A Fairy Tale With Two

Chapter 18

 Back at the castle...

     Rowan walked slowly through the library that afternoon, her fingers stroking the spines of the dozens of books. She'd read most of them, but each still had a special quality to her. She knew she was going to miss this place with all of her heart.

      The more she wandered the castle alone, the more sentimental she became. She looked to the clock. She had an hour or two before evening came, and she wasn't sure how much longer she had. Her heart ached as she realized she might never see her family, friends, or home again.

      Rowan wiped her face, leaning into the wall outside of the library. Her eyes found the window that overlooked the gardens, and she watched Mr. Hendrix clip the hedges with a pair of rusty clipping shears. She rested a hand on the window sill, peering our of the crystal clear glass. The gardens were beautiful.

       She rapped on the glass, and Mr. Hendrix looked up. She gave him a bright smile, holding her thumbs up to let him know he was doing a good job. He smiled at her, taking off his floppy hat as he gave her a low bow. She smiled, watching him return to his work.

      "He's never failed to make that garden amazing," Quinn commented from behind her, and Rowan sprang back with a start. Then she nodded.

       "He's a good man too," she agreed.

       "Rowan," Quinn rested a hand on her shoulder, "How are you doing?"

      Rowan sighed, wrapping her arms around herself, "I'm okay. I was fine this morning, but now that I know it will happen any minute... I'm starting to freak out a bit."

       "I can imagine," Quinn sighed, giving her sister a pained look, "You're my favorite sister, you know that, right?"

        "Compared to who, Elena? That's not saying much. We barely see the girl," Rowan snorted, and Quinn laughed lightly too. Rowan's amusement died as she found her eyes locked onto the window again. "I didn't realize it at the time, but... last night was probably my last sunset."

       "Rowan, you know Father will do everything to wake you up again," Quinn's voice hardened with conviction, "He won't rest until you're back to the way you've always been."

       "I know," Rowan sighed, turning away from the window to face her sister, "Do you think that maybe... I'll see Mom?"

      "Maybe," Quinn suddenly looked downcast, "If you do... say hi for me and Dad, okay?"

       "Absolutely," Rowan promised, "It's good to talk to you. But I need to get my mind off of things for a bit, okay? I'll see you soon."

      After wandering back into her room, she laid back into her soft, familiar bed. She blinked hard as she felt a sting of tears hurting her eyes. She reached over to her nightstand, pulling open the drawer to withdraw a black book from the bottom, shifting her notebook off of it. Then she pulled Janessa's book into her lap, flipping it to the bookmarked page.

       Her eyes ran over the words again, not understanding how the spells and calculations drew her attention so strongly. She fingered the picture of a sketched leaf, reading the name aloud to herself. Good for clearing infection, and crucial to most healing potions.

       The next page told of a day Janessa had spent cursing a village into a severe famine because they had refused to bring her tribute. The tale was fascinating, but it made Rowan shudder.

        Time passed by at a crawl, but she didn't complain. She paused, realizing that being half way through the book at nearing sunset wasn't going to satisfy her. So she skipped to the end, wanting to read the last few pages. Her eyes widened as she read, heart beat speeding up. Her fingers gripped the edge of her book tightly until her nails dug deep into the black leather.

        Rowan could barely breathe, understanding of everything crashing into her like a wave, "No... That's what happened!" she shouted aloud, sliding off of her bed. She grabbed the book, trying to lift it from the sheets, but it suddenly refused to budge. "Wha-?" She tugged on it again, but to no avail. It was as heavy as a boulder. She found her gaze sliding to the window as her head throbbed unexpectedly.

      Golden light from the sunset peeked through the curtain. Words rang in her ears, muddled and echoey as if from a distant memory "On the eve of her eighteenth birthday..." the words spun in her head, and she realized it was about to happen. The book had absorbed her attention and she had lost track of time. She hadn't been able to say goodbye to anyone.

     "She will fall victim to a dark magic so powerful it will stow her in a sleep for eternity," she could hear the voice clearly in her head, and she screamed, "Dad!! The book! You have to read the- "

      "A sleep so dark that nothing can awaken her!" The voice ended in a rising cackle, and Rowan's skin suddenly felt white hot, a green flash tinting her vision. She felt a shriek tear from her throat as the black book in front of her began to ripple. Ink flooded off of the pages, swirling towards her. Black magic.

      Rowan tried to back away, but the darkness curled around her feet. She fell hard on her bed with a shout, but opening her mouth was a mistake. The black shadows seized their advantage and surged into her mouth.

     She couldn't breathe and thrashed about, but the inky magic had blocked her throat. Spots filled her vision as she tried to scream again and was devastated to find she had no breath to let out. Her heart seized up in panic as she realized this was how it was going to happen. This was how she was to die.

      She was light headed now, and her lungs ached. The fight left her body as her limbs seemed to grow heavier and heavier, falling splayed on the sheets. Then with a final, weak thrash, her eyes drooped close. The shadows receded back into the black book, filling the pages again with their tales of black magic.

      And as the sun sank behind the horizon, casting the swamp so far away into darkness, Maleficent turned to face the pink horizon. A smile crept across her face, twisted with triumph. Her curse had been completed.