Elemental Empires

{Chapter 21}

"I can't believe it. I have been in this dump for five whole months and never tried to escape and here you are. In a handful of days you didn't just try but also succeeded in escaping! Ridiculous," Kira grumbled as she trudged up the never-ending stairs with Mia.

"That was because you were alone, I do have an amazing,smart accomplice with me," Mia grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. Stop with the cheesy lies already," Kira grimaced.

"What? Uhh..nope, I wasn't talking about you darling. I was complimenting Ivory, my kitten," Mia stifled a laugh as she saw Kira's eyes widen in the clear flame.

"Jerk," Kira said although she was smiling. Mia laughed and soon they were on the top of the staircase.

"This place is huge," Mia stopped to measure the vastness spreading before her.

"And dark," Kira added, keeping the flame close.

"We passed this place everyday but then it didn't look as vast as it does now," Mia wondered as she spread her gaze over the myriads of door lining the many corridors which faded into black voids. It looked like an elaborate maze doused in darkness.
"Why is it so dark everywhere anyway?," Mia pulled out the crumped map that Eric gave her.

"God knows what goes up inside that wacko's head. I tell you that man is a psycho, a freaking nutjob," Kira grimaced as she mounted the remaining, few steps.

Mia laughed," honestly you just need an opportunity to hate on him. Cut the poor lass some slack, who knows, maybe his parents dropped him or something when he was young," Mia suggested.

"Yeah poor guy," Kira shook her head sympathetically as Mia focused on the map." So where to next?".

"Well this zig-zaggy line here must be the stairs, right?", Mia bit her lip in concentration as Kira leaned in.

"Seems like it, next it shows a path to the third corridor on our left," Kira looked to her left and sure enough there were a number of corridors."We take this path when we go out to be tortured right?," Kira pointed to the hall in front of them.

"Yes but in the map, this way is marked with many crosses so we ought to take the safer route,third corridor it is! " Mia said confidently and began walking in the direction of the third corridor as Kira followed. The darkness veiled them completely and they walked freely without having to hide.

"This is fun," Kira said, her eyes gleaming.

"Yeah. Though Eric said to use my brain. To be honest this is way too easy. No guards, No light, just follow the map and you're home and dry. Piece of cake," Mia flicked her hair over her shoulder.

They kept walking the length of the corridor, observing the myriads of gilt-edged oil paintings and portraits lining the walls. They passed a portrait when Kira suddenly said.

"Hey look! That's the wacko," she pointed to the portrait of a young man," I saw him  when he visited our village to personally destroy it, I vowed that day to kill him with my hands but well.." Kira trailed off as Mia went to the portrait to have a closer look.

The Dark Prince stared at Mia from the portrait. He had raven black hair and piercing, black eyes that seemed to follow Mia everywhere. Mia shuddered as his beady eyes glinted at her, resembling a snake's eyes, stalking its prey.

"You're right. His cranium is a bit.." Mia tried to find the word as she moved her fingers to describe it," wibble-wobbly". Kira laughed softly as they continued their leisurely stroll.

"Now the corridor forks into two," Mia said as she consulted her map." We have to take the right one but have to be careful since it has two crosses marked".