Reverse Villainess

Useless Dwarf.

Aurora, Ruby, and Rita arrived at the dwarf kingdom. After hiding their carriage, they walked down the huge stairs, getting deep inside the ground, feeling the temperature gradually dropping. They kept going until they arrived at the entrance of the giant maze.

Aurora saw two dwarves guarding the entrance, in front of a giant stone door. The dwarves were holding spears, wearing iron helmets, and had long bushy beards. They were short, but looked tough. They stood motionless, but their eyes were alert, scanning the newcomers.

They stopped Aurora and the others.

"I'm sorry, strangers," the guard said. "We can't let you in unless you solve this entrance puzzle. Solving puzzles was the absolute rule in this place. If you can't respect that, we have no choice but to ask you to leave."

Aurora exchanged a glance with Ruby and Rita, and they all nodded in agreement. They were ready for any challenge.

"Alright," Aurora said. "Give me the puzzle."

The dwarf handed her a piece of paper. On it was a maze puzzle that seemed deceptively simple.

To enter the labyrinth, you need to solve a maze puzzle? Aurora thought. Kinda fitting.

"What is this?" Ruby asked, looking at the paper too.

"It's a maze puzzle," Aurora replied. "We need to find the way out of the maze to enter the labyrinth."

Ruby squinted at the paper. "It looks easy enough. We should be able to solve it quickly."

"Really? Then why didn't you give it a try?" Aurora said, handing the paper to Ruby.

It turned out that it wasn't that easy for Ruby. She stared hard at the paper, trying to find the exit. Aurora stood beside her, just smiling. With a quick glance, she knew the answer already, but she didn't feel like spoiling it for Ruby. Behind them, Rita seemed to be trying to solve the puzzle too.

After a while Finally, Ruby saw the solution. 

"I think I found it!" she exclaimed, pointing to the path that led to the center of the maze.

The dwarves looked impressed. "You have solved the puzzle," one of them said. "You may enter the labyrinth."

Aurora, Ruby, and Rita stepped inside the giant door. The bustling town of dwarves spread out before them, with the buildings carved out of the stone with intricate carvings, trees and flowers lining the streets. The air was filled with the sound of hammers and chisels, as the dwarves went about their business.

As they made their way deeper into the city, Aurora, Ruby, and Rita couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement building within them. This was a weird kingdom, and they could see a bunch of puzzle stations spread across the town, but that meant things were different. And that could be fun. Sometimes.