Chapter 33 #2
As he trudges off, complaining about always rescuing us, I turn to Ella. “This might be a good time to take out our frog and see how he’s doing.”
Ella opens her pocket and carefully pulls out the frog. His eyes bulge, and with a ribbit, he tries to hop away, but Ella closes her hand over his body.
“Not so fast, little guy.” She giggles. “I just don’t see how this little creature could be Fritz. I feel a little bad for him. He was terrified in Wissen’s house.”
Guilt stabs me. I haven’t been quite so truthful about how Fritz is actually the prince of Württemberg. “I suppose I should turn Fritz back into a man.”
“If I were to kiss him, he’d really turn back into human form?” Ella asks, inspecting the frog.
“Don’t worry, I can—”
Before I finish, she lifts those perfect lips to the slimy frog’s face. In a burst of emerald-green glow, the frog bulges, growing larger. Its body twists and writhes. Ella screeches and drops him.
“Oh!” she says. “I’m terribly sorry. The transformation just surprised me.”
The green slime vanishes along with the black spots until the frog has become the prince once again.
The only semblance of his previous appearance is the large green eyes.
His tunic hangs from his waist, and his pants are stuck to one arm.
Though his left eye is ringed blue, like he got punched, he looks in far better shape than the rest of us.
“Appears as if you’re still alive,” I say.
But the prince’s eyes are only on Ella. “Thank you. Your kiss was enchanting.”
“Oh.” She looks away, clearly flustered. “I’m not really an expert kisser.”
“Trust me.” The prince takes Ella’s hand and kisses it. “I’ve kissed my share of maidens over the years, but yours surpassed them all.”
I grind my teeth in annoyance. Am I jealous that the prince got a kiss from Ella? Definitely. Am I proud of it? Not one bit.
“You don’t look so good.” Ella steps closer to him. “I wish we had ice for your eye.”
“Must have gotten a little beat up in the escape while in my…er—frog—form. Nothing that another kiss wouldn’t fix.”
Ella laughs, rolling her eyes.
“We need to set up a barrier in front of the turret’s door,” I say, darkly, eager to change the subject. “So we can be ready in case the werewolves decide to cross the river and follow our trail.”
“Werewolves?” the prince asks and then looks around. “Where are we exactly?”
“The ruins of Hohenurach,” Ella says. “North of the village.”
“What happened?” The prince rubs his head. “It’s a bit of a blur.”
“Before story time, let’s focus on creating a barrier,” I suggest.
The prince frowns, clearly not used to being treated like a common merchant, but thankfully, he merely grumbles and follows.
Once we get the turret’s doorway barred to my satisfaction, the prince and I help Wilhelm to the first floor.
Ella brings in some pine boughs for him to lie on and holds up his flask of water for him to drink.
“He doesn’t look good,” Ella says. “I wonder if the wolf’s bite is poisonous.”
“He’ll survive,” I grumble.
“Don’t remind me,” Wilhelm says through clenched teeth.
“How can you treat your brother’s illness like it's inconsequential?” Ella asks, aghast.
“It’s fine.” Wilhelm waves us away. “I’m just so valuable, you can’t kill me. Right, brother? Now go away and let me sleep this wound off.”
I cross my arms and scowl. The last thing I want is to be reminded of how hard it is to kill us thanks to the Enchantress’s power flowing through our veins. He’s simply weaker because we haven’t finished Dr. Wissen’s story yet.
“That doctor is responsible for the wolves?” the prince asks.
“I’ve got bad news for you and then more bad news,” I say.
After I share with him how the saws look into the castle and that Wissen seems to be in control of the werewolves, I pull out the maps and papers Wilhelm and I snatched from the doctor’s desk.
“We found some information you’re going to want to look at. ”
The prince, Ella, and I head to the roof of the turret in hopes of using the moonlight to see the documents.
Once we’re settled on the dusty stone, I spread them out and we begin trying to discern what exactly we’re looking at.
One map shows the location of the orchestrated attack on the weapons delivery.
“These are payment letters,” I explain. “This one is another map with sketches that appear to be a planned attack on the castle.”
“This material is treason!” The prince tosses the map to the ground and begins stalking back and forth across the turret.
“Looks like the doctor has bigger plans than just marrying me,” Ella muses as she unstraps the belt and sets the dagger beside her. “Based on these documents, he’s preparing to overthrow the throne.”
“Well, let him try!” The prince goes to withdraw his sword, only to find it must have gotten lost in the transformation. “I’ll have him and all of his underlings beheaded.”
“I’ve got to say,” Ella says, studying him carefully. “For a mere merchant, you have a great loyalty to the king.”
“Great loyalty?” Prince William snorts. “There’s much about the king that I question, but he’s still the supreme ruler of the kingdom.”
“True, but if we were to bring him this information, I doubt he’d listen to us,” she presses. “It’s not as if we’re anyone of consequence. Jacob, you could use your influence as the king’s hunter to try to gain an audience with the king.”
“She has a valid point,” I tell the prince. “Especially considering your station.”
I can’t help but push him to reveal who he really is. Ella deserves to know the truth.
The prince stares at Ella, as if debating whether to spill his secret with her. “There’s something you should—”
“Besides,” Ella interrupts. “Tomorrow, the king’s hosting a ball for his son. I’m sure he’s far too busy deciding which royal boots to wear and if fowl or venison should be served.”
“My vote would be for both,” I say, not bothering to hide my smile.
“Yes, a dilemma to be sure,” the prince says distractedly. Then he gathers up the documents and folds them neatly under his arm. “Thank you both for this. I will never forget what you did for me tonight. I must take time to mull this over.”
Once he leaves, I’m acutely aware it’s just Ella and me.
Night stretches around us, the valley bathed in silver moonlight.
The air tastes like pine, sharp and clean, but all I can breathe in is her.
She shifts closer, her thigh brushing mine, and the world tilts.
My chest tightens with the pure joy of just sitting beside her, but also this need to be as close to her as I can.
“Mull this over?” She imitates the prince’s haughty tone. “Do all merchants act so entitled?”
“Only the slimy ones.” I grin, and she returns the smile.
“Thank you for what you did for me back there,” she says. “You risked a lot to go into that lair. Now that we know the truth of who Dr. Wissen is, will you write a story about him and send him back to his land?”
“Absolutely. My only concern is we don’t know his intentions. We’ll try to write the story based on what we know. If the story is complete, then the process of his removal begins.”
“Process? What sort of process?”
How does one explain the magical funnel and portal that leads to the Enchantress’s library? “One of us writes the story. Once it’s finished, the Forbidden is transported back to their world.”
“Just like that? Even if they aren’t evil?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like Fritz. He may be a shapeshifter and easily terrified, but he’s a good man, don’t you think? You said that all these creatures were monsters, but Fritz isn’t a monster. Will you send him from this world because he isn’t normal?”
I rake my hands through my hair, unable to look her in the eyes.
“There’s something I haven’t told you yet.
This quest of Wilhelm’s and mine is not as simple as I may have led on.
” I swallow hard, wanting desperately to stop myself, and yet on the other hand, I want her to know the truth about who I really am.
“Wilhelm was dying when an enchantress arrived at our house. I was willing to do anything to save him. Anything.”
She blinks at me. “An enchantress?”
“She’s the ruler of the Forbidden’s realm, called the Realm of Candora, where these creatures belong and where we must send them back to.”
“But I thought you were hunters for the king.”
“We are, but it’s more of a disguise for us to hunt for the Enchantress.”
Shock ripples across her face. “Why would you do this?”
“There’s a group of witches who hate the Enchantress and her laws, so they attempted to overthrow her.
They formed a curse that sent all the inhabitants of the Realm of Candora into our world.
That’s why the Enchantress enlisted fools like Wilhelm and me to write the Forbidden back into their world. ”
“This all sounds like something from a storybook.” She looks away as if she’s trying to process my words.
“Right?” I sigh and rub the back of my neck. “I made a deal with the Enchantress. She would save my brother, and we would work for her, writing these stories, until we finished her list. Once we’re done, only then will we be free of her command. Truth is, it’s a curse.”
“I didn’t know.” She reaches out, grasping my hand in hers. I should pull away. I don’t. “I’m so sorry.”
“There are some positives. Our vision and hearing are incredibly acute.”
“And your movements are faster than humanly possible.” A smile plays on her lips. “I wondered if I’d been losing my mind when I saw you fighting.”
“I hope you were duly impressed.”
She laughs, shaking her head at me. But then she pulls her hand away, and a painful expression passes over her face.
“How do you know the Enchantress is telling you the truth? What if the witches did the right thing by saving these Forbidden, and the Enchantress is the villain? Maybe these Forbidden are innocent and can co-exist with humans.”
“I think about that every day, but then I’m reminded of people like Dr. Wissen.
He’s a Forbidden. Would you call him innocent?
Or how about the werewolves chasing us? As far as creatures like Fritz, we don’t know what the consequences of having him here in our world could be.
They don’t belong here. They belong in their world. ”
My muscles tense, thinking about the guilt that plagues me every time we write another story. Were we making the right decision? But then what choice did we have?
She presses her lips together as if she wants to say more but decides against it.
I study her silhouette, the shape of her nose, and the curve of her jaw.
Every fiber in me yearns to reach out and pull her into my arms, feel her body pressed against mine.
My lips hunger for hers in ways I never experienced.
Before I can think better of it, my hand lifts, cupping her chin. My thumb drags along the smooth line of her jaw, and she shudders, eyes closing like she’s memorized. I ease closer to her.
I shouldn’t. I’m nothing but a cursed man. But then her eyes find mine. They’re soft and luminous in the moonlight. All my reasons crumble. Stopping isn’t an option. Not when she’s looking at me like that.