Thorn in the Rose {Book 1 Of The Once Upon A Time Chronicles}

Chapter 19: An Unexpected Alliance

Anyone who has traveled in the woods, like me you would know that they are seldom quiet. No matter where you step there is always some sort of animal around making a sound. A bird singing in the tree, a deer walking through the brush, or if you are very unlucky a wolf or bear is stalking you from a close distance. However, I find that the closer I get to the castle the quieter the woods around me become. It's as if all the woodland critters know what is lurking in that castle and they want nothing to do with it. They like me hold a sliver of fear for the beast within those castle walls.

Only I'm not going to cower away from the Beast.

Dante suddenly becomes very skittish, rearing his body up, shaking his head, and releasing a long high high-pitched neigh.

"Okay boy, it's okay," I repeat as I quickly dismount Dante and carefully tie him to the strongest-looking tree.

I am not willing to force him to go any further since it is making him so uncomfortable. That and I can sneak into the castle easier on foot. Patting him goodbye I rush off into the thicket. Using both of my hands I furiously push the flood of bushes that were blocking my path to the imposing iron gate entrance.

I take no notice of the branches that whip and slash open small amounts of my bare skin, they and the small flashes of pain they shoot through me are nothing to the danger that I am running towards.

Finally, my efforts were rewarded, the thick bushes vanished and the hard iron gates stood before me. My eyes drift upward and settle upon the outline of the castle just a few steps ahead. My mind dances with the array of plans I've made to safely get to the second floor where I believe the young woman is trapped and then of course safely get her back out before the Beast catches us and rips us apart with his sharp claws.

"Piece of cake," I quietly laugh to myself.

Taking deep and labored breaths I carefully and slowly push the gate open, just enough for my slim body to wiggle through the gap.

Not wanting to be easily spotted I drift away from the stone pathway that leads up to the door and duck into the bushes that are scattered along what I can only conclude was the garden way back when this castle was used. As I walk I pull an arrow out of my bag and place it in my bow. Keeping my body low beneath the line of sight from the multiple windows that line the building I carefully make my way closer and closer to what appears to be a side door.

The bushes that were hiding me suddenly disappear leaving me out in an open patch of the garden. Circular patch lines with moss-covered stone pillars and a stone bench in the dead center are also covered in a layer of green moss. Dead branches spiked with protruding thorns twist around the pillars and some are even wrapping around the bottom. Despite little sunlight and I'm also assuming little water small flowers are drooping on the thorny branches. They are brown and withering but I can make out the famous shape of a rose.

As if they have some sort of power over me or it's just my horrid sense of curiosity (my mother's words not mine) I stand up to my full height and walk up to the plants and delicately touch one of the roses. Its paper-thin petals break apart with my touch, the pieces floating down to the dirt below me.

"It's such a shame, isn't it? To see such beautifies reduced to this state," a male voice resonates from behind me.

With a small jump, I spin around on my heels and point out my loaded bow in front of me.