Princess Aravo Part 1

7

Irbis was woken as it had been promised exactly at 8 o'clock of the morning. The day of the game came. The very big long day when her destiny should have been sealed... No way back - only forward... The girl understood it well and felt both worry and calm obedience to everything that should happen.

After breakfast she was taken to some big room. There sat the prince and his close people. Those were only men. Everyone stood up and the prince made few paces ahead and started his speech.

"Irbis, you made the decision to participate in this game called Sirvantame. It is the decision that may divide your life into "before" and "after". You yourself chose this way. You may become a winner and a rich woman in one day or in this short time lose everything you have. You decided to risk it and try your strength. Let's see how strong you are. Now everything depends only on you alone. You have entered the game. And now you will have your eyes closed and be taken to the point of start."

A servant came with a cushion and black bands lying on it. Another one came and tied her eyes. Then Irbis could see absolutely nothing and only heard someone whispering: "How do you think? How quickly will she surrender?"

The girl understood that she was taken somewhere in the basements as she and the servant had to walk down the stairs much. Than they walked straight and at last her eyes were untied. She was in a glass labyrinth where there were lots of her reflections. The door behind her was closed and the voice of the prince from above was heard saying: "The game has started." She moved ahead.

Lots of mirrors where lots of hers were... Some dizzy feeling chased her as she made her way. Those walls with mirrors were absolutely the same and you could easily lose yourself in that labyrinth. She closed her eyes and tried to trust only her touches. That labyrinth seemed to be just endless. Very likely that she made circles. Irbis was frustrated but suddenly she remembered words of her foster father:

"The way of life can be very not straight and, who knows, you may get yourself lost in absolutely unknown place. You may wander there for hours and still without finding any way out and become desperate. Here is my advice to you. In such cases think of nothing and just go ahead. A solution usually comes at that moment when you expect it the less. Why does it happen in such way? I don't know!"

"Think of nothing and just go ahead," Irbis repeated to herself. She went on. Suddenly she came to such corner where she could eat and drink. There were two stands and a table with a chair. Other father's words came: "I don't think about what others tell but good and delicious food is able to comfort the soul finely." Yes, he liked eating well. Irbis had a flat cake with butter, some fruit and a glass of water. It was just a snack but it helped her to gather her spirits. And now again let's go!

Soon she found the water closet. She returned a bit and found out that it was in three turns right and two left from the eating room. I hope, my dear reader, that you won't make me describe absolutely everything? After some time she found the exit! There the first room came.

Actually, it couldn't be called a room. Irbis found herself in some sort of a very big hole in mountains' ground. Above her the light opened. She stood on a flat ledge that stretched along a circle's perimeter framing the back abyss. Diametrically before her on the other side Irbis saw a head of a bear. The rough stony wall had handles built in them. The task seems easy... even too easy... Irbis started her way leaning to the wall sometimes holding the handles. If instead of the gulf there was a floor, all prince's noblemen could give balls there. The girl felt the cold of the wall and a quiet draft from bellow. There was something sinister in it. Suddenly Irbis heard some strange sound below. Something between a peep, a predator bird's cry and a roar resounded... She stopped for a moment. There was nothing anymore. She continued her way. Again the noise was heard but this time louder. Something seemed to happen down there. Irbis waited... The sound repeated and air flows rushed upwards. It was clear then that something darts from there. After some time from the pitch something with a stunning cry flew out.

Imagine, my dear reader, a strange hybrid of different arthropods. That monster was just enormous; it was sized almost like a twelve-storeyed house. It had 8 legs like a spider but they were more like of an insect. They were situated round its body like tentacles of a cephalopod. Under them there was a belly like of a spider which had spikes and glowed with red light. It had a very big and long head relative to the size of the body with moving antennas and a jaw with which opened a large mouth showing its red glowing inside. The head was shaped like a post and on it was a huge red eye. This picture was supplemented with two pairs of transparent wings.

The monster flew to the other wall higher the girl's level and started crawling on it making stones fall and blocking some of the light. It turned round and having noticed her made the same very loud sound. Irbis was staring stupefied at it. The beast began beating the wall near the girl ruining it. But she was adroit and little and easily evaded each blow. The monster became more and more angry and it broke a little part of the ledge. The situation was becoming worse and worse... Then one more part was broken. Then this thing beat the part of the wall below the place where the girl was standing. It went down but Irbis was holding the handles. She was used to climbing the mountains and began subduing the rocky wall. The beast became more furious. It crawled upwards. Then it put its belly in front and started shooting with some lava-like glowing mass from it.

"No matter how big and horrifying the animal is," her father's words ran in Irbis's head. "Everything has its weak spots. You are a human and you are mightier than all those beasts put together. If you have no physical strength before it, then use your ruse. Don't lose your spiritual force and you will be able to defeat not such things."

"It does not see me," the girl thought. "It is too big and has only one eye."

Really! The monster was shooting blindly here and there on her side. She just continued her way but trying to avoid touching the beast's trickling down masses. Then it with its cry situated itself above the girl and tried to control the shooting. It became more difficult. Irbis was evading as hard as she could. Suddenly the monster actually hit her. She felt that something pricking spread her body and she swooned...