"I am right here you old fogy." Her voice sounds from where she once was standing.
"Mother?"
"Elizabeth?"
"Check the floor." My sword grumbles.They both dive down crawling on their hands and knees searching the cobbled stone.
"Found her!" Matilda yells standing up holding a golden key. She quickly opens the clasp on the necklace of her mothers locket, and slides the key down it.
"There, now I'll always have mother." She smiles to herself rubbing the key between her fingers.
"Ahaha! That tickles my dear! please stop!" her mother or should I say the key laughs.
"Oh sorry." She blushes embarrased.
"You can feel when we hold you? Then what part of your body am I holding Belthazar?"
"You can only feel it for the first few weeks after transforming, and I'd like to saw my legs, but I'm not entirely sure. It's been many years."
"Intresting." Matilda ponders looking up then meeting her father's eyes. He's wearing a forlorn expression on his face longingly staring at the key. Matilda seems to realize what he wants and invuluntarily wraps her fist around the key. The king realizes he's been staring and sends her a sad smile that says "I'm okay, you may keep it."
"Oh bother." she grumbles at first looking mad then looking more and more understanding.
"Common children, we have a war to stop." He says beginning to walk down the roof door.
"Father wait!" She yells out running towards him.
"You may have mother." she says holding out the key. His eyes brighten and a small smile appears across his face.
"Why?"
"I-I suppose it's because... I don't know what I'd do if Garrett died, came back, then some other person got to keep him." She mumbles more to herself while handing him the sword.
"Oh." he says gingerly taking the key with a look of intense guilt in his eyes.
"Matilda-- I owe you an emense apology..."
"Yes. Yes you do."
"At first I was indeed mad with you, for a reason I now find proposterous, but after that I just wanted to protect you, and then the two emotions mixed, and I became over protective and---"
"It's okay. We'll fix this father."
An awkward silence passes as both of them realize this moment calls for a hug, but neither know how to approach the other.
"Oh stop being gulity and hug already!" Their mother says the key bouncing up and down. They laugh at the sight and hug one another. It's an awkward hug none the least, but it makes her mother happy and that's all either one cares about.
"Common let's go stop a war." the King says tossing the key up while Elizabeth screams in mock terror.
"You guys are bizarre." I mutter holding the sword as far away from me as possible.
"Oh shut up." Balthazar growls.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The rumble of angry villagers envelope us as we walk out. As soon as the king is seen, the roars erupt and anything the villagers can find is being thrown. Ducking a wagon wheel and iron ladel, I grab Matilda and we hide behind a pillar.
"Vilagers!" The King yells trying to calm them down.
"We want a New King!" They roar.
"People of the Mainland!"
"New King!"
"Listen--" he's cut off by a steel cup hitting him in the head.
"This isn't working." He says coming back towards us and rubbing his temple.
"Here, Gimme a try." Balthazar says shape shifting out of the sword and appearing in his all white form.
"Mmm-ack I won't be shape shifting often that's for sure." He grumbles stretching and cracking some bones. Walking out the the banister that looks down upon the crowd he clears his throat.
"Silence!" He roars stilling the crowd. "What is it you want?" A silence passes as they all take in Belthazar's form. Somone throws a stone at him and they all gasp as they see it fly through.
"I said what is it you want?" He tries again. A collective murmur passes through the crowd as they decide what it is they want.
"New King!" They thunder.
"A new King?"
"Give us a King!" they cry again.
"That I can do." Balthazar says smirking. He reaches behind the pillar and pulls out Matilda. Her eyes widen and she seems to shrink infront of them.
"How about her! She is the rightful owner to this kingdom!" He announces. Silence passes once again as they think about this.
"What has she done for us? She does not understand what we need! Things will go back to the old ways! A New King!" One man says.
"New King!" The crowd bellows in agreement.
"Good." Belthazar says tossing back Matilda and pulling me out. Tripping from the force of his pull I stumble into the center of the banister.
"How about him!" he announces. Whispers erupt as they realize who I am.
"We thought you had died!"
"This is proposterous!"
"He is not real!"
"Why do they lie to us once again!"
"He is real!" Balthazar yells silencing them once again. "And any one who dare disagrees may tell me otherwise." He dares them sending threatening looks. The crowd erupts in whispers again.
"So that is really Garrett?" an old woman asks.
"Speak boy." Belthazar commands me.
"Yes auntie Lae." I mutter glaring at my Balthz.
"Oh so you remember me!"
"How could I not! You clothed my family when we could no longer afford even a thread!" I say surprised she would think I forgot her. She seems to contemplate this for a while.
"Yes...Yes! Yes, he is perfect King material! Choose the boy, people of the mainland! Choose the boy!" She yells turning round to coax the crowd. People who knew me immediately join in, but those who did not seem a little reluctant. But soon everyone joins in, in chants of "The Boy!"
"Okay! That is enough!" Belthazar says again. He has a look of irritation on his face and the crowd quiets at his angry expression.
"The boy is now your king." he says smiling and in a flash returns to being an old rusty sword taking my shining armor along with him.
"What! You can't just leave me here, you rusty piece of metal!" I say waving the sword round.
I have not left you! I'm just to tired to stay in that form! I'm old you know!
"Oh sorry." I mutter embarrassed placing the sword down.
Tis okay, here have this.
A white and blue crown appears on top of my head, glistening in the light.
"WE HAVE A NEW KING!!" The crowd thunders in applause.
"He is like us! Look! He even wears rags!" A little boy says. That just makes them happier and they begin to drop their weapons and dance about. I laugh at the sight and turn round to look for Matilda. She stands in a small corner of the room, a smile on her face as she watches her dad animatedly talk to the golden key.
"They were certainly in love weren't they." I say sneaking up behind her. She jumps a little then leans into me.
"So it seems." She says turning round to face me.
"Do you think we'll en up like that?"
"I sure hope not."
"Wha-"
"GARRETT!" voices yell from behind tackling me to the ground.
"I thought you were dead, and that Matilda would end up old and alone, and that we were all going to die in this battle, and oh! look see here's our daughter! We named her- oh where is Paul? That daft thing, always getting lost in crowds." Jane rambles from where she sits atop me giving me a huge hug.
"Move Jane! I want to hug him too!" Olivia growls. Jane scotches off lost in thought looking for Paul while cradling her daughter.
"GARRETT!" She yells diving on me to squeeze me in a killer hug. "I was positive you had died! And when I saw you riding that horse, I thought it was you, but I wasn't positive, and you looked so handsome up there, confused, but handsome and it made me so happy that Matilda could finally be happy again too!" She says crying tears of joy. Grace gets in on the hug, and tells her own story of how she thought I died.
"Move it guys! It's Paul and I's turn!" James says picking up his fiance and her bestfriend and tossing them to the side.
We embrace in a manly hug with hand shakes and fist pumps.
"I thought I was going to end up a fiancé for the rest of my life! Olivia really wouldn't get married with out you there! Goodness, it's just like old times, it's beyond grand to have you back." James finishes with a tear in his eye.
"It's good to have you back, my friend. Matilda was a wreck without you, plus I'm going to need extra help, with Jane and our little girl." Paul says with a broad smile across his face.
"Ahem, pardon me guys but there's someone Garrett needs to see." Matilda says walking up to me while holding Mayla in front. Her head is ducked and she looks complete guilty, as if she were drowning in shame.
"I'm sorry G-" she starts. Bending down I swoop her into a giant bone crushing hug, and twirl her around. At first she's to shocked to respond, but soon she begins to giggle and laugh.
"Sorry?! There is nothing to be sorry about!" I say ruffling her hair.
"You would say that." she says swatting my hand away.
"Common guys, there's a party down there, and were stuck up here wallowing in the past! Move it!" I say grabbing Matilda's hand hand shuffling down the steps. The villagers are playing a very traditional song with a complicated set of synchronized dance moves.
"Let us dance, my dear." I say taking Matilda's hand and brushing it against my lips.
"I don't know about this song."
"Pish posh, princess, you don't dance with my brother, I'll shave your eyebrows when you sleep." Mayla says pushing Matilda towards me while holding another boys hand.
"And who is this?" I involuntarily growl. The boy has crazy curly black hair with dark skin as if he's come from another part of these lands. His dark brown eyes enlarge as he realizes I must be related to her.
"Javier, your majesty." he says with an accent while bowing. The title confuses me for a while, and I look round before realizing he's talking to me.
"And why are you holding my sister's hand?" I say in mock anger, whilst beginning to turn Matilda around.
"B-because I like h-her." he stammers, his eyes getting even larger.
"Did I say you could like her?"
"No your majesty."
"You do know I could hang you, for having feelings for my little sister."
"I did not your majesty!" He yelps fiddling with Mayla's fingers. She looks like she wants to kill me but at the same time is enjoying the show to much.
"Then why are you still holding her hand?"
"I told you! B-because I like her!" He says daring me to tell him otherwise.
"Okay, have fun." I say sending him a smile and dismissing them. Mayla erupts into laughter and explains to Jose that it was all a joke. He looks extremely embarrassed but laughs it off anyway.
"Oh, your Evil." Matilda says stumbling over the moves of the song.
"Care to enlighten me, darling?" I smirk at her clapping hands when we step together.
"I am not your darling." She says switching places and stepping on my toe in the process.
"Ohhh! I am sorry!" she panics holding her hand over her mouth.
"Tis okay...darling...but you know what would make this day better?" I say stepping close to her and removing her hands from her mouth.
"Nothing could make this day better."
"I've got an idea." I say getting down on one knee and taking out the pair to the white crown Balthazar made me.
"Marry me?"
"Did you even have to ask?" She says stooping down and planting a sweet kiss on my lips.
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Oh my goodness guys!!! It seems like were almost over with this! :D haha i should be crying but this will be the first ever book I completed so why on earth would i be sad! only one or two more chapters left! XD im so excited! thanks for sticking with me this far, i know i have very very VERY erratic update moments, so that means a lot! Thank you!