The Darkness

Chapter 23 ~ The Den

     • The Princess •

We tied our horses to the trees and stood at the mouth of the enormous cave. Sithra fastened her equipment to her saddle in case we had to make a quick getaway. It had suddenly occurred to me that I was utterly defenseless against whatever lived inside the shadows.

"Relax." Sithra rolled her eyes. "You're so scared about going in there it was impossible not to notice."

"Wha...?" I blinked. Was it really that obvious?

"Here." Sithra walked over and offered me a dagger. "Just try not to get in my way."

"Y-yeah." I swallowed, following behind her as she stepped towards the black abyss.

"The Guardian can't see too well, so don't try to move around as much." She whispered. "But his hearing and smell are excellent. You better not be crashing into anything."

"Right." I nodded in the dark. I could barely see anything in this blackness!

———————

We walked on, deep into the cave. I wasn't sure how long we were in there until I looked back and couldn't see the sunlight. A faint trickle of water echoed in the cold stone room. I nearly tripped over the formations, but I flailed out and caught myself using Sithra's cloak.

Pretty soon, that faint trickle became a monstrous roar of waterfalls.

"Look-!" Sithra nudged me. We peeked around the corner and saw a massive cave room with at least five waterfalls along the smooth rock. There were strange gemstones that twinkled and illuminated the cave with a glowing blue. We worked our way along the ridges of the cave, careful not to slip on the slick floor with our backs pressed against the wall. Below was a furious river of white waters crashing into the walls.

Eventually, the thin path widened and we could walk normally again. We could see the falls from all angles now, and it was breathtaking. I stared in awe at the thousands of shimmering crystals. Sithra nudged me again, snapping me out of it, and gestured down below.

My scream echoed loudly for a split second before Sithra covered my mouth. A dragon. A massive, grey dragon with spikes running down its spine and a deadly tail lay below us not more than 3 wagons away. She gave me a furious look, but breathed in relief to see it was still asleep. Piles of skeletons lay around if, shiny with the armor of a fallen knight.

"Where's the key?" I whispered, horrified. Sithra put a finger to her lips to silence me and pointed to a glimmering mountain that the dragon was curled around. Gold, jewels, and many more treasures sparkles within its reach. There key must be somewhere in there.

"How do we-?" I dared speak slightly louder.

"SHH!!" Sithra glared. "I told you! Don't get in my way!"

"You expect me to just stand here while you risk your life?!"

"YES!" She screamed in a rage.

"You're insane!! You're going to get yourself..." I stopped and my blood ran cold.

"I'm going to get myself what?" Sithra growled.

"D... Dra..." I swallowed hard, raising my shivering hand up to point behind Sithra.

"Just spit it out, Marie!" She threw her arms in the air, frustrated. "What are you looking at...?"

Sithra slowly turned her head and froze.

"Hello, Sorceress." The dragon's deep voice hissed in our ears as it's lips drew back into a hideous, wicked smile.