Me, You And The Raccoon

5

The king talks, although the raccoon isn't listening.

"... girl... kingdom... peasant..." words filter past the raccoon, who stares into its cauldron once more.

The girls leave the Truth Chamber, stumbling through the door with their mouths locked in candor. Scarlett slams it behind them, sighing in relief as her voice cuts out. Jade leans against the wall, out of breath.

Little do they know, the first phase was the easiest.

"Are you okay?" The peasant asks, eyes darting around the next dark chamber.

The princess closes her eyes, reaching out for Scarlett's shoulder. She leans heavily on the other girl, shivering. "I feel sick," she whispers. "W-we should just turn back, Scarlett. We can't do this."

The raccoon curls into a ball beside the cauldron, rocking itself back and forth. Oh, the suspense. The king and queen look on, regally impatient expressions on their faces. The raccoon doesn't doubt that they've brought their guard with them. It also doesn't doubt that it could take them down.

"We have to," The peasant resolves. "Come with me."

The raccoon can already see the next phase taking action. The room is shifting, changing around them. Jade screams as the floor falls away, leaving them on a narrow strip of ground. Scarlett grabs onto her, looking on with awe as the obstacle course of stepping stones unfurls in front of them, the ins and outs of the cave stretching farther and farther out, seeming endless.

Whoever is least frightened, the raccoon knows, has the better end of the deal.

Unfortunately for the princess, she is not the brave one. The raccoon knows this when she begins to shriek, long, wordless noises as she claws at her lover's dress.

"I can't see!" The princess cries. "I can't see, Scarlett! Where are you? Where? I can't see anything!"

Panic flickers across the pauper's face. "Relax," she tells the princess. "Stop moving, Jade. I don't want you to fall."

The raccoon nods its approval. Yes, yes, a rational request.

Jade pauses, stone still at Scarlett's side. The sighted girl wraps her arms around the blind one's waist, giving the maze ahead of her a grim sigh. "Alright," she says. "We're going. Now."

"No!" The princess screams. "No, no, no, I'm not moving! I can't see, Scarlett!"

"Don't panic!" Scarlett closes her eyes, as if trying to feel what the princess is feeling. She opens them, a new layer of resolve in her irises. "You're going to have to trust me."