Protector of the Enchanted

My head hurts. Why are all of these stories so twisted? I feel like the Grimm brothers were high on something if this is what they based their stories on. Honestly, it seems that the saying that stories are only told from the views of the victors holds true. I feel sorrier for the people she screwed over than her, holding onto so much resentment is like poisoning your own soul.

 

Shaking my head, I reach a hand over into the pumpkin to pull out the wand inside. It’s a relief that we didn’t need to fight anything off this time, although it does seem a little too easy. Without giving it a second look, I hand it over to Gem, the only one who doesn’t currently have anything in her hands.

 

“That was so twisted…” Cylen mutters, looking shaken from the experience.

 

“I know.” Gem sighs, “It’s worrying how horrible people can be to one another.”

 

I only nod, taking a glance beside me. He doesn’t look too good, just like the last time, his emotions are being locked inside.

 

“Hey!” I wave my free hand in front of his eyes, the hand holding his squeezing,

“What are you thinking about?” His head turns, eyes blinking as he seems to only now fully register that I’m holding his hand.

 

“Nothing.” He mutters uncoiling slightly, “Nothing at all.” I doubt that, but maybe it’s better to ask him about it another time.

 

The walk back to the carriage is silent, all of us lost in our own thoughts. I keep holding his hand, dragging him along with me for a reason that settles in the back of my mind. He doesn’t tell me to let go, so I think it’s fine if I keep holding it. Fortunately, Gem is too lost in her own thoughts to comment on the absurdity of my actions. I don’t really want to be teased about it so much.

 

Another person I’m worried about is Cylen, he looks pale and there seems to be dark circles under his eyes. I don’t think he has had enough rest, that and the ghost might have been a bit much for him. Although he’s lived in a world of magic? Why would something like that freak him out? Oh well. I suppose it’s different for everyone.

 

“Maybe you should rest.” I suggest as we reach the carriage, “You don’t look so good.”

 

There is no answer to my suggestion because as soon as I say that Cylen collapses to the side, Gem only just managing to catch him as his spear clatters to the ground. Definitely needs to rest. Sighing, I help Gem get him inside the carriage, motioning to Ryan to open the door as I let go of his hand.

 

“Now what?” Gem asks, “The horses have fallen asleep on the road as well.”

 

“We keep going when they wake up.” I state, “For now, let’s take a break.”

 

“You need a break?” Gem gives me a worried look.

 

“Not really.” I shrug, “I just think you could use one.”

 

“Is it that obvious?”

 

I give her a deadpan look, “You’re shaking.” I don’t think she noticed but her grip on the wand became tighter as we walked back.

 

“Oh.” Gem sighs, “Alright.”

 

Suddenly an idea makes its way into my head, a grin forming on my face as I look at Ryan, who gives me a nervous look.

 

“What?” He asks.

 

I hold up my sword, “Let’s keep training.”

 

“You want to spar?” His eyes keep blinking, “Why do you…”

 

“Please…” I plead, giving him my best puppy dog eyes, “It’s not like we have anything else to do.” Also, I just really want to hit something right now and I’m guessing he does too. It’s the best way to release all that tension, sometimes the only way.

 

His eyes soften, fingers going to the bridge of nose as he sighs, “Alright, I’ll get the equipment from the carriage.”

 

“You know…” Gem draws my attention, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

 

“What?”

 

“Do you still want to go back to that other world?” A pause. “You seem happier than when I met you here.”

 

That’s true. But… “I don’t know. It’s the only world I’ve known, but the longer I stay here I get this…” I clear my throat, “Well anyway, I don’t really know right now.”

 

“Does that mean there is a possibility that after all this is over you might want to stay?” Hope brightens her eyes.

 

I give her a shaky smile, “Possibly.” A pause, “But don’t get your hopes up just yet.”

She just gives me a smile as an answer.

 

“Whatever you decide…” Gem hesitates, “You should go see them after this curse is lifted.”

 

There’s no need to ask who she means. “They gave me up.”

 

“Not by choice.” She softly counters.

 

That seems to be the truth but… “I don’t even know what I would say to them… I don’t know if I’ll even know who they are…”

 

“Rose…” Gem starts, “You don’t have to. When this is over, I’m positive that they’ll come to you.” Hmm… “So, if you decide to leave, give them a chance to see you, okay?”

 

“Okay.” I think I can do that. I could never leave without saying goodbye. There’s also that other thing, the feeling I can’t seem to shake.

 

“So, how was it?” Celeste asked her cousin, taking a seat across from her. They were currently at a restaurant praised highly for its tea.

 

“How was what?” She answered, a blush forming on her cheeks.

 

“Don’t be coy with me,” Celeste gently smacking her shoulder, “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

 

“Alright, fine!” She exclaimed, “I had fun. You were right, he is a good person.”

 

“Ooh…” Celeste teased, “It seems someone has a crush on Captain Spears.”

 

“You know that’s not his name.”

 

She only shrugs, “So? He still calls me Amara sometimes.”

 

“Yes.” Her cousin relented, “But you refuse to call him by his name.”

 

“I call him by his name.” Celeste protests.

 

“Rarely.” She countered, shaking her head, “You’re so stubborn sometimes, you know.”

 

“So you tell me every time you visit.”

 

“How’s your boyfriend?” She asks after a moment’s silence.

 

“Theo’s not my boyfriend.” A raised eyebrow. “He’s not.”

 

“I think you protest too much.” Celeste’s cousin stated.

 

“I think you tease me too much.”

 

“What can I say cousin? All’s fair in love and cousinly war.” That gets a giggle out of Celeste, which soon turns into an endless peal of laughter when her cousin joins in.

 

“Theo’s fine.” Celeste states once the laughter dies down, “He and Captain Spears have gone to investigate something.”

 

“So, they have become friends.”

 

“Yes.” A laugh, “Although Theo seems appalled by his inability to work with any other weapon but a spear.”

 

“It’s because he can’t shoot an arrow to save his life, isn’t it?”

 

A chuckle, “I quote, ‘I have never seen someone with such a bad sense of direction and aim, it’s appalling’.”

 

That gets a chuckle from her. “His sense of direction is quite terrible. I can’t tell you how many wrong turns we took before we got to right place.”

 

“Theo has made it his mission to get him to land at least one arrow on the target.” A smile, “I guess he makes up for a bad sense of direction by actually being able to cook.”

 

“Really good friends then.” A mock glare, “I only burned that soup once!”

 

“I’m pretty sure that was more than enough to make him keep you three metres from any kitchen.” That gets them both descending into laughter once again.

 

“What have they gone to investigate?”

 

Celeste turns to her cousin, “Wands. Apparently there has been a lot of cases where people are using wands to commit heinous crimes.”

 

“So, the two of them have been tasked to put an end to that?”

 

“Yes.” Celeste grins cheekily, “Maybe it can count as a bonding experience.”

 

Her cousin shakes her head, “It may, but there is no telling the bruises they’ll get just by starting a brawl.”

 

“That only happened once.” A smile, “And that’s part of what makes it so fun.”

 

“I don’t understand your idea of fun sometimes.” She shook her head, “Well, I guess it’s a good thing those criminals don’t have the fairy godmother’s wand.”

 

“The fairy godmother’s wand?”

 

“It’s the most powerful wand there is, capable of the most extensive magic.”

 

“Why haven’t I heard more about it?” Celeste asks confused as the waiter lays down fresh cups of tea.

 

“Because most believe it to be nothing but a legend.” Her cousin states, taking a cup of tea. Celeste only nods in understanding before taking her own cup.

 

They sit in companiable silence for the next few minutes, sipping tea and eating the cake placed in front of them. They only realise how late it has become when the coachmen send someone to alert them that it’s time to go. Her cousin turns before getting into the carriage, a smile on her face. “See you next time Rose.”

 

Lunging back to avoid the attack makes me almost fall into the pumpkin patch. Narrowing my eyes, I step to the side before using Storm Cleaver to throw a pumpkin at my opponent. Taking advantage of his distracted state I lunge forward to attack. Clang! Darn it, blocked once again.

 

“That was cheating.” He chuckles.

 

“Yeah and?” It’s shallow provocation but I’m tired of continuously tying with him.

Gem bursts out laughing from her seat, the audience to our match. Well, at least someone seems to be enjoying this.

 

“And cheating is not allowed.” A pause. “If you keep cheating…I won’t spar with you.”

 

I gasp in horror, “You wouldn’t.”

 

“I would.” He gives me a deadpan look, although seems to be trying not to laugh at the same time.

 

I sigh in defeat, “Alright no throwing pumpkins at you.” Which means it’s a tie once again. At least my muscles are getting stronger, to the point that I don’t feel tired at all. It’s actually kind of surprising how fast I’ve gotten used to this.

 

“Maybe you should try another weapon.” Our audience suggests once it becomes clear that neither of us is willing to lose. We both turn to face her, our swords still clashed, that might work.

 

“But what?” I ask.

 

“How about a contest to see who can shoot the most arrows onto a target?” Ryan suggests,

 

“All right.” I did archery as a hobby at one point, it shouldn’t be too bad a result.

 

Well, it wasn’t a bad result per say… I just…didn’t win… To be fair, it was very close match. We were neck and neck for a long time, neither of us missing the target. But it was decided to be out of ten due to a lack of arrows and I…missed the tenth shot. It’s so frustrating!

 

“It was very close.” Gem tries to comfort me.

 

“I didn’t win.” My voice is very monotone right now.

 

“It was only one arrow.”

 

“I didn’t win!”  The laughing smug cat shakes his head but doesn’t add anything to the conversation. I send him a glare.

 

“Something else.” I mutter, “I want to compete with something else.”

 

He puts his hands up in the air, “Alright.”

 

“With a spear.” I state spotting Cylen’s spear laying on the ground. However, before I can pick it up, it vanishes.

 

“Cylen’s awake.” Gem happily yells. A little too happily.

 

Cylen seems bewildered with the enthusiasm and a little embarrassed by his fainting act, but on the whole a lot more rested. It seems that the scroll has a conscious of its own because as soon as Cylen wakes up, it just materialises in between us at the door of the carriage. That might also just be because of magic though, what do I know. Maybe Tatiana enchanted it to do that. Who knows?

 

Anyway, the scroll unravels to reveal that the writing inside has once again changed. This time it’s Cylen who reads it out loud.

 

“Two down five to go. The next treasure you seek is in disguise, looks can deceive and eyes can lie. A mermaid’s home is in the water, take her out and you break the order. Journey west to the ocean’s edge to find the shell that can change its wielder.”

 

“I guess this is what the other two pills were for.” I say bringing out the pouch.

 

“Wait…there’s four in here now.”

 

Cylen gulps. “Does that mean that all us will need to be underwater?”

 

“Who knows?” Gem shrugs, “It might mean that, or it might be something entirely different. We’ll only know when we get there.”

 

“The horses are awake.” Ryan points out as the horse go to stand out, “Should we trust them to lead the way once again?”

 

I consider that for a moment, going up to look them in their eyes, there is a bright shine in them.

 

“Yes.” I decide, “They look like they’ve been enchanted. I think that means they know where to go.”

 

“Okay then.” Gem drags a shell-shocked Cylen into the carriage, “let’s go.”

 

Before following her in, there is one other thing I need to do. I move past Ryan and take out two apples, giving them to the horses. This seems like it might be a long journey and they could definitely use the food. It would be terrible if something bad happened to them because of hunger.

 

Revenge was the only thing on her mind as she swam across the waterbed. She had heard that there was a sea witch around here who would be able to give her what she sought. They had warned her the witch may be a little prickly and may ask for a price she was not willing to pay, but that was of no consequence. There was no price she wasn’t willing to pay.

 

Those human monsters had killed her sister. Even now she could hear the sound of their sharp pointy weapons cutting through her tail, the heartbreaking scream that followed even more haunting. For a mermaid, their tail is their life, if they lose that then they will die. Her sister had been wounded to such a degree that it was clear that no amount of magic would be able to save her. She’d been helpless to do anything but watch as she’d died.

 

It was a while later when she arrived at the cavern door, the algae growing on the side indicating it was the right place. Taking a deep breath to calm any remaining nerves, she raised a hand to knock at the door.

 

“Who is there?” A pause. “What do you want?”

 

“I want to avenge my sister.” She knew that telling the witch her name would bring nothing good. That was one warning she had taken to heart.

 

The door swung open, “Come in.” The voice seemed eerie and mysterious.  

 

“Who are you targeting for this vengeance?” The witch asked as soon as the mermaid entered her abode. It was so dark she could see nothing but her eyes.

 

“Humans.” She stated in a disgusted voice.

 

The witch raised her eyebrows, “There are a lot of humans dear, you’ll have to be more specific.” A tentacle seemed to brush past her at those words. The mermaid froze, trying to recall any detail that could make it more specific.

“The boat had a crown on it.” She paused, “They were shipwrecked on the perilous caves.” That was why her sister had gotten so close, she had wanted to save them, not knowing she would lose her life in the process.

 

“Ah!” The witch exclaimed, clarity having set in, “It is the prince you target. Now, what is it that you want me to do?”

 

“Give me the means to walk on land.” The mermaid requested, “I want to be human for a short while.”

 

“Hm…A personal approach I see.” The sea witch chuckled, “Alright, I’ll give you a tool to temporarily turn you human, but are you willing to pay the price.”

 

“Yes I am.” The mermaid hesitated, “Don’t you want to know any other details?”

 

“Why would I?” she scoffed, “I want nothing to do with mermaids. That is unless they are offering me something.”

 

The mermaid gulped, the tone had indeed been prickly just then, as if one wrong move could result in her death.

 

“Now, sign on the dotted line.” A piece of parchment was in front of her, accompanied by something to write with.

 

“You haven’t told me the price.”

 

“You should have asked that before so readily agreeing. Now sign, I don’t have all day child.”

 

The mermaid gulped before steeling her resolve, she would avenge her sister, no matter the cost. She signed the parchment, forgetting the warning to never reveal her name.

 

A sinister grin passed on the witch’s face as the foolish young girl sealed their deal. What she wanted was something the girl could never fathom, something that could only be found on land, and now she had someone who could be compelled to give it to her. Such a foolish mermaid, to sign away her will without knowing the cost. Oh well, now to give her what she wanted.

 

The witch threw her a seashell bracelet, to which the mermaid just barely caught it.

“That shell will turn you human for as long as you wear it. It will also allow you to communicate with your family through their thoughts.” She explained.

 

“And the price?” The mermaid asked.

 

“Mine to collect whenever I want.” The witch grinned maliciously, “Now get out.”

 

As the mermaid was thrown out of the cavern, she couldn’t help but feel she’d fallen into a trap, but her need for revenge blinded her enough that she didn’t give the thought much mind.