Aquirya
Chapter 16

Niko and Aeyla felt like they were going in circles. They’d seen that same vine tree four times. They’d past that same rock formation and lake three times. They were now sitting down by the same flower bed and cave they’d passed, taking a break. At least the lake they’d found had fresh water in it and it tasted sweet. Atta had tried it first just to make sure it wasn’t poisonous or lethal in any way. He could handle poison better than the two humans could.

They rested for only a few minutes, Aeyla was still in a little bit of pain from her encounter earlier with the Teeter pond. Atta had also flown back to Grazia and gotten some fresh food for the travelers. He didn’t want Aeyla losing all her strength from being so wounded.

Niko was leaning on the cave and eating the food that Atta had flown back for them. He leaned his head back when suddenly, the rock behind him fell inwards. He yelped and said “Ow!” as he hit a hard floor.

Aeyla got up and ran to his aid. “Are you alright Niko?” Niko sat up rubbing his head which had hit the hard floor. He turned around and lifted his lit sword up to see if they could see what had opened. They crept into the unknown cave entrance that got darker and darker as they moved deeper in.

Aeyla whispered to her sword to light up and as soon as the blade was lifted up it hit a lantern that automatically turned on. She quickly pulled her sword back to herself. “Ah!” she yelled as lanterns went on all over the cavern they had fallen into. They both dropped down just in case they had awakened something else other than a bunch of lanterns. As they stood back and watched, lights went on all over in the cavern they were coming into was much bigger than they had anticipated. There was also rubies, gems, and gold everywhere. An underground castle was also visible in a far corner and a huge, what looked to be a pirate ship in another corner. They wanted to explore but knew it wasn’t a possibility right now. They had to refocus and try to replace the path out of here and to the volcano island where Craceeris was.

“Do you have any ideas as to which way we are supposed to go?” Aeyla asked Niko as they walked down the winding path one more time.

Niko stopped and closed his eyes, he tried to remember his father. “I remember my father having a map of this place.” He said opening his eyes and looking around. He closed them again and images of his father at the dining table in their small farm house came to mind.

“Do you remember something Niko?” Aeyla have turned around and walked back to where Niko was standing.

“Yea, my father was always looking at this treasure map. Maybe it’s the one for here.” He became uneasy and Aeyla wasn’t sure why.

Of course she knew the story but she didn’t know she knew. Niko didn’t know if she remembered or not so he just didn’t tell her.

“There were passages all leading out of this place. There’s caverns, tunnels, underwater lakes, forests, trap cities, and more. One way is only a little safer than another.” He lifted his sword and told it to point to the west. It lit up and started to move to the left and stopped. He started following the sword still holding it up. Aeyla followed behind him.

They came to the west side of the huge cavern. They were standing in front of what seemed like just a wall.

Niko put the sword away and started feeling the wall to see if something would push in or move for him. He noticed a small crack and started to push the stone over. After a couple minutes it budged.

“I think I found the west passage way Aeyla.” He said still pushing. It opened suddenly and he again fell in a dark tunnel. They cautiously went down the small corridor. It wasn’t lit at all so they used their swords. Atta would have to go out of the cave and fly over and hopefully meet them on the other side of this passage. They started feeling heat, seeing fog, the air started feeling denser, and there was warm water coming in the passageway.

“We are getting closer to the end.” Niko whispered. “Watch out for a pirate trap!” He kept facing front wards as he spoke to Aeyla.

“Okay.” She whispered back.

They heard a shifting of something hard underneath their feet. A Trap! In front of them a pendulum started swinging very quickly.

Niko again changed into a wolf and ran, jumped, and flew right through the many pendulums swinging. He was nicked by one of the blades and yelped out, which made Aeyla jump in place. When he was safely on the other side of the trap he turned around and turned back into his humanoid form.

“Your turn Princess.”

“Will I be fast enough as a wolf this time?” She yelled at him.

“Aeyla, you can change into anything you want! When are you going to remember that!? You show that maybe you remember things and then you start showing that you don’t.” He was getting frustrated at her.

She thought for a second. “What about a cheetah.”

Niko saw a shadow of something behind her. “Uh.. Princess, just come.”

“Well I’m just thinking they’re pretty quick.”

“Princess…” He saw the color of multiple eyes light up the tunnel behind her. “Serpent.” He whispered so only he could hear. Aeyla was still talking about Cheetahs. “Princess just change and run!” He yelled finally.

She jumped, startled at him and quickly changed into a black cheetah, and leapt out through the tunnel just in time for the serpent to dodge out of the blackness at her and get two of It’s heads chopped off by the pendulums.”

“I did it!” Aeyla yelled as she started changing back into a humanoid.

Niko looked back to where they had come from to see the serpent slithering away in pain. “Yea, princess. You did it.” He said annoyed. “You’ve done it a million times Aeyla. You need to also start being more aware of your surroundings.”

“Niko, What’s your problem!?” She said turning to follow him.

“We are this close to Craceeris and you still do not remember who you are! How are you ever going to get your sister back and save your world and people?” Niko was so frustrated he wasn’t watching where he was going and almost fell into a lava hole. An open hole in the tunnel floor with lava down below.

“Niko!” Aeyla yelled seeing him slip.

“I’m fine.” He turned to her. “You have to remember. You have to wake up. You have to realize who you are.”

She nodded her head. They jumped over the remaining lava holes. When they were clear of the lava holes they came to a wide part of the cave with 5 tunnels ahead of them, each of them going in a different direction.

“Great!” Aeyla said. “How are we supposed to know which way to go!?” She yelled out suddenly.

“Concentrate.” Aeyla looked over at Niko. He was standing still, with his arms crossed, and his eyes closed.”

Aeyla moved towards the first tunnels that were closest to her on her left. When she got closer she could see that they looked different. One tunnel was white with what looked like spider webs and the other had a red glow to it. “Well that takes care of those two,” she thought to herself. She turned around to look at the other tunnels but couldn’t see anything from where she was, she approached the third tunnel and as she got closer she saw bugs all over the entrance. “Number three.” She said out loud. “Not going in there.” she said.

Niko smiled, still in his meditative state.

She moved closer to the fourth tunnel opening. She didn’t see anything, so she walked closer. Still nothing. A thought came to her, ‘What if there is something in the air of this tunnel?’ She went to the opening and looked closer and smelled it. She smelled a rotten smell, kind of like gas, poison, “This has poison gas in it.” Aeyla stepped backwards tripping on a rock and wiping her nose. She felt light headed for a couple minutes and held her head, breathing deeply to get her senses back to normal.

She got up and moved to the next tunnel, as she came to it she noticed skulls, bones, and bodies. Immediately she turned around. “All of them have something dangerous in them.”

“You haven’t seen them all.” Niko said opening his eyes and uncrossing his arms. He took his sword out and pointed it up above the third tunnel. “There is a sixth tunnel. I remember my father telling me about these tunnels. Their used to be seven.” He pointed with his head in the direction of the fifth tunnel. “Right next to the fifth tunnel there was a seventh one. The seventh and third tunnels are the safest to pass through. Craceeris must have known only about the seventh one, because it’s blocked.”

“The third one has poison gas in it.” Aeyla said.

“No that is the fourth one.” He stepped over to the first tunnel and counted out loud for her. “The first with monsters of many legs, the second so hot it glows, the third you won’t see, the fourth will be underneath with something not so sweet, The fifth with the old that have passed away and the seventh as beautiful as the Eden.”

“She destroyed the beautiful one.” Aeyla said disgusted. “Of course she did!”

“Alright princess, concentrate. You have to completely remember who you are so you can see the invisible tunnel or you will not be able to move on.”

“Okay, Niko, show me how to do this. Show me how to become this princess you remember me as.” She turned to him.

“Finally.” He said out loud. “Close your eyes. You remember that you are a princess. What you do not remember is that you are powerful. Even without your family you have great power, magic.”

“I have magic, real magic?” Asked Aeyla opening her eyes. She hadn’t realized what she’s been doing this whole time was because of her magic abilities. She just thought those were all she could do.

“Yes you have actual magic, you can move things, change things, attack with fire, frost, and water, change into anything you can think of, and destroy evil. You and your family get this from the Magic of Efaleo, which means magic in our ancient Tongue, it also means Love.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all this before?” She asked him.

“You weren’t ready. You also weren’t ready to know that Craceeris has imprisoned most of your people in her lava caverns. Which is also where your sister is being held.”

Aeyla looked up at him horrified. “Show me how to remember who I am Niko!”

Niko waved his hand in a circle and as he did a clear see through glass looking bubble appeared in the air. She sat and watched as it played a brief history of her kingdom and world. It showed her growing up with her sister, playing in the castle, being with her friends of the kingdom, being tutored and mentored by Quico, Craceeris being the court wizard and turning evil, her parents, and her love. She looked over at Niko. “You’re my…”

“Let’s not talk about that right now princess, we have to help you be who you are.” Niko waved his hand and the images went away.

“I thought you said you didn’t have much magic.” She asked him jokingly upset.

“There’s some things you didn’t need to know until you were ready to know them again.” He said to her. “Now first, try using your magic to make things that aren’t seen, seen.”

She closed her eyes. “No don’t close your eyes. You have to learn to do your magic again without closing your eyes.” Interrupted Niko.

She nodded her head and tried again. She lifted up her hand like she saw herself do in the bubble. She started before the first tunnel and went around to the other tunnels until she was on the other side of where the seventh tunnel should be. When she looked back over the tunnel opening for the third tunnel was seeable. “I guess that’s tunnel three.” She said out loud.

Niko nodded his head. “Now you’re getting it.”

After a couple hours of “training” and Aeyla blowing things up and catching it on fire then putting it out. Niko thought she was ready to move on. It was only going to get tougher as they went and he didn’t want her to not see what she was capable of, plus he missed the Aeyla she really truly was. A warrior.