The Crown's Entrapment

With each breath that she took, Xenia felt like she was about to be sick with just how much the air around reeked of sulfur. Honestly, the constant smell of rotten eggs would’ve made her gag if it weren’t for that one time Osman chucked her into that small hotbox shack with Darius during her training. Even if there was literal lava bubbling beneath her, it was practically nothing to her when compared to the hell she experienced back in that mountain shack.

“Thank the Almighty for small miracles, I suppose,” she chuckled to herself as she landed on yet another nearby tower. “Also, is it just me, or is this easier than it looked?”

True enough, after the first few towers, Xenia found herself falling into a rhythm of jumping from one tower to another just as they passed by her. Like a series of pulleys, all she needed to do was to use her eyes and check for the ones that were about to rise up to meet her midway. From there, she’d jump from tower to tower, riding them all the way back up to that small hole up above her.

Almost chuckling to herself, Xenia did her best not to look too confident, lest Saha might just throw her a fast one and make her life more difficult than it should be.

‘Osman did say that the Basilisk was more lenient with his trial among the guardians,’ Xenia inwardly thought out. ‘All except for the Fairy, at least.’

Still, the more she climbed, the more the ease of the trial became ever more apparent. The further she got up, the less the heat and smell bothered her. Really, the only thing that truly bothered her was the sometimes variable distances that she had to jump from tower to tower. That, and the general stability of the rock that made up those towers were pretty uneven.

And speaking of the devil…

“Woah!”

Having just jumped towards her next stop, Xenia’s eyes widened as her feet skidded against the narrow platform she landed on. Moving quickly, she turned around and grabbed onto the platform, her fingers almost suffering the same fate as her feet did before she finally managed to stop herself from falling.

“That was close…”

Breathing out, Xenia let out a sigh of relief as she picked herself back up. Looking back to her goal, she gave a raven she spotted a knowing smile. Surely, Darius saw her close brush with death, and it wouldn’t do for her to give him a heart attack before she was even finished with this trial.

“Right, back to work…”

Taking a deep breath, Xenia primed her legs as she went back to doing her constant leaps of faith, her increased stamina, and endurance from all of her training really came in handy as she repeatedly pushed her leg muscles to their limits. Jumping from tower to tower, the hole above her was almost within her grasp, the light shining at her growing brighter and brighter as she worked her way up.

“Almost there…”

Looking down, she saw just how far she could fall down if she missed this last jump of hers. Still, this was her chance to finish this trial once and for all. Digging deep, Xenia lined up her trajectory and jumped, the feeling of weightlessness almost making her think she wouldn’t make it before her hands finally hit the ledge of the hole.

“Yes!”

With a shout of victory, Xenia couldn’t help but smile as she hoisted herself up. Rolling onto what looked to be the dining room where everything started, she couldn’t help but laugh as she congratulated herself for a job well done.

“Bravo, Princess,” Saha smiled, clapping at her from her chair as she chuckled. “You’ve completed the first part of my trial.”

…

….First?

Alarmed, Xenia forced herself to stand, her legs feeling like molasses as she fought the urge to glare at the Basilisk. “What?”

“What do you take me for, Princess?” Saha scoffed. “I’m not that boring to think that seeing you jump over lava from one tower to another to be the height of entertainment. I did say that it was your supposed trial, not the actual one.”

Xenia blinked. “So that wasn’t the real trial?”

“No?” Saha laughed as she mocked her. “That’s just the first part of it. I mean, don’t think I didn’t see you smirking at my so-called trial. It got me thinking that I should give you something extra. Don’t worry though, it’s not something that’s completely unfair to the spirit of the trials.”

Before Xenia could even react, Saha snapped her fingers, the hole behind her closing up as the room itself shook. Lowering her center of gravity, she did her best not to fall down as the room transformed itself to its master’s needs. All of a sudden, she found herself on what looked to be a larger circular platform, a ring of fire surrounding her as the Guardian stood right in front of her. Saha was now looking at her in her full glory, her hands raised up in the air as if she was a conductor.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for some time now, so be grateful that I’ve decided to do so,” Saha grinned. “Now, you’re still free to give me your eyes if you’re already tired. In fact, why don’t do just that so that you don’t have to do this at all?”

“I’d rather take my odds with your trial, Lady Saha,” Xenia smirked. “I’ll be more than happy to indulge your current fancies.”

Xenia blinked, her stance solidifying itself as she anticipated whatever it was that the Guardian wanted to do. She still thought that the Basilisk was being unfair, but they all did say that she was more than likely to die out in the Element Forest than for her to survive. Still, she was already beating the odds. What was one more to add to her list of accomplishments?