The Deadly Trials

12.1 | Splash

// splash | part 01 //

My eyes trailed up the castle servant's black shoes, to her black tights, to her black and white dress, and finally landed on her face. She was cute in an unassuming way. Two braids lay across her shoulders, black and smooth.

    It seemed like the castle had a strict dress code.

    "Rewards?"

    She gave a single nod. "If you recall, the maiden that completes a round first will be rewarded without penalty."

    Limb by limb, I worked to rise to my feet. My knees protested once again. "I came in first?"

    "Yes. Now, if you could, please follow me." She gestured to two creatures — the ones that had taken us to this trial — waiting in the shadow of a distant mushroom cap tree.

    The ride back to the castle was quiet and uneventful. It forced me to be creative about how to ignore my injuries. My knees stung and throbbed, my muscles ached, my throat and eyes burned. My stomach felt heavy with hunger, my tongue dry from thirst. My vision blurred with exhaustion. Just staying upright on the creature proved difficult.

    As I swayed atop the creature, I thought of home. I wondered if Mom were baking, Dad slouching over his desk with the dents on either side of his nose deepening, and Annalyse dancing in her room. Was Mari working at Wahooz again? Had Evette joined a summer volleyball team? Was Donovan drowning himself in Good Charlotte music?

    I wanted to return. I wanted to watch my dad work through equations, those endless blue eyes flicking back and forth across a page. I wanted to challenge Anna to a dance-off and let her win. I wanted to be with Mari and Eve. I wanted to listen to music with Donny.

    And I wanted to dance. To lose myself to the music, to the movements. To feel the stretch of my tights. To bend and lift and reach. I wanted the exhaustion of staying on my tiptoes, to ice my feet for days afterward. I wanted to audition for principal dancer.

    But instead, I was stuck on a strange green and gold planet, surrounded by plants, fighting for the chance to have all those things again.

    Water welled in my eyes. As I blinked, tears spilled over in slow succession. I was too tired to wipe them away.

    When we arrived at the castle, the servant had to help me off the creature. She even let me lean against her as we climbed the back balcony steps into the castle. Once we entered, my steps ceased and I gaped at the interior of the royal home.

    Curved arches denoted doorways and hallways. Decorated stone blocks followed the walls up to a vaulted ceiling. Carvings in the masonry revealed the motif of roses and geometric shapes. Large glassless windows lined the outermost wall, allowing a clear view of the gardens below. Between the windows hung brilliant tapestries that depicted plantlife, royal families, and abstract artwork.

    From the ceiling, every hundred feet, swung chandeliers that looked like cascading waterfalls of golden glass droplets. They didn't glow from electricity, from what I could tell, but rather from natural light. The effect was ethereal.

    "Please follow me."

    Her voice broke my daze, and I stumbled behind her, engrossed in the details of the castle, favoring my leg. As we walked along the black and white checkered floor, I realized that I was truly among royalty.

    "Would you like food or a bath first?"

    My eyes landed on the servant's profile. "What?"