Chapter 62 The Dizzy Witch A sound that only a cat could make came from his throat…
Lucas had barely opened his eyes, before he could even realize he'd accidentally fallen on someone, when Ashlin shoved him away, sending him crashing into the wall.
"Oh dear! I'm so sorry," the witch said hastily, then laughed in surprise, "We're still alive!"
Then she frowned. "Uh, they are indeed still alive, right? This doesn't look like the spirit world."
“That’s right.” Lucas rubbed his head in agreement. “Your magic seems to have cushioned our fall.”
They didn't know how long they had been falling, but Lucas felt an urge to kiss the ground. It felt so good to have something under his feet.
It was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, except for the faint glow of the torches on the walls, which told them that this was a real place.
The walls were covered in moss and engraved with mysterious runes that even Lucas couldn't decipher. The floor was paved with cement, mottled and uneven. The air was thick with the smell of earth and decay.
Ahead of them was a bottomless tunnel.
The mouse on Lucas's shoulder also woke up.
"What bad luck! I didn't want to come to the maze," Zack complained.
“Don’t you want to be a knight in the future? Being a maze ...
At that moment, a huge white mass beside them moved.
Nova emerged from the Yeti's malfunctioning body and looked at them in surprise.
“You’ve come too,” she said in a declarative sentence. “It’s fun here.”
"Nova! You're alive too!" Ashlin exclaimed in surprise.
"Keep your voice down," Lucas whispered. "We don't know what we might wake up."
Nova was so shocked that all the small mechanical parts fell to the ground. Not knowing where to put his hands, he patted the witch with difficulty.
Ashlin had released Nova and was now staring blankly at the bare wall, her back to everyone, as if sleepwalking.
"Huh?" She turned around dramatically, so much so that her hat fell to the ground. "I'm fine."
“Twin Grass,” Lucas reminded him. “The poisonous part of it has a similar effect on the divine offspring as intoxication. Perhaps you should drink some… I don’t know, a potion for sobering up? Do we even have such a thing?”
Ashlin shrugged, puffing out her cheeks as if she were blowing a bubble. "I don't think so."
He observed her closely. Ashlinn's blonde hair was a mess, mixed with twigs and slush, and she had scratches on her chin and a flushed face.
But she also possessed a certain resilience that Lucas had when he first met her, reminding him of a wolf that had just been unleashed.
“Alright, then please check first whether the divine ring is part of the spell.”
Ashlin placed the ring, dragonfire, and magic flute together, and a strange silver light suddenly burst forth in the dark labyrinth.
“Excellent! Next, we need to find clues to the fourth riddle item.” Lucas pulled out Fernando’s journal. “There are many magic books hidden in the maze, and they can lead to any place. We should make good use of that.”
He opened the journal and placed it under Ashlin's green fluorite staff. However, the words on the journal flowed strangely, as if he had suddenly developed dyslexia. He couldn't grasp any information.
“I don’t understand,” Lucas murmured. “Zack, was it the same when you and Eisuza were reading this book on the ground?”
Zack sniffed. "I remember the text was static."
“It’s a labyrinth.” Ashlin seemed to be struggling to open her eyes. “The magic of the labyrinth has affected us… The labyrinth has some kind of intelligence; it’s preventing us from reading it because it doesn’t want us to get what we want easily. After all, that’s what it was designed for, isn’t it? To hinder monsters and stop dark wizards.”
“Ashley is right,” Nova said.
“Not only that, I just had a dream…” Ashlin told them about her dream.
“You mean Aidan will bring my sister to the labyrinth to find Knox?” Lucas muttered. “God, now everyone’s here. Are we going to have a party in the labyrinth?”
“Yay!” Zack said out of the blue, busy sniffing the maze’s paths. “I’ll be the host mouse.”
“That’s right.” Ashlind nodded.
"What a lunatic."
“If Knox steals the bag, all our efforts will be wasted,” Lucas continued. “We need a backup plan.”
“I have an idea,” Ashlin said, still full of clever ideas even though she was drunk from the poisonous plants, “a potion of transformation.”
“Very well, but the illusion potion was invented by Knox himself,” Lucas said. “He will likely see through it.”
“Better safe than sorry. Let me think, dragonfire, magic flute, divine ring…” she said, rummaging through her backpack. “I think we need an ordinary torch, a branch, and any kind of ring.”
Lucas handed her the torches from the maze wall, and Zach fetched a branch for her.
She dripped the illusion potion onto the items one by one, muttering a few incantations under her breath.
Within seconds, they looked exactly like the mythical creature in the riddle.
"It's done. It's completely indistinguishable from the real thing." Ashlin clapped her hands.
“I’ll keep the fake items safe. After all, anyone can open my backpack, but only you can open yours.” Lucas took the items. “However, the biggest problem now is that we don’t have a map, nor do we know the music that guides us through the maze like Aidan does.”
“I know how to navigate the maze,” Nova said. “Grandma made me memorize the map. Where do you want to go? I can help. I’ve always been curious. The maze.”
Ashlinn immediately looked at her with admiration.
“God, Nova! You are our savior!” She paused, rubbing her temples. “But can’t we rest for a bit? I feel like I haven’t slept in ages, and… I’m still feeling dizzy.”
“Great, then let’s find a safe place to sleep.” Lucas put his arm around her shoulder.
They followed Nova, carefully stepping over the three yetis. The whirlpool had shattered them into pieces, rendering them immobile for the time being, but who knew when they might revive?
After walking for a while, Nova stopped.
"listen."
Lucas and Zach pricked up their ears. From the dark tunnel ahead of the maze, a faint hissing sound came, like a swarm of snakes.
“I have a suggestion,” Lucas said. “Why don’t we turn back and go in a different direction?”
“Good idea,” Ashlin nodded in agreement.
However, strange noises came from another direction, sounding like countless wriggling worms.
“I think insects are safer than snakes,” Zach said.
He makes a good point. Considering that these are the only two options, they have no choice but to bite the bullet and head towards the "bugs".
Finally, two small, well-hidden rooms appeared around the corner. They laid out blankets and unloaded their equipment.
Nova glanced at them quickly. "I sleep with mice."
“You two need to have a serious talk.” Nova decisively grabbed Zack and led him into one of the rooms.
The witch staggered into another room, and Lucas really wanted to help her walk.
"Yes, it feels like I'm back on the farm in Dragon Tooth Village. It's like something from the last century."
There were only the two of them in the maze room, and the air felt a little thin.
Ashlin sat on the blanket against the wall, her hand supporting her face, the firelight behind her outlining her in gold.
Lucas sat down cautiously cross-legged opposite her, his tail thumping restlessly.
“Nova is right, we need to have a serious talk,” he began. “I know you might still be a little dizzy… but the maze is dangerous, and we could run into Knox at any moment. We need to figure out who he really is and what his ultimate goal is.”
“We know nothing about Knox, only the most superficial information,” Ashley said. “His youth was unintentionally bestowed upon him by Aidan. He has black hair, black eyes, his magic is ordinary gray, and he smells of mint. Who isn’t like that? You smell of mint too.”
“Hey, that’s not me,” Lucas retorted. “Those are my clothes. But after all this time, they probably don’t smell like mint anymore.”
“I think Knox is probably just having fun,” Ashlin said. “Think about what he did, it makes absolutely no sense. Releasing the monsters of the labyrinth, reviving the Black Witch, what benefit does he get from that?”
“Or perhaps he wants revenge,” Lucas guessed. “My father executed some wizards…”
He had to stop talking because Ashlin's gaze was wandering, as if she were in class.
"How are you feeling? Do you need some water?" he asked with concern, then realized it was a pointless question, since Ashlin had water in her own bag and she would have gone to get some herself if she wanted to.
Ashlinn then looked at him, remaining silent for a long while. Lucas almost thought she was about to fall asleep with her eyes open.
“I can make a bed out of vines,” she suddenly said. “What do you think?”
Lucas looked at her, puzzled. What did this have to do with their previous conversation? "No, thank you. The blanket is enough for me."
“Or perhaps we should clean ourselves up.” She said, as if she hadn’t heard him. “Yes.”
Before Lucas could object, she drew a circle around them both with her staff. "Mundātus!"
A flash of pale green light, and they were not met with a "cleanup." The room filled with the smell of soap, and Lucas noticed bubbles floating on his cloak.
"Very good, a body full of soap bubbles is exactly what I need." He said helplessly, "It seems our conversation is over for today. You should get some rest, I won't bother you any longer."
He took off his bubble cape and lay down. Ashlin fell into an eerie silence, then mumbled in a drowsy voice, "Lucas."
"Um?"
"Come a little closer."
Lucas's cat ears stood up, and he had to sit up again after lying down.
"What's wrong?" He tried to sound like he was talking about the weather.
Knock knock knock.
Lucas heard his heart launching a grand drumming contest in his chest, which was absolutely terrifying.
He took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible, "Good heavens, you're really drunk. Get some sleep, and you'll be free of the Twin Grass's poison tomorrow."
Ashlin blinked and frowned.
Lucas was about to say something lighthearted, like, "We could write what you just said into a book called 'The Complete Collection of Divine Ramblings Under the Influence of Twin Grasses'" when he was tackled against another wall before he could even open his mouth.
He yelled and rubbed his head, feeling as if his head had been slammed hard by the hard stone wall.
Several vines grew out of the wooden stool beside him (heaven knows where this stool came from!), bound his wrists, and forced him to raise his arms high behind his back and pin them to the wall.
“I want to know,” Ashlin whispered, “what other secrets are you hiding from me?”
Lucas's mind was a complete blank. She was so close, he could almost count her golden eyelashes. She had a hazy, dreamlike beauty, hidden beneath the tangled mess of plants.
Now, he could only pray that Ashlinn couldn't hear his heartbeat, which was so loud it could wake up Nova and Zach next door.
The witch sighed in frustration. "Even now, I still haven't won your complete trust!"
“Of course you won,” Lucas said immediately. “I’m just saying you’re not thinking straight right now, we can talk about the serious stuff later. Let me go, okay? I feel like I’m being kidnapped.”
Ashlin raised her eyebrows and grinned, revealing her canine teeth.
“I’m perfectly sober, Lucas de Vere. You know what my mother said?”
“Your mother?” Lucas had never heard Ashlyn talk about her mother before.
He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. For so long, he had been trying to hide the truth about Duke Lanrit and constantly thinking about his other family members, yet he had never inquired about Ashline's parents. He knew almost nothing about her background.
“She told me to take the initiative,” Ashley said.
“…You mean, attack me with plants?” Lucas gestured to his wrist. “What did I do that warrants this?”
“It’s not what you did,” Ashlind reached out and gently touched the tip of his cat ear, “but what you didn’t do.”
A purring sound, like that of a cat, came from his throat.
Ashlinn's hands weren't exactly gentle, but they were incredibly flexible, warm, and soothing. Suddenly, he wished that hand could stay a little longer.
No, that's not right. He's clearly just a person with cat ears and a cat tail right now. What is he thinking?
Lucas forcefully transformed the snoring sound into a cough.
"I choked," he said awkwardly.
The more you try to explain, the worse it gets.
Fortunately, Ashlin's mind was probably off right now, and she didn't mock him, just laughed a few times as if he were an amusing doll.
Her fingers traced the curve of his earlobe. Lucas's cheeks burned, and he was paralyzed, only remembering how to breathe after a long while. He prayed that the light was too dim for her to see his face.
“They’re so cute,” she announced, her voice trembling with drunkenness. “Why don’t you like them?”
“I don’t dislike it.” Lucas quickly said something to avoid making the situation more awkward, as he remembered how to say it in Common. “However, you’d better not use ‘cute’ to describe a prince.”
Ashlin smiled slyly.
“There’s no prince here, Lucas. There’s only my black cat.”
Her face was flushed, and her light golden curls fell onto his face, tickling him.
Lucas's hard-won breath disappeared again.
Her... black cat.
He should say something in response, he thought. But the words slipped from his tongue, more slippery than a river fish.
"Hmm." Ashlin lowered her hand, but her body and the vines did not move.
If Lucas hadn't known she was completely confused, she would have been acting as if she were thinking.
“Unless you kiss me goodnight,” she said.
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