Black Forest: Kingdoms Fall (Black Forest Trilogy)

by LaShea, Riley

  Perhaps, a little control from within was not arrogance, but prudence, for now the dark man had finally learned for himself that subjects left unsupervised did tend to roam.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Sawyer

  Frigid wind whipping the flurries around them, it was clear they had entered a new kingdom. As they shivered against the sudden cold, Cinderella and Rapunzel pulled their capes from their packs, wrapping them around their shoulders, as Christophe tugged his sweater over his head, topping himself with the cap he had taken in their raid of Hemptown Square.

  "Will you be all right?" Cinderella asked Norco and Togo, who seemed mesmerized by the light snow, staring right into it and blinking rapidly as flakes landed in their eyes.

  "All right?" Norco asked. "My. I say this is much more agreeable. Do you agree, Togo?"

  "It is highly agreeable," Togo said, tongue dangling out to catch the flakes as they fell.

  "Well," Cinderella's teeth chattered. "I am glad it is agreeable to someone."

  Peering as far as she could see in the direction they walked, she saw nothing but dark winter ahead, and, glancing back, nothing but night falling on the desolation left behind them. For a moment, she felt hopeless, for neither way was a way she wanted to go. Then, Rapunzel's arm slid through hers, and, meeting her eyes, Cinderella realized she had not over-spoken. She would walk through fire, through forest, through whatever was put into her path. For there was no story worth telling without Rapunzel.

  Thought leading her onward through the riled weather, they made it only a few steps more before a figure dashed from behind a tree before them.

  "Wait! Please!" Cinderella called out, but the person did not heed her request.

  "Norco and Togo on it!" the two called in unison, dropping the small sacks they had found at the feet of their human companions and flying off in pursuit of the fleeing shadow.

  "Let go of me this instant!" a deep voice reverberated through the trees a moment later.

  "She needs to talk to you for only a moment, I am certain," Norco responded, struggle evident in his voice. "These humans are really very excitable, do you not think, Togo?"

  "Certainly, they are quite excitable," Togo replied, panting in exasperation.

  "Who are you?" the deep voice demanded. "What are you?"

  Before they could give answer, Norco and Togo reappeared through the trees, each grasping tightly to the arm of a young man. Their wings flapped with utmost effort to haul the struggling chap, whose feet skated right over the winter-slick terrain.

  "Please do not run away again," Cinderella said softly, putting an immediate end to the man's resistance.

  Without the pull against them, Norco and Togo carried the man too far backward and his feet slipped out from under him, sending him to his backside in the snow.

  Rushing forward to help him up, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Christophe came to an abrupt stop when the man bounded to his feet and turned to face them, the shiny blade in his hand small but deadly. Cap pulled low, scarf pulled high, he was hard to see inside his weather-appropriate clothing, but his eyes upon them were more fearful than threatening.

  "Who are you?" the young man asked, the knife moving from one of them to the other in such a way that Cinderella knew he did not know how to use it well.

  "I am Cinderella," she responded. "This is Rapunzel and Christophe, and your attendants on your lovely return trip were Norco and Togo. Who are you?"

  "I am Sawyer." The young man attempted to stand taller, but the blade shook in his hand. "Of the Saxens."

  "You are a prince?" Cinderella warily questioned.

  "It depends on who is asking," Sawyer returned.

  "One who is not partial to princes," Cinderella returned, and, even with his mouth concealed, she could see the smile that flickered across his face.

  Knife lowering in surrender, Sawyer tugged the scarf down below his chin, revealing his face, as handsome as expected with a scar that showed especially white in the cold running down his cheek toward the corner of his mouth. "Well, in that case," he replied. "I am a prince, but only by association. My sister, with whom I stay, is married to the king of Ceres."

  "Ceres?" Rapunzel repeated. "Is that the kingdom we are in?"

  "You know about the breach of the kingdoms?" Sawyer questioned, inspecting them carefully as they nodded. "And about the disappearance of some of the inhabitants of my kingdom? Do you know of that?"

  "Not your kingdom," Cinderella returned, as what felt like a boulder dropped into her stomach. "But we have seen it."

  "I thought you might be to blame," Sawyer asked, and Rapunzel's fingers gave a light squeeze upon Cinderella's arm.

  "We are not to blame," she replied. "We have done nothing to your people."

  "Do you know what causes it?" Sawyer queried.

  "We do not know." Cinderella shook her head, feeling it half-life. "We do hope to find out, but, before we do that, we have a friend who is in need."

  "Here in Ceres?" Sawyer asked.

  "No," Rapunzel returned. "She is a few kingdoms off in Aulis. We are making way there now."

  Head turning slowly, Sawyer glanced around at the oncoming darkness, eyes returning to them with interest.

  "You are going to journey through the forest at night?" he asked.

  "We must," Cinderella returned. "For we do not have shelter for the night."

  "And you have come out here for your friend?" he questioned.

  "Yes," Cinderella replied. "She is under a spell, and we seek one who can help us break it."

  "Might I be of assistance?" he offered.

  "You very well might be," Cinderella answered, eyes moving down the fine buttons on Sawyer's coat to the embroiled gloved that twirled the blade. "For our friend needs a worthy suitor, and if you, like Christophe, have no one to whom you are linked, you may prove yourself that. It does not seem the haughtiness of castle living has rubbed off on you quite yet. At least, not too terribly."

  Intended as test as to his suitability for Snow White, Cinderella realized she might have cost them potential shelter when Sawyer stared at her in shock, but as hearty laughter burst forth from his chest, she relaxed instantly into its warm timbre.

  "I promise to be on my most humble of behavior, My Lady," he said with a small bow, "if you and your friends would be so kind as to be my guests this evening."

  "We accept," Cinderella said at once. "Thank you."

  Tugging his scarf back into place, Sawyer motioned for them to follow, and they trailed behind him through the graying snow, the whistle of the wind a chilling melody through the trees.

  "Perhaps, you could tell me more about this friend," Sawyer called back to them, and Rapunzel squeezed Cinderella's arm again in reaction, a pleased grin playing at her wind-chapped lips. "You have come by on a fine night. This evening, my sister holds a grand festival, for these strange events have prompted a desire for merriment, as no one knows what tomorrow might bring. The entire kingdom shall be in attendance."

  Feet dragging to a stop, the polite invitation rung as just another threat in Cinderella's ears. "A festival," she swallowed. "Is it possible I might retire to a chamber instead?"

  "Why would you want to retire?" Christophe questioned, his eyes radiating excitement.

  "It will be all right," Rapunzel assured her, but, as irrational as it was, Cinderella found she feared the threat of the festival more than the ghouls of the forest, the biting cold, and the possibility she might vanish at any moment combined.

  "What is it about attending the festival that gives you pause?" Sawyer asked as he stepped back to them, but Cinderella only shook her head response.

  "In the past, Cinderella has had tendency to attract adamant suitors at festival, as you might expect," Rapunzel explained, much to Cinderella's embarrassment. "But I am sorry to say, at the misfortune of others, not my own, that this maiden... she is taken."

  Watching Rapunzel stand before Sawyer, making claim to her as some sort of priceles
s treasure, Cinderella's embarrassment eased, turning to warmth when Rapunzel's eyes glanced at her, despite the pressing cold.

  "Ah, I see," Sawyer responded, and Cinderella spared him a glance, watching his eyes dance with mirth. "And feel duly warned, My Lady." Considering for a moment, he took a step toward Rapunzel, lowering his head as if in confidence, though he spoke for everyone to hear. "If Christophe and I stand with you through the night, we can chase off anyone who might ask for your hand. Would that be improper of us?"

  "That would actually be extremely chivalrous of you," Rapunzel responded.

  "Good then," Sawyer declared. "I would not want you to miss the festival. It will be wonderful reveling. My sister is a true queen, gracious and lovely. Besides, there should be many folk from the town, craftsmen and sellers and their sons. It will give you quite a selection, I imagine, should you determine me too... haughty to be suitable for your friend." He winked back at Cinderella. "Shall we be on our way?"

  Turning again, Sawyer led them off, and Christophe fell into step beside him.

  Watching Norco and Togo fly off after them, Cinderella felt a strange sense of satisfaction at the way Rapunzel held so unrelentingly to her arm.

  "You know, you speak like a jealous lover," she murmured.

  "I just do not desire any confusion," Rapunzel returned. "That is all."

  "Nor do I." Cinderella grinned as a determined hand on her cape yanked her sideways until her lips met Rapunzel's, and, even in the muddled world around them, for an instant, she knew perfect clarity.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  The Storyteller

  The gown she had borrowed from Sawyer's sister, Queen Rhian, was ill-fitted, but the intense sapphire still darkened Rapunzel's eyes as she stepped from behind the partition, and Cinderella wondered how many admirers she would be forced to ward off before evening's end.

  "You look beautiful," she breathed.

  "As beautiful as you?" Rapunzel asked, gaze sweeping Cinderella's form, and Cinderella ran her hands across the burgundy fabric at her waist, finding breathing a difficult task.

  "You look far more beautiful than me."

  "Now, I know that you lie," Rapunzel replied, grin quirking her lip. "For that is impossible."

  Walking into Cinderella without pause, Rapunzel's hands curved around either side of her neck, soft lips capturing Cinderella's in the tenderest, most honest of kisses.

  "Rapunzel..." Cinderella pulled softly away. "In case I do not get another chance..."

  "Please, do not," Rapunzel gently requested, fingertips on Cinderella's lips impeding the flow of words. "You will." And to ensure Cinderella's continued silence she captured her lips once more.

  The clearing of a throat broke them apart some moments later, and Cinderella could see the flush across Rapunzel's cheeks as she pulled away.

  "Ladies." Sawyer gave a bow, and Christophe followed his lead, looking quite pleased to be a gentleman. "Are you ready? Or do you need another moment?"

  "We are ready," Rapunzel replied, taking Cinderella's hand, and, not nearly as ready as she would like to be, Cinderella allowed herself to be pulled toward the night's festivities.

  Down the grand staircase and through the doors of a large hall, the decorous signs of festival - ladies sitting in fine dresses on lounges, men discussing the strange events in the kingdom - turned into a fray. Clutching tighter to Rapunzel, Cinderella was relieved when Sawyer and Christophe took their arms and guided them to a relatively subdued corner of the room.

  "Are you all right?" Sawyer asked, looking on them with concern.

  "Yes," Rapunzel nervously responded. "It is just so much to take in."

  "And you?" Sawyer looked to Cinderella. "You said you had been to a festival."

  "I have," Cinderella returned, looking up sharply at a bray from the dance floor, and watching a donkey go to its hind legs to put its hooves into the hands of a laughing man. "It is just..." Cinderella watched in awe as the man gave the donkey a spin. "The festivals in Troyale are apparently quite... staid."

  "How so?" Sawyer questioned, motioning a palace servant over and plying them each with drink, thanking the man with the effusiveness of a visitor to the palace.

  "Well," Cinderella began carefully. "There were only humans, for starters."

  "Oh, them?" Sawyer said, glancing toward the floor, where a monkey leapt from shoulder to shoulder. "They are citizens."

  "You are very kind to your animals," Rapunzel declared.

  "No," Sawyer laughed lightly. "They are actual citizens. The people of Ceres do have tendency to be transformed. Once they have been, many can change at will. I, myself, was a fawn for a time."

  "I was a bird for a day," Christophe shared, and, with a hearty Cheers!, the two clinked glasses and drank.

  "Can you change?" Rapunzel asked.

  "Not at will," Sawyer replied. "My fright has to be great for my animal instincts to supersede the human. At times," He looked to the wild frenzy. "I do envy them such freedom."

  Looking down into her glass, Cinderella wondered if what Sawyer saw in the citizens of Ceres truly was freedom, or just another form of captivity. For even those who could change at their will could do so only due to the curse of another.

  Rapunzel's shout beside her put Cinderella instantly on edge, and she shrank back as a rat ran across the floor before them.

  "Do not worry." Sawyer reached a hand out to them. "That is only Orsen. Chass," he called to the servant who had brought them drink. "Could you please make sure Orsen does not get trampled?"

  "Yes, Sir, of course." The man seemed content to take his orders from Sawyer, and Cinderella would have noted it as a mark in Sawyer's favor if Rapunzel had not chosen that very instant to shudder beside her and grasp her arm with suddenly icy fingers.

  "That feeling..." Rapunzel breathed. "The one from my dream. I have that feeling."

  "Like someone is trying to change things back?" Cinderella questioned, and Rapunzel nodded gravely, her face an exhibit in rapidly-changing emotion.

  "I also do not feel right," Cinderella admitted, looking at once to the rest of the room.

  Seeing through the chaotic happenings was a rather difficult task. Just when Cinderella would get a line of sight across the hall, a sheep would jump through it, or a man the height of two men would appear before her and give her a start. It was as Sawyer's older sister, Queen Rhian, who shared so many of Sawyer's physical traits that they were easily recognizable as the same bloodline, walked up to them that Cinderella's gaze alighted on a dark-headed figure across the room. The man's dark gaze, in turn, meeting her own, Cinderella's heart sped up at the unforgiving look upon his face.

  "Are you having a good time?" Queen Rhian asked, Norco and Togo appearing along with her, hovering at her back like her personal pets.

  "A most fantastic time," Christophe responded, but his voice shook with nerve, as if Cinderella and Rapunzel's anxiety had rubbed off on him.

  "I am delighted," Queen Rhian replied. "We have never had guests from other kingdoms. Of course, we did not know such a thing was possible until recently."

  "Queen Rhian," Cinderella interjected, eyes never leaving the man's face. "I greatly apologize, but could you tell me who might be the bearded man across the room?"

  When Queen Rhian looked to him, the man in question spun quickly away, heading to the door that led from the hall.

  "I know him not," Queen Rhian replied. "Sawyer?" she questioned, and he too shook his head. "Perhaps he, like you, is from another kingdom."

  "No," Cinderella returned, voice weak in her throat, the man strangely familiar. "He is not. Please, excuse me." Prying Rapunzel's hand from her arm, Cinderella glanced into worried eyes. "Stay here with them," she said firmly, driven to follow the man. Her request quite clear, she was not surprised in the least when she heard both footsteps and the flap of wings at her back.

  As she reached the stone porch of the castle, the winter upon her skin felt so exaggerated in its cold blast, Ci
nderella stopped for a moment to right herself, certain she had lost the man when she saw him nowhere before her.

  "Hello, Cinderella." He stepped leisurely from the shadow of an angel's statue, and, turning as Rapunzel and the others came to a stop, Cinderella stepped between them and the man, feeling her body go both hot and cold at the same time, insides suddenly erupting as her skin broke out in gooseflesh.

  "Who are you?" she asked.

  "You know who I am," he returned, and Cinderella felt Rapunzel's conviction move through her.

  "You are the storyteller?" she husked.

  "Yes." The man looked pleased with the title. "I am the storyteller."

  "You are the one who has made people disappear," Cinderella accused, and he smiled again.

  "I am."

  "Why?" she questioned, swallowing the fear that threatened to close her throat. Wishing she knew exactly where Rapunzel stood behind her, she was grateful at the same time that, for once, Rapunzel was not at her side. "Where are you sending them?"

  "Nowhere," he replied. "I created them. I can remove them. They simply exist no more."

  "But why?" she asked again.

  "Because they are my stories," the man returned. "Those who are gone had completed their purpose. They reached their happily-ever-afters. They were of no more use to me, and they could be too easily persuaded to join you. Your numbers have grown great enough, I think." He trailed off, and something that moved at her back made the storyteller nervous. "The fewer people you have the better. When I send death for you, I want it to take."

  "I do not know who you are," Queen Rhian stepped forward suddenly, and Cinderella's skin crawled in concern as the man turned his steady gaze toward her, "But you will leave this instant. You do not come to my home and threaten my guests."

  Hand dashing into his breast pocket, the man pulled something from within. No more than a quill, Cinderella knew it was the most dangerous weapon he could hold, and was relieved when Sawyer grabbed his sister and pulled her away.