The Last Petal Falls

by E. J. Powell

"You are a fool if you think you will rule my kingdom." I tell her, scolding her like the womanly child she is.

  Sarabi drops her arms, and a sly grin spreads across her face, changing her appearance from one of beauties to an ugly hag. The hag that I now saw for who she truly was, inside and out. "Oh? And if I told you that I could take away Ravonette's curse, in exchange for your life and your kingdom, what would be your answer?"

  Sarabi

  "You would take away Ravonette's curse?" The beastly prince asked, his blue eyes widening in surprise.

  I nod, "Of course, after all, who wants to be a monster for all eternity?"

  His eyes narrow and his upper lip curls back, but he does not try to defend the words that his little wench had muttered. "Only if you take away her curse, then you may have my life."

  "Excellent!" I slap my palms together excitedly. "Find her and bring her to my cottage. I shall be waiting for your return." Gathering dust in my hands, I twirl my finger and disappear from the estate castle as surely as I had come inside without alerting the gargoyle servants.

  I arrive at my little hut, my cottage that was small enough to look like a tiny shack on the outside, yet the interior could be portrayed as a large cottage with a thatched roof and a stone hearth.

  Flinging off the dark-red cape around my shoulders, I watch as it dances in the air like a phantom before hooking itself to a nail along the wall near the door off to my left. I stalk further into the cottage, whistling softly at the broom. The broom comes alive and begins to sweep away the ash that had been left over from the fire that I had unfortunately tried to set aflame the little wench only a few days prior.

  “Soon,” I say aloud, the word dancing upon my tongue. My lips form into a genuine smile. “Soon this kingdom and it’s king will all bow down to me.” Throwing back my head and waving my arms, I spin around the room of the cottage, laughing with glee.

  Prince Augustine

  I have searched the entire estate castle and the small cottage up on the hill in the woods. No trace of Ravonette has been found. There is no sign that she took a horse, nor any footprints, at least not with the continuous blizzard that has swept across the land since Sarabi’s departure.

  “No sign of her?” I snap my teeth at Cogin who bows, although his entire stone body is shaking.

  “N-No, sire. No sign of the girl,” Cogin replies. I waved him away, not wanting to deal with him.

  Growling under my breath, I stalk to where I can barely peer out from the balcony, “My Bella, where are you?” My breath hangs in the air as I look out into the white winter that has never ended. I could only hope that she had not frozen to death or been eaten by wolves.

  Sarabi

  Today is the day.

  Throwing the blanket from on top of me, I climb out of the small bed near the stone hearth and stretch my limbs over my head. A smile makes its way onto my face, my bare feet hit against the wood flooring as I move to the center of the cottage and mumble a few words in Latin.

  I drop my hands as a beautiful carved golden spindle wheel appears in front of me. Inching forward, I reach out and caress the edge of the wheel. “My beautiful Draken, it has been some time since I last had need of you.” I purr, the wheel begins to turn as I take my hand away.

  “Do you have need of me again, Enchantress?” Draken, the spindle wheel asks in Latin.

  I give the barest of nods. “Yes, my enchanting one. The prince has finally made me an offer that I shall not refuse. When he hands over the wench, his life and his kingdom will be mine.”

  “Beautiful dawn,” he whispers in Latin, “you will find the horizon peaking when it’s your time to rule once more.”

  The smile fades from my face, and my purple eyes narrow. “Do not call me that name.” I snap at Draken. The wheel stops spinning for a split second, then he continues to spin. My gaze flickers to the closed door. “He will be here soon….”

  “You are aware that I had three fairies to help seal away the first queen. Without their help, what makes you so sure I can seal away her beastly son?” Draken asks.

  I take a deep breath, then turn away from the spindle wheel. “The first queen got what she deserved. She ruled with an evil hand. Even if the three good fairies no longer exist in this world or the next, I will not stand for the beastly prince taking what rightfully belongs to me.”

  “Aurora, one day you will find that ruling a kingdom is not what you long for,” Draken says softly.

  I turn and snap my fingers. The spindle wheel disappears. My upper lip curls back. “I am Aurora no longer,” I growled out before beginning the proper spell to drain Prince Augustine’s life away.

  Sarabi

  The spindle wheel appears again after a few hours have passed. At the stroke of midnight, Ravonette will be free of her curse, and Prince Augustine’s reign would cease to exist. “Draken, everything is prepared.” When he does not answer, I scowl, before moving forward to kick one of his legs. “No sleeping when we have so much to do!”

  “I was not asleep, I was resting my eyes.”

  Rolling my violet eyes heavenward, I mumble under my breath. “You do not have any eyes.”

  “Nay, I do not. For if I still did, they would be hindered on sight by you,” Draken admits.

  “Prince Charming, indeed,” I say softly. “However, flattery is beyond useless at this point. Now, tell me what I must do.”

  The wheel begins to turn slowly, and then Draken speaks. “Take my needle to the water below, where the vampire breathes slow. Reveal your true intentions of uniting the kingdoms as one and let her decide her fate.”

  My eyes widen, “You wish me to inform her that I plan to take the throne?”

  “And you will be given the land promised to you. She must touch the needle and fall asunder, only then will you be a conqueror–” Draken abruptly stops speaking, and the wheel has stopped moving.

  Pursing my lips into a thin line, I reach out and yanked the golden needle from where it rests to help spin thread into gold, before waving a hand and vanishing from the cottage.

  19

  “Hello, Ravonette. How are you faring?” My eyes flicker to the woman who had trapped me, all by luring me away from the estate castle with a mere trick. The voice of my ex fiance, Grant, whose voice I had followed until I had been unable to see the large mouth of a pit swallowing me whole. Sarabi peeks her head over the edge of the pit and kicks a small rock down, I shuffle backwards so as to not be hit.

  “I fare wonderfully. Especially for one that has trapped me down here,” I hissed between clenched teeth. There is a burning, a deep ache in my bones, and it makes my body wants to shrivel up like a spoilt grape left in the sun. The ache causes me so much pain that it makes my teeth hurt, and I can feel my top two front teeth growing longer than the average human teeth, and it frightens me so.

  “Unfortunately, caution is sometimes needed, pet,” Sarabi says, and I tilt my head back to stare up at her through narrowed eyes. “I am surprised you have managed to live while being out in the sun, does the light not bother you?” she asks, seeming troubled.

  I shake my head, my hair sticking to my skin. “No, it does not bother me. The only thing that bothers me is being trapped down here.” No matter how many times I try to climb out of the pit, something sinister pushes me back down and onto my back so that it feels as if someone is sitting atop my chest, and I am unable to breathe.

  “I do so apologize for the inconvenience, however I had to be sure that my plans remained in motion. And because they have gone smoothly, I believe you no longer need to remain down there.” Sarabi crouches down and reaches out her hand, holding a firm grip around a golden needle.

  I blinked in surprise at the beautiful object. “What do you plan to do with that?”

  She laughs, “My dear, it’s merely a gift. A wand that will allow you to leave and go anywhere you wish. The future, the present, even to the past.” Sarabi gives me a knowing smile.

  “The past?” My heart leaps
to my throat and quivers in excitement. I could return to the past, and stop the fire from destroying my village! My thought is short lived, when I think about Augustine, that I will never have met him.

  “Yes my pet,” Sarabi cooed, “you can travel to the past, but it comes with a price.”

  “What is this price?” I asked curiously.

  Sarabi still holds out the golden needle and in the glowing pre-dawn light, the needle shimmers like a precious jewel. “You remain cursed, even I have tried to break your curse, and it cannot be undone. However, if you take this needle, your beloved Prince will be human again.”

  A smile forms on my lips, then it vanishes just as quickly as it had come. “Why should I believe you? You have lied in the past.”

  Sarabi bends her arm, and the needle falls to the ground at my feet. I do not move to touch it, still keeping an eye on the witch. “Augustine betrayed my trust. I refused to be one of his lovers that only warmed his bed.” She stands, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dark-purple dress. Her violet eyes flash in the sunlight. “He betrayed my love by doing whatever he pleased. Rightfully so, I turned him into a beast, so he could see with his eyes for himself the true monster he came to be. Some call it cursed, I call it a lesson that needed to be taught.”

  “But he has changed!” I say, looking up at her with wide eyes. “I have seen it!”

  Sarabi waves her hand, dismissing the idea. “So he has, which is why I am able to undo his curse, only because the curse can be broken. Announce him as the love of your life, and his human form will become his again.”

  “Love of my life?” I stutter. “I have barely known him for long. . . .”

  She turns to go, “Whatever you wish, know that only you can be saved. Your curse will soon be at an end when the sun reaches high noon.”

  “Wait! What happens at high noon?” I ask, my heart gallops like a horse in my chest.

  “You will remain a vampyr, forever.” Sarabi vanishes in a plume of blue smoke.

  “Vampyr?” I look at where Sarabi had disappeared in confusion. “What is that?” I wonder out loud, as I glanced down at the golden needle and bend down to study its fine craftsmanship. I hesitate before reaching out to touch the needle, straightening up I hold up the needle for further inspection.

  The world blurs around me, and my eyelids grow heavy. My head feels as if there is pressure building up behind my eyes. A small gasp escapes past my lips and then the world goes black.

  Sarabi

  “The needle has been touched, the young vampyr girl slumbers,” Draken says as the wheel turns in the center of the cottage. I had just returned briefly, and a smile lights up my face, when I hear this good news.

  “Excellent! I must say, I am very pleased with this turn of events.” I step forward, reach out and caress the wheel. The spindle wheel hums beneath my touch. “Now, we just need to wait for the beast, and all will be as it rightfully should.”

  A loud growl echoes behind me, and I turn to find the beastly prince soaked to the bone, fur matted to his monstrous form. “Well, well, what a lovely surprise. Right on schedule. Please do come in.” A wry smile plasters across my face.

  “Where is Ravonette?” Augustine roars. The spindle wheel stops moving behind me. I stand in front of it protectively.

  “I believe I told you where she went,” I offer, still smiling.

  “No, you said she was not at my castle nor in the area. Where is she?”

  “Safe,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “For now. Until the end of our bargain is completed.”

  “Where is she?” Augustine demands for a second time, taking a step forward, a growl emanating from his throat.

  “She slumbers,” I admit, though the smile still remains on my face. “And she will continue to sleep until you hand over your life and your kingdom.”

  “Slumbers,” Augustine says, his blue eyes appearing puzzled. “Slumbers where?”

  “A young vampyr girl lies in a death-like sleep. Beyond the trees and river be, to where the glass coffin reflects the sea,” Draken mumbles behind me.

  I whirl on my heels, “Do not utter another sound!” I snap at him. The spindle wheel stops turning immediately. Turning back around, I face the beastly prince. “You have your answer, now give me what you stole.”

  Augustine growls again, sinking down to all fours. “I have taken nothing that does not belong to you!”

  “A kingdom that your mother gave you, that should have belonged to me!” My frustration is made clear.

  “My mother gave to me, because I am heir to the throne,” Augustine says, no longer growling.

  I roll my violet eyes. “Do not dare to question what I already know. Your mother was not fit to rule. Malif had no place ruling when she was cast out by the fairies.”

  “What are you implying, that my mother was one of the Fae folks?” Augustine ruffles his matted fur and bellows out a laugh. “Malif might have been a Queen, but she was never one of the Fae.”

  “She stole my kingdom from me, and I aim to reign as the rightful ruler.” I tilt back my chin. “Malif murdered my parents and turned my beloved prince into this.” I gesture to the spindle wheel. “I will take back my kingdom even if it is with my dying breath!”

  Augustine watches me as I lift up my hands. Wind batters against the cottage walls, howling like banshees as a storm begins to brew. “All ye listen well, I will tell you once a simple tale. A Princess of the Briar Wood, forced to live with the Fae. She pricked her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel and slumbered for seventy years. True love’s kiss did not break her spell, for no longer was she good, but became evil. Malif ruled all, and alas, she bore a son, now the princess of the wood has finally won!”

  Prince Augustine

  “All your troubles begin anew, say goodbye to the old you. Whence you came from stone and timber, now return to briars yonder!” The spindle wheel shouts over the sound of Sarabi’s chanting, and then she lets out a silent scream, before disappearing.

  I straighten immediately, eyes wide when the spindle wheel forms into a man with short brown hair, dark-hazel eyes and is dressed in armor. “What did you do?” I ask the man.

  “I sent her back to the Briars, she is in no condition to be ruling a kingdom that has long since forgotten their Princess,” The man says, as he stretches his arms over his head.

  “She was speaking the truth? What forgotten princess is she?” I asked curiously.

  “Princess Aurora,” the man says, slumping his shoulders forward. He lets out a small sigh. “She will not be pleased that I have returned her there. It was my mistake for allowing her to dabble in the dark arts that Malif once used.”

  I frown, “My mother never would have used any magic to hurt anyone.”

  “A time before you were born boy,” the man says, his green eyes turning cold. “She turned herself into a dragon and tried to kill me. I slayed her beastly form, and in return for not killing her completely as I probably should have, I was granted magical powers. I learned spells and in turn, taught Aurora.” He reaches up to run a hand through his hair. “However, that did not bode well. I apologize if she has caused you a great misfortune.”

  “It is in the past,” I state simply, even if I wished to wring his scrawny neck.

  The man nods, “I am Prince Phillip Draken.” He takes a gallant bow. “I lost my prince title the day I became a spindle wheel.” He straightens, “Now I go by Draken.”

  I nod in return. “Where will you go, if Sarabi is back where she belongs? And what about Ravonette and my curses, can they be undone?”

  “I will return to the Briars, to try and teach Aurora the true meaning of love and friendship once more. She, too, slumbers away, and she will remain that way until I see fit.” Draken gives a wry smile. “However, as for the curses, she was correct, no one can undo curses. Only true love’s kiss can break free of yours, but Ravonette’s curse is difficult to say.”

  My shoulders sag, “So, she will remain cursed as a vampy
r?”

  “It might wane over time, but one can never be so certain. You should know, she will live a great deal longer than you,” Draken admits.

  I give a small nod, “I am well aware.”

  “Good,” Draken says, “She is in the glade, where her village used to thrive.”

  I turn and hesitate to leave, angling my head, my blue eyes find Prince Phillip Draken, his eyes watching me intensely. “What happens if my curse does not come undone?”

  “That I am not allowed to say,” Draken mumbles before he, too, disappears from my sight.

  20

  SIX YEARS LATER

  I finger the beautiful red gown that is draped across my body that feels like I am wearing rippling water with the waves rolling downward as it pools onto the floor with a train in the back. A sweetheart neckline curves against my chest, a white satin ribbon wrapped around the bodice that shimmers with sparkles. Small swirls of flowers are in patterns across the bottom of the dress.

  A stout woman rushes around the room, calling for her son to bring her more pins so that she can probably address my long hair that seems to continue growing no matter how short it is cut. “Chester, I need those pins!” she hollers, and I have to fight the urge to wince. My hearing has become impeccable with sensitivity and the range of motion and activity in the castle is in an uproar with the final preparations for the ceremony that is about to take place.

  “Marymagglyn,” I say, reaching out to catch the older woman’s arm. As my cool fingers touch her skin, she gives a small shudder that I try not to notice. It has been over six years since she became a human again, and her body is still unaccustomed to the temperatures of cold and warmth. No longer a gargoyle, she has been quite the little spitfire since I told Augustine that he was the love of my life, after he had woken me from a slumber that nearly had put me in an early grave. “The boy can only move so quickly, I could fetch them. . . . ”