Chapter Nineteen

With the rest of the prophecy revealed to the others, will they be able to find a way to save Amy?

    “So where to?” Ninari asked as she looked to the rest of the group from the encampment.

    Amy was walking back to the trail. “We just follow the path from here. It’s not that far-”

    “Amy.” Dieteru said cutting her off. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

    Amy looked to the ground, avoiding his gaze. “No, but I’d hope you would have.”

    “Forget what?” Kieto asked curiously, looking from Amy to Dieteru. “Did you guys do something last night?”

    “No,” Amy began, looking from Ninari to Kieto catching him give her a sly glance. “No! God get your mind out of the gutter!”

    Dieteru watched them. “Now what is he talking about?”

    “Well I did see you guys last night and you did look pretty cozy.” Kieto explained with a laugh.

    “You little idiot!” Dieteru yelled angrily walking towards him.

    Kieto quickly ducked behind Ninari as she placed a hand to the side of her head. “You two will never grow up will you?” She stepped away from Kieto and walked towards Amy leaving Kieto out in the open. “What is it?”

    Amy looked to the ground with a sigh as the two brothers turned to her. “You might as well tell them now.” Dieteru said crossing his arms before him.

    “I know…” she said quietly before telling Ninari and Kieto everything she had told Dieteru the night before. About the missing piece of the prophecy and what might actually become of her when this all came to an end.

    When she was finished, the two looked to one another with solemn expressions upon their faces. “I had no idea…” Ninari said shaking her head now looking Amy in the eye. “We can’t let you do this; not at the risk of your own life.”

    “But what of your people. They-”

    “They’ll understand. They wouldn’t want an innocent person like you to die for their cause.”

    “Exactly.” Dieteru chipped in. “Amy, we can find another way. You just have to trust us.”

    “But,” she began at a loss for words. “But-”

    “But nothing!” Kieto said sternly. She looked to him, seeing tears beginning to form within his eyes. “I was looking forward to all of this being over with so we could enjoy our new lives…with you! You can’t give up on your life just like that! Not when you have a place to come back to… ”

    Amy shook her head slightly as Ninari placed a hand to her shoulder. “We’re here for you Amy. You are not going to do this alone. We won’t let you.”

 

    It was still early morning when everyone decided to continue on with the journey. Since the group took the path Sagieta had advised upon, they hadn’t come across any of the Alangi; it was as if the Alangi were completely avoiding the area surrounding the King’s labyrinth. Perhaps, they feared their King the same way the Maraini had?

    The group soon came to a stop after seeing a mountain in the near distance. They could see an archway around an opening leading into the mountainside; Amy looked to the others with caution in her eyes. “So, this is it…This is where-”

    She stopped as she felt a hand land on her shoulder. “No, it’s not.” Dieteru stated as he walked past her. “We’ll figure something out.”

    “Dieteru…” Amy said quietly as Ninari stood aside of her, placing a hand onto her shoulder as Dieteru just had only a few moments before. She watched after him for a long while, Kieto only a few feet behind him. “I don’t think this is possible Ninari.”

    “We’ll make it possible.” She looked to Ninari; confidence seemed to beam from her features. “We won’t let you down Amy.” She promised as she continued after the others.

    Amy only watched her for a few moments before following after them. She wished there was a way for all of this to end smoothly, yet she couldn’t push away her fear that everything will just turn out wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.

 

     “Are you alright?”

    Amy jumped at the sound of Dieteru’s voice. She looked to her side a little surprised to see him walking aside of her. Looking back, she saw Ninari and Kieto; she must have caught up to him without even realizing it. “I guess I have to be if I’m going to do this.”

    “You’re not. Ninari and I are going to figure something out.”

    Amy remained silent for a moment. “We’ll just have to wait then to see what happens.”

    They fell silent again for a few moments when something crossed his mind. “So, who’s Chris?”

    This grabbed Amy’s attention, nearly stopping her in her tracks. “Chris? How do you know that name?” She asked, as they entered the cave, oblivious in doing so out of curiosity in Dieteru’s knowledge of her brother’s name.

    “You said the name when you were injured.” He gave her a quick glance. “So is he your lover or something?”

    This stopped Amy completely. She stared at him for a few moments before she burst with laughter. The others stopped as well watching her with a bewildered expression on their faces.

    “What did you say to her?” Ninari asked Dieteru.

    “Nothing. I just asked her a question.”

    “What kind of question did you ask her?”

    There was a sudden quake as small stones began to fall from the ceiling of the cave. Dieteru pushed Ninari back as he pushed Amy to the ground, kneeling over her to protect her as the debris came down around them.

    When the dust settled, Dieteru helped Amy to her feet. “Are you alright?”

    She looked to him, dazed at what had happened. “Yeah, you?”

    “I’m fine.” Dieteru answered looking back to the once open pathway leading to the exit, now blocked off with a wall of stones. He walked towards the stones, placing his hand onto the wall finding it to be rather sturdy. “Ninari, Kieto? Can you hear me?”

    “Yeah.” He heard Ninari call back. “We’re alright. How about you?”

    “We’re fine.” Amy called back, now standing aside of Dieteru. “Look, don’t try to get through you guys. It may cause even more of the ceiling to come down. You should just head back.”

    “But-”

    “Don’t argue; just go!” Amy demanded. “That quake may have alerted the people of Alangi. If they catch you-”

    There was a slight pause. “Right. We’ll get going then. Just be careful!”

    “The same goes for you!” She turned her back to the wall leaning against it. “That was close.”

    “Yeah it was.” Dieteru said watching her. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

    “Well, the pain is at full power now.” She said closing her eyes. She then pushed herself off the wall allowing Dieteru to wrap his arm around her back to help her walk.

      Why is he being so nice?   She questioned herself, feeling her face grow hot. Is he feeling guilty over what I have to do?The two walked on in silence, allowing the torches set along the cave walls to guide them. After a few moments of walking, Dieteru glanced to her curiously. “So who is this Chris anyway?”

    “What does it matter to you?”

    “It doesn‘t. It’s just, well, I’m curious.”

    Amy laughed a little. “I can tell.”

    “So, if he’s not your lover who is he?”

    She smiled at him in amusement. “He’s my brother.” Her smile soon faded as she looked to the path. “He was the last one I was with before I ended up here…”

Dieteru decided to let it go at that. She seemed really upset over the matter and didn’t wish to make things any worse for her. They continued walking but after a few short steps they stopped.

    “Hey, there’s a door here…” Amy stated as she took a step closer, running her hands along the surface.

    “The Alangi people are very cautious, aren‘t they.” He said sarcastically. “They practically invite their enemies to kill them. There‘s not even a single guard here.”

    “Maybe he doesn‘t need one.” Amy said looking back to him. “He was named the King for a reason, wasn’t he?” She turned back to the door slowly pushing it open. A bright light poured into the passageway as she looked back to Dieteru. “Shall we go in?”

    She began to take a step forward, but was pulled back by Dieteru. She studied him questioningly. “I think I should go first. I am your guardian for a reason aren‘t I?”

    He took a step forward, cautiously entering the room with Amy right behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders. The room was brightly lit from the dome like opening in the ceiling. “Where is he?” Dieteru whispered as he looked around the cave. The strange feeling soon crept into Amy’s chest as she looked around the room. “He’s in here…” she quickly turned around to face what was behind her and…nothing.

    “What is it?” Dieteru asked facing her direction.

    “Nothing.” She said in relief as she faced him. “I just thought-” she stopped her words as she looked past him with wide eyes.

    “Thought what? Amy?” He slowly followed her gaze.

    Standing now dead center of the room was a creature they had never seen before. Its features were that of the Alangi people but it was much taller, broader. Its green hair was braided down the back and he wore black armor which covered most of his red skin. However, the eyes which would be normally yellow as those of the Alangi people were completely white with no pupil to be seen. Standing before the savior of the Maraini people and her guardian was indeed the Alangi King himself.