Afternoon was still strong by the time we got far enough into Fernwood Forest. I had no idea where we’d find a mushroom circle, which were supposedly the best portals, but there were notes on how to make a portal.
We split up to hunt around for stones, since they had to be pretty specific. I’d found three and was looking for a fourth when I heard Natasha shriek. Knowing that any supernatural creature could have run into her, I stopped what I was doing and sprinted in her direction. There was a heavy thud and a grunt followed by another shriek. Up ahead I saw Natasha’s cloud of black curls vanish near the ground.
I came up to the spot and found a hole at the base of a tree, right between the roots. “Natasha?” I called. I heard something from below, but not any words. Concerned my best friend had fallen into the den of a werewolf or something, I quickly swung my legs in and pushed myself down.
I slid down a dusty chute and fell out the bottom, landing with a thump on the hard ground. “Ow,” I muttered, getting to my feet and trying to see something in the dark.
“Avalon?” came Natasha’s shaking voice.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I said, extending a hand. “Hang on a moment, let me find you.” As I fumbled around trying to find my friend strange pinpricks of light, like stars, began to glow, slowly but steadily illuminating things. Whimpering a little, Natasha grabbed my sleeve and held on tightly.
“It’s okay,” I told her, going over to inspect where we’d fallen. I could barely make out the sky above. I thought maybe I could climb up, but Natasha would never manage. I wasn’t even that confident on my own chances.
Sighing, I looked around and saw that there was a tunnel leading from the underground root chamber we were in. “Come on,” I said. “This probably goes somewhere. And if it doesn’t, we come back and someone will get us out.”
Together we went down the narrow tunnel lit by those strange lights. Cobwebs draped our path, tickly and gross. At least I wasn’t afraid of spiders. Then this would’ve been a nightmare.
The tunnel twisted and turned, going on for a long time. At some point I realized I could hear some sort of shuddering moan that wasn’t coming from any noticeable source. Natasha was practically shaking. My heart pounded but I refused to let fear get the best of me. After all, I was needed.
We kept walking, the tunnel getting creepier and creepier as we went. My breathing was starting to get uneven. I wanted out. And I wanted that sound to stop. I wanted this to be over. I wanted –
Abruptly we came to a door. I could dimly make out some sort of face carved into the wood as I reached out to push it. “Wait,” said a creaky voice, making me jump.
Natasha let out a squeak. “It’s talking. The door is talking.”
I squinted and saw the strange face contort to give us a scowl. “Yes, I’m talking. And before you proceed you must answer a question.”
“If we get it wrong, do we die?” I asked. Natasha glared at me, which wasn’t that effective since she was terrified. “What? I just want to be clear on the rules. It’s usually ‘you die’ but maybe we can walk away. Or get turned into daisies or something.”
“You’re making me feel more uncomfortable,” she accused.
“Quiet,” the door said. “Nothing will happen if you cannot guess right, but you must guess right to leave this place. Are you ready?”
Natasha shook her head but I nodded. “We’re ready. What’s your question?”
“The question is this: the dark and night are twin and one, but which is it that all men fear?”
Natasha and I exchanged a glance. “I think it’s the night,” she whispered. “I mean, it gets dark at night and I can’t think of one person who wasn’t scared at some point as a kid . . .”
I thought for a second. “No wait – something about this sounds familiar. Sure, it gets dark at night, but there are stars and stuff so it’s not really dark . . . not like how this place was when we fell in . . . oh. I get it. This whole thing is some sort of test.” I turned to the door. “The answer is the dark, because in the dark everything becomes the unknown.”
“Correct,” the door announced before swinging out.
I pushed it open the rest of the way and ducked through. “Your logic is confusing,” Natasha hissed as she followed. I barely heard it, stopping dead and staring at where we were.
A brightly lit meadow ringed by far off trees spread out before us. The grass was short but dotted with wildflowers, bugs flitting between them. No – not bugs. Fairies. Tiny, flying people hardly taller than the length of my hand. I glanced behind us. Any sign of the underground passage was gone.
Swallowing I drew myself up. “Well, let’s get this over with.” I began to walk forward, taking care to not step on flowers and tick off the fairies.
I was about halfway across the meadow before I realized Natasha wasn’t with me. I whirled around and saw her walking off in a different direction, talking happily with some fairies that flittered around her.
My heart thudded and I made a start to sprint to her side. “Your friend is safe,” said a high voice, making me jump.
I looked wildly about before focusing on a fairy with pale skin and clothing made of pink flower petals. For a moment I just stared at her before remembering why I’d come. “Um – look, I’m not sure if – who’s in charge here? I want to see them.”
“They’re waiting for you,” she said. “Follow me.” She flew around and I cautiously followed her.
“Maybe I should’ve dragged Nick with us,” I said to myself, an uneasy feeling about all this in my stomach.
“The nokken would not have been allowed in our realm,” the fairy said. That just made me feel worse. My gut churning, I walked after the fairy.
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