“Aleck,” I steadily said. “You’ve crushed my heart too many times with your cruelty and your so called ‘constructive criticism.’ I’m done, and I won’t let you hurt me any longer.”
I then looked at the real person who held my heart and to someone who I knew would never purposefully hurt me. “Eddy, please take me to the kitchen.”
“Snow, don’t do this,” Aleck begged.
I ignored him and looked straight forward as Eddy helped me walk past the pathetic boy I once thought I loved.
“You’ll never find someone better than me,” Aleck said feebly.
“She already has,” Eddy mumbled.
I wasn’t sure if I heard him right, and when I looked at him I only saw his dead-pan expression focusing on the path in front of us.
What did he mean? Did I dare hope he meant himself? In spite of how very much I wished it, I couldn’t forget he was smitten with Lindsey. I vowed to help him get her back, to express my gratitude to him for saving my life.
Besides, it wasn’t possible for him to stay in my world, and I didn’t belong in his. That was reality. Lindsey and he would live happily ever after. I had to try to find a way to be, as they said in Idaho, okay with that.
I already knew I would fail miserably.
Chapter 24
Snow White
by the Brothers Grimm
“Aha,” she cried mockingly, “you would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest. The cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you. You will never see her again.”
The king’s son was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes. Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries, and did naught but lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife.
Thus he roamed about in misery for some years, and at length came to the desert where Rapunzel, with the twins to which she had given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice, and it seemed so familiar to him that he went toward it, and when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he could see with them as before. He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented.
Fighting Pirates
}Rapunzel}
“Run,” Maddox whispered to me. He stood in front of me, arms wide, shielding me from the two pirates.
“I’m not leaving without you,” I said, fearful of the thought of something happening to Maddox, especially since he already sacrificed himself once to rescue me. I couldn’t let his chivalry go to waste without returning the favor.
The pirate named John leered at us and said, “The captain only wants the princess. We have orders to kill her unnecessary companion.”
“Don’t hurt him!” I exclaimed, trying to step in front of Maddox to guard him from the ruthless pirates.
John laughed at me. “Move aside, little girl,” he spat. “I don’t want to have to hurt you, too.”
I wasn’t helpless. Little did he know, I had trained almost my whole life to defend myself against attackers like him. I put my fists on my hips and gave him my best glare. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Stay out of the way, Princess.” He lifted his cutlass and bent down in a mocking bow. “Accidents happen, and if you ask me, the kingdom would be better off with the extinction of the entire royal family.”
“You’d really kill me?” Even though I had been kidnapped by pirates, their capabilities still astounded me.
“With pleasure,” he sneered.
“And you, Michael?” I asked, looking at the pirate who once had pretended to be my friend. “Would you kill me, too?
The younger pirate slowly lifted his gaze to mine. Sadness filled his face, and an innocence that surprised me. “I’m sorry,” he said.
The bushes rustled, and a group of four pirates joined us for the party—an execution party.
The increased number of evil men caused my confidence to shrink. I didn’t know if we could fight all six of them at once. Although I knew when Maddox and I were trying to escape, there was a possibility we could get caught, but I didn’t really think it would happen. For some reason, I thought we were invincible, probably because love blinded me. Death by pirates was a rotten way to go. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
This can’t be the end...can it?
There had to be another way to escape. Maybe Michael would learn from his wrongs and feel guilty enough to help us. That way it would be three against five, still bad odds, but it would make it more of a possibility.
“Why do you hate me?” I asked the older pirate, John. If these pirates wanted to kill me I at least deserved to know the reason why. Finding out that the captain was my uncle didn’t give me any information about why anybody felt the kingdom would be better off with the royal family dead.
“The captain should be king,” he said with disgust.
“You’re right, John,” said the captain himself as he stepped through the trees with three more pirates. He positioned himself in front of the group and waved a sword at Maddox and me. “The king deserves to pay for marrying someone not from this world.”
When I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion, the captain asked, “Don’t you know?”
I peered sideways at Maddox, who looked as bewildered as I felt. At least I wasn’t the only one in the dark.
The captain slapped his leg. “I can’t believe they kept this from you.” He paused as if for dramatic effect. “Your mother is from Idaho.”
Shock coursed through me, but I said, “Do you expect me to believe you? You’re a pirate—not exactly an upstanding citizen of the kingdom. You probably lie just about every time you open your mouth.”
The captain sneered at me. While we were momentarily distracted, the evil man lunged forward with his sword and brought the point to my neck. Maddox’s eyes widened and he took a step forward. The captain nudged at me, causing a sharp little pain in my neck. Maddox froze, waiting.
The captain snickered, his eyes vicious. “Your father should have stepped down from being king since he married a commoner not of royal birth. He has tainted the bloodline, and now look at you.”
Maddox took a tiny step away from the captain’s murderous blade.
“Instead, he changed the law that a member of the royal family could marry a commoner.” The captain sneered. “Little does the kingdom know that the queen is really someone who shouldn’t even exist in our world.”
He turned away from me and lunged again, this time narrowly missing Maddox.
The captain began to circle around us like a tiger stalking his prey. “I was next in line, and I should have been crowned king since he chose to marry your mother, but my dear brother had to change the laws and leave me in the dust.” He spit in the dirt.
I clung to Maddox’s arm as the captain stepped closer to us. His sneer was one of pure malice, and any second he would begin his lethal attack. I saw the tip of the cutlass circle, as if it searched for someone to cut all on its own. The captain sized us up, almost certainly misjudging me in the process. I twitched my skirt into place to make him think I was a girlie girl.
“What’s the honor of killing someone who doesn’t have their own weapon to defend themselves?” someone asked from the cluster of pirates who were bystanders to our execution.
“Who said that?” the captain growled.
Four boys stepped forward from the crowd. Pride but also fear raced through me when I saw Maddox’s brothers holding swords and cutlasses of their own. “We did,” said Sanders, the younger twin. Sunny, along with Sebastian and Lark, puffed up their chests, intimidating the crowd of dirty pirates who were smelly, raggedy nothings compared to tall, strong Idaho farm boys.
Lark gave me a wink and smiled his
usual grin. Even though he and his brothers were getting ready to fight to the death with a gang of evil pirates, he kept his pleasant attitude. I didn’t think that boy ever got angry or worried about anything in his life. He was the drastic opposite of his brooding brother, Maddox, but the two of them meshed well together. They evened each other out. I could sense Maddox beside me calming a little bit just seeing his happy, care-free brother.
The brothers had armed themselves with a handful of knives in various sizes. Some even looked like kitchen knives. Lark handed one of the larger knives to Maddox and a smaller blade to me.
“Where did you get these?” Maddox asked.
“Hansel’s friend, Peter, found them in an old, abandoned house.” Lark nodded his head behind him, and three more people moved forward from behind the pirate group. Hansel and Gretel joined the group with another boy at Hansel’s side. They tossed their knives from hand to hand, Gretel brandishing what looked like a butcher’s knife. “The lady who used to live in the house must have been a baker or something because she had knives lying all around,” Lark said.
What kind of baker was she? I wondered. You’d think she’d have more rolling pins and mixing spoons than knives if she was a normal baker.
The three newcomers, along with Maddox’s brothers, now brought the total number of our group to nine, only one less than the pirate band. And now we had weapons to defend ourselves. Unlike a few minutes ago, it looked much more like we could fight our way out. We had freedom on the line, while they only had greed.
The captain’s eyes flicked between each of the newcomers before he said a bit nervously, “Too bad your cousin Snow didn’t have anyone protecting her.”
I glanced at Maddox. “What does he mean?”
“Snow is fine,” Maddox said, but there was uneasiness in his eyes. “Eddy took her to the castle to get some help.”
“What happened?” I turned my questioning to the captain.
“There’s something you should know about my wife.” The captain grinned, his eyes glinting with malice. “She’s an expert ‘magic worker’, and she can mix any potion to fix what ails you. She has also mastered the art of poisoning and altering the ingredients to elicit a quick death or a painful and slow one.” His dark eyes glittered with an unholy glee.
“Maddox?” I looked at Maddox and to the other brothers for an answer. “Bash? Lark?”
Lark smiled weakly. “The witch gave her a poisoned apple.”
I gasped. Not Snow! Oh please, not my cousin. We were just fighting our way back to each other. We had too many things to do together.
Maddox put his hand on the small of my back. He whispered, “Eddy took her to the castle as fast as he could. I’m sure she’s going to be fine.”
His assurance meant a great deal to me, but I knew it might not be accurate. No one knew if they made it to the castle in time or if they could stop the poison before it killed her. My pulse ramped up with worry.
Please protect her, I silently pleaded.
The captain smiled again, showing his sharp, crooked teeth. “Your cousin was a tiny inconvenience, but you should be comforted knowing you will join her soon,” he taunted. “Ten years ago, I aimed to kill you so I could take over the throne. Sadly, someone thwarted that plan. I think I’ve waited long enough to finish the job. And when I’m finished, I’m going to hunt down the people who helped you escape.”
The captain then lunged again at Maddox who stood the closest. Maddox swung his arm up and his kitchen knife clashed with the captain’s cutlass. With that first clang, the battle began. The madman sneered. “Your puny knife—“ crash “—and your negligible brawn—“ clang “—are absolutely no match for my cutlass and—“ ding ”—our experience. Prepare to meet your maker.”
The rest of the merciless pirates came at us with their rusty cutlasses, and our small army brandished our kitchen weapons in defense. My friends formed a semi-circle around me to protect me. Even though I was capable and eager to fight, I knew they were doing it because surviving was my greater purpose. The line of the royal family went through me. Knowing I needed to stay back, I still held on tightly to my dagger and onto the desire to join in the fight if it became necessary.
Another pirate thrust his sword toward Maddox while he focused on fighting the captain, but thankfully my man avoided the blow. Another rushed forward, but Lark stopped him. I itched to help my friends, but I held back.
I watched in awe of Maddox’s ability with the knife, catching blows on the blade that might have sliced up his hands and more. The captain had reach, but Maddox could dodge and lunge and deflect better. But the captain met him strike for strike. Obviously, the captain was much older and had more experience with his knife, but Maddox had six other brothers he wrestled with every day to help him know when to attack and when to avoid a blow. The main thing I worried about was if Maddox made the tiniest mistake, this slicing match could result in death. Those were real cutlasses, not wooden practice swords. And I doubted Maddox had ever fought with swords coming at him before.
Looking over the crowd, I noticed John slowly retreating from the fight. His brother, Michael, had already left, perhaps not wanting to reveal his guilt in our escape. John was trying to slip away, too. I wouldn’t let him leave without a consequence. Since he retreated close to where I stood, I left my protective group of friends and stepped in front of him, blocking his way.
Holding my knife at his chest, I said, “Drop your sword.”
John glanced at me, then took a step to continue on his path. I pressed the knife into his chest. He looked at me with wide eyes and immediately dropped his cutlass. I kicked it away. “Don’t move,” I said, still holding the knife at his chest.
I looked back at the battle, searching for Maddox. Swords flashed and clattered everywhere. The twins, Sunny and Sanders, moved around the floor as if they were dancing, their knives clanging against the pirates’ swords, sparks flying. The young boy, Hansel, fought a much larger pirate, but the boy used his agility to his advantage and easily maneuvered away from the pirate’s cutlass. Peter, Gretel’s new friend, closely guarded her. Together, the two of them succeeded in knocking a large pirate to the ground and now threatened to tear out his earring and gut him like a carp.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted Maddox still fighting the captain. He sped up his moves, changed direction, dove to one side or the other, and kept thrusting and slashing, but the captain still met every strike.
Maddox bent and swiped the captain’s leg, tripping him, causing him to go down. Maddox straightened and glanced across the crowd in desperation. I waved my hand in the air. He gave me a quick smile when he saw me, but he fell hard to the ground when the captain swept his leg, tripping him.
Maddox dropped his knife and scrambled for it. The captain lunged to bar his reach with the wicked-looking cutlass.
I gasped and cried out, certain he would die. John used the disruption to escape from my clutches and flee behind the trees, but I didn’t care.
I watched as the captain stood before Maddox and raised his sword toward Maddox’s chest. I stood frozen, not believing my eyes. Everything happened so fast. There was a blur of silver from the swords and a haze of bodies fighting all around. However, in the middle of the mess, for that horrid moment, it felt like everything slowed down like the gentle falling of snowflakes, as the captain brought down his sword toward Maddox. I held my breath in the brief suspension of time.
At the last second, Maddox rolled out of the way and sprang to his feet. The captain’s sword clanged onto empty ground, and he roared in rage.
Maddox ducked under the cutlass and drove his shoulder into the captain’s stomach, tossing the captain boots over wig to splay out on the ground. Maddox lunged for the knife and brought it around, ripping the sword out of the captain’s hand with it and triumphantly he held both weapons at the captain’s throat.
The battle raged around us, with clanging and the cries of hurt men filling the air. From off
to the side, I saw a burley pirate fighting Sebastian. The pirate lunged toward Bash, swinging his blade down, and delivering a blow toward the boy’s stomach. Bash crumbled to the ground with an ear-piercing scream.
Maddox turned to see his brother collapse. “Bash!” he yelled.
The murderous pirate lifted his sword, about to plunge it into Sebastian’s chest for the fatal blow, but Sanders, who stood close by, whipped out a small dagger and flung it into the pirate’s heart. The pirate crumpled onto the ground, blood pooling around his body like water.
Maddox stopped in his tracks, turned and looked at me, his face draining from color. Before I knew what had caused his fear, the captain came up behind me, pulling me against his chest. He must have slithered away from the commotion and crept up behind me, to where I stood unprotected.
He held a small dagger at my throat. “Drop your weapons!”
Maddox seethed with anger, but seeing no other option, he and his brothers lowered their knives to the ground.
The captain laughed. His arm tightened around me and he dug the tip of the dagger into my skin, drawing blood. “I’m taking the princess with me, and no one is going to stop me. Is that understood?” He stepped away, pulling me along with him.
I squeezed onto the knife I still held in my hand. Do I dare kill him? Can I really do it?
Maddox nodded at me, seeing me clutching the knife.
I knew I couldn’t wait too long. Otherwise, the captain would see my weapon.
Now.
I quickly leaned to the side and thrust the dagger into the captain’s thigh. When he shouted, I bit his hand and ripped his own knife from him. I rotated out of his arms and thrust his weapon into his side, near his stomach. He sunk to the ground.
Once free, I ran to Maddox, who wrapped his arms around me. “You’re safe now,” he whispered in my ear.
The captain screamed, pulling the dagger from his side and aimed to throw the weapon at us.
Lark leaped in front of us as the knife streaked through the air, until it embedded itself in his chest. He crashed to the ground. For once a stricken look replaced his grin.
Rescuing Rapunzel (The Princess Chronicles Book 3) Page 16