18: Material Greed

"So? What's the plan?" he assists me on standing up. I think I can still support myself.

"We'll run straight from here. I'll impinge myself through those walls to pass," he then gave me a plain mask. "Use it to protect your face," and now he's concern with my face too. I pull the rubber tied on the edge to wear the mask. This mask doesn't have holes for the eyes, for the total of not seeing anything. He held my hand and run. I'm nervous if I stumble once I step on a rock.

I can hear the crashing of the walls. And some rock fragments falling to the head and to my mask too. He's like a wrecking ball smashing the queued walls. This is easier than searching for the way out, and at the same time, perilous. At the end, I hold my knees while chasing my breath again. I took off the mask first.

In front of us is a room full of antic things. And another door onward, maybe for another annoying game or the real end. As we open the door, we saw another collections of antic stuffs on every corner. There are guards wearing golden breech clothe with their khopesh attached with their hands.

There are also maid-servants wearing white cotton long clothe, some of them are holding some grapes and sun shade as fan for the queen sitting on the throne in front of us. I think she's wearing every fine accessories and antic around her body. And just simply looking at her thick crown and hair beads, I guess if I wear those my neck would break.

We stood in the middle of the hall with them, knights are pointing the edges of their swords to us.

"Good grief on reaching this far," the Queen said. She looks so arrogant and prideful. Just looking at her made me hate her. "What brings you here?"

"We came here for that cane." Haris pointed his arm to the west. I beheld his cane hanging on the handle of an antic tall vase. He opened his palm and his cane was pulled to him, I feel relief when he got a hold on his cane finally.

"I see. You're here to steal my collection!" the knight tightened their guard on us.

"Excuse me! The owner of that cane is him!" I exclaimed.

"I was the one who found it and certified that it belongs to me now."

"He lost his cane on the desert because the sand storm that maybe you made!"

"And now you're blaming me... how piteous day..."

"Ugh!! You—!"

"I'll let you two live, including that dragon if you gave me that cane."

"I'm done with your nuisance games—!" I complain. He stamped his cane intensely that blew his surroundings away but I still manage to stand firmly.

"I conclude this debate that this cane is mine," he said with a demonic glare. Yet she laugh at him

"You won't get away with this! Specially from me...!" Maruwie did fire them all and lift us up, she destroyed the ceiling so we could escape from them. And on the very top is back to the sea of sands. Maruwie keep on flying away from this desert, I hope we can travel faster. He hid his cane under his sleeve.

"That witch is crazy! If only I could knee her stomach, break her skull and slice her legs...! She's the most annoying person— Haris, do you know her?!"

"No. This is my first time in this land."

"Haaa... I see, you're only a novice traveler after all."

Now at last we can leave this place. And because that stupid game made me tired I fell asleep, expecting that I'll woke up with sunlight passing through the leaves of the trees. But no. I woke up with these sands again until it took us until night. And also in the morning.

"Haris! I thought we only need one day and one night to leave this sea of sands if we walk, but we're riding on Maruwie this time!"

"You really like that term huh."

"What?"

"That sea of sands..." I heard Maruwie's bass laugh. I even saw Haris' smile again.

"Hey I'm serious here—!"

"Here goes the rock again," he said. Onward is the tall flat head rock we used to sleep last night. Did we just round the whole desert?! I can hear small sound of shaking ground.

"No way..." I look behind and there goes the sand storm again.

"Fate is so playful." When he said it, I look in front and another sand storm too. We stop beside the tall rock.

"Is this another season of her game?!" and come to think of it, she warned us that we cannot escape from her. Is this what she meant? Repeating everything itself? He stabbed the rock with a small knife to serve as a mark.

(Queen Amber)

All is well inside the kingdom. For the past 3 days, the storage house almost filled the half, the number of medical students is increasing also the farmers and the plants. I need some break from training because of my condition. I just always read some books, eat and sleep.

Naomi still want me to have an exercise for myself to better manage the baby too. Key came to report to me the kingdom's situation, and also, I have visitors. It's my parents.

I talk with them at the living room. Maids are serving them teas and fruits. And they came here to know my status. They were happier than delighted when I said I'm pregnant. And at the same time, worried.

"So Xavier is missing even your daughter, and now you're pregnant," mother said.

"Don't worry about me, I'm safe here."

"Then just let us manage this war. I'll inform the Golemn Kingdom about Xavier, I'm sure they'll make their move."

That is the kingdom where the first tragedy happened, also where Xavier's parents reign.

I wasn't really planning on informing them but I guess they have the right to know too.

"There is one way we could end this conflict," I said. They pay me their attention closely, "We must be one. Every kingdom must fight as one."

"There was a certain problem about that, not all of the rulers are interested. One of them is the Ethiopians. Which is now reported as a dead kingdom," my father explained.

"We better suggest this plan with Corrihor. Sealing our whole nation is perfect for this tactic," he added. Until our conversation is out of the issue. They ask me about my kingdom, gave me some tips from pregnancy, talking about past and comparing the present, and laugh together again.

I can really find peace with my family. But this is temporary. Before they leave, my father run both of his pointing fingers around my neck from my nape to throat and instantly made a silver floral choker necklace with a pendant. My father secretly inherited a gift of a mage.

My mother stock some of her healing power inside the pendant.

"You need it the most," she said gently. I hug them both for gratitude and left to face mayhem again.

(Princess Ashti)

"It's been 3 days! 3 days!! And we're still stuck here on the sea of sands!!"

"You know, speaking too much may add the surrounding's temperature. So you better—"

"Can't we just do something about this?! I'm tired of exposing my skin to the sun!"

"Well the sun is tired shinning with a loquacious being."

"As if the sun gets tired. It's shinning everyday you know?! And don't try to change the topic here! We have to do something about this curse!"

"Actually, we always have the same topic everyday since we got here."

"It's because we still haven't solved it!"

"I'm better off talking with a parrot than with you."

"Oh really?! Then talk with a parrot your whole life!" He's starting to tease me again. And I was shock when a parrot screams on my left ear. I scream too. It was a just glove puppet saying 'Idiot... Idiot...' at me. And also that was Haris' doing.

"Will you stop it?!" I slap his hand and roll my eyes.

"Okay there's the rock again."

"Okay, for the 4th time..." I murmur. "Of course, there goes the sand storm behind and onward..." I said out of nervous this time and for the 4th time too.

"We better change everything now." He sticks his palm on Maruwie and ask me to hold at him. I just grab his shoulder.

"You sure about that?" He asks.

"So where do you want me to hold?!"

"As long as you feel safe, we'll fly until we reach the sky and dive down to crash the ground just like you did before."

"I can just simply stamp my feet again—" I'm not done talking when Maruwie fly up with a tremendous speed. I lost my hold and have no choice but to grab on our chain. I can still touch Maruwie until we reach the sky.

We stay here for a minute to wait for the sand storm collide.

"I should have imagined before that that's how your plan look like..." I'm still shaking from that ride.

"I hope you learned from that," he said. "You know the next plan, right?"

"Abort the plan!" As expected he didn't listen to me. And now we're going down, just like falling from a tall building.

"I said abort the plan!!" I hold at him with my arms from behind. I think I'm gripping his stomach yet I even heard him laughing. Is he considering this a joke?! I'd better punch him later. This is like falling to an endless cliff. When almost there below, Maruwie prepared her horns and bash the sand ground by it.

Inevitably, I close my eyes to hinder the dirt. Fortunately, Maruwie land us gentle and safe. We're here at the bottom of a pit, or the place where we fell before. The underground full of games.

"Wait, why are we here again?!"

"First of all, you can let go of me." I push him a little when I did. A body response of annoyance. He made me hold him and still laughs.

"We need to meet that witch again," he answered.

"Are you serious?! So we have to pass all those games again?!" so we did. Same things happened. Just like repeating the first time we came here. A mummy grabbed my leg again, we scare them with fire and enter the next hallway. We run until the very end, then smash the wall. I still remember the firm path for the next game. Haris made crystal balls again and I throw those with Maruwie again. The next half made me nervous.

Am I going to catch an arrow again? I'm surprised when Haris held my hand, that was supposed to be for the next game. He turned the pendant and we run. Why didn't I even think about this?! We run for a long minute until we reach the end again where the Queen sits. He turned the pendant again, we, here standing in the middle of them. More like, we suddenly appeared like a ghost.

Same things play, guard's swords are glaring with us.

"Good grief on reaching this far. What brings you here?" same words too.

"Why you—!"

"I'm sorry, we're lost in the desert and unable to search for the exit. Can you help us with that?" Haris said politely. I feel embarrassed for speaking rude.

"Mmm, I see. Well I'll let you leave these isolated sands if you satisfy my interest."

"What?" I utter and raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"I mean, give me something as an offer and I'll give the offer you needed," she's pissing me again!

"What the—!"

"How about this...?" he stripped off his right boot and lift it upside down. The boot spew golden coins and continually falling to the ground like falls. The Queen even the servants was caught with their material greed. The heap of golds reaches my knees. Then he wears the boot again. This Queen raised her hand that the servants may leave us.

"Tell me, where do you got this?" she asks while touching and caress her thumb on it. Her eyes are shinning, a sign of being marveled.

"Under the sea," he answered.

"Hmm, this is remarkable! Unbelievable! Extraordinary! I'll thank the goddess for meeting our life's path." Her voice was softened when she complimented us. These golds are her very first gold collection.

"Therefore, as talked about, you may leave this desert."

She points us a direction to the right. We saw a cave we haven't seen before when we came here. She's smiling at us as we go there, I fake my smile. Once we step on the cave, everything, the Queen, servants and collections are gone. We're totally here inside the cave. The exit is not that far from here so I run with excitement.

Outside where the mother birds sing, soft grasses and giant trees again. This is better than sea of sands. Maruwie is delighted too.

"At last!! Fresh air! We're free!!" I shout.