Chapter 17

A Chapter by Rose of Gondor

Have I mentioned how much I hate diamonds? How they annoy me to no end? Well, after two hours of stumbling around a dark mine, almost completely blind, I was annoyed, irritated, and sore from struggling against the sharp edges of the diamonds. The path was getting narrower, and we had to press ourselves against the walls to be able to walk.

“You know,” Chrysanthemum complained through gritted teeth as she squeezed past the passageway, panting, “Sometimes I wonder if Mr. Guan’s deliberately leading us through a harder path.” Yeah. It would certainly seem like it.

“It is very likely and possible,” Wen-Ling strained as we pushed her through the opening, “Each and every one of us has to pass this test. We have to learn to endure this hardship.”

I wasn’t really up for the whole ‘he’s just testing us’ thing at that moment, and so we sank back into silence once more.

“Do you think we’re almost there?” Chrysanthemum asked, breaking through the awkward silence that had fell upon us, “I mean, we’ve walked for two hours.” I shrugged.

“I don’t know. I certainly hope we are. If I get one more diamond poking my face I’m going to explode. Literally.”

Chrysanthemum giggled slightly and turned to face what lay ahead. She gasped. “What?” I struggled past her�"and then my jaw fell open. There was a mineshaft! Actually a mineshaft! And it was leading down a dimly passageway with torches every few feet of the way. There were a few iron carts by the tracks.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the mineshaft.” Mr. Guan mumbled under his breath as he continued on.

I raised my eyebrows. If there was actually another way, less hard, why had he led us through the crumbled part of the mine? Maybe it was truly as Wen-Ling had suggested�"maybe he was testing our determination. I shrugged. Perhaps, perhaps.

“This way,” he said, pointing to the right of the mine. Sure enough, it glowed slightly with a yellowish blaze, although it was barely visible with all the torchlight around.

“Come on,” Chrysanthemum nudged me as she walked forward to follow our guide. I shook myself out of my stupor and followed.

We trudged on through the mine, Chrysanthemum, Wen-Ling, Kyo and I. It was growing steadily colder in the caves, and we huddled toward the torches for warmth. Mr. Guan tsked at this behavior and continued leading the way soundlessly. My teeth were chattering, and it was very, very cold. Water dripped on top of our heads once in a while, and the icy drops made me shiver. We were beginning to think we would never get anywhere when the mineshaft widened into a long, wide, smooth corridor that was well-lit with candles. It wasn’t so cold or confined any more, and so we spread out.

“Wow,” Chrysanthemum marveled, “This place is huge for some corridor in a mine!”

Mr. Guan chuckled. “I built this especially for the pearl after I closed down the mine,” he explained, “This is a passageway. There are many others that I’ve built over the years�"makes haunting much more convenient.” He put out his lamp and continued on, his boots thudding heavily on the stone floor, causing strong, loud echoes. Suddenly, a terrible thought struck me. Anyone could hear us if they were anywhere within ten miles and underground. The system was too close together, too easy to echo. What if someone was following us? I swallowed. Oh no. And what about that hint of red I saw against the darkness? Could it have been an actual person and not just a creation of my imagination?

Whatever it was, I decided that it would be best to tell everyone, and so I began, having made up my mind.

“I�"�” But I was immediately interrupted by the sound of boots, echoing, clashing, clanging. But something wasn’t right. Boots doesn’t cause that much racket. Only armor does. That’s right. Armor. I realized this with a pang. My heart skipped a beat. For a moment we stood in complete silence. None of us moved, and ever so quietly we glanced at each other.

“What,” Kyo whispered, his eyes wide, “Was that?”

“An army,” I blurted, “Or a part of one. Very likely to be�"�”

“Shh!” Wen-Ling hissed at me.

Mr. Guan’s eyes flashed dangerously as he stared off behind me. “I think,” he whispered as he edged toward the nearest torch, “That you may be more right than you know.” My blood ran cold as someone laid a hand on my shoulder.

“What have we here?” It was Papa’s voice alright. I didn’t even need to turn to confirm this. I squirmed out of his grasp and scrambled to the other side of the room hurriedly, drawing a dagger from my belt.

“Mayflower, my dear. Long time no see, yes?” He spread his arms as if wanting me to go and give him a hug. Well, I wasn’t about to do that. No. When he saw that, his expression darkened.

“Now, Mayflower, I don’t want war. Just get out of my way and we can talk about this later.” I shook my head, planting my feet firmly on the ground.

“Ma!” Kyo shouted, looking awed. I followed his gaze and my jaw dropped open. Oh my heavens. It was Aiko who had led them here. Aiko! Of all the people in the world, Aiko! A large, burly thug was pinning her arms behind her back. Her hair had fallen out of its neat bun, and her face was bruised and slightly swollen.

“Kyo?” Her eyes were wide with shock, “What? I thought you were…they told me…You’re safe!”

“Of course I am, Ma,” Kyo said.

By now, I understood what my father did to make Aiko lead him here. He had threatened her, and maybe even hurt her, by the looks of her bruises. It scared me. It was like I didn’t know him any more. The Papa I knew would never have done this�"but looking at him now, staring coldly at us, his eyes glinting maliciously, I know. Things will never be the same again.

“Let my mother go,” Kyo warned threateningly. My father smirked.

“Don’t push your luck, boy. I’m only keeping her alive to lead me through. And I could kill you, you know. I just don’t want to do it in front of my daughter.” His cold black eyes flashed to me for a moment, and I shivered subconsciously, but a sudden anger welled up inside me. He was inhuman.

And then, I don’t know whether it was plain stupidity or bravery that made me so bold, but I lounged at Papa. He flung me aside and frowned at me. Chrysanthemum scrambled to help me up.

“Come now, is this any way to treat your father?”

“You murderer,” I spat.

He smirked. “If anyone of you takes one step forward, she dies. We’ve got the riddle anyway. We don’t need her.” He pointed to Aiko.

“You monster!” Kyo made the mistake of taking a step toward the group.

Aiko cried out in pain as thug holding her dragged a dagger across her throat.

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