Emily and the Statues

Emily let herself float in the water, far enough away from the whirlpool that it was still and she could rest. She allowed herself to luxuriate in its warmth and recover some of her strength. Then, once she felt ready, she set out for the center of the whirlpool.

The water splashed around Emily as she propelled herself forward, fighting the whirlpool's pull even as it grew stronger. She focused her eyes on the stone platform and moved towards it with single-minded determination. But the current was powerful, and she felt herself slowly losing to it. Panic and fear energised her and moved her onward.

At last, skin touched stone. Emily felt a surge of energy course through her body as one hand brushed against the stone of the platform, and she reached out to grip it. The stone was smooth and slippery, so she had to fight for a handhold, grabbing with one and then both hands and eventually pulling herself up.

But just as Emily was half out of the water, ready to collapse onto the stone platform in total exhaustion, she felt a tremor from deep below, which threatened to send her back into the grip of the whirlpool. Scrambling, panicked, her hands grabbed at the smooth stone, failing to find purchase.

And then the platform began to sink.

Emily managed to suck in a deep breath of air just before the platform fell below the water, taking her with it. Now she was down below, caught in the whirlpool, chasing a sinking stone, her eyes on the pedestal and--the pendant!

As Emily watched, a silver necklace lifted from the now fully submerged pedestal and started to swirl around with the whirlpool. It was so close now, she could almost touch it. And the swirling waters were bringing it to her!

Emily slackened completely, no longer interested in fighting the current. The waters pulled her down, down, with the pendant following. Now it was just above her! She reached out an outstretched hand, felt the necklace's smooth chain between her fingers, and shut her hand tight. The Stoneshell was hers!

At the very instant that Emily's fingers closed around the pendant, the whirlpool ceased. The current vanished as if it had never been, and Emily used the very last of her strength to propel herself to the surface, with the Stoneshell firmly in her grasp.

Breaking the surface of the water with a weary triumph, she opened her mouth and took in another breath.

"Emily! You're back!" came the sound of a familiar female voice. For Emily had emerged in the same cavern the statues had first guided her to. Aria and Brom stood patiently on the shore, their carved faces pictures of anticipation.

Smiling weakly at her friends, Emily slowly waded to the shallow end of the pool, her right hand still gripping the Stoneshell. After hours in the water, she finally crawled back onto land, where she collapsed in an exhausted sprawl on the damp rock floor, her closed right hand reaching towards the statues.

"I got it," she wheezed, opening her hand to show Aria and Brom the necklace.

With a cacophony of creaking and grinding, the statues bent down to examine the silver pendant. "Yes, this is indeed the Stoneshell," Aria said. "Well done, Emily!"

"Aye, it matchs that jester's description perfectly!" added Brom. "Good work, lass!"

Once Emily had regained enough of her energy to pull her head up and take a proper look at the necklace, she noted that it was a simple silver chain with a seashell pendant on it, which, appropriately enough, was made of stone. "What now?" she asked.

"To lift the curse, the pendant must be worn by its rightful owner," said Aria, gazing wistfully at the necklace.

Emily stretched her fingers a bit wider. "Please, Aria, take it."

But Aria shook her head. "No, Emily, the pendant's rightful owner is she who proved herself worthy of it in the Labyrinthine Pool. You must wear it."

Brom nodded in agreement. "The legend is clear."

"It won't do anything weird to me, will it?" asked Emily.

Aria shook her marble head. "The Stoneshell is imbued only with good magic, to counteract the evil curse upon the statues of Castle Elid."

Emily bit her lip and glanced from Brom to Aria, and then to Aria again. "Are you sure? I don't want to become a statue!"

Brom threw back his head and laughed, causing echoes across the cavern. "Though ye'd make a fine bronze, ye've nothing of the sort te worry about, Miss Emily! The Stoneshell shall not harm ye, it will protect ye."

"Protect..." Emily repeated, holding the necklace up in front of her face. She imagined putting the necklace on, and immediately having a suit of armor appear to cover her body. "That sounds good."

Emily lifted the necklace over her head and brought the chain to rest against her neck. She angled her body away from Brom's gaze to lift her hair up and out of the necklace's way so that the chain rested against her skin.

The stone shell came to rest just above Emily's breasts. Which, like the rest of her, remained naked. But even while she remained unchanged, the air around her seemed to shift, as if the castle itself was exhaling a long-held breath. There was a sudden lightness to the air, an infectious joy that had Emily pulling herself to her feet and almost jumping for joy. She felt deliciously, irrationally happy.

"Yippee!" she cried, jumping up and twirling around to face the statues.

Aria and Brom were still statues, made of marble and bronze respectively, but both were grinning just as wide as she was.

Emily's grin fell and she gripped the pendant, turning the small stone in her fingers. "I thought the curse was broken. Why are you still statues?"

The sadness that Emily had long noted in Aria's voice was now apparent in Aria's eyes, and her whole face seemed more expressive. "Magic is a fickle thing. With the Stoneshell worn by one worthy of it, the castle has been opened to the world, and we, its inhabitants are free to go. I can feel it. But we have been statues so long, that perhaps that is all we can now be."

"Ah, 'tis not so bad," Brom added. "My limbs are more limber now than they have been in many a year, perhaps even more than when they were flesh." As if to demonstrate, he moved his arms up and down with a smoothness that was almost human.

"Stone and metal do not age as the flesh does," said Aria. "Perhaps it is a blessing, the gift of immortality."

At these words, Emily had a ghastly vision of Aria and Brom turning to flesh and becoming skeletons before her eyes, like in an old movie that had given her nightmares as a child. Maybe this was for the best, even if it meant that she would not be getting her hands on Aria's gown.

"Oh!" Aria exclaimed, noting the direction of Emily's wistful gaze. "I had forgotten that I promised you my gown, did I not? Well, I am afraid I must renege. Though my movements feel smoother, freer and easier, I still cannot remove it."

"A pity," said Brom, with a sly wink.

"Okay then," said Emily. "We can leave this castle now. That's an achievement. That's a start. Next thing, I need to find some clothes. And then a way home."

"In Lirethel, there are many skilled mages and scholars," Aria suggested. "If anyone knows how to send you home, we will find them there."

"We?" asked Brom, raising a bronze eyebrow.

Aria blushed, the white marble of her cheeks turning pink. Even though the Stoneshell hadn't turned either statue human, it had made them both far more lifelike and animated. "Y-yes. Emily needs a guide, someone who knows this land and its customs."

Brom chuckled. "Begging your pardon, milady, but your knowledge is a wee bit out of date."

"Be that as it may, I also have my own reasons for traveling to Lirethel," Aria said sharply, in a tone that implied her mind was made up and she wouldn't be taking any questions. "Could I have the honor of being your guide, Emily?"

"Of course," Emily said. She was becoming quite fond of Aria and would need a companion in this strange world.

"Marvelous!" Aria said, clasping her hands together. "Perhaps you would like to accompany us as well, Brom?"

Brom shook his head. "A thousand pardons, milady, but I have my own quest. Under any other circumstance, I would be honor-bound to protect two traveling ladies, but with the Stoneshell around yer neck, no harm can come to ye."

Aria nodded. "Should we be accosted by bandits, I will fall upon them and crush them under my weight."

Emily turned the shell over in her fingers. She didn't feel very well protected, standing naked and dripping wet in the middle of a cave, but the change in the atmosphere that the pendant had brought about was undeniable. Even as an outsider to this world, she could sense the potency of its magic.

The statues guided Emily back to their hall, which was now drowned in cacophonous noise. All the rest of their fellows were whooping and hollering, running around, jumping and dancing, relishing in their newfound freedom. As Emily entered the hall, they all stopped what they were doing and surrounded her, oohing and awwing at the Stoneshell. The statues showered her in praise and compliments, shook her hands, and some even insisted on giving her bone-crunching hugs. All throughout, Emily blushed furiously, wishing the room's center of attention was hanging just above her still very bare breasts.

"All hail Lady Emily of Greenville, the Stoneshell Bearer!" screamed Jivaro. "She's baring many other things as well, mind! Gaze upon the Stoneshell, framed by her lovely bosoms!"

At Emily's command, Brom gave Jivaro a solid kick that sent him flying into a wall. "Ow!" Jivaro cried, as he scraped against the wall and thudded onto the floor.

"He's faking, we statues can't feel any pain," Brom whispered to Emily.

"Too bad," Emily muttered.

After some time, Emily and Aria were able to extricate themselves from the adoring crowd. Having said final farewells to Brom, the two women turned into the corridor where Emily had first emerged.

The eerie torchlight was now replaced by the natural light of the sun, streaming in from windows that Emily was certain had not been there before. It gave the castle a mundane feeling, like one of the ruins Emily had visited on her last trip to Scotland. As Emily ambled across the uneven stone floor, the dreamlike feeling that had pervaded the place seemed to dissipate. If Emily looked away from the moving marble statue beside her, she could almost imagine she was back in her world, touring a castle ruin. In the nude, for some reason.

Emily felt sick, like she would come across a tour guide or large group of ordinary tourists just around the next corner, who would point and stare at her exposed body. She turned her head back to Aria, the lady walking beside her who was unmistakeably made of marble, as if to assure herself that this wouldn't happen. No, the only people who would be pointing and staring at Emily's naked body were inhabitants of this strange magical world.

This was hardly a comfort, but Emily didn't have much time to dwell on it before they reached the castle's entrance hall. Two massive wooden doors opened out onto a verdant field, with rolling green hills in the distance.

"It is good to see the plains of Thessolan again," said Aria. "I had given up hope that I would ever lay my eyes upon them again. Thank you, Emily."

Emily smiled, her eyes darting around the hall, searching for something she might be able to wear. The idea of going out into the world as she was terrified her. But the entrance hall, like the rest of the castle, was quite bare of any kind of fabric.

"It is a long journey to Thessolan," Aria said. "I am sure we will be able to acquire some clothes for you along the way."

"The sooner the better," Emily muttered.

"Don't worry, the Stoneshell shall bring us good luck--hark, what are those?"

Emily followed Aria's gesture with her eyes, which soon came to rest on something small and brown lying behind one of the open castle doors. It was a pair of boots. She approached them and picked one up, finding a gray sock inside it. They were soft and slightly worn, and looked to be about her size.

"Ah, it is already working!" cried Aria in delight. "These are sturdy walking boots, and they will serve you well on the journey ahead."

"Boots," said Emily, nonplussed. "A necklace and boots." Though she had to admit that her feet were getting quite sore from the uneven stone.

"We will buy a dress and a travelling cloak for you from the first traveling merchant we encounter," said Aria. "Those should complete the ensemble nicely."

Emily sat down on the stone floor and put on the socks, and then the boots, lacing them up comfortably. They fit perfectly, as if they had been made for her, and the socks' softness provided welcome relief for her feet. But they also served to highlight her lack of other attire.

"I think I feel even more naked now," Emily said, standing up and walking around experimentally. "Shoes and socks make it feel intentional. Like I'm a streaker or a nudist or something."

"Worry not, dear Emily, you'll have that dress before you know it!"

"I sure hope so. Lead the way, Aria."

With a gracious smile, the marble lady led the girl from another world, clad only in boots and a magical necklace, out of Castle Elid. The road to Lirethel beckoned.