“Remind me, dear M, how do we begin this game?” Robin asked, neither of them taking their eyes off me, and neither of them moving.
“With the mind, Robin. We test it’s mind with our riddles.” The whole “It” thing was getting a little annoying. Apparently I didn’t even deserve gender status.”
“We will give the child 3 riddles each, I will go first. Child, what is in the middle of the sky?” M asked. This one was easy, I already knew the answer.
“The letter K?” I said, trying to make it sound like a question, so they wouldn’t know it was too easy.
“Congratulations, and now it is Robins’ turn. This house holds rooms, one score and six, that shelter a vast mob. It lets lions lie down with the lambs, yet makes both shun the slob. None now will nestle
with nicks and nates, while reams room near the rear. Though you and I have separate rooms, both our bottles brim with beer. The king and queen can never mate (though hands and hearts hobnob), because their rooms are separate if this jail does its job. What house is this that rules thus, forcing faith to fend with fear? The answer to this riddle lies with dead and dying here.”
Well, now I’m officially going to die. My head is going a million places a second. I’ve never once heard this riddle, or anything similar to it. I’m scared as heck to ask if I can hear it again, but I have no idea if he’ll kill me.
“You may hear it as many times as you wish, child.” M said, which made my day. After about ten minutes of asking to hear it again, and thinking about it, I noticed that all the words went well together. Let, lions, lie, lambs. Hands, hearts, hobnob. Faith, fend, fear. Dead and dying. Like a book filled with words. A rhyming... I’m stupid.
“A dictionary.” I told them, both scared but hopeful. I thought if I said, instead of asked, they’d just say yes.
“Well found, child.” Was all he said, but his smile got toothier and scarier.
“What starts with T, ends with T, and is filled with T?” M said. That’s when I realized he wanted me to live, if only to tick off Robin.
“It’s a teapot.” I told him, knowing that I’d probably fail against Robin but M would let me live if he could. That helped. I know it sounds pathetic, but it helped to know that he wanted me to live, at
least.
“It was a tradition long ago, when the world was dark and full of woe. When men turned darkness into light, by mixing, melting and decanting in the night, to seek for youth and gold and riches, just to be burned as witches. What was this?” Robin asked.
Okay, so historical tradition. Middle ages, or thereabouts. Maybe a pastor? Turning dark into light? But mixing, melting, and decanting? For money? And to be burned as witches? Maybe some type of hermit? But that’s not scientific. Neither are witches, or druids. Wait. Alchemists.
“...” Oh. My. God. I almost said alchemists. Opened my mouth, inhaled, and everything. It’s the tradition, not the practitioners.
“Alchemy.” I told them.
“Nearly done. Only two left, child. What can jump higher than the tallest palace?” M asked me. God, he really was making it easy for me.
“Everything. Palaces can’t jump.”
“Final one, child. Fail, and you die. Only one color, but not one size, stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies; present in sun, but not in rain; doing no harm, and feeling no pain. What am I?” That one took
a while. At first, I thought it was a yellow raincoat, then I realized it was a shadow, and give him the answer.
Then, the scariest thing I’ve ever seen happened. Robin started clapping, and laughing in the highest pitched laugh I’ve ever heard. It was literally a giggle.
“Very good, child. Now, we begin the second game.” M said. And then everything went pitch black.
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