Their Adventure Together 19

 Sirena

    I woke up to the sound of a CRUNCH, which my brains registered as a twig snapping. I groaned sleepily, assuming it was my twin. I turned, and my hands felt the bushy, thick fur of something huge - not human at all. That was when I heard a low growl, and a drop of something sticky on my face. My eyes flew open. I swallowed at the sight before me. My shock was so much, I had to remind myself to breathe. In front of me, an enormous black bear was growling just a few inches from my face. 

    I stared at the huge beast, my eyes open wide. My brains took in the bear's looks and started working. It was a Louisiana black bear, and I should slowly back away, making it known to the bear that I was not a threat. And not breakfast either. Thank god for the 'Recognizing Animals' lecture that my mother had forced me to attend. At least I knew what to do. 

    I put both my hands in what I hoped was a calming gesture to the bear, and slowly stood. All my instincts told me to run, but I forced myself to slowly inch behind, giving some distance between the bear and me. It was then that I looked around, and noticed I was in a cave. I assumed that the Mama Bear wanted to make this her new home, and I was an intruder. The bear growled at me again and glared at me. I gulped. I got the message. I spotted some maps and my twin's backpack. I grabbed our stuff and walked backward out the cave, smiling like an idiot all the way. Once I got out, the bear rolled a huge stone over the entrance, making it impossible for me, or anyone for a matter of fact, to go in again. I sighed, and squinted in the sun, scouting the area while looking for my twin. 

    Finally, I spotted him. I ran to him. " Come on! Let's go. We don't have much time. " I said, throwing the map to him.

     With his supernatural reflexes, he caught it mid-air and said sarcastically, " A very good morning to you too. "

    I smiled brightly. " So, where to now, Mr Map? " I asked. 

    " This way" he said, pointing to the left crossroad in front of us. Then he scowled. " And don't call me names. " he added.

    " Okay. " I said, and we followed the map. I wondered how Aisha and Chris we doing. 

    After a good 2 or 3 hours of walking- who's counting - we stopped as we reached the foot of a steep mountain.  I sighed. " Now you're going to tell me that we have to climb it right? " I asked. My twin nodded, amused. " Just our luck.. " I muttered, as he took out a rope to aid us on our crazy quest - scale up the mountain. At least, that's what I thought it was for. Apparently not.

        We used the rope as a marker.

     "To make sure we can find our way back down later on. " my twin had said. Earlier, I was confident that we could climb up the mountain. After all, I loved rock climbing back home. How much different could it be? Now I seriously regretted not taking the rope with me to use as a guide. The air was getting thinner and thinner, and I tried my best to not look down. Wrong again. Easy for me to say when I'm down on the land. Not easy to actually do while I'm walking sideways on the mountain's edge, where every now and then, a piece of rock falls and the sound of it hitting the other rocks echo for a very long time. 

    Eventually, with my twin's encouragement- " I said, don't look down. " " I'm this close to pushing you down myself. " "Step where I step, don't blame me when you die hitting your head on these sharp rocks. " (Tough love huh?) - I made it to the top of the mountain, at the entrance of a cave. 

    "Finally. I thought we were going to climb forever. " I breathed. Beside me, my twin grimaced. 

    " And now we have an even bigger job to do. " he said, taking out two torchlights. He handed one to me. 

    We entered the cave. " Hello? " I called tentatively. " Anybody home?" 

    " I'm home. " a voice boomed, echoing across the cave. " ome, ome, ome. "

    I looked up to find an enormous dragon with brilliant blue eyes, a black mane, and a shiny greenish-bluish scaled body that glinted whenever we shined it with our torches. " I am Kai, the Keeper of the Key. What purpose do you have in coming into my cave? " he continued, in the same booming voice. His eyes, which earlier looked like a calm sea, now looked like a tsunami was about to occur. I could sense his feelings of distrust and anger. I gulped and looked at my twin, hoping he had a plan. 

Chris

 

   I had absolutely no idea how on Earth we were going to find the True Beauty Flower, especially now that we were blindfolded. Aisha tried to be optimistic, but I knew that she felt the same too. Well, here's me assuming she was  feeling hopeless like me in the first place. After pondering on what Caroline had said, she got an idea. " I know! I think we have to do it together. " She said. 

    I snorted. " Like I haven't already figured that out. " 

    Aisha gave me a withering look that screamed Shut up!  at me. " I meant, we have to trust our instincts and pick any flower together. If we really deserve the flower, it would come into our hands, right?" she said.

    "What choice do we have? Its worth a shot. " I said. We held hands, and we bent down and picked a flower. My hands were shaking with the suspense. But before I could remove my blindfold, it disappeared and the garden around us withered and died. The flower in Aisha's hands glowed brightly. Too bright, in fact, that we had to shield our eyes. Slowly, the glow faded away, and we were staring at a beautiful transparent-like flower with many petals. 

    According to Ren, this should be " The True Beauty Flower" Aisha gasped. " It's beautiful." I nodded. 

    "Let's go into the cottage. " I said, and entered the cottage.

    

    When we entered through the back door, Caroline approached us. " Congratulations, children. I knew you could do it. " she said, smiling. " This is the True Beauty Flower, also known as the Pure Flower. I hope you succeed in your quest and manage to stop the evil sisters from spreading darkness. " she said.

    " Yeah, than-" I started, then stopped as a thought hit me. " Wait, how do you know that we are going to -" 

    " Oh, I know everything dear. Everything. From what your names are, to where you're going, to what your friends are doing. After all, I'm the wisest woman in the Hidden Realm. " she said, her eyes sparkling. 

    " But.. But I thought you said you were the Keeper of the Garden of Rare Flowers." Aisha said, confused. 

    " I'm a woman of many names and secrets. Don't fret, just remember me as Caroline. " the old woman said, smiling as she led us out the door. " Olga and I wish you have a wonderful journey and stop the darkness from spreading. You will be remembered as heroes forever, if you do. Thank you, and good luck. " she said, and closed the door. 

    " That was easier than expected. " I said, going out the fence gate. Aisha beamed happily. Little did I know that I just jinxed us. All of a sudden, the skies turned grey, and the cottage behind us disappeared. Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed across the sky. 

    " Well, maybe its about to get harder. " a voice started from behind us. Aisha and I froze. We slowly turned around and found ourselves face-to-face with a pack of menacing looking wolves. Behind the pack of wolves, stood a tall, muscular man with a quiver slung over his shoulder. His bow aimed at us and his red eyes glinted dangerously.

" Welcome to your doom." 

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