The warthog minister's snout flared as he inhaled another deep breath before continuing the next portion of the ceremony. His blind eyes rolled chaotically around in his head, cloudy with a cotton-like layer of disease. His long face was a chocolate brown and looked like leather sprouting warts. His random sprigs of scraggly hair waved back and forth as he talked.
Princess Adeline wished she had a pair of gloves on. She hated for Jarryd to feel her sweaty palms against his cool, smooth fingers. Perspiration did not befit a lady, especially on her wedding day. It was not the empty chapel's temperature making Princess Adeline melt. Her outward display of soggy discomfort came from deep inside.
The warthog turned and talked in what he sensed was Jarryd's direction, "Do you, Prince Jarryd, take Princess Adeline to be your wedded wife," he asked, recording all the caveats of good and bad times. Adeline felt dizzy as the warthog's words ricocheted like clanging gongs around her brain. She was really being married off to Jarryd. It was happening right then and there. The old, familiar promises were being made, promises to one another that would last a lifetime. Princess Adeline only had one life and it was being sealed and signed over to a stranger.
"I do," she heard Jarryd say from beside her. The words seemed to travel through a foggy canyon gap, sounding far off and yet echoing all the way to where she stood. She could also hear her own breathing banging in her ears, gasps in and out that were louder than thunder in the worst temper.
Princess Adeline balanced her gaze to see Jarryd. Her vision was moving up and down in waves. She finally anchored onto his face. The strict-lines of his sculpted jawline and cheekbones were perfectly proportioned. His dashing, black hair and deep eyes were those of a demigod. He was so icily handsome, she wished with all her heart she could feel some romantic stirrings for those gorgeous features. She wished she could love him for his looks, if nothing else.
But she did not love Jarryd in that way. There was no attraction between them that was skin deep or otherwise. She had the greatest compassion for his lonely life, but it was not enough to give rise to real love. Princess Adeline wanted to help Jarryd, to lift him out of his dismal solitude, but she did not love him as a wife should honour and treasure her husband.
Yet Princess Adeline was marrying this man. There was nothing she could do to stop the inevitable. Soon the ceremony would be over and she would be a married lady. Princess Adeline of Once-upon-a Time would be united to Jarryd of Distress for eternity, bound to one another by a bond which no man or beast could break. She would belong to him and he would belong to her, until death at last drew a curtain across their connection.
The warthog hacked and wheezed for air. Adeline ruthlessly thought how lovely it would be if the ancient critter just passed out, blue in the face in front of them. But his lapse passed quicker than expected for his age. The wrinkled beast beat his chest with a nicked and worn hoof and set his lungs aright. He turned towards the princess, nearly bashing his nose into her face, and continued.
"And do you, Princess Adeline, take Prince Jarryd to be your wedded husband?"
As the warthog repeated the conditions of her promise, Adeline felt her heart opening and closing against her sternum at an explosive rate. The minister's gruff words sent a dozen images shooting before her imagination.
What would life be like with Jarryd as her husband?
She saw herself feeding him broth during a time of sickness, her body weary from long hours spent nursing him at his bedside. She saw them together in the castle, locked alone one with the other while Lady Jacqueline brought darkness to the outside world. She saw them sitting on their separate thrones, silently listening to commoners' complaints without the power to help them. She saw herself sitting beside Jarryd as he held their first baby, both quiet and amazed, but missing the radiance of true rejoicing. She saw them in their old age, grey and hazy as they decayed into death without a peaceful submission.
Princess Adeline saw all these sad scenes for her future in a moment's lapse. She knew her happy days were over with each word spoken in this room. She realized the rest of her life would be forlorn, no great smiles, no great fun, no great pleasures ever again. She would live a calm life with Jarryd and lose all her extreme emotions. All feeling would be lost as she merely moved along down the river of life. No pain. No joy. Only the same flat calm.
The warthog had finished his question. The minister and Jarryd waited for the young woman's answer. Would she or would she not be Jarryd's wife? Though she could not refuse on fear of death, Adeline still had to say the two words sealing her fate and signing her life over to this man and his wicked mother.
The two words were rising up Princess Adeline's vocal chords like acid. They burned her throat as her lips formed their shape. Her blue eyes looked lost in a dream. She was already slipping out of touch with the vibrancy of life. It was time for her to say goodbye to the expressive existence she had known and taken for granted before today. It was time to say those final two words of her single life.
Princess Adeline's pink lips parted, "I -"
The wooden doors of the chapel crashed open. They groaned on their hinges as they smashed against the stone walls. The entire wedding party's attention turned in the direction of the doorway.
The candlelight of the chapel's chandeliers struck against the silver sword held by the intruder. Its gleam was slightly blinding for all but the already visually impaired warthog. The intruder stood a few steps over the chapel threshold in iron firmness. His strong muscles were visible under his travelling clothes and his eyes were set in a look of defiance.
"I object to this wedding," he stated. "This ceremony is over."
Princess Adeline's suffocation cleared. The clouds of her despair vanished as soon as her sight finally convinced her she was saved, rescued from heartless matrimony by the only person that could save her from that fate.
"Gill," she whispered, completely overcome by this salvation. No tears rushed to her eyes. Her joy was much too wonderful for crying. It brought starlight to every fibre of her being.
Gillroy looked at his beloved with relief. There Princess Adeline stood across the room, all in one piece and without a ring on her finger. She was not married yet. He made it in time to save her!
Gillroy also saw the man standing next to the princess. So this was the son of Lady Jacqueline. He was certainly dark and brooding like the steward expected. Still, the young man did not appear dangerous, though obviously appearances could be deceiving. The enchantress' son was not making any moves to stop Gillroy from taking away his potential bride. Not yet at any rate.
"Gill!" Princess Adeline's strength returned for her to cry out. Her smile was dazzling. Gill could not remain at a distance any longer. A few minutes ago he was worried his heart's desire was lost for all time, and now they were together and she was smiling for him. In the same inkling, Princess Adeline and Gillroy ran to one another.
Gill put away his sword as he approached her. Adeline's feet felt like they were flying down the empty aisle. Both companions reached out their arms as they drew near, grabbing one another into an embrace as their fingertips touched.
Gillroy was only expecting a hug from his princess, his wildest hopes never envisioning any other sort of salutation.
Imagine his surprise when they rushed together and Princess Adeline wrapped her arms around Gill's neck not for a hug but a kiss squarely on the lips. It did not say, "Oh, I'm so excited to see you" or "Thank goodness, you've saved me." No, this kiss said everything Princess Adeline was feeling. And what is more, her heart's message was not only understood by Gillroy, but returned a hundredfold. The kiss was right, as Adeline's kiss with Darrik had not been. Right and pure and perfect.
When their lips parted, Princess Adeline smiled up at her sandy-haired friend, "I should have known it was you, Gill. It was always, always you."
"I was afraid the truth would hurt you if I ever told you how much I loved you," he said. "We've both been a little foolish, I guess."
"That's why we belong together," Adeline replied, wrapping her fingers between his. "Forever."
As the lovebirds stared winsomely into one another's eyes, a massive quake shook the castle's roots. The entire stone-building wobbled, sending everyone inside fumbling for balance. Adeline fell against Gill who tried desperately not to lose his footing. The trembling quieted momentarily and left a hair-raising silence. The two Once-upon-a Timeans were not out of trouble yet.
"That will be my mother," Jarryd said, walking down the aisle of the chapel. "You'd better follow me if you want to get Adeline out of Distress alive."
Gillroy's lifted eyebrow questioned the prince's intentions. "You're going to help us?"
"Oh yes, Gill," Adeline assured. "Jarryd has to come with us. We can't leave him here by himself in this dreary land."
Jarryd, at the chapel door, checked the corridor for danger. He avoided Gillroy's glance for many reasons, not least because he was holding Adeline in his arms.
"I only want to see Adeline and Fairy Tale happy," the prince of Distress said.
"Then we'd better get moving," Gill said, unsheathing his sword once more. "It's time we saw what surprises Lady Jacqueline has been brewing up for us."
* * *
Knightley, Dark Journey, and Avory contained a nervous whinny as they felt the ground beneath them rumble like an earthquake. They stepped back and forth on their four hooves, trying to maintain balance. More than one of them looked up at the tips of the mountains surrounding the castle's valley to make sure no explosions of lava were visible. This was not a natural phenomenon.
The horses looked upon one another with silent, scared eyes. As the stones and pebbles beneath them calmed back into slumber, their nerves tensed further. They all three understood a sign of doom when it crossed their paths. Lady Jacqueline was aware of their presence and she was making a move to stop them from achieving their goals.
Each noble steed worried for its master now inside the glassy walls of Lady Jacqueline's castle. Their loyalty made them fear for the humans they loved and protected. Knightley felt the separation from Prince Darrik during dangerous battle most ardently. In the fiercest hour of fighting, the horse and rider were meant to be together, defending one another against many foes. Now Prince Darrik was inside their enemy's abode and Knightley, on the outside, could not protect him.
The horses stared at one another with ears pointing straight to the stormy sky. Their tails did not even swish the wild wind as they waited for one of their companions to speak, taking up the burden of leadership.
Prince Darrik's white stallion did not cower from responsibility. "That did not come from the dragons' cave. Lady Jacqueline is waging solitary war within her own castle."
"I concur with your assessment of the situation, Knightley," Dark Journey said, "But there is no knowing how Lady Jacqueline will strike our masters. She may require her winged friends yet, and we swore to keep the monsters at bay."
Knightley nodded, somewhat sourly. He knew Dark Journey was right and that duty demanded them to follow through with the humans' commands. And yet, Knightley desperately wanted to be pounding down the doors, racing through the corridors with the crashing sound of his hooves resonating across the dark abode. Some eerie feeling creeping under his white coat assured him all was not well within those walls.
Some connection between master and beast told Knightly that Prince Darrik was in trouble. The strong steed had never felt defenseless before, never known the nausea of helplessness. These new feelings left a very bad taste in his mouth.
Knightley shook off his fear. "Very true, Dark Journey; we will perform the task we promised to fulfill. However..."
"Yes," Dark Journey stepped forward in eagerness, similarly on edge to play a more vital role in the rescue. He found it very unfair of his master, Gillroy, to race into the eye of the storm without him. Dark Journey, though prepared to exhibit self-control when necessary, was built to enact fine deeds. Staying behind went against his personality.
"Oh, do go on, Sir Knightley," Avory begged. She too wanted to do something, anything for her Princess. There were no laws against a mare having her own adventures.
Knightley's eyes flickered as he voiced his plan, "I don't see why we must continue to keep our presence secret, when our biped companions have already been discovered. We might do more good by alerting the creatures in the cave beyond of our mission to watch over them."
"Mightn't we though," Dark Journey said half to himself, scraping a rut into the dusty ground with his front, left hoof.
"There's an idea," Avory assented.
"Perhaps we could sway them to our side, with the proper reasoning," Knightley continued. "Jolt them from their apathy, and convince them a better world could be open to them if they give their assistance to us and our friends."
"By any means?" The jetblack horse asked.
Knightley's top lip curled backwards in amusement, "Well, we can't let the humans have all the fun, now can we?"
"No," the other two agreed. Who of them was afraid of an oversized lizard anyway?
The three horses galloped to the mouth of Lady Jacqueline's cavernous stable. They could not stand passively by and let their masters face all the dangers of Distress head on. These majestic beasts would face their foes as bravely and madly as those they loved inside the castle.
* * *
Eudora held the lifeless Prince Darrik in her arms without any idea of passing time. What difference did the escaping minutes make? Who could think about rescuing Princess Adeline from an undesirable wedding when the prince of Ever After was lying unconscious, cursed by Lady Jacqueline's witchcraft? Eudora's brain was absorbed by the despair of her current situation. What had that green fog been and what had it done to Darrik?
Eudora did not want to believe what her eyes told her. The prince, whose head was resting in her lap, did not stir an inch. His lashes never pattered, nor did his chest ever rise with the intake of breath. Eudora could not keep back her tears. When a wet drop fell from her eyes and rained down upon Darrik's cheek, he did not move. Nothing could touch him. Nothing could disturb him.
"Oh Darrik," Eudora wept, as she stroked his forehead. "This is all my fault."
For as far as Eudora could see, she really was the cause of all of Fairy Tale's troubles. Of course, it was not totally true, but it was what Eudora felt. She had mismanaged Rainbow's End when it was under her careless rule and brought about an awful change in her land and every land belonging to Fairy Tale. History verified the truth that once Lady Jacqueline overtook one kingdom there could be no stopping her. Dark and Stormy was her first conquest proving her evil deeds if successful once could be successful again. One domino in her chain tumbled, and, if properly placed, quite promised the rest of her designs would follow through till all Fairy Tale belonged to Lady Jacqueline alone.
Eudora, scorned princess, blamed herself for everything. She was little more than a teenager back then, hardly an appropriate adult to possess authority over an entire kingdom's fate. Even so, she should have been more sober-minded, more compassionate, more self-sacrificing, oh so much wiser. She learned good principles for life from advisors and governesses along the way. Eudora knew her vanity should be curbed and her love for her people advanced. But she chose her mirror over her throne and the duty that went with it. Now, two other royal children were going to lose their joyful kingdoms, all because of this princess' poor judgment not so very long ago.
Eudora gazed down on the prince in despair. She was indeed the sad damsel in the mythic tower with no one to save her. Prince Darrik's pulse could no longer be detected, and all flush of life was dissolving from his skin. Eudora laid her hands on each side of his face.
"But I can't lose you too, Darrik," she whispered. "Not like this."
For what she meant was she could not bear for Darrik to die without knowing exactly how he felt about her, or how she felt for him. Just before Darrik fell under Lady Jacqueline's misty spell, the prince learned the horrible truth of Eudora's identity. How violently had Eudora's shameful background changed Prince Darrik's feelings? Could she expect him to forgive her when she did not even forgive herself? What hope did she have left anymore?
It was then the quake struck the castle. Eudora clutched Prince Darrik's body with one arm and pushed hard upon the stone floor with the other. The tower seemed to sway the tiniest bit, wavering as the ground moved beneath it. Eudora's teeth were locked together as the objects across the room bobbled and slid. The prince in her embrace did not notice a thing.
When the rumbling ceased and everything went back to normal, Eudora's curiosity begged for explanation. She never heard of Distress suffering from earthquakes. The goosebumps building over her arms told her the next stage of damage was opening. Lady Jacqueline was not done yet with her tricks.
Delicately, Eudora placed Prince Darrik's boyish, brunette cranium down upon the stones, picking herself up from the floor and crossing over to the blood-red window. She had to strain against the handle, fashioned in the shape of a snake, to finally get the window open. It creaked on its rusted hinges, blasting the gritty air of Distress into Eudora's face.
Her emerald eyes watered behind her closed lashes. Once she felt the dust had cleared, she wiped her eyes and looked outside. But there was nothing visible. That is to say, Eudora could not discern any specific shape through the billowing, grey-black clouds filling her vision. At first, she supposed the tower went further up into the atmosphere than she judged from their climb. But then she realized these clouds had no moisture and kept kneading into themselves, like a baker working fresh dough. The clouds were covering something inside. The fog swarmed around itself, glued to one spot.
Eudora stood on her tip-toes, trying to peer farther down. The tower's window had to be facing the courtyard at the heart of the castle. Still, Eudora could not see a single thing. What was Lady Jacqueline up to? Eudora tried waving her hands this way and that to clear the field of her view. She had to know what was going on.
When the clouds did start to subside, Eudora leaned her whole body against the wall. Her fingers clung over the window frame as she waited for better visibility. As Eudora peered out, a ghoulish surprise met her gaze. She gasped and leapt backwards with her hands on her heart. The fog revealed a massive purple eye outside the window, and around the eye, scales of shiny black. Eudora stared in terror as she comprehended what it was.
That indigo eye was painfully familiar to a young niece who grew up under its glaring gaze.
Lady Jacqueline, adept and evil enchantress that she was, had transformed herself into a dragon. She had saved her very best trick for last.
Eudora's heart was banging away, making her lungs reverberate inside her ribcage. Why did there always have to be a worse possibility for every bad episode in one's life? Eudora thought about Princess Adeline and Gillroy somewhere below. She wondered if they had found each other, if they were facing the dragoness side by side. It would be even more horrible for them to be alone for this ghoulish twist.
Eudora knew she was utterly alone. Though Lady Jacqueline's malevolence turned elsewhere for the moment, Eudora's soul remained defenseless from the dark power of hopelessness. Her brain screamed out in agony as she suspected the world was coming to its ultimate end. She would have to watch everything fall apart around her in total isolation. No one was there to whisper reassuring words or hold her tight. There was no one for Eudora.
No one? her heart asked. I know someone.
Eudora hobbled over to Prince Darrik's body. She sank to her knees in a limp shake, like a falling ribbon. As she looked upon his charming face, she felt a flicker of warmth inside herself spring to light. There were other powers in Fairy Tale besides those of evil. The good promised to triumph from the beginning of time and the telling of tales. The most powerful force had yet to play its hand.
Eudora's pale brow wrinkled. Could this really work? she wondered. Could stories told from the dawn of Fairy Tale testify to the most powerful weapon against any enemy? Well, even if they did not, it was worth trying anything to save her heart's desire, and perhaps the myriad of innocent creatures across distant kingdoms.
This would be the final test, the one and only way for Eudora to know what her prince felt for her.
Eudoraleaned her face down towards Prince Darrik, sliding her hair behind her ear.She closed her eyes and ever so gently pressed her soft lips against his.