Beneath the Dark Crystal

Chapter 10

Thurma holds onto the tumbeloth tightly. As she looked around the burning mess she made, tears of lava streamed down her cheeks. She tenses when she hears fluttering behind her and a hard thump. "Thurma ...! Don't run off like that!" Mavra says, panting and shaking as her wing crippled in pain.

Thurma shakes her head kneeling down in front of her. "Why are you still following me? Haven't you seen what I've done! Aren't you afraid?! Don't you want to run back home?!" Thurma questions, letting the tears fall off her face and burn the ground.

Mavra stays silent for a moment to think of the right thing to say. She scoots closer to her and smiles a little sympathetically. "No. no, I don't. You're not a monster, Thurma. I know you're good. But ... even good people make mistakes. It's just part of nature. I make mistakes. Kensho makes mistakes. My parents make mistakes. Gelfling make mistakes," She pats the ground, feeling Thra ache from underneath her touch, "I can feel all of Thra from under my fingertips. If you just stay quiet and listen to its trembles, you'd understand what I'm doing. Why I'm helping you."

Thurma sniffs, her brow raised in question. "I-I don't understand ..."

Mavra sighs deeply, opening her eyes. "I feel Thra's dying from the inside. Within your home. If I help save your world, reignite the flame, maybe it'll save my world, too. As you said, our worlds are connected in one way or the other."

Thurma's eyes widen and she wipes at her nose. "I-I guess ... but what if ... what if you're wrong?" She asks.

Mavra looks away, standing back up. "I am confident I'm not. If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be risking everything I love for it," She says, a stern look on her face.

Thurma looks away, standing up with her. "So, are you going to finally accept my help, or run from it?" Mavra asks Thurma seriously.

Thurma feels herself smile a little, her confidence coming back to her. "Let's do this--" Thurma starts.

"--Together," Mavra finishes, smiling back at Thurma as they start to run together, stopping when they come to the edge of another large bank.

"Don't worry. We'll figure out a way to get across!" Mavra says, looking around for something to climb over.

"MmmmMMmm! I'm afraid you won't find way to cross, gelfling," skekSil says, laughing a little.

Mavra glares daggers at him while her ear twitches in annoyance. "Skeksis ..." She says, standing next to Thurma with her hands balled into fists.

skekSil moves closer to them. "Poor, poor, gelfling, girl-on-fire. Wing broken, flames are weak, cannot cross water. Fire girl has nothing more to burn."

Thurma tsks and eyes the horrid being. "I see one more thing," She spits out.

skekSil huffs, running over and smacking Thurma to the ground, making her drop the tumbeloth. "Shard is mine!"

Mavra gasps and quickly picks up the tumbeloth before it can roll into the water. She turns around when a shadow looms over her. skekSil picks up a large stone, holding it above his head.

"Mine! Shard is miiinnne!" He yells bringing down the rock.

Thurma jolts up, shouting, "No!"

But just then, a long creature swoops down and knocks the skeksis into the water, letting him float downstream. Thurma and Mavra look up and smile brightly when they see Kensho on top of the large beast. "Kensho!" They both yell, standing up.

He smiles at them. "Mavra, Thurma!" He guides the creature down to them.

Mavra watches the tumbleloth latch itself to Kensho's arm as it carries her up to the creature's back. She yelps in surprise and immediately holds onto Kensho's waist once she makes it. "Hold on, Thurma! We're coming!" Kensho yells.

The tumbeloth shoots out its tentacles to her, wrapping them around her waist, and picking her up, swinging her around in the air. Mavra leans to the side, trying to hold onto the tumbeloth and Thurma. Kensho feels the bird-fish creature tilt a little, struggling to get over the bank while carrying them all. "I-I don't think it can hold all of us!" Kensho yells.

Mavra grunts, pulling up Thurma so she doesn't hit the water as she continues to yelp and dodge the waves. The creature makes a weird noise as he starts to crash into the ground. "Hold on, everyone? We're going d--"

Boom!

The three of them topple to the floor, rolling off of the large creature that shakes the ground.

~

The urRu smile, seeing through the Dark Crystal that the children made it to the other side. Kira sighs in relief, knowing her daughter and her friends are okay. Aughra huffs out, "Hmph! Down, but closer to their goal!"

Kira looks over to Aughra. "You sound angry, Aughra. Aren't you glad the mystics' creature saved the children?"

Aughra rolls her eye in annoyance. "Oh yyyesss, happy! Hm! Ecstatic! One step closer to doom, that's what! Why?! That's what I want to know. Huh! Why act now? Stupid four-arm slothslings! Why help those three burn the world to a cinderspeck?! Hm?!"

She asks the mystics, who only say, "Not our place to understand the will of the Crystal, sage."

"Only to know it. Only to feel it. Only to hear it."

"As surely as the will of the Crystal was once with Jen, it is now with them."

~

Everyone slowly stands back up and the tumbeloth pops out of his shell, looking very dizzy. Kensho and Mavra make eye contact and smile.

"Mavra!"

"Kensho!"

The two gelfling laugh gleefully, running into each other's embrace. They both sigh and stay in the hug for a while. They open their eyes and quickly pull away, blushes on both of their faces. "I'm glad to see you again ..." Kensho says to Mavra, who smiles back.

Thurma giggles, wanting to join in on their hug. "Guys, we're okay! We're--"

The three suddenly stop, remembering that if they were to hug Thurma, they'd get burned. Thurma frowns and looks down, backing away from them. "Oh ... sorry."

Kensho shakes his head. "No, it's fine. We, uh, we kinda forgot for a moment, too," He says, chuckling.

Mavra nods and her ears perk. "Oh! But once we reach the pool of tears, it should be way easier for all of us, right?"

Thurma eyes the two as a quick flash of guilt paints her face. "Uh--"

"Kensho?" A female voice asks.

The three of them turn around, coming face-to-face with an elderly gelfling. She drops the sticks in her hands in surprise, running over to him. "Kensho!" She gives him a tight hug, which he gladly returns.

Mavra and Thurma stare at one another in confusion before turning back to the two. "Um ... Kensho?" Thurma asks.

"Who is this?" Mavra counters.

"Oh, Mavra, Thurma, I told you I grew up in these woods. This is Kolba, my mother!" He introduces.

Kolba gives the girls a soft smile which Mavra returns. Kensho points back to a small village a little way ahead of them. "I'm home."

As the four of them walk into the village, Kensho is greeted by many people of his clan. He smiles, greeting them joyfully. Kolba smiles, hugging her son again, and saying, "Welcome home, Kensho."

Thurma and Mavra walk up next to them, one looking very weary and the other feeling very warm. "Welcome, both of you," Kolba tells the two girls politely as they all continue to walk through the village.