𝙒𝙄𝘾𝙆𝙀𝘿 𝘼𝙇𝙒𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝙒𝙄𝙉𝙎 🔥 𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖈𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖘

𝙓𝙄.

Ben takes a deep breath. He was not in favor of the idea in his head, but he was also not sure which entrance into the labyrinth to take. They could surely fall into a trap, since he had the feeling Pyper was aware of their arrival already.

"I suggest splitting up. One part of the group takes the left, the other takes the right."

Mal's eyes widen. She has the same apprehensions about the plan as her fiancé does. She shares a look between her closest group of friends, who all reflect her worry. Mal swiftly steps forward and reaches out for her boyfriend's arm.

"Ben, you know I trust you, but is splitting up really the wisest plan here," she asks.

The king sighs. "I know the chance of walking into an ambush is large, but the labyrinth is massive. If we all go through one entrance and it proves to be the wrong one, we will lose all of our time and advantage. Besides that, we will be vulnerable for any attacks from them. I don't like the idea, but we are left without another option."

His allies nodded their heads, sharing agreeing but fearful looks. They may be heroes, but it did not mean they never were scared.

They were busy splitting the group. The heroes went in through the left entrance, their children and the King with his friends go through the right one.

But the labyrinth proved to be a treacherous one. Jay walked too close to the hedge at one point and the green attempted to suck him in. Had it not been for Uma and her swift use of her sword, Jay would have been gone.

A few minutes later one of them almost stumbled against a very thin cord. To deactivate the obvious trap Mal cuts through it with magic while they all watched from a safe distance. Nails fall from the pale blue sky and would have impaled them, had they not noticed the wire.

But with the labyrinth having many crossroads and paths that closed behind you, their group had quickly slimmed down to Ben and his core group of friends. They stick close to each other, fearing that the labyrinth might split them even more. 

But after what felt like many hours, they finally heard a different noise. Footsteps. 

The heroes proceed. They found themselves in the middle of the maze. The ground was paved with black and white tiles. In the middle was a giant fountain with water spraying from a statue in the shape of a scepter with a heart-shaped jewel. Bright coloured mushrooms and flowers sprout from the ground on the grass surrounding the tiles. 

And pacing back and forth on the path was Pyper Pan.

During her capture Mal did not have the time to truly observe the changes in Pyper. They were minimal to someone who didn't know her, but significant to someone who does.

Months ago Pyper would always look bored and cold, but now she simply looked disgusted at everything. Hate was shining in her bright green eyes that did not even seem to disappear when having a victory.