Princess Master 3, page 28
“That makes sense,” I grunted as I tried to keep the vines from encroaching on my limbs again. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a passageway through the wall that looked promising, and when I led my wives up toward the hole, I saw it was probably about three feet in diameter. “I hope all of you are ready for a little bit of a tight squeeze. I don’t think we’re going to be able to keep holding hands, but I’ll go first. Cienna, be ready to freeze time if anything bad happens.”
Swimming into a pitch-black passage was pretty intimidating, but I crossed my fingers, worked up my nerve, and made my way through the opening. I was having flashbacks to the narrow passageway we’d had to travel through on the Serpent’s Curse when we found the Hero’s Potion, and it honestly hadn’t been something I’d ever hoped to relive.
I pulled my lantern off my belt to hold in front of me and swam about six feet into the narrow passageway, and then I groaned when I realized the tunnel dropped vertically. I tried to angle my lantern into the hole, but I couldn’t see more than a few feet leading downward. It didn’t seem like there was any other way forward, though, so I squeezed myself down into the next section of the passage. I hoped the princesses would have an easier time, but being surrounded by rock in the dark gave me an intense feeling of claustrophobia.
“Are you okay, Joe?” I heard Ariana call out to me, and her voice echoed off the narrow walls of the passage.
“Hanging in there,” I called back to her. “Everyone, please be careful!”
“We are!” Cienna replied, and Jessamine echoed her words.
Hearing my wives speak eased some of the tension in my shoulders. I hated not being able to see their faces, but I knew they were skilled fighters in their own right, so I kept on pushing forward.
A few minutes later, I was relieved when the vertical tunnel veered off more gently to the right, and I didn’t have to cram myself around another narrow corner. I could feel Ariana’s head by my feet, too, which I found reassuring, and as I held my lantern out in front of me, I used my other arm to propel myself through the passage. I’d just started to get into the rhythm of my swimming when I realized the tunnel grew a few inches narrower up ahead. I told myself the only way through this was forward, and I took a couple of deep breaths even though my lungs were on fire.
Then I squeezed myself into the tighter hole, and while I didn’t want to freak out the princesses, I definitely started to scream internally.
The sensation of cold, smooth rock bearing down on me from all sides was more than intense, and just when I didn’t think I was going to be able to handle it for one more second, the passageway opened up into a tiny cube of a room that couldn’t have been more than six feet high and six feet across. The small chamber was the noisiest part of the tunnel yet, and the sounds of rocks crashing, thunder booming, and horrible animal and human noises bounced off the walls and vibrated through my body. I huddled myself up in the corner to give the princesses room to enter, and I put my lantern back on my belt and started patting down the walls for a way to escape. When I didn’t immediately find a way to release the door to the tiny room, I felt panic rising up in my chest.
“Calm down, Joe,” I said aloud, even though I could barely hear myself speak over the chaotic noises. I could also feel my heart pounding, and I really didn’t want to hyperventilate.
“We got this, Joe,” Ariana shouted as she squeezed herself into the small chamber, and I’d never been happier to see someone in my life. “There has to be a way out of here. Eudora wouldn’t just build a series of trials no one could make it through. She wants us to suffer, to be sure, but I think she wants us to reach her so we can finally have it out.”
“Good point,” I gasped, and I started to feel even better when Jessamine and Cienna finally made their way into the space that was barely a room. “So, if there’s a way out, what is it?”
I tried to focus as I started patting down the walls again. They were covered in small carvings I assumed were more glyphs, but nothing stood out to me. I wanted to see if I could find a magic spot that would swing a door open, but then one of my wives poked me in the back.
“Joe!” Cienna yelled, and she reached out for my hand. “I think I might have found something on the wall. Here, I’m going to put your hand on it so you can feel it, too.”
The blonde placed my hand on a small indentation, and I traced my finger around it.
“I see what you mean, and it does feel deeper than the other carvings,” I told my wives. We were all so cramped the light from our lanterns was only reaching strange corners of the chamber, but I tried to squint at the spot anyway.
Suddenly, I was able to identify the shape on the wall. I realized it was a heart approximately the same size and shape as the original gemstone from the amulet, and I felt fear rising in my chest. I didn’t want to open Eudora’s lines of communication or risk one of us being possessed, but we had to make it out of the tiny room to survive.
“Did you find something, Joe?” Jessamine asked in a loud voice, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw she was squished across the chamber from me on the other side of Ariana.
“I did!” I yelled over all the perpetual noise, and then I nodded. “And Jessamine, it’s something I’m going to need your help with. Unfortunately, I think we’re going to have to return the amulet to its original form.”
“Are you sure, Joe?” Cienna asked with a grimace. “We’ve been working so hard to protect it.”
“Yep, unfortunately I am,” I answered my blonde wife, and I managed to squeeze the amulet-rock out of my pocket. “This is definitely a heart-shaped spot, and there’s only one thing we have that will fit there.”
“Yes, I can do it!” Jessamine shouted. “Just hand it over, and I’ll remove all the transformations on it.”
“Cienna, why don’t you freeze time first?” I loudly suggested. “Just in case everything goes to hell immediately after we transform the amulet.”
“Yeah, that’s a good plan.” The blonde closed her eyes and focused for a moment, and then suddenly everything went silent.
For a moment, no one spoke as we all savored the lack of noise.
“That’s a lot better,” Jessamine finally sighed as she reached out for the magically disguised rock. “I wish we could keep time frozen forever, though not in this tiny little space.”
My dark-haired wife focused on the smooth stone in her hand, and when I saw it had become the red, heart-shaped amulet again, I flinched for a moment. Nothing immediately happened, though, and I worked up the nerve to try to fit the stone into the spot on the wall. My hand trembled for a second, and I wasn’t sure it was going to work, but then the amulet slid into the notch with a slight twist of my hand. I held onto the chain in the hopes that I’d be able to pull it loose again, and I took a deep, burning breath and crossed my fingers.
Then I pressed on what I believed to be the front door of the chamber, but still, nothing happened. It occurred to me that it might be because time was frozen, and although I dreaded what would happen when Cienna let her spell go, I knew we had to try.
“Cienna--” I began, but my blonde wife cut me off.
“I know what you’re going to say, Joe.” Cienna nodded. “I need to unfreeze time. I’ll do it as soon as you’re ready, and then, gods willing, we can get out of here and head forward into who knows what lurks ahead.”
“I’m ready,” I replied in a grim tone. “We need to get this over with.”
As soon as time started up again, I was incredibly relieved to hear a loud, creaking sound over the other noises in the tunnel. The door to the chamber was slowly sliding open, and, since I was the closest, I pulled the amulet back out of the wall and pushed my way out into relatively open water. My wives followed me out of the tiny space, and I breathed a gigantic sigh of relief. Then I put the amulet back into my pocket, and I kissed each one of the princesses on the cheek in turn.
But before I could say a word, a familiar voice echoed down from the ceiling.
“Hello, herooo…” Eudora’s voice hissed over the other deafening sounds in the passageway, and it seemed turning the amulet back into its original state had given the witch a means to communicate with us. “I’ve been expecting you and your little… what do you call the mermaid and the other princesses again? Wives? I won’t tell you what I think of women like that. You know I’m the one you want to be with, I could tell when I sang for you.”
“I really hate this bitch,” Cienna swore, and I understood the sentiment. “Can’t we just transform the necklace again?”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy!” the sea witch roared. “Try to perform your weak magic now, and see what happens.”
“I’m trying to transform it, but nothing’s happening,” Jessamine informed us, and there was a hint of panic in her voice.
“I’m going to freeze time again,” Cienna growled, and I was relieved when all became silent. It seemed like the blonde’s spell had shut the sea witch up, and I was definitely happy about that.
“It’s still not working,” Jessamine grunted, and I looked over to see her face was contorted into a severe frown of concentration. “I don’t want to let you all down, but I don’t know what’s wrong with my magic.”
“I wonder if it’s because we’re within Eudora’s space now,” Ariana mused, and then she rubbed my black-haired wife on the back. “Jessamine, it’s not your fault. You’ve been doing some incredible manipulations lately, and it’s obvious how strong you are. You made Joe those plugs for his ears, and you’ve managed to keep this powerful object contained for such a long time.”
“I know you’re right.” the raven-haired beauty sighed. “I just got upset for a minute, but I’m totally fine now. Well, as fine as any of us are at the moment.”
“Should we try to move further ahead while time is paused?” Cienna asked, and I thought it sounded like a good idea.
So, we swam further down the tunnel, and I saw boulders frozen in the water directly above our heads. The space seemed relatively open in front of us, though, and I wondered if it was a trap.
“You’re doing great, Cienna,” I praised my blonde wife, and I patted her on the back as we swam through the still waters. “I think the longer you can hold the time spell, the better off we’ll be.”
“Well, I don’t want to tell you bad news, but I need to let it go for a minute, and then I think I’ll be able to cast it again,” the blonde informed me, and she clenched her fists and grimaced. “Sorry, everyone.”
The thundering sounds started again, but Eudora didn’t speak for a moment. I thought maybe she’d finally shut up for a few minutes, but we didn’t get that lucky.
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” the sea witch howled, and I could tell from the tone of her voice that we’d pissed her off. “You know who else thought she was clever, Princesssss Ariana? Your mother…”
The mermaid gasped, but before she could respond to the witch’s insult, four carved slabs of stone came from seemingly out of nowhere and crashed down around us. The room they had created was about fifteen feet by fifteen feet this time, but we were nonetheless trapped again.
Suddenly, I heard a loud groaning sound from the ceiling, and when I looked up, I saw a wide, flat slab headed down toward our heads.
“Cienna!” I screamed, but the blonde princess had already frozen time.
“Don’t talk,” Cienna spoke rapidly as she held up a finger to all of us. “I need to do something, and if anyone talks, I might not be able to pull it off. Please, hold my hands.”
My wives and I held hands in a circle, and I heard the blonde take a deep breath. Then I saw her lips move, but what sounded like gibberish came out. A moment later, I became aware of the loud creaking sound again, and when I looked up, I realized Cienna had reversed time, and the ceiling was now moving up instead of down.
And then, the blonde managed to perform the most amazing trick I’d ever seen her do. Cienna had apparently reversed time far enough to where the four walls that surrounded us were now raised off the ground by about a foot and a half.
“Come on, under the walls!” I shouted. I had no idea how much time we had, so I watched as my three wives squeezed their way out through the opening Cienna created. I immediately followed, and as soon as I was out of harm’s way, the slabs came crashing down again. Then I heard a second crash that was the chamber’s ceiling hitting the floor, and I realized we’d been seconds away from certain death.
“Maybe she does want to kill us,” Ariana groaned, and I looked over at the mermaid, who had her eyebrows furrowed. “I assumed she wanted us to make it all the way to her chambers, but maybe that was too optimistic.”
“I actually think it’s because she sees how strong we are,” Jessamine said in a low voice. “She sees we can freeze time, and she knows we had the amulet bound for so long. I’m not sure she wants to meet us in a final battle.”
“Yeah, plus she already had a chance to talk shit about us and your mom, Ariana,” I pointed out. “Maybe she said what she needed to say already, and now she just wants to end us. In any case, I think we need to tread lightly from now on.”
“I can hear you, you know,” Eudora’s voice echoed throughout the tunnel, and I found myself rolling my eyes. “Let’s see how you like another earthquake!”
Suddenly, the entire passageway began to rumble, and the earthquake seemed significantly stronger than any of the previous ones. Then I heard a noise from above again, and I saw a giant boulder was about to land directly on top of us. I wasn’t surprised when Cienna froze time when the rock was just about three feet above our heads, but I saw the blonde princess looked pale and was out of breath.
“Hurry!” Cienna gasped. “Do something else! I need a couple minutes to recover.”
“My shield is up around us,” Ariana informed us. “Jessamine, maybe you should put on the second layer for extra protection.”
“Good idea,” I replied. “This time, don’t do the glass, do the hardest stone you can think of.”
“Okay.” My dark-haired wife nodded, and before I knew it, the light from the lanterns showed that we were completely enclosed inside a small, spherical fortress.
“Can I let go now?” Cienna panted. “I just… need…”
“Yes, you’re good,” I assured her with a smile. “Thanks for doing everything you’ve already done today.”
When time came back into motion, however, the boulder from the ceiling dropped onto Ariana and Jessamine’s bubble almost immediately. I heard the terrifying sound of the stone that surrounded us cracking, and the piece immediately above our heads splintered off. Then the boulder came down, and I could see it push down on the top of Ariana’s magic shield, and for one awful moment, it was headed directly at my face. The rock stopped about six inches away from me before it bounced off the bubble, though, and I found myself gasping for breath.
“Holy shit, Joe,” Cienna panted with wide eyes. “I didn’t know what was going to happen there.”
“Me, either,” I admitted. “It just shows how strong your barrier is, Ariana. Maybe it’s even stronger than before, because it didn’t shake at all the way it did when the stingrays were attacking it.”
“Thanks, Joe,” the mermaid said, and I could tell she was blushing even in the pale glow. “I’ve been thinking about ways to improve it since our battle with the stingrays, and, though it’s hard to explain, I’ve been casting the spell just a little differently.”
“Well, whatever you did, good work,” I informed her with a pat on her back. “Jessamine, your shield probably absorbed some of the boulder’s impact as well.”
“I hope so,” the dark-haired princess sighed. “I wish the rocks had worked a little better. I made the shell out of granite, but next time I’m probably going to use metal.”
“Do you think Eudora can hear us when we’re in here?” I asked my wives as I looked around at our bubble shield. “I haven’t heard her talk trash in a few minutes.”
“It’s nice not to have to listen to her,” Ariana admitted. “I don’t really appreciate her implications about princesses, not to mention what she’s said about my mother. I’m readier than ever to see her ugly face again and truly begin the battle.”
“Well, then let’s move forward,” I suggested. “Do you think we could stay in the bubble to swim? If Callie and the seahorses could do it, why not us?”
“Yes, I think we could, Joe.” Ariana nodded. “That’s a great idea. Although I originally designed my shield in a spherical shape, I can also fit it more closely to our bodies now. It’s one of the improvements I’ve been considering lately. So, yes, I think we should try to go.”
“Thanks for keeping us safe, Ariana,” Cienna said as she reached out to squeeze her sister-wife’s hand. “I appreciate you stepping in when I had to take a break.”
“We all work together,” I told my wives, because I always loved to see them supporting each other. “I know sometimes I’m just the idea man, but I can’t wait until I get a clear shot at Eudora to blast her with the heat from Genie’s Wrath.”
“Me, neither,” Jessamine confirmed, and then we began to swim closer and closer to the end of the tunnel while enclosed within Ariana’s barrier.
I thought the end of the passage had to be close now, because it seemed like we’d already gone through so many of Eudora’s trials. The tunnel itself was getting narrower and narrower, and it had gone from a width of about twenty feet to a width of about ten feet in around five minutes of swimming forward.
Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any more boulders about to fall from the ceiling, but I started to see strange glints of metal in the ground. At first, they just looked like specks, but the further we swam, they appeared more and more like little points.
“What do you think we’re looking at, Joe?” Jessamine asked as she pointed at the shiny little spikes.
“I’m not entirely sure,” I replied, but then I saw something else embedded into the rock. It looked like the silver hilt of a sword, and I gasped when I realized the points sticking out of the ground were actually the tips of weapons.
