apparently some of you couldn't read the 23rd chapter? so i will try reposting it again! hopefully it works
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=23=
=Kaelyn=
It all happened so quickly. One moment Philip was kneeling by my side, with a grim expression that didn't look natural on his face. His fingers wove in and out of my mane, clenching tightly when the thudding footsteps and hungry snarl of a wolf came from behind us. I couldn't see it, but I knew it was racing right for us.
Run! I begged silently with my mind. Please get away!
Since I had fallen facing away from the Dark Woods, I was unable to face my death head on. Instead, I gazed out onto the green hills we had stumbled upon, a flashback of my days as a mere palace horse played out in front of me. There I was, galloping as fast as my legs would take me. Two people rode on my back....
Wait.
I was hardly ever ridden.
What I had originally thought to be a black horse, was actually dark brown, speedily making it's way down a gentle slope. Something long and red trailed from behind it, flapping in the wind, like a long red cloak. One of the riders was shouting something, while the one in the back, a woman I believe, leaned out to the side and clasped her palms together.
Suddenly, blue fire exploded from her hands as she extended them forward. The raging ball of fire surged towards us. Flinching, I quickly shut my eyes hoping that the fiery death would be less painful than being eaten alive by wolves.
Intense heat torched the air above, surrounding us in uncomfortably hot waves. A strangled yip, a dull thud and the racing hoofbeats peaked my curiosity, and hesitantly I cracked open an eye. The two riders were nearly upon us. One was a man, his face clearly expressed a confusing mixture of fear and hope. A woman sat behind him, holding tightly to his waist. Unlike her companion, who never took his eyes off of Philip, she stared directly at me instead.
My heart skipped a beat as I realized who the man was.
I couldn't even react I was so shocked.
Henry!
I tried to move and alert the prince of this miraculous occasion, but the pain shot through my leg, leaving me whimpering from the hurt.
Henry practically leaped from his horse and rushed to the prince's side. The woman dismounted more gracefully and hastily came to my aid. Kneeling next to me, her cool fingers lightly brushed over my sensitive skin.
"Shhh, it's ok Kaelyn," she cooed. "You'll be alright, I promise." As she spoke, I could feel the pain seeping away with every touch of her fingertips.
Who is this woman? How does she know who I am?!
Her dark eyes met mine the moment those thoughts crossed my eyes. Did I detect a hint of remorse? Whatever it was, it vanished with a shake of her head, and her face became an emotionless mask. I watched her silently as she pulled out a small bottle filled with some sort of white pasty-liquid. Uncorking the container, she then poured a few drops onto my shoulder. A small sting made me wince, but soon the brief annoyance faded away.
"It's really you... It's really you!" Philip's voice sounded shaken. From where I lay, I couldn't quite see Henry or my prince. Once again I wished I could be human so I could rejoice with Philip at this moment, instead of lying here crippled.
Suddenly, hoofbeats belonging to more than one horse could be heard. Turning my gaze back to the hilltop from which Henry and his companion had raced over, I was startled to find a dozen more riders galloping over it towards us. Light glinted off armor and swords, and four men carried red and yellow flags. One man lead the charge, and I knew instantly who he was.
It was none other than King James himself.
***
=Philip=
Here he was, standing before me, in the flesh. I couldn't believe it. Part of me hoped that he had survived the fight, but I didn't really believe it!
I hugged him again, feeling much more alive than I did only moments ago. I still couldn't wrap my head around it, so I scrapped my disbeliefs and feverishly began counting my blessings.
"You're safe my prince," Henry whispered quietly.
"Oh please Henry," A new female voice broke in with a dry tone. "There's really no need to be so dramatic. You already knew he was alive."
While his lips twitched slightly in annoyance as he pulled away from me to glance at the woman who almost appeared out of nowhere, I couldn't help but notice his eyes... they just didn't seem annoyed at all. A different emotion was contained within them...
Before I could figure it out, a thundering noise stole my attention. A small troop of soldiers from the castle were racing right for us. A tall man riding proudly on his horse led his men. I quickly got to my feet and squared my shoulders to prepare myself for this meeting. Even from here, I could tell that the man in front was staring only at me.
Pulling back fiercely on the reins to bring his horse to a stop, the man quickly dismounted and walked briskly over to me. He halted within arm's reach, his deep blue eyes boring directly into mine. Despite that he was only a mere four inches taller than me, I couldn't help but feel extraordinarily small at the moment. My raggedy presence couldn't even compare to his proud figure. His strong square jaw twitched slightly, and he blinked multiple times as if he couldn't quite believe it was truly his long lost son standing before him. I bowed my head respectfully, and murmured quietly, "Hello father."
In the next instant, his thick muscular arms wrapped themselves me, pinning my arms to my sides and sweeping me into a bone crushing bear hug. Even through the chain main and heavy tunic I could feel his shoulders shaking slightly as he tried to hold back his emotions. My father was never the type to express any sorrowful emotions in front of people. I felt tears pricking at my own eyes, threatening to spill over.
After what seemed like forever, my father let me go, clasping my shoulders tightly and met my gaze. His lips were trembling as he fought to keep his happy tears at bay. Unashamed, I let a few of mine own fall. A quiet laugh helped him regain his composure as he quickly wiped a tear away from my cheek. Standing to his full height once again, he kept one arm wrapped around my shoulders and faced Henry and the rest of his men.
"My son has been returned to me!" He cried, his deep voice cut through the air loud and clear with no trace of shakiness. Only his joy could be heard. Everyone cheered and sent huge smiles in my direction. Their happiness was incredibly infectious as I couldn't help the goofy grin that plastered itself on my face.
"I must thank Henry and Gabriella for their unwavering loyalty and perseverance," Henry and Gabriella shared a brief glance at each other. "Without them..." My father paused to look at the burnt wolf corpse. His voice choked slightly as he finished, "I might not have e-ever been reunited with my son." His large hand squeezed my shoulder gently. The soldiers whooped and cheered again for Henry and Gabriella.
Henry's alive. My father's here. I'm going to be home soon!
Then my eyes fell upon Kaelyn still lying on the ground. That Gabriella was still beside her, smearing some sort of paste on her shoulder. Without a second thought I gently shook my father's arm off and jogged back to her side. Kneeling next to Kaelyn, I stroked her neck soothingly and glanced at Gabriella. I finally remembered who she was. She was the witch my father had brought into his service a few years ago. I never really talked to before, since she creeped me out a little bit, but according to my father, she had helped find me. And now she was helping Kaelyn. I owed her a lot.
"Is she going to be alright?" Kaelyn's wound didn't look too serious. At least the bleeding stopped.
"Yes, my lord. It seems your little lady will be just fine." Her startlingly golden eyes met mine. I raised my eyebrows at her choice of words.
Did she know...?
I looked down at Kaelyn. If I could understand her facial horsey expression right, she seemed confused too. Feeling Gabriella's gaze burning holes into my forehead, I returned her stare.
"Oh good. Thank you for attending to her." I said awkwardly.
Her left eyebrow creeped upwards as she examined me briefly. "It seems you might also need medical attention-" I quickly clamped a hand over the bandages wrapped around my injury, wincing as I did so.
"It's not as important. Honestly, it's just a scratch. I-" A shadow loomed over me, and a heavy hand fell upon my shoulder.
"She's right Philip. You could use some proper medicine there." My father said briskly. "We need to get you home anyways, your mother is waiting."
My mother...
"Liam!" My father barked. A soldier kicked his horse forward and sat straight in his saddle.
"Yes m'lord?"
"Ride as fast as you can back to the castle and tell everyone that the prince is coming home." He ordered.
With a short bow, the soldier turned his horse around and galloped away. My father started to pull me to my feet. I resisted.
"Father," I tried to sound as if I wasn't begging or whining. "I can't leave K- her here." I stammered, wondering why my mouth suddenly twisted and formed a new word. "I need to make sure-" once again different words tumbled out of my mouth, "that she gets home safely."
My father's eyes narrowed slightly, but a look of understand crossed his face. He then looked over my shoulder at the witch.
"Gabriella. You will make sure that my son's horse is brought safely to the castle. Am I understood?"
She bowed her head.
"Perfectly, your majesty." She murmured quietly.
My father then turned his attention to Henry.
"Philip will ride with you," he commanded. Henry bowed, and then stole another glance at Gabriella. She nodded ever so slightly at him. A little bit reluctantly, Henry led me to his horse and waited for me to mount. Settling himself behind me, he urged the horse forward and we soon rode beside my father leading the soldiers away. I disliked being separated from Kaelyn, and leaving her alone with the witch. I wanted to stay with her, but of course, being the prince meant I was far more important than a injured horse.
So many people to see and talk to...
I cringed at the thought of having to retell the story of our entire adventure. Being the center of attention right now did not sound appealing in the least.
Oh the price of having royal blood flow through your veins...
Then a troubling thought came and stuck in my mind.
How could I freely visit Kaelyn anytime soon with everyone hounding me at the castle?
I groaned at the thought of losing my privacy and freedom once I entered the castle walls. Henry tensed behind me.
"Feeling alright Philip?" He asked.
No. I am not alright. I won't be able to see this girl that I'm utterly fascinated with for perhaps a very long time. You might even say I might be starting to like her. And speaking of feelings, what's going on with you and Gabriella? Don't tell me 'nothing' because I know something happened between the two of you, and if I'm right, how is it fair that you two can see each other whenever you want but I can't see Kaelyn whenever I want? At least... In human form...
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
My heart protested fiercely, however I had to ignore it for the moment.
***
=Kaelyn=
The pain faded almost entirely, and I was eager to stand and get the move on back to the castle. I didn't want Philip to leave, but of course I didn't have a say in the matter, and I noticed he really didn't either.
I also did not feel comfortable being alone with this Gabriella person. She rarely crossed my path during the three strange years of my life. Perhaps only once or twice had I seen her in person. Either she never got out much, or I simply placed her in my "not important people" category and never bothered to remember her.
"You do realize that you might not be able to see him much anymore," Gabriella broke into my thoughts. I jerked my head up to look at her with question filled eyes, feeling almost angry that she would dare suggest such a terrible thought.
"He's the prince, and aside from that, he's the long lost prince. You two have been missing for months, and here you are again. Does anybody care about you? No. Does everybody care about the prince? Yes." Her words stung, but I knew she was exactly right. She looked at me, her golden eyes were soft and pitying. "I know it hurts Kaelyn. But you have to understand that Philip might not be able to be alone for a long time. Did you really think he could sneak away every night to see you once you returned home? How could he? Extra precautions will be taken now that the king and queen have their son returned to them, even within their own castle!"
How does she know that he would visit me at night? Who is this woman?!?
Gabriella sighed and rolled back on her heels so she could stand.
"Come on. Try standing." She said quietly.
Slowly I managed to struggle onto my four feet. A dull ache pulsed in my shoulder, but it was something I could easily ignore. I nickered my thanks.
"You're welcome. Now let's start heading back." Together we began walking side by side towards the castle.
"Do you really think the king and queen would accept you as a suitable bride for Philip? You, a horse who could only be an actual human for a single god-forsaken hour in the morning?"
I halted in my tracks. This woman knew way too much, and I wanted to know why.
"Yes my dear Kaelyn," Gabriella's tone sounded a little bitter, though mostly regretful. "I know everything about you." Her golden eyes refused to meet mine until this moment. "In fact, I'm the one you can thank for your predicament. It was my temper and arrogance that forced you to live this cursed life." Her voice softened. "And for that I am sorry."
I think I may have forgotten to breathe. Here in front of me stood the woman responsible for my curse! Never in all of my days had it occurred to me that I was under a spell! I felt stupid for not really coming up with that solution in the first place. It's not like I was ignorant of their existence, but I hadn't ever really met them, or believed them to still be around. And why was she confessing this to me now of all times...
Change me back! Please! I'll do anything! Just change me back into a human! My pleas came out as whinnies. I pawed the ground and reared, my desperation turning into anger. If she cast the spell in the first place, shouldn't she be able to remove it? My anger grew as she simply looked at me with new emotionless eyes.
"I can't change you back." She said before turning to start for the castle again.
Why not?!
I charged up the slope after her, ignoring the jarring of my shoulder. She reached the peak of the hill before I did, which irritated me even more. I was panting by the time I reached it, my shoulder throbbing with pain. She glanced at it and sighed.
"You shouldn't be so rough right now, you'll only end up hurting yourself even more." She reached for me to examine it further. I quickly stepped away. I didn't want her to touch me.
"Fine. Be a child." She turned and continued walking. Then she stopped. Without turning she said, "Even if I had the strength to change you back, I couldn't. Your spell happens to be one of the most powerful spells around. Only one thing can break it."
What is it?!
"Absolute and true love for you can break your curse." My jaw dropped. True love?! That was going to break my curse?
"I don't even know why I chose love as the spell-breaker. Maybe because your real mother never loved your father. I should've chosen something a little easier... This curse was never really meant for you anyway. I screwed up. Your mother was supposed to be the one to pay, not you..."
I followed quietly behind her, my rage subsiding a little. This was something I wanted to hear.
"Even though your heart is set on the prince... He isn't yours." Gabriella murmured.
Maybe I didn't want to hear this.
"Maria has been waiting for him this whole time. Even if you have won him over a little, his life has been planned out for him. Can a horse like you step in and sever a betrothal between a prince and princess?"
I was right. This was something I wished I hadn't heard.
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oh dear. :o
there is a reason for the secrecy of kaelyn's identity... for them not telling everyone i mean, it's for the ending. you'll see why. just a few kinks i need to work out...
errors? please let me know!
v/c/f? < < < thanks for your support! :)