by Holly Hook
"Sylvia!" I reached for her and she trembled. I grabbed onto the back of her black cloak and she turned to face me, letting out a breath. The noise had stopped.
And then she reached up.
Lowered her hood.
I faced her for the first time. Sylvia's eyelids were whole. Closed. Round instead of sunken.
And then she opened them, revealing a pair of brown eyes.
"I can see," she managed. She turned around, taking in the dark forest. "I can see."
"That should help," I managed, scanning the stream for the fish. But it was gone, nowhere to be found. I had used my one wish.
And yet, I felt relieved.
"I can see!" Sylvia leapt back to the bridge, waving her arms in joy. "I forgot how beautiful the world is. Quick, Brie. Wish to have your curse taken off."
"I used our one wish," I told her. "The fish is gone."
"You what?" Sylvia asked. She whirled around to face me as the sun above her faded off and died, leaving only a bluish glow. "You shouldn't have. You should have cured yourself and stopped King Henrik from using you to get more gold." She didn't sound angry. I could tell she was trying to look angry. If I'd been blind for years and just gotten my eyes back, I'd be doing the same thing.
"He'll kill me if he finds me and I can't spin the gold!" Wow, that was selfish. Sacrifice the safety of all of Fable just to stay alive. It wasn't what I had meant to say at all. I really wanted Sylvia to have her eyes back.
What I had really meant was, I'm useless without it.
The owl above hooted again and took off into flight. Our yells had finally scared it away.
"I can't believe you, Brie," Sylvia said. "We need to get back to the carriage. We're too close to the dark region and we need to get away before one of Henrik's subjects notices us. It will be worse when full night falls."
She was right.
What would I have done if Sylvia wasn't here?
I could have gone home. I could have washed off this curse once and for all.
But I didn't. Why did I want to hold on?
Sylvia and I walked back to the carriage in silence. I realized I had left the mountain open, but it was getting too late to go in and close it. There was nothing else in there I needed. I could barely make out the trail ahead. The branches poking through the leaves looked more menacing than ever.
"Ladies."
I jumped.
Stilt stood on the edge of the trail, arms crossed. He almost blended right into the leaves. I wondered how we hadn't heard him coming.
He nodded to me and Sylvia. "I saw what happened," he told her.
My heart fluttered at the sight of him. So he wasn't in the village when Alric shrunk the place and stuck the inhabitants in jars. Part of me tensed, ready to run. Another part longed to reach out and touch him.
No, Brie. He was the little man who wanted my firstborn in all my past lives. He'd even admitted to stealing babies. I'd driven him away for good reason.
But elves changed when they crossed over into the lighter region of Fable--right? Stilt sure didn't seem evil. But he could have lied about elves changing their natures. Sylvia could be lying, too, or she believed him.
But Stilt had also saved my life.
"How long were you watching us?" Sylvia asked.
"For a bit," he said to her. He glanced at me and his mouth wrinkled like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Why wouldn't he talk to me? I saw no trace of anger in his eyes--only hurt. I had hurt Stilt. He deserved that, too--or did he? I couldn't tell what I was really dealing with here.
"I followed you," he said to Sylvia. "I'm glad to know what color your eyes actually are."
And then Sylvia embraced Stilt.
He hugged her back as she sobbed with relief and joy. I backed up into a tree, jealousy burning deep inside. I had to stop feeling like this. Stilt was off limits, even if he and Sylvia weren't a thing. He wasn't even human.
But he had come back.
They released each other at last and Stilt managed another look at me. He waved me down the trail and walked away before I had the chance to say anything. He moved fast, like he was scared I was going to reach out and hit him. Like I was going to use his true name again and make him rip himself apart.
A shudder stole over me and for some reason, I felt bad for even thinking that. Stilt led us through the dark archway and towards the carriage. I could barely see a thing now, but thankfully the annoying owl had vanished. Bugs chirped and we felt our way back to the carriage as leaves crunched underneath. I got into the back and waited for Stilt to board behind me.
But instead, he got into the front with Sylvia and she cracked the reins, leaving me alone in the cabin.
The pain returned to my chest. It took a long time for the horses to turn around and get us out of the thicket. I focused on the struggle they were having. The outline of the road up ahead. Anything but what had just happened...and was still happening.
I should have wished away my curse.
But I helped Sylvia. She deserved it after risking her life to help me. It was only fair. I'd find a way to remove it later.
The carriage burst onto the road and I swallowed. "You two," I said, hating those words. "Let me pay you for this. For trying to help me out. As soon as we find some more fabric, I'll spin some--"
"Brie," Sylvia said. "You don't have to do that."
They'd be looking for a place to leave me soon enough. I knew it.
"No, really," I said. As much as I didn't trust Stilt, I didn't want to be left alone here or worse--left with that other king. Or any king. "I can make sure the two of you can start a good life wherever you're going."
"We're not after you for your gold," Sylvia told me. She looked back. Her eyes shone. Her eyes. "You're our friend. That's all that matters here. I don't care that you can spin gold. Stilt doesn't." She glanced at him.
Their friend.
Stilt sighed and faced Sylvia. "Tell her I can't--"
"Stop!" a man shouted from outside.
Stilt cursed. Sylvia drew in a sharp breath and cracked the reins again. The horses whinnied and picked up speed. The world bounced and groaned and creaked. I caught a glimpse of a dark form emerging from the trees, one with a cape and red and black cloak, but we managed to get around it and keep going.
It was Alric. The magic user.
"Get down!" Sylvia yelled at me.
I did. Alric shouted something from outside and an owl hooted. The owl. Was it the same one that was following us? It might have gone and gotten him. Reported back.
"He's found us," Stilt said. "I saw what he did to that village. Go!"
Sylvia cracked the reins again and I searched the inside of the carriage for anything I could use as a weapon. Nothing. I sure couldn’t pry the bench off and throw it at him.
There was a jolt and the carriage lurched. Stilt swore. I tried to stand, to see if there was anything I can do, but we were going off the trail. Branches slapped at the outside of the carriage and we slowed. Alric had done something. Wings flapped and the owl shot through the back window and past me, going for Sylvia. A wing hit me as it did. Sylvia screamed, holding her hands over her new eyes. The owl clawed at her hair, pecked at her scalp. Stilt tried to pry it off. The creature was trying to peck out her eyes. Trying to force her back into her story, and all because she was the driver.
"Hey!" I yelled, jumping to the front of the car. "Get off her!"
I leaned through the window. The horses were in panic and stuck between a couple of trees. We were only two feet off the trail. The owl thrashed at Sylvia and she screamed again. Stilt had blood running down his arm.
I grabbed at the owl and seized its wing, only to have it pull from my grasp. The owl turned and pecked at me. Sharp pain burned through my hand and its eyes were black pits rimmed with yellow. Blood bubbled across my palm. I swung at the owl again. I hit this time and blood tinged its wings. The owl turned all its attention on me and Sylvia managed to buck it off.
>
It flew right at my face. The world became brown feathers and huge eyes and talons. I ducked. Clawed feet scraped at the top of my head and a body fell over mine. Tense magic washed over me. Stilt. He had crawled in and was now struggling with the owl. Drops of blood flew. I couldn’t breathe. Sylvia sobbed in the front of the carriage. The horses screamed in panic. Where was Alric?
"Stop. We have them."
The owl lifted up and left Stilt with his hands over his face. He rolled away, seething. Blood seeped between his fingers. Did he still have his eyes?
Did the owl peck out Stilt’s eyes?
Alric stood in the doorway of the carriage. He held out one arm and the owl landed on it, ruffling its feathers like attacking three people was no big deal. Blood still stained its wings, matching the red on Alric’s robe.
This was the first time I had seen Alric up close in human form. He still had his hood on, casting his face in shadow.
"Thank you for leading me right to Semsi Mountain," he said. He had a voice like echoing darkness. "King Henrik has been looking for the bandits' hideout for a very long time. They've taken a lot of treasure from his kingdom and decreased his power over the years. He will be very happy to have it back. And, of course, to have you back."
"I'm not his wife," I tell him. "And what a great thank you.” I glared at the owl. I couldn’t show fear to this man.
"Her name is Peggy," he said. "She's quite a sweet girl once you get to know her."
I glanced down. I wore a red glove of blood on my right hand. As if trying to remind me of my injury, pain throbbed and exploded. Stilt dropped his hands from his face. Peggy had taken a strip of flesh from his forehead and blood flowed down to his eyebrow—but he had his eyes. He wiped much of it away and sat up, stunned. Sylvia continued to sob in the front of the carriage and the horses shifted.
Every sense sharpened. The pain on the top of my hand screamed louder and louder now that the shock had worn off. "Those bandits will be put to death when I find them," Alric explained. "And you will return home to your rightful King. From what he has told me, you have been blessed with a gift this life. Fear not. King Henrik will not have you beheaded. You will be of use to him."
Use. There was that word again.
"That makes me feel better," I said.
"Don't take her," Stilt told him. He managed to stand and wipe the blood away, but new blood seeped out of the wound. "Take me again."
“I think not,” Alric said. “You’ve already proven that you’re useless now. You can’t even spin gold anymore. You’re not needed.” Then he stands there and Peggy ruffles her feathers again. “Or maybe you will be. You were…quite protective of this young lady here. Henrik will be interested in hearing about that.”
Chapter Nine
Alric faced the night and Peggy hooted again. She seemed so serene now, so peaceful, but I knew better. She was a killing machine. "We need to go before the night gets too deep," he said. He stepped out of the carriage and closed the door behind him. How gentlemanly.
And then my insides felt like they were closing in on themselves.
I grabbed my stomach, smearing blood all over my dress. Stilt did the same next to me. Sylvia muttered something and the horses went into panic again. The entire world creaked and the night shifted outside. Alric was doing something to us. Something terrible, and I had the feeling I knew what.
The sensation only got worse. I staggered over to the door, feeling like I was going to throw up. I tossed open the door. The trail seemed wider than before. Much wider. The trees, much taller.
And I faced Alric's knees. Or what would have been his knees under the robe.
We were shrinking.
I slammed the door on the carriage as I wasn't sure what else I could do. Stilt grabbed onto my arm and the tingle of his touch returned. Right then, I didn't care who he really was. We huddled together as darkness crept in on my vision and blacked everything out.
* * * * *
I found myself lying on the floor when I awakened.
Cold, merciless stone pushed into my cheek, sucking the heat out of me. The inside of my cheek was chilled and I shivered. This place needed a space heater or something.
The dread feeling crept up into my stomach and I forced myself to sit up.
I sat in a small stone room made of cobblestone. A single oil lamp hung from the ceiling, casting a yellow glow over everything. I was still in the yellow dress, but the blood had vanished. I checked my hand. It had healed. There was no trace of the wound Peggy had inflicted on me.
And then I remembered.
The carriage. The dark forest getting bigger and bigger around us as we got smaller. Where was I now?
In a dungeon.
The floor was made of cobblestone, too, and dark moss grew in the cracks, giving the floor a sickly green glow. I searched around for any straw on the floor, but there was none. Was I in King Henrik's castle? I couldn't think of what else this could be.
"Stilt?" I asked, shocked that I wanted to call his name. I hated him, didn't I? He wanted my firstborn in all my past lives. But that was when he was dark. "Stilt?" I thought of the owl attacking Sylvia before anyone else. Did she still have her new eyes? Her story didn't want to let her keep them. I saw the whole horrible theory in action.
I sat up. The room was damp and it smelled like mold, a sickness waiting to happen. I remembered the smell from my parents' house back in the other world, the one we had before we moved the first time. The basement reeked like this.
I was captured.
King Henrik would show up any minute and demand that I start spinning gold or die. Or maybe he'd have me tortured if I refused. I thought of the scars on Stilt's back.
Where were Stilt and Sylvia now?
They might not even still be alive for trying to defy King Henrik.
My chest tightened and I held down a sob. I should have gotten rid of my ability while I still had the chance. Now I was going to end up helping Henrik rule all of Fable and everything here would be lost. All the residents in the lighter region. My real parents, whoever they were. All gone. Darkness would spread over everything and I would never see anyone I cared about again. Sylvia was becoming my friend. No. She was my friend. And Stilt...
"Stop thinking about him, Brie," I said, mostly just to calm myself down. I had to get out of here. There had to be a way. My eyes adjusted to the dungeon and more came into focus. The room I was in had nothing but a hole in the corner for doing business and a crude straw mattress on the side. It was the size of a small bedroom. The wooden door looked thick and a tiny window on the other side of the room looked out into a gray, cloudy expanse. Daylight.
And there was another window up near the ceiling, too. I breathed in. Fresh air came down from it, but with it came a black blossom of dread under my stomach. It was even worse than what I'd felt in the dark forest near the border. I was in the dark region for sure.
I grabbed the crude straw mattress and pulled it over to the window. I stood on it and peered out.
Dark grass grew in front of the window. The light filtering through the hazy clouds was pale, like it was early morning. I looked out on some huge courtyard surrounded by castle walls, one with a huge apple tree in the middle. The reddest apples I had ever seen hung from its branches, which drooped with the weight. Something about the apples looked dangerous. They were too red. Like fresh blood.
I spotted no one in the courtyard, as if the tree had managed to scare them off. Somewhere, a raven cawed. This castle was large. Check. Even if I got out through this window, I might not find a way out of the courtyard. Check. And I knew without trying that the door would be hopeless.
A key turned in a lock and I panicked, sliding the mattress back into its corner. I stood there and waited as it swung open.
I caught a flash of red and then the door came open all the way, framing King Henrik.
It was the first time I'd seen him, and it didn't feel like the first, either. He stood a few in
ches over me and his golden crown, encrusted with red, bloody jewels, shone in the yellow light. I stood there, trying not to back up and let him intimidate me. He took one step into the dungeon and into the lamp's glow. He had a clean-shaven face and he appeared to be in his early twenties, but I knew better. His eyes were dark, like a predatory bird's. His nose, sharp. He even had a golden sword worn on his waist and his clothes were all red and black. Like Alric's and like everything else I'd seen connected to his kingdom.
If Stilt was right, this man had found a way to stop aging and had even seen me die at the end of my last life. I wondered if the memory was playing in his mind right now.
"Brie," he said, his smile turning upward and showing his top row of teeth. "Pleased to meet you again." He even sounded like a guy in his early twenties.
"And you," I said, injecting as much sarcasm into my voice as I could.
"I know our relationship has been...rocky in the past," he continued. He moved aside a bit and let me see the form of a knight standing in the hall behind him. Don't try anything, it meant. Don't even think about it. "I hear that things are different now, and you don't need to fear the chopping block."
He stepped closer. And closer.
I held my breath. He wouldn't kill me now that I could spin gold--right? The dread feeling crept up in me, screaming louder and louder the closer he got. A cold feeling washed through me. Was I seriously married to this guy in all my past lives? Did I really manage to have a child with him? I wondered whatever happened to that child. I didn't want to know.
Henrik reached under my chin, lifting my face up so I had to look right at him. His touch was cold. Electric. Full of dark magic. Now that he was close, I could see his eyes better. They were deep. As green as poison. I shuddered at his touch. Stilt had been right about Henrik having a lot of power. My whole body was going cold.
"You're beautiful," he said. "As always. I am glad Alric fixed your hand before I came by." He lets me go and backs away. "And now you can even do the thing you were said to be able to do. Your elf let that slip when I tortured him for answers."