6

Over a bridge made of rock which was covered in honeysuckle and through a trail Cynthia swore she had seen at least once in her life, they came upon the guardian in his full glory. She had envisioned something like the tall, twisted tree lady she had encountered when she was a child. Instead, before her, on his throne of moss and rocks, sat the guardian of all streams. A large snapping turtle the length of her forearm rested there, his mouth agape and his tongue wriggling with what seemed to be a mass of worms. He stared up at her, his eyes knowing. With a flick of his jaw, his mouth closed; and he crawled off the rock to find something better to do than to grace either of them with his presence.

"Oh there now, you're a temperamental fella today, ain't cha?" Henry chided, chasing after him and picking him up from the sides so he wouldn't be bitten. "Why don't ya at least introduce yourself, eh?" he asked, plopping the turtle back down on the throne. "Come now, she was your prince's guest at one point, now!"

The turtle snapped at Henry's fingers after he had been put down, a small 'harumph' came from it before he turned his gaze towards Cynthia. "She was a guest once, yes. However, she is also the reason our prince has disappeared for so long. She is the reason why the new spider queen is so temperamental. She is many reasons why we will not associate with her." The guardian shook his head. "But earth child, you are protected by the prince's steed. We are sure he had a reason as to why he left you with that spirit."

"Wait, wait, what? He left you his ride? What in the world did you do, to impress him that much?"

Cynthia pulled the wavellite crystal from her pocket and stared at it. "I don't know. He just told me that when the time came, he was sure Luce would wake up and lead me to him, like he did the first time," she said, holding the stone up to the silvery light.

This time, she was sure she saw the tiny, frail figure sleeping within. This time, she was positive there was hope, that she was doing something right. There was going to be a time when she got to see that childhood friend that protected her. Now wasn't right, but one day, she was sure it would be.

"Hmm, yes, earth child, our prince did see something in you. What it is, we cannot tell you. However, whatever it is, the spider queen is looking for it in you and I am sure, she will stop at nothing until she can get it. She is angry that you had killed a mother and she wishes to seek revenge. Her children are everywhere already, if you haven't noticed, earth child. We can only warn you of this much. There is no more that we may disclose to you."

"But what about Tate? I wasn't the one who killed her, he did! He was the one who set her on fire and everything!"

"The queen knows better than to put the blame on the prince. Yet, blame still needs to be put somewhere." The guardian yawned and twisted his neck as if to crack a stiff joint there. "It is much easier to place the burden of blame on a small, insignificant earth child, like you than the grand prince of the forests here, see? You, earth child, may not have killed the mother; however, it was your actions that brought her death upon her. That is enough for the queen to place her blame on you."

"But it wasn't my fault, it wasn't my fault."

"It matters not whom the fault falls upon. What matters to the new queen is that she receives a death, for a death. She has searched long and hard for you child and we are sure she has slain many who look like you in the name of revenge when she first saw you."

"Well, that sure is an interesting turn of events. I'm guessing one of her little children found you earlier today. That does explain the spider, doesn't it," Henry murmured. "So, what do you suggest we do?"

"We do not have that answer. Perhaps by reasoning with the queen yourself, you will find some answers. We do not know where she dwells. Many of the portals to her world are shrouded to us. You must find those places on your own. The city is not what we remember it to be. It has grown, as you have, and you must search for those places with your own abilities, earth child."

"Well, that sounds like fun, count me in!" Henry grinned. "Nothing like the threat of death by a giant spider queen to get you excited, huh?"

"Henry, shouldn't you be a little worried about this, even a little bit?" Cynthia was quite taken aback by how easily he was willing to take part in something that didn't have anything to do with him at all. "I mean, this is a giant spider we're talking about!"

"And you forget, I like spiders! Someone's gonna have to like them, you know," he teased, "and anyways, it sounds like fun."

"Fun," she repeated. "Searching out a spider queen who's gone on a killing spree in Roanoke is hardly what I'd call fun."

"But who else will do it? Better yet, who else will believe you?"

She opened her mouth to come up with some form of reply; however, her mind drew a blank as she knew he was right. There was no one else who would believe her insane story. The police who were on that case would probably send her to the closest asylum they knew about. She sighed in resignation, "Alright, where do we start?"

"Happy's!" Henry cried in glee, "You can find everything there! Why not a portal?"

"Whatever you say, lead the way," she said.

"Be careful, earth children. The quest you embark on will be difficult, but you may have our blessing should you return safely," the guardian said before yawning again and slipping into the water and swimming off.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Henry asked, grinning. "The day's still young, let's get started! No time like now!"

"Right, let's go!" she agreed. For the first time in a long time, she felt as though she was embarking on what could be called a true adventure.

~~~

Of course Happy's was crowded with people from all walks of life on a Saturday afternoon. The two of them had a hard time finding parking after leaving the other side. The weather had taken a turn for unseasonably warm, and people were taking that lucky turn to their advantage. Weekends were the best times to visit anyways.

"I haven't been here in so long." She breathed, taking in the scent of leather and antiques as soon as they walked in. It smelled somewhat like old books and rust.

"I don't think I've actually ever been here before," Henry admitted with a nervous laugh. "Always wanted to come though. Good thing we're here, huh?"

"Wait, you've never been here before yet you suggested that we come here looking for something that possibly might not even exist?"

"Tehee, well, you win some, you lose some," he laughed with a shrug. "It's still a good place to start you know."

"True," Cynthia admitted and walked around some of the quieter shops settled in the back. They were less frequented, yes; however, she felt as though they were more likely to find something pertaining to the spider queen in the cluttered spaces towards the back than they were if they wandered the more well visited shops near the center of the market.

Sheets of plywood and floor to ceiling metal screens created the pathways around in the back. The sound of hustling people dimmed down as they went further and further in. Every now and then, there would be a trinket she found that fascinated her more than their quest; in particular, one little cubicle which consisted of nothing but antique glass bottles of all colors. Cynthia stood at the locked door, looking at them, counting them all and wondering about their age.

"You collect them?" Henry asked after she had stood there murmuring about the bottles for a few minutes.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, mom always liked the dark blue ones so sometimes if I find some really pretty ones when I visit here I'll get them for her," Cynthia explained. "I've never seen such a big collection here though, but I guess I also haven't been here in a long time, so it's natural."

"Tehee, wow, you really can find everything ever here, huh?" he asked, going up to the screen and looking in as well. "Wow, those dolls in the corner there look like they're ancient! Their clothes are totally the color of the dirt spectrum!"

"That wasn't very nice, young man," the voice of an old lady came from behind them, startling them both. "Those dolls could be the exact thing someone is looking for. You never know, the fact that they show age also shows their character."

"I didn't mean to offend!" Henry said, holding his hands up in surrender. "It's my first time here and I really haven't seen anything like this before!"

"No offense taken," the lady said smiling at the two of them. "Is there anything in there that you would like to take a closer look at?" she asked. Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, exaggerating every wrinkle on her face. She wore a knitted black turtleneck and had a large ring on her left hand which matched the stones on the large necklace around her neck. Her salt and pepper hair was done up into a messy bun on the top of her head. She knew how old she was, and she wore her age with pride.

"I, oh no, we were just browsing around and looking at your bottles. My mother collects them, you see," Cynthia explained, “I didn't even notice those dolls until my friend here pointed them out."

"I see, I have some other ones in my main shop if you'd like to take a closer look at them," the lady suggested, leading them across the hallway to where she had more goods on display. "They'll be right over there on that shelf there yonder," she explained, pointing to the floor to ceiling shelf of bottles and various other trinkets made of porcelain and glass.

"Thank you!" Cynthia exclaimed, her eyes glinting in glee at the selection before her. She hadn't come in meaning to buy anything; however, the rich colors of the antiquated glass drew her in while Henry looked around the cramped space with a rather bored expression on his face.

"I'm guessing you have no interest in those, young man?" the shop keeper asked. "What do you collect?"

"Oh me?" Henry asked, pointing at himself and laughing a bit. "Oh, I just collect the usual things, y'know? Crows feathers, birds' nests and the like. I also collect books on woodland creatures, nothing special."

"Are you interested in mythology?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the last item he listed. "I have some lovely books on Roman and Greek gods and heroes," she suggested.

"You mean like the Greek gods and such? Not, really my thing," he admitted, "I'm more interested in kelpies and manticores and the like." Henry shrugged. "There's just something so cool about creatures trying to kill you supernaturally all the time, don't ya think?"

"I suppose so..." She was clearly unnerved a bit with Henry's rather strong fascination with such macabre creatures. "Well, young lady, did you find anything that caught your fancy?" she asked, turning to Cynthia who had been rather quiet during their exchange.

"Hm? N-no, I think I'm quite alright, thanks. You've got some lovely pieces though. I'll have to bring my mother back here and show her around," she said, making her way out of the store. "Thank you for showing us around though!"

"Oh, not a problem, any time," she said, smiling at the two. "If you're interested, the man down in the corner has some things that might catch your fancy."

"Thank you again! We'll look into it," Cynthia said, grinning in return and shoving her hands into her pocket.

Cynthia wasn't exactly eager to leave the store; however, she could sense how bored Henry was with the place and quickly went back to their search. It was then when she noticed how warm the stone in her pocket had gotten. She pulled it out and examined it, surprised that instead of having the heat dissipate quickly, it intensified; and the center started glowing, faintly.

"Whoa... Does it usually do that?" Henry asked, wide eyed. From his tone, he was already getting quite excited at what this could mean for them.

"No... this is the first time it's done anything like this," she admitted. Cynthia took a look around and made sure that no one was around to see what was going on. "What do you think it means?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm just favored by the Lady of birds, not the prince," Henry said, holding his hands up in innocence. "I don't know everything, y'know."

"Well, you obviously know more than me," Cynthia shot back before holding the ball of Wavellite in her hand. She noticed the light within seemed to shift towards one direction. "I think... it knows which way we're supposed to go." She breathed and took a step in the direction the stone indicated. It began to glow a bit brighter, and she smiled. "It's telling us where we should go."

"Well, that's a start! Let's go!" Henry said excitedly and urged her to keep going.

She nodded and picked up her pace, staring at the stone and putting all her trust into Luce. They passed several vendors and then walked straight down the center of the whole complex before weaving in and out of several other little cramped shops. Several times they had bumped into other people while they tried to follow the directions they were given.

"Hey there! Slow down, eh?" a vendor asked behind his glass counter displaying various necklaces and rings. "The day isn't going anywhere fast, where are you heading in such a hurry?"

"Sorry! We're on an important mission to save the world right now!" Henry replied, saluting at the vendor. "We'll come back and report back to you on how that goes!"

"Alright! I'll be waiting for you two!" he called out after them as Henry hurried to catch up with Cynthia who was already half way across the complex once again.

"Jesus, what in the world does he think he's doing? I mean, I get it, paths to the other side are a little on the more complicated side, but I've never seen anything like this," he whined, "It's like we've walked through this whole place at least five times at this rate.”

"Shh! Do you hear that?" she asked suddenly, halting in front of a locked storage space. Cynthia pocketed Luce and calmed her breathing to make sure she wasn't going insane, and she indeed had heard something out of the ordinary.

"Hear what?" Henry asked, looking around as if he could actually see the sound rather than hear it.

"Falling... pebbles? Or stones? Maybe glass," she said, once she heard it again. This time, she was certain she wasn't imagining it.

"I don't hear--- Wait, there it is!" Henry breathed. "By the gods, your little friend here really did find us something in the end!" he said with a grin.

"You didn't have faith in him?" she asked with a smirk.

"I never said that now did I?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest. "I just got tired of walking around the same place over and over again. Do you know how many times I've had to apologize to shop keepers and shoppers we've bumped into?"

"I don't know, and really, I don't care right now," Cynthia replied bluntly, looking for where the source of the noise could be coming from.

Upon closer inspection of one of the blocked off spaces, she noticed the faint outline of a hidden door. Cynthia crouched down towards it and placed her ear to it. The stone in her pocket glowed bright enough to be glimmering through her pants. Quieting her breathing, she listened closely to the little door; and indeed, the rhythmic sound of what seemed to be small pebbles falling was behind the sheet of wood.

"It's right here," she said, lifting the door and staring straight at pure darkness where it shouldn't be. The abyss was just big enough for them to slip through, feet first. She gulped and took a deep breath. From within, the scent of mildew, stagnant water and rotting wood wafted up and hit them straight in the face.

"You sure that leads to the other side and not to the sewage plant?" Henry asked, his brow knitted with the slightest hint of worry.

"Well, we won't know until we find out, right?" she asked, holding her free hand up towards him. "We in this together, or what?"

"What's the fun in life if there isn't the threat of death, huh?" he said, taking her hand and holding onto it tightly. "On three?"

"On three," she said, trying to still her rapidly beating heart and slowly counting. "One.... Two... three." On the third count, she plunged, feet first into the darkness before her.