Eibhlin cringed when she saw the scratches along the kithara’s side, and her stomach sank as she looked down and saw a large crack running up the instrument’s sound box. Tears threatened her eyes, and her throat tightened. She wanted to say some-thing, knew she should, but her mind went blank.
“I will be fine, Milady,” said the instrument. Its voice sounded like strings being tightened. “I am enchanted. It will patch itself up soon enough. I probably should not be played much, if at all, for a couple weeks, though.”
Eibhlin nodded.
Silence stretched between them before Mel said, “You should watch your step more, if you do not mind my mentioning, Milady.”
“It’s dark,” came the mumbled reply.
“You were never this clumsy on the stairs of the bell tower.”
“Those were stairs.”
More silence.
When the instrument spoke again, its tone sounded amused. “You know, Milady, with how far down we are going, you might just get to meet your demons.”
“What?” said Eibhlin.
“At this rate,” replied Mel, “we might just make it to the Gates of the Underworld, like the heroes in the old legends. Then you can see all the demons you want, Milady.”
“Who said I want to meet demons?”
“But at the bell tower, you seemed quite eager to assume anyone was a demon.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to meet one,” replied Eibhlin.
“You do not?” said Mel with mock disbelief. “Just as well, really. Nasty creatures, demons, but can be dangerously charming. How did you mistake Vi for a demon, Milady? Demons are not even of the Fae. The fae people were formed of the quintessence while beings such as demons and angels are pure spirit. They are not even of the same nature. Did you not learn that in your histories?”
“I know. I… I was just… I couldn’t think straight,” said the girl.
“Were you scared?”
“What?” Eibhlin paused a bit before saying, “Yes. I… I was scared.”
“And are you scared now?”
Eibhlin tensed. “Why are you asking?”
The instrument’s voice, while still strained, softened. “Eibhlin,” it said, “I am an enchanted item. I experience emotions such as happiness, anger, and, yes, even fear. However, they cannot impede me as do yours. If you cannot think straight, let me straighten you. Speak with me, Eibhlin. Let me help you. I am just a tool, an item. I cannot help you unless you let me.”
There in the dark, deep in the earth without sound, without sun or moon or stars, without any companion but a talking instrument, Eibhlin felt something crack. It was like at the elven home, being healed and treated, when Eibhlin first woke up and wished she was home and remembered her fear. Was it the solitude? Was it the dark? Was it the knowledge that, in that place, the world only existed within that little sphere of light?
What did it matter?
“Don’t be sorry for your tears. Indeed, I wonder if maybe you did not shed enough.” The elf lady’s words came back to her, and Eibhlin could only let the tears fall. Her quiet sobs echoed in the dark, sounding so distant and sad to her own ears that she couldn’t stop. Time did not exist in that orb of light on the border of the Underworld. Eibhlin cried, and Time did not exist to tell her for how long.
When Eibhlin’s weeping slowed, Mel asked, “Are you afraid, Milady?”
“Yes,” Eibhlin said. “Yes. I’m afraid.”
“Do you want me to help you?”
Eibhlin looked over at the instrument. Through her own broken voice, she said, “Yes. Yes, I do. Help me. Please, help me, Mel. I’m afraid. I’m afraid, and I don’t know what to do.”
With the softest tones its damaged voice could muster, the kithara said, “Well, Milady, first you need to stand.”
Eibhlin did.
“And now step forward. Carefully now!”
Eibhlin took a step.
“And now another. And another. And another. Good. Now another step. Good.”
And so the pair continued their descent into the heart of the earth.
After the nothingness of utter darkness, even the smallest hint of light becomes more precious than all the gold in the world. When she saw it, the keyhole looked to Eibhlin like the sun. She ran toward the light with a joyous cry. It sat in the wall of stone right about the level of a normal keyhole. Around it, the stone was strangely smooth, and when Eibhlin touched it, she felt the keys against her chest shiver. At once she wanted to fit the key into the lock, but Melaioni’s voice stopped her. “Before traveling through the fairy door, you should eat something, Milady. The moon has grown stronger now, and if your body and mind are weak, then you will be pulled aside and lose your way.”
Eibhlin felt hunger gnawing in her stomach. During the trip down, she had drunk water, but the anxiety and fear had kept her from eating much. Now, with the exit hopefully in sight, her relief brought with it hunger.
After the quick meal, Eibhlin took out the key and slid it into the keyhole. The door opened, and she stepped through. This trip was much like the others except the pull had grown exponentially stronger, much more than Eibhlin expected, and she nearly stumbled off her way. It was only the two keys and Yashul’s blessing that tethered her to her path. She realized this as she came out on the other side of the door. But she had other, more immediate worries to consider, so the thought did not stay long.
