Myths: The Folklore Trilogy

Chapter 28-In Which We Chat

"I don't believe it," I whispered, my mouth dry.

"Oh dear, that is a problem isn't it?" Giselle said with a twisted smile. "I am quite real, I assure you. And I'm standing right in front of you. Oh, what fun!" she said laughing, a high, hollow sound.

Her voice was sending shivers down my spine. Every word she spoke was ice.

Just then, the tormentor we had just been fighting-indifference- crept up behind her. I was instantly filled with a mix of hatred and fear.

Then slowly, one by one, all the other tormentors came up beside it.

I gaped. Even Anxiety, the twitchy little red one we fought on the beach was there. Audrey gasped. "But I killed you!"

Giselle shook her head. "Tsk, tsk, I thought you would know better than that by now. You cannot KILL anxiety. It will always exist in the world. You can only banish it for a short while. But it always comes back."

Giselle turned to look at us smugly. She was enjoying this so much it made my stomach churn. "I've been watching you girls. I can see through the eyes of my faithful tormentors. And I'm impressed. Impressed with your control over your emotions. Impressed with your bravery to continue after each battle you had. And I was entertained! It was entertaining to watch you journey here, all alone, trying to come destroy me!" She broke off into a fit of cold, high laughter. I was beginning to think she was insane.

She caught her breath and looked back at us with an evil glint in her eyes. "But. It's a long walk from here to my palace. I got bored. So I sent out my final tormentor and lovely Tess to come greet you."

" 'Sent' isn't the word I would use," Tess said angrily. "More like deceived and forced."

"Oh, still bitter about that little betrayal, are we?" Giselle whispered.

Sophie, Audrey and I exchanged a look. What betrayal?

But Tess had fallen silent.

"It has been a week and six days, did you know that?" Giselle said airily. I instantly felt my mouth go dry. She smiled smugly. "Oh yes, only one more day until they all die. Gone. Poof. Just like that."

"But..." Audrey choked, "Tess called for help..."

Giselle frowned, but Tess looked devastated. "O-oh I'm so s-sorry, I was captured--I needed help--I didn't stop and think how you would interpret it..."

Despite myself, I felt an overwhelming wave of relief. There's still time to save them.

Giselle's voice got dangerously silky. "I am going to kill you friends. Don't misunderstand. You have failed. Oh yes. I have been watching you fail over and over again, you little--"

"ARGH!" Audrey swiftly turned into warrior, pulled a knife from her belt, and threw it at Giselle.

Giselle smiled and raised her hand in front of her.

And the knife froze in midair.

We watched with jaws unhinged, eyes wide, as the knife clattered to the ground, one foot in front of its intended target.

Audrey gasped; and then fell to her knees.

Giselle's smile turned slightly duranged. My knees began to tremble. What magic was this?

"I don't know what Natasha said my power was," Giselle said smirking, "probably something stupid everyone can do. But my power, dear children, the power that separates me from everyone else, is that I--and I alone--can enchant living things." Her smile grew broader. "Which includes myself."

I suddenly noticed that the world had gone strangely silent. I felt a creeping sensation up the back of my spine. Slowly, I turned my head to look behind me.

We were surrounded by cats.

Big cats, the wild kind, cheetahs, leopards, cougars, and small, house sized cats. Every shape and every size. Their eyes were all glowing purpłe.

"I wouldn't make any move to upset my little friends," Giselle whispered. "They, too, are enchanted. Now, if you'll follow my to my palace. I have a surprise for you."

Somehow, these words terrified me the most.

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When we emerged from the woods, I noticed that the clouds had condensed into one, thick, gray, sheet. I couldn't see any sign of the sky. Only gray, for miles and miles it seemed.

Giselle was reclining on a large purpłe cushion that was levitating a few inches off the ground. She looked a little bored.

Suddenly, the cats flanking us (a cheetah and a Persian Long-hair) stopped abruptly. Giselle smiled. "Oh good. We're here."

She waved her hand in front of her, and where there had been trees and foliage, there was now a huge, stone, palace.

I gaped.

The doors (three times my height) slowly swung inwards. The cats walked in. For a moment, I stood there, stunned, until a particularly vicious looking panther pushed me from behind.

Suddenly, a piece of cloth came flying out of nowhere and wacked me in the face. I stumbled back, stunned. Then the cloth wrapped itself around my head and tied itself tightly in the back. The world instantly became black.

"Forgive the blindfolds," Giselle said airily, "but they really are necessary."

"I love how you won't even explain why," Audrey muttered. Then she gasped in pain. My heart skipped a beat, but there was nothing I could do.

Suddenly, I heard a door opening. We walked into a room and I distinctly felt the temperature drop. The door slammed behind us.

Our blindfolds dropped away, and I saw we were in a small stone room. Giselle and Tess had gone, and there were only two cats left, both small, house ones.

"Excuse me?"

I whirled around, my heart speeding up. But it was only a young girl, about our age, with beautiful dark skin and intricately braided hair. Her dress was white and spotless. She was looking at us warily. My heart lurched. She was probably a servant.

She cleared her throat, looking at the floor. "Mistress Giselle welcomes you to her Palace of Lilitua, and hopes you will enjoy your stay. However, before you have the privileges of the palace to experience, you must prove yourselves worthy. You will enter this arena, and have to fight the opponent of your choice. If you defeat it, you will commence your stay here at the Palace of Lilitua. Thank you." She bowed.

She began to walk out, then hesitated at the door. All of a sudden she turn around and walked quickly back towards me. She whispered into my ear, her breathing heavy. "Pick wisely. And do not be fooled by your options. Things are not always as they seem." Then she scurried out of the room.

I tried to think through this information, confused, but just then, the wall to my left cracked down the middle and began to open slowly. The light was gray coming in. We heard the sound of people cheering. I looked at Audrey, who looked determined. I looked at Sophie, who looked afraid. And then I looked forwards at the opening wall.

And we walked into what was, undoubtably, an arena.
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So, this was only half the chapter but I figured I would be nice after that last particularly nasty cliffhanger. Sometime later I'll add the two chapters together.

~Paint_splatt