38. Nelle Lost in the Memories
Nelle: Lost in the Memories
Pain seeped through Nelle’s body, making her wince. Someone was talking. She knew that voice. How did she know that voice?
“…stay with her until then.”
“You swear?”
“On my life.”
More garbled words followed the statement, and she winced. The voices…they’re too loud.
She opened her eyes just a crack, in time to see an enormous, blurry white figure slipping out of the room. She wanted to reach out to him, to beg him to stay…but no. Her arms were like lead. She didn’t have the strength.
Her view shifted, and she was suddenly weightless. Moments later, she was lying on a flat, comfortable surface. Calloused hands smoothed back her hair as someone whispered, “It’s okay, my lady. You’re safe now. Just rest.”
Nelle nodded and closed her eyes, sinking back into the oblivion of sleep.
“Loli. Lolienna.” Nelle grimaced. Her mother had always been one for late nights. However, this was the first time she’d used her hold on her daughter to awaken her in the middle of the night.
“What is it, Mother?” she asked into the darkness.
“Watch your tone, young lady,” Queen Snow White snapped. “Is that any way to talk to your only mother?”
Nelle sighed. “Of course not, Mother. What do you need?” In her head, she added, And do you have any idea what time it is?
“None of that sass, young lady,” Queen Snow White snapped. “I have a job for you.”
Nelle’s hands instinctively tightened into fists.
A job. That was one way to describe it. Like when the Snow Queen ordered her to freeze a traveler on the road and transport them to her keep deep in the heart of the mountains.
Or when she had to attend training in the darkness of the Cracked Mirror’s chambers.
She hated it when her mother sent her out on those ‘jobs.’
“What kind of job is it, Mother?” she asked, struggling to keep her tone level.
“My loving fiance broke off our engagement,” Queen Snow White snarled.
Even though she was safe in the confines of her hidden castle, Nelle couldn’t help but shiver at her mother’s tone.
The broken engagement deviated from her plan, and the queen would not tolerate such things.
“I need you to freeze him and bring him to me.”
“Who is he?” Nelle wondered. She hadn’t realized that her mother had gotten engaged. Would the queen even have invited her to the wedding, or would she have just lived in blissful ignorance forever?
“The prince of a neighboring kingdom.” The queen pushed an image into Nelle’s mind.
“But that doesn’t matter, Loli. What matters is that you must not let him get back to Hopka.
He’ll be traveling through Sherwood Forest tomorrow morning.
We can take him then.” The queen’s satisfaction bled through her woods.
“He’ll regret how he left me. I swear it. ”
Nelle’s heart sank. “Yes, Mother.”
“Good. Now, get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.”
As Queen Snow White’s voice faded from Nelle’s mind, she pushed herself out of bed. This was her last straw, and her mind was already working on a plan.
The scene shifted. Now she was standing on the side of the road, keeping her eyes open for the prince. She had little time. She needed to do this, to warn him, before he got to the designated spot where she was supposed to freeze the prince.
Suddenly, she saw him. It was obvious he was a prince.
His closely cropped blond hair was as neat as a pin, and he held himself with an air that screamed importance.
Nelle’s heart pounded as she stepped onto the road.
She stood her ground as the man rode closer and closer until she could almost touch his steed.
Only then did he tug sharply on the reins, pulling his horse up short.
“Careful there, miss. I almost ran you down.”
Nelle’s heart pounded as she looked up at the man. As she did, a curtain of fog fell over her eyes. She struggled to keep control as she murmured, “You’re the one who should be careful, your highness.”
The man stared at her, a frown crossing his perfect face. “I beg your pardon?”
Queen Snow White’s hold on Nelle tightened, but even so, she tried to keep her voice steady as she said, “You shouldn’t have broken your engagement, your highness. You—” Searing pain rippled through her body, and she hunched over on herself, struggling to breathe.
Stop it, you wretched girl! Queen Snow White’s rage was like a red hot iron. You’re ruining everything.
No, Mother. Nelle’s voice was weak, even in her own mind. I can’t do this. I won’t.
Freeze him, Lolienna. We need him!
“Miss? Miss, are you alright?” the man asked, quickly dismounting from his steed. He ran to her side, but Nelle couldn’t focus on him now. She needed to stop her mother. She had to…
“No. No, Mother. I won’t—I can’t…” Her words came out jumbled and slurred. She was distantly aware of the man’s frown. He looked around, trying to figure out who she was talking to.
At last, hesitantly, he put his hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “Miss?” he called again.
At his touch, her mind cleared and she could finally see him clearly. She pressed her hand to his shoulder and warned, “You must get out of here. Now. You’re in danger, your highness.”
“What are you talking about?” the man demanded, confusion clouding his brown eyes. “Why am I in danger?”
Nelle shuddered as she felt her mother’s hold on her once more. She peered up at the man as she whispered, “She’s coming. I can’t…I won’t be able to stop her a second time.”
“Who’s coming?” the man asked. “Miss, what’s wrong?—”
An idea popped into Nelle’s head, and she took a deep breath.
“I can’t stop her from coming…but I can protect you.
” With those words, she reached out and grabbed his hand.
She shuddered once more as she began chanting, struggling to maintain her focus as her mother wrestled for control.
As the words left her lips, a scream came from the man, and he dropped to his knees.
Nelle’s heart ached for him. She hadn’t meant to cause him pain.
But she couldn’t stop now. If she did, the spell might not be reversible.
Instead, she tightened her grip on him as the words flowed faster and louder.
Making it reversible. She needed to ensure that part. The first thing that popped into her head was the thing that had reversed her mother’s curse: true love’s kiss.
No! Her mother’s mental shriek sent chills down Nelle’s spine. Lolienna, don’t you dare?—
Nelle gritted her teeth and put that part of the spell into place. Now, all that was left?—
Suddenly, the Snow Queen’s influence on her intensified, and the spell she wanted collided with Nelle’s spell.
The reverberating shockwave tore Nelle and the man apart, sending her sprawling hard into the tree behind her.
As her head lolled to the side, and spots danced in her vision, she heard herself mumble, “No. No, the spell…” Before she could finish the sentence, she slipped into unconsciousness, her last thought a disjointed prayer that the unfinished spell wouldn’t hurt the stranger.