The Huntress

Chapter 38

Staring at the creature I can't help but feel sorry for him. Sure, he refused to help us But he didn't deserve to die. And it's my fault too. I can't believe I killed something...and who knows what happened to the man outside I'd clawed. And I don't blame the queen, Rumple, Archer, the dragon, or anybody for all this. This isn't right...and it's my fault.  

Someone who deserves these heightened senses should be here. I'm not strong nor good enough to have them. So I have to give them up. It's the only way not to hurt anyone.  

"Hey, don't cry Skye...you did all you could." Archer says, wiping a tear from my face.  

I hadn't even realized I was crying. "It's just so sad. And don't be nice, we both know I could have done more. Honestly, if you could've spoken to him it would have ended differently." 

"Hey! Do not think that way. You did everything you could for him and he flat out refused. This is not your fault, okay? We all make mistakes, even that dragon." he says then makes and grimacing smile. "I mean, he refused you...that's gotta count for something." 

Letting out a weird laughing-sobbing hybrid thing I nod. "This isn't time to joke around."  

"Eh, it's too painful to see you cry, love." he says, pulling me into a hug. 

We stay that way for several minutes. And just when I start to feel like the silence around us is stifling, a new sound joins us. It's strong and pulses with joy and love. I pull back from Archer to see if he's noticed the noise but he only looks at me questioningly.  

"Do you hear that?" I ask, just to make sure. 

"Hear what?" he asks, confirming my suspicion. Whatever it is, only I can hear it.  

I don't answer him and pull completely from his grasp, following the noise. Listening carefully to my surroundings, I follow the almost deafeningly loud noise back into the room full of the queen's evil reign. In the back of my mind I take note that Archer's following me as quietly as he can. Looking at the wall of hearts, I search for the one calling out to me. 

"Where are you?" I ask quietly.  

Suddenly one of the boxes, almost directly in the center and around eye level, starts glowing a bright crimson. I smile, thanking whosoever is helping me this way.  

Slowly I open the box and see inside a label right in front of a semi-translucent, crimson heart. It says 'Archer' is an elegant script embedded in a golden plaque. Smiling, I reach in and take the heart in my hand. It glows a little brighter at my touch - like it knows me somehow. Then it hits me. 

I know what to do. How to put it back inside of Archer. How to put all of them back into their owners. I look over at Archer with a bright smile on my face. 

"Come here." I say quietly. 

He takes slow, cautious steps until he's right in front of me. "What is it?" 

"It may hurt just a bit." I say, and he nods. He knows what I'm going to do now. 

"Go ahead." he says with more trust than I could imagine. 

Taking a deep breath I lift the heart up to his chest. Letting it out, I thrust it inside him and clench my eyes shut when he gasps in pain. I quickly pull my hand back out and step back.  

He looks down at his chest for a little while before looking up into my eyes. For a moment, his eyes are filled with so much admiration, thanks, and love. And then, all hell breaks loose.  

Clutching his chest he crumbles to the ground. He starts writhing and screaming...and there's nothing I can do but watch. Seriously, if I thought what happened with the dragon was horrible...this is ten times worse. Mostly because it's happening to the one person I love more than anything else in this world. As he thrashes and yells out I send a silent prayer up to the heavens that he'll be all right and that it will happen soon. 

Then, without any warning, he just stops. He doesn't seem to be breathing either. I take a cautious step toward him and kneel down next to him, placing my hand gently on his shoulder 

Slowly his eyes flutter open. 

"Archer." I let out a sigh and hug him tight. 

"Y-yes...and w-who are you?" he asks, pulling back a little before passing out.

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What the...? Holy crab puffs what the fudge just happened? Fiddle sticks and drum dums Kera why'd you go and do something so chicken fudgery? Sticking cliffhangers!!!!

Yes, I really talk like that and you can add your own curse words in place of the ones I've given you. Sorry about the cliffhanger, but Hope you enjoy reading this one. So, what do you think's going to happen next?

Vote and comment.

Always yours,

Kera