Lasta Coop The Five Fairy Orbs Part Two

 Avalon 

They arrived in the middle of what looked like a garden of many apple trees. The grass was a healthy deep green and the apple trees were high above their heads. There were a great amount of apples on each branch to a point that they were littered with apples that had fallen because there was no more room on the branches. 

The sky was a strange golden yellow colour and the clouds were a pale yellow that looked almost white. Yet the sun was a bright scarlet.

"Where are we?" Otb asked.

"Avalon. The recorded resting place of King Arthur."

"Guess we're not here for him." Lasta commented.

"No. So come, we are in a hurry. And eat nothing here other than what we have packed." She instructed. 

She nodded. Lasta looked at the apples. She had memories of how they tasted. Yet even though she remembered that they tasted great, she could no longer trust them. No, this must be some test. Yet, she could not help but be curious about whether or not they were accurate. However, there was only one way that she knew would satisfy this curiosity. She was about to reach out until Salynara hit her.

"What did I say?"

"Sorry." She said, sullen. 

"For that you will skip lunch." She snapped.

She looked down in rage and nodded.

"Why? What's wrong with eating an apple?" Otb asked.

"All apples here are enchanted with a dangerous magic that makes anyone fall into a deep sleep that can only be broken by either a kiss of a lover or a fairy of the Seelie Court and as I destroyed that…"

"Then why did you not say?" Otb snapped. "Also you do realise that she's a child? She's probably curious about how they taste."

"That's no excuse!"

"There's no excuse for not telling us either." He snapped.

She nodded.

"Good point. Now come. We would want to move on. I want to cover as much ground as we can."

They walked at a fast and steady pace that Lasts struggled keeping up. Yet she knew that the fact that she was wearing the bracelet that Salynara had put in her was the only thing that helped her keep up.

Salynara pulled out a map and looked at it then looked around. She walked onto a narrow path and then traced it to the clearing of the forest. She looked around and then back at the map. She then took a step off the beaten path and they followed her to a group of stones.

There were four in a circle with a stone in the centre. Lasta looked at the writing on it.

"Now what?" Otb asked.

"I guess I-"

"Urm… There's writing on those stones. What do they say Lady Salynara?"

She frowned as she reached out and touched it. Suddenly she spotted the writing on the stones. She then looked at the other stones and jotted them down too.

"Well…"

She then reached out her hand and took out a knife. Lasta felt herself tense up as the fairy looked at her. She took the girl's hand and pricked the finger tip. Lasta bit into her lip to stop the pain from getting to her. 

Suddenly they all fell right down. Then they hit the ground. Everything went black. They soon woke in a dimly lit chamber. There were high colloms. With arches holding the ceiling up.

"Now what?"

"Patience!"

Salynara looked at the map and at the writing.

"What does that say?"

"Look. I am trying to think! I need to figure it out."

"What?"

"Then why don't you read it out. You never know, we might help." He suggested.

She looked at him with a frown and nodded.

"The centre roughly translates to

'I give out life,

Hear many strife,

I hold the head,

Of your dead!'

'If I could speak,

Truth is all I tell,

Many will come and seek,

And my secrets they sell!'

'Futile I would bring to all,

Barren not a soul I call,

Yet I have only,

Colloms three!'"

Lasta crouched down as she thought about the words. She knew that it was a riddle. Yet she also wanted to be the first to solve it.

"The other?"

"Oh, they are the words of earth, air, fire and water."

Lasta looked up, her eyes shone slightly. She was struck with the answer. Yet she wondered why she could not think of it earlier.

"Earth."

"What?" Salynara asked, confused.

Yet she returned to the riddle and then back at her.

"Oh!"

She smirked and patted her on her head. 

"Good thinking girl!"

She tried to hide her shy smile.

"Thank you, Lady Salynara." She said, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Now." She sang. "Time to get this one done!" 

She returned to the map as she laid it down, aligning the symbols to the stones. Then they walked down to where the earth symbol was. They walked down the corridor for a long time. Yet, despite her hunger, Lasta did not dare to complain. She knew better than to. She did not even complain when she felt her legs start to ache. She did not want to be the source of any delays or to inconvenience them as much as she could help.

They eventually came to a door. In front of them was a table. On it were three symbols. As soon as Salynara looked at it, her eyes widened. She was about to close her eyes but then something came to her.

"Otb, go to where it says Arthur."

He did.

"Girl, go to Gwenevere."

She did.

She walked to where it said Merlin. Suddenly three seats rose up. Lasta looked at Salynara for answers.

"Sit."

They did. Suddenly, they were yanked to the circle stone table. Then the floor beneath lowered and spun. Then they were beneath the floor. There was a gap where two stones flung inward. Sealing the top and them in wherever it was they were going. Lowering them in the darkness, not knowing the next time that they would see the light.