RAoRA Chapter 9: Trials and Tribulations

The Chronicles of Bournemouthshire: Amber's Story Arc

The Risible Adventures of Rita Arthurs

Chapter 9

Trials and Tribulations

  Am I…dead? was the first thing Rita thought. She could not hear, see, smell, taste nor feel anything at all. Everything was black and empty; it seemed like an eternal abyss. Where am I? Why am I here? Rita kept thinking but then she remembered that she accidentally walked off the path and fell into this void. She should have listened to Marketa and been more careful but then again, the fog was so thick that it was hard to even see herself. There’s no time to keep thinking this way Rita thought firmly …Then again… It’s not like I have to hurry somewhere… Right now I have all the time in the world…

  It may have been minutes, hours or even days but eventually Rita started to feel that the numbness was wearing off and she could move again. It was a while until she could open her eyes but still see nothing since it was pitch black. She tried to feel around her and it seemed like she was on some hard ground, very similar to bricks but she was unsure. She tried to reach for her sword which was no longer there. As she started to feel about the ground, she saw a light in a distance and started to crawl towards it until she could finally see herself full of cuts and bruises and a hovering small blue crystal. As she tried to reach it with her hand, the crystal slipped away and hovered a bit further. Eventually, it led her to a lying sword – her sword. As soon as Rita grabbed her sword which started to glow, the crystal shattered and formed the Sapphire tribe’s crest before completely fading away.

  “Thank you… Marketa…” Rita muttered as she now started to look around with her glowing sword. Nothing could be seen around, there was darkness everywhere no matter how much or how hard Rita searched around. ‘This place can play mind tricks on you so do not trust everything you see, hear, touch or smell’ was the first thing that came to Rita’s mind. The last time Marketa figured that there was something wrong, she said that the fog was an illusion but the fog only thickened meaning… it was not the right answer? What else could the fog have been though…?

  “Ah!” Rita suddenly realised, “They were the clouds themselves… We merely walked deeper into the path made of them…”

  The area around Rita seemed to brighten and she could see something ahead of her which looked like…

  “A jungle?!” Rita has never been to one in her life but she has heard of stories and seen pictures of the tropical forest but the only question was, “Why is there a jungle in the middle of nowhere…?”

  As Rita said those words, the light began to drain from the surroundings and realising that she should not say out pointless things unless she wanted to die, Rita ran for her life through the jungle where the light still remained. This carried on for a while until she noticed what looked like a temple into which ran into and closed the gates behind her. It seemed that the light did not drain from there so she must have been in the right place. Rita looked around the temple only to find that this was most likely just ruins of a temple since the walls seemed weary and the rocks were mostly eroded by the vines growing around them. She carried on walking forward, with her sword right in front of her just in case. The temple ruins seemed like a maze of shadows since the walls could be barely seen as it only got darker and darker. Before it got completely dark, Rita thought she heard a sound as if someone has tripped over a small pebble which rolled beside her foot. Looking up, Rita saw a pair of large red glowing blood-thirsty eyes of some creature which she could not see. Before she had any time to think things through, Rita made a run for her life not even sure where she was going. The creature was behind her, not falling behind. Rita randomly guessed which passages to take as she slid left or right, not looking back. Marketa’s voice could be once again heard clear in her head: ‘do not trust everything you see’. Just as Rita remembered it, she stopped right in the middle of turning left. She turned to face the so called ‘beast’ which was chasing her. As the red eyes approached her, she could now see that they turned white and small and a small bat flew past her.

  “This place…ridiculous…” Rita shook her head as the light came back into the ruins and Rita carried on to make her way through the temple ruins. As she turned at yet another corner, she saw a large what looked like an altar made of stone right in the middle surrounded by twelve stone pillars shaped like animals. There seemed to be something on top of the pillar but before Rita could reach it, she heard a large roar which she has heard before – one resembling of a dragon – as the ground shook with the rest of the pillars and ceiling. Rita quickly hid behind one of the pillars, looking around and not daring to approach the altar. There seemed to be no sight of the drake so Rita tried to approach the altar once again before crawling back behind the pillar as she heard the beast’s cry, this time louder and closer as the surrounding shook even harder. Rita closed her eyes and gathered all her courage before jumping up on her feet and starting to run towards the altar.

  “Do not trust everything you hear… Do not trust anything you hear…” Rita kept repeating Marketa’s words to herself as the growl became so loud that it was unbearable and Rita thought that she was going to go deaf. Just before she could reach the altar, the noise stopped. Whether Rita has gone deaf or the illusion finally stopped was unknown but there lied a greater problem ahead of her – the altar seemed to have stretched further away from her. As she ran, it felt like the distance was only becoming greater. Before Rita could get any further, a large boulder from above fell right on top of her, knocking her off her feet.

  “Ugh…” Rita moaned as she opened her eyes to see that her body was being crushed by the boulder. Rita could feel the pain yet not feel it at the same time as her body went numb. Where did a boulder come from anyway?

  ‘Do not trust everything you see, hear or touch’ … Touch! Rita thought That’s it! It’s the same as feel so…

  As soon as Rita tried to lift her hand up, she found herself standing near the altar with no boulder crushing her body. Right before Rita was about to start stepping on the altar’s steps, she heard her stomach grumble, she was quite hungry. Suddenly, a smell of a nice tasty roast could be detected as Rita’s mouth started to water. The smell seemed to come from another passage behind the altar to which Rita was now approaching.

  Yes…Yes… Approach the passage, child… Give in to your instincts hee hee hee!

  There seemed to be a high pitched giggling coming from all around Rita.

  Yes, my tasty… Come closer…

  As Rita approached the passage, she smote it with her sword as it started to bleed and screech in pain. The passage turned into a little demon that has now fallen to its demise while cursing Rita until the end of time. Rita started to finally walk back while muttering Not everything is as it seems… Final rule – do not trust everything you smell…

  As Rita finally reached the altar, she has found that the object lying there was none other than Carnwennan – her good old dagger. As soon as Rita picked it up though, she noticed that she was no longer in the temple ruins but standing in darkness once again only this time with a bright white light around her.

  Rita…

  As soon she heard that voice, Rita jumped on her spot and turned to where the voice came from. There she saw everyone she knew and remembered including Belinda, Malwa, Anastice, Dula and Elle from the outskirts surrounded by a gray faint light.

  Rita… Come back to us… We… need you…

  Rita automatically started to make her way to them until she heard another familiar voice.

  “Stop right there, child!” behind her, Rita found Marketa surrounded by a blue light and Kiera surrounded by a purple light.

  Rita…

  “But… they’re calling me…” Rita pleaded.

  Rita…!

  “Fool! They are mere illusions! Realise that!” Kiera shouted angrily.

  RITA!!!

  The cries were unbearable to listen to and Rita turned around again and stated to approach the people she knew for the longest and whom she trusted the most – the outskirt dwellers.

  “No-!” before Kiera could run towards Rita, Marketa lifted her hand, blocking her, “What are you doing?!”

  “Let her go…” Marketa said coolly, “She must decide on her own… It is part of the trial…”

  Rita! Rita!

  The cries were becoming happier.

  Welcome! Welcome back! Oh we’ll have ever so much fun!

  “Yes…” Rita smiled as she was coming closer and closer.

  Oh Rita! It’ll be just like the good old times!

  Yes! Yes! You could even come with us to the raiding party, kid! Belinda smiled widely but Rita stopped as soon as she heard that.

  “What?” Rita focused on Belinda’s figure.

  You can even carry some of the things we steal! You were right, you’re old enough now Belinda carried on smiling but Rita now had her sword withdrawn and was charging at the figures in front of her.

  R-Rita? the smiles of the dwellers were now wiped off as Rita’s sword cut through thin air, blowing the clouds which were formed as figures apart. With a sigh of relief, Rita turned around and started to make her way back towards the now smiling Marketa and the still annoyed Kiera. As Rita stopped beside the two, she smiled widely.

  “Not bad, hu-?” Rita’s words were lost as Kiera hit her hard on the head with her bow, “O-ow! What was that for?!”

  “Stupid Arthurs! Can you not tell a difference between an illusion and a living creature?!” Kiera was now shouting at the top of her lungs.

  “Yes, I’m fine, thanks for asking” Rita said sarcastically at which Kiera only scowled even more.

  “Now now, Kiera” Marketa tried to calm Kiera down, “Everything is fine now so you don’t have to worry.”

  “Me?! Worried?! Pff! Yeah right!” Kiera folded her arms and turned away like a spoiled child who got accused of something they did not do. After a while, she quickly snapped to Rita: “Be more careful, Arthurs.”

  “Okay… Now that we are all back together…” Marketa stopped smiling and became serious again, “I believe that we are now at the heart of the Dream Land…”

  It was true, the aura around here did seem the deepest, darkest and the heaviest.

  “So…where is the sauce?” Rita asked as she looked around. Marketa giggled while Kiera burst out laughing.

  “It appears that not only you can’t read but also speak properly too!” Kiera was pointing her index finger at Rita and holding back tears as she laughed her head off.

  “Now now, Kiera…” Marketa was trying to stop Kiera from laughing at Rita while Rita went bright red since this was the second time she messed up the word.

  “It is source… not sauce, child” Marketa was still holding back her giggles as she corrected Rita. After Marketa and Kiera finally stopped fully laughing and were focused again, Rita tried again to ask her question.

  “Ahem… And where is this…s-source?” she barely managed to say it right this time.

  “Well… Even I am unsure of that, to be honest…” Marketa looked at Rita apologetically while Kiera started to giggle again. They looked around but saw nothing but darkness. Rita then noticed the colours of light which surrounded the three of them.

  “Why…why do we glow in different colours?” Rita pointed out at each of them to show what she meant.

  “Huh? What is this crazy badger on about?” Kiera looked confused.

  “I’m sorry? What light?” Marketa also seemed puzzled by Rita’s question but Rita was not paying attention to them anymore. Marketa’s blue glow seemed to represent that she was from Sapphire while Kiera’s purple glow seemed to represent her heritage with Amethyst and then Rita’s white glow…

  “Why white?” Rita asked out loud as she began to pace, “Because I do not belong to a tribe? But why did the dwellers have a gray light…even if they were an illusion, I think it was their identity of heritage…”

  “Earth to Arthurs?” Kiera was waving her hands now in front of the pacing Rita.

  “Leave her be… I think she sees more than we do…” Marketa paused before saying, “She may hold the answer to everything…”

  What does this mean? Is it because I’m not part of a tribe? But then why do I still not have the gray glow from the outskirts? Just because I left? Surely that’s not it… Rita kept thinking as she paced around. She suddenly realised a small detail she missed and took out her sword which started to glow. Looking closer, the glow was a pale yellow. Before Rita could realise what this meant, the sword rose from her hands and flew straight at the void but instead of flying off further, it clashed straight with the darkness which now looked like broken glass with some light trying to escape.

  “Of course!” Marketa gasped, “This whole void is the poison itself and the source and root of all evil present here!”

  The black shards began to fall apart revealing a bright purple light which surrounded everyone and everything. When the three finally opened their eyes, they found themselves now standing in pure white clouds while the light around them was pale purple. There were many things such as animals flying around and even angels.

  “…Wait…Did we die and now are in heaven?” Rita looked around, amazed.

  “No…This is the true Dream Land…” Marketa smiled brightly as she finally could feel at ease.

  “Hey look!” Kiera pointed out to a large group of people who seemed to be the villagers of Glenton who were now confused and disappearing.

  “…Are they supposed to be dissolving like that?” Rita pulled on Marketa’s dress as she pointed towards the villagers.

  “They are merely returning to our realm” Marketa laughed, “And it is time for us to return as well.”

  With those words, Marketa also started to disappear from Rita’s sight.

  “W-wait!” Rita started panicking, “How do I return as well?!”

  “Tsk…Arthurs, you fool!” Kiera started moaning as she also started to disappear, “This is the Dream Land! So just... wake up!”

  “What the?” Rita said as she looked around her to find no one around her, “AND HOW DO I DO THAT?!”

  Rita slumped down, furious that everyone left her behind. Time passed but she still did not wake up.

  “Great!” Rita jumped up and shouted, “I’M STUCK HERE NOW! THANKS A LOT!! I’VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF THIS!!!”

  While Rita was busy being furious, she noticed that her sword was missing. She looked around but it was nowhere to be seen. Before she could get even more furious, she was nearly knocked out by something big and flying which landed near Rita.

  “Hellooo!” a bright and cheerful girl waved at Rita. What she was riding was something between a dragon and a unicorn.

  “What… is that thing?” Rita could not take her eyes off the strange creature.

  “It’s Branston the Unigon!” the girl seemed offended that Rita did not know such a thing, “And I am Harriette!”

  Rita did not care much for who the girl was let alone the so called ‘Unigon’ but what caught her eye was the familiar sword which the girl possessed.

  “Umm…where did you get that sword?” Rita asked while pointing at her very own Excalibur.

  “Oh this old thing? Why it just fell from the sky!” Harriette patted the sword, “Why?”

  “Umm…well…you see…that is my sword” Rita put it bluntly.

  “And your proof?” Harriette asked, eyeing Rita suspiciously.

  “It…it glows in its master’s hand!” Rita suddenly remembered.

  “How do I know that you’re not lying?” Harriette was not easy to fool.

  “Well I can get on you Uni-Dragon whatever it is so you’ll know I won’t really escape” Rita offered.

  “Pff. Right” Harriette laughed, “Don’t take me for a fool! This is the Dream Land and you can just wake up as soon as you get it!”

  “Well aren’t you supposed to wake up anyway?” Rita tried to change the subject.

  “I am thee Amethystine Dream Land Guardian, silly” Harriette looked rather amused, “You’re not from around Glenton, are you?”

  “Maaaybeee…” Rita coughed and kicked the ground with her foot, “But can I please have the sword back?”

  “Not so easy, fella” Harriette was now teasing Rita by waving the sword around, “You must win this sword from me!”

  “Ugh…Fine” Rita rolled her eyes, “And how do I do that?”

  “Hmm…I like riddles! Do you have any good ones?” Harriette’s eyes lit up.

  “If I tell you a riddle you can’t solve, would you give me the sword back?” Rita asked.

  “Bah! That’s too boring! At least three! …Each!” Harriette paused to think about this, “Tell you what. I ask you three riddles and you ask me three riddles. The one who has the most answers right wins!”

  “Fair enough…” Rita was not a fan of riddles but she had to get her sword back, it has proven to be quite useful.

  “Okay! I start!” Harriette clapped and jumped up and down, excited. She closes her eyes for a minute to gather her thoughts and once she opened them again, she started her riddle:

“This thing all things devours,

 Birds, beasts, trees, and flowers.

 Gnaws iron bites steel,

 Grinds hard stones to meal,

 Slays king, ruins town,

 And beats high mountains down”

  “H-huh?” Rita was not expecting this, “I thought it would be more…simple…”

  “What is your answer?” Harriette looked down at Rita from her Unigon while still playing with the sword.

  “Give me a minute…” Rita started to pace. Things it devours? Ruins towns… Beats… mountains… Rita kept thinking.

  “Time’s up!” Harriette clapped her hands.

  “…What?” Rita turned to look at Harriette.

  “Time’s up!” Harriette repeated herself, “What is your answer?”

  “…Is it time?” Rita looked up at Harriette who has gasped and realised that she has given it away.

  “Very clever…” Harriette smirked as she leaned against the neck of the Unigon, “But don’t expect me to give away answers next time. Your turn!”

  “Hmm…” Rita tried to think of a riddle she knew:

“It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt,

 Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,

 Lies behind stars and under hills,

 And empty holes it fills.

 Comes first follows after,

 Ends life kills laughter”

  “That’s an easy one!” Harriette laughed, “It’s darkness!”

  “…Yes” Rita was surprised how fast Harriette guessed the answer. Maybe if I choose something very obvious for the next one…she might not get it!

  “That’s one all! My turn!” Harriette was delighted at the mere thought of playing this game.

“Only one colour, but not one size,

 Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies;

 Present in sun, but not in rain;

 Doing no harm, and feeling no pain”

  “…” nothing came to Rita’s head. She tried to look around for some clues but she could not guess the answer.

  “And your answer?” Harriette demanded.

  “I…don’t know…” Rita sighed in defeat.

  “Ha ha! It is a shadow!” Harriette was getting more and more excited, “Two to me!”

  “Alright then, try to answer this then!” Rita finally chose the next riddle while Harriette stopped playing with Rita’s sword for a while to pay attention:

“In your future and in your past

 I come and go so senseless and fast

 My purpose is unknown to all

 Remembrance seems to drift then fall

 I travel by night and fade by day

 Because that is my common way”

  “Hmm…” Harriette smirked and carried on to play with Rita’s sword, “You thought I would not guess this? It is a dream!”

   “…Damn it…” Rita’s tactic of using the obvious did not work. She decided that since Harriette knew big riddles, Rita would need a small simple one which would surprise Harriette since it would be so simple yet so complicated.

  “Three to me and one to you! And two more left! This is going to be easy!” Harriette was already celebrating her early victory. After that, she asked her next riddle:

“I have many feathers to help me fly

I have a body and head but I'm not alive

Your strength determines how far I go

You can hold me in your hand, but I'm never thrown”

  Yet another one which Rita had no idea about. She scratched her head but quickly stopped since it still hurt from where Kiera hit her with her bow. Did she ever even use it to shoot arrows? Wait a minute… I got it! Rita was excited from her little epiphany.

  “It’s an arrow!” Rita exclaimed excitedly as Harriette froze; she clearly did not expect Rita to get this one right.

  “Yes…Two to you…Three to me…” Harriette was starting to feel nervous.

  “Let’s see…” Rita was trying to remember something simple, “…It is yours but the others use it more than you do.”

  “Huh?!” Harriette was bewildered, “That’s not a proper riddle!”

  “Yes it is” Rita said firmly as Harriette bit her lip. After a while, Rita said, “Time is up…your answer?”

  Harriette merely moaned in frustration and after a while said, “Alright…so what is the answer?”

  Rita grinned, “It is your name!”

  After some consideration, Harriette finally spoke again, “Okay… Three to all… That’s even but! We do need a winner! Sooo… If you answer this last riddle, you win! And if not, you lose!”

  “Hey! That’s not fair!” Rita protested, “How come you get to chose the riddle?!”

  “Since this is my land and I decide! Now…” Harriette smirked; confident Rita was not going to guess her last riddle:

“I am here, I am there

 I am burned into the mind of none

 I walk on fire and live on ice

 My words are meaningless for I talk not

 I hate everyone yet fear no one

 I have lived for centuries

 Yet I have never existed”

  “…” Rita was left standing hopeless. No fair! She deliberately picked a very hard one!

  “Well?” Harriette smirked wider and leaned closer, “Your answer?”

  “Ah! I’m thinking all right?!” Rita tried to justify herself, “But all I can think of is…well nothing!”

  There was a brief pause before Harriette started to put on another tantrum. It took Rita a while to realise that the actual answer was nothingness.

  “Alright… You win…” Harriette sulked as she handed Rita back her sword which started to glow at its master’s touch.

  “Well…That was a jolly good fun…Thank you! No one has ever won against me!” Harriette laughed as she thanked Rita before flying away on her Unigon to continue watching over the Dream Land. I hope we shall meet again some day… Harriette the Dream Land Guardian… Rita thought as she watched Harriette and Branston disappear in the horizon. Even though it did annoy Rita how Harriette tried to trick her and win unfairly, overall it was still a good and fun game since as well as sharing knowledge – Rita herself learned a few new things. She scratched her again and smirked as she would have thanked Kiera later for the little hint she left behind if it wasn’t for one small detail – she did not like her very much and would not have wanted to share her glory with the likes of the ‘Pearson brat’.

  After Rita had a good look at her sword and finally felt at ease since she finally had it back, she then started to feel uneasy with a strange sensation going through her body. She looked down and noticed that her whole body was beginning to glow and everything was starting to become very bright as her whole body disappeared from the Dream Land and returned back to Glenton.