for the wonderful cover art on the side! :D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=28=
=Kaelyn=
After a few minutes, Drake finally broke his concentration, and returned his full attention back to me. I squirmed even more under his dark gaze, not enjoying the evil smile that spread even wider across his face. He dismounted from his horse gracefully, and walked over to me with smooth strides. Kneeling beside my head, he stared directly into my eyes.
"Ha, I always thought you were a little different," he grinned maliciously, taking one finger and stroking my cheek. I trembled beneath his touch. "And now I know why. Kaelyn, what a lovely name," he purred, his voice becoming smooth as silk. My name sounded awful and yet wonderful at the same time coming from his mouth.
"That's quite a nasty curse you got there," he continued, still touching me, advancing down to my neck. No matter how much I squirmed, there was no escape from Drake. "But rest assured, I managed to cut some ties between you and the witch who cast it." Chuckling darkly, his eyes shifted back to the castle. "And I bet it hurt like hell to feel them being severed. The best part is, she'll have no idea who did it."
He hurt Gabriella?!?
Maybe she wasn't the nicest or most wonderful person to be around, but at least I knew she was on my side! I tried to bite him, twisting and jerking around violently. My teeth managed to catch the edge of his shirt sleeve, tearing with a loud and satisfying rip. Drake yanked his arm away, his wickedly gleeful expression melting away into one filled with rage.
With a flick of his wrist, a new invisible weight pressed against my head. Ever so slowly the pressure intensified, crushing my face into the ground. I could only let out a tiny snort of fear. Helplessly I could only wish for a quick death.
The moment I felt like my head would explode, the force lessened slightly, light enough so I didn't feel like I would die, but also remaining heavy enough to give me a headache. Drake's cold, merciless eyes drilled holes into my skull. I discovered that I couldn't look away, despite that I desperately wanted to. After a moment, he trailed his hand down my neck again, bringing back the shivers and chills of disgust. Sensing my displeasure, his evil smile returned.
"Hmm, you know, while I was in the process of destroying ties between you and your precious witch and rebuilding some to me, I managed to look into her mind and see what you actually look like as a human." Leaning closer to me, I could smell his foul breath, but stifled the urge to cough. "You're pretty."
I froze. He laughed.
"And because I like to impress a pretty face, I'll give you the heads up on what I'm planning for tomorrow." His hand now brushed against my shoulder. I could barely keep the waves of terror and disgust at bay.
Tomorrow?!
"Image a surprise attack on that lovely castle over there. Blood spilling out from the smaller guard left to defend the castle. Picture me pinning your precious prince Philip to the ground while I slowly cut open his throat. Ha! With a few lies spread around by my employer, the king foolishly sent most of his soldiers to go and hunt me down. Fortunately this gives me the perfect opening to strike with my men." His eyes flashed blood red. "I shall be paid handsomely for killing the boy. And I'm sure my employer wouldn't be opposed to granting me a single black mare to take as well..." Drake's voice lowered to almost a whisper as he finished boasting about his plan.
"Do you want to know what the best part is?" He purred in my ear.
No, I don't. Leave me alone!
"You can't tell anyone about our meeting or the secrets I've shared with you." My eyes widened in horror as I heard his voice inside of my head. His mouth hadn't moved at all.
Gabriella?! Gabriella! I tried desperately to call out to her. The replied I received made my heart sink even further than it already had.
"Sorry, my name is Drake. I'm sure you already knew that though." The wicked glint in his eyes combined with his creepy smile made me feel sick.
"Of course, I tampered even more with your little curse, but I'll let you discover my adjustments on your own time," he spoke again, this time reverting back to using his mouth. Either way, I didn't want to hear his voice. I just wanted him to go away, and wake up to discover that I had only been having a nightmare.
Drake put on a fake pout.
"Well, that isn't very nice of you Kaelyn. Nobody likes being compared to a nightmare. That's just plain rude. However," he purred seductively in my ear, "you'll have plenty of time after tomorrow to make it up to me."
I'd rather have my head crushed by the invisible force.
With a wink, he stood up and walked by to his horse, mounting in one smooth motion.
"Farewell my dear Kaelyn," he called out cheerfully, "I'll see you tomorrow at midday!"
With that, he rode off back to the forest, his horse leaping smoothly over the fence.
The moment I lost sight of him, the weight that held me captive suddenly disappeared. My head throbbed painfully, and every inch of my body felt achy and sore. I tried to stand, but it felt as if i had been drained of strength. I could only lay there in the grass in shock.
I thought I had been able to protect the prince. But now it was all for nothing. Drake planned on killing him... I began praying with my entire soul that Drake had simply bluffed about tampering with my spell and taking away my communication. My only hope was midnight. I had to tell them then!
"It offends me that you think I left any holes in my plan. Believe me when I say there is no hope."
***
=Philip=
"Philip?"
Some garbled and faint voice tried to disturb the blackness. I wanted it to go away.
"Philip!"
A strange shaking sensation tugged hard at my consciousness. My hold in the darkness began to slip.
"Philip! Wake up!" Henry's voice said urgently, his hands gently shaking my shoulders.
I heard someone groan, and a few seconds passed before I realized it was me. Slowly I cracked my eyes open, wincing at the bright light. Henry's worried expression came into focus. I tried to sit up.
"Don't move yet, Philip," Henry sounded relieved that I finally had come to. "Give yourself a minute." I ignored him and pushed myself up, rubbing the back of my throbbing head.
"Uhh, what happened?" I asked groggily, taking in my surroundings. The entire room was in shambles. Tables were turned over. Pieces of parchment lay scattered everywhere. Thick books lay haphazardly placed, flipped over and open, spines broken and covers bent. Weirdly colored liquids splattered against the walls, dripping down and forming into multi-colored pools on the ground. Shards of shattered glass sparkled on the floor. Henry helped me to my feet, and led me over to a stool.
"I'm not quite sure..." Henry began. His eyes traveled over to another chair. Gabriella sat in it, her head in her hands. Everything came rushing back to me.
"Was that just some sort of magical... freak out?" If so, that was something I definitely did not want to experience again. I doubted I would ever come up to this tower again unless it depended on life or death situations. Gabriella shook her head.
"I don't know what it was. One moment, I felt something was wrong," her fingers, interwoven in her hair clenched slightly, "and then the next, someone was prying through my thoughts and messing around with my secrets. I don't even know how to explain the feeling." Then she glanced forward, her gaze traveling between Henry and I, coming in contact with the stone walls. "It hurt like nothing else I've ever experienced... and it triggered my powers to explode..."
"And you have no idea who or what caused it?" I asked carefully. She shook her head again.
"Not a clue..." Gabriella then stood shakily to her feet. Henry rushed to her side and let her lean against him for support. "I can't quite remember what I was about to do before it happened," she murmured while rubbing her forehead.
"You were about to look out the window, I think," Henry said quietly. "You seemed worried about something." He patted her arm comfortingly.
"The window?" With Henry's help, Gabriella walked over to the window, and peered out. Suddenly she gasped.
"What's wrong?" Henry and I both asked in perfect unison. Any other time I might've thought that was humorous, but right now things were too tense and serious.
"Something was wrong with Kaelyn. That's what I sensed before I was attacked!" My heart stopped.
"What did you sense? Where is she? Can you communicate with her?" Questions tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop myself. If something had happened to Kaelyn, I had to know about it. Now.
Gabriella closed her eyes in concentration. Her brow furrowed after a moment, her lips formed a frown. I glanced at Henry worriedly, his eyes told me to be patient. Since he knew her better than I did, I decided to trust his judgement on this, even though inside I felt like a caged beast.
"I-I... I can't sense her anymore," Gabriella's expression mirrored my feelings. "We need to check the pasture. That's where I last felt her presence."
Without another word, I turned and raced down the steps of the tower.
***
I could barely see a black horse far off in the pasture. Feeling fairly certain we didn't own any other black horses, I quickly began running towards her. My breath came in short gasps as I pumped my legs hard, forcing myself to my physical limits. I was taking no chances. It would take too much time to wait around to saddle a horse. I refused to wait.
She was moving slowly towards the stables, keeping her head low to the ground.
Kaelyn!
A few feet away from her, I skidded to a halt. She raised her head with a jerk, startled by my presence, and reared, kicking her front legs out at me and whinnying loudly. I jumped back quickly, worried by her reaction. Sure, I might have surprised her, but she wouldn't react like this!
"Shh, Kaelyn, it's me," I said in a calm tone. Or something close to it. I was still trying to catch my breath. "It's ok.." I held out my hands in front of me, showing her I meant no harm. But she responded with her ears flat against her head, the whites of her eyes were showing. She kept backing away from me, snorting and whinnying.
Something was definitely wrong.
Hoofbeats came from behind me, and suddenly Henry and Gabriella stood by my side. Gabriella quickly walked over to Kaelyn, making shushing and cooing sounds. Even though she still looked terrified, she at least stopped retreating and snorting. Gabriella petted her, and whispered something to her. Dread tugged at my heart. Not knowing what had happened to Kaelyn was tearing me apart. Henry gripped my shoulder tightly, trying unsuccessfully to help me relax.
After a few torturous minutes, Gabriella walked back to us, Kaelyn following hesitantly behind her. Keeping my voice steady, so as not to freak Kaelyn out again, I did my best to keep my questions coming out one at a time.
"What's wrong with her?"
I didn't like Gabriella's expression at all.
"I can't talk to her. She can't talk to me, and that's not even the worst part." Fear lodged itself inside of me. I didn't want to ask.
"What's the worst part?" My voice came out shaky.
"I don't think she's human anymore."
***
=Kaelyn=
I am human!! Gabriella, I'm human! My mind is still thinking rational human thoughts! I'm not fully horse, I swear!
"Please keep it down. She can't hear you." Drake's sly voice trickled through my consciousness. He laughed wickedly as he flashed another mental image of a bloody gash across the prince's throat. I winced, but other than that, tried not to give him the satisfaction of a bigger reaction like I had the first time when he projected it into my mind. The prince was hurt by my reaction, I could see it in his eyes.
"After tomorrow you'll never have to look into his eyes again," Drake said smugly. "You'll just have to make do with mine."
Never!
I returned my attention back to Gabriella, Henry, and the prince. It hurt me to watch them talk about me like I wasn't there anymore. I could see the confusion and pain in the prince's expression as Gabriella explained to him about me losing my humanity.
"Who could've done this to her?" He demanded angrily.
"I don't know!" Gabriella replied tersely, obviously trying not to snap back.
"Can you save her?"
Gabriella paused. She didn't want to say it. I knew she thought that I was fully horse, so she believed that there was no hope.
"No."
I'm here! I'm right here! Help me! I begged.
Drake's dark laughter was my only reply.
I could see the defeat on the prince's face. He stared into my eyes, hoping for some sort of sign. I did my best to send him some sort of meaningful look. But somehow I knew that all he saw, were empty and emotionless horse eyes. He couldn't see me.
"I guess we'll find out at midnight," he murmured in a tired voice. He then turned and began walking back to the castle.
***
Gabriella had walked with me back to my stall. Henry offered to stay with her, but she insisted that as the prince's personal servant, he should remain by his side. He would need somebody, especially now more than ever. My heart was slowly breaking to pieces as I watched the prince continue his slow pace back to the castle without even turning once to look back at me.
"You'll get over it," Drake commented dryly.
I wished he was dead.
"Come now, there will be no room for hatred in our relationship," he purred. "Think of it as a new beginning."
I shuddered at the meaning of his words, but thankfully he didn't continue speaking. For once he had left me alone.
The remainder of the trip was made in silence. Gabriella had nothing to say, defeat and worry was written all over her face. She seemed lost in thought, which gave me a small piece of hope to cling to. Maybe all wasn't lost. I still believed that midnight would solve most, if not all, of our problems.
***
I stood impatiently inside of my stall, my thoughts and emotions raging with anxiety and desperation. My body however refused to show how I was truly feeling. Like any other normal horse, I didn't move around too much, occasionally flicked my tail, wiggled my ears, and snorted or nickered a few times.
It was driving me insane.
Gabriella, Henry, and the prince stood quietly outside of my stall, waiting and watching for any sign of my humanity. It was almost midnight, so they all came to witness my transformation. They all needed confirmation. I felt incredibly blessed to know that they all cared and desired for my well-being. I haven't ever really had someone care about me before besides Matilda.
The stillness irritated me even further.
Out of the corner of my eye, I peeked out my window to check the position of the moon. It was almost time. Only a few more minutes...
We waited.
And waited.
I could hear my heart beat pounding inside of my head, disbelief and shock flooding my mind. Why wasn't I changing?? Where was the familiar feeling of my bones and flesh stretching and shrinking?? What did Drake do to me?? How was it even possible??
I looked over at Gabriella. Disbelief.
Then I glanced over at Henry. Confusion.
And finally... the prince. Emotionless.
I'm human! I don't know what's happening! You have to help me, please! Drake's messed with my curse...
I could feel tears burning at my eyes, but they wouldn't spill. All I wanted to do was cry. This was unbelievable. This was my only chance to warn them about the attack Drake was going to spring tomorrow. He was going to kill the prince, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
"I'm going to bed."
His flat voice felt like a knife cutting through my flesh. I felt my ears twitch and swivel towards his general direction, but other than that, I gave no other sign that I heard or recognized my prince. Drake had control over me, and he made took pleasure in making me suffer.
"Damn right my dear little Kaelyn," he whispered gleefully.
My prince walked quickly down the long row of stalls before making a sharp right and exiting the stables. Henry gave Gabriella an apologetic shrug and quickly hurried after him.
Gabriella sighed. She stroked my face, and like a normal horse, I turned and welcomed the touch, but in reality, I took no comfort from it at all. Her golden eyes peered sadly into mine.
"I'm sorry Kaelyn... I'm so sorry..."
She then turned slowly, and began to leave.
Please don't leave me! Don't leave me alone with him! I screamed mentally, concentrating as hard as I could on her retreating figure. Her footsteps never faltered.
The heavy doors of the stables closed with a dull click. And I was alone.
"You are most definitely not alone."
Even though my body refused to show my humanity, my mind was completely free to cry all night long.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
two uploads within 24 hours?!?! danggg.
vote/comment/fan? thanks a million! :D
OH! and i should probably tell you which two cast members that i had recognized and seen before from... places. malese jow from vampire diaries and dominic monaghan from the lord of the rings. three people got it right... and off the top of my head i can't remember. what can i say. im exhausted. i was up until 3am typing this chapter. :) but, u know who u are. nice!