The Deadly Trials

14 | Lightheaded

// lightheaded //

Twenty-one glared at me. Her lips puckered and her eyebrows lowered. I knew the Prince's casual "I told you" would only confirm her suspicions of my status as a mole, but I couldn't let her get to me now, not so close to the end.

    This next trial, the second to last, sounded easy, but I knew it wouldn't be. We had to cross a field on the eastern edge of Eternity. That was all we were told. I imagined beasts giving chase, perhaps those plants Jack had hinted at lived there.

    We had started with thirty, and after three rounds, we were down to seven girls. My heart dropped whenever I thought about the eliminated girls. What happened to them? And what had Jack said? They did their best to take care of us during the trials? What did that mean?

    I entertained the thought of more than one victor. But from the way the servant's face had darkened at the mention of the fifth trial, I figured the last one was designed to eliminate all remaining participants except one — or none.

    The seven of us followed the castle servant to the horse-like creatures from before. The creature I had ridden, Ryzel, kicked at the ground and shook its head when it saw me.

    "The tsulin will take you to the eastern fields." The servant gestured to the herd before us. "They have been instructed to take you there as quickly as possible. I suggest you hold on tight." With a bow, she disappeared.

    I approached Ryzel, no longer so hesitant around these creatures. Ryzel trotted to me and nuzzled my outstretched hand. Before the other girls had even neared the herd, I mounted the tsulin and gripped the protrusions at its shoulders.

    After exhaling, Ryzel took off. A scream escaped my lips and I tried to flatten myself against its hide.

    The scenery blurred by, a dizzying kaleidoscope of colors. The wind whipped my hair straight out behind me, and I worried I would lose my hair-tie. My eyes watered, tears streaking from the corners.

    Tsulin were fast.

    I scrambled to hold on, knuckles turning white. But despite their speed, I didn't bounce or shift — my muscles quivered from the worry of falling off.

    As soon as it started, it stopped. The creature came to a gradual stop, and the world froze. Ryzel shook its head, breathing as though it hadn't run at the speed of light.

    I slid off and pet its head. It looked at me with its big brown eyes. A smile bloomed on my face. No matter how strange or eccentric these creatures were (or how frighteningly fast they moved), I found myself liking them. I hugged its head, and Ryzel nuzzled against me. With a final flick of its tail, the tsulin turned and vanished from view.

    Out here, on the eastern edge, it was empty. No mountains stood against the horizon, no mushroom-capped trees, no thick walls of plants or moving shadows. A few dilapidated houses spotted the vista, but they almost appeared abandoned. Instead, the eastern edge was occupied by a single field that extended for acres, as far as the eye could see.

    From what I could tell, it was a wheat field. The stalks rose to my waist and were a dying gold, almost gray in color. The air smelled like vanilla and honeysuckle, newly bloomed. I thought it odd that something that looked so dead could smell so sweet, so alive.

    The objective was to cross the field. I wondered if these wheat stalks were poisonous, or if a creature burrowed in the soil waiting for its next meal.

    Pulling in a deep breath and filling my lungs with vanilla and honeysuckle, I stepped into the field.

    I sunk a little bit into the damp soil. Sometimes my foot would crunch a fallen stalk. Each time that happened, the sweet smell intensified. As I walked on, I played with the wheat. I would tear at the leaves, causing another puff of the smell. Soon, it was as if my whole body was doused in the scent.