Chapter 19

A Chapter by Rose of Gondor

this is now officially editted. :DDDDD Chapter 20 is coming!

What type of choice is this? It was a matter of life and death! Was Mr. Guan trying to kill us? I looked down at the ledge. Mr. Guan shrugged, “I told you. There are a few tests along the way. If you cannot pass them…You will not pass. I cannot help it. Only those who are truly worthy will pass this test. I will lead the way when you get across.” He turned and looked away, suddenly vanishing into the darkness, or perhaps he was only concealing himself, but he disappeared anyway.

We stared at each other for a moment.

“Well, what do we do?” Chrysanthemum said, breaking the silence as she ran her fingers through her hair, “We have to get across…but…the paths…” she trailed off. I was sure we were thinking of the same thing: how we could get across without getting ourselves killed.

Time was trickling away, and we didn’t have much left. We had to hurry. “You go on that one and I’ll go on this one,” I told her, preparing for the worst, “I’ll catch you if the bridge crumbles. It’s the best we can do.” She nodded, understanding the need for haste. “And I’ll catch you if your bridge crumbles. Come on, let’s go.”

And so we stepped on to the bridge carefully, our hearts hammering in our chests. We were both one step on. The bridge didn’t do anything. “Steady,” she said, “We have to time our steps precisely or we might not be able to catch each other if needed to.”

“On three, we take another step,” she said, “One, two, three!” I took a step forward. The bridge was really narrow, and I was fighting to keep my balance and keep from falling over.

There was still no movement from either bridge. Chrysanthemum looked puzzled, and I shrugged at her. It’s better if the bridges didn’t crumble at all, but, even though it made no sign to, we were both still on our guard.

“One, two, three!” she shouted and we took another step. That was when it happened, and it happened all in almost a split-second, not enough time for me to even cry out.

The stone under Chrysanthemum’s feet cracked and collapsed, and she fell, faster than the blink of an eye. With a wild yell, I leaped from my bridge without thinking and grabbed Chrysanthemum’s hand. We were free falling, I having leapt from the safety of the bridge completely without even holding on.

There was terror in Chrysanthemum’s eyes, and I knew very well that if I had looked into mine own, I would find terror there as well. There was nothing else to do but scream. And so we did as we watched the bridge grow smaller and smaller and smaller. It was like we had been falling for hours instead of just minutes.

And then suddenly there was something beneath our feet. Something warm and yet cold at the same time, wonderfully light and yet sort of condensed, like fog. I wrinkled my nose with confusion. It was something strange no doubt, but what? And why was it beneath our feet?

The fog, or whatever it is, was beginning to lift us, slowly helping us rise higher and higher. We were shooting upwards almost as fast as we had when we were shooting downwards, and up, up, up we went! I never knew how glorious it would be to look upon land again, but it was wonderful as the air materialized into a passage of glowing, silvery air. It was nothing short of a miracle.

Already it was beneath my feet. I glanced at Chrysanthemum. She nodded, and I took a step forward. The airs beneath me was solid, and strong, almost like stone or even earth. I whispered a silent thanks to the Lady of Air above and hurriedly ran over to the other side.

“Mr. Guan!” Chrysanthemum shouted as her foot too, passed over and she stepped onto land safely, “We’ve passed your test!”

Just then, the passageway of air erupted, exploding in silver sparks, showering us with its light breeze, and Mr. Guan walked out, laughing, amused.

“So, you have passed this test…with the help of none other than the air goddess herself, you would think. But it is only your own courage and the value you put in your friends that saved you,” his eyes gleamed when he turned to look at me, “Both bridges were going to crack sooner or later, and Chrysanthemum’s cracked sooner. If you had not leaped to save her, both of you would, indeed, have plummeted to nothingness.” He turned while we gaped at him, and continued on in the darkness ahead.

“Come along,” he said, “it isn’t far now.” And I guessed it wasn’t, for already, I could see a dim light on the walls of the stone passageway, and the shadows danced on the floor, flickering as the light grew dim and bright and dim again.

And so we followed him. We were not far at all. Not far at all from the pearl, but also not far at all from danger.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Amber flames licked at either side of the path as the passageway narrowed into a single, wide bridge. I put my foot out and tapped the bridge with it. It didn’t crack or crumble. I grinned back at Chrysanthemum and took a step. “I think it’s safe,” I said.

We made our way down the bridge hurriedly. I wondered if my father had passed the test. Not likely, I decided as I looked ahead.

The end of the bridge was now visible. There were a few steps leading up to a dusty altar, and a few inches up above the altar, gray, palm-sized ball was floating. The there was a circlet of light around the pearl, for that’s what I thought it was, and it seemed misty and mythical.

And then my breath caught in my throat as a menacing shadow fell of the altar.

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