Labyrinth Chapter 4: True Champion

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Read chapter 3.

Read Chapter 1.

Attica’s underground tunnels were a world apart from the gleaming buildings on its surface. They may have once been natural caves, but there were obvious signs that they had been shaped by man long ago— the evenness of the terrain, the uniformity of its width. The air was cool and dank, carrying the scent of moss, and the deeper they ventured, the staler it became. After about an hour, he started to wonder where the princess planned to meet him. She had never specified a location, and besides, would someone like her be caught dead in a place like this? Eventually, he decided he’d been duped. She wasn’t going to show—

Slender hands wrapped around his waist from behind, and he froze as the other men marched forward.

“My true champion,” she whispered into the back of his neck, the tickle of her breath raising every fine hair on end. “I’ve come for you as promised.”

Slowly, he turned to face her. Gone were the dazzling jewels and modest demeanor that had adorned her in the daylight. A mischievous grin sat upon her lips, and slung over her shoulder was a bulging sack. Her sleeves were hiked up to her elbow and secured with a leather cord, her hair plaited in a loose braid.

Sinbad stared at her bare forearms. In Attica, this was practically considered nudity.

Her smile widened. “Should I cover up? I thought barbarians had less delicate sensibilities.”

His flirtatious response was a reflex. “To the contrary, you should strip entirely. I’ll be able to focus better on the mission if I’m not busy wondering what’s underneath.”

The words wiped the grin right off her face. Her breath hitched, her face turning a bright shade of red. She was sly and manipulative, his least favorite kind of person. But, in that brief moment of vulnerability, he forgot his dislike of her. She was suddenly the wallflower he’d imagined her to be, sheltered and shy, longing for a chance to explore the world outside her ivory tower.

Then, she blinked rapidly and looked away. Her hand plunged into her satchel, pulling out one of his metal vessels. Stiffly, she held out the chunky golden necklace in which Valefore resided, refusing to meet his eyes. Ah, yes. He’d almost forgotten she was a thief.

“I promised you I would bring them,” she mumbled. “I don’t go back on my word.”

“So it seems,” he agreed, accepting her peace offering. Reaching into her bag again, this time she pulled out a ruby ring— Zepar. One by one, she returned his things, until at last Sinbad was fully equipped.

Thalia glanced over her shoulder at the dark path the others had gone down. “We’ve fallen behind.”

“We have, and I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you behind to catch up.” He had what he needed from her, and she would only hold him back. He turned, prepared to equip Baal and fly the rest of the way.

“No.” She grabbed his hand, tugging him back toward her. “You gave me your word, Sinbad.”

“Yes, and, as you said, deceit is a habit of mine.”

Her grip tightened. “Abandon me now, and I will ensure you never see an ounce of Nemian gold.”

He jerked away, freeing himself from her weak grip. There was no doubt this princess held influence in the palace, perhaps even more than her father. After all, she seemed to have enough guards in under her thumb to move around freely without her him knowing.

“How do I know your intentions?” he wondered aloud. “Earlier today, you pledged your to someone else. Maybe you’re here to sabotage me while the husband of your choice slays the creature.”

“If only I were so clever.” She reached into her bag and fished out a map, pointing to a spot in a complex web of intersecting lines. “This is us. We’re headed toward the center of the island. This way is a day and a half of walking, but…” She moved her finger to a straight path arriving at the same destination. “This will get us there in a day and a quarter. Is this evidence enough of my loyalty?”

He sighed. “I’m not convinced you have a loyal bone in your body, Princess, but fine. I’ll accept that you’ve aligned yourself with my interests.”

“Your paranoia rivals that of my father.”

“You haven’t exactly given me a reason to trust you,” he reminded her.

“Since you don’t intend to marry me, I’m not particularly concerned with your opinion of me. I was simply setting my contingency plan in motion.” She shrugged and shoved the map back in her satchel, brushing past him as she walked in the direction from which they had come. “Of the two men, Perseus is said to be less forgiving. I’ve only done what I had to do to protect myself.” She stopped in front of a large boulder and slid through a narrow gap in the wall. He and the others had completely missed it earlier. She must have waited for them here in total darkness.

“You stealing my metal vessels and threatening me was to protect yourself,” he said skeptically, squeezing through the crack. Thalia had made fitting through look easy, but for someone of Sinbad’s size, it was more of a challenge.

“Yes.” Without further explanation, she crossed her arms and looked off into the darkness ahead. Sinbad finally freed himself and walked up to her, studying the deep frown tugging at her lips. He found himself wondering what a genuine smile would look like from her, or if she was even capable of such a feat.

He scratched his head, and they started walking. So he was going to spend a day and a quarter with no one but this frosty princess for company. He wasn’t sure he would survive unless he managed to thaw her out a little. She had to have a soft spot. What did princesses like?

He thought back to another aloof princess from his past, one that had warmed up to him. What was it he had done that won her over? Wasn’t it Rurumu who had instilled some humility in her? His steps faltered as a fresh wave of grief washed over him. Damn it. He’d thought he was past this. Every time he let his guard down, the ache crept back in.

Desperate for a distraction, he prodded Thalia in an attempt to start a conversation.

“What, exactly, are you protecting yourself from?”

She cast him a sideways glance. “If you want an answer, I’ll need something in return. I haven’t gotten where I am by giving away information for free.”

“I’m already letting you tag along,” he grumbled. “Isn’t that enough?”

“No.”

He groaned, letting his head fall back. “Fine. What do you want from me?”

“Tell me a story— one that’s not in your books. I want to be the first to hear it.”

Her eyes lit up as she spoke. She looked radiant, her cheeks flushing with excitement. So she was capable of genuine emotion after all. She liked stories, and Sinbad had plenty of those.

“You’ll keep a secret, right?” He gave her a disarming wink. When her cheeks flushed a bright red, he was pleased to see it had worked. He might just thaw her yet.

“Secrets are my specialty,” she whispered.

“I could tell.” He looked straight ahead and began to recount his latest adventure. “Did you know I’m married?”

The princess froze in her tracks. Sinbad glanced over his shoulder, chuckling when he saw the color had drained from her face. “What’s the matter? Are you disappointed?”

Slowly, she blinked, her cheeks regaining their normal healthy flush. “I suppose when I read your books, I never imagined you to be the type to…”

He raised an eyebrow. “You talk about my books a lot. Are you a fan?”

She averted her gaze, wrapping her arms around herself as though she were cold. “I may have skimmed them over once or twice.”

Though he strongly suspected she was underplaying how much she enjoyed his books, he nodded.

“I was promised a story,” she reminded him. “Tell me. How did you meet your wife?”

“Wives,” he corrected her. “I have several. To be honest, the details are fuzzy. I was in a Torran village, and the chief had offered me the hand of one of his daughters. She was beautiful— tall, athletic, voice clear as a bell.”

“She sounds lovely,” The princess agreed.

“Well, another man wanted to marry his daughter off to me too, and there was a third girl— she was a bit like you— strong-willed, knew what she wanted, willing to do whatever it took to get it. She was interested as well. So, that night, they held a feast in my honor, and they kept filling my cup, urging me to drink more. I got really drunk.” He ignored her as she rolled her eyes. “After that, it gets fuzzy. The next thing I is waking up married to half the women in the village.”

“And what did you do, Lady Killer of the Seven Seas? Spend the rest of the day consummating every single marriage?”

He chuckled. “No. Luckily, Ja’far rescued me. If you’ve read my books, you should be familiar with him.”

She nodded. “The voice of reason.”

Sinbad shrugged. “Ja’far distracted them while I snuck away. We convinced them I would come back soon, but…” Scratching the back of his head, he sighed. “... I think I’ll just never go back. I’m not marriage material.”

“I feel bad for them.” Thalia tilted her head. “Every little girl looks forward to her wedding day.”

“Yet, you’re going to all these lengths to avoid it. Does that have anything to do with you protecting yourself?”

“Yes. You asked what I’m protecting myself from. The truth is, I’m afraid of ending up like my mother.”

Sinbad recalled that a few years ago, the queen of Attica had died tragically. The official word from the palace was that she had succumbed to illness, but there had been rumors that she had actually taken her own life.

As she spoke, her voice trembled. “She was a kind woman, but the palace— my father— changed her. She was never meant to be kept in a cage. It drove her mad.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” He really was. He’d lost his own mother to illness, and he still ed the grief it had brought him.

Thalia shook her head. “She and I weren’t exactly… close.”

Sinbad didn’t ask her to elaborate. It didn’t seem appropriate.

“I thought, just once, I needed an adventure. So, when I learned what was going on with the beast, I arranged for you to come.” She grinned sheepishly. “No one knows adventure like you. If you manage to save me from an arranged marriage for another couple of years, that’s even better.”

Princess Thalia was manipulative, just like every other person who’d used him. But, when she was open like this, it was so easy to forget. Against his better judgment, he found himself feeling sorry for her.

“You know, you could have just asked me to help, right? If you’d just been honest, I would have—”

She cut him off. “Don’t lie to me. You don’t do anything that doesn’t benefit you. No one gets as powerful as you by being altruistic.”

Perhaps she struck a nerve because Sinbad struggled to keep his composure. Through a forced smile, he said, “Don’t confuse me with yourself.”

The look she gave him stripped him bare. She could see into his dark soul where he kept a thousand secrets. Every lie he’d told, every life he’d sacrificed, she saw all of it.

It was like she thought he was in on her schemes, but he wasn't. He didn't want to be.

He averted his eyes. "We're not the same."

No, they weren’t the same. He was worse.

Read chapter 5.