Eoin adjusted his hood down over his face. Pandora reached over and placed her hand in his. She squeezed it hard and he squeezed back.

“Keep quiet, we’re approaching the gates.” Pandora said to the back of the cart.

“I thought we had a map into tunnels?” James adjusted his mask to help obscure his face.

“The tunnels don’t go to the gardens,” Eoin said. Kyi and Aurora sat on the edges of the carts. “This is the fastest way,”

The cart drove up to the large gates of the looming castle. Most of its windows were dark and the tower patrols were absent. A single royal sashed guard stood at the door. He hadn’t reacted to them approaching. Eoin took the reins from Pandora and stopped the cart.

“What are you-”

“Shh,” Eoin pointed at the guard. From their distance they could make out that the guard was nodding.

“Lucky day, This worked out better than we’d hoped.” He grinned. “Ditch everything but the body, if we’re quiet we can walk right in.”

“You know how to get to the gardens unseen?” Pandora turned to James.

“Unseen? I never said that,” He said. “I said I know how to get there.”

“Okay, here’s a thought.” Aurora leaned forward on the crates. “What if we ditch the cart and draw attention to it?”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Kyi scoffed. Adjusting the fabric on their merchant’s attire. “All the stolen guard shit’s in here. If they find it abandoned they’ll come looking for us.”

“Yes but by that time we’ll be in the labyrinth and maybe Seren knows a secret way that can get us out undetected.” Aurora said hopefully.

“A lovely theory but not a realistic one.” Pandora patted her shoulder.

“Let’s just get inside before we lose our chance,” Eoin drove the cart into the forest. James opened the fourth crate and pulled Seren’s unconscious body from it.

“I think they’re even paler than when we left,” Aurora mentioned.

“They aren’t noticeably breathing anymore either.” James said as he gently stepped off the cart. Kyi ran and jumped off the cart with a thud and turned to hold a hand for Aurora. She hopped down, leaning on Kyi. Eoin and Pandora rounded the cart to meet the party.

“Pandora, you and I will go first and stay on either side of the guard. If he wakes we’ll have to be there to silence him.” Eoin directed. “Next Kyi, then James, last Aurora. Got it?” The party nodded. Eoin and Pandora slid out of the trees.

They were dressed in plain clothes, in browns and greens like the delivery drivers. Pandora suddenly let out a whispered laugh.

“I rehearsed all the lines I was going to say for nothing,” She said to Eoin. “About why the supplies were early.” Eoin laughed quietly with her. Both of them snapped back to alert when they made it to the castle's front walk. Though there wasn’t a moat or a drawbridge, there was a road of wooden boards in the dirt.

“Think they’ll creak?” Pandora breathed in Eoin’s ear. He shook his head.

“Too thick,” He whispered. They crossed the bridge, taking care to step firmly on the very center of the boards. The single guard in front of the large gated doorway was leaned up against the wall. He was rocking side to side as he slept. Next to him was the door that led to the other side of the gate. There was a mechanism that could open the gate but trying to trigger it would only draw attention.

Eoin slid up in front of the guard and drew his blade. Pandora pressed herself against the wall. Eoin’s attention left the guard as Pandora pressed out her chest. More visible than normal in the plain clothes. Pandora noticed him staring, He gave a cheeky grin and his eyes went from her bust to her eyes. She rolled her eyes and motioned at the still sleeping guard against the wall. He went back to watching him as Pandora grabbed the door and slowly opened it.

The guard flinched but didn’t open his eyes. Pandora lifted a hand and waved the party forward. Kyi was swift and silent as they whispered across the bridge. Entering the door like an odd breeze. James was halfway across the bridge by the time Kyi was out of sight and Aurora was on her way. James readjusted his hold on Seren and moved around before figuring out how to move through the door. As he moved through the door he bumped the sleeping guard. Pandora grabbed her blades. Eoin raised his. The guard jolted upright but his eyes didn’t open yet. Aurora slid up beside him.

“Shh, you’ve still got time.” She whispered to the left of him so her breath didn’t alert him. He nodded and fell back against the wall. Pandora stood back impressed. Eoin flashed a thumbs up. Aurora flashed it back and entered the door. Pandora and Eoin followed and gently closed the door behind them.

Inside was a hall that split, one side staying straight and leading to a door. The other had the soft glow of light and voices.

“Where’s Kyi?” Eoin whispered after a quick count that saw the party one short.

“I don’t know, when I got in here they were gone.” James whispered back.

“Damn,” Eoin hissed.

“Knowing them, they went to give us an opening.” Pandora said. “Let’s not waste it. I trust them to catch up with us later.” Eoin nodded and moved to the front of the party.

“Where am I going?” Eoin asked.

“Straight, into the great hall.” James whispered. Eoin led the party forward, peeking around the corner of the branching hall. The guard’s recreation room was visible through the crack of the door. The voices were quiet but their owners weren’t in sight. Eoin pressed the group onwards. On the other side of the door was the grand hall. It was dimly lit and vacant. Three doors were shut on the opposite side, with two more on the other side of Eoin. At the head of the hall was a grand double door with curtains framing it.

“Straight?” Eoin asked back.

“Yeah,” James whispered.

“Keep together,” Eoin entered the hall and the party kept pace behind him. All but James, slowed down by carrying the extra weight. One of the double doors was already opened enough to slip through.

“Go down the left three doors to the double doors of the ballroom. The ballroom goes straight to the gardens,” James said from the back. Eoin opened the door wider and kept against the wall. There were many doors along the hallway, but all of them were shut. Some even locked.

Three down was a glass paned door that showed a glimpse of a ballroom floor. Purple curtains bordering the inside.

Eoin opened the door and ushered the group through quickly. He moved to enter the door but paused to listen to the hurried steps on the floor above. He entered the door and shut the curtains.

“Eoin!” Pandora hissed from across the ballroom. James had already opened the opposite door. Eoin nodded and ran across the marble to them. Across the gardens the labyrinth loomed. Almost there.

“Hey!” Kyi suddenly appeared. Aurora jumped but Pandora grabbed her mouth before she could scream.

“Kyi! What the hell!” Eoin strained to keep his voice low.

“We can go and we probably should. Quickly.” They said looking back over their shoulder.

"Why?" Eoin asked, before he caught a whiff of smoke. "You set it on fire!?"

"Yes, now let's go!" Kyi ran toward the labyrinth. James shrugged the best he could with Seren in his arms, and ran after.

-----

The Queen held the book close. She tapped her fingers along its spine and started at Sawyer. The young woman hummed a little as she brought out the outfit the Queen would wear for the day. An honor experienced by a dwindling few. Even the Queen had the decency to grant the dying a day to remember. Though the pure glee from the young woman was annoying. Sawyer paused in her humming and turned toward the door.

“Do you smell that?” She asked. The Queen paused, there was a faint smell of smoke in the air. There was a heavy and frantic knock at the door.

“Enter,” The Queen commanded. One of the royal guards opened the door and did a quick half-assed bow.

"Your majesty, your presence is requested at the front gate." They said. "The missing uniforms have been found."

"Wonderful, I'll be down to congratulate whoever found them shortly."

"They were abandoned in crates at the gate," the guard said. The Queen's eyes narrowed at the guard.

"I beg your pardon?" She asked.

"Y-yes your majesty. There was a cart and horse out front found with four crates inside the cart. They had the full uniforms in them. But one of them was empty, nothing but blood soaked in the bottom.”

“What?” The Queen snapped completely dumbfounded. The guard nodded. Keeping a tight hold on her book she shoved the guard out of her way.

“They are in the great hall, your majesty!” The guard yelled as he and Sawyer both ran after her. The Queen paused in the first floor hallway, she turned with flourish.

“Why do I smell smoke!” The Queen screamed. The guard and Sawyer both jumped back from her. “Where is the captain! What do I pay him for!?”

“He’s in the great hall,”

The Queen charged down the hall. The guard took a breath and looked at Sawyer. She wrinkled her nose and sneered at them. She walked at top speed after the Queen with her nose in the air. The Queen slammed the hall doors open with a thunderous crash. The handful of people in the room jumped alert. All except the captain who sighed before he turned to face the Queen. The captain wasn’t able to say anything as the Queen stormed up to him and full palm slapped him across the face.

“I expect you to keep the castle safe and you can’t even do that!” She continued to screech.

“Ma’am we are severely understaffed!” The captain yelled back. “We need more people to operate properly!”

“How dare you!” She raised her hand again but stopped at the scream from the doors.

"Fire!" Sawyer ran in. "Fire in the castle!" The Queen’s glare intensified at the captain who leveled his own glare at her.

“Find the fire, you useless twits!” The Queen commanded. The handful of guards stuttered to a start and ran out the double doors. The captain started to follow but was stopped by the Queen.

"Not you," she growled. She shifted her grip on her book. "You and I are going to check on the garden,"

"That is incredibly ill-advised," he said. "You need to evacuate-"

"I didn't ask your opinion!" The Queen cut him off. "I'm the Queen, I'm your boss and you will do as I say!" The Captain's jaw tightened, he nodded mutely. The Queen turned and snapped her fingers.

"After you," she snapped. He bit his tongue and led them forward. Sawyer fell into step behind.

"Your excellence, I'm not questioning your choices." Sawyer said carefully. "But, are you okay?"

"Do not question me," the Queen barked at her. "I am the Queen."

"Yes ma'am." Sawyer nodded quietly. The captain led the Queen through the hall staying away from where the smoke was blowing from. It was starting to creep along the ceiling. The three emerged from the castle and to the garden courtyard.

“How do we make them drink it? They’re unconscious!” Aurora asked.

“I’m doing my best here!” James huffed as he tried to trigger Seren to swallow. Pandora poured the antidote potion sparingly to avoid wasting a drop. The party had gone just behind the first walls of the labyrinth. Huddled together as they tried to wake Seren. James finally got them to swallow the concoction.

"Okay!" He cheered.

"We got all of it!" Pandora cheered along with him.

"We got company!" Kyi hissed as they ducked back around the wall.

"Time to wake up now," Eoin leaned over Seren and shook their shoulders. Winding up and lightly slapping them across the face.

"What the hell!" James yelled.

"Whose in there?!" The captain yelled. James hoisted Seren up, they coughed and started to groan.

"Go!" Kyi shoved him hard. They pulled their crossbow from their holster and Aurora mimicked the action.

The Queen and captain of the royal guard ducked into the labyrinth walls. Seeing only the pink of Kyi’s hair and the glint of Aurora’s crossbow.

“Halt!” The captain yelled. He started after, stepping on the glass jar and sliding. He bent over and picked up the jar. A single bead of golden liquid was still in it. The Queen snatched the jar and looked at the bead in horror.

“Girl!” Her voice broke as she beckoned Sawyer forward. Thrusting the book, the Queen had been holding in a death-grip into the young woman’s chest. “Don’t lose that or you’ll lose your life.”

“Yes ma’am” Sawyer called as the Queen ran forward.

Eoin and Pandora dropped back with their blades and let James run forward. Seren’s eyes fluttered open with a low groan.

“Where am I?” They asked, focusing on James panting and running with them in his arms. “What are you doing?”

“Welcome back! How are you feeling?” He asked breathlessly.

“Sore and my head is spinning. And throbbing.” Seren mumbled and covered their face. “And I feel sick,” Seren gagged as their stomach lurched.

“You haven’t eaten in almost a week.” Pandora called helpfully.

“What are we doing?” Seren looked around as James slowed to a stop. “Is this what I think it is?”

“We’ll explain later,” Eoin said. “For now, trust we’re trying to save your life. Take us to the center of the labyrinth.”

“Wh-uh? Yeah. Okay” Seren shook their head as they tried to comprehend Eoin’s sentence. James put them down and Seren’s knees buckled. He caught them before they fell.

“Everything hurts so much,” Their voice went hoarse as their vision started to blur. They held their throbbing chest. Pulling their hand away and seeing blood over their fingers. “Am I bleeding?”

“Most likely, we don’t have time you have to-”

“Incoming!” Kyi raised their crossbow as the Queen rounded the corner. The Captain yanked his crossbow out and leveled it at Kyi. Lowering it slightly as his sight met Seren’s. They waved weakly from James’ arms, they were scooped up and Kyi shot a bolt. The party ran deeper into the labyrinth, the bolt flying past the Captain. Embedding into the wall. The Queen could hardly believe what she’d seen. Seren standing and conscious. She couldn’t comprehend it.

“That was-” The captain said.

“Come on!” She yelled. Running toward the center of the labyrinth.

“Which way?” Eoin yelled.

“Left!” Seren directed. They were trying to yell but their throat was on fire. They choked and buried their face into James' shirt.

"Now?"

"Straight," Seren hoarsely pointed.

"They're fading!" James yelled. "Stay with us, just a little longer!"

"I'm fine," Seren closed their eyes hard and opened them again but it wasn't making their vision any clearer. Their broken and wheezing voice didn't convince James. He followed Seren's pointing, through the twists and turns. Pandora and Eoin on his heels, Kyi and Aurora keeping an eye behind them. The party broke into the middle of the labyrinth.

“You gotta be kidding!” Eoin swore as they all looked at the rotting apple tree. One of the branches had already fallen and the trunk was leaning sadly.

“It’s dying,” Seren whispered.

“No!” Aurora cried, “Why? How!”

“Doesn’t matter, salvage what we can.” James helped Seren to the tree and sat them under it. Pandora pulled the recipe card out of their pocket.

“This says we need apples,” Pandora snapped.

“Hole! Hole in the ground!” Kyi pointed at an opening in the roots. Seren sat up, they had to brace themself on the fallen branch to look into the gap below. They’d never known it was there.

“It goes down,” Seren forced their voice to work. Pandora ran, shouldering Eoin out of the way to get to the tunnel. Eoin dropped in behind her. James leaned down to help Seren to their feet. The Queen and captain rounded the corner. Kyi and Aurora pulled up their weapons and stood between Seren and James and the Queen.

"Don't get in our way," Aurora said. "We're here to create an antidote for Seren and if you try to stop us we are not afraid to retaliate."

"Antidote? Why what happened?" The captain asked. Lowering his weapon.

"She happened," Kyi snarled. "The poison was made from this tree." The captain turned to look at the Queen.

"Don't listen to the vile lies of this-"

"I would trust Kyi over that woman," Seren yelled, it made their head spin.

"You traitorous bitch!" The Queen shrieked. She turned to Sawyer lurking behind her. "Page twenty-five! Read it aloud!" Sawyer dutifully cracked the book open and she turned to the page. She mouthed the words at first then began to read the strange words.

The ground rumbled and thick vines erupted from the dirt. The vines wrapped around Kyi and Aurora's legs dropping them to their knees. Their crossbows clattered to the ground as the two became trapped in the roots.

"Give me that book," the Queen held out her hand and Sawyer handed it to her shakily.

"What are you doing?" The captain yelled, raising his crossbow at her.

"Severing the tether," the Queen opened the book.