The Castle Maze

The Castle was changing. They could hear it, in the distance, the slow scrape of stone on stone, the rumbling echoing up from the halls below. It wasn't the first time it had done this either- Emmery had been stuck in here for almost a week now, and the screech of grinding marble and granite had almost become background noise. 

It was as intriguing as it was frustrating; the shifting walls made it hard to get a sense of where they were going, and made getting Emmery’s berings nye impossible.  They’d given up trying to draw a map of the place on day four.
Food wasn't a problem, luckily- the empty kitchens and banquet halls they stumbled across ensured that. The first time they found a pantry, they’d spent the night there, loading their backpack with dried and canned goods, enough to last them a few days if need be. They needn’t have worried though- so far, their luck was holding up, and Emmery was stumbling upon something to eat at least once a day.  It was a good thing, though- so far, in the entire week they’d been trapped there, Emmery had yet to see another living thing. No decorative plants, no rats squeaking in the walls, no flies buzzing in the whited out windows- it was eerie. Too quiet. Nothing in the halls but the thump of their footsteps and the distant grinding of stone. 
Emmery sighed, and shook their head. A week stuck here was starting to grate on them. The silence had a pressure to it, like the halls were waiting for something, watching. It set Emmery’s teeth on edge, and made the constant searching just that much more exhausting. The hall they were in right now was long and narrow- rough cut limestone lined with flickering torches. Every so often, doorways would appear, flickering into existence as Emmery drew closer. These types of hallways often looped, keeping them in one spot for hours at a time. The only exit seemed to be the doors, which splintered off into other parts of the Castle and always disappeared after they were closed, leaving solid wall behind them. 

There had to be some sort of trick to it all, some form of magic or science that Emmery didn’t understand- the shifting halls and disappearing doors followed no rules or patterns that they could tell- even doubling back on the same hallway you just walked through wasn’t a guarantee that you’d get the same pattern of twists or turns. And they had no help guessing where they came in from, or even where they were- infuriatingly, Emmery had no idea of how they got to the Castle. They’d woken up in the middle of a throne room, a gold ornate chair behind them and a large glass chandelier hanging overhead. Emmery had jolted upright, startled, and realized with a sinking pit of dread that they couldn’t remember anything about the last week of their life. 

They’d panicked- where were Ben and Isa? Last they could recall they’d been with them, their best friend and sister, all together doing… something. Something important. Had they gotten split up? Were they alright? Emmery had spent that first day pacing the halls frantically, calling their names and praying for a response, for any sign that they were ok. But their shouts had only rebounded off of cold, empty stone, swallowed up by that heavy silence. 

Emmery heard it only because the flooring changed to wood. A faint noise from in front of them, off in the distance of the sprawling corridors. Something was moving, a faint scuffling noise. For a second, Emmery felt hope flare in their chest- that could be their sister, lost and cold and scared in this never ending maze- and they quickened their footsteps before staggering to a halt. They recognized that sound- a scratching, shuffling click, like when Baxter- their chihuahua- had tried running on a wet floor. That wasn’t footsteps. That was the sound of claws. 

Emmery stopped short, straining their ears to listen. The sound wasn’t getting louder, per say- whatever it was seemed stationary. There was a clinking noise too, metal on metal. A chain maybe?

Whatever this was, they needed to be careful. Nothing in this castle was normal, and it didn’t seem outside the question that whatever the source of the noise was, it might want to kill them. 

Emmery opened up their pack and pulled out a knife- one they had taken from the kitchen they came across, small but sharp- and started creeping forwards. Even if the chances of this going wrong were high, they still had to check it out. This was the first thing alive in here other than theirself, and Emmery had to know what it was. 

A guard dog, maybe? they thought. That would seem the most likely option. 

But what would it be guarding? 

The sounds of scratching grew louder with each footstep, drawing Emmery up to a corner. Back pressed against the wall, they peeked around it, inching their head into view. 

When they saw it, they froze. 

A writing mass of fur and feathers, pulling desperately at the chains wrapped around its neck and legs attaching it to a large stone column, claws scrabbling on the floor for purchase. It was small, granted, not much bigger than Baxter, but the flash of those talons gave Emmery pause. Anyone who’s met a chihuahua knows not to judge fierceness based on size.

The thing stopped then, bird-like head perked up as its gaze swiveled in Emmery’s position. They sucked in a breath and ducked back behind the corner. This would go easiest if they could just get by unnoticed, or better yet, turn back entirely. This thing didn’t really seem worth the trouble. 

But still… what’s it doing here? Why is it chained up? There could be something useful up ahead that the creature was supposed to prevent anyone from getting to, something important. Like the exit. Or my friends.

Around the corner, the creature squawked, and Emmery risked another peek. It was sitting now, head firmly locked on their position, its claws politely resting in front of it. Upon seeing Emmery again, it chirped, ruffling its feathers and attempting to walk towards them. It stopped short after a few steps, halted by the chains, and it turned backwards with a hiss, once again beginning to claw at them.

Huh. Not quite as scary as I thought it would be. Emmery hesitantly slid out from around the corner, inching closer to the creature as it twisted and turned. It stopped moving again as they got closer, freezing in place and starting up at them with sharp yellow eyes.

“Uh.” Emmery gulped. “Hey, buddy!” They took a step forward, keeping their eyes on the creature. Its chain seemed pretty short- if Emmery stuck close to the opposite wall, they should be able to get by without any problems. Hands up, they started backing down the hall.

“I’m just gonna leave, alright? No problems for you, no problems for me, ok?" 

The creature did nothing to stop them as they inched past it. It only stood, watching. Only when Emmery turned, and started making their way down the hall did the creature cry out, a desperate meowing noise as it pulled at the chains once more. Emmery stopped.
 It was… trying to follow them. Pawing at the floor and snapping at the metal links binding it.

…That looks like it hurts.

 Emmery shook their head. No, they weren’t going to get any closer. They were going to leave, and keep searching this damned Castle til they found the god-forsaken exit. They had places to be. Friends to find. Things to do that did not involve risking life and limb to set a weird bird-cat free. They were going to ignore it and keep going.

The creature whined again.

Emmery groaned.

“If you bite my hand off, I’m going to be so very annoyed.”


The chains came off easier than expected. The lock holding them together was simple- Emmery could have picked it when they were ten. The creature sat still as they worked, and when the final tumbler clicked into place and the padlock clattered off the wall, it was quick to try to stand. It stumbled, the heavy metal still wrapped around it, weighing it down.

“Hold on, bud, just a second. Let me get that off you, hmm? Then you can move around a bit easier.” 

The creature stilled again with a huff, allowing Emmery to reach over and begin unwrapping the chains. When the last one fell off its torso with a clatter, the little thing snapped upright, stretching deeply before unfurling a pair of dark, feathered wings and bursting into the air.

Emmery couldn’t quite believe it.

“...You’re a gryphon.” An honest to god gryphon, straight out of one of Ben’s mythology texts and rambles on fantastical monsters. Here, in this maze of halls and grinding stone. It all feels unreal.

Emmery faintly hopes they don’t run into a dragon in the next ballroom they find. 
The gryphon doesn’t make it far- it gets close to the end of the hall when its wings give out and it tumbles to the ground. Emmery hurries over as it starts getting up, reaching out to touch it and check if it's ok, but quickly draws their hand back when the gryphon snaps at their fingers. 

“Ok! Ok, just calm down, alright? I didn’t set you free to watch you get stuck here and squished when the Castle shifts. What about- hmm.” Emmery stops and opens their pack, an idea forming in their mind. Crouching down, they pull out a strip of dried beef and hold it out in front of them.

“Here you go. Something to eat, hmm?” 

The gryphon eases forward, sniffing at the jerky before snapping it up. And, occupied with the meal, it doesn’t react when Emmery picks it up. It seems ok from what they can tell- no broken bones, nothing dislocated. Emmery notes with a smile that its feathers are soft, if not a bit ruffled, and little bits of down can be seen here and there between the flight feathers.

“You’re a baby, aren’t you? That explains the size, I guess. I thought I remembered something about a gryphon being bigger than a chihuahua.” The gryphon said nothing, still happily snacking, and Emmery sets it down in their lap. 

“Isa’d love you, you know. Fawn over how cute you are, with your big kitten paws. She’s a sucker for animals, always has been.” Emmery huffs a laugh. “You know she’s the one that found Baxter? She works at an animal shelter and thought he was just the most adorable thing she’d ever seen. Course, that was before he ripped up the couch and made a mess of the carpet. Still love him though, the little devil.” 

Something bittersweet coats Emmery’s tongue, and suddenly the words are a lot harder to get out. 

“I wonder what he’s doing right now. Isa’s probably giving him extra belly rubs to make up for me not being there.” Emmery swallows hard. “Or she’s not home.” She could be out there, looking for me. Hoping I’m alive somewhere, trying to get me back to her. Or she’s lost too, praying Ben or I will come and save her from a personal hell of her own. Or she’s hurt somewhere, or dying, or-

They’re pulled out of their spiral by the gryphon headbutting their chest. It then coos, climbing up around their shoulders and nestling there.

 Emmery blinks away the tears forming and takes a few deep breaths, a soft smile curling on their lips as the gryphon nuzzles their neck again. Emmery returns the favor with a light pat on its head.

“Thanks, bud. At least I got you here with me now, hmm?” They stand, pulling on their pack, and turn to the hall ahead. Shoulders squared, they take one more deep breath before staring down the twisting behemoth of stone that lies ahead of them.

“Now then, let's get going. We’ve got a Castle maze to solve.”

 

Gabbie L.

VT

18 years old

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