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  “Come on. We’ve got to get out of here quick.” He held out his hand, and I took it instinctively. I got up and followed him towards the mouth of the cave.

  “Wait,” I said, “I can’t just leave. He’s helping me. He just wanted to protect me.” I glanced back at him sleeping. Chester tugged my arm to get my attention.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me, Rowena. Please tell me you don’t seriously believe that this guy, who kidnapped you, is really here to protect you?” his voice quivered in frustration.

  I considered this for a moment too long. Just then, he awoke. I saw Chester’s eyes grow in anticipation. I turned around to face him and explain to him that I couldn’t leave without talking to him first, but his fists were balled so tightly his fingers turned white.

  “Wait! We weren’t leaving!” I shouted to him. It was no use. His face turned red, and I could feel that familiar cold rise back in him.

  “Run!” Chester screamed. I heard his feet crushing the dirt and rocks beneath as he hurried out the cave. I felt the anxiety but was crippled by my fear and confusion. How could he just forget what a good night we had? How could he turn evil again so fast? I stared into his black eyes. He glared past me in the direction of where Chester was heading.

  “Come on!” I heard Chester yell.

  I saw his features change. His hair lengthened, his eyes darkened, and his body crouched onto all fours. Within seconds, he was Cale. The beast.

  He howled.

  I ran.

  I took off into the darkness following Chester’s voice until I saw him. We ran blindly into the surrounding wilderness. I didn’t feel like I could look back. I couldn’t risk being swallowed up by my capturer again. I ran until I didn’t hear footsteps any longer, but I couldn’t be sure. I darted until my legs felt like they were running without my permission. They felt wobbly and uncontrollable, but somehow, they were getting me closer to Chester.

  After several minutes of bat-out-of-hell running, we reluctantly slowed until we collapsed. We both stared behind us, wondering if he would jump out of some dark crevice at any moment, but we didn’t see anything. Chester soon found us a hole in the base of a large tree to hide in. We scooted inside, and Chester squeezed me. In that moment of embrace, I felt all the worry he’d experienced while I’d been gone. We embraced. Soon his anxiety dissipated. I smelled him in and felt comforted that he had risked his life to come and get me, but then it hit me.

  “You ran,” I said, pulling back stiffly and looking at him with a raised brow.

  “I realize that looks pretty bad, but I knew he wasn’t going to hurt you. I, on the other hand, was like a steak dangling in front of a dog,” he grimaced.

  “How did you know he wouldn’t hurt me?”

  “Well, do you remember when the rocks fell earlier that night? He went out to investigate.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That was me. I stayed invisible until you both fell asleep. I thought he would have been aggressive with you, but imagine my surprise to see you both laughing and dancing, of all things,” he paused. I sensed he didn’t like that too much. “Anyway, I knew then that he wouldn’t have hurt you, but I still needed to get you out. There’s no telling what he had planned for you, Rowena.”

  “He wanted to help us with Madeline. He told me you didn’t know what we were getting into,” I said but instantly regretted it.

  Chester sat there in silence for a moment, and I could see the pain in his face. By me saying that, he knew I doubted him too.

  “I’m sorry. I just meant he may have been able to help, but obviously, that’s not going to happen.”

  “Maybe he’s right. I mean, I’ve never faced the royals. In fact, I’ve done nothing since I’ve gotten to Mezzanine but run from them. What was I thinking?” The frustration and anxiety was building in his voice.

  I didn’t know what to say. I finally placed my hand in his and squeezed.

  “We’ll figure this out,” I whispered.

  We heard the multiple echoes of howling. I squeezed his hand tighter.

  “How many of them are there?” I whispered.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll tell you this — one is too many.”

  After that, we were afraid to speak. We didn’t want to take any chances of anything hearing us. Eventually the exhaustion, silence, and darkness crippled me into sleep. My legs remembered the actions of the night and painfully replayed them.

  I awoke to the sunlight burning my arm as it reached into our tree housing. It didn’t take me but a second to notice that Chester was gone. I began to panic. Chester wouldn’t leave me out in the woods alone. My mind quickly raced with ideas of Cale snatching him in the middle of the night while I lay completely oblivious. But that didn’t make any sense. If Cale found us, he’d take us both.

  My legs ached as I tried to make my way out from the roots. The sun glistened through the trees, dressing the forest with gold. I stood for a moment, not knowing what I should do next. For the first time, I was alone in Mezzanine. The thought stunned me with fear, but there was a small something inside of me that felt free. In the quiet, I heard water. I listened harder and decided that it couldn’t be too far away. Wherever Chester was, he had taken his bag with him, which meant I had nothing. My mouth instantly dried in response to this realization. I grabbed a recently fallen Magnolia leaf and headed in the direction of the sound. It wasn’t long before the ground turned from grass and dirt to moss. It was a creek. Pronounced krēk not krik. That had been something Dashielle and I had playfully bantered about while walking by the creek near my home once.

  I allowed my mind to wander a bit. Each memory of him stabbed another wound in my fragile heart. I tried to imagine what he was doing, if he was missing me, if he were looking for me. I closed my eyes and envisioned him kissing me again. That slow, confident, absorbent kiss he had. My body shuttered, my knees weakened, and my stomach folded over onto itself at the thought.

  What if he found someone else? The idea crippled me. Even though I’d found Chester, my love for Dashielle had not faded. It still felt raw and exposed to my wicked circumstances. I fell to my knees and grasped at the moss-ridden ground. My breath escaped me. Tears overwhelmed me, and for several minutes, I allowed myself to relish in the pain. I had been suppressing all my memories, all my emotions, because I never had an opportunity to let them out, and now that I found myself alone in a scary, unpredictable forest with strange creatures, it felt like the perfect time to let it all go. So I did.

  I gazed at my puffy pink face in the water. The view was distorted. I no longer looked the same. I couldn’t have really aged because I hadn’t been here long enough and wasn’t in Time, but the face looking back at me was not the same one I’d known back home. It was like the veil had been lifted, and this was the true me. My eyes were still green, but they looked hardened and resolved. My cheeks were more defined, and where my lips had once held a smile and Dashielle’s kiss, now only enhanced my newfound strength. I looked strong. But am I really stronger than I was at home? Have I changed? Looking back, I realized I truly had. I had done things in Mezzanine that the old me would have been terrified of. I would have never run from authorities and escaped Tresel’s castle. I wouldn’t have resolved to save a friend at the possible expense of my own life. I wouldn’t have gone inside a scary house with a creepy old man. I wouldn’t have escaped from a wolf or fallen so easily for Chester. Most importantly, I wouldn’t have allowed myself to forget about all the people closest to me.

  The realization shook me, but I shrugged it off. There was nothing to do about it now. Now I had to figure out how to take care of myself until Chester came back or something else happened to alter events. I took the Magnolia leaf and spooned the cold water to my lips. Once I had my fill of drink, I figured I had better take this opportunity to clean up. There weren’t a lot of chances in the wilderness to bathe, so I had to take advantage when possible. I slipped off my yellow dress, which was covered in dirt and soot from Cale�
��s constant fire, and waded in the cold water in only my undergarments. First I scrubbed my dress and lay it out on a rock to dry. Then I started scrubbing off a month of grime. When I sat down the water only went up to my belly button, so I practically had to lay flat to submerse my hair. I rinsed out my curls and rested my body in the cool stream, held my breath, and allowed my face to be enveloped. For a moment, I was thoughtless. It was as though I had to be covered completely by something to find rest. But the moment didn’t last, when my mind realized it was empty, it panicked a little. I opened my eyes and saw two more looking down at me. The distorted view of someone peering through the water at me was odd and given the vulnerable position, frightening. I sat up quickly.

  “Well, hello there,” a man said in a cool, seemingly British accent. I stared at him, not knowing what to say. “Having a nice dip, are you?”

  I shrugged.

  “What do you want?” I said. His dark eyes glared at me from beneath a dark, worn top hat. He looked to be about thirty-five or so. His hair was black and sprinkled with white and curled below the brim of his hat. He wore a tailored black jacket with matching trousers with a purple silk scarf billowing around his neck. Though his clothing was nice in style, it was tattered in reality. He looked me over, winked, and gave me a playful smile. I quickly folded my arms over my chest and gave him an uncomfortable glance.

  “I was merely taking a stroll by the creek, as I do most days and happened upon you. Please don’t be alarmed. I’m harmless. Well… nearly.” He snickered. I got out of the water, peeled my undergarments from my skin, and hurried to the rock where my dress laid. I placed the still wet dress over me like a blanket.

  “Can I help you with something? Or could you hurry and be on your way?” I snarled.

  “It’s not every day I come across a beautiful girl in my creek. I think you at least owe me a chat being as you are trespassing.”

  “Trespassing?”

  “Oh, yes. This is my property. And that water you’re dirtying up is my drinking water, so you can understand why I’m a bit hesitant about having people in my creek.” His voice grew more serious but only for a moment. “So where are you from?”

  I paused. “Up north,” I said. It wasn’t technically a lie.

  “I see. What brings you here?” he asked while sitting on an adjoining rock.

  “A friend and I were just traveling.” Still the truth. “He’s actually probably wondering where I am now.”

  “That’s a shame,” he said as he watched the water glide across the shore’s rocks.

  “How come?”

  “I was thinking of asking you to accompany me for lunch.” His eyes caught mine. I could feel my stomach churn in response, and my mouth salivated at the idea of a decent meal.

  “Why should I trust you? I’ve only just met you.”

  “I suppose you shouldn’t. It’s your choice.” He rose up and began to walk away.

  “I guess I could run and tell him real quick,” I said, hugging my empty stomach.

  “Alright then. Or you could invite him too, if you like.”

  I slipped the yellow dress on and headed back to the tree we slept in the night before. A part of me was hoping Chester would be there, but the bigger part of me realized he probably wouldn’t. I could at least leave him a note or something in case he comes back. I had nothing to write with so a grabbed a stick and smoothed the dirt in front of the opening of the tree and wrote, “Be back soon. Roe.” I walked to the creek while my mind wrestled with starvation verses possible danger. Hunger won.

  Chapter 15

  It took us about twenty minutes traveling south of the creek to approach an old house that reminded me of the Victorians that lined the streets in my small town back home. It was three stories tall with elaborate wood trim dressing the peaks, valleys, and porch. There were large trees around most of the estate with a white picket fence outlining the yard. The fence was covered in jasmine, which smelled intoxicatingly sweet.

  “It’s lovely,” I whispered.

  “Thank you. I’ve spent most of my life cultivating this house, and the least it can do is find itself appealing to a beautiful young woman.” He smiled a gentle smile, which made me feel slightly more comfortable about following a stranger home.

  When we approached the porch, it groaned in rebellion.

  “She’s a grouch sometimes. Age will do that to you.”

  The wood door had a beautiful stained glass with a purple cross shaped into it. An elaborately carved staircase and a crystal candle chandelier hung low in the foyer, greeted us.

  “It’s incredible,” I said, not knowing another way to put it. I stood for a moment in awe of how amazing the home was. Tiny birds perched upon tree branches adorned the wallpaper. I reached to run my hand across the surface and realized it had a 3D effect.

  “Please come and take a seat in the parlor.” He passed by me, leading the way into a large room through two substantial pocket doors.

  The Victorian furniture sat like art in the tall room. Their tufted, ornately carved trimmings were highlighted by sunlight coming in through the nine-foot windows. He sat on a red velvet sofa and rang a tiny bell that was sitting on the coffee table. I took a seat in front of him in a matching red ladies’ chair. I ran my hands along its armless sides and remembered Mom telling me the difference between antique ladies’ and gentlemen’s chairs. Women wore long, full dresses, so their chairs didn’t have arms. A short lady with a black dress and white apron then appeared in the room.

  “Adela, could you please escort Miss?” He looked at me confusingly after realizing he didn’t know my name.

  “Roe,” I blurted.

  “Could you escort Miss Roe into Julia’s old room to get cleaned up for lunch? Clothe her in that red dress. Thank you,” he said.

  Adela looked at me with guarded blue eyes and motioned that I follow her upstairs. We walked silently up the groaning steps, but I couldn’t help but feel nervous and wonder who this Julia person was.

  I rubbed my audibly growling stomach. Hunger has truly driven me to madness. What was I thinking going home with a stranger?

  We approached a room at the end of the hall on the left. She took out a pocketful of keys and slid a skeleton key through the lock. She opened the door, and we walked inside. A four-post bed with sheer drapery sat squarely in front of us. The black velvet curtains hid the light so much so it took a minute to make out the other definitions of the room. Adela opened them, and light flooded the place and my eyes. I stood for a moment adjusting. I noticed the hope chest at the end of the bed, the cherubim that decorated fireplace, the vanity, and dressers.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  “Here. Put this on,” she said while grabbing the red dress from the chifforobe.

  “Who’s Julia?” I asked as I slipped out of my dress.

  “I don’t speak of the dead. Ain’t you ever heard ‘let dead dog’s lie?’” she asked harshly. “Your undergarments are wet too? What have you been doing, girl?” She grabbed fresh garments out of a dresser drawer, brought them to me, and turned away.

  “What do you mean dead? I thought no one could die in Mezzanine?” I asked while putting them on.

  “People don’t die, but magic powerful enough can make anyone disappear,” she said while helping me dress.

  I pondered on this for a few minutes but was still confused.

  She sat me on the vanity’s satin stool. She took a wide comb that had rubies on the handle, twisted my curls, and secured them with it. She turned me towards her and took some powder and rouge and puffed it on my face.

  “I don’t understand,” I said in between puffs.

  “You don’t need to.”

  “Please, tell me,” I pleaded.

  “There are powerful people in this world, and those people, evil people, can make even the most impossible happen. That’s what happened to dear Julia. She was just a girl, and her life was cut short because of wicked people who want to make sure that no o
ne in Mezzanine is happy.” I sensed the sadness in her voice.

  “Why did they kill her?” I asked sympathetically.

  “No. No. I don’t talk about the dead,” she said again. “Come on now. Mr. Carol will be waiting on us. Lunch is almost done.”

  I followed her back downstairs to the parlor and saw Mr. Carol smoking a cigar and looking out the window.

  “My oh my, don’t you look stunning.” He smiled.

  “Thank you. But you didn’t have to give me something to wear. My dress would have dried soon enough.”

  “Don’t be silly. No guest of mine is going to have to endure wet clothes. Besides you’ve given new life to that ol’ dress.”

  I accompanied him by the window, and we both glanced out at the garden. He handed me his cigar as if he thought there was nothing unordinary about a young girl smoking one. I excitedly took it. I took one puff and choked. I coughed for minutes afterward, which resulted in us both laughing. Adela walked in and looked at us, stunned.

  “Mr. Carol, lunch is served,” she said, obviously forcing back whatever thoughts had shaken her. She looked like she’d seen a ghost.

  We walked through the dining room, which could have sat twenty people or more from the looks of it, into a small room with a table that sat only four. The room was nearly all windows and had two small birds in a cage hanging from the ceiling. We sat, and I studied the beautiful garden through the glass. Roses were planted outside, and since the windows were up allowing the breeze in, I could smell them.

  “It’s amazing here,” I said to him.

  He placed his napkin in his lap and glanced out at the roses.

  “This is my favorite place in the whole world. Julia…” He began to get choked up, looked away, and stared at his food until his tears subsided.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said. The tension continually grew into awkwardness. This was not an appropriate conversation for strangers. We should have been talking about the weather or something equally as insignificant.