The Last Dahlia

021

"Run!" Shoya's voice echoed above the loud rumbling that was fast increasing in amplitude, accompanied by the violent vibrations beneath their feet.

The both of them took off in flight, moving as quickly as they could away from the direction of impending doom. Above head, Ember couldn't resist but take a backwards peek at what was headed their way, and he squawked in alarm when he caught sight of a massive stone wheel rolling down the corridors, threatening to flatten anything in its path.

Bonus points to these people for being able to have a giant stone wheel rolling down these corridors without damaging any of these mirrors, he squeaked. Now was not the time to contemplate intellectual questions like these though—now was the time to fly as fast as he could because the damn wheel was from floor to ceiling and would mow him into a flattened feathered mush as well.

"What the hell! A stone wheel?" Yuehwa yelled when she picked up words that Ember had just conveyed.

When you were running for your life, time seemed to slow down. Yuehwa didn't really know how long they were running for. It hardly seemed that long, but it also felt like ages; the next thing that registered in her mind was coming to a screeching halt in front of a huge statue of a tiger carved out of white marble.

It appeared completely out of the blue, so much so that it made her momentarily forget about the giant wheel that was still hurtling towards them.

"Wait a minute, this room..." She paused, spinning round to get a better look at the chamber they were in.

Similar to the one they had started off in, they were now in a small octagonal-shaped room with eight doorways radiating out from it. This particular room, however, had mirrored walls just like much of the maze they had come through, and right in the middle sat the white tiger, quietly observing them with its stern gaze.

The sound of the rumbling was becoming thunderous as the wheel continued breathing down their necks, but instead of picking another doorway to escape through, Shoya stopped in front of the marble tiger, placing one hand on its head.

"What are you doing! If we continue standing here, we'll be right in the path of the wheel!" Yuehwa shouted anxiously.

To her surprise, Shoya calmly shifted his hand onto the tiger's left ear and turned it clockwise. At that moment, eight heavy trap doors suddenly came hurtling down, sealing off all the doorways that led out of the chamber.

All of a sudden, silence fell.

"What just happened?" Yuehwa looked around in shock, her voice echoing around the chamber.

Shoya turned the tiger's ear once more, this time rotating it exactly three times anti-clockwise. Slowly but surely, the heavy marble statue began shifting backwards, revealing a hidden stairway that led downwards into the darkness.

Yuehwa looked at Shoya warily, waiting for an explanation.

"I don't know why I know this," was his reply. "I just... Never mind. This must be the correct way. Come on."

The stairway took them further and further downwards, and as they progressed the air gradually became colder. This was not like the hidden passageway they had discovered within the Dahai palace, which seemed to have been a creation of nature that had been repurposed for the king's use. This stairway had been purposefully created, each step carved out of the same luxurious white marble that the tiger had been made of. On both sides of the passageway were engravings in the same script that they had seen all over this building, adding to the air of mystery and majesty of this place.

Sensing her curiosity as they made their way down, Shoya said, "They tell the story of the first king of Feng and the early beginnings of the kingdom. He is somewhat of a legendary character here."