At that moment, she was inside the king’s suite of rooms. But the magic of the King had fashioned this section of the palace into the likeness of catacombs, with many different corridors and heavy doors with magical symbols.
A set of stone stairs led down to a small pool. It was crazy, the things the king had crammed into this part of the palace using magic. She had just passed the last mirrors, so she thought she was safe. This was the first time that she had walked that far into the king’s castle, and she didn’t know what to expect. The pool had a bluish color and was transparent. For a second, she started to feel dizzy, but it quickly passed.
The far end of the pool became a big waterfall. Many of her friends were waiting at the bottom and yelling, “Jump! Jump! Jump!” They all laughed and rejoiced. Siem and Hermon were there. They waved at her and she waved back. Everything was filled with happiness. Eldana jumped in, and after a few seconds, she was deep inside the pool. Eldana then swam back up and could hear the roar of laughter.
She swam to the edge of the pool, under the waterfall where everyone was standing. Siem helped her out. She looked at her from top to bottom and yelled, “You look like a wet dog!” which caused a roaring from all friends. Eldana waved it away.
“What are you doing here?” Siem asked as she pointed up at the edge of the waterfall. Eldana looked confused and pointed her finger upwards to the point where she jumped from. It was obvious what she was doing here. She just wanted to jump into the water and come to Siem.
“What are you doing here? Asked Siem again.
The smile on her face started to fade. Eldana wanted to answer but could not remember why she was here. It had been so clear before. Then it came back to her in one fell swoop.
“I am Eldana, and I must see the king, to ask him to stop trying to keep the balance. I must ask him to stop.” Eldana answered.
The smile on Siem’s face fell, and her figure faded away slowly. Eldana had a pounding headache. She became nauseous. She had given herself away. The people in the pool weren’t real. It was all the mirror’s trick. The spell was strong, but it was wearing off after Eldana gave herself away. She had been deceived. She had no time to lose. She had to leave. She began to run, speaking the protective magic she had perfected so well, but it went wrong. The shield shimmered and disappeared. The figures from the pool were chasing after her.
The second that Eldana had started running, the whole room changed. The mirrors were everywhere, closing in on her, appearing to grow in size. Had there ever really been a catacomb? A waterfall? A pool?
With a sudden whoosh of air and one of the large mirrors flew towards her, slowing only at the last minute to block her path-
She struck the mirror, and it broke. Every time one of these mirrors fell to the ground, the others adapted. After the third strike, no mirror broke immediately after one hit but only after two. After the sixth, it took three hits to take a mirror down. Eldana could not keep up this number game forever. She broke through them one by one even as the mirrors became stronger collectively. With each time that they changed, they became faster and better. Eldana was used to fighting but this was pushing her limits.
The fights were relentless. Where did they all come from? The mirrors had become so strong that it was no longer possible to move forward. As she tried to manoeuvre them by outrunning the first couple of mirrors, they came in closer and closer, leaving her with nowhere to run to. There were too many of them. Suddenly, the mirrors stopped, and she had heard a loud rumble. The rumbling came up again, this time louder and stronger than before. Those who had just stood in front of her now moved a few meters away. She had room to breathe again. Still, the princess’s heart raced.
There was a third rumble. This time she heard a voice from far away. And that voice said her name;
“Eldana.”
How long has it been since a king called someone personally, rather than have their courtiers or advisers announce their arrival? She couldn’t even remember.
There was a time when she would have been happy at being personally called by the King. Who would not rejoice after hearing the voice of the ruler of kingdoms, the closest to the gods by his position? He was feared and respected by all. At school, the benevolence of the king and his protection for the realm was imprinted on the minds of children. On all coins, it was the king’s face that smiled from it. At harvest, after the gods, it was him that everyone paid homage to.
“Eldana.” The voice rumbled out loud once again.
“Eldana, why won’t you listen?” The voice asked. Resentment grew in her at the sound of that voice.
“Because it’s wrong.” She replied calmly.
“Do you deny the meaning of keeping evil away?” The voice replied instantly. In the last words, there was great astonishment. The rumbling echoes around the voice grew louder and longer.
“Are you evil yourself?” The mirrors that had once pulled back, trembled again and came closer.
Eldana was not frightened. She didn’t care. “That’s rubbish! It’s all wrong, the chaos mark, the legend it is all just fear!” She shouted. The rumbling stopped again. The mirrors stopped moving.
“Tell me about it, child.” The voice came again, but this time in a kinder tone. It was light and even inviting.
Eldana
