Copyright Ⓒ 2019 by B. R. Bailey All Rights Reserved
"I'm going to clear a spot outside to break this document open," Briar Rose stated, looking her companions in the eye. "Whatever is in here is connected to the Dragons."
"You just said that the claw is Cursed to kill anyone who touches it!" King Arthur argued. "Send it to your Coven so that they can break it. Surely guarding Skyfort can't take up all of their time."
"I will break the Curse," Briar Rose argued, realizing that she was holding what might be the only clue to the Dragon who had Cursed her.
Lucinda had said the Dragon was married. They knew they were farmers of some sort. The farm next door was a Mill, where they had grown grain and turned it into flour. The wife had magic and she possessed an artifact with a Dragon claw!
How could someone from the middle of nowhere get an item like this? While it was true Briar Rose could not discover how old the item was, she didn't think this was a mere coincidence.
"You could die messing with that Artifact!"
"I have to break it open!"
"No, you don't" Arthur stepped forward, closing the box with the gold documents with his foot before pulling it towards him. "The King and Queen will have to handle this on their own. Just because they ordered you to train to be a Curse Breaker doesn't mean that they own your life!"
"Give me that box!" Briar Rose yelled, rising to her feet. "I don't care about the King and Queen. I am breaking that seal!"
"What's the point of proving yourself to a Royal Court that you have no intention of serving? You could have been declared a Lady yourself and refused. You could have signed on with any Lord or Lady in Alagil and you refused.
If you don't care about the King and Queen, why are you risking your life over this Cursed claw and document?"
"That is none of your business! Stop asking so many questions!" She shouted, throwing her hands up in the air.
"That's rich coming from you," King Arthur laughed. "You question everyone! I had to spend days answering your questions."
"That was to break your Curse!" Briar Rose exclaimed. "Give me the box. Now."
"No."
Briar Rose lifted her hand, intending to wrap King Arthur in a body bind, only for silver to flash across her vision.
King Arthur has drawn his sword. EXCALIBUR gleamed in the low light, the etched name barely visible.
Briar Rose froze, recognizing the name from some of the books she had read while staying in Merlins Keep.
Arthur had mentioned that he had a magic sword that had defeated nations. He never told her it was Excalibur. Crafted by Merlin, it was impervious to magic. In fact, the books claimed it could block any spell or Curse.
She looked up, meeting Arthur's eyes.
Sir Leonard backed away slowly, getting clear of the room.
"That is a very stupid thing to die over," he growled, his face livid. "You've broken a lot of Curses. None of them were like this. Let a coven handle it."
"I won't die unless you run me through with that blade," Briar Rose argued back, equally angry.
"I'm trying to save your life!" King Arthur shouted, losing his temper. "This sword is to keep you from grabbing the Cursed artifact!"
"I am a Curse Breaker. Don't interfere with my work." she raised her hands, filling the room with green light, showcasing her power.
"You're more than a Curse Breaker. You're a person, Briar Rose. Don't you have anything you want to live outside of magic?"
"I won't have a life unless you give me that document!" She yelled, sending out a spell to knock him sideways. He turned the sword, absorbing the impact while managing to keep his leg on the box.
"Don't be stupid!" He shouted. "It's just an old document. Do you think you'll stop dozens if not hundreds of Dragons from killing everyone because of one Cursed document?"
"I won't be alive long enough to worry about that if you don't give me that box!"
King Arthurs eyes narrowed, seeing that she was serious.
"Do the High King and Queen plan on executing the Curse Breakers if they fail? Hard to do if they're asleep, don't you think?" he explained as if talking to a toddler.
"If you can't see the logic," he stated, his face hardening when she glared at him, "then I guess that I'll have to be logical enough for everyone."
He turned the sword in his hands, aiming the tip down to the box!
"No!" She shrieked, panic clawing at her throat. "Don't do that. That's my only clue!"
Excalibur had been crafted by Merlin and Dragons, according to the records in Merlins Keep. It had the ability to destroy any magic, even Artifacts, all without hurting the wielder.
That didn't mean that it wouldn't trigger a Curse though. For something like the claw and dragon gold document, which was Cursed from Mortal magic, the sword was strong enough to absorb that magic.
The Spindle was much stronger and more complex. The sword might be able to smash the Artifact, but it couldn't absorb all of the Curse. She, her family, and any number of those mentioned in the Curse could be sent into an eternal slumber if Excalibur were used on the Spindle.
"If you want this clue to survive, you need to back down," Arthur argued, the sword shining in the low light.
"The Curse Breakers I'm aligned with won't be allowed to spend time away from the Spindle. They're on constant guard duty. None of the other Covens will be able to open it and if they do I don't know that they would share what they find.
The Curse might be altered to someone else benefit. The Royal Court here is nothing like the Knights of the Round Table. You've met them; they're selfish.
"That is not your problem."
"It is my problem! Now give me the Document!"
King Arthur kept looking at her, his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure the situation out. "You're only fifteen Briar Rose. That's too young to be affected by the Curse. Unless you were there as a baby. Considering that you aren't a Noble and have never been close to Royals until..."
He cut off, his blue eyes going a little hazy as he recalled a memory.
"You couldn't be Knighted. You wanted to and couldn't. It wasn't a personal aversion or a conflict of interests with any Lord or even the High King and Queen. Briar Rose isn't your real name, is it?"
Briar Rose didn't say anything. How could she admit to her best friend and greatest ally that she was the daughter of the Royals who murdered his parents in cold blood, destroying his childhood by isolating him to a Castle plighted with a Curse and devastating his country by scaring people into fleeing it?
Arthur was right: even if she removed the Curse, broke the seal, and read the document, there was no guarantee that it would help her break or alter her Curse. Was it worth losing her best friend over a possible lead?
In the end, she might just have some fancy gold documents and be left alone with a miserable, Cursed kidnapper.
She had lived her whole life without any real friends. She had a few people in the city that she was allowed to talk to occasionally, but that was for limited matters and limited amounts of time.
Arthur and she had discussed everything. He was fun to travel with. If she truly had less than two months left to live, she wanted that time to be happy.
"I'll let someone else handle it. This Curse doesn't have to be broken by me. I'll let my coven know that I'm not dealing with the Curse anymore!"
She hoped that her Godmothers could glean some useful information from the document. High King Henric and High Queen Victoria would want this broken and they were the best.
They had more successful Curse Breaks than anyone else. Why did they keep saying that I had to break the Curse when I wasn't even able to walk or talk at the time it was cast?
The King and Queen had caused this problem. They needed to fix it!
"You said that you were trained as a Curse Breaker ever since you were little. Who trained you?" Arthur asked.
"When did this become an inquisition?"
"The United Magic Defense Force is based out of Skyfort and base their instruction programs out of Stonesteeple. You said that you've never been to the Castle. Lady Corval said that you've never been to Stonesteeple either."
Briar Rose froze, remembering that conversation from her stay in Merlins Keep. Nothing flashed across her brain, meaning that Arthur was telling her the truth about Lady Corval.
"Not every internship takes place in Stonesteeple. There are many instances of instructors taking on students outside of the capital."
"Every instance that has been reported to me was for the children of influential families who could afford to get their children more concentrated education. All members of the Royal Court, aside from a few foreign merchants.
You knew nothing of etiquette, which means that you were never taught. Any child of those people would be taught how to behave and have experience at those parties. As I've seen it, you were kept away and you work hard to stay out of it.
Yet, for as much as you have avoided the Royal Court, you know a great deal about their Curse and are obsessed with it.
You said that your Godmothers are at Skyfort protecting the Spindle; a very important job. Why would top Curse Breakers keep their student away from the people who could help boost her career? Why would your own coven force you to work alone when it is dangerous and why would you agree to risk your life following their orders? Why did they say that you can't go to Skyfort until the day they want to break the Curse?
Who are you, Briar Rose? And you better not say that you're just a Curse Breaker."
Briar Rose glared at him, fighting to control her panic. Considering that Arthur was visiting all of the major cities and rubbing elbows with the Alagilian Royal Court, she couldn't lie and say she was related to some random Lord without him realizing it wasn't true.
"I cannot answer your questions," she relented, not wanting to lie to him.
Arthur glowered at her, his frustration evident as he tightened his grip on the pommel of Excalibur.
"You helped save my country and have worked to help protect my life," he stated, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Those are deeds that I cannot deny. I hoped that you would be as honest with me as I have been with you. However, I see that it is not fair for me to hold you to the same standard that I hold for myself. Nor is it fair for me to ask you to lay out the details of your own life."
Slightly insulted, Briar Rose bit her tongue, deciding that it was best not to make a fight when he was offering a truce.
"You may use whatever method you prefer for sending off this box. I will remain guarding it until it is sent."
"I have to see if my coven will take it first. I don't believe there is anyone else who could break that Curse and survive. If they can't do it, I do not want anyone to die in my place." Briar Rose argued now that the matter of her identity was put aside.
"They won't be dying in your place,' his exasperation was evident as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "You're young. You should be thinking about your future, not risking your life with solo Curse Breaks. It's like your Godmothers don't care if you live or die."
"They do care!" Briar Rose shouted, her temper flaring. "They sent me out on my own to learn how to save myself! They've helped make it to where I won't die! They risked their lives to alter that Curse! Don't you dare judge them when you don't know the situation!"
She would have gone on but the alarm on his face halted her.
"You're Godmothers...are the Curse Breakers who changed the Curse of the Gold Thread? Before you arrived, I wasn't sure what the nature of the Curse was, just that it was the strongest of our era and that it had been altered instead of broken.
You said that the Curse of the Gold Thread was altered to make sleep instead of death. Those are the top three Curse Breakers alive. Lucinda, Dolphina, and Niall. Three Curse Breakers.
Three Godmothers..."
King Arthur cut off, his eyes hazy as he thought.
Briar Rose bit her lip, bile rising in her stomach as she realized that she had gotten angry and said too much.
He turned to her, his eyes going wide as the realization hit him. "No way...they would never...not to be raised in the Castle...in any Castle...impossible. Royalty never keeps their heir away. They need to train them, let them inherit their knowledge. Inherit...influence.
Arthur slowed down, seeming puzzled.
"Not be as dark as her parents in her heart." Royals tend to pass on their greed. No one is more greedy than the High King and High Queen. Almost everyone associated with the Alagilian Royal Court is corrupt.
The confusion clear, replaced with iron-clad conviction.
That's why you went out to help people. Why you seek out those who can't afford the services of a Witch or Wizard, much less a Curse Breaker."
Arthur looked at Briar Rose again, his friendliness evaporating into a glacial countenance. "You're Princess Emerald. The Cursed Princess. A child that the top three Curse Breakers would leave Skyfort to raise and keep away from the influence of the Royal Court."
Briar Rose stared at the ground, wishing it would open up and swallow her. Horrified, she tried to think of anything that could turn back the last three minutes. Three minutes had changed her friend into her enemy, all because she had defended her Godmothers.