***Disclaimer - This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All characters in this story are 18 years or older***
***Writers Note -- This is the continuation of the story in this series. Kindly read the other part(s) before continuing ***
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David took some steps back. He could not believe his eyes or his ears for that matter. "I must still be dreaming." He shut his eyes tight and slapped his cheeks. He opened the eyes to find that he is still inside the cave. The light is still in front of him. "Don't be frightened, David". The light spoke.
The voice of the light is really soft and it somehow calmed David's fright. He took a deep breath. He looked at the light and asked "What... Who are you?"
The light seemed to be eager to answer David. "I am Creiddylad, The Goddess of Flowers and Love", the light moved closer to him.
He looked at her confounded. She knew the reason. She slowly reduced the light emitting from her body. The body was turning into a lady. She was a slender, petite young woman, in her early twenties. Her eyes were light green and lips were pale red. She had worn a torn yellow gown that was barely covering till her knees. Her face was sad and gloomy. She was covered in dust. He could see wounds all over her body. She looked like she had been in torture for days or even months.
"Will you help me from the tortures of the Spirit, David?" She asked.
"You mean the Old Man?" he asked back.
"Yes, the Old Man is not a human but a spirit who possess magical powers." She answered calmly.
He looked over to her and asked: "How did you end up here?"
"He kidnapped me from my palace while I was asleep" She looked at the chain, "This chain is made of his magic spell. It helps him to control my powers. I cannot use it at will anymore"
David was listening carefully, "Then how did you use it with me?" He remembered the dreams. "Every night I dreamed of this cave and you".
"I don't know that either." She leaned against the wall. "One night I was sleeping and I heard a panting voice. I looked at the door and found no one. I shut my eyes and listened. I called out. I don't even know how I knew your name, it just came out and then suddenly I couldn't hear you anymore"
She looked over at him, "So I tried to connect with you every night and found that whenever you sleep, I could talk to you." She continued, "But you ignored my words because you thought it was just a dream."
"But I knew you would come here." She added.
"How would you know?" David asked.
"If you could hear me in your dreams that means you are meant to be here. You are meant to free me from this misery". Her smile was filled with joy. He stared at her face. 'She is really beautiful' he thought and then turned his face away.
"How long have you been here?" He asked.
"Two years." She responded. "Two years of hell and torture" She remembered all the pain she suffered.
He was stunned to hear that "Why did he capture you?" he asked
"As I said, I am the Goddess of Flowers and love" She sighed "He used my powers to create hatred between the gods. All the Gods and Goddesses are under his spell and they treat him like a king. If we don't stop him, he will soon become the Real God."
She started crying. David moved closer to her and hugged her. She felt comfortable in his warm hands. He took her face in his hand "What should I do to help you?" He asked.
"Find the Ring of Merlin." She was ready with the answer
"What is that?" he asked.
"The Ring of the Great Wizard, Merlin" She said, "you will find it inside the second sky."
"And where ..." before he could complete, she cut him off "You need to go now. Something tells me that the spirit is coming back. I can feel it in my bones."
"Knock five times on the door, the door will open" She screamed to him as he started to run off of the room. "Remember, you will find the ring inside the second sky." She added.
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He hurried to reach the top of the stairs. He knocked on the door five times as Creiddylad said. The door opened in front of him. He was quick to run out of the room and closed it in a jiff. As soon as he reached the dining table he heard the Old Man opening the main door.
"I am back" The voice of the Old Man made David shudder, but he quickly found his breath. "Welcome back Sir, how was the journey?"
"It was alright. Did you make lunch?" The old man raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't know when you would be back, so I was lazy to make food for myself." He lied "I thought I could eat the pear". He looked at the pears that were on the table and moved towards it. He picked one up and bit a big slice and started chewing.
The old man was not fully convinced but he did not show it outside. He nodded at David and moved towards the room. "The water in the container is low, go and collect some" The Old Man said.
David met the Old Man's eyes with his and he found it to be glowing. 'He is a spirit' He told himself
"I hope you have not broken my rule." He said before entering the room and shutting the door behind him.
As soon as the door closed David left a sigh of relief. He finished the pear and went to collect the water.
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It was evening and the sun was ready to set. David reached the river. "You will find the ring at the Second Sky" He tried a bad imitation of Creiddylad. "How am I supposed to find the second sky when I can't even fly?"
Then face turned sad, "Still I feel like I must help her." He murmured, "She looked pitiful"
He started to pour water from the river. He looked into the river and stopped for a moment. "Wait a second." He stared into the river and then looked up the sky. "The reflection of the sky on the river looks like another sky." A smile grew on his lips. He removed his t-shirt and pant and jumped into the river.
He thanked his tenth-grade swimming coach as he swam under water. He came up for breath and went back in again. He explored a couple of times. He decided to call it quits when the sunset neared and the sky turned. "One more time and I leave" He said. He saw something shining underwater. He swam to it and grabbed it. He swam back towards the shore. He opened his hand to see that it was a shelled mollusk.
"I swam all this time for a clam?" he sneered. "Maybe there is pearl inside"
He took a rock and hit the mollusk hard. It didn't break at all. It was already getting dark, so he decided to put it in his pocket and went back to the Old Man's place carrying water.
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It was night time and David was asleep. The sound of chains woke him up from the sleep. His eyes felt tired. Slowly his eyes opened. He was in the cave. He looked around. He saw Creiddylad on her knees sobbing
"Please don't hurt me. I will do whatever you ask me to do". David then saw the old man in front of her with a chain whip in his hand. The end of the whip had a sharpened curved hook attached. He was hitting Creiddylad with the chain.
She fell to her back and was writhing in pain. Tears were jerking down from her cheeks. David could not take it any longer and hurried and pushed the Old Man down. He tried to help Creiddylad by grabbing her from the floor.
Creiddylad looked straight into David's face and started laughing. Before David could move she said "You failed" in the voice of the Old Man. She suddenly vanished from his hands. He looked back shockingly back to the Old Man and found him back in his feet. The Old Man snapped his fingers and the cave vanished. He found himself at the floor where he slept. The Old Man slapped David on his right cheek.
"You broke my rule, and now you be my slave" He said before slapping one more, this time on David's left cheek.
David cried in pain. "I am Sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to enter the room" He said rubbing his cheeks. He was trembling from his feet.
"But you did it anyway" said the Old Man. He grabbed David by the hair and dragged him into the room. He opened the Cave Door and pushed him down the stairs.
"You stay here for tonight, I will come for you tomorrow" The old man said and walked away. Soon the door slowly closed.
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David tried to get up. While falling down the stairs he had some injuries. His right leg landed on a rock. He tried to move his leg.
It was really hurting. After a couple of failed tried, he got up from the ground. But the pain on his right leg caused him to put his weight on the left. He checked his body and found a couple of scratches on his elbow and knees. He pushed himself up the stairs in one leg. He knocked on the Door five times, like last time and waited for the door to open. But nothing happened. He knocked on the door harder and failed again.
He crawled over to the room where Creiddylad was imprisoned. He opened the gate. He saw her lying on the floor. He understood that she was sleeping. He sat on the edge of the wall. He rested his head on the knees and started sobbing. He muffed his voice with his knees but the tears were unblocked. He cried from the pain on his body. He thought his father "Why are you doing this to me god" he mumbled.
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The sound of someone sobbing broke Creiddylad's sleep. She looked around and found David crying into his knees. "What happened, David?" She asked concerned. She tried to move closer to him but the chain on her legs tightened its grip. "David?" She called out to him. He raised his head. His cheeks were wet. She saw the wound on his leg. She knew that it was the Old Man's doing.
"Did the Spirit hurt you?" She asked.
"He found out that I came here so he pushed me down the stairs. I think my leg is broken"
She looked at him "I am sorry David that you had to suffer this because of me."
