realised was that her legs were shaking; the second, that she was not in the woods anymore.

All around the fountain there weren't trees, but tall, white columns arranged in a semicircle and green bushes.

Slowly, Cordelia let go of the column, trying to calm her breathing. She heard a metallic click coming from the brass moon and she glanced at it. It looked like the metal had detached from the marble, and Cordelia reached for it. She  held in her hands the complete pendant. Without thinking too much, she hung it around her neck as she had done before.

She looked up, and then examined her surroundings; the sky was a light blue, tinged orange and lilac at the horizon, which was occupied by tall mountains, partially hidden by clouds. The sun was about to set. 'How much time has passed?'  she wondered.

In front of her she saw a straight path that led to a sort of labyrinth: the hedge was short, and Cordelia felt reassured knowing that if she got lost in it, she could always try to skip over the bushes.               She got out of the fountain, wincing when the wet cloth stuck to her legs; as soon as her feet touched the floor of the temple-like building though, her clothes dried instantly. Cordelia touched the hem of her jeans, with an unbelieving look on her face. In the end she shrugged, deciding that too many strange things had happened to her that day to really question it.

She started walking towards the labyrinth, and for the first time she truly felt afraid: this place was clearly far, far away from her town: she didn't know how she would have returned home now. She thought of how worried her mother would be when she didn't find her at home by night. Despite the guilt eating away at her, she kept walking. She had to find someone before the sun went down. 'A sun that is taking an unnatural amount of time to set, considering the season.' She thought. She kept looking at the horizon: the clouds were almost gone now, and Cordelia could clearly see the sharp mountain ridge. 'God, where am I?' . She walked faster, almost desperate to find answers and a place where she could sleep.

After some time she heard the sound of spalshing water: she followed it, and after jumping (not so smoothly) over the hedge she found herself in a small square. In the middle there was a bird bath fountain. A small sparrow was chirping happily as it washed its feathers in the water. Cordelia smiled, happy to have finally found another living creature; the small bird was the first she had encountered since venturing in the gallery. She shivered remembering that place; it was beautiful, but it had left her shaken all the same.

The bird startled when it saw Cordelia, and it flew away hurriedly, spraying small waterdrops everywhere. The girl couldn't help but feel sadder now that she was alone again. Soon though, she saw other sparrows flying low over the labyrinth, stopping every now and then to chirp at each other, as if they were playing. Cordelia got closer, without really knowing why. She was afraid the sparrows would fly away for good if she wasn't careful, but they didn't move much even when she attempted to jump over the hedge again, neary breaking her ankle in landing. The small birds kept tweeting, and Cordelia got the feeling they were looking at her.

The sparrows kept getting further and further every time Cordelia got close to them. She realised after some time that it looked like they were guiding her. She felt crazy only for thinking something like that. But after the day she had had, could anyone really blame her?

Following the sparrows was a good idea after all: the sun still hadn't disappeared behind the mountains when she saw something that nearly made her heart stop.

Stone towers and pinnacles that could only belong to a castle. It was enormous, and it looked just like the medieval castles her mother had shown her when she was little, but... newer, for lack of a better word.

She remembered she had to hurry when an impatient sparrow flew close to her face. Not long after that, she finally heard a voice.

It was a girl's voice, and whoever she was, she was quite angry. The hedge was higher here, so Cordelia didn't immediately see the owner of the voice. When she turned the corner, she saw another square, and a blond haired girl walking back and forth. She was talking to herself, gesticulating wildly. Cordelia briefly wondered if she should wait before making her presence known, but then she almost slapped herself. 'You waited enough already! And the sun's setting. Hurry up.'

The girl still hadn't noticed Cordelia, who was awkwardly standing behind her. Cordelia finally stepped forwards and cleared her throat, albeit a bit hesitantly. "Uh, excuse me?" The blonde girl instantly spun around, alarmed. "How did you get here?!" she asked, clearly too surprised to remember to be polite.  'I was expecting a different question'  thought Cordelia. She didn't say it though, she just wanted to know where she was and how she could go back home, and quickly.

"I don't... really know." She offered. The blonde girl raised an eyebrow. Cordelia noticed that she was very pretty, and very short. "Listen. It was an accident. So if you could just tell me where I am..." pushed Cordelia. "And what is your name?"

The other girl seemed reluctant, but in the end she spoke. "I'm Vera-" She grasped one side of her long pale yellow dress and bowed. "Daughter of King Algar." Cordelia blinked, unsure of how to react. Did she just say king? The girl looked at her clothing. It looked like the dressed women wore in the medieval ages, maybe Renaissence? She realised that Vera was looking at her clothes with a confused expression, too.

"I'm Cordelia. You didn't answer my question... uh, Lady?" The last thing she wanted was making this girl mad.

"Well, neither did you. How did you get here?" Damn. 'Out of all people, I had to find this stubborn girl.' Thought Cordelia. She looked into Vera's hazel eyes, and understood that she wasn't going to get an answer out of her until she told her what she wanted.

"Alright. Can we at least go somewhere while I talk? It's going to be dark soon and I don't know where I'm going to stay..." Something in Vera's eyes changed. "Are you a pigrim? an explorer?" She asked eagerly. Cordelia shook her head. "How could I be if I don't know where I am?"

The two girls started walking, Vera leading the way. It seemed she knew the labyrinth very well, so Cordelia finally stopped worrying. The shorter girl looked more at ease now: apparently she had decided that Cordelia wasn't dangerous, and her attitude had changed.

"You could stay at the castle. I'm sure there's a room for you." Cordelia's face lit up, but fell almost instantly. "I don't have any money with me. I didn't know I was going somewhere until... well. Until it happened."

Vera looked confused, but spoke all the same. "Alright, let's make a deal. You tell me the whole story and I find you a room. Daughter of the king, remember?" Vera smiled, and despite being confused herself (A king? Seriously?) Cordelia accepted.

As they walked in the labyrinth in the golden light, under Vera's curious gaze, Cordelia began her story.

notes
wOW, two chapters in two days?!
Now that's unheard of. ahem. anyway.
As always if you liked this chapter vote and comment please! It may be nothing to you but I assure you it means the world to me! (and writers in general)
Thank you, have a good day!
~Emma