The moment Machava declared the beginning of the game, the lilies separated and drifted apart. The lily we stood on glided backward from the pond's edge, as if the water itself was rearranging the arena for us.
Machava explained the rules with a smug grin.
"I will give you seven riddles. You must answer six out of seven correctly. Each right answer moves your lily one step forward. Each wrong answer — one step back. If you win, I abdicate the throne and return Esther. If I win, you die… and she's mine."
I looked at Fredo, and we nodded together.
We could win this.
Frogs and toads gathered around the swamp, whispering, watching.
Machava croaked out the first riddle:
"What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?"
Taller than trees. Has roots. Doesn't move. Never really changes.
It wasn't a bird. Not wind. Not clouds.
It had to be something permanent.
I leaned toward Fredo and whispered the answer.
He listened carefully, then announced, "It's a mountain!"
Our lily slid forward.
I held up my hand for a high-five — then remembered where I was. Fredo blinked at me. So I grabbed his hand and clapped it to mine.
"Next time we get the answer right, do this," I told him. "In my tribe, it means celebration."
He nodded seriously, like it was some sacred ritual.
Machava continued:
"By day, by night,
We come, we go,
With sound and with light,
With rain and with snow;
We rainbows wear,
And heaven we roam,
We live in the air,
Yet the sea's our home."
Definitely something above us. I had two guesses — but the riddle held the difference.
Fredo whispered his answer. I replayed the lines in my head.
Yes.
I nodded.
"The answer is clouds!" he called.
Our lily moved forward again. Two for two.
The third riddle came with a curl of arrogance in Machava's voice:
"Scythe of darkness,
Shadow's light,
Guiding eye
Of thirteenth sight."
Fredo shook his head — no clue.
A scythe in the darkness… a curved shape. Light that casts a shadow. A guide through cycles.
I whispered my thought.
"It's the crescent moon — or the moon," Fredo answered.
The lily drifted forward once more.
Machava's face darkened. His eyes narrowed, studying us — studying me.
He wasn't smiling anymore.
Next:
"Bright as diamonds,
Loud as thunder,
Never still,
A thing of wonder."
I glanced at Fredo to see if he had something.
He smiled faintly. "I know this one. I used to bring Esther there."
My heart warmed.
"It's a waterfall!" he declared.
Forward we went — again.
Four out of seven.
Two more and victory was ours.
Machava spoke again:
"I roam the world,
And surely every one my voice has heard
Since first the world began;
Yet never one, by star or moon or sun,
My form has seen — nor child, nor beast."
This one twisted my brain.
Fredo whispered his guess. Mine was different.
I hesitated — then trusted him.
"It's air," he answered.
Our lily slid backward.
Machava laughed, cruel and wild. "Wrong! Seems your luck is running out. Praise Vera!"
Wind. The answer was wind. I knew it.
But his words hit harder.
Vera.
Again. Always.
The bats. The rats. Now this.
Heat rose up inside me.
She was breaking clans, corrupting leaders, twisting everything.
I clenched my fists. Fredo looked worried.
"Hey," I whispered, steadying him. "We've got this. All the way to the end. You're as strong as the mighty kings you admire."
His eyes softened, shimmering. "You really think so? Thank you. I don't… usually believe in myself."
"I do. You'll be a great and wise king."
Machava went on:
"Some try to hide,
Some try to cheat,
But time will show — we always will meet.
Try as you might to guess my name,
I promise you'll know when I do claim."
Chilling. Threatening.
But obvious.
I whispered the answer.
"Death," Fredo said firmly.
Forward again.
Machava suddenly puffed himself up, declaring victory, even though one riddle remained. Fredo snapped.
"We're not done! Desapo already sees you as weak. Even without us, your rule is finished. Keep your word. Give us the last riddle!"
Machava froze — then hissed:
"Runs smoother than any rhyme,
Loves to fall, but cannot climb."
I already knew this one. So did Fredo.
We spoke in unison.
"Water!"
Our lily surged forward until it nearly touched his throne.
Fredo leapt — but Machava struck him with his tongue, sending him tumbling into the swamp. Then his tongue wrapped around me, tight.
"Who says I will abdicate?" he sneered. "The girl comes with me."
I struggled — useless.
Two giant alligators burst from the water. Frogs and toads scattered in panic. Fear washed across Machava's face, and he dropped me, lumbering away.
"A higher-up told us to crash the gathering," one alligator rasped.
"So much food," the other hissed.
Fredo hauled himself from the swamp and stood between them and his people.
"Leave this side of the swamp. Don't touch anyone here. If there's a problem, face me."
The alligators blinked — then laughed.
"What a boring frog. Not even enough to fill us," one said. And they disappeared into the murk.
I stepped beside him, smiling. "You did great, Your Majesty. Go get your girl, King Fredo."
I was happy on how everything turned out and I had a feeling who helped us succeed in the end. But first I need to see where Machava fled, so I slipped away and followed his trail. He needs to face the consequences of his actions.
And then I saw it.
Vesper — jaws wide — swallowing Machava whole. The toad's arms flailed helplessly.
My stomach churned. I gagged.
He closed his mouth as if nothing happened. "Apologies. You shouldn't have seen that."
"Why did you do that?!" I shouted. "You had no right to take his life."
He tilted his head. "Then who should teach him a lesson? Should we leave him to keep doing wicked things?"
"What if he wanted a second chance? You should have let fate decide!"
He smirked. "Fate did decide. I was his fate. Just like when you killed all those bats. We're the same."
His words cut through me.
Was I?
No. I did it to save someone.
Didn't I?
My voice trembled. "We are not the same. Don't follow me. Don't approach me ever again. I don't need your help — and if you offer it, I don't want it."
I turned away, shaking, tears blurring my vision.
Behind me, his voice echoed across the swamp.
"You'll come around. I'll wait."
I found Fredo celebrating with Esther, lifted high, hailed as king.
And there I stood — heart heavy, mind spinning.
Am I as bad as Vesper thinks I am?