321 Flames
As if like a signal had been given, the Basilisk swiftly brought her hands down, and as if like clockwork, two plumes of blazing fire suddenly erupted from the circle of flames surrounding the platform, crossing over the air as they both snaked towards her.
“Time to dance!”
Xenia was almost caught off-guard. Thinking fast, she folded her knees from under her, forcing her body to crumple unto the ground and letting the fiery snakes pass over her safely. Even as she dodged the brunt of the attack, the sheer heat emanating from the plumes made her sweat harder than when she was near actual lava, making her more worried as she quickly stood back up.
“Huh, I honestly thought you’d get a burn or two,” Saha chuckled. “No matter. We’re not done yet!”
Xenia narrowed her eyes in readiness as she watched the Guardian’s every move. With each swipe of the Basilisk’s hand, plumes of fire erupted from a seemingly random portion of the room. It didn’t matter where she was standing, or how in what kind of stance she found herself in, without fail, the fiery snakes seemed to always find their way towards her.
“Hahaha! I’m really going to make this a staple to my arsenal now!”
Ignoring Saha’s apparent glee, Xenia made herself busy ducking and weaving through the flames that constantly found their way to her. With each twist of her body, more fiery snakes seemed to spawn right from the circle of fire around her. Still, she kept her composure, using her flexibility and agility to her advantage as she found herself bending her body in ways that she was pretty sure she hadn’t done before… and that was including those times when she was in bed with Darius.
“You seem to be running out of breath there, Princess,” Saha condescendingly taunted, her arms still moving and flowing in front of her as she conducted her flames. “Just remember, I can always stop this if you just give me your eyes.”
“H-Heh… I can do this all day,” Xenia taunted. “It’s a pretty decent way to exercise.”
“Let’s see if you’ll still say that after this then!”
Xenia steadied her breath as she prepared herself for another volley of attacks. She knew she was already starting to tire, but she still pushed through it despite all odds. There was more to this trial, after all. Surely, this wasn’t as straightforward as her simply dodging and weaving her way through snakes covered in flames and heat.
***
As it turned out, it really was just as simple as that. Despite looking around for any sort of tricks or some other slight of words, the Guardian was indeed simply trying to burn her with those burning snakes of hers. Although, the longer this trial went on, the more the patterns started becoming complex and downright unfair at times.
After all, how in the world was she supposed to dodge something that seemingly had no openings?
“Come on! Just give them to me already!” Saha goaded her, her hands practically flying through the air as she directed her snakes in yet another mind-boggling formation. “Don’t you want this to end already?!”
Xenia elected to keep her silence even as she flashed the Guardian a smirk. She knew she was literally playing with fire, but the image she had to portray to the people watching took first priority, even more so than her currently aching mind and body as she worked her way through pattern after pattern of seemingly impossible shapes and sizes.
Watching Saha weave yet another pattern for her to dodge, Xenia quickly tried her best to analyze what was coming for her. It seemed to be a wall of snakes slowly encroaching her way, with only a single open hole for her to go through right in the middle, and that was if she could even manage to reach for it.
“Now that’s clearly inescapable!” Saha pointed out. “Are you sure you don’t wanna give up yet?!”
Xenia shook her head. “I think I can still see a way out. Don’t worry.”
Despite her words, inwardly, the princess was already debating on whether or not she should just brace against the flames like a madwoman. There was just no way that she could jump that high just so she could reach the one safe spot in the whole pattern.
‘Still, I’ve got to try, right?’
With the wall of flame slowly encroaching her, Xenia took a deep breath before she pumped her legs for what she knew was a long shot of a dodge. Crossing her arms in front of her face, she took a running start and jumped. Almost immediately, she felt the skin on her arms and legs burning as she grazed the wall on her way through.
To her surprise, her hair was relatively unharmed as she landed. Kneeling on the ground, her eyes were still wide as she looked back behind her, the wall that almost burned her to death now behind her as she held her breath.
‘I… I actually got through?!’
Hiding the fact that she was surprised at herself, Xenia looked up to face the Basilisk, the woman herself looking at her with clear shock and amusement on her face.
“You… You cleared that?” Saha incredulously asked.
“I’m just built different,” Xenia chuckled, flinging her unsinged hair over her shoulder with a flair. “Like I said, I can do this all day.”
That was a blatant lie. She was already forcing herself to breathe evenly even as she stood.
“I think we’re done here,” Saha laughed out loud, clapping her hands once more as the room seemingly turned back to normal. “You’ve entertained me enough as it is. Besides, I’m kind of curious if you’ll actually pass the rest of the trials now.”
Inwardly, Xenia was almost ready to let herself relax. Still, she had to ask, “So… I passed?”
“With flying colors!” Saha cackled. “Too bad I won’t be able to get those eyes of yours, but maybe I can just loot them off you if you ever die to Polo or Devas’ trials.”
Despite the Guardian’s morbid comment, Xenia finally let herself let out a sigh of relief as she bowed. “Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Saha.”
“Just make sure to take care of those eyes, Princess,” Saha waved her off.