PROMISE

Peony pulled Masha’s knife from the Manticore’s neck and began to heal the wound.

“What are ya doin’, dumbass!?” Joel shouted. Chinatsu was also confused by the mercy being shown to this creature. Shouldn’t they finish it off?

“I didn’t want a fight in the first place,” Peony said. “But you left us no choice but to defend ourselves, Monk.”

Monk? Who? The Manticore!?

The monster and Peony seemed to be acquainted, but how? It had insinuated there was some kind of promise made between them, but Peony had never mentioned anything like that before.

“Elf, conserve your mana. Do not waste it on me,” the Manticore grumbled as it stood up weakly. More blood spilled out from the wound in its abdomen.

“But you’re hurt! If I don’t heal you then–”

“You know as well as I that the cycle will continue. I will return as ever.” The Manticore turned to walk down the path it had emerged from, but stopped. It looked at Masha as Joel set her down with disgust, before looking at Peony. “Peony, my liege, has something in you changed?”

“I’m afraid curiosity has gotten the better of me,” Peony replied. Chinatsu wondered what that meant.

“Very well,” the Manticore nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. The Manticore’s black fur was absorbed into the darkness of the path as it limped away.

Miyabi sheathed her blade, then looked at Peony. Chinatsu wasn’t sure if it was anger or suspicion, but she had the same kind of look in her eye when confronting Peony about the labyrinth before.

“Over the years, I’ve made deals with a variety of creatures in this place. It’s part of how I’ve survived,” Peony said. “Monk–that Manticore–is one of them.”

“What was the deal you made?” Miyabi asked.

“That he would allow me free passage on the condition that I never provide aid to any humans ever again,” they replied. Peony looked at Miyabi and Chinatsu. “And I kept that promise until I met you.”

“Why would you break a promise like that just to help us!? You’ve put yourself in danger now!” Miyabi scolded.

Peony bowed their head, but didn’t answer. It was so quiet here. The presence of the Manticore probably scared any birds away from this spot, leaving the trickle of water from the fountain as the only ambient sound. Finally, after a moment, Peony looked up again.

“Because after so long, there were two of you,” they said.

“Two of us?” Chinatsu asked. He looked from Peony to Miyabi, who looked completely shaken. “Miyabi…?”

“I just remembered something,” she said, her voice wavering. She sat down on the edge of the fountain, holding her head in her hands. “When we got here–before you woke up–I heard a voice in my head say something like ‘two of them.’ I didn’t know what it was or what it meant before, so I never brought it up, but…”

What is the significance of that? Didn’t they also encounter Joel and Masha?

No. Those two came into this world alone…

“Peony, is it rare for two people to come into this place!?” Chinatsu asked. “Even though you came here with someone else, too!”

“I did, but before you two, only once had I ever encountered someone besides myself that came into this world as a pair,” they explained. “It seems to be an extremely rare occurrence.”

“What about soldiers? If the thing drawing people into this maze is a strong sense of regret, then wouldn’t this place be full of soldiers who’ve died in battle?” Miyabi questioned.

“I only saw the one of ‘em when I picked up that stuff,” Joel interjected as he also took a seat on the edge of the fountain. He lit a cigarette and took a drag.

“Really? That seems unusual,” Chinatsu replied.

“I don’t think it’s that unusual,” he said, exhaling smoke. “Soldiers go to war prepared to die because they believe in the cause. But there’s always gonna be that one guy who doesn’t wanna be there, and that’s the guy who's gonna want a do-over when he’s at death’s door.”

Chinatsu felt lost in thought at this. Just what exactly was Miyabi’s regret? It had to be something as strong as his own. Guilt? Did she feel guilty because they fell when she crashed into him? He wanted to tell her that wasn’t her fault.

“Well…not to change the subject…but I feel like I’m at death’s door,” Masha wheezed while gripping her midsection.

“Ah! That’s right, she got hurt! Peony–” Chinatsu remembered. But Peony was already fast at work providing Masha with healing magic.

“You held in there well,” Peony said with a gentle smile.

“I’ll leave…dinner to…the rest of you…” Masha pointed at Chinatsu.

“Me!?” Chinatsu could whip up some basic foods, but had never made anything more complicated than curry from a premade mix. He wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot like that.

Chinatsu and Miyabi gathered up the wild greens Masha had dropped when the Manticore appeared. After a fire was built, she instructed them that in order to cook the nettles, they needed to be blanched first and then rinsed to get the sting off of them.

Masha then suggested they fry the greens together using the tallow in the pemmican for grease and flavor. Joel took over for this–he didn’t trust “a couple of kids” not to burn it. Hardtack was soaked in some water to soften it to eat like bread.

By the time their meal was ready, Peony had finished tending to Masha’s injuries.

Chinatsu was surprised by the flavor of the wild greens. Perhaps it was the flavor of the animal fat, or just the bits of meat, but it wasn’t very different from enjoying cooked spinach. The nettles were mild in flavor, while the dandelion greens were slightly more peppery and bitter. The ramps, as Masha called them, turned out to be a kind of wild garlic which provided so much more flavor to the meal.

“...’s good,” Joel said with a mouthful of food, breaking the silence.

“So you do eat vegetables,” Peony quipped. Chinatsu held back a snort. He wanted to laugh, knowing that he wasn’t the only one who noticed that about Joel.

“Well, when it’s between some lawn clippings and starving to death…” Joel mumbled.

Masha set down her wooden bowl on the ground next to her and sighed. She drew her knees up to her chest and stared into the fire.

“I could never bring myself to hate any of you,” she said wistfully.

“I’m sorry? I’ll eat everything you make from now on! No questions asked! Just don’t tell me if it’s made from monster butthole or something.” Joel became flustered.

“It’s not about that…” Masha sighed and rested her head on her knees.

“I’m sorry I called this natural bounty lawn clip–OOF!”

Chinatsu whacked Joel in the side and looked at him like read the room, dumbass. Peony patted Masha’s head.

“It’s about what Monk said earlier, isn’t it?” Peony asked. Masha nodded.

“I understand his feelings. In my world, my kind are mistreated by most humans. They look at us with suspicion…disgust…fear,” Masha paused. She ran her fingers over some embroidery on her apron. “But I can’t bring myself to hate them. I was raised by two, very kind humans who took me in when I was all alone.”

The fire crackled and popped as Chinatsu considered her words. He understood Masha a little more. Why she seemed so self-conscious about her appearance when they first met. Why the Manticore was able to get under her skin so much. And why she was still overflowing with kindness in spite of it all.

“Monk,” Peony began, “exists in this place where he is trapped in a cycle of death and rebirth. The pain of death is something he has grown to accept. It’s inevitable that those brought into this place will seek to kill him, but what he fears most is when the labyrinth resets and he is revived with the memory of that pain.”

Did that mean that every single monster in this place also has experienced death and revival countless times?

The Manticore was the first monster they’d encountered that could be considered “higher intelligence,” but now he wondered about the other creatures. Did they have the same hatred? The same fear? Could they have been reasoned with if someone had just tried? Or was it only possible to reason with a creature like Monk because he could speak?

“If you’re not helping people, then it means they won’t reach the exit easily if at all,” Miyabi said. “I understand why he asked you to make that promise now.”

Peony sighed and flopped down onto the ground. They laid on their back, heads behind their head, staring up at the sky.

“I’m just hoping that things will end differently this time,” said the Elf.

“What do you mean?” Chinatsu asked, looking at Peony. Their differently colored eyes met his and stared at him for a moment.

“You said you were going to get us all out of here, right?” Peony smirked. “Don’t let me down.”