Once Upon a Time: Ever After High (Book 14)

Ch.23 Suffering task

Down in the tunnels, Brooke used the flashlight on her phone to guide her way through the tunnels until she spotted Shannon waiting for her.

"Shannon!" she hissed while storming up to her "What the hell are you thinking?! This tunnel could collapse."

"Nah," Shannon shook her head "It seems to have held up this long. Now, come on and help. Paula's definitely got something hidden down here somewhere."

"Shannon," Brooke groaned as they began down the tunnel "I know this all seems a little... magical, but it's not. They just built part of the new city over the old city."

"Yeah, I know about the Seattle Underground, but that doesn't mean something magical can't be buried down here. You know what? I don't get it. Why is it so hard for you to believe the truth? That me and my dad are your real family?"

"Because it's crazy," she breathed.

"Is it?" Shannon doubted when she turned down another tunnel as Brooke gave another groan while following her.

(Flashback) After gathering Hunter and Ashlynn, Brooke joined up with the others at a table where Delilah placed down a map for everyone to see.

"This will work," she announced "We don't have to breach their perimeter alone. We'll have two sets of resistance guards on either flank to occupy the guards. I'll be heading up one group."

"I'll head up the other" Danny volunteered.

"I'll go with you" Brooke declared.

"Ver well," Delilah smiled while picking up the map "All right everyone, rest up. We'll head out in the morning."

As she and everyone else headed off, Brooke and Danny stayed behind as Brooke noticed that he had on a nervous look.

"Hey," she began calmly "You don't have to worry, everything's gonna be okay. You know our friends, they take down bad guys all the time."

"I know," he sighed.

"Is something wrong?"

"Um-" he put on a confident face "We have a big day tomorrow, we need to get some rest."

And with that, he turned around and walked off.

"Have a good night" she called out.

He didn't even turn around as he just entered his tent, making her wonder why he was acting like this.

But later that night, once everyone was asleep, Danny peeked out from his tent to see that everyone outside was indeed asleep. Once he was sure, he stepped out into the night and spotted Brooke lying asleep on the ground near the table. After giving a small sigh, he headed off into the woods and disappeared into the night.

He traveled down the woods until he came upon King Arthur's castle. And after peering from a tree to see that there was no one around, he jogged up to the gate and pushed it opened as he stepped onto the castle grounds. Since he knew the place well, he headed inside and into a room where he spotted something that caught his eye. There in the middle of the empty room was a coffin on top of a stand, and by the looks of it, it appeared a bit small.

"I thought that would lure you in" he turned to see Gwen heading towards him.

"Why is this here?" he pointed to the coffin.

"I suppose it's time we had a proper talk."

"Yeah," he frowned "It sure is. Let's start with the coffin. Or what you did to Merlin."

She turned to him and noticed his wet eyes and his clenched fists.

"So, you've learned the truth" she replied dully.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Oh, you know exactly why."

"So, this is because of me?" he sniffed angerly "Will there never be a time where I've suffered enough for what I did?"

"No."

"Well, if you want to punish me, get it over with, leave the others out of this. Kill me now like you've been wanting to."

"Oh, I'll get to that. But I need something from you first."

She walked over to the coffin where she placed her hands on top.

"Shall we take a look?" she questioned.

He didn't even answer as she lifted up the lid.

"Look at her," she ordered as he peered into the coffin and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the body of a young girl.

She was dressed in black and a veil over her face, but besides that, she still looked fresh.

"Mia?" he gasped in shock "I don't understand, she's-"

"Perfectly preserved," Gwen finished his sentence "There's one tiny breath left inside this precious little body. And I've saved it- until I could save her."

"How?" he gasped again "How did you do this?"

"You're not the only one with magical friends. Mia was an innocent, with the purest of hearts. The only way to bring her back is with an equally pure heart."

At that moment, Danny knew exactly who she meant.

"Brooke?" he breathed, now even more shocked.

"I did a little digging and discovered who she was."

"Mia died, it was terrible. But killing another innocent-"

"Is the only way to bring her back."

"It's wrong!"

"I don't care!"

Danny felt his eyes water more as he felt his blood boil.

"You'll never get her heart" he growled.

"Yes, I will. Because you're going to get it for me."

And with that, she grabbed onto his hand and pulled it up. He tried to pull it away but she had on a tight grip as she pulled out a wand.

"Wait," he gasped, "Is that Merlin's staff?"

"I shrunk it down a bit for easier use."

She then waved the shrunken staff over his hand which began to glow.

"Now if you don't do what I say," she began "Every person in that little resistance you've joined will pay the price."

She let go of his hand as he saw that he was now wearing a golden glove. Being a magic user, he realized that this glove was unlike any other. It had the ability to give anyone the access to rip out someone's heart, and it could not be taken off until the dead was done.

"It's your choice, Daniel. Either you sacrifice that girl, or you sacrifice everyone."

His heart was already shattering by the sound of that as a tear dripped down his cheek. Just when he thought his suffering couldn't get worse, Gwen just had to be the monster she was once again.