Chapter 3 : The Not-so-stable Bridge
862 Words
The forest didn't just end; it kind of just… gave up. One second they were surrounded by trees, and the next, the ground turned into a see-through ribbon of light dangling over a giant bucket of nothing.
Actually, it wasn't nothing. It was a swirling mess of purple clouds and floating rocks that definitely looked sharp enough to ruin a perfectly good afternoon.
Dalia stopped dead. Her hand found Sienna’s cloak and gripped it tight enough to cut off circulation. "Okay. No. Re-evaluating. I’d like to go back to the boring village now. I’ll even do chores. I’ll wash the floor. I’ll wash the neighbor's floor."
"Don't look down," Sienna said, her voice a little higher than usual. She was staring straight ahead at a massive mountain floating in the sky. It was covered in gold and black towers that pulsed like a heartbeat. "Look at the City. Focus on the pretty shiny stuff, not the bottomless pit."
"I am focusing on the pit, Sienna! The pit is very focused on us!"
The path decided right then that being a solid bridge was too mainstream. It started to shift.
Crystal tiles began sliding around like a giant, magical game of Tetris. One piece drifted left, another floated up, and the gap between them started whistling with a wind that smelled like cold metal.
"It’s a test," Sienna muttered, her eyes narrowing. "The path isn't broken. It’s checking if we’re supposed to be here."
"Well, tell it I’m a mistake! I’m a typo! I’m not supposed to be here at all!" Dalia yelped as the tile under her left foot wobbled.
Then came the birds. Except they weren't birds—they were giant things made of glass and mirrors, circling them and making a sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. Every time they flew past, the bridge under the girls' feet turned a dull, foggy grey.
"The path is reacting to you being scared," Sienna shouted, grabbing Dalia’s hand. "When you freak out, it gets weak. We have to run. Fast. And together."
Dalia looked at the glass birds, then at the moving tiles, and then at her best friend. She took a breath that was mostly a wheeze. "On three?"
"On three."
They bolted.
It was a total mess. They were jumping over gaps of thin air, boots sliding on glowing crystal that felt like stepping on wet ice. The glass birds dived at them, humming loud enough to make their teeth rattle, but Sienna didn't let go. She dragged Dalia through a cloud of stinging sparks, heading straight for the giant, glowing archway at the end of the bridge.
The second their feet hit the solid marble of the City entrance, the bridge behind them just… shattered. It turned into glittery dust and fell into the clouds.
For a minute, the only sound was the two of them trying not to throw up from the adrenaline.
Sienna rolled onto her back, letting out a shaky laugh. "See? Totally fine. High-maintenance, but fine."
Dalia stayed face-down on the marble floor. "If I ever get home," she mumbled into the stone, "I am burning these boots. I am never walking on anything that isn't solid brown dirt ever again."
She pushed herself up, dusting silver sparkles off her knees, and then she saw them.
Standing at the edge of the plaza were people. Or, things that looked like people, wearing robes that changed colors like a soap bubble in the sun. They weren't cheering, and they weren't attacking. They were just… watching.
The robed figures didn't move. They just stood there like a bunch of colorful statues, their clothes swirling with greens, blues, and purples even though there wasn't a lick of wind in the plaza.
Dalia nudged Sienna with her elbow. "Are they... broken? Should we poke one?"
"Don't poke the mysterious city people, Dalia," Sienna whispered back, though she was already taking a step forward.
The crowd of robes suddenly parted. Out walked someone who clearly didn't get the "wear a soap bubble" memo. This woman wore armor that looked like it was forged from the same silver liquid they’d seen under the bridge. It shifted and flowed over her shoulders as she walked.
She stopped five feet away, looking them up and down. Her eyes weren't a normal color—they were a bright, electric gold.
"The Crystal Path hasn't let anyone across in a hundred years," the woman said. Her voice sounded like two smooth stones rubbing together. "And yet, it lets in a girl who wants to burn her boots and another who thinks she’s a typo."
Dalia’s face went bright red. "You heard that?"
"The City hears everything," the leader replied, a tiny, sharp smile tugging at her lips. "I am Commander Vane. And you two are either very important, or the luckiest idiots I’ve ever met."
Sienna squared her shoulders, trying to look way cooler than she felt. "We're looking for the City. I guess we found it."
Vane glanced at the empty space where the bridge used to be. "You found it. Now the question is whether the City is going to let you leave."
- Writer
